Paris Roubaix ***Spoilers***

deejay

hommelbier wrote:

«On n’a pas de chance. En semaine, on a l’impression que les trains sont toujours en retard mais, là, ils sont à l’heure » Race director Thierry Gouvenou.

"We were unlucky. During the week we noticed that the trains were always running late, but on the day they were on time"

That's not my experience of TGV running times because they have to get to the main line (after Arras) to get it's place between other TGV, Thaley or Eurostar trains but that train was bloody late.
Cycling News shows the time of the incident as 1525 so that train must have been over half hour late and should have been through ARRAS by that time.

To correct the impression about that train. Yes it is a TGV train but there are no Level Crossings on a TGV "High Speed" line and that was probably the 1415 from Valenciennes to Paris that is running at a speed the Freight trains do on that same line.
That train should take 2 hours to Paris whereas a Lille TGV on the High Speed Iine (with no normal speed rail line) only takes 1 hour.

However there wouldn't be much difference at being hit by a 60 MPH train to that being hit by one at 170 MPH.
The first riders to get caught, were caught by the second barrier stopping them in a dangerous place and they needed to get off the line. Any others that jumped the first barrier when it was down are Idiots.

The_Boy

ddraver wrote:

Freaky maybe, but I struggle to link the hysteria in internet comments about riders being in mortal danger with what I see on the video.

Someone suggested just pausing the race if it happens which sounds fine to me - the point is that the riders need to know it will happen. if you watch the video there are no EQS riders there, whch (probably) means Terpstra got through, which means, Wiggo has to go through, which means Kristoff does, then Debusschere, then Demare etc. etc. If they knew for sure that everyone would be halted, 200m up the road for 1 min (which is all it was) then they'd have stopped

Which is why I asked up thread about whether the rules explicitly make allowances for this. It's happened before where riders were let off at intervals to reflect the time gaps before the pause, but then Robert Millar etc.

They (UCI etc) just need to clarify matters and, if needs be, add a line into the rulebook and then all should be fine.

ddraver

Agree Boy...

bigmat

Rick Chasey wrote:

Tyre pressures.

Guy was insisting that me riding 6 bar was way too low and riding anything under 7 was ludicrous and he rides 8+

I started on 80PSI, got to Arenberg and got so shaken that I couldn't see properly and my right foot was bouncing out of the pedal. Went down to around 65PSI and was fine after that - no punctures either. I suspect you could go lower on tubs, especially if you weigh less than 82kg!

rick_chasey

DeVlaeminck wrote:

ddraver wrote:

despite being metric everything else, Bars still mean noting to me...

Did he mean for PR? I can see how you'd need 110 psi (8bar) in clinchers to stop pinch flats but Tubeless or Tubular wouldnt matter so much. I ran 5 bar for RvV last week and you know I'm no lightweight!

It does depend on the width/volume of the tyre too of course - 6 bar is probably as low as you'd go in a 23mm clincher with 7 or 8 or even more being more usual - when I started out a guy I used to train with said he always stuck 130psi in front and back and he rode the Seoul Olympics for GB - in the tyres they were running at Paris Roubaix 6 bar would actually be a lot.

I rode 5.5 bar in Flanders on 23 clinchers.

Worked a treat, though maybe could have gone a shade higher.

If I ride more than 7 bar I get shaken to pieces anywhere in the UK. The shoddy roads just seem to shudder the whole bike.

Le Commentateur

Rick Chasey wrote:

Tyre pressures.

Guy was insisting that me riding 6 bar was way too low and riding anything under 7 was ludicrous and he rides 8+

Sounds like someone riding with clinchers, maybe.

I remember reading an interview with De Vlaeminck where he said he never had more than 6 bar pressure in his tyres at P–R.

8 bar on rough cobbly stuff is going to hurt and is more likely to cause a steering-related crash.

Le Commentateur

frenchfighter wrote:

Video. There were tons of riders:
https://youtu.be/nA-84SIFnSo

8 seconds before the train driver DQ'd a BMC rider.

tailwindhome

Cookson should see this as an opportunity to include the riders in building a consensus for future action rather than being judged on who and how many are DQd



(The train thing, not tyre pressures)

Le Commentateur

sherer wrote:

enjoyed the race but not a classic edition by any means. Kept waiting for Wiggo to actually do something then when he did no one worked with him. After that he seemed to fade and just rode on to the finish. Wonder what Rowe could have done if he was protected.

A classic one for those who are Degenkolb fans, I reckon. He seemed to have a perfect race and read the situations right. Almost Vos-like feel about the final 15kms.

tailwindhome

If the riders had some sort of race communication, maybe via radios & ear pieces, they could have been told that the train was coming through and stopped in advance of the gate.

sherer

TailWindHome wrote:

If the riders had some sort of race communication, maybe via radios & ear pieces, they could have been told that the train was coming through and stopped in advance of the gate.

only works if they get the message to the team managers. not all riders have radios and then if they are in a blackspot the message wont get through

Cannock Chase

I can't believe the arguments regarding the level crossing incident. All of the riders who crossed when the barriers were down or coming down were in the wrong, and as such should be either fined, suspended or disqualified, preferably all three.

