Today the High Mass of Cycling (according to the Flemish cycling supporters): the Tour of Flanders. Who's going to be the winner? 2016 was Sagan's year; 2017 Gilbert's. But Greg van Avermaet wants to win it sooo badly.
The weather is fine; hardly any wind, no rain, 10C today. Perfect conditions.
Supposedly Sagan isn’t quite at his best (so they were saying before he won last weekend!)... the smart money seems to be on Gilbert but I’m not sure whether he’s just slightly ‘past it’...
Sagan winning anything whilst being the most marked man in the peloton is testament to his strength.
What about Nibali ?! 😂😂
Weather update: no longer dry; drizzling and a dark sky! The start was in Antwerp and the pace is high, very high. Already, several 'coureurs' have skidded on the white parts of the roads.
I don't know if you can find 'Sporza' the Belgian sports channel. Sadly most of you can't follow the comments - in Flemish, remotely connected with Dutch. But the professionalism and spot-on comments are brilliant!
Menno
Very hairy moment here! The peloton is racing on the wet and slippery cobblestones in the ancient town Aalst. Suddenly, there's a grey Opel (=Vauxhall) Astra on the track! Luckily the car was going in the same directions as the peloton!! The driver was clearly an older gentleman. Officials and stewards rushed forward to direct him off the track. Wow, close call!
M
Eurosport 1 over here, or get the popup blocker working, and try http://cricfree.sc/cycling-live-stream, perhaps.Originally Posted by thieuster
Edit The streaming service seems only to have Eurosport 2.
Update Finally got it on 'Others: Euro Sports 1' rather than Cric's own offering.
Last edited by PickleB; 1st April 2018 at 11:56.
^ same here; been watching on Eurosport1 from 09:15
Watching it on Eurosport here - trying to work out what beer to have with it.
We are going over to France to see Paris-Roubaix next weekend
Pete
1) LeffeWatching it on Eurosport here - trying to work out what beer to have with it.
We are going over to France to see Paris-Roubaix next weekend
Pete
2) awesome! Where will you spectate?
With this weather it is difficult to predict, punctures and crashes can be decisive factors.
Sagan can make the race alone, and isn’t that affected of the new rules with fewer riders on each team.
Quick step has traditionally been making many of the races through controlling the race through sheer power leads, and then launching their lead man. I’m curious if they can do that again. As I’ve been a Mapai/Quick Step fan the last 20 years I would prefer a QS winner over Sagan, but it looks to be difficult.
Nibali could do it, but it will depend on how well Heinrich Hausler can protect him. I love the way he races, always looking for a sneaky attack.
An outsider could be the Dane Michael Valgreen - Astana. The weather looks like a danish summer day, so he is used to the environment. Showed good form by winning Het Nieuwsblad and usually does well in long hard races
BTW: First Flanders after Boonen retirement I already miss him, and will miss him even more next Sunday
Poor planning means I am stuck with whatever beer the village off licence has. It won't be Leffe sadly.
We aim to see the race in a couple of locations, but one of them will be a village called Monchaux sur Ecaillon, as there are 3 cobbled sections very close to it, and we will be visiting the grave of my Great Uncle who is buried there. He died there in action in 1918.
Sagan is my choice for winner today.
Pete
Last edited by ptcoll; 1st April 2018 at 12:22. Reason: today
On the second Duvel Tripel Hop ready for the finale! Put my money on a dark horse today - Trentin.
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Sagan! Unless they all gang up on him again and let a lone attacker get away.
GVA or Peter Sagan looking very strong up the cobbled bergs...
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Not sure he’s 100% but a 95% Sagan is usually good enough!
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The King is dead. Long live the King.
I love Paris Roubaix. Other than the kid’s birthdays, it’s my favourite day of the year!
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A 95% Sagan is still pretty terrifying!
Did Nibali just attack?
Doesn’t he know this is Flanders?
Great attack by Terpstra !
WOW just wow.
3 Danes in the finale, Mads P. going second, Valgreen in at 4, and Magnus Cort until the last climb
In the finale I cursed my wishes for a Quick Step win, Mads was so close - mind this is his first RvF - a rider we will see again many times in the classics
So this was 7 hours well spent on the couch :)
/Lars
Nicky Terpstra. We're just recovering here from the National Heart Attack caused by the suspense during the last 15 mins of the Tour of Flanders!!! Man, man, man! The first Dutch victory since... 1986. Stoked is the correct word here. I didn't dare to put his name in the title of this thread, I was afraid it was a bad omen...
Menno
This. But oh man. That commentator. I really feel sorry for you English speaking guys that you're not able to follow the Flemish comments! Every word, every sentence is drenched in experience and professionalism.
Last edited by thieuster; 1st April 2018 at 17:48.
It was a great race and Terpstra sure rode like a champion!
That’s ok. We’ve got Carlton 🤦🏻*♂️
Yeah Sean sounds a little tired these days. Luckily danish television have a great team for most of the cycling events, including former Flanders winner Rolf Sørensen.
From next Sunday the team will include Jørgen Leth, the film maker that made “a Sunday I hell” the documentary about Paris Roubaix 1976 (great movie - watch it if you like cycling). So from next Sunday I feel sorry for all not watching danish television:)
Most classics races I've watched over the years has been on Sporza streams.
I don't speak or understand any of it other than achtervolgers, koplopers and "dit is een drama" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbyc0gFvsEI
I met one of the commentators on the TdF in 2011 and told him I admired his work. He looked a bit bemused, I don't think he imagined he was being heard outside of Bel/Ned.
Where will you be 'en route'? Wallers-Arenberg, Carrefour de l'Arbre? Those are the hotspots with cobbles! And oh: post pictures here!!Watching it on Eurosport here - trying to work out what beer to have with it.
We are going over to France to see Paris-Roubaix next weekend
Pete
Menno
I recommend Carrefour/Gruson. They’ve usually got a big diamond screen up so you can follow the action. It’s only a short walk from Basieux so if the weathers rubbish you can watch from the comfort of a bar serving decent beer! Or the velodrome itself.
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I watched from the velodrome last year.
Big screen and beer (take beer with you).
Paris Roubaix: The Northern Hell - l'Enver du Nord.
Dutch sports journalist / amateur -'cyclist' Wilfried de Jong produced a wonderful documentary about Paris Roubaix back in 2014. It's on YT, perhaps with English subtitles? If not, the way it's filmed and produced reminds me of the heydays of Top Gear when the visualisation was very important.
The French dialect spoken by the French people in the north is amazing! It sounds like Dutch directly translated into French! Which is not so weird: in the northernmost part of France, quite a number of people speak an old version of Dutch.
Thoroughly enjoyable race. Always fascinating the small elements the results hang on. If the group kept the gap to Terpstra slightly smaller they'd have caught him, but just a short period of soft pedalling and no consistent chase means he stays away. Great timing and attack by Terpstra, and nice to see a Dutch victory.
Roll on Roubaix :-)
What's nice about Terpstra (and Dumoulin...) is their attitude towards other people. They are modest when interviewed on Dutch of Flemish tv. I've heard from friends who know both men that it's not only for TV.
How was it?Watching it on Eurosport here - trying to work out what beer to have with it.
We are going over to France to see Paris-Roubaix next weekend
Pete
And photos?
Although I was hoping for rain and mud, you probably appreciated the glorious looking weather!
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