Flanders *spoiler*
Comments
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Great race. Congrats afx.
Cycling.tv coverage was excellent today.Winner: PTP Vuelta 2007
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It's on Eurosport now. :roll:0
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afx237vi wrote:Can I just take this opportunity to direct people to my post at the bottom of this thread:
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... 43&start=0
Let's just say I'm sitting on the edge of my seat right now :shock: :?
So the biers brunes are on you then!0 -
le tosseurs have it on now they treat us cycling fans like dirt
great race worthy winner chapeau0 -
scwxx77 wrote:Great race. Congrats afx.
Cycling.tv coverage was excellent today.
Agree. Cycling.tv was spot on today. Lost coverage a few times, but only for a minute or so. Commentary is very good (when you can connect).
That Langeveld is one to watch. Worked all day and still had a chance at the end.0 -
what a great infectious race flanders is, devolder looked so strong all day....when he went off up the road i thought that was just so liquigas, etc, would chase him down and give it to boonen on a plate....
wouldnt it be great if every single motorised sport disappeared off the face of the plant overnight? eurosport had dross on both channels with no flanders in sight!0 -
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Astonishing performance by Devolder.
I'm not sure whether to raise my eyebrows or not.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
Fast race too, especially if you consider some of the conditions. Last year was a bit faster but the average speed was higher than most of the races since 2002.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0
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Maybe one eyebrow. It was impressive - maybe overly impressive, and yeah he rides for QS, but Devolder is the kind of rider who's been promising to pull off this kind of ride for years.
With the tactics behind, it was perfectly suited to a rider like him. Don't think, just put your head down and give it full gas. Ballan was the only big-name rider that looked interested in chasing (Flecha's move was too late).
Devolder is just a diesel engine.0 -
afx237vi wrote:
With the tactics behind, it was perfectly suited to a rider like him. Don't think, just put your head down and give it full gas. Ballan was the only big-name rider that looked interested in chasing (Flecha's move was too late).
Devolders strong point if the stories are true.
Boonen was really strong but I don't expect QS expected Devolder to be away like that. Cancellera is waning after his brilliant early season (IMO) and the Rabo's seemed to waste their strength in depth today.afx237vi wrote:
Devolder is just a diesel engine.
That's what they used to say about Ullrich.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
iainf72 wrote:Devolders strong point if the stories are true.
Boonen was really strong but I don't expect QS expected Devolder to be away like that. Cancellera is waning after his brilliant early season (IMO) and the Rabo's seemed to waste their strength in depth today.
Do you really think Boonen looked strong? He missed that split at the end when most of the other favourites got into a group. I think they let Devolder go on the attack because QS weren't confident about Boonen matching the others.iainf72 wrote:That's what they used to say about Ullrich.
True enough... Devolder can grind his way up those huge mountains too (11th overall in the Vuelta).0 -
QS were tactically perfect - Boonen was awesomely strong on the Koppenberg - he was heavily marked afterwards. It was natural to let Devolder go out in a break as it took the pressure of Boonen - if they'd dragged Devolder back, it would have been hard to put one over on Boonen, sitting in the 'pound' seats. Not sure whether Cancellara is holding his form - he was going backward on the Muur.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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That was a quite fantastic race and what a stunning edge of the seat finish.
I really thought it was all over for Devolder when the gap dropped to under 10s.
As mentioned already though, perfect kind of terrain for Devolder. Not too big a guy to get up the short but energy sapping climbs but enough strength to keep pushing a big gear on the long run in to Meerbeke.
Boonen couldn't have won it in it the same way for sure, but I also thought he looked very strong. A good tactical ride. Maybe the races will give the chance to do his thing on Gent Wevelgem or Roubaix.....0 -
Also showed that for all the big names and big budgets, Rabobank is less a team and more a collection of individuals wearing the same jersey. This year so far they have been outsmarted by Gerolsteiner in P-N and yesterday they had 3 guys who are probably the physical equal of Devolder and both Freire and Flecha spend the afternoon going off like cheap fireworks.
Boonen seems to be very tolerant of team-mates going for the win. It's almost like his new job is to use his presence to neutralise the main contenders while Steegemans or Devolder buggers off up the road. Having said that, Devolder had removed his earpiece early in his final attack for some reason....'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
A great race and a great win.
Also - great coverage on Eurosport of the last 130 kms or so. International Eurosport on analogue satellite that is...
I've said it several times before - you can pick up old analogue systems for virtually nothing if you stick an ad in your local paper.
If you are really cheeky, just look out for a house with an old analogue dish on the wall (the dishes are about 4 times the size of a sky dish) and go and knock on the owner's door. The chances are that they won't be using it any more and would probably be glad to let you have the dish and receiver for a crate of beer or a couple of bottles of wine.
