Paris Roubaix ***Spoilers***

FJS

Joelsim wrote:

Clearly with Kristoff and Degenkolb in town, EQS, BMC, TCS as well as Lotto Soudal and Jumbo, and Sky have some serious thinking to do if they don't want the said sprinters to walk away with things over the next couple of years. Rather like the Sky train of a couple of years ago, a strategy needs to be employed to drop these guys before the finale.

Kristoff dropped 'them'. He didn't win in a bucn sprint. And Degenkolb rode solo to the front 2. They won because they were stronger than the others, not because they sat in waiting for a sprint

iainf72

Joelsim wrote:

Clearly with Kristoff and Degenkolb in town, EQS, BMC, TCS as well as Lotto Soudal and Jumbo, and Sky have some serious thinking to do if they don't want the said sprinters to walk away with things over the next couple of years. Rather like the Sky train of a couple of years ago, a strategy needs to be employed to drop these guys before the finale.

I'd suggest Kristoff and JD are classics men in the Boonen style. Guys who can climb a bit, get over the cobbles and have a sprint on them. It's exactly what I'd expect from a classics guy. Sagan is expected to do well because he's the same type of rider.

QuickStep know without Boonen it's hard for them to win these races, hence trying to hire JD.

frenchfighter

Well, watched it all at my dad's house with French commentary (excellent as always). Disappointed with the winner but then you have to credit him in a mature and clever race. No one wins Roubaix if they don't deserve it. Sean Kelly is his idol so that makes him go up a few notches. Congratulations on the MSR-PR double as well - impressive.

Same tactic for both those wins really: team support him really well and stay in the top section of the race then pop up when it matters. Basically: shadow, conserve, sprint. Not memory making. Shame his black kit and ugly facial hair has spoilt the photos, not to mention the glimpse of stomach when the hands are raised.

I did enjoy the race overall but will forget it by next week. Absolutely nothing memorable - this new generation of classics riders are really a bunch of defensive medium weights. I mean when you watch Boonen and Cancellara mostering the field like real legends, real classics specialists, real memory making machines you feel tingles in your spine and remember those races for years and years.

But today you had no substantial attacks, just attrition. How many attacks went then stopped after a couple of minutes - too much fear of losing to be honest. Like Wiggins move - what a strong one that was and at a reasonable distance but the guys with him sat up...wtf, poor lad. I mean it had that loser Debu in it sucking wheels but there were two QS riders in there, one of whom who had turned himself inside out to

Sagan - disappointing once agian. I found myself rooting for him throughout the classics season but am glad he wasnt one of my men,

Stannard - strong and well positioned for most of the race. Until it mattered.

GVA, thank goodness we have him don't we. Always, always, always guaranteed to give the fans something to cheer about. Really wish him a big win.

Sep, I want to say disappointing again but he was for the hundreth time the victim of bad luck with a puncture just after he more or less kicked off the business end. Although I dislike that team they did an excellent job today. If he hadn't had that puncture then maybe he could have gone the distance with a few riders, including Wiggins.

Wiggins, nice move there and looked super smooth, then was well placed and obviously well prepared but not sure why he waited so long for his last futile foray. Especially as he said he had the legs to win.
Choice quotes from him:
"When I attacked I was right up behind the motorbikes and it was like being 16 again, training in London near my house. That was nice, and I’ll be able to look back in years to come and say I was leading the race at one point (laughs)."
“I think the right winner won in John, but it was just a bit soft the way it went in the final, it didn’t go on force like some of the classic editions of Roubaix,” he said. “It would have been nice to have a proper one, à la Ballerini twenty years ago.”

Rowe. Incredible rider. That's some serious talent to be harnessed for the future. 8th and he was drilling for his teammates on the front all day. Looked pretty fresh at the end too. Proper top rider and top teammate.

Geraint, big shame he crashed given he said he had great legs but then it was a stupid crash and all his fault.

Benoot, finished 16mins down.

A massive 133 finishers.

Respect to those that finished in the top 20 or so places. Respect to the break too - that was an impressive run, although probably also an indication of what an easy race it was. Note that Saramotins was 13th after being in the break.

Hope the riders taken away in ambulances are ok.

