Ronde van Vlaanderen ***SPOILER***
Comments
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Super happy with the Tommeke win! It wasn't particularly impressive. He admitted his legs weren't great today.
The route? Well, the Oude Kwaremont is definitely not a 'long Muur' whilst the Paterburg does pretty much the same job as the Bosberg. Bring back the Muur!!!0 -
Nicky Terpstra's brought his son into the Sporza interview - Luca Terpstra says he enjoyed it!
Awwwww
And Come on Peter - the whole point of these races is the narrow sh1tty roads, If you want wide ones watch the Tour of Qatar! The climbs are all old farm tracks, not roads, they never get used by anyone other than Farmer Stijn and probably thousands of cyclists on holiday!We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Enjoyed that. OK, the last 10km wasn't so exciting. Maybe they should take out an another climb and add in the Koppenberg on the final lap. Such a short distance from there to Oudenarrde think Pozatto would have won. Great ride from Boonen, did everything he needed to do perfectly. Pozatto should have mixed it up a bit I reckon, he was never going to out sprint Boonen at the end of this race. Maybe started messing around with 2-3km to go, maybe even gone for a counter move to Ballan's attacks. And Ballan rode well, at his limit, don't think he could have done any better.
Did I miss the Muur and the Bosberg, no, not really. Sub in the Kwaremont and Paterberg and then a flat run into the finish, think it's much the same. Give it another year, this year's race was never going to match last year's.
The organisers need to look at saftey a bit. The team cars trying to get past the bunch on the run in to the first climb of the Kwaremont was scary! Could have so easily taken out half the bunch or wiped out some spectators. And I have no idea what the spectator was thinking who took out the Rabobank rider on the descent of the Kwaremont. Doesn't everyone know the riders will use all of the road, pavements and everything else to ride on in these races? Obviously not.
Now looking forward to Roubaix. Doesn't look good for Cancellara. Any news on him?0 -
ddraver wrote:Nicky Terpstra's brought his son into the Sporza interview - Luca Terpstra says he enjoyed it!
Awwwww
And Come on Peter - the whole point of these races is the narrow sh1tty roads, If you want wide ones watch the Tour of Qatar! The climbs are all old farm tracks, not roads, they never get used by anyone other than Farmer Stijn and probably thousands of cyclists on holiday!
Qatar's not just wide, it's also flat and straight. This was much better than that.
Maybe I'm just a traditionalist and didn't like the course because it didn't have the Muur. I don't think so though. The barriers made the selection through a crash today. That shouldn't happen.
If the crash hadn't happened at a tight turn with a rider being pushed into the barriers, it would have been different.
On the old course, I don't think that would have happened, even on the same roads because attacks would have started further out and the field would have been strung out more (as the last few years have shown). Everyone was bunched today and on narrow roads with tight turns, those at the front (and good on them for being there rather than the middle or back of the peleton) gained an advantage from a crash because the barriers narrow the orads even further.
So I have nothing against tight roads and sharp climbs. As much as I hate riding on the cobbles (I do it every year), I think they make for great racing. This course just didn't promote attacking racing.
Sorry, just a rant
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It was Langeveld who got taken out by a spectator. Scary, scary crash. They were going pretty fast down there.0
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Well Sporza are doing a Boonen Greatest hits and there are an awful lot of crashes on narrow roads featuring.....You ll be claiming the Arenburg (sp?) should be taken out of P-R next...
No interviews in English for me to poorly transcribe for you yet, sorry...We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Looks like a broken collarbone for Cancellara.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cancell ... f-flanders0 -
Racing through narrow roads and tight turns is part of racing in Belgium. As is crashing. If people don't want to chance it then they should get there in first. That's bike racing.
Leukemans brought his crash on himself by moving up on the pavement, doesn't mean he deserved it, but thats the risk you take with a move like that.
I enjoyed the race, but the geography of it confused me... I need a few more years to get used to it."In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
disgruntledgoat wrote:Leukemans brought his crash on himself by moving up on the pavement, doesn't mean he deserved it, but thats the risk you take with a move like that.
Isn't Ekimike right, it was a Greenedge rider? Spectator was still an idiot, even if it was the riders risk, should know better with this type of racing. Wonder if he was injured, took quite knock to his leg.0 -
ddraver wrote:You ll be claiming the Arenburg (sp?) should be taken out of P-R next...
Never. That was proposed by the organisers as a possible situation for this year. That would be even more blasphemous than taking the Muur out of RvV.
Narrow roads, pave, sharp climbs....All good. Same for long flat sections of pave (eg. Arenburg)
Conservative racing leading to crashes....Not so good. Bring back the old course.0 -
greasedscotsman wrote:Isn't Ekimike right, it was a Greenedge rider? Spectator was still an idiot, even if it was the riders risk, should know better with this type of racing. Wonder if he was injured, took quite knock to his leg.
It was Langeveld0 -
peterst6906 wrote:greasedscotsman wrote:Isn't Ekimike right, it was a Greenedge rider? Spectator was still an idiot, even if it was the riders risk, should know better with this type of racing. Wonder if he was injured, took quite knock to his leg.
It was Langeveld
My mistake
Blame it on the 5th Westmalle :oops:
I meant Langeveld."In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
I should point out, I hope he's not injured. Moves like that (and moving up on the wrong side of the road) have always scared me, which is probably why I was never much cop at road racing"In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
I reckon that just about makes Tom Boonen the best cobbled classics rider in history.0
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peterst6906 wrote:Never. That was proposed by the organisers as a possible situation for this year. That would be even more blasphemous than taking the Muur out of RvV.
No it wouldn't, it's far too far from the finish to make a huge difference. There are plenty of other sections around Wallers that could be used instead. It's not a section where you can win the race, only lose it, but that's the same for any part of the course. The sections around the Carrefour de L'Arbre are far more important where there's something like 8km of pave in 13km and it's only 14km from the finish
The race was run in 2005 without Arenberg due to mining subsidence in the area, was that a rubbish race? And it's proposed absence this year didn't have anything to do with money or local politics, is was down to saftey. Still, it's in this year, which is good, happy it's there. Might even go and watch it there this year?0 -
johnfinch wrote:I reckon that just about makes Tom Boonen the best cobbled classics rider in history.
I would say it makes him equal with Johan Museeuw. He also won Flanders and Roubaix 3 times each.0 -
At the end of the day, crashing like that is always going to be a risk when you go off route like that. I thought the route produced a fairly good race. It split, came back together, then split again. It was difficult to predict at times, just look at how many posters thought the selection had already been made.
Yes, from around 13k out, the result was fairly predictable, in reality that's the case with a fair few one day classics.You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
I missed the "Muur" and then the launch pad that is the "Bosberg" - what a boring pan flat last 10kms.
If it were not for the 3 breakaway riders it would have been like a big bunch "Gallop" for the line...it`s totally ruined this race as a spectacle and i'm sure the purists in Belgium dont like it also...Congrats to Tommeke tho and a well done return to form for Pozzato & Ballan.0 -
Has everyone forgotten last year? There was a long flat finish to that too, Canc and Chav got caught and the race was one doomed break from Canc (again), and a slightly older and wiser Gerraint Thomas, away from being a bunch sprint - albeit a small bunch. There's a bit too much selective remembering/"werent like this in maah day" happening here...Thanks to the Italians, this year was actually MORE selective, albeit not much soWe're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
greasedscotsman wrote:johnfinch wrote:I reckon that just about makes Tom Boonen the best cobbled classics rider in history.
I would say it makes him equal with Johan Museeuw. He also won Flanders and Roubaix 3 times each.
Yes, but Boonen has taken G-W 3 times.0 -
johnfinch wrote:greasedscotsman wrote:johnfinch wrote:I reckon that just about makes Tom Boonen the best cobbled classics rider in history.
I would say it makes him equal with Johan Museeuw. He also won Flanders and Roubaix 3 times each.
Yes, but Boonen has taken G-W 3 times.
What's that, some chipper?You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
Jez mon wrote:johnfinch wrote:greasedscotsman wrote:johnfinch wrote:I reckon that just about makes Tom Boonen the best cobbled classics rider in history.
I would say it makes him equal with Johan Museeuw. He also won Flanders and Roubaix 3 times each.
Yes, but Boonen has taken G-W 3 times.
What's that, some chipper?
No.0 -
ddraver wrote:Has everyone forgotten last year? There was a long flat finish to that too, Canc and Chav got caught and the race was one doomed break from Canc (again), and a slightly older and wiser Gerraint Thomas, away from being a bunch sprint - albeit a small bunch. There's a bit too much selective remembering/"werent like this in maah day" happening here...Thanks to the Italians, this year was actually MORE selective, albeit not much so
Exactly, unless you put the finish line on the top of a hill, you always get the chance of a bit of a bunch sprint. But if you do that, then you get the danger of limiting what kind of rider can win the race. Currently, you can win/get in a winning position by climbing very well, or by climbing well and being fast on the flat.
Of course, for many, the muur and the koppenburg where the Ronde, and it's a shame not to see the race to go over them. But to try and write this race off as rubbish is silly.You live and learn. At any rate, you live0 -
Just caught up, watching in episodes.
Don't like the new route much, although it was a pretty good race.
If those 3 had come to the old finish, I reckon Pozzato would have had Boonan. (cue Rick)
To me, he looked the strongest, but he's also conservative.( or cagey, if you prefer.)
He should have countered, after Boonan caught Ballan.
Makes for an interesting re-match, next weekend."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Ok, don't want to argue. Would rather share a beer. Am out now for dinner, so wish I could share this with you all. My current beer:
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Blazing Saddles wrote:(cue Rick)
Talking of Rick, anyone here a load explosion yet as he combusts with excitment? Don't think he was watching live, so might not have happened yet.0 -
Personally the route wasn't that bad. Certainly no better than the old one. Maybe a shade less exciting. But certainly not a failure.
The thing for me is that the Oude Kwaremont is definitely not a 'long Muur' as has been touted all week. And then the Paterburg doesn't seem to be any more selective than the Bosberg, which has also been touted all week. The Kwaremont didn't come across as atmospheric as de Muur. But maybe that's because we expect it of de Muur? It just seemed slightly lacking somehow. No character. Also the selection after the Kwaremont didn't seem that clear cut. It was touch and go. Possibly it's because of the long drag up on the main road afterwards prevents the attackers capitalising.
The run to the finish after the Paterburg isn't that much different from the old route really. Maybe a shade less exciting, a little less false flat.0
