Velominati Super Prestige: Ronde Van Vlaanderen 2017
Some things come, some things go. On Sunday in Flanders, there will be a mix of joy and melancholy as an old favourite returns, and another bids farewell. The famed Muur de Geraardsbergen aka the Kapelmuur finally reappears where it belongs, albeit not with the important role it once played. But at least it’s there. And riding up it for the last time will be another legend of the race, also possibly not playing as important a hand, Tom Boonen. It might be fitting to see him lead the peloton past the iconic cross and chapel one last time.
It may be a bridge too far for Tommeke to take a fourth Flanders, and something tells me he’s keeping his powder dry to have a real tilt at a fifth cobblestone next week after coming oh-so-close in 2016. Contending with the rampaging Greg van Avermaert and Peter Sagan up the bergs might take the sting out of ageing, tired legs, and probably most younger ones too. Who can stop these two right now? Probably not QuickStep, who seem more concerned with working out how not to win than actually using any of their many weapons to try to win. Giblets looks to be on song though, and a win in Oudenaarde in the Tricolor jersey is a sight we’ll never tire of.
This promises to be a race for the ages, and picking the winner might not be a flip of the coin situation at all. Best put the thinking casquettes on, study the start list and settle in with a fine Tripel and enjoy the show!
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Hallowed Tablets…….
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trying again…
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The usual suspects. I’ll probably NITRO at best, but I’m not betting against the Sagwagon.
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Yup
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Shirt Sleeve Order in Oudenaarde today. And looks like more of the same tomorrow and Sunday.
Belgian Recovery Beverages are going down well. Not so good was going down after dipping the front wheel into a tram track getting back into Ghent. Even less amusing was realising the right drop was barely attached to the rest of the bars. Fortunately a friendly local bike shop had a secondhand pair of Deda bars onto the bike and rewrapped less than forty five minutes after the spill.
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Unable to give my favourite Sep any chance for the first time in years.
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Crap, meant to type Boonen in first. No more Portuguese vino for me. On a positive note I ordered a Campy groupset today.
Hell hath no fury like Sagan scorned
…
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@chris
Well. Bollocks to that. Woke up to rain.
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Thanks for looking out!
@Byron
Liverpool for the FA cup and Man Utd for the champions league too.
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@chris
Indeed. SFSFSFSF – Being….Started, Farted, Slipped and Fell, See you Friday, Sid Farell.
Kept awake till 3 am by folk in an adjoining room and bathroom extractor fans. Only half awake at the start, cold in the half light and rain and missed the course split after only 10 KM or so. Was well round the short course by the time I woke up and realised I was way too far along compared to where I should be. Was cussing and not paying attention on a “lubricated” concrete farm path and bit the dust (which wasn’t dust) on a turn as a result. Bike OK, left thigh more like a track sprinter’s than my own on the right.
Guess I’m coming back next year to complete unfinished business. Makes mental note DO NOT BOOK GHENT CAMPANILE.
Turned out nice – after I finished way too early.
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This will be a brilliant race even if it isn’t
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Last tweak, I promise
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@lokerola
You had Sagan in there twice – so I deleted both entries…go ahead and put a fresh set of picks in there. (You can’t put a rider in the list in two spots!)
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For the 10th time trying to post
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.
@Teocalli
Ouch. Two of our group were taken out by a twat with 6 km to go. One spent the afternoon in A&E getting stitches and having a dislocated finger straightened out.
everyone was back on the Qwak this evening so no real damage done. Upside was that my finish was quicker in Strava despite having told them to ride in at the 80 km mark.
Hope you get a better sleep tonight and aren’t too sore in the morning!
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I’m re-posting with my correct picks
because I royally screwed up my first entry, posting Sagan twice. He’s good, but not that good.
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Gah, hoping my post goes through this time…. and hoping I can stay spoiler-free til later this evening when I finally get a chance to watch. Heart wants Boonen to have a good race, but feeling more like he’s saving it for Roubaix. Too much shadow boxing ruins it for Sags again, and GvA nips away with the win in
brilliant form.
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@chris
Inevitably a great night’s sleep and the sun is well and truly up this morning!
Grazed knuckles, elbow and road rash thigh so all in all not too bad this morning. Sounds like your team came off far worse. Hope they are OK this morning.
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