Ronde Van Vlaanderen discussion

TheStone

disgruntledgoat wrote:

TheStone wrote:

Can anyone recommend a nice town (big screen and beer) along the route to watch?

Oudenaarde: The races passes through 3 times and finishes there. Decent size town (small city) with all the amenities (screen& beer) you could want.

Great. I've stayed there before, but thought it might be a bit busy for the race.

andyp

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Don't repeat my mistake of drinking 11 beers the day before. First 3 hours of riding off a hangover in the worlds biggest peloton through Belgian street furniture was unpleasant.

It's a rite of passage. You haven't truly done Flanders until you've done it with a raging hangover and had to stop to have a dump in a Portaloo at the top of the Paterberg.

Or so I'm told.

tailwindhome

Yellow Peril

^was that just as the elastic snapped?

dish_dash

Great set of photos at cycling tips: http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/04/tour- ... n-history/

frenchfighter

Nuyens out. Not that it makes me sad at all.

"I have been suffering from the flu for the past few days I am still not 100 percent on the bike. I did some tests on the parcours and I don't have all of my power back yet, so I believe the best decision for me and the team is to give my spot to Steele [Von Hoff],” Nuyens said in a team press release.

frenchfighter

BrakeThroughMedia

Richmond Racer

frenchfighter wrote:

Nuyens out. Not that it makes me sad at all.

"I have been suffering from the flu for the past few days I am still not 100 percent on the bike. I did some tests on the parcours and I don't have all of my power back yet, so I believe the best decision for me and the team is to give my spot to Steele [Von Hoff],” Nuyens said in a team press release.

Vaughters did a bad piece of business when he signed Nuyens for 2013-14. He was crook for RVV and P-R last year too.

frenchfighter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsLHeLGLLRU

inCycle look back fondly on the history of the Tour of Flanders

Pross

Yellow Peril wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

am riding the route ( with sinusitis) on Sat so will report anything of note.

He must be Flemish with a name like that...

That didn't get the credit it deserved. Chapeau. I was wondering if it was new Lithuanian pro.

andyp

Poor Nuyens. He's had rotten luck pretty much ever since he won the Ronde.

I'm not sure who is unluckier, him or Breschel though. I guess Nuyens has the consolation of having won a monument.

milton50

"Milan-Sanremo is tense, Paris-Roubaix is crazier, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a greater athletic test and Il Lombardia is heart-achingly beautiful but the Ronde van Vlaanderen tops the lot with a course that’s tough, selective just the right side of madness. Best of all no other race is celebrated to the same extent by the locals, whether the build-up by the media in Belgium now or the huge crowds who’ll stand by the road. This doesn’t mean we ignore other races, we should celebrate them all but this is just the greatest one day race of the year."

~ inrng

I have to agree with him.

frenchfighter

andyp wrote:

Poor Nuyens. He's had rotten luck pretty much ever since he won the Ronde.

I'm not sure who is unluckier, him or Breschel though. I guess Nuyens has the consolation of having won a monument.

I'd say that was a fluke. He should thank his lucky stars he got a result he didnt deserve.

You know how they say, win a monument and it makes you Belgium royalty...I really do not think this can realistically be the case.

RichN95.

frenchfighter wrote:

andyp wrote:

Poor Nuyens. He's had rotten luck pretty much ever since he won the Ronde.

I'm not sure who is unluckier, him or Breschel though. I guess Nuyens has the consolation of having won a monument.

I'd say that was a fluke. He should thank his lucky stars he got a result he didnt deserve.

You know how they say, win a monument and it makes you Belgium royalty...I really do not think this can realistically be the case.

It wasn't a fluke. He rode a smart race. He wasn't some nobody. He'd been on the podium before, won Het Niewsblad, Paris-Brussels and KBK. He had won Dwars a week and half earlier.

andyp

Jackie Durand fluked a monument win, Nuyens did not. He was there, with all the other pre-race favourites, and had the legs and the intelligence to win.

