# (Spoilers) Ronde van Vlaanderen. 31/03/13



## beastie (25 Mar 2013)

It could be very interesting this year. There are some questions to be answered.

Is Boonen gonna feature?

Will Spartacus drop em all and solo home?

Can Sky get right in the mix?

Can anyone stop Peter "Wheelie" Sagan?

Ooh I can't wait.


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## BJH (27 Mar 2013)

Yes, some very big questions there that should be fantastic to watch unfold


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## Paragan (29 Mar 2013)

beastie said:


> It could be very interesting this year. There are some questions to be answered.
> 
> Is Boonen gonna feature?
> 
> ...


Hi,
I think there is only one question:

*Will Spartacus drop em all and solo home?*
He showed on E3 great form.He is definitely timing his form for these two weekends.If he will not have tech.problems and crash this Sunday will be about:Who can stay with Fabian Ch.?
Sagan has great form,Boonen strong team,Sky has very good team but will be all this enough and keep Fabian with them and will be not his another Flanders Time trail?
P.s.I am big fan of P.Sagan and want to see him win this race but he is not strong like Fabian is.If Fabian will escape team who can chase him is only quick step b/c you need at least 3 strong people bring him back which means only quick step could do that.
Go go Peter
Have a good weekend.


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## User169 (29 Mar 2013)

Heading over to Flanders tomorrow - Sportif on Saturday and then try to catch some of the action on Sunday.


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## raindog (29 Mar 2013)

a bit of atmosphere for those who won't be there - watch out for Boonen's grandad near the end.
http://inrng.com/


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## The Couch (29 Mar 2013)

Paragan said:


> *Will Spartacus drop em all and solo home?*
> ...
> If Fabian will escape team who can chase him is only quick step b/c you need at least 3 strong people bring him back which means only quick step could do that...


 
I agree 90%, that it's Cancelara that might go for the solo (more than anybody else), but I do believe that the question should be extended to this: Will Spartacus drop em all *(including Sagan)* and solo home? since for most people Sagan is definetely as much favourite as Sagan.
Personally I give the edge to Cancellara because of his experience (and proven solo work in this race (and PR), which is why I still mostly agree with the statement.

Don't know if 3 people working together - at that point in the race - is actually enough to catch him, if he is strong enough to gap them (e.g. on the last climb of the Kwaremont), then I don't expect him to be caught. Since history has shown little precedent that people strongest on the clombs get caught back during the last flat piece.
OPQ should at least have 2 people available (Vandenbergh and Chavanel) and possibly 2 other people which the form is more difficult to predict (Boonen and Terpstra), but that being said, I believe that Sky actually has the team as well to still have 3 good guys available - Hayman, Stannard and Thomas - (you could include EBH here as well, but personally I expect him more in PR.
Other teams will mostly likely only have one guy up front (e.g. Flecha, Langeveld, Gatto, Paolini, Roelandts, Pozzato, Amador, Voeckler, Oss, Degenkolb?, Breschel?, Wynants?, Offredo?, Bozic?).
Hell, even Cancellara and Sagan shouldn't be hoping to see many teammates around them past the 230km mark.


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## raindog (29 Mar 2013)

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd2mLT_le44&feature=player_embedded#
!


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## Herzog (29 Mar 2013)

My tip, Greg Van Avermaet, decent placing last year and likely to be a dark horse (assuming Sagan and Cancellara cancel each other out and Boonen is still under par). Chavanel has also shown decent form recently. Going to be fascinating!!


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## beastie (30 Mar 2013)

Thomas is definitely number one rider for Sky, but the will also use their collective might to try and cover multiple options, according to Thomas and Knaven. Sagan seems pretty tranquilo, and is playing down any rivalry between him and Spartacus.

I would love to see Thomas take the win, but part of me is looking forward to Sagans next victory salute.


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## smutchin (30 Mar 2013)

Should be a great race. Disappointed I won't be able to watch live coverage. 

I'll be cheering Geraint Thomas all the way but not with huge amounts of confidence, tbh.


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## zizou (30 Mar 2013)

Fabians race notes have been leaked


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## User169 (31 Mar 2013)

There's a women's race today as well. I've just had breakfast with the Pasta-Zara Cogeas team! Armistead and Trott both in action today, I think.


