Paris Roubaix

[likka]

Boonen deserved the victory, but geez he was handed the race on a platter when both Flecha and Horshovd crashed at the end.

Felt for Hincapie though, was in a great position until that puncture ruined his race... had to expel too much energy to get back to the pack.

Anyone know how badly hurt the spectators were that got plowed into by the gendarme motorbike? Looked very nasty at first glance, when I watched it again in slow motion it looked even worse. A lady seemed to cop the full brunt of a motorbike going around 60 kmh, and wasn't moving on the road.

EDIT: Three people were rushed to hospital by helicopter with very serious injuries, and a dozen more were injured. Not good.

ROUBAIX, France (Reuters) - Sixteen spectators were injured, four of them seriously, when an official motorcycle ran into the crowd during the Paris-Roubaix cycling classic race Sunday, firemen said.

The accident took place in Orchies, some 60km from the finish line when the rider, carrying a timing official, lost control of his bike at the end of a cobbled sector.

Four of the 16, including a four-year-old girl, were "seriously injured."

A woman lost consciousness and suffered a head trauma, race organisers said, adding that three of the injured were flown to hospitals in northern France by helicopter.

Firemen said many of the injured were members of the same family.

 

[sirjames]

dario pieri

ah dario is a deadset legend!

He rocked up about 15kegs over weight to the TDU a couple of years ago and we were giving him heaps and then this old Italian bloke came over to us and berated us for not respecting a man who had come 2nd at Roubaix.

I thought "fair enough then he was an awesome cyclist but now he is just a fat b@stard!"

 

[sirjames]

Amazing race. Amazing.

The two crashes involving first of all Flecha, Hoste and van Summeren and then the fall of Hushovd decided it. Having said that Boonen was just too strong and was probably going power away despite the falls.

Your right it was one of the best Roubaixs in recent times.

I definitely felt Hushovd had it in the bag when the first crash happenned but when he crashed it showed just how fatigued he was. I was surprised i thought he was foxing in the break.

 

[sirjames]

for those of you at all interested on 20th April a special DVD release for us cycling fans:

Road to Roubaix it is called.

To be perfectly honest i've got no idea what it is about: but it is a cycling DVD and if you're like me you'll buy it. So if anyone can shed some light on it - let us all know.

It was on at the Bicycle Film Festival last year. Its worth a watch though it is mainly interviews and barely any footage of riding. At the end of it i was a bit disappointed but maybe i was expecting too much.

 

[blackcat]

Your right it was one of the best Roubaixs in recent times.

I definitely felt Hushovd had it in the bag when the first crash happenned but when he crashed it showed just how fatigued he was. I was surprised i thought he was foxing in the break.

Hushovd never looked like winning.

The select front group, needed to leverage numbers, and just work against Boonen.

Flecha looked good. The Lotto guys sucked like usual.

They needed Haussler up front. He was not as strong as Flecha, Boonen and Pippo, but you need numbers up front.

Boonen was by far the strongest.

 

[blackcat]

ah dario is a deadset legend!

He rocked up about 15kegs over weight to the TDU a couple of years ago and we were giving him heaps and then this old Italian bloke came over to us and berated us for not respecting a man who had come 2nd at Roubaix.

I thought "fair enough then he was an awesome cyclist but now he is just a fat b@stard!"

the Ullrich of off-seasons.

he and Quaranta are the lost men of the peloton.

He rocked up about 15kegs over weight to the TDU a couple of years ago and we were giving him heaps and then this old Italian bloke came over to us and berated us for not respecting a man who had come 2nd at Roubaix.

freudian slip?

Seriously tho, good effort about giving the fat guy shit. I would have. Too often you just get groupies at races, better to have the anti-groupies.

And the Italians are arrogant prijcks in cycling. They need to be taken down a cog or two.

 

[Secular Bicep]

You are making me laugh. Who is going to tell Armstrong what to do? Take your head out of the sand man, he calls the shots.

Armstrong is an up himself w***er.

In anycase, I know Contador and his ability. Armstrong will never be able to keep up with Contador and I know Contador will go rogue and not ride for Armstrong. Fact is Contador is stronger than Armstrong.

Put them two up Alp'd'Huez when Armstrong is better and mark my words, Contador will make him look silly.

If Armstrong rides the TDF then mark my words either one of two things will happen.

1. Armstrong rides for Contador
2. Contador will attack Armstrong and not ride for Armstrong and there will be that indecency in the team like T-Mobile when Ullrich had leadership issues with Vino. It's going to be Contador V Armstrong and Contador will come out on top whilst probably screwing his and Armstrong's chances up of winning in the process.

