Nick Christian
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nickchristian.bsky.social
Nick Christian
@nickchristian.bsky.social
570 followers 430 following 130 posts
I write, mainly about bikes and balls, for TNT Sports, Cyclist, Eurosport, Cycling Plus, When Saturday Comes. Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, my opinion, man.
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nickchristian.bsky.social
#AbsoluteUnitsOfTheTourdeFrance
@themerl.bsky.social
July 6, 2025 at 12:13 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
I tried, Duncan but...
July 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
So it turns out New York is red (in more ways than one, I guess)
Two tweets from Zohran Mamdani indicating his support for Arsenal FC. Ones features a gif of Arsenal Wenger
June 25, 2025 at 3:18 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
#MazeWatch #BaloiseBelgiumTour
A maze constructed from garden fences at the Baloise Belgium Tour cycling race
June 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
Today's Tour of Turkiye stage finishes at the top of an absolute bastard of a climb called Kıran.

I rode it (ground it out) for @cyclist.co.uk a few years back and although the views are very pleasant, I did not get to enjoy them.

Fun one to write up, though!

www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/tur...
Juan Trujillo photograph of two cylists riding road bikes up a gravelly broken hill overlooking the Adriatic
April 30, 2025 at 10:25 AM
nickchristian.bsky.social
More interesting than Visma skying it over the bar is another top 20 for the best park in London
First page of results of Dwaars Door Vlaanderen 2015
April 2, 2025 at 3:19 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
According to Google, Mark Cavendish's first victory in a Grand Tour came two days after he won another stage of the same Giro d'Italia.

Apart from making so sense whatsoever, he won neither.

How is this company fine with utterly failing at the most fundamental thing it's supposed to do?
AI overview result of search for "giro d'italia 2008 stage 3 mark cavendish" In the 2008 Giro d'Italia, Mark Cavendish won stage 3 and also secured his first Grand Tour stage victory with a win in stage 5. Here's a more detailed look at his performance: Stage 3 Win: Cavendish won stage 3 of the 2008 Giro d'Italia. First Grand Tour Stage Win: This stage victory marked his first win in a Grand Tour stage.
March 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
From Sally Rooney's recent essay on Ronnie O'Sullivan in the NYRB, this story (which I don't remember from the time) is astonishing.(And still gets beaten by the kicker)
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
In 2010, at the World Open in Glasgow, O’Sullivan stops play at the beginning of a frame to ask the referee, Jan Verhaas, a question. In response Verhaas nods his head, and then turns to another official and murmurs, “Can you find out what a max pays?” O’Sullivan stops and waits to find out what the prize money will be if he completes a maximum break. At this point in the frame, he has potted only two balls. O’Sullivan does, of course, get down to that last black. By then, the tone of the commentary has shifted considerably. “We’re watching, what has to be said, a genius at work,” says Taylor. O’Sullivan has since been informed that there is no special reward for making a maximum, beyond the £4,000 highest break prize. So, with the final black still on the table, he shakes his opponent’s hand and goes to leave the auditorium. The referee intervenes, approaching O’Sullivan and saying, “You want to knock it in for the fans? Come on.” Only then, apparently relenting, does O’Sullivan pot the final black and complete his record-breaking tenth maximum break. Days of controversy and discussion ensued. Would he really have left that final black on the table if Verhaas hadn’t stepped in? Was he obliged to attempt the shot, or did he have every right to leave it behind if he wanted? Was this a protest about prize money, or something else? Barry Hearn, then chairman of the World Snooker Tour, said O’Sullivan would have faced disciplinary action had he not potted the black ball. In response, O’Sullivan told Hearn, “If you like, this is my last frame of snooker ever. I’m quite happy to walk away.” This was a conversation about what a gifted individual owes to the public. With only the black left to pot, the frame and match were already over: O’Sullivan had won. In other sports, the sphere of play is coterminous with the sphere of competition—players are not obliged to do anything in excess of trying to win matches. But snooker is different. Professionals are expected to continue past the point of competitive advantage, until the internal logic of the frame itself has been exhausted, and the table has no more to give. All maximum breaks—indeed all breaks over seventy-five or eighty—have this quality of aesthetic excess, of formal purity, snooker for snooker’s sake. O’Sullivan had already gone far past mere competition by getting down to the final black. In walking away, or trying to, he seemed to be asserting his right to decide how far past that point he wanted to go.
March 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
Here are my wreckless wagers, because I love a longshot or "value bet"
A digital betting slip showing a $1 bet on Matej Mohoric to win Omloop Niuewsblad 2025 at 30-1, for a possible return of $31 A digital betting slip showing a $2 each way bet on Fred Wright for Omloop Niuewsblad 2025 at 150-1, for a possible return of $379
March 1, 2025 at 12:03 PM
nickchristian.bsky.social
Note: Poochie died on the way back to his home planet
November 15, 2024 at 8:49 AM
nickchristian.bsky.social
Maybe! But he voted in 2012 so I don't think he'd sit this one out, and he'd do it for Lisa (who is presumably living in a very blue state by now)
November 5, 2024 at 3:39 PM