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## Pedrosanchezo (31 Mar 2013)

Going to put my £££ behind Sylvan Chavanel for this one. More exciting to not pick a favourite.
Cancellara and Sagan will be there about's too no doubt. Thomas, i think, isn't quite there yet but will cheer him on. 
Boonen can't be discounted as all his prep will be going into this and Roubaix. I'd like to see a different Boonen today as the past few weeks he's been way off. Hope it was all prep. 

Really looking forward to this as i am wrapped in a blanket and riddled with man flu. Bored.com.


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Delftse Post said:


> There's a women's race today as well. I've just had breakfast with the Pasta-Zara Cogeas team! Armistead and Trott both in action today, I think.


What's the weather looking like for later on dp? I've just read that it's "cold but sunny" for the sign on.


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Good grief - Boonen has crashed out.


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## smutchin (31 Mar 2013)

Aw nuts! After only 19km. He's having some rotten luck so far this year.


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## Pedrosanchezo (31 Mar 2013)

Anyone got a link to follow live or with updates? Can't seem to find anything useful. 

Waiting on Eurosport.


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

http://live.cyclingnews.com/


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

Blimey, the cycling goes live on Eurosport at 11 after the snooker. The trouble is it's first to 10 and the score's 4-1 at the moment!


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## deptfordmarmoset (31 Mar 2013)

I just found a little apéritif here - http://www.footstream.tv/channel6.html


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## rowdin (31 Mar 2013)

Was thinking the same thing, Its going to be delayed.


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## User169 (31 Mar 2013)

raindog said:


> What's the weather looking like for later on dp? I've just read that it's "cold but sunny" for the sign on.



I guess you'll have seen by now rd, but yes cold and sunny. About 0deg. at least it was two hours ago.


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## Pedrosanchezo (31 Mar 2013)

What kind of poor fools would delay the tour of flanders for snooker? I mean come on!!


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## deptfordmarmoset (31 Mar 2013)

Any links, anyone? All I've found is French Eurosport here, which just showed last year's race but is now talking about the race - Les rois de la pédale - but they don't seem to have live pictures.


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (31 Mar 2013)

http://www.procyclinglive.com/livestream/#


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## deptfordmarmoset (31 Mar 2013)

T.M.H.N.E.T said:


> http://www.procyclinglive.com/livestream/#


Cheers, I was trying to get earlier live coverage and avoiding the snooker but normal service has resumed.


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## smutchin (31 Mar 2013)

Is that Gaudin with the crosstop levers? Don't think I've seen that in a road race before.


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

I think some people have used them in PR?


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Greipel in the break - got to admire that.


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## Scoosh (31 Mar 2013)

See that guy in the front group without any gloves/mitts ??


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (31 Mar 2013)

Now a race-walk


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## User169 (31 Mar 2013)

raindog said:


> Greipel in the break - got to admire that.



Yeah. Gutsy riding.


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

Phew, managed to escape from my sister's in time for the dénouement!


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

the obligatory puncture for Fab


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

scary fast approaching the hill! They have nerves of steel


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

bloody nora GT down


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Thomas down FFS


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## Finn (31 Mar 2013)

Anyone catch why G fell over then?


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

Finn said:


> Anyone catch why G fell over then?


whisky in the bidon?


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

now it's Flecha


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## Finn (31 Mar 2013)

rich p said:


> whisky in the bidon?


Ahh I miss Thin Lizzy.


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (31 Mar 2013)

Finn said:


> Anyone catch why G fell over then?


EBH told him Cav is better than Sagan


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## Finn (31 Mar 2013)

here we go !!head to head time maybe Canc & Sagan


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

canc for the win


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

EBH blown away and Sagan hanging on for dear life


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## Sittingduck (31 Mar 2013)

Starting to get interesting now...!

Cance' for the win, I reckon.


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## Herzog (31 Mar 2013)

Sagan is going to get a decent tow to the line then...unless FC goes very soon!


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

JESUS CHRIST!!


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## Herzog (31 Mar 2013)

Wow...power!!


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## User169 (31 Mar 2013)

Wowzers!!


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## Sittingduck (31 Mar 2013)

Uh oh....


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Gap going up already


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

impressive stuff


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

that was staggering even by Fab's standards


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

He must love proving all those who wrote him off wrong.


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## User169 (31 Mar 2013)

Brilliant stuff. Smoked em on the Paterburg!!