So there you have it. Contador will shit on Armstrong no matter the situation and there is no way Contador is being a domestique to the over-the-hill idiot and screw up another chance of Contador missing another TDF win. He would have thrashed everyone last year.

Contador has the ability whether it's clean or not to win all 3 grand tours in a year. No way he is a domestique in July. He'll attack and Armstrong and Astana will have to chase after him if Armstrong is leader haha. And I know Contador. He will do it too and then leave Astana and sign up to another team. Perhaps Garmin.

If Contador is forced to be a domestique, he'll be riding for Garmin next year or another team that will and will be willing to support him if it means they get sponsorship galore. Going through the list of teams I know Garmin will be supporting him. Caisse will be another one as Valverde will never win a Grand Tour. He is not a GT rider.

 

[blackcat]

Contador wont ride for a team that is clean lol, wont find him within two continents of Garmin.

And that is a pretty good analysis. Forgetting one thing tho.

Leipheimer. Leipheimer beat Contador sans bonifications at the Vuelta last year. And, as much as Contador has the flamboyance and acceleeation on the climbs, he does not have a threshold to match.

He needs to get the threshold to ride away. Remember the final climb in 2007, when Rass rode away from Contadope. Well, Leipheimer, aka the Snivler, rode for Contador, and upped the pace from the front, attacked a little, then Rass and Contadope rode away from Evans. Evans rode away from Leipheimer, but could not hold that threshold.

Then the Snivler passes Evans, then the Snivler catches Contadope, who was dropped by Rass. Then the Snivler does not wait and work for Contadope, but goes and passes him to make inroads in Rass.

Remember, the first mtn stage in 2007, the Rass stage, that Rogers crashed, well, Levi got a 20 second time bonus for cheating, the Snivler hanging on to his team car after a mechanical.

Then, that stage, Contadope played with the peloton when Mayo and Moreau were toying with the front. Think Contadope had a wheel change too. But this was just acceleration, not riding away at threshold.

Then the stage that Soler won, he did ride away on the last 3kms of the climb, with Evans, to catch Popo. That is about the only stage I have seen him ride away from a top calibre field. But Rass was just vigilant at the front of the peloton, and could have closed him down.

Levi will be the renegade, that goes native and rebels on the team. He knows he can win.

Astana have the old Discovery/USPS Spanish doctors and medical (doping) program. They have the best recovery drugs. It is not an even field. http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/tour-like-a-mobile-pharmacy-10544

Some teams have three docs, Garmin has none thru the season. Steffen only comes over for the GTs.

Dont conflate flamboyance and acceleration on the climbs, to threshold, and being able to ride away. Two different things. See Vuelta last year. He could not ride away from Mosquera for heaven's sake.

 

[Secular Bicep]

Yes. That is true regarding Levi.

Whichever way you look at it, Levi and Contador go one/two at the TDF.

How I see it playing out is as follows.

Levi wins the Giro. Contador TDF with Levi runner up and the Vuelta.

 

[blackcat]

dont see it planning out that way. Levi could not care less about the Festival of May.

He wants July.

Now, I went into stream of consciousness, but, here was the argument I was trying to make.

In 2007, Levi got a 20 second penalty for hanging on, plus Contador's acceleration and flamboyance, earnt him the team leadership by about stage 10.

Now, if you switch it around, Leipheimer as leader, and Contador having to work for him. You take away Levi's 20 second penalty. Now, there will be a similar difference, with Leipheimer winning, Contador second, and Evans third. The only major difference is, Evans is third, falling from second, Discovery still win.

So, the 60 seconds or so, between Levi and Contador, at 2007 Tour, could be switched around, with leadership swapped.

And, Levi beat Contador at the Vuelta last year, when you take out time bonuses last year, and he had to work for Contador. Switch that around, Levi wins by over a minute.

 

[Secular Bicep]

dont see it planning out that way. Levi could not care less about the Festival of May.

He wants July.

Now, I went into stream of consciousness, but, here was the argument I was trying to make.

In 2007, Levi got a 20 second penalty for hanging on, plus Contador's acceleration and flamboyance, earnt him the team leadership by about stage 10.

Now, if you switch it around, Leipheimer as leader, and Contador having to work for him. You take away Levi's 20 second penalty. Now, there will be a similar difference, with Leipheimer winning, Contador second, and Evans third. The only major difference is, Evans is third, falling from second, Discovery still win.

So, the 60 seconds or so, between Levi and Contador, at 2007 Tour, could be switched around, with leadership swapped.

And, Levi beat Contador at the Vuelta last year, when you take out time bonuses last year, and he had to work for Contador. Switch that around, Levi wins by over a minute.

Will Contador to be happy with giving Levi Leadership? I mean, Levi is getting on and he does deserve a victory with all the effort he has put in over the years.

 

[blackcat]

Lol, these are alpha types.

There is no way any rider will sacrifice leadership and their position.

Levi knows, he is a putative worker. Just there to be Armstrong or Contadope's domestique.

The problem is, cycling is not an even sport, the politics, and vested interests, everyone will be in Contadope's corner, if Armstrong does not come up. Because he is the wunderkind, has won all GT's and will go down in the annals. Levi is The Snivler, a dope fuelled fraud, more so than the other GC competitors. My source who used to ride for USPS says as much.

But, dope can do this. The 2009 Tour, ceteris paribus, a dope fuelled Astana, I think Leipheimer can outride Contadope. I think he can win this, if he was given co-leadership, and did not have to work for Contadope. I think Evans could win if he was on their medical program also, but he is not on their program.

Now, Armstrong will win, if he can get his form. Because Bruyneel and the kingmakers inside Astana, will pour Contadope's blood transfusions, down the toilet on the rest day in France, he will not get access to the recovery drugs that the domestiques and LL and Armstrong do, and he will be blackmailed, or hamstrung thru less dope. They can just threaten Contadope with a "positive test" by nobbling his recovery injections with something that will show up. He will have to take orders from Bruyneel.

In January I thought Armstrong would win California, Giro, and the Tour. Because I thought Ferrari could work miracles. I did believe in miracles as Armstrong said, but drug fuelled Ferrari miracles. Armstrong was a talented rider, but would never have won the Tour, if the entire peloton was clean, because he was not a GT rider. He was a one day rider. He could not climb nor timetrial well enough. He could do both, but not to the extent which could win him a GT, let alone the Tour. This is what dope can do, under the skilled operator of a doctor. There is not a level playing field, all doping programs are not the same, all responses are not the same, and there is an intellectual property that Ferrari and Ceccho have, that few other dope docs have. Ferrari is the best.

But now, I dont think Armstrong can win. And he was criticised in Spain for his bike handling skills, he had lost his peloton craft. He rode like a sunday morning coffee shop rider. (hyperbole).

It will be Contadope, The Snivler, or Andy Schleck that wins. I do not think Schleck can win, because his timetrial is still mediocre. Yes, he came pretty high in the final Giro timetrial in 2007, but it is still not strong enough, to defend his lead, against The Snivler and Contadope.

Back on politics, and the predicament The Snivler is in. How he gets out of this situation, to get some room, and potentially steal team leadership at the Tour.

Well, he needs to come in very hot, and just kill the first chrono, and take the jersey, and then when Contadope attacks the final half dozen selection in the mtns, he needs to wait on Andy Schleck, and effectively, use Schleck as his domestique. Turning it on its head. That is, he is really watching his teammate up the road, that is his competition, and Schleck is on a rival team, but he can make him his worker in practicality. LL needs to shut down Contadope in the first few mtn finishes. He has to have the leader's jersey in the first chrono.

Evans wont make the podium.

Look at Heinrich Haussler, brought his form to the boil at the start of the season, to steal team leadership of Thor, but sated the leader by doing some work for him in Roubaix, only by attacking, not by doing domestique nose in the wind work. But he looked to defuse potential political murmerings and Hushovd disenchantment.

But Haussler had to take leadership by proving early, of his ability. By winning. Taking the political reins.

Leipheimer has to take the leadership at the first opportunity during the Tour, with a performance on the road. The only option is the chrono, because he can ride without being shut down. An internal putsch. It will not be solely on the road. He needs to grow some balls, have a political advisor, do a Sun Tzu inside Astana, and be a charismatic leader, cult of personality. Won't be simple. Just saying, off the bike, there will be work to be done, not just on the road.

Then Levi can win.

 

[Bond.ShaneBond]

Nice post. I really dislike everything Astana is about.

Do you know if Levi plans to ride the Giro at all?

 

[blackcat]

dont know... dont care about Astana.

Peloton is getting cleaner, even the Spanish teams. The only teams to be on the dope watch, are Astana, Columbia, and Saxo. Others are at it, but not so egregious and greedy stealing wins. More, just to get by, treading water. Red Queen effect.