Paris–Roubaix Sunday - who's going to take it this time?
Discussion
Cav!!! (not really)
Weather in Lille on Sunday looks warm and dry, 14 deg and cloudy which means that the unpredictable nature of mud and rain wont be an issue. It also means the true hard men of the peloton, the classics specilaists wont have it their way, put it this way, Kristoff wouldnt have been fourth in Flanders if it had been raining.
Stybar and Terpstra should do well but EQS just have a habit of f
king everything up at the moment so who knows, Boom is always a darkhorse and will feature but to what extent, VanMarcke is on great form but Stannard and Brandle who can stay away from packs could also be up there.
As ever its a case of whether you are in the first 20 to hit Carrefour l'arbre, who is with you and the size of your group and the distance back to chasers/peloton.
But having said all that, Sagan will win or at least I hope he does, the man is going to be a legend.
Weather in Lille on Sunday looks warm and dry, 14 deg and cloudy which means that the unpredictable nature of mud and rain wont be an issue. It also means the true hard men of the peloton, the classics specilaists wont have it their way, put it this way, Kristoff wouldnt have been fourth in Flanders if it had been raining.
Stybar and Terpstra should do well but EQS just have a habit of f
king everything up at the moment so who knows, Boom is always a darkhorse and will feature but to what extent, VanMarcke is on great form but Stannard and Brandle who can stay away from packs could also be up there. As ever its a case of whether you are in the first 20 to hit Carrefour l'arbre, who is with you and the size of your group and the distance back to chasers/peloton.
But having said all that, Sagan will win or at least I hope he does, the man is going to be a legend.
Sagan or Cancellara.
There is nobody stronger than those two, I still thinking FC is the most powerful rider in the peloton, but Sagan looks to be able to live with that these days - there was a time when FC would just mash the pedals and nobody could deal with it, Sagan included, but I think he's got stronger and it should be between those two I reckon. But its not quite as selective as flanders especially with nice weather, so who knows, could be lots of random sprinter types up there.
There is nobody stronger than those two, I still thinking FC is the most powerful rider in the peloton, but Sagan looks to be able to live with that these days - there was a time when FC would just mash the pedals and nobody could deal with it, Sagan included, but I think he's got stronger and it should be between those two I reckon. But its not quite as selective as flanders especially with nice weather, so who knows, could be lots of random sprinter types up there.
Was a great race.
Just shows how unpredictable the one day races can be, which makes some of the top guys records, Boonen, Canc, Sagan even in recent times, so much more impressive, they're almost always up there (apart from this time!).
Tony Martin essentially detonated that race, I think Tom Boonen will be kicking himself a bit, beaten in a sprint, was his best chance to become the top of the tree with 5 wins
Just shows how unpredictable the one day races can be, which makes some of the top guys records, Boonen, Canc, Sagan even in recent times, so much more impressive, they're almost always up there (apart from this time!).
Tony Martin essentially detonated that race, I think Tom Boonen will be kicking himself a bit, beaten in a sprint, was his best chance to become the top of the tree with 5 wins
okgo said:
Was a great race.
Just shows how unpredictable the one day races can be, which makes some of the top guys records, Boonen, Canc, Sagan even in recent times, so much more impressive, they're almost always up there (apart from this time!).
Tony Martin essentially detonated that race, I think Tom Boonen will be kicking himself a bit, beaten in a sprint, was his best chance to become the top of the tree with 5 wins
Boonen was on the inside of the track behind Hayman with half a lap to go which looked like a good place to be but then [I cant remember who] came over him his shoulder and effectively blocked him in which made it really difficult for Boonen to launch a sprint and when he could, Hayman had just enough.Just shows how unpredictable the one day races can be, which makes some of the top guys records, Boonen, Canc, Sagan even in recent times, so much more impressive, they're almost always up there (apart from this time!).
Tony Martin essentially detonated that race, I think Tom Boonen will be kicking himself a bit, beaten in a sprint, was his best chance to become the top of the tree with 5 wins
The overhead shots really showed how hard those attacks were, Boonen would go and be covered almost immediately, then whoever had chased him down would counter... there was no rest and you could see they were all trying to drop Boonen. I thought Stannard had it once or twice as he built up a few bike lengths gap but they would just regroup. Nice to see Cancellara get the reception he deserved in the velodrome too.
I've got the last 40k's to watch tonight, as a newcomer to watching road racing (I'm a keen MTB'er), just WOW, what a race.
Absolutely brutal in every way possible, the way those guys do those distances, the climbs and on road surfaces that would be bad enough to ride a MTB hardtail on.
Watching the front wheel wash out on a greasy corner makes you clench your bum cheeks.
Sagan's bike handling was amazing (no surprise), really impressed with the commitment of these guys and the way that they got back on after some big spills.
At least yesterday's Lourdes Down Hill guys get to wear full face helmets, padded knee's, elbows and even spine protectors.
Brilliant stuff.
Absolutely brutal in every way possible, the way those guys do those distances, the climbs and on road surfaces that would be bad enough to ride a MTB hardtail on.
Watching the front wheel wash out on a greasy corner makes you clench your bum cheeks.
Sagan's bike handling was amazing (no surprise), really impressed with the commitment of these guys and the way that they got back on after some big spills.
At least yesterday's Lourdes Down Hill guys get to wear full face helmets, padded knee's, elbows and even spine protectors.
Brilliant stuff.
Jimbo. said:
..there was a time when FC would just mash the pedals and nobody could deal with it...
Paris-Roubaix 2010, when he just seemed to think "Sod this, I could be home in an hour..." and dropped everyone about 50Km out? That was pretty spectacular!
Yes, or E3 that year also where Boonen just flat out gave up trying to close the wheel.Paris-Roubaix 2010, when he just seemed to think "Sod this, I could be home in an hour..." and dropped everyone about 50Km out? That was pretty spectacular!
When FC dropped the hammer on the cobbles the other day he showed he still has it, it was instant goodbye to everyone else bar a select few
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