The organisers saying that riders didn't have time to stop is utter rubbish as I would guess that as in the UK the barriers don't suddenly come down without warning, a siren or flashing lights will initiate a few seconds before. Also saying that riders who ignored the barriers can't be identified is also utter tosh. If the police so wish, they will identify them.

From looking at the video I would single out every rider who crossed after the police motor cyclist clearly signalled to riders to stop. If the UCI doesn't take action over this, it sets cycling above the law, and that is not the way to go.

sheffsimon

Just had another look at the video. The BMC rider who sneaks round the other side of the police motorbike, wants sacking by BMC in my opinion.

philwint

Cannock Chase wrote:

From looking at the video I would single out every rider who crossed after the police motor cyclist clearly signalled to riders to stop. If the UCI doesn't take action over this, it sets cycling above the law, and that is not the way to go.

Or the police should take action. I think the ones before that were being stupid. But once a policeman says "stop" if you don't then you should be expecting censure of some kind. The last 3 across certainly came after he told them not to.

hommelbier

Not just at P-R

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG8ExPQwFFc

Anonymous

At the end of the day, they broke the law. Apparently the train slowed for the crossing, as the race was on, it normally goes through faster, so the riders who snuck through would be dead. Is it worth a few seconds?

DeVlaeminck

Watching the train thing again it's clear the whole peloton including some of the cars and bikes would have gone through while warnings would have been sounded prior to the gates coming down. Perhaps that explains the reluctance of the uci to act though I do think once the policeman has issued a direct order the magnitude of seriousness rises and those riders should get a punishment of some sort.

DeVlaeminck

I mean the front of the peloton went through while warnings would have been sounding.

hammerite

Stick a couple of people/marshals on the level crossing with some kind of temporary banner/tape with a radio that is channelled in to the railway control room. Put temporary barrier up a minute or two before train is due to go through. Or is that too easy a solution?

I managed to put a marshal on a pedestrian crossing that was on the road race course of the race I used to organise. Sure ASO could do the same. Although the job of my marshal was to ask anyone not to press the button as the race was about to go through, which was pretty easy as it was in a small village with very few people needing to cross!

RichN95.

hammerite wrote:

Stick a couple of people/marshals on the level crossing with some kind of temporary banner/tape with a radio that is channelled in to the railway control room. Put temporary barrier up a minute or two before train is due to go through. Or is that too easy a solution?

One or two minutes is too much. If you put the temporary barrier a litle further up the road then old needs to be the to be it would take to cycle between that barrier and the regular one.

salsiccia1

Firstly, HAT to Degenkolb for a fine win. Looked very strong and rode a great race timing the bridge and the sprint perfectly. And a big shout to the 'other' Cardiff boy, Luke Rowe. He's going to be a monster in the classics in a year or two.

I'm slightly taken aback by the hysterical coverage of the level crossing incident. You'd think the train missed the back wheels of the riders by inches. It was stupid and I'm not condoning it but there was a good 5 seconds before the train after the BMC rider went over.

That being said, the riders who went through when the barriers were down should have been DQ'd and the BMC rider should probably be looking at a ban for bringing the sport into disrepute.

Crampeur

According to the Lotto-Jumbo DS, Sep got given a neutral service wheel from 1987

milton50

I'm still not sure why they can't just modify the train timetable slightly on one day a year. Am I being naive?

RichN95.

Milton50 wrote:

I'm still not sure why they can't just modify the train timetable slightly on one day a year. Am I being naive?

But you can't guarantee what time the race will arrive.

As it is they try to time the race with the train timetables in mind. They even started ten minutes late this year to compensate for the tailwind.

adr82

RichN95 wrote:

Milton50 wrote:

I'm still not sure why they can't just modify the train timetable slightly on one day a year. Am I being naive?

But you can't guarantee what time the race will arrive.

As it is they try to time the race with the train timetables in mind. They even started ten minutes late this year to compensate for the tailwind.

It's also useful to look at the detailed map, because there are actually multiple times the route crosses a railway in a relatively short time (I had thought it was just once). Zoom in and look at the stretch between sectors 20 and 16 for example.

ddraver

Crampeur wrote:

According to the Lotto-Jumbo DS, Sep got given a neutral service wheel from 1987

frenchfighter

Yeah, wow! No wonder he was struggling.

Mad_Malx

hommelbier wrote:

Not just at P-R

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG8ExPQwFFc

That is more scary.

disgruntledgoat

I can't imagine what hinderence a 32 spoke, open pro on a decent hub would be. Only tool better for the job would be an ambrosio nemesis

disgruntledgoat

Keisse said, after his turn breaking the race up, he rode 80km alone to the finish only to get DQ'd for missing the time cut. His reaction was short and to the point.