Pross

Milton50 wrote:

"Milan-Sanremo is tense, Paris-Roubaix is crazier, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a greater athletic test and Il Lombardia is heart-achingly beautiful but the Ronde van Vlaanderen tops the lot with a course that’s tough, selective just the right side of madness. Best of all no other race is celebrated to the same extent by the locals, whether the build-up by the media in Belgium now or the huge crowds who’ll stand by the road. This doesn’t mean we ignore other races, we should celebrate them all but this is just the greatest one day race of the year."

~ inrng

I have to agree with him.

Nah, Roubaix is the greater race

(I'm now expecting a ban from Chasey!)

thomthom

I'm on the Roubaix bandwagon as well any day.

DeVlaeminck

Pross wrote:

Milton50 wrote:

"Milan-Sanremo is tense, Paris-Roubaix is crazier, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a greater athletic test and Il Lombardia is heart-achingly beautiful but the Ronde van Vlaanderen tops the lot with a course that’s tough, selective just the right side of madness. Best of all no other race is celebrated to the same extent by the locals, whether the build-up by the media in Belgium now or the huge crowds who’ll stand by the road. This doesn’t mean we ignore other races, we should celebrate them all but this is just the greatest one day race of the year."

~ inrng

I have to agree with him.

Nah, Roubaix is the greater race

(I'm now expecting a ban from Chasey!)

Roubaix all the way, produces a better race more often.

The_Boy

Roubaix for me too, though Flanders is pretty awesome.

frenchfighter

Re Nuyens Flanders win.
It was a great race apart from who won.

Chavanel had been out front for a while. Boonen attacked 42kms out, Cancellara and Pozzato covered then Cancellara simply rode them off his wheel (beautiful), Cancellara caught Chavanel with 32km to go, the gap expanded despite the whole of BMC + others trying to pull him back, Chavanel did basically no work and Cancellara effectively sat up so the gap started to drop, Cancellara let them catch him wih 15km to go, but this was just at the Muur and no one came round Cancellara, at the top he had single handedly dragged clear Leukemans, Gilbert, Ballan, and Chavanel with a handful of others including Nuyens just behind, that group took 3km to catch the guys in front, at no point do tou see Nuyens working and in fact they came back largely because the group in front slowed and Geraint monstered the catch, went straight to the front then pulled for Flecha, Gilbert then took it up in the front group at the base of the Bosberg and made a monster effort, Cancellara visibly not trying to cover and slipped a way back, Gilbert has a good gap with Ballan solo not too far behind, meanwhile Cancellara powers back up to Leukemans and Chavanel, those guys (bar the one I dont know) more or less work evenly but still dont pull Gilbert back until 8km to go, the group behind catch the front group shortly after (no idea who was doing the pulling as the camera man failed to have his camera there but Nuyens was not on the front), the junction is made by Flecha who goes straight to the front, then Ballan takes it up, with Gilbert covering as hard as he could, Nuyens then moves out with 6km to go (first time we have seen this lurker), he works for about 20secs before sitting up and having the others come through, Geraint is now forcing the pace (no doubt to deter attacks for Flecha), Nuyens is at the very back, a few riders take it up, langeveld gets a small gap at 4km to go and Ballan covers, Cancellara then goes (this is how you go), Chavanel 2nd on the wheel and Nuyens next, the others are now blown away, Chavanel does a token turn, Nuyens on the front for 15secs at 2km to go, (Canc and Chav shake hands - 1.18 in the link - beautiful), Canc on the front again then Nuyens for 10secs, into the last km its Cancellara the whole time, Nuyens takes up the sprint at 150m to go and wins.

There is ZERO class in Nuyen's efforts and ZERO effort from Nuyen's to make any part of the race and the win. He rode greater and more exciting rider's coattails and won. That is all. Which is why he is not held up anywhere as a great (apart from the people on this forum who love wheelsuckers).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tpa6N0TaZA

andyp

Roubaix is just a chance for redemption for those who failed to win Flanders.

Richmond Racer

ThomThom wrote:

I'm on the Roubaix bandwagon as well any day.

Lars Bak!

(just felt we havent mentioned him enough lately)

frenchfighter

Roubaix is survival of the fittest and almost always a worthy winner. Fabu would have won in 2011 if several wheelsuckers murdered the race and raced to make Cancellara lose.

frenchfighter

Richmond Racer wrote:

ThomThom wrote:

I'm on the Roubaix bandwagon as well any day.

