They’re all premium. But Boohooani is podium.

I laugh out loud every time I read press coverage where he mentioned. Cheered me up all day today.

Predictions for Dwars door Vlaanderen:
Lampaert, Kragh Anderson, Turgis
Kristoff, Pedersen


So the 'De Ronde 104' behind the scenes episode of last years race got broadcasted Sunday evening, watched it yesterday (it should appear on Youtube as well somewhere this week) and it's golden as you'd expect.

Definitely looking forward to De Ronde, but somehow it feels so soon already. Seems like the buildup is lacking a bit although with the E3 we got to see some glimpses of what could happen. About 5 more weeks and the Classics are already done for this year (extept for Lombardia) and the Giro will be upon us (should be golden as well with the field that will be present).

On Sunday I'm expecting a hard race early on.. Weather will be really good (10-13 deg C, barely any wind). The teams with strenght in depth (DQS, Trek) will probably want to isolate WvA and MVdP early on. Wout will probably be hoping for Nathan to be there again with him, Mathieu will likely have Gianni Vermeersch with him who could be a co-leader in the Classics if Alpecin would invest in him. Stybar showed really good form, LFF will be good as always, Lampaert and Asgreen, Ballerini, Senechal.. 60k out, after the second to last time on the Oude Kwaremont, a break of about 20 riders? WvA, MVdP, Stybar, Lampaert, Senechal, LFF, Stuyven, Pedersen, Kirsch, GvA, Naesen, Jungels, Wellens, Vliegen, Politt, Sagan, Kueng, Narvaez, Pidcock, Fuglsang, Bettiol, Vanmarcke (if he doesn't fall), Kristoff, Kragh Anderson, Benoot, Trentin, Teuns, Turgis..

Turgis has been really good as well last Friday and Sunday, interesting to see if Terpstra and Eddie BH will ride for him since he probably has a good shot at making a top 5 imo depending on how the race plays out.

Then on the Pater another attack by DQS to split that group into 2, then it's Koppenberg, Steenbeekdries and Taaienberg which will probably keep things split up. The chase group might come back before the last time on the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, but things will split up again and a group of 5-8 will go to the finish. Sagan jumps out of the draft with 50m to go to win another Ronde. Kristoff cleaning up what's left as always.

Predictions De Ronde:
Sagan, WvA, MVdP
Kristoff, GVA

Edit: Changed Stybar pick for Lampaert since Styby won't be riding Dwars door Vlaanderen apparently

“We are currently in talks with Peter,” Denk said. “The outcome is still open, and we hope for a decision in April. We are very grateful for what Sagan has done for us, but he is entering the ‘autumn’ of his career. And he is one of the best-paid professionals in the peloton. We have to weigh that up: do we still want to afford it, or is it better to invest the money in youth?”

Sounds like he’s taking a page from Don’s playbook. Speaking of, how crazy/awesome would it be if Peto jumped over to DQS at lit it up? Maybe not that big of a stretch with Specialized... and Don giving the 1 finger salute to Denk for trying to “buy” Remco and Ballerini.

Cavendish and Sagan on the same team (assuming Cav gets another year). Having them in the same race for the same team would be interesting.

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

That could actually be awesome. Legit support for another Monument or two on his last lap.

You can see Bora already struggling with how to support him, on the road. Ackermann/Schachmann plan A, Peto lower case. And with Kamna really devloping, time for tough decisions.

The other factor in this theory is where are DQS with Alaphilippe. His contract ends this year, but they have option until 2024. AG2R plants a wad??

I get that something isn't quite right with Peter, but "autumn of his career?" Makes it sound like he's super old. He's 31. Look at what 'verde, Gilbert, Cancellara did after 31.

Flanders chatter - wow, nice to be back to this after the last 13 months.
Sagan - i just don't see him making the splits with WvA, MvDP kind of pressure (not yet, i REALLY hope that is different at worlds on similar course!). I love Sagan so, I'm really hoping he plays his cards well and hangs on to those who can chase back. Having him as a wild card in a small group sprint finish would be great fun to see.

Sagan next year - I can't see him going to DQS with alaphillipe. i see him as terpstra - great class but the only teams that can afford to make him top billing and give him free rein in a grand tour will hurt his classics numbers chances (soren kraghs team or kristoff team?).

DQS - raced full on w/o Alaphillippe - they might not be as willing to destroy the race with him. the combo of alaphill/WVA/MVDP means the attacks will be vicious and any group that survives will likely be small. i'd love to be wrong cuz one of those guys misses a split and the racing is on like king kong playing cheech and chong in donkey kong like gent wevelgem....

my prediction - mvdp then a trail of tears - trentin/naesen/asgreen...

i hope paris roubaix is possible b/c more guys will have a chance to limit the damage from the top 3 (i think).

