Paris-Roubaix 2014 "spoiler"

thegreatdivide

Above The Cows wrote:

Well done Sir Bradley.

This.

Average race my ar$e. Might be time to stop following cycling ffs.

DeadCalm

Rick Chasey wrote:

DeadCalm wrote:

That's the winning move from Terpstra

Too many teammates in the group.

Ahem.

above_the_cows

Well I thought it was awesome. Way more fun than a 50k coronation.

thegibdog

I smell a ban brewing.

cal_stewart

By the top ten, think it just goes to show how hard this years race was. Just know one was head and shoulders above anyone else

above_the_cows

thegibdog wrote:

I smell a ban brewing.

Ooo yes I can make a cup of tea now.

pitchshifter

BMC got schooled then..

Paul 8v

Liking the post race analysis, it's almost like cycling has caught up with other sports! To be fair they waffle on for about two hours on French TV. It's great :-)

The_Boy

adr82 wrote:

Degenkolb celebrating 2nd, that seems a bit silly.

Why? It's a pretty big deal, tbf.

frenchfighter

Seems that riders are scared these days. Very few riders who actually make the race. Just a few riders with a desire and the rest masters of following wheels and soft-pedalling. Totally riding for 7tha and 8th place some of these guys. Better to try and cover T and come 20th then roll in 5th. Seriously.

I will ride my Terpstra's National Champs kit with pride. Heavyweight. Very deserving given all his work in these racers. Proper racer.

Cancellara off day - not acceptable. Unless he was suffering from that crash.

thomthom

Great race. Flanders was better.

above_the_cows

pitchshifter wrote:

BMC got schooled then..

Somehow this please me. I cannot warm to BMC.

With 5k to go a select group of some of the best classics men and a TDF winner could have won. What is not to love?

frenchfighter

Has any lotto rider finished yet?

gpreeves

thegreatdivide wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

Well done Sir Bradley.

This.

Average race my ar$e. Might be time to stop following cycling ffs.

Agreed. Can't complain about any race that produces such a strong finish group with 5km to go.

Silly Old Hector

My first ever watch - brilliant. Pretty exciting over the last 60k.

cal_stewart

Hope brad comes back next year.

Paul 8v

Nice bit of product placement Greg ;-)

frenchfighter

Imagine if Sep, Sagan and Can were with Boonen and G. What an amazing race that would be.

kamil1891

Exceptional effort from Boonen, Sagan, Hushovd, Wiggins and probably a few more... Cancellara a bit disappointing.

Emotional win for Terpstra, well deserved. OPQS tactics played the major role once again.

iainf72

gpreeves wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

Well done Sir Bradley.

This.

Average race my ar$e. Might be time to stop following cycling ffs.

Agreed. Can't complain about any race that produces such a strong finish group with 5km to go.

The strongest guys being there at the end doesn't neccessarily make it an exciting race.

Would you rate this in the top 5 Paris-Roubaix's you've seen?

adr82

The_Boy wrote:

adr82 wrote:

Degenkolb celebrating 2nd, that seems a bit silly.

Why? It's a pretty big deal, tbf.

Well sure it's a good achievement, but you don't really see many people celebrating that visibly when they cross the line 20s behind the winner. I'd have thought he'd have been disappointed that Terpstra escaped, otherwise he'd have had an excellent chance of winning the thing outright, but apparently he was happy to settle for 2nd...

frenchfighter

forget everything else and just be willing to end up in hospital at the end of the night
-Wiggins

Exactly. Need to leave 150% on the road.

emadden

Great win for Terpstra... but it was a very mediocre race. Having 50 riders still there at Carrefour de L'Arbre tells it all.

So Wiggin's finishes in the top 10 (?) in a targeted race.... Hmmm.

Kirby needs to be shot.

Paul 8v

iainf72 wrote:

gpreeves wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

Well done Sir Bradley.

This.

Average race my ar$e. Might be time to stop following cycling ffs.

Agreed. Can't complain about any race that produces such a strong finish group with 5km to go.

The strongest guys being there at the end doesn't neccessarily make it an exciting race.

Would you rate this in the top 5 Paris-Roubaix's you've seen?

I thought it was a pretty good race to be fair, I've not seen many as I only got Eurosport more recently but it was a race where you couldn't tell who was going to win with some good riders at the sharp end.

Glad Degenkolb has got rid of that silly lip slug now...

Turfle

I thought it was a brilliant race.

mfin

Brilliant watch I thought today, had a 22-1 each way on Degenkolb too

alihisgreat

frenchfighter wrote:

Seems that riders are scared these days. Very few riders who actually make the race. Just a few riders with a desire and the rest masters of following wheels and soft-pedalling. Totally riding for 7tha and 8th place some of these guys. Better to try and cover T and come 20th then roll in 5th. Seriously.

I will ride my Terpstra's National Champs kit with pride. Heavyweight. Very deserving given all his work in these racers. Proper racer.

Cancellara off day - not acceptable. Unless he was suffering from that crash.

What if they don't have the legs to cover? That lead group looked pretty shot.. No point giving up a top 10 when you know you don't have the legs to chase.

That was an excellent race though, and I agree that Terpstra is a proper Heavyweight. Superb riding.

Excellent stuff from Wiggins and Thomas too. Great to see them right up there.

dolan_driver

Boonen made the best attempt of the big favourites to actually win the race. The group was so big probably because Cancellara didn't put in one of his usual afterburner attacks on the pave. If he tore it up, there would have been no group, just ones and twos.

Wiggins drew a lot of adverse comment when he said he was riding Paris-Roubaix and even more so when he spoke of being in the mix during the finale. He delivered big-time and shut quite a few people up. I think that ensures he is bestowed with the honorary Bikeradar title of "Heavyweight".

DD.

The_Boy

Above The Cows wrote:

pitchshifter wrote:

BMC got schooled then..

Somehow this please me. I cannot warm to BMC.

With 5k to go a select group of some of the best classics men and a TDF winner could have won. What is not to love?

What happened up to that point though*, when compared to some of the better editions of the race left a bit to be desired.

An entertaining race to the end, some of the strongest riders filling the top positions. But a quick glance of the time gaps imo shows that the attritional aspects of the race lost out somewhat in what was a very tactical affair. This doesn't make it a *bad* race, but it is worth bearing in mind.

For what it's worth, I'd rate Flanders above P-R this year and it's highly unusual for me to feel like that. There's still nothing I'd have rather been doing today obviously

*By "that point" I'm really meaning a point about 20km previous.

alan_a

iainf72 wrote:

gpreeves wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

Well done Sir Bradley.

This.

Average race my ar$e. Might be time to stop following cycling ffs.

Agreed. Can't complain about any race that produces such a strong finish group with 5km to go.

The strongest guys being there at the end doesn't neccessarily make it an exciting race.

Would you rate this in the top 5 Paris-Roubaix's you've seen?

Yes. The make up of the front group changed lots and lots in the final 70km. Each group that formed was filled with high calibre riders who you knew had the skill, determination, palmares and panache to win.

Fantastic edition.