It isn't difficult to set a system up - just remember what direction the dish was pointing in before you took it down. It takes a bit of fiddling to get the allignment spot on but I did mine without the help of an instruction manual or test equipment. I just needed a mate with a head for heights to stand on the ladder and tweak the dish position for me.
So far I've had about 8 or 9 years of free cycling coverage and I'll stick with it as long as the analogue broadcasts continue, though I've no idea how long that will be.
PS If you can't get the analogue kit anywhere else, you can get what you need from this company for about £100 total. I only paid about £30 years ago, so really that is a bit expensive, but it's a case of supply and demand I suppose.0 -
My understanding is that you'll get another two years of classics coverage as a maximum as the Astra satellite will stop broadcasting an analogue signal in 2010. It wouldn't surprise me if this date extends as services tend to last longer than the technologists predict.ColinJ wrote:So far I've had about 8 or 9 years of free cycling coverage and I'll stick with it as long as the analogue broadcasts continue, though I've no idea how long that will be.0 -
iainf72 wrote:... and the Rabo's seemed to waste their strength in depth today.
Can someone explain to me what this phrase "strength in depth" actually means.
Commentators in every walk of life (especially sports) seem to have started using it all the time in about the last 3 years. I never heard of it before that.
In cycling, does it just mean having lots of good riders in a team, rather than just one big star name?
Is it just jargon for the sake of it?0 -
terongi wrote:In cycling, does it just mean having lots of good riders in a team, rather than just one big star name?
Is it just jargon for the sake of it?
Yes, so in Quick.Step they had a few very strong riders near the front and used that (the depth) to put themselves into a better position than the other guys.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
redddraggon wrote:Fat Head wrote:wouldnt it be great if every single motorised sport disappeared off the face of the plant overnight? eurosport had dross on both channels with no flanders in sight!
I agree - why do we need supergaybikes and MotogayPrix? Both fatally boring.
Yeah. Those guys in leather are clearly Gay. We want far more guys in Lycra :roll:___________________
Strava is not Zen.0 -
We watched some rosy-cheeked young men ride past as we shivered in the freezing rain in Oudenaarde and about 45 minutes later we saw them again on the descent of the Koppenberg. By now they looked like the exhumed corpses of WWI soldiers, their faces covered in dried mud like Kabuki actors. Boonen shouted something very bad-temperedly at someone, Ballan looked like he'd been beaten up. Back in the bar the locals only cared about Boonen but everyone cheered as Devolder crossed the line.
I saw some of the women's race too but no-one was about to cheer them on except a few weirdo middle-aged men (ahem). Nicole only managed 16th, WTF?0 -
LangerDan wrote:Also showed that for all the big names and big budgets, Rabobank is less a team and more a collection of individuals wearing the same jersey. This year so far they have been outsmarted by Gerolsteiner in P-N and yesterday they had 3 guys who are probably the physical equal of Devolder and both Freire and Flecha spend the afternoon going off like cheap fireworks.
Wasn't that what Devolder did as well?0 -
TheHog wrote:LangerDan wrote:Also showed that for all the big names and big budgets, Rabobank is less a team and more a collection of individuals wearing the same jersey. This year so far they have been outsmarted by Gerolsteiner in P-N and yesterday they had 3 guys who are probably the physical equal of Devolder and both Freire and Flecha spend the afternoon going off like cheap fireworks.
Wasn't that what Devolder did as well?
It was, but Quick Step at least appeared to have a plan. Boonen to stay in the front of the bunch, Devolder to head off and try and draw the others out. And they stuck to it. The Rabo riders were making things up as they went along.'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
vermooten wrote:I saw some of the women's race too but no-one was about to cheer them on except a few weirdo middle-aged men (ahem). Nicole only managed 16th, WTF?
Nicole has been in trouble since GP Plouay last year. As well as (or because of) her knee problems at the time, she was carrying a bit more weight. I don't know how she got on after that latest bout of surgery - apart from the team launch, she's keep a very low profile this winter compared to other years.'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
LangerDan wrote:TheHog wrote:LangerDan wrote:Also showed that for all the big names and big budgets, Rabobank is less a team and more a collection of individuals wearing the same jersey. This year so far they have been outsmarted by Gerolsteiner in P-N and yesterday they had 3 guys who are probably the physical equal of Devolder and both Freire and Flecha spend the afternoon going off like cheap fireworks.
Wasn't that what Devolder did as well?
It was, but Quick Step at least appeared to have a plan. Boonen to stay in the front of the bunch, Devolder to head off and try and draw the others out. And they stuck to it. The Rabo riders were making things up as they went along.
It's easy to look good strategically when you are as strong as QS were.0 -
kinda late but i was in france on the friday and reading l'equipe {in my small command of french} and they were bigging up chavanel. even merckx was convinced he would win it. fignon wasnt sure though {clever guy, the proffessor}. what happened to chavanel????0
