The classics thread

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  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    What do you base the sprint comment on? He beat Boonen in Flanders last year he was too smoked to sprint plus was just happy to be on the podium! In Paris Roubaix 2014 he beat everyone in his group bar sprinter Degenkolb and fast legs Cancellara and PR 13 fast legs Cancellara beat him. GW 2014 he got beat by three proper sprinters. KBK 2014 he led out sprinter team mate Hofland. Het Volk 2014 he was beaten by a sprinter.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • losmanos
    losmanos Posts: 5
    I doubt Cancellara is done yet, if Duclos-Lasalle can win Roubaix at 39...
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    frenchfighter wrote:
    What do you base the sprint comment on? He beat Boonen in Flanders last year he was too smoked to sprint plus was just happy to be on the podium! In Paris Roubaix 2014 he beat everyone in his group bar sprinter Degenkolb and fast legs Cancellara and PR 13 fast legs Cancellara beat him. GW 2014 he got beat by three proper sprinters. KBK 2014 he led out sprinter team mate Hofland. Het Volk 2014 he was beaten by a sprinter.

    So basically sprinters beat him, so you back up his point of not having a great sprint?
  • EKIMIKE
    EKIMIKE Posts: 2,232
    I think the Vanmarcke sprint comment is fair. If he had a Boonen-esque sprint he would already have a RVV and P-R on his palmares. That said, he's more a Cancellara rider than a Boonen rider...

    Cancellara won his first Roubaix (2006) at age 25 and 5 of his 6 Flanders/Roubaix victories have come after his 29th birthday. If Vanmarcke has even half of Cancellara's Flanders/Roubaix palmares by the time he hangs his bike up then he will certainly be considered one of the best of his generation.
    Canyon Endurace CF 2014 | Canyon Ultimate CF 2010
  • Macaloon
    Macaloon Posts: 5,545
    Sep became immortal that day when Stannard won the the greatest race of all time.
    ...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.
  • Crampeur
    Crampeur Posts: 1,065
    http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/StradeB ... ti2015.pdf

    Full startlist for Sunday. Marco Fontana is riding!
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    Its on saturday
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/1.2258124

    Roelandts has been ill. Couldn't leave the house for 5 days and was on antibiotics.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/1.2257070

    Apparently Demol and Cancellara were on the phone to one another whilst watching Omloop het Nieuwsblad, giving their own commentary to one another.
    _
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,810
    Does anyone think Sep might be racing a bit toomuch?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    Does anyone think Sep might be racing a bit toomuch?


    Do you mean number of days or the way he races?
    _
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,810
    Both, really. He was out in front in OHN and KBK at the weekend, he's racing Strade Bianche this weekend. He'll do Dwars E3 and GW (although most will do all three) but I wouldn#t be surprised to see him at de Panne as well
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    Both, really. He was out in front in OHN and KBK at the weekend, he's racing Strade Bianche this weekend. He'll do Dwars E3 and GW (although most will do all three) but I wouldn#t be surprised to see him at de Panne as well
    The team don't have a particularly solid sponsorship arrangement, so they may want one of their prime assets out there as much as possible during his prime months.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    Both, really. He was out in front in OHN and KBK at the weekend, he's racing Strade Bianche this weekend. He'll do Dwars E3 and GW (although most will do all three) but I wouldn#t be surprised to see him at de Panne as well

    And Tireno.

    I guess it might be a lot. He's already in good form in early March. Never thought of it to be honest.

    Could be.
    _
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    Is he going to be chasing wins in races that don't suit him? I'd say no, he'll pull for a teammate... Probably...
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,314
    He's clearly super strong at the moment: perhaps his policy is "make wa-hey while I'm upright and injury free"?
    The Elephant Gun Approach to cycling success: ride everything - something's bound to work out...
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,314
    ... It's the absolute inverse to Wiggins' approach... Laying it all on the line for one notoriously risk riddled day.
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,160
    Nice article on Stannard in Rouler:
    http://rouleur.cc/journal/riders/ian-stannard-0

    (Thanks to Ned Boulting retweet)
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,643
    Mad_Malx wrote:
    Nice article on Stannard in Rouler:
    http://rouleur.cc/journal/riders/ian-stannard-0

    (Thanks to Ned Boulting retweet)

    Good read. Interesting quote given someone else has the same target this year:
    “I just need to make sure I’m the first Brit to win Roubaix."
  • Macaloon
    Macaloon Posts: 5,545
    dish_dash wrote:
    Mad_Malx wrote:
    Nice article on Stannard in Rouler:
    http://rouleur.cc/journal/riders/ian-stannard-0

    (Thanks to Ned Boulting retweet)

    Good read. Interesting quote given someone else has the same target this year:
    “I just need to make sure I’m the first Brit to win Roubaix."

    It's a delightfully mischievous re-up of a piece from 2013.
    ...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Rumour going around that Sep Vanmarcke has put on 3 kilos of (mainly leg) muscle over the winter.

    Pretty good effort to get up all those hills in Tuscany.
    _
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Rumour going around that Sep Vanmarcke has put on 3 kilos of (mainly leg) muscle over the winter.

    Wouldn't be surprised. He's looking very powerful.
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Boonen out of the classics with the same shoulder injury Cav copped in Yorkshire.

    Or so says Flemish TV news.

    Edit: from Her Nieuwsblad

    http://www.nieuwsblad.be/sportwereld/cnt/dmf20150309_01570074/
    "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'"

    @gietvangent
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    Yes, Boonen 3 to 6 weeks out.

    Rick, are you OK?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    As the (very catholic) Belgians would say, you can 'put a cross over his classics season'.

    Sep vs Cancellara should be interesting.

    Something tells me Sagan won't feature all that much.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    FJS wrote:
    Yes, Boonen 3 to 6 weeks out.

    Rick, are you OK?

    Gutted mate.

    Cycling is a cruel cruel sport for fans.
    _
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    As the (very catholic) Belgians would say, you can 'put a cross over his classics season'.

    Sep vs Cancellara should be interesting.

    Something tells me Sagan won't feature all that much.

    Its all coming up 3s Devenyns
    "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'"

    @gietvangent
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    Let's be honest, he wouldn't have been at the sharp end of Flanders or Roubaix. Still it's a shame that another year goes by without him featuring in the two biggest monuments. The years are slipping away from him quite quickly now....
  • blim
    blim Posts: 333
    AAArgh! Tommeke, Tommeke.

    3 weeks rest? with newborn twins? good luck to him...
    kop van de wedstrijd
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    Milton50 wrote:
    Let's be honest, he wouldn't have been at the sharp end of Flanders or Roubaix. Still it's a shame that another year goes by without him featuring in the two biggest monuments. The years are slipping away from him quite quickly now....


    Exactly, as someone else said, it saves an awkward convo when the team should probably ride for other people anyway...

    Sep looked Ox Strong the other day, Sagan looks overweight to me, really bulky looking on the bike, he did go out the back when it went up hill, but who knows, I know he is a stocky rider but he looked like a boxer the other day!
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com

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