The monument winners, the "Autumns" know how to roll into form for the big games and aren't losing sleep over a 28th at KBK.
There's no question Sagan wants Flanders again and he's looking stealthy and healthy. I bet he's trying hard to carry less weight as the explosiveness isn't what it used to be- not that it's still not sick.
Phil Gil will have a tough time but he knows how.
GvA has been going great but the stars definitely need to line up just right.
Even though Kristoff hasn't shown much, I'm guessing he will when it counts unless he's lost the battle of the chubs in his "autumn".
Sep, Stybar, Wellens, van Baarle, Kwiat.
The LFF is ready for a do over, and damn he's got the team for it.
Not to say there isn't a changing of the guard with the van Monsters, but the Autumns (in their 30's? cruel game) will go down swinging and their teams will still ride for them.
Young gun Turgis has some serious beef riding on his behalf, including the beast, Gaudin. Terpstra could be a big help if he decides to be.
WC #1 Tiger Turgis, if he can even be considered a dark horse.

Now, what kind of beer?

He's out of Flanders - "mental and physical fatigue". I think at this point, and his age, we'll maybe be lucky to see one last hurrah for Gilbert in the fall classics or Worlds.

Dwars picks

Will go with all wildcards for the opener...save the usual suspects for my Sunday picks.

Lampaert, Trentin, Stuyven
Bettiol, Ballerini

You could argue that Boonen and Fabs hits their peak classics power--combo of endurance, experience and savvy--at just that age.

Yeah, it's fantasy of him landing at DQS, what with Ala, Remco, Bennett and co, but gotta dream. Maybe Specialized will pick up half his salary. Or they'll trade players. Or, who knows...

MvdP, Asgreen, Trentin
Baller-ini, Dekker

MvdP, Stuyven, Alaphilippe
Trentin and Senechal

Jake Stewart is out of the Ronde due to a broken hand. Shit, there goes my wildcard choice.

Guess where he broke his hand? I now want a year-long ban for Bouhanni. :-/

Will hit both now.

For Sunday. Remember the split second it ended last October thinking we would get back here soon enough!

What I hope and want: Sagan. Just, I'm still the Man.
What I would enjoy: Wout
What I think: Alaphilippe. They are all in to get this back for him

Gonna go all in as fanboy with podium order and WC.

Sagan, Wout, Ala
GvA, Sep

Dwars

Lampaert,Trentin, Naesen
Pidcock, Senechal

Edit: didn't realize Mads not on start list for Dwars

That just sucks.

It's fantasy, but a good one.

Don't underestimate Lefevere's saltiness, want for revenge and always present need for sponsor funding. This isn't Cav 3 years removed from winning. Denk can negotiate all he wants in the media, but Peter is the only one their current sponsors are utilizing regularly for world wide marketing campaigns. I've yet to see the "Ackermann Edition" of anything. Denk's got some nice stage winners and opportunist, but come on - Sagan is still one of the biggest rockstars on the peloton and on that team.


I'm a fanboy as well - would love to see him on a team with strong support for the races he targets. Maybe he is too much of an alpha to work with anyone else, but that DQS lineup is always dangerous across the board.

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

Alright, for Dwars I'm going:

MvdP, Trentin, Lampaert
Turgis, DvB

The Sagan thing is a little baffling. At his age you can't say he's in the autumn of his career, he's got plenty of time to win more races, and as a marketing property I feel like he's still the most valuable rider in the pro peloton. Pro cycling is a business and letting him go is unlikely to be a good business decision at this point.

Bora has some great talents but aside from maybe Oss, none have much star power outside of Germany. Maybe they sell a lot of shower fixtures in few countries but that's not going to keep global brands like Specialized onboard. If Sagan is racing people tune in, regardless of whether he does anything meaningful. Schachmann winning PN again is huge for the team but nobody in the US (other than maybe all us on this thread) gives a sh*t.

I read a recent opinion piece about how Sagan might not have same star power but is still the most charismatic. Goes out of his way for fans, always thanks teammates for their work, and regularly thanks sponsors. Don't think the same can be said of all the others.

Ballerini
SKA
Trentin

Demare
LaPorte

UAE and ICA are throwing big cabbage around. Tough to outbid them. Especially UAE.

If ICA can sink that kind of cabbage into Froome...

I also think they're just making it a bit harder on Sagan. My guess is with his deals for Specialized, 100% and all the other commercial stuff, he still brings in big money for them. He likely just won't be able to get the same amount of money as his previous contract because he's been a bit off in the last 2 seasons.. I think he'll stay with Bora to be honest.
And if not, I definitely don't see him going to DQS..

The Specialized deal might not be the determining factor since if Remco Evenepoel recovers and picks up where he left and starts to do well from the Giro on, they have their new golden child..

Somehow it's hard to imagine him going to another team, I couldn't say which team would be a good pick for him since most seem like they're either too strict, don't have the budget or don't have the team to match his ambitions that still seem to be there. With Kristoff in his last years and no one there for the cobbled Classics other then Gaviria for some sprints, UAE?
Trek's Classics squad might be a good fit imo.. Together with Stuyven, Pedersen, Theuns on a good day, Simmons, Mullen, Kirsch. Could become DQS 2.0.

DQS not looking too sharp today, only Senechal up front.

Man what an attack fest...

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we're seeing a lot of King Kung these days....he could be a Roubaix guy