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It's opening weekend! We've had all the warm-up races, though some of those have been pretty good. A total of 4 wins for the British riders so far this year, with four different people too.
So - Omloop predictions? Podium for Brennan?
Thanks for starting this thread!
FLEMISH BIKE RACE ORGANISERS: We will route our race over many steep hills and cobbles. It will make the race very difficult for the riders.
MvdP: lol, lmao
Yeah, bit of a disappointment, seemed all over once he'd bridged across to the break. KBK tomorrow, I have no idea on that one. I watched today on Dutch TV, hopefully they'll have that on too.
i watched today on Dutch TV, hopefully they'll have that on to
If you're outside the Netherlands how did you manage that?
I definitely prefer a bit more open racing than today, but I do still have to remind myself to take a bit of joy in watching someone riding so masterfully. As Jonny Long of Escape Collective put it after Paris Roubaix last year:
Mathieu van der Poel doesn’t race over the Paris-Roubaix cobbles. He spots them from a distance and vets them one-by-one, granting them permission to slide under his bike, a muddy, centuries-old carpet on which sporting excellence deigns to tread.
Which is also true of the Flanders cobbles. He really does make it look like he's doing a different sport to the others and it's really impressive if not exciting.
Anyway, KBK tomorrow which can be a really cool race. Here's the most recent winners from ProCyclingStats:
So while it's often bunch sprinters winning, there's also a decent chance of a sneakily good classics guy making it first over the line.
When that rider crashed and MVDP was in "exactly" the right spot, that's not luck that's race craft, skill and power. Once he got past it was all over, quite what the UEA rider was thinking working with him was beyond me. Surely sitting on was the only option?
Sit on, possibly get caught and finish off the podium. Work with MvdP and get a guaranteed second?
On another topic - how often has Tom Pidcock admitted "rookie" mistakes? https://www.domestiquecycling.com/en/news/tom-pidcock-admits-big-rookie-mistake-at-omloop-het-nieuwsblad/ . Getting cold in the rain when team is sponsored by a clothing company that recently launched a new set of bad weather gear isn't the best look.
Watching options: https://www.domestiquecycling.com/en/news/how-to-watch-the-2026-kuurne-brussel-kuurne-streaming-and-tv-by-country/
Tim Bonville-Ginn was giving good race updates on BlueSky yesterday too.
Sit on, possibly get caught and finish off the podium. Work with MvdP and get a guaranteed second?
He came 3rd, had he sat on he might have got second. MVDP would have gone all in anyway.
Tiz cycling
Getting cold in the rain when team is sponsored by a clothing company that recently launched a new set of bad weather gear isn't the best look.
Early season races are always fun for that. Riders have come off a winter in warmer climes, have forgotten what a Belgian spring feels like and maybe have a race plan that involves them smashing it and staying warm from the effort. Or they / the DS misreads the weather, or a crash puts them in the wet cold mud early on.
Sitting in the wheels in a bunch putting in relatively little effort and getting a face full of cold spray off everyone else doesn't do much for staying warm either.
Sit on, possibly get caught and finish off the podium. Work with MvdP and get a guaranteed second?
Or sit on have the riders behind catch MVDP and then Wellens has a chance of winning.
I don't think Pidcock would have had the seated power to go with the best on wet cobbles anyway
KBK turning into a really fun race today. We're on the flat bit at the end but there's crosswinds and other folk attacking all over the place. If a sprinter does win today it will be well earned.
Can I delay my prediction by a day?
What an awesome lead out that was!
Agreed, nice to see him finish it off too.
Good to see the Pidcock hatred is as consistently strong as ever.
Weak, doesnt wear the right clothws
Yep. Well earned win there!
Strade Bianca next week isn't it...hopefully pog punctures or something to keep it interesting
Strade Bianca next week isn't it...hopefully pog punctures or something to keep it interesting
I *really* hope that Pogacar doesn't make it three in a row. He's already won it three times, having him be the winningest rider in the race history would be unnecessary. I don't dislike him, I don't wish him any harm; it's just that any race with him in it may as well not happen, it's almost a foregone conclusion that he'll win and therefore it's dull.
In the Women's race, Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering have traded alternate wins the last 4 years. I'd love for Vos to win it but she seems to go into these races working for others now.
I'm going to have to find some way of watching it, it's one of the best one-day races other than maybe Paris-Roubaix.
SBS in Australia have it free to watch and English commentary.
Watching Strade Biache next week:
Happy Strade day everyone!
Worth remembering that even though pog hosed everyone last year it was still an exciting race.
Non-pog contenders this year include his own team mate Del Toro, French wunderkind Paul Seixas and our brave British boy Tom Pidcock. Here’s hoping that between them they can create a bit of fun in the race today.