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Delftse Post said:


> Brilliant stuff. Smoked em on the Paterburg!!


hey dp - we're expecting photos later on


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## Sittingduck (31 Mar 2013)

Awesome!
And fair play to Sagan for not sitting up for the bunch and conserving energy for the final sprint.


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

Geraint was 5th in the end, not that it matters much in the great scheme of things.


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## Basil.B (31 Mar 2013)

Who won?
Just got in from a ride.


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## montage (31 Mar 2013)

raindog said:


> Geraint was 5th in the end, not that it matters much in the great scheme of things.


 
That's amazing, considering the peloton was flying when he crashed, he had what seemed like a good 20 minute TT to get back on. He still has a chance to upset in roubaix I reckon


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## montage (31 Mar 2013)

Basil.B said:


> Who won?
> Just got in from a ride.


Lance


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## smutchin (31 Mar 2013)

Cycling's the winner, Brian.


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

GT wasn't 5th!


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## rich p (31 Mar 2013)

I think you may have seen the UCI world rankings update


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## Basil.B (31 Mar 2013)

Cancellara won then, good!


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## smutchin (31 Mar 2013)

montage said:


> That's amazing, considering the peloton was flying when he crashed, he had what seemed like a good 20 minute TT to get back on. He still has a chance to upset in roubaix I reckon



He fell off in E3P and MSR too. Tempted to put money on him falling off in PR as well. 

If he can stay upright for the distance, he might even win a race one of these days.


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## montage (31 Mar 2013)

smutchin said:


> He fell off in E3P and MSR too. Tempted to put money on him falling off in PR as well.
> 
> If he can stay upright for the distance, he might even win a race one of these days.


 
Looking at the results, I can't see him coming in 5th...and I don't recall seeing him in that lead group at all during the race


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## smutchin (31 Mar 2013)

montage said:


> Looking at the results, I can't see him coming in 5th...and I don't recall seeing him in that lead group at all during the race



He was near the front of the peloton when they hit the Oude Kwaremont. I was feeling quite optimistic about his chances at that point. Then I had to go out and I've just seen the result a few minutes ago... Ho hum.


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## raindog (31 Mar 2013)

rich p said:


> GT wasn't 5th!


odd - not like me to get things round me neck


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## User169 (31 Mar 2013)

Vos won the women's race - the eddy merckx of womens racing as Belgian TV just put it!!


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## beastie (31 Mar 2013)

Just watched the race, a bit of a slow burner, and then Cancellara just showed his awesomeness. Looks like he will try the same at Roubaix. Sagan is nearly there, he is only 23. Give him 2 years more and he will be unstoppable. 
I thought Thomas looked a bit tired about 5 minutes before his crash. He had been right near the front in good position and then the pace went right up and he dropped about ten places then at a tight right hander he got stuck on the inside and lost another 6 or 7 places. Can he last at PR?


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## smutchin (31 Mar 2013)

Has G lost his road skillz by wasting the last few years fannying about on the track?


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## oldroadman (31 Mar 2013)

beastie said:


> Just watched the race, a bit of a slow burner, and then Cancellara just showed his awesomeness. Looks like he will try the same at Roubaix. Sagan is nearly there, he is only 23. Give him 2 years more and he will be unstoppable.
> I thought Thomas looked a bit tired about 5 minutes before his crash. He had been right near the front in good position and then the pace went right up and he dropped about ten places then at a tight right hander he got stuck on the inside and lost another 6 or 7 places. Can he last at PR?


 
It was a pretty quick burner, 90km in first two hours and the pace never really eased. Everyonewas a bit tired coming into the final. GT did an exceptionel ride gettting back to the remains of the peloton - 206 starters, and 30 or so in it at the last time over the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg.
Cancellera played it perfectly, saving the big move for the last Paterberg, and no-one else had the ability to go with the attack, which was a simple "turn the screws until they die" job. Once he's 10 seconds up in TT mode with under 15km to go, just wave goodbye and play for a podium place.
GT was not top ten, but as has been correctly noted, is 5th in the World Tour rankings.
Stannard and him could be forces at Roubaix, but a betting man would hope to get odds (not very good ones from a profit point of view) on Spartacus.
Roubaix though, is a race where you need some good luck for a chance at the win, and bad luck will simply ruin your day! If this weather stays like it is, it will be eating dust all day, which is better than sliding on your backside over the pave three or four times and having to chase!


