Looking at the finish, Guarnieri (Astana) has a strong sprint - he led out from 200m, took a good line along the barriers and only lost by a tyre.
(Note - if you search for "Driedaagse de Panne 2012" on Youtube, one of the top search results is for Drag Queens of De Panne 2012. A broad spread of competitive interests, these Belgians)
'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
Super. He used to be a total class act on a TT bike but left off developing that skill. This year he has said he wanted to focus more on it and was very happy that there were some ace TT riders joining the squad.
It was properly impressive! Although i think watching him fly past Sieberg, who was taking it easy on a road bike, made it look even more impressive. Beating Westra in a TT with his recent form is top class though.
QS look good for a day of Boonen/Chavanel one-two attacks on Sunday. Cannot wait!
Chavanel looking suspiciously Spartacus-like, today.
Strong contender for the next 2 weekends.
He's never doing that well by the time he gets to Roubaix.
He was 2nd (or perhaps joint) strongest last Ronde, and was definitely the strongest by the time they got to the finish - he picked the wrong side and had to squeeze the brakes twice.
He's more of a team player than Devolder though.
It's all different though because the route is so difficult. Tactics will matter less.
Delighted to see Chavanel get the overall. He's put in a hell of a lot of work for OP-QS this season already. Not that he'll get much of a chance of personal glory the next two Sundays...
“I am also happy because this victory came in a time trial. I worked a lot during the winter on the time trial because, in the past, I was a three-time French champion time triallist. I used to be a good rider for the time trial, but in the last year, because of my back problem, I wasn't able to perform well. This winter I worked a lot on my position with the team staff and Specialized staff, and now we begin to see some results. I was 4th in Argentina, 6th in the Stage 1 Paris-Nice time trial, so I am reaching my objectives with my time trial bike.”
rick_chasey
Posts: 53,326 Lives Here
Posts
Planet-x Scott
Rides
Planet-x Scott
Rides
2 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana
3 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
4 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
6 Elia Favilli (Ita) Farense Vini-Selle Italia
7 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto-Belisol
8 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony
9 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
10 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat
http://youtu.be/_XAZHeIlFtU
(Note - if you search for "Driedaagse de Panne 2012" on Youtube, one of the top search results is for Drag Queens of De Panne 2012. A broad spread of competitive interests, these Belgians)
I didn't understand Sagan (was he speaking Italian?) but even across the languages he reminds me of a ned (Scottish equivalent of a chav).
It's turning into a who's who of procycling front cover featured riders.
No, he's just breathing out.
Alexander Kristoff
Thats Kenny van Hummel. He's more a climber. really.
I see the portly Andre Schulze of NetApp is up in the gallop again.
So has he just realised he's in the middle of a bunch sprint? Hence the terrified look in his face!
Kenny.
Another one of my heroes.
Here's a couple of clips of his supremacy. He beats the broomwagon every time, one of the finest Lanterne's the Tour has known.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3chFwY6dpVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV259aV ... F2B50E429D
Strong contender for the next 2 weekends.
QS look good for a day of Boonen/Chavanel one-two attacks on Sunday. Cannot wait!
He's never doing that well by the time he gets to Roubaix.
He was 2nd (or perhaps joint) strongest last Ronde, and was definitely the strongest by the time they got to the finish - he picked the wrong side and had to squeeze the brakes twice.
He's more of a team player than Devolder though.
It's all different though because the route is so difficult. Tactics will matter less.