The women’s race is similar in that it’s the whole field bs Demi Vollering. The contenders are much closer to her though and I’d expect to see PFP, Kasia Nieuwadoma-Phinney and maybe even Lotte Kopecky fighting for the win today.
The women’s race is similar in that it’s the whole field bs Demi Vollering. The contenders are much closer to her though and I’d expect to see PFP, Kasia Nieuwadoma-Phinney and maybe even Lotte Kopecky fighting for the win today.
Well that wrong turn has just caused an upset!
Great finish to the women's race - good to see a small group rather than a couple of riders.
Well what about Seixas - the French must be getting very very excited by him. At least the battle for second over the last 50km was interesting.
Glad Seixas finished ahead of del toro. Huge ride from him.Pidcock gave it his all.
Saw the Women's race finish on a social media clip, that was spectacular. It's so good when a group of 6 or so come into a brutally steep finish like that.
Yet again the womens' race was the one to watch. So. Much. Action.
I'm enjoying the prosepct of a Del Toro / Seixas rivalry on the mens side. Maybe ol' poggers needs to retire so we can have some cicilsmo back.
Good win for Pidcock today, wasn't completely top class field but you can only beat what's in front/behind you. Roglic third.
MSR Saturday, I was in San Remo last year on the penultimate corner before the finish (handy bar with a TV). Hopefully we'll get another exciting last 15 mins.
Pidcock looked good, I very much doubt he can stay with MVDP and Pog this weekend...but with those descending skills if he's there and they look at each other he could be gone
Pidcock Roglified Roglič! I really enjoyed the tension in that group over the last few Kms.
Been thinking about MSR and I think one of the things that’s exciting about it is that Pogačar can’t win it on brute force alone. Sure, UAE can melt most of the peloton on the Cipressa, but there’s always MvdP and whatever non-galacticos are having a good day with pog. And pogačar is always exciting when he has to do actual bike racing.
MSR Saturday, I was in San Remo last year on the penultimate corner before the finish (handy bar with a TV). Hopefully we'll get another exciting last 15 mins.
After a thoroughly dull first 6 hours...
http://ismilansanremoexcitingyet.com/
In it's defence though I do think some of the best racing (and best photos) I've seen have come from the last 15 minutes of MSR so that's a win, and at least the parcours seems to prevent a Pog attach from 80km out 🙄
MvDP showing off his climbing legs on a pretty long climb on the last day of Tirreno Adriatico.
He's going to go on the Turchino isn't he? Only another 160km to the finish.
Here we go.
A couple of interesting riders to watch today happen to be British (and young).
on the men’s side Matthew Brennan has shown himself to be an incredible sprinter, and there’s a lot of chat about him being versatile too. Maybe not a favourite for today but probably the protected rider for Visma.
On the women’s side Cat Ferguson is a bona fide favourite for the race. She reminds me a bit of peak Marianne Vos. She’ll probably have to do something exciting to beat Lorena Wiebes, and maybe she can.
Brennan is ill I believe.
EDIT - yep, https://www.domestiquecycling.com/en/news/matthew-brennan-ruled-out-of-milan-sanremo-due-to-illness/
Well it's exciting now!
Well it's exciting now!
"watching" via the live feed on Cycling news cos I'm on a train.
It does sound quite exciting from the race reports!
Soooooooooooo close for Tom but incredible ride by him. Pretty incredible from Pog too, considering the crash.
I got in from my ride just as they got to the bottom of a Cipressa. What a race (from there)!
There have been plenty of boring Pogačar wins, but that was not one of them. Seeing how he and his team went from being on the back foot to still making it across the line first was pretty special. Dropping MvdP, then matching the worlds best descender down the Poggio is just something else. Incredible.
Tom Pidcock is probably the person on the planet other than Urška Zygart who's seen the most of Pog's bare arse.
And Wout is back too!
That, coupled with the womens' finish and my nerves are shredded for the day.
Both great races. Women's race marred by a horrible crash.
Great race by Pidcock and he has a few races coming up that Pog isn't doing.
FFS I'd set to record MSR via Sky, the recording ended with 200km to go! I normally skip through and watch in real time from the 3 capos, sounds like it would have been the best edition for that in years 🤬
Remco is apparently going to race Flanders (although it is April 1st).
Elite positioning needed in that race, which is not Remco's calling card, but would be great to see him line up and try.
Dwars vV today.
Thoughts on Pidcock's injury? Any news on recovery time? He was going so well.
Isn't it Remco's first cobbled classic?
Folks, where are you all watching the races? Since the demise of Eurosport I've struggled to stay connecting to the racing despite having a couple of friends who work for world tour teams.
