Mapei parties like it's 1998.
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!
This is it! We are really into the thick of it now! E3 Harelbeke is today, and on Sunday we have the Kemmelberg in Gent Wevelgem – the first real serious cobbled race of the year. For Keeper’s Tour in 2012 we stayed just outside Kemmel, and for KT2013 Bretto and I went off for a jetlag-neutralizing spin together into the same area and rode the climb from both sides. When I arrive in Belgium on Thursday, the first thing we’ll do is head over there again; the area feels a bit like home at this point.
All of Europe bears the marks of World War I, but this bit of Belgium is even more heavily scarred; when this many people die in one place, it lingers in the air like a thick mist. This hill in particular was the site of several battles; the Germans took it in April 1918 and it was reclaimed by the allied forces in September. Monuments, graveyards, barracks litter the landscape.
Although its short, the Kemmelberg is a brute of a climb with a steep ramp at the top; the cobbles are rough and very badly laid at the base; the best route has you swinging wide to the outside if you’re to maintain your speed. If you are unlucky enough to be forced into the inside, you will come to a standstill and find yourself chasing from the onset.
And speaking of chasing, its time to get some points on the board with the VSP so you have a chance of claiming one of our prizes. Get your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero. And for the love of Merckx, don’t wait until the last minute before flooding my inbox with complaints about the site going down. Your procrastination is not my emergency, boys and girls. But if you do happen to have some trouble (and it’s not the last minute, or the middle of the night) then feel free to let us know; we’re happy to help you out so long as the event hasn’t closed yet. So, prognosticate on the start list and enter your sure-to-be dud picks.
We are still finalizing the prize list for the overall VSP, but second place has been confirmed as being a set of CR Wheelworks/Velominati wheels. CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s wheel product line, and you’ll have the choice of rim size and hub. The Velominati edition comes with orange Chris King hubs, but if that’s too bling for you, I’m sure the configuration can be changed for the winner.
First prize will be something even more amazeballs and third place will be a full Velominati kit complete with V-Cap. My wheels just arrived, and I can’t wait to ride them.
And, we’ll wrap it up with some 2013 Gent action:
[vsp_results id=”32565″/]
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Fuck, that was an awesome race. Brilliantly smart riding from the old fox.
Can only hope you boys get some of that weather over the coming weeks, it'll be fun to watch from the comfort of the couch!
A big fat duck but what a race! Only the hard men (and women) survived. I feel such a wimp for leaving the bike in the shed during yesterday afternoons gales.
The last Italian winner, the most stylish nation on earth....
@ped
Normally I'd agree, but did you see Paolini? His leg warmers were over his shorts and held up by safety pins FFS! Doesn't he read this site? Did he miss last week's article on The Tightness of Being? Safety pins? I ask you . . . you can be damn sure Cipo didn't use no stinking safety pins.
And the fluorescent yellow shoe covers? Why not red ones?
Spartacus and Tommeke may be out of the classics, but let's look at Terpstra and Thomas instead. Going well to put it mildly. Lots to look forward to that's for sure.
@wiscot
This is true, but I think He rocks the despised aero helmet well, and even those Assos shades and a beard look pretty damn good on him
What a race! Unfortunately, too many hoppy beverages made me forget to get my picks in. The leg warmers made me cringe though.
Can't wait for these next two weeks. The best cycling of the year is upon us gentlemen.
@ped
My issue is with what he looks like from the waist down!
@wiscot
Those safety pins go through his quads!
@ped
Looking at some of the photos here http://www.nieuwsblad.be/sportwereld/cnt/dmf20150329_01604627 it looks like those leg warmers are actually a second pair, and he's wearing a red pair under his shorts.
It must be a Katusha thing. It looks like the guy on Paollini's right also has the warmers over his shorts, and I think I remember J Rod also disgracing himself in a similar manner a few years back.
Thomas' crash was entertaining- superb work to unclip mid crash and throw the bike so he didn't land on it, instead landing on a soft verge and performing a decent roll. Great chase back on, and excellent work to get on the podium. Better crash than those that ended up with bikes (and themselves?) in a ditch- turns out WT level bikes float.
But nothing compared to Paolini. Style points he loses big style, but when you win a race like that with a late attack like that, all is forgiven.