Lars Bak!

(just felt we havent mentioned him enough lately)

His best result this year is 130th in GW. He has a lot of catching up to do. But then he rides for Lotto so hardly surprising he is shit in the Belgium classics.

ocdupalais

frenchfighter wrote:

Roubaix is survival of the fittest and almost always a worthy winner. Fabu would have won in 2011 if several wheelsuckers murdered the race and raced to make Cancellara lose.

... Or survival of the luckiest of the fittest.

It's about now in discussions like this that I think of the scene in Woody Allen's 'Radio Days' when his mum and dad argue about which is the best ocean: the Atlantic or the Pacific...

thomthom

frenchfighter wrote:

Re Nuyens Flanders win.
It was a great race apart from who won.

Chavanel had been out front for a while. Boonen attacked 42kms out, Cancellara and Pozzato covered then Cancellara simply rode them off his wheel (beautiful), Cancellara caught Chavanel with 32km to go, the gap expanded despite the whole of BMC + others trying to pull him back, Chavanel did basically no work and Cancellara effectively sat up so the gap started to drop, Cancellara let them catch him wih 15km to go, but this was just at the Muur and no one came round Cancellara, at the top he had single handedly dragged clear Leukemans, Gilbert, Ballan, and Chavanel with a handful of others including Nuyens just behind, that group took 3km to catch the guys in front, at no point do tou see Nuyens working and in fact they came back largely because the group in front slowed and Geraint monstered the catch, went straight to the front then pulled for Flecha, Gilbert then took it up in the front group at the base of the Bosberg and made a monster effort, Cancellara visibly not trying to cover and slipped a way back, Gilbert has a good gap with Ballan solo not too far behind, meanwhile Cancellara powers back up to Leukemans and Chavanel, those guys (bar the one I dont know) more or less work evenly but still dont pull Gilbert back until 8km to go, the group behind catch the front group shortly after (no idea who was doing the pulling as the camera man failed to have his camera there but Nuyens was not on the front), the junction is made by Flecha who goes straight to the front, then Ballan takes it up, with Gilbert covering as hard as he could, Nuyens then moves out with 6km to go (first time we have seen this lurker), he works for about 20secs before sitting up and having the others come through, Geraint is now forcing the pace (no doubt to deter attacks for Flecha), Nuyens is at the very back, a few riders take it up, langeveld gets a small gap at 4km to go and Ballan covers, Cancellara then goes (this is how you go), Chavanel 2nd on the wheel and Nuyens next, the others are now blown away, Chavanel does a token turn, Nuyens on the front for 15secs at 2km to go, (Canc and Chav shake hands - 1.18 in the link - beautiful), Canc on the front again then Nuyens for 10secs, into the last km its Cancellara the whole time, Nuyens takes up the sprint at 150m to go and wins.

There is ZERO class in Nuyen's efforts and ZERO effort from Nuyen's to make any part of the race and the win. He rode greater and more exciting rider's coattails and won. That is all. Which is why he is not held up anywhere as a great (apart from the people on this forum who love wheelsuckers).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tpa6N0TaZA

I didn't read but I could tell how stupid this post was just by the looks of it... and a few words like 'wheelsucker', 'no class', 'ZERO' and such...

frenchfighter

ThomThom wrote:

I didn't read but I could tell how stupid this post was just by the looks of it.

I guess you struggle with more than a few sentences.

Your favourite rider is Bak - this speaks volumes.

I thought I had you on block in anycase like your countryman after that episode so I shall now update my settings.

I hope that last sentence didnt have too many words in it.

thomthom

frenchfighter wrote:

ThomThom wrote:

I didn't read but I could tell how stupid this post was just by the looks of it.

I guess you struggle with more than a few sentences.

Your favourite rider is Bak - this speaks volumes.

I thought I had you on block in anycase like your countryman after that episode so I shall now update my settings.

I hope that last sentence didnt have too many words in it.

Richmond Racer

Lars Bak!

Crozza

So, lots of people fancying Fabs in PTP. When do we think he is going to make his move?