Any suggestions where to watch without subscribing to TNT/HBO? Am I going to have to fire up the VPN?
If Remco races well then there's a chance it might open the race up a bit. He's really great on short climbs so it's not unreasonable to suggest he can follow when Pog goes. He'll be very reliant on his team to keep him in the right place though. I will say that I do relish the prospect of seeing Pogačar or MvdP doing that face riders do when they get on Remco's wheel and realise they are getting absolutely zero draft.
Any suggestions where to watch without subscribing to TNT/HBO? Am I going to have to fire up the VPN?
The simplest solution I've hard is a VPN to watch the Australian coverage.
VPN--> Belgium, watching DdV on Sporza. Its in what I assume is Flemish commentary though.
SBS Australia have English commentary and most of the big races. Then various Belgian or Dutch channels for others like DVV, E3 etc.
Well that was a thoroughly enjoyable last 10km. I do like a "will they, won't they" finish.
I know the three title says spoilers within but I think today it’s just worth saying that both mes and women’s Dwars Door Vlaandren will be good to watch in the YouTube short highlight format today
Remco to ride Flanders appears to not be an April Fool then. Could be interesting. If he goes early will MVDP and Pog look at each other. Hopefully we won't just see riders wait for Pogs attack and try to follow him as MVDP is the only one with a chance of doing that and even with him it seems unlikely.
My predictions are Kopecky in the women's and I can't pick a men's winner outside of Pog or MVDP, unless a bunch finish in which case Brennan, but I reckon Remco will crash out of contention.
Also - what the heck is going on with the formatting on this thread??
I know he's won classics before (Liege-Bastogne-Liege? I forget) but I was getting the impression Remco wasn't really a good fit for the chaos of RvV, the world always seems to be against him, a bit accident prone, stroppy, etc. etc. I guess would be good to watch if nothing else!
I know he's won classics before (Liege-Bastogne-Liege? I forget)
He's won L-B-L twice as well as Brabantse Pijl but neither is a cobbled classic. There is a school of thought that modern equipment with wide tubeless tyres makes the cobbles a bit less of a determinant than they used to be. I'd agree that the racing dynamic wil probably be what undoes him, but still worth keeping in mind that he's won a world champs and an olympic gold on grippy, chaotic courses.
I'll be enormously surprised if he wins, but not that surprised if he ends up being a factor in how the race plays out.
I reckon if Remco, MVDP, Wout and others worked together Pog may struggle to stay away
but I reckon Remco will crash out of contention.
That's a fairly safe bet. He's got to be one of the most crash-prone riders since Geraint Thomas retired.
Where's the best place for highlights, TNT don't seem to be bothering with most races now, assume it's YouTube?
You get short highlights on the TNT Sports Cycling YouTube channel, but only 5 or 6 minutes for most races.
I'll be enormously surprised if he wins, but not that surprised if he ends up being a factor in how the race plays out
So would I but, and correct me if I am wrong, didn't he bring back an attacking Pog in a race last year, I can't recall anyone else doing that for a long time. Having a rider with that fire power in the bunch could change things
Remco's team is very strong - Vermeersch G, Jan Tratnik, van Dijk all seasoned classics men. Pithie is younger but strong AF. Bodes well for keeping Remco in the right space.
Something like the Molenberg, though, is the archetypal stony track in the woods behind the nationwide at Swindon. It's narrow and rough, when you see it it's hard to believe you'd ever run the biggest one day race in the world up it. Fighting for position going into that with 50 of the strongest hardest bike riders in world cycling is the essence of Le Ronde, it's a tall order.
Strength is strength, though, and the race can play out many ways. Nibali never raced the cobbles but did Flanders once, with minimal prep, and did pretty well, came 24th. Remco grew up riding these paths, between kicking a ball about, so he knows the parcours very well.
For anyone without TNT, I've just found Tour of Flanders on a free live YouTube feed with English commentary:
https://www.youtube.com/live/y4Mj25PQQsI?si=d8qQ5EZlV3ZD_ZBv
Wout just got on that Molenberg split by the skin of his teeth, and a massive dig from two domestiques, was miles back. Remco looking very comfy thus far.
Just tuned in at 85km to go to find a bunch of current and former world champs (and wout, world champ of 2nd place) riding through and off at the front. Sweet.
EDIT: my mistake, the rainbow group is G2, 30s behind the leaders. Still cool though.
Wow, fair play Remco. That is an heroic chase.
Impressive from Remco - podium Flanders at first time of asking is a massive ride. Big heart and legs to hang in like that.
Pog different level as per.
I wasn't massively excited by that. Women's race on now, 40km to go.
Video link stopped after a while, went pay for view, good while it lasted...
Anyhow, I see Pog jumped around 50km to go, