Holy Week Feedbag
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 5:39 PM EDT
in News
Email
Print
As great as Gent-Wevelgem and La Fleche Wallonne are, there's a reason they don't run the biggest classics during the week: because it's not convenient for me. Time just for a few notes:
* True confession (o/t), I promoted the story about Lance's tiff with the controllers yesterday because it sounded amusing. It is officially no longer amusing.
* Thanks to all for the intelligence (both meanings) you provided on the Kemmelberg in yesterday's thread. I am no longer convinced that this will be overly decisive, and am counting on the weather to make this race interesting. We will have to wait and see; among the variables are the fundamental nature of weather, and my fundamental inability to comprehend wind directions. A "south wind" is one blowing north, right? You can see how confusing this is. Anyway, the race runs in roughly a 270-degree arc, so a 20-mph wind from any direction will eventually be trouble. I still don't see a bunch sprint.
* From the startlist, here are my ten most interesting names:
- Juan Antonio Flecha... down but not out. Likes the slop.
- Stijn Devolder... amazing how you can win Flanders and still have nothing to lose? OK, maybe he'll reel it in for Paris-Roubaix, but a Devolder attack in the last 15km is almost too obvious for anyone to suspect.
- Wouter Weylandt... Three top-10 finishes in sprint races shows he's not Mark Cavendish, but in the right group...
- Martin Elmiger... 12th at MSR, 9th at de Ronde. Can finish off a small group. My dark horse! [Assuming you can bag 9th in Flanders and still fit the definition.]
- Random FdJeux Guy... Every race they have someone in the mix. What's changed since last year? Did someone switch the pre-race music to Daft Punk?
- Matti Breschel... Something's gotta give with Saxo. Breschel was in the front group Sunday, so he's clearly got the legs. And the speed.
- Heinrich Haussler... I'd say he should save it for Sunday, but he just doesn't know any other way right now.
- Mike Friedman... taking a flier here. Look for Garmin to have guys up the road early. If this race is as treacherous as it could be, that might be more than just a flier.
- Bjorn Leukemans... Fun guy. Totally on fire right now.
- Mark Cavendish... Just because it's not inevitable doesn't mean he won't win.
Your picks?? I'll say Flecha, solo, in the slop.
56 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
That
I can remember, thanks!
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm going to say
1. Cavendish
2. Haussler
3. Flecha
I think I’m going to go with these picks for P-R too, where they will be decidedly stupider ;)
Especially since Cav is no longer doing P-R.
People say I'm cocky or arrogant when I win, but they don't see the deep self-loathing when I lose a race I think I should have won. It really hurts me, you know. --Mark Cavendish
Actually
It never occurred to me that he was doing it.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions
He had been planning to ride it, for the experience
and because it was the one race where he could help the team—sprint finishes he’s expected to win, and hilly races he’s no help to others—but won’t do it now. From CW:
Cavendish confirmed as well that he will not be riding Paris-Roubaix. Wednesday will be his 30th race day of the season already and it will be time to ease back a little before the Giro and Tour. "It’s a shame. I want to do it, but I’m a professional cyclist, I’m not doing this as a hobby."
People say I'm cocky or arrogant when I win, but they don't see the deep self-loathing when I lose a race I think I should have won. It really hurts me, you know. --Mark Cavendish
And
he’s not busting his collarbone in April “for the experience.” Too bad, but he’s Columbia’s meal ticket right now.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions
ah
last I heard he was doing it – from his mouth actually – something about it being one of the few races of the year where he could help others (Hincapie especially). Oh well.
by plinytheelder on Apr 8, 2009 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Hello from Belgium!
Internet is mighty costly around these parts, so full race reports and diaries will have to wait until i get back to the states. Just wanted to pop in and tell everyone to book their tickets for 2010. The trip has already been amazing, and It’s only day four out of ten. Tour of Flanders was one of the best times i’ve ever had. On the Muur all day, then off to a small bar in Brakel where we toasted Stijn until the wee hours of the morning.
Made an excursion up to Amsterdam yesterday, and just got back. 8 hours of sleep and I’ll be golden for GW. Hitting the starting line and then the Kemmelmuur. Much more to come, including a ton of pics, video and stories, when I am in a more rested state of mind.
I can't wait!!!
Say hi to my Garmin guys Will and Meatball! :-)
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
awesome
But my illusions of Belgium… can I love a country where internet is still expensive?
Oh, wait, it’s $10/day at Starbucks in the US. Never mind…
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, but it sucks. Always low signal strength.
People say I'm cocky or arrogant when I win, but they don't see the deep self-loathing when I lose a race I think I should have won. It really hurts me, you know. --Mark Cavendish
Mine hasn't been bad. But if I am there, it's usually an odd our of the day.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."
woohoo!
Of course, I never use my 3G minutes anyway. And I can’t very well blog on the phone. yet.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Knave
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Go to a library . . . .
. . . . you’ll need to regester and get a library card, but the internet is free and the card is a cool keepsake.
I still have mine from the Avelgem library
I got a very dark horse to go for the win...
1. Aurelien Clerc..AG2R La Mondiale
2. Marcus Burghardt…Columbia High Road
3. Jeremy Hunt…Cervelo Test Team
Okay. I see the race coming down to a small group just ahead of a huge pack with Cavendish probably getting the field sprint. BTW I think that Clerc is going to be the leader and Elmiger will be second fiddle. This is Clerc’s big race
Also to comment about the wind, 20 mph isn’t enough to create splits at all. I mean I get 20 mph winds in the midwest all of the time and you just have to know how to echelon. I was reading the interview with Aurelien Clerc and it said that the forecast was 55 kph (about 34.18 mph) from the southwest. Now that will cause some ugly splits and many men will be spit out. If the winds are 20mph then it’ll be a pack finish no matter if it rains.
