Ok, ok, settle down now people. Take your seats please. You’re all a little bit on edge, like some cycling Gamblers Anonymous group that’s been let out for the weekend with a pocket full of bills and the name of the nearest bookie. But in your excitement, you managed to crash our server, delaying the fix you so desperately crave.
But wait no more. You’ve warmed up on the gateway races, now it’s time for the hard stuff, as grimy, rough and unadulterated as the roads of Flanders themselves.
You see, there’s this bloke I know who knows a bloke, hangs around the Velominati bike sheds, seems to know a bit about the racing game. Reckons he’s got a sure bet for the weekend. A cert. A dead-set shoo-in. Number 1 in Race 3 of the VSP at Flanders. Fella reckons you could put your left one on it. Absolutely Faboolous or something he’s called. He’s got form (and, judging by the way he shelled the nags on last week’s card, possibly a motor). But word is there could be a late plunge on the other fella, Boom Boom Boy, so maybe a bob each way might be the way to go. I’d watch out for those not-so-roughies though, the likes of Gilbert, Devolder, Ballan and Thor will be waiting to pick up any leftover chaff and could steal away the win, leaving you as frustrated as a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest.
So what’s it gonna be then? Take the sure thing, or the other sure thing, or throw a dart at the board and hope it sticks? It’s time to study the form guide, search the dark recesses of your soul, throw out any logic, and pencil in your picks on the ticket provided at the bottom of the comments. Whether you’re canny, savvy or just plain tinny, the coveted Obey The Rules bumper sticker is waiting. Is your bumper worthy?
The only thing for certain is that bicycle racing will be the winner on the day.
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Is it just me or does Nuyens not look fully PRO? His glasses look to big for him, making him look like a kid with adult shades on.
Some guys just look good in their kit and others don't, I suppose.
Garmin made a tactical error as well.
Unlike BMC, who were all there w/about 80k to go, JV was telling Garmin to just sit, not to ride...sit, not to ride! over and over
He had resigned to let the break go, when things really started, and that was a mistake.
BMC however organized, and if it weren't for their huge effort, Cancellara and Chav would have been loners, but they swept them back. And Garmin was splintered up, Thor made the break and one other but not as a team, they wheelsucked it.
Now, if Garmin had worked w/BMC (eh hemm...is there a problema w/big george still?), they could have perhaps...had a podium spot but JV relinquished it away and now we will never know.
Flanders is a race that you must hammer to stay up front, and if you ever soft pedal it, you will not podium.
Kudo's to Spartacus on a valiant fight, classy all day
Chav too, but a day that he learned a great deal about
and Nuyen is a stud-mobile
best of all, big george may make a paris-roubaix yet as he was freakin there yesterday
@Souleur
Great point about Garmin/BMC possible conflict. Just read on cyclingnews where Och' has the following to say:
"If BMC's red jerseys were a sizeable and forceful presence on the head of the chasing group, a number of other teams were notable by their absence, chief among them Garmin-Cervélo, a squad widely-expected to make a collective impact at De Ronde.
"I was a little surprised Garmin didn't come up, they still had Tyler Farrar, Hushovd and Haussler, but if you don't make the race, you don't have a chance to win the race," Ochowicz said. "We don't want to race for second or third. We don't win that many races, but at least we try."
Although neither Alessandro Ballan nor George Hincapie was able to cap BMC's stint of at the front by taking victory, Ochowicz was pleased that his charges had contributed so generously to the racing on Sunday.
"The outcome didn't give us a win, but it looks good and it feels good," he said. "The morale on the team is working and if we keep doing that, we're bound to get one of these races in our pockets some day I hope."
Ouch. Ol' JV is taking a BEATING!
Well, when he's caught on TV telling his bunch to sit in, over and over, and they make as poor a showing at the end as they did, I'd say he deserves it. If anything, maybe he'll be less willing to let Versus listen in on team radio in the future, since as my granddaddy used to say, "It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
And on that topic, any feelings on the quality of racing with radios versus MSR / Strade Bianche (no radios IIRC)? I gotta say yesterday was pretty good stuff, and certainly not the "predictable" kind of racing that many (me included) have complained that race radios encourage... Discuss.
It's just you. Dude just won RVV"”his second spring classic of the year"”that makes him very, very PRO. He can wear whatever he likes. However he likes. End of.
@sgt
If it gets better than that, I'm dying to see it!!! I think the radios made the race yesterday, without communication back to the teams I think it'd have been much more likely Chav & Fabo would've stayed away. The chase would've been less organized and I think that, in this case at least, the radios actually added to the confusion for Chav. I think without radios, when Fabo arrived solo he would've had to assume that Booned got dropped along the way and that it was a two man race instead of sitting in the whole time waiting for Booner.
@ Ron
I kind of agree... Kudos to Nuyens for the win but he seems to lack a style that the others have. He also doesn't seem to have quite the same class either, his wins are more sneaky than studly... but hey, a win's a win however you get it.
@sgt @souleur @Buck Rogers
not wanting to seem like I'm a Vaughters-whore, but I'm not understanding this current fashion of "Vaughters-bashing". The Garmin "bunch" consisted of Farrar (the best sprinter in that group) and an off-colour SMASH. BMC had seven (SEVEN) riders in that group, Team Sky had also missed the move, Gilbert has said he was happy to wait. If all I had was one rider who could pretty much guarantee third, then I wouldn't want him working to benefit teams with many more riders.
Ochowicz was employing Armstrong/Bruyneel levels of spin in that quote, Haussler was way off that group
@steampunk
you can't call Dwars Door Vlanderan a "classic". It's a "semi" at best and I think in reality it's a third-tier classic. Nuyens has never looked Pro, in fact it's not possible to look PRO in that Saxo kit
@Frank @steampunk
Quick-step is Boonen's team. Belgian hero, Belgian team, De Ronde: Mimo doesn't get a say whether he's on form or not. Roubaix will give him a chance as tactics mean less than strength. Don't know how it could change for him there, can't see him leaving either.
@Jarvis
Not disagreeing... it was a tactic that didn't work in this case. My point is that I for one don't really give a shit what the team cars are saying to the riders; I'd just as soon be blissfully unaware. And if race radio is so critical to team success, I'd assume the DS's would want to maintain a little more confidentiality vis a vis what they are saying to their riders.
@Leroy
I tend to agree in this case; radios made the race more interesting. In this case. I am going to withold judgement on whether race radios make racing as a whole, over a season or even a Grand Tour more interesting.
I do think Faboo could've used F. Grimpeur's Camelbak yesterday tho...
@Steampunk
Check out the photo:
and the accompanying story in Nieusblad from today. Dude's famous now.
@xyxax
Ha, that picture is fantastic. Thanks for the link.
I was quite displeased with Garmin's performance yesterday. I was expecting better out of Tyler as well, since he lives in that part of the world part-time. Ah well..