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Don't forget to attack!

I think it would have made sense for Etixx to have Stybar work with Thomas when they briefly went off the front on the Kwaremont. If they'd made it across they could have used their two riders to try and avoid a sprint with Kristoff. I still thought Terpstra wouldn't wait out until the sprint.

Good race but not the most exciting of the season

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http://www.thedeludedcyclist.wordpress.com

I would have thought Terpstra would have attacked longer out. Terpstra is a solid time trialist while Kriistoff admittedly week in De Panne that he was poor in that disipline. Again all goes out the window after that distance on that terrain but I'm not sure why he thought he could take Kristoff in a sprint.

Here's confidence for you. Quote from Kristoff after the race:

“In the finale he was told on the radio that he was not to work with me but I told him, ‘Come on, you’ll get second at worst and that’s still a good result.”

I was never a Kristoff fan before. He looks like the villain from a Bond movie. But that was awesome

When Kristoff went with Terpstra I yelled No! thought for sure he was going to blow and that they'd get caught.
The way he looked, if he had stayed in and chased Terpstra with the others, he would have won anyway.
So much for him not suited for RvV.

Could Terpstra been thinking he might drop Kristoff on Kwaremont or Patersberg?

Edit to add this just found on cycling news: “I felt really good and wanted to do a strong attack on the Paterberg [final climb of the day, at 13 km from the finish]. But he rode so fast that it was difficult to attack. I was able to keep up but it was hard to pass him,” Terpstra said.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

What he says is one thing, he had the third best time trial in De Panne. He has turned into a beast from systematic training over the years, coached by Stein Ørn.

Interesting that he rode his aero bike CF SLX, and he will even use it on the Paris-Robaux cobbles. http://www.cyclingnews.com/...canyon-aeroad-cf-slx
Aero trumps everything?

That and with his hair that long, that aero helmet is more like a mohawk than anything else. http://www.cyclingnews.com/...r-of-flanders-finale

i saw that and i laughed and laughed .... carbon fibre spokes in a cobbled classic? insanity!!!

you are correct, the reality of racing is that Aero (with multi-bike team support, an infinite budget, and a checker-or-wrecker attitude) trumps everything.


that bike was set up for the win and nothing else. his granny gear was like 42-25. wthh

Go to his facebook that has recent pictures, he is extremely lean. In fact when i saw one with his shirt off my first thought is that he could stand to gain some weight.

that was quite absurd. Graeme Brown on four wheels, if you will...

picks for Scheldeprijs, anybody? A certain Norwegian is totally on fire at the moment

Looks pretty tricky to call. Would Kristoff and other Paris Roubaix hopefuls play it safe?

Does this ever end up in something other than a bunch sprint?

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http://www.thedeludedcyclist.wordpress.com

Wonder if Kristoff can possibly be recovered after the past week, he's been pretty much full gas.

Where is Kittel these days? Has he even raced yet?

I think this is one for the guys who haven't been in contention: Greipel, Viviani, Renshaw. Have a nagging suspicion Sagan could be the exception to that.

Kittel is sick....basically out for the time being. "early season virus" is what they are saying.

Kristoff is gonna be pretty heavily marked on Sunday since he is the likely lone 5-Star favorite at this point....will probably lead to a lot of negative racing. Will ne interesting to see if SKY & ETIXX race aggressively or simply mark Katusha.

I honestly am at a loss for picks on Sunday....gonna have to ponder this a bit.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

travelling abroad for week+ and still need to put in a day's work (though working from home)

also need to drop my bike off at the LBS for recabling (internal routing without sleeves). Tried doing one of the derailleur cables yesterday and it was total fail... At this point $20/cable seems a mighty bargain as i'd take me 4 hours doing it...


out with a virus

At least according to Kristoff (and as evidenced by the results), he doesn't do nearly as well in Roubaix.

I'm thinking Degenkolb, though with a race this open, a small group could clip away with 30km left and not be seen again

To clarify, those were my picks for tomorrow, not Roubaix. That's going to require a little more thinking. Both Kristoff and Sagan seem better suited to Flanders.

I haven't decided if I want to see Wiggo win or fail spectacularly. If he gets isolated early and wins through toughness and grit I will be happy. But if Sky do what they tried to do at Flanders (put 3-4 guys on the front to control the last 40k of the race) and it actually works, that would suck.

Hopefully Stybar gets his teeth fixed and puts the hurt on everyone. I'd love to see him win.

With you on that, the Sky way is getting tiresome. BUT, what a fitting way for Wiggo to go out by grinding a win hardman style. Here's the thing: if he's in a small, select group with 20k to go and takes off in crosswind, who is going to catch him? If he's there, he'll be a threat.

I think Stybar is among the 2-3 best cobbles riders. He has a good finish kick and doesn't have to ride away from group like Wiggo or Terpstra. In fact, if he and Terpstra can make it to a small selection, they'll be in a pretty good position. Big if, but they've both been there when it mattered for the most part.

Completely agree on Wiggo. If he fights it out hardman-style it will be a fitting finale for his road career. I actually do like him a lot more now than I did when he won the TdF. He seems to be more himself now. He stopped caring what people think. And I like that he's willing to try things that other people say are crazy/stupid.

I think Etixx-QS have a power struggle going on between Terpstra and Stybar. If they make the selection together, one of them will try to go early to beat the other to the punch. I think it's why Terpstra ignored the car at RVV and worked with Kristoff instead of sitting on and taking him back to the field. It will be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out.

Yup! I commented that it looked more like TdF than RVV when they crowded the front last Sunday. I'm glad it didn't work out for them at all, actually :) There's a place for that and it ain't in 1 day classics.

I don't know what Etixx can try that they haven't already this season. They have at least 3 guys who can make a selection but they'll sacrifice eachother instead of working for a team win. Opportunists have been very successful in snagging the win from them all season long. If Kristoff doesn't win this as well then I'd say there are quite a few guys who could take it.


Picks for tomorrow to come later...

Good point on Etixx. I read Terpstra's comments thinking he'd be able to ride clear on one of the remaining climbs, but Kristoff hit them with a tempo that killed the idea. Why he continued to work with him is a mystery to me, I mean that sprint was a joke. You'd think someone with Terpstra's experience would be able to sense how strong their break companion is and know when to stop helping the other guy to finish line. Who knows, I imagine the "what if" would be intoxicating.

For Roubaix I have only one pick.

Alexander Kristoff

He is a grinder best at long races.

from first hand experience, it probably won't be fixed until some times down the road. He lost his teeth and needed dental implants. When the implants go in, a temporary bridge is put in while the real, permanent bridge is being made. The process for the latter could take months. I had my temporary bridge fell out 3-4 weeks after they were put in, and i wasn't riding on cobbles.


is there any indication that it happened? would put the insubordination of VdB in a whole new light...