Yes, the forecast has changed
But 55 km/h sounds a bit high, that would be 7 Bft. Direction for coast and centre is now S → SW. Force is still 4-5 Bft in the centre but has risen to 5-6 Bft at the coast (29-49 km/h or 18-30 mph).
20 mph winds are plenty strong to get a split,
especially in the finale of the race. Maybe early on, everyone will get into their respective echelon and regroup afterwards. But if there is a crosswind when it speeds up, like in the finale, 10 mph could break up the race.
I live in cross wind country too and we get all kinds of carnage on windy days. It’s mainly because everyone is afraid of being in the second echelon. They’d rather ride the gutter until they die.
I probably shouldn't have said at all
but I don’t think big splits will happen before the Kemmel…With winds around 20 and under somebody will just have to slam it on the front to get any major breaks that will drop the favorites. I will probably eat my words before the end of the race tommorow. I think it just depends on the severity of the wind.
Though I’m sure Rabobank will come in and show me so wrong by blowing up the field and then not getting the podium…but that is for tommorow.
With the ugly weather ...
This is hard to call. How much will the big teams be willing to work? It isn’t just the captains who have to be saving for Sunday. I want to pick some old warhorse like Guesdon or Knaven to batter their way to a win, but neither can sprint for much.
So I don’t want to pick a young fast guy like Ciolek or Cavendish, and I don’t want to pick an old warhorse who is smart enough to save some matches for Sunday. That leaves a rider or a team needing a victory.
So I’m going w/:
1. Eisel
2. Hammond
3. Nuyens
Classic guys w/ both a turn of speed and tactical savvy and are tough enough to force a break and make the pure sprinters suffer.
Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste
Will Colombia want to send anyone in the break?
They seem to be bigging it up as a Cav race, in which case they should expect to spend the whole day chasing back breaks by themselves, and thus waving bye bye to any chance George has on Sunday. Apart from that I agree with all you said.
I’ll go for Hoste, Hammond, Ciolek. Cos I’m sure that Ciolek has to be saving himself for something.
Allright, you want feedbag
(I do hope that Gav’s not writing a gossip page right now – but then she has the all wise and powerful delete button I guess)
1. Another doping story coming out of Austria. One more cyclist tested positive for EPO somewhere in March, no names, not even an initial this time. He could even be an amateur, so don’t get too carried away with the speculation.
2. Kurt Hovelynck has been brought out of his artificially induced coma and moved into a normal ward. It sounds like there’s still a long way to go, but he’s heading the right way.
3. Mirco Lorenzetto should be well enough to leave hospital on Thursday and go home, so presumably any damage to his face was the cosmetic sort of damage rather than the skull-busting one.
4. The old man of the peloton, Frederic Guesdon, wants to keep going for another two years, by which time he will be forty. Even more amazingly he has been with Française des Jeux ever since the team started in 1997. No word on what Thor’s reaction is to that.
5. Apparently the organisers of the Giro offered Lance 2 million Euro to take part. They had hoped to get some of that back through US TV rights, but apparently Versus weren’t that keen on paying up. That could explain all the problems we’ve seen this spring working out who was showing MSR etc.
Aw
Thor can’t get mad at an old warrior like Guesdon, can he? Dude must be 75% leather by now.
Glad to here Lorenzetto isn’t too bad off.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Wasn't Guesdon
the rider Thor bounced off last Sunday? Maybe I’m completely wrong on that one.
Hard to believe
Guesdon won Roubaix 12 years ago. Watching that video in the velodrome coming past Museeuw is spine tingling .Hopefully he can pull of some crazy win before he is done. He deserves it.
Hopefully Hovelynck can come back. He is a promising talent and hopefully Quick Step keep him on.
Yes
We will be discussing this race very, very soon.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes
We will be discussing that race very, very soon.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions
well, you are all going to have to read it twice
because i really don’t want to start over. damn, this week is so not going well.
Sorrree
but I’m sure you’ll make it funnier. Someone must know a good joke or two about broken skulls. Can’t you just use your special powers to edit out my post
monty thanks for posting the Lorenzetto stuff
I hadn’t seen that, it’s good to hear.
by plinytheelder on Apr 8, 2009 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Dark horse in the breakaway..
The guy who’s gonna warm up his legs for sunday,,, Franzoi
Crashdan: "Veni Vidi Vici beats Wing Kong Exchange... … and I’ll change my signature to a backwards smile for a month."
Franzoi wins Parijs-Roubaix and I win a date with the VDS of Team Txirrindulariak..
Oh no
Cancel teeball practice. I am now busy for the next two hours.
CQRanking.com, you complete me.
by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Picks:
1, Cav—because he really, really, really wants it.
2. Haussler—because who else do you pick for second these days?
3. Weylandt.—because I want to see Cav flanked by the mighty hair of HH and WW.
People say I'm cocky or arrogant when I win, but they don't see the deep self-loathing when I lose a race I think I should have won. It really hurts me, you know. --Mark Cavendish
My VDS would like to
see Hammond, Breschel & Flecha is any order.
this week
has shown me that there is in fact a silver lining to my 2 yr old’s 5 am wake ups. I get him back to sleep, and then get my cobbles viewage on. You alls take care of getting me excited to not go back to bed. Chapeau!
Viva la Lactique
Picks...
Let me begin with my traditional, bah……Cavendish…..unfortunately if comes to a bunch sprint he’s going to get it. Does arrogance repulse me so much that I am failing to see a true ‘legend’ in the making…bah, on s’en fiche, translation, can’t be bothered. As for the race…
Can I get a Wouter!!
1.Haussler
2.Wouter!!!
3.Hunt
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
![This is funny on so many levels. [Html should open bigger]](http://cdn3.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/239959/flagged_small.jpg)
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
