E3 2014 **Spoiler**

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  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    In case anyone needed a reminder why this sport is quite brilliant..

    And why the classics are superior to pretty much anything..
  • adr82
    adr82 Posts: 4,002
    Cheers for the updates everyone, missed watching it live completely but that was a pretty good description of what went on!
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,648
    adr82 wrote:
    Cheers for the updates everyone, missed watching it live completely but that was a pretty good description of what went on!

    second that
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    adr82 wrote:
    Cheers for the updates everyone, missed watching it live completely but that was a pretty good description of what went on!

    No it wasn't, Cancellara won!
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Chavanel came short again. Really hope he finds something to be happy about in April. I wonder where Valverde came!
    Contador is the Greatest
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    I was watching with a 30 min delay due to KiddiePickup(tm)
    Really enjoyed that! :D
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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,715
    NapoleonD wrote:
    I was watching with a 30 min delay due to KiddiePickup(tm)
    Really enjoyed that! :D

    That sounds really dodgy - especially for a man in your position!! :shock:
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Nearly 90 DNF. Chavanel and Valverde finished in a big group 3mins back.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    That race was flipping great :):)
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    Good ride from Thomas, he forced the selection. the group of 4 happy to have him on the back when they skipped off on to the pavement! Vandenbergh what a monster!

    Really enjoyed that race most abusive sticky bottle secenarion for Sagan I've ever seen but he was such class at the end. Sky having a good one day season but poor stage one at the moment. Who'd have predicted that in January?


    innit
  • johnny25
    johnny25 Posts: 344
    Top quality race. Sagan's looking back on form.

    Hope the rest of the Spring Classics match up to this one.
  • nic_77
    nic_77 Posts: 929
    edited March 2014
    Great race. Watched in the garage on my phone before going out myself - rode like Cancellara for all of about 2 minutes!
    Geraint probably had two choices (at the end), second or fourth. Think he chose as well as he could.
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  • mulletmaster
    mulletmaster Posts: 502
    Thomas had Sagan blowing out of his arse for a bit, he even had him dropped for a while, very promising stuff for him.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    Wow, that was awesome. Cancellara was a monster today, It's a shame he didn't catch up but I can't blame the others for letting him do the work. When he first chased on he went past those guys like they were on shopping bikes. It shows his immense skills and reactions, the way he carved through the middle of the groups like they weren't there.

    Gutted for Thomas but unless they ditched Sagan he was always going to win. Surely with the form he is showing and the fact that he is the hard bastard of British cycling there must be a future classics win in him. Very promising.

    Watching the coverage of this and then Catalunya was the difference between the Royal Opera house and the Am-Dram production at the local village hall.
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  • Crankbrother
    Crankbrother Posts: 1,695
    Flanders will have a lot to live up to next week ... Even on the recording I managed to watch the full final 86km from Eurosport without ffwd'ing (other than ad breaks) ...
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Pross wrote:
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    Sky having a good one day season but poor stage one at the moment. Who'd have predicted that in January?

    I was thinking that myself. Looking a strong Classics team at the moment.

    It seems like it, but if you take a long hard look at it, its not substantially better than last year. Stannards win at Omloop, obviously is a key difference, but G did a good ride in E3 last year, Stannard was good in MSR.

    They do seem to be riding smarter though. But then, so is Sagan.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    They have probably been getting a lot of cobble practice in for the tour which must have helped. I'm not sure if Froome has ridden any classics before but he looks like he would get battered. The cobbled stages will probably play a big part in the tour. It's obvious they put them in to mess with sky who aren't known for that sort of riding, are the TTs shorter too or am I imagining that?
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  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,264
    Paul 8v wrote:
    They have probably been getting a lot of cobble practice in for the tour which must have helped. I'm not sure if Froome has ridden any classics before but he looks like he would get battered. The cobbled stages will probably play a big part in the tour. It's obvious they put them in to mess with sky who aren't known for that sort of riding, are the TTs shorter too or am I imagining that?
    Froome's one of the few GC guys to have ridden Paris-Roubaix (he didn't finish)

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  • Dark prince
    Dark prince Posts: 19
    Had a few quid on Luca Paulini and boonen..must have been bonkers :shock: going flanders next wk is Thomas worth a flutter?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,264
    Dark prince wrote:
    Had a few quid on Luca Paulini and boonen..must have been bonkers :shock: going flanders next wk is Thomas worth a flutter?
    Only for a podium place. On today's showing I can't see past another Cancellara Flanders/Roubaix double.
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  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    RichN95 wrote:
    Dark prince wrote:
    Had a few quid on Luca Paulini and boonen..must have been bonkers :shock: going flanders next wk is Thomas worth a flutter?
    Only for a podium place. On today's showing I can't see past another Cancellara Flanders/Roubaix double.

    Ppppfttt, that Swiss panto horse is winning nothing this year. Nothing I tell you. ( <- wishful thinking)

    I'd agree on Thomas though.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    RichN95 wrote:
    Dark prince wrote:
    Had a few quid on Luca Paulini and boonen..must have been bonkers :shock: going flanders next wk is Thomas worth a flutter?
    Only for a podium place. On today's showing I can't see past another Cancellara Flanders/Roubaix double.

    I dunno. I reckon even Fabian needs a hill to get rid of Sagan at the PR. Agree on Flanders though.

    The difference even at the too level of pro cycling is night and day in races like this. There were guys going out the back while the top boys were chatting at the front. Crazy. And as said the way he move back up through the packs is how an elite racer would move up a club run in the UK.
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  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    iainf72 wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    Dark prince wrote:
    Had a few quid on Luca Paulini and boonen..must have been bonkers :shock: going flanders next wk is Thomas worth a flutter?
    Only for a podium place. On today's showing I can't see past another Cancellara Flanders/Roubaix double.

    Ppppfttt, that Swiss panto horse is winning nothing this year. Nothing I tell you. ( <- wishful thinking)

    I'd agree on Thomas though.[/quot    e]


    In the words of the film "that's mighty big words for a one eyed fat man" Thomas. Sagan and OPQS superb today but Cancellara remains what is universally known as the " Big Bang"!
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  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,191
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    Sagan and OPQS superb today but Cancellara remains what is universally known as the " Big Bang"!

    Well not quite superlative - 2 up could have done better.

    Great race, from what I saw of the last hour while pretending to work.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Paul 8v wrote:
    They have probably been getting a lot of cobble practice in for the tour which must have helped. I'm not sure if Froome has ridden any classics before but he looks like he would get battered. The cobbled stages will probably play a big part in the tour. It's obvious they put them in to mess with sky who aren't known for that sort of riding, are the TTs shorter too or am I imagining that?


    Nope. They're not getting in extra cobbles practice cos of the Tour. Their Classics squad is their Classics squad, they recce the races, train and race for the Classics, immaterial of the 15km (?) stretch of pave looming in the Tour.

    There's only 1 TT this year but it's a long flat on of 54km than (assuming Froome is firing) will help him put time into his rivals.

    As Rich says, Froome's ridden P-R for Barloworld. Also G-W.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Dont forget that Geraint dropped Sagan and Terpstra was clinging to his wheel with all he could on the climb just after the crash caused split. Sagan had to make up the distance on the flatter part. Each subsequent hill Geraint was the strongest.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    I would think he'd have been counter attacked by cancellara had he been there.

    Geraint as much as admire his ride today doesn't seem to have what you need to win a race like today. No sprint, unlikely strong enough to ride 15k solo at high enough pace to hold off bunch. Just cannot see how he can win one of these. Especially given the fields these races attract.
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  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,264
    okgo wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    Dark prince wrote:
    Had a few quid on Luca Paulini and boonen..must have been bonkers :shock: going flanders next wk is Thomas worth a flutter?
    Only for a podium place. On today's showing I can't see past another Cancellara Flanders/Roubaix double.

    I dunno. I reckon even Fabian needs a hill to get rid of Sagan at the PR. Agree on Flanders though.
    .
    Pete's a Roubaix virgin though to remains to see how he fares. (Probably fine)
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  • BelgianBeerGeek
    BelgianBeerGeek Posts: 5,226
    I dunno, he got himself into the right kind of place, which is smart. And what you'd expect of a future TdF winner :wink: All you need then is a bit of luck, and job done. Give G a break, the boy done well after a recent crash which might have dented his confidence a bit. If this keeps up I think he might have a very good season.
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,665
    I've just watched the highlights, G did alot of work on the flat. He basically chased every attack from the OPQS boys. Good race, if it had been bumpier towards the end maybe G would have had some chance.

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