in hindsight, perhaps QS had this plan of Terpstra-for-the-flyer, PG & YL & Stybar in the bunch. it seems like PG was "working for". hopefully this reverses for PG as the fav for Paris Roubaix.

What’s with all the abbreviations in this topic - can we get back to using real names to make it easier to follow?

I wonder if Gilbert was playing the role of Boonen last year and Terpstra was "playing" his role - i.e. forcing others to chase.

Roubaix will be exciting for sure, a lot of teams will be under pressure to deliver.

Hats off to Van Aert, amazing ride. He should be better suited for PR.

Terpstra made the perfect move, the race was hard, Nibbles dropped a watt bomb, terpstra bridged and pushed on. The favorites paused just long enough to give him that critical 10-15 extra seconds. The chase was not overly organized, Sagan ripped the final climb, dropped everybody, but had too much distance to make up for his current fitness/form at that point in the race. Tactically it was perfect, if Terpstra gets caught they could counter with Stybar or Gilbert. The only way to respond to this strategically is (1) isolate QS through highly selective riding earlier in the race or (2) close absolutely every attack instantly. In the end Sagan/GVA threw away the race by not following Terpstra, if you are the strongest in the race you have to shoulder that responsibility at the end of a race. Sagan bemoaning the lack of cooperation is almost comical, why would people work with arguably the strongest rider in the race?

I think Roubaix will be interesting, i suspect GVA/Sagan/Sep will try and create some early gaps and isolate QS as much as possible. Sagan in particular seems to like the early moves at Roubaix. His attack at 70k to go last year was a good example. Roubaix is my favorite race every year and it never disappoints.......unless Terpstra wins.

Why the Terpstra hate? I think a legitimate solo threat really make the racing interesting. With Cancellara and Boonen retired, it seemed like there'd be no one left to do those long-distance solo strikes. But Terpstra seems to be filling those shoes, at least this year.

His gapping Sagan off last year left a bad taste in my mouth. Also I am a cancellara fan boy and hated seeing him win in 2014.

What I thought was really neat was that Stybar and Gilbert genuinely seemed happy for Trepstra at the finish.

Van Aert has the legs. I think PR will be more suitable for him that Flanders.

I think Sagan really wants to add PR to his palmares, is annoyed and will dish out a thrashing. It’s better suited for Oss and Burghardt to stay in the mix longer. He’s exactly right about QS: if none of rhe other teams get going then the results won’t change.

I have to think that the dynamic in the QS team will be a little different for PR than it has been thus far this spring. Gilbert is hungry for another Monument, and Stybar will be aching for a good result as well. They may not be too pleased if Terpstra goes on another raid. But will Terpstra be content to be a support rider while he's enjoying the form he's got at the moment?

Sagan will be out to make a statement, and we'll hopefully see more of Vanmarcke as well.

This is spot on. I think the biggest potential drama is within the QS and if the director can manage things. So far they have been perfect, everyone has been winning, outwardly there are no conflicts. As long as Terpstra is willing be a team player and let Gilbert and Stybar have a go in this one the odds will be in their favor. Gilbert and Stybar both looked really strong and rode great interference, he owes them.

He doesn't look quite right to me. He tried to deliver that thrashing today and barely got 50m up the road. Barn door aerodynamics aside, not very Sagan-like.

GVA also isn't quite right. It looked like he unloaded his best attack on one of the late climbs (forget which), and did little more than create a small split, with 10 guys still with him.

It wasn't simply being marked. They weren't that good.

True, Sagan in particular was a bit off. He got away briefly but came back to the group - when does that *ever* happen with Sagan?

Then they couldn't bring back Pedersen, even though for quite some time he was only 6-7 seconds ahead. And then Valgren and Gilbert got away.

Aggreed. Sagan was totally acting like a prima donna back then.

If Terpstra gets caught, it's still all QS, with Sagan probably. Crazy that he got away. He's done it before. I've never seen a guy who can just relentlessly pull away from a field like that who isn't a stud time trialist.

I think Sagan is in great form. He just needed Oss at the finish. He could've should've would've jumped on Terpstra's move.

Pederson looks Roubaix worthy. What a beast.

Great race.

Greg Van Avermaet attacked on the Taaienberg but didn't create a big gap and after that he wasn't able to do much. Both him and Sagan are not able to keep a hard effort up the way they were last year, that has been visible in many races so far this year.

I respectfully disagree. I think Sagan and van Av are as strong as they've ever been. The race was super fast from the jump, was wet and tense, and took 60k to just establish the break. It was like Roubaix with hills. No one, unless they're serious el dope can ride away from QS.

As the BMC director said, "QS has 3 Gregs."

I don't think it can be overstated that it's hard to get anything done against a team that has Gilbert, Stybar, and Lampaert just sitting there, waiting to win if Terpstra doesn't.

Exactly. Sagan gets criticized if he drags a QS rider up the road to Terpstra and gets beaten. Appears he’s no longer going to do that, and is willing to take his chances with chase group.

No matter how strong he and GvA are, it’s going to be a tall task for any rider to win when you have the power of QS. If Sagan does get up to Terpstra then what does he do if Terpstra sits up and refuses to coordinate?

I'm just going by what I think I noticed but also what Greg VA said himself after E3 and Flanders.

I think they should rename this thread the acronym thread!

I watched the race from start to finish yesterday on Eurosport, but it took me ten minutes sifting through quotes to understand what the hell anyone was talking about!!!!

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He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

I agree

The GVA attack on Taainberg was something like 90 seconds for 560W (they showed a graphic afterwards). Mind you, these guys do have ~6 hours of racing already at this point, but 560W is ~130% for them (cf. 175-200% for the rest of us mere mortals). He attacked as if only the person who gets away won't be eaten by the bear, but it just didn't have the intended effects. Naesen put up his power files, and he did something similar on the hill. GvA was pretty cooked afterwards, but still wasn't dropped on Kwaremont and Patersberg. This just means that he probably is still stronger than others, just not so strong that he can bludgeon people to submission. A better DS would probably help with strategizing.

Love to see another Mapei 1-2-3, but Gilbert is no Museeuw, he might not even be one of the three there, so then who crosses the line first?

Step 1) Get up to Terpstra.

Step 2) Figure out what to do when you get there.

If Terpstra sits up and refuses, then Sagan can sit up too to teach him a lesson.

Even coming into the finale with a 3-on-1 vs. Gilbert, Stybar, and Terpstra is a stronger racing situation than coming into the finale 30 seconds down on Terpstra.

That's what he's done in the past and with limited success. Remember MSR?

If he uses all his matches to get there and Terpstra refuses to work he's not racing for the win either way. Looked to me like he gambled on it coming back together and wanting to save for the sprint.

the takeaway is, for anyone thinking of winning, nothing in blue gets up the road alone..........the rest of QS just takes a dump on any chase effort.........

I know you're right but I'd vomit half way thru the second showing of the Nikki-Phil-Yves-Zed show. QS really is built for this.

I think Sagan and GVA are on good form. ditto Sep and several others. they just need to find some tactics.

good luck with that.