Darn, was one off on GVA

Damn, Stybar was strong, and Etixx didn't shit the bed for once

Breakout year for Stybar, he'll put it all togetherness--you heard it here. Sep is also super strong and has fully embraced the FC disinformation campaign.

The Spring Classics are shaping up to be the best and most wide open in years.

Now then, if only my actual bike fitness was a sharp as race predicting form...

my bike racing form is actually as good as it has been this time of the year (not saying much), but my TT form is abysmal. Giving up at least 5% if not more compared to my road bike position...

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on another note, didn't expect Valverde to crack. He usually takes it to other classics specialists and sprinters in the finale of a race...

While we are predicting, Im calling Vanmarcke for victory at Paris Roubaix. He looked excellent last week and very powerful in TT mode on the rolling stuff before the finish. Unless Boonen and Cancellara really turn it up in the next month, I think Sep's the man for the cobbles.

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Professional Athlete: http://jordancheyne.wordpress.com/ http://www.strava.com/athletes/145340

Coaching Services:http://www.peakformcoaching.com/

Agreed, I'm sure a lot of eyes will be in him at P-R and the Ronde.

I race next weekend when I'll have a complete view of how crappy my fitness is. I've done maybe one three-hour ride in past month and am off nearly 30% in total volume during that time. With our lack of winter this year everyone is flying right now so it's going to be a rude awakening. I have been doing a lot more intensity and see to have more snap than usual at this time of year so at least there's something positive to be delusional about.

Thought Stybar would have that in the bag but expected Valverde to put up more of a fight. Speaking of fight, Sagan is in desperate need of some.

It was the first time I've been able to watch the Strade Bianche but that race is really awesome. It's similar to Paris Roubaix in a way that the field gets totally blown apart. Stoked to see Sep ride so well today, taking into account that the team had only 5 riders (and he again had a mechanical problem that cost him lots of energy when having to get back to the front somewhere halfway). Better than Sagan, better than Cancellara today. Just a little short on the final (real) climb but great chasing afterwards which showed he has gotten stronger this year.

I was not surprised with Stybar's win, he seemed to be the calmest and had the most patience in the race. Did his share of the work but didn't waste much energy. GvA did just a little too much and that cost him the win.

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Don't forget to attack!

Stybar looked like a smart Sagan. Sep is a beast. Great ride. GvA is an asterisk guy at this point.
Sagan has lost some swagger for sure, but it's early. I have noticed the last couple of seasons he's looked more human and I suspect there may have been some dietary changes.
I may race tomorrow and it's not going to be pretty. But it's early. In the season, that is, not life. That's def second half.

First ever women's Strade Bianche And my friend Megan Guarnier WINS!!!!!!! Super happy for her. I remember when she first came to the velodrome and had just started racing.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

He was close but chasing alone is always hard (Same happen with Fab)

Sep, Fab, Niki and everybody else?!?!

that is what it looks like at the moment.

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

Love me some Tunnel Bear.
Restricted to France? Il n'est pas problem. I'll be in France.
Spain? Si bueno. I'm in Spain.
Good stuff. Thanks.

It was great to see Valverde getting blown away at the end. I was worried he was going to win it

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http://www.thedeludedcyclist.wordpress.com

What about Sagan getting even more blown away. Didn't see that one coming. Somehow I think he's not the super Sagan from 2 years ago.

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Don't forget to attack!

Yeah. He doesn't seem the same at all. I wonder if he is changing his training to be more focused towards GC at some stage. Or if something else changed

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http://www.thedeludedcyclist.wordpress.com

He wasn't as good in the Spring classics either last year compared to the year before. Definitely not as dominant.

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Don't forget to attack!

Not even close to as dominate and how easily he won. Remember in 2012 winning all the ToC and TdS stages almost at will, then taking a few TdF stages along with Green Jersey for good measure? He's been good but nowhere near that. One breakout year that was an anomaly? Too much pressure to perform? Hopefully one of those and not another reason...

I wouldn't call it one breakout year, it seemed more like a continuation of his growth at that time (and he was already a star very early on). Yet somehow it seemed to stop, still winning in smaller races but not getting close in classics or other big events.

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Don't forget to attack!

Suspected broken collarbone for Boonen today. Bummer for him, that will pretty much kill his classics campaign. Good thing Etixx is so deep.

Bet you Terpstra and Stybar are secretly very happy with that. Lots of competition in their team, which now improves their individual chances.

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_____________________
Don't forget to attack!

dude u had to read the Spanish tweets...

"Valverde will find a way to f this up"

"Valverde will find a way to lose this one"

"Valverde ready to shit the bed"

lol

it was actually funny

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

but weakens the team...

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

I think he still gets close (3 second places in Qatar or Oman...don't remember which) but not as dominant as he used to be. Real bummer for me as a fan and compatriot. And I'm not just blindly gobbling these performances up either. The sudden decrease in dominance makes me wonder what changed...training, expectations, herbal supplements?

Just a classic case of "Gilbert-2011-syndrome"

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Professional Athlete: http://jordancheyne.wordpress.com/ http://www.strava.com/athletes/145340

Coaching Services:http://www.peakformcoaching.com/

first line from this song



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Also, time to update your points from this past week. Spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/...3RW2XLLB4/edit#gid=0

We are running on an honor system, so don't go inflating your stats

otherwise do people like the scoring system? Right now there are bonus points for picking the exact spots (2 for winner 1 for correct second or third place) of the podium but not for picking people on the podium, so if you pick Vanmarcke, Cancellara, GvA in that order for last year's Ronde, you get no bonus points despite picking the right composition of the podium. Would people like to change things so that picking winner gets 3 bonus points, and then 1 point if your pick ends up on the podium? So in this revised case, the aforementioned scenario gets you three points whereas someone picking Cancellara, Terpstra, and Stybar would have gotten 3 points while someone picking Terpstra, Cancellara, and Stybar would have gotten 1 point. Thoughts? I think this would reward more for picking the winner (as it ought to).