Agreed on your top 3, just not the order of it haha. Degenkolb seemed really eager on Sunday so I could see him pull something off. I don't think Terpstra makes top 5 tbh.

I'll change it up a bit:
MvdP, Dewulf, Senechal (small breakaway group)
Phillipsen, Dupont (sprint from chase pack)

Mojo sent for a speedy recovery turdburgler.

Samyn's underway now but I'll throw in some picks anyway:

Sep, Senechal, Degenkolb
Merlier, Dal-cin

Though it would be great to see El Tractor go for it again here and actually stay away this time. It would be a massive wolfpack celebration if he ever managed to get a win.

El Tractor is one DQS win I would root for on any day of the year.

Nice Rosskopf sighting off the front.

Rain in the forecast for Strade. Could make it fun...when viewing from the couch.

That was wild. MvdP’s handlebar sheared off?

Yeah, looks like he cracked a steerer tube or something? And I think he decided to go to the front knowing that? He could have been unpopular if he'd ended up taking down the field.

Looks as if it was only the right drop that broke off. He was on the tops, holding the shifter. Cobbles are rough on equipment.

Ah, thanks for the correction. I should know better than to doubt...I just saw the breakage for a flash...

Here's what it looked like. Perhaps over-clamping?

Reportedly it's a three piece bar, "though the breaking point on Van der Poel's bars looks to be further down."


Cyclingnews added that "Van der Poel could be seen throwing a piece of material – likely the right drop – to the side of the road and was then seen racing the finale with the shifter hanging loose." Have the UCI's new anti-littering rules kicked in yet?

Cobbles are rough. But the Aeroad didn’t need more bad PR (not the race).

Canyon: "Don't look up there! Look down here!"


Edit: While MdVP was theoretically leading out Merlier, I give Merlier like 95% of credit for mostly freelancing that. It was not a DQS-grade leadout.

Ha. Good one.....

Le Tractor just has a great time shutting things down. Too bad Cav couldn't get up front, but a nice ride.
Sep looks good. If he could retain the energy he uses coming back from his various mechanicals and crashes, he'd win a bunch sprint.

Sep has been looking good, but ISN needs to sort out their end-game. They kinda had two guys racing each other for 4th place.

The first thing I thought about was the adjustable bar coming loose or breaking, but this is totally different. Bad luck or VdP is just being too manly.

Campenaerts was really impressive. I thought it was fun to watch a smaller TT guy slugging it out on the cobbles. Also sort of disappointed to see Cav finish 5 seconds back. It looked like an opportunity for a decent result, given that there weren’t lots of top-notch sprinters and enough DQS teammates for positioning and lead out.

I think Cav might have been gassed from his efforts on the front from earlier in the race?

Yes, he did some work for sure. No more sitting in Mark Renshaw's pocket.

I was pretty impressed with Bernal's ride today. Rode with aggression and unleashed a savage sprint at the end to claim second. Ineos with lots of options at Strade Bianche.

Mollema too! I'm liking this new lease on life that Mollema has. Forget the GTs.

That attitude should have been adopted by more riders

Indeed. Fuglsang and Bardet going that way too. Seems like maybe Tom D should be in that camp too if/when he comes back?

One would hope so. Tom D was not bad at the one day races either.

Same could be said of Pinot; his biggest single career success is now a Giro di Lombardia.

Also, AM rain forecasted for both Friday and Saturday in Siena, though the rain (or rather, shower) should stop by the afternoon. So could be muddy, but not as muddy as the 2018 edition. Certainly won't be as taxing as last year's event in brutal heat.

Makes the handicapping interesting. If the gravel is thick it can bludgeon the legs over that many miles. Who is a muddier, who likes a fast track? The gravel really changes things, more than slick cobbles, I think. High cadence and not covering ground fast. I’m thinking cross guys.

Agreed and as of now we have a wet forecast. My heart is filled with happiness at the thought.

Agreed!