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## Get In The Van (31 Mar 2013)

Had this on all day and dipped in and out of watching it as i was working around the house, but watched the last 20km in full, Cancellera was a canny rider today, the way he left Sagan was impressive, anyone know why he was shaking his head at the end as if in disapproval of something?


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## Strathlubnaig (31 Mar 2013)

fantastic performance from spartacus there, he is truly the man with the hammer. Tough break for tommeke though, nae luck at a' this year.


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## Flying_Monkey (31 Mar 2013)

I think Cancellara is enjoying torturing young Sagan. The other teams are going to have to try something different against Spartacus next week. But it seems that the longer the road is, the more that Cancellara comes into his own. It was almost just attrition today. It is admirable riding but it does make the last 30k or so rather predictable.


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## zizou (31 Mar 2013)

Awesome show from Cancellara. Incredible how quickly he can turn a small gap when a rider loses his wheel into a big gap over the course of less than 1km.

Have to say i'm not a great fan of the new route, given it two years now and still think it misses the kapelmuur


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## redcard (31 Mar 2013)

Get In The Van said:


> ...anyone know why he was shaking his head at the end as if in disapproval of something?



I thought it was more of a "f-ck, that was tough" than anything else.


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## Mr Haematocrit (31 Mar 2013)

Fabian was incredible, thought it was an exhibition of great cycling.


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## line71 (31 Mar 2013)

raindog said:


> Geraint was 5th in the end, not that it matters much in the great scheme of things.


WRONG

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/disappointing-tour-of-flanders-for-team-sky

G Thomas was 41st 2.49 down


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## raindog (1 Apr 2013)

I know, I know, I know


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## smutchin (1 Apr 2013)

Having now watched the end of the race, I'd say it looked like he could have finished higher but threw the towel in after Cancellara attacked. He was unlucky to crash when he did. The pace was high all day but especially so at that moment and it must have been quite a drain on his reserves to chase back to the lead group. 

Shame. He looked like he was going really well until the crash - quite comfortable, in fact. 

Though even without the crash and chase, I doubt he could have done much about it when Cancellara went for it. That wasn't just a truly awesome display of power, it was the technique and experience to know exactly when and how to attack. And the sheer bloody determination to keep going even though his legs must have been really burning at the end. He showed that Sagan still has a lot to learn.

And unlike in certain other races recently, Fab's team also played their part and deserve a lot of credit - especially Hayden Roulston.


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## Booyaa (1 Apr 2013)

smutchin said:


> And unlike in certain other races recently, Fab's team also played their part and deserve a lot of credit -* especially Hayden Roulston*.


 
Agreed, he was phenomenal. Great win by Fab, a joy to watch.


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## The Couch (2 Apr 2013)

smutchin said:


> And unlike in certain other races recently, Fab's team also played their part and deserve a lot of credit - especially Hayden Roulston.


We even got a more than decent Stijn Devolder sighting after several years of invisibility.

Strange that nobody has yet mentioned the disappointment that the lesser-favourites were (and I am not talking result-wise).
If Cancellara and Sagan were 5-star favourites (nobody being 4-star ), almost none of the 2 or 3 star did anything.
I wanted to give a thumbs-up to Roelandts who was the only one brave/smart (pick what fits best) enough to not have Sagan and/or Cancellara lead them to slaughter that would be the 3rd time Kwaremont.
(I consider here Turgot and Offredo - who also tried - lower-tier for the RvV than Roelandts was/is)
People like Haussler, Breschel, Van Avermaet, Langeveld... even a strong-in-form Chavanel, they should have all known (after the previous races) that they needed a better strategy than just hoping they won't get dropped on the last 2 climbs.

I also wanted to highlight the very nice race from Kwiatkowski... I just checked, because I didn't quite know when he left the peloton, apparently he attacked on the Molenberg (km 130). Which means that he rode about 120km in the lead group(s), since he only "broke" after the 3rd Kwaremont, not being able to stay in the wheel of Sagan and Cancellara in the glowing piece between Kwaremont and Paterberg.
This guy really has a lot of potential and while last year I was thinking he might he be more suited for the 1 week stuff (Tour de Suisse, Paris Nice,...) he actually showed he has more than a bit of a classics rider in him as well.


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