Check out this clip - watch for where the bidon ends up!
https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos_h264hi ... 9OH_Tym6Ie

I agree the riders going over the crossing was ridiculous. I mean the bars coming down I can understand some riders getting caught out - not something that you are really looking out for, but riders were going well afterwards and literally seconds before the race went over. I think the accepted protocol is that if the crossing comes down while they are crossing then the race is neutralized in any case.

deejay

The_Boy wrote:

On the train thing, was that a proper neutralisation afterwards? And do the rules actually address the eventuality. I have a funny feeling I've watched a race that got interrupted by a train and the racing was stopped with riders being set off in the groups they were in beforehand with the starts being staggered to reflect the time gaps prior.

That from memory was a TDF stage somewhere south of Boulogne.

squired

Disappointing race for me. Now we are onto a bunch of dull races (in my opinion) that are decided in the last couple of KM these days. My biggest fear at the moment is that we are entering a period loaded with defensive riders that are too afraid to take risks and lose, so end up losing anyway. Having said that, it is an increasing problem across so many sports at the moment.

One thing I'm not liking about Eurosport is the increasing length (and timing) of advert breaks. Maybe something to do with their new owners? There were a couple of times where they couldn't have timed the break worse. In something like a Grand Tour you can do a five minute break and know you are unlikely to miss anything because it isn't in the last 10km. However, in a race like Roubaix five minutes can be an eternity.

jam1e

Well I got E/W bets on 2nd and 3rd which was a result! Sadly I only emptied the betting account's remaining £3.57 into the bets instead of betting real money so I'm hardly rich...

frenchfighter

I want to know if Wiggins had a custom vest underneath. That he would have shown as he crossed the line if he won. Now that would be memorable.



Check out the difference in physiques:


Nice sign for a guy who did a nice move with GVA!:

frenchfighter

frenchfighter

@chrisfroome 8h8 hours ago
Unfortunately won't get to watch #ParisRoubaix today, 7-hour spin with @richie_porte @nicholasroche @LeopoldKonig

@chrisfroome · 5h 5 hours ago
Where there's a will there's a way!! @Paris_Roubaix


@tinkoff_saxo · 4h 4 hours ago
Life goes on and a couple of VERY important races are ahead of us @petosagan @olegtinkov

@olegtinkov · 3h 3 hours ago
I'm sure @petosagan will do well this season. I hope we learn from defeat.
I'm also bulish on my @tinkoff_saxo

frenchfighter

anjasola

At Gruson today, great weather great day out, Wiggo looked like he was on the Sunday bun run when he went past.

hammerite

Good analysis Frenchie. Agree about the comments on the Wiggins attack, there was little help from what should have been a strong group. Katusha drilled on the front of the chasing bunch to get back in touch, but then completely disappeared. Had they wiggins group worked a bit harder/longer together then I think they'd have burnt the Katusha chasers out.

Pross

The train incident really was stupid. Hopefully the neutralisation will discourage people taking the risk in future. There was so nearly a crash and if there had been then I doubt everyone would have been up and had their bikes out of the way before the train came. A full length barrier would have been useful though.

RichN95.

Pross wrote:

The train incident really was stupid. Hopefully the neutralisation will discourage people taking the risk in future. There was so nearly a crash and if there had been then I doubt everyone would have been up and had their bikes out of the way before the train came. A full length barrier would have been useful though.

They just need better protocols. An early warning signal to the commissaire's car. Maybe a temporary barrier 50-100 metres before the crossing which lowers ten seconds earlier.
They have to stop riders being able to cross. Because in the heat of the moment they can't be relied on to think straight.

hommelbier

RichN95 wrote:

They just need better protocols. An early warning signal to the commissaire's car. Maybe a temporary barrier 50-100 metres before the crossing which lowers ten seconds earlier.
They have to stop riders being able to cross. Because in the heat of the moment they can't be relied on to think straight.

There are both visual and audible warnings several seconds before the barrier even begins to lower. The motorbike policeman had difficulty in stopping the riders from crossing, especially the BMC rider (not GVA I hope).

Half length barriers allow a trapped vehicle to escape if necessary.

frenchfighter

Really don't like these new glasses Degenkolb, GVA et al were wearing.

Kare.

RichN95.

hommelbier wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

They just need better protocols. An early warning signal to the commissaire's car. Maybe a temporary barrier 50-100 metres before the crossing which lowers ten seconds earlier.
They have to stop riders being able to cross. Because in the heat of the moment they can't be relied on to think straight.

There are both visual and audible warnings several seconds before the barrier even begins to lower. The motorbike policeman had difficulty in stopping the riders from crossing, especially the BMC rider (not GVA I hope).

I know about the warnings, I grew up near a level crossing. I used to use them as a guideline as to whether I could 'make it'.
But this is a race and riders are focusing on the race. They're not thinking about crossings. So, the opportunity to cross needs to be removed. And the best way to do that is to stop them earlier and further up the road. Either by blocking the road with officials cars or with a preliminary barrier. Anyone who makes it through the preliminary barrier will be stopped before they get to the main one.

adr82

Don't know if this already exists, but what would probably help is some extremely clear statement from the race organisers laying out what happens in that situation. If riders know beforehand that the race will be neutralised until things come back together, they shouldn't be so worried about getting caught on the wrong side of the crossing and don't have the same incentive to take risks.

Of course as Rich said, in the heat of the moment that might still be forgotten by some, but the obvious solution that doesn't involve modifying the barriers would be to station a couple of cars just before the crossing, and park them bumper to bumper across the road as soon as they know a train is approaching. For an added deterrent effect they could even put Shimano logos on them. It was obvious today that a couple of commissaires on motorbikes can't effectively block the whole road.

Omar Little

frenchfighter wrote:

Really don't like these new glasses Degenkolb, GVA et al were wearing.

Tried on a pair the other day, they are really comfortable, no frame in the way when looking up or to the side and the new prism lens seems to be pretty effective. So functionally tick all the boxes i want from a pair of glasses. They look horrendous though!

dolan_driver

Just finished watching recorded highlights of the race after work today.

Not the greatest edition of this race but Degenkolb was a worthy winner. Wiggo made a good contribution to the race and delighted he had a top-20 finish. He leaves with his head held high.

DD.

Crampeur

Impressive rides from Keukeleire and Lampaert.

Elmiger has had a really good Flanders and Roubaix too. Never really thought of him as a classics rider, but he was 17th in Roubaix in 2011.

greasedscotsman

Some of my photos from yesterday...

disgruntledgoat

hommelbier wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

They just need better protocols. An early warning signal to the commissaire's car. Maybe a temporary barrier 50-100 metres before the crossing which lowers ten seconds earlier.
They have to stop riders being able to cross. Because in the heat of the moment they can't be relied on to think straight.

There are both visual and audible warnings several seconds before the barrier even begins to lower. The motorbike policeman had difficulty in stopping the riders from crossing, especially the BMC rider (not GVA I hope).

Half length barriers allow a trapped vehicle to escape if necessary.

This.

You'd think not getting hit by a train would be incentive enough.

rudivoller22

frenchfighter wrote:

Really don't like these new glasses Degenkolb, GVA et al were wearing.

Kare.

I've just got a pair to replace some broken radarlocks. Wasn't sold on the looks either but managed to demo a pair and the clarity on a ride is incredible, much better view than my old radarlocks. And the looks are actually starting to grow on me now!

frenchfighter

This morning in the metro these pesky race cyclists were mentioned in an article not in the sport section.


The last line in the article mentioned that the race was 50 miles long. No typo from me.

sheffsimon

frenchfighter wrote:

This morning in the metro these pesky race cyclists were mentioned in an article not in the sport section.


The last line in the article mentioned that the race was 50 miles long. No typo from me.

Also shown on BBC breakfast telly.

The train crossing thing seems like such an easy thing to resolve. It must be possible to get a few minutes advanced warning of it's arrival, and if a train's coming stop the race using separate barriers, and then restart with the appropriate time gaps.

Better than the dangerous farce seen yesterday.

frenchfighter

JVS is the last person to mouth of about crashing. But he still does:

"I don't now how some riders take their corners," he told Cyclingpro.net. "It was a guy from Saxo. What's his name? Breschel! I was really asking myself what he was doing in that corner. Actually I should have kicked him for doing that."

Brailsford on Wiggins, Rower and Geraint:
http://cyclingquotes.com/news/brailsfor ... r_wiggins/

Apparently Sagan had stomach issues. He also wasn't able to move up to the big ring from the Carrefour de l'Arbre until his bike change.

frenchfighter

Kare

Daz555

frenchfighter wrote:

Apparently Sagan had stomach issues. He also wasn't able to move up to the big ring from the Carrefour de l'Arbre until his bike change.

He's been cramming too much pudding into that stomach by the looks of of him.

davidof

The SNCF has lodged an official complaint against the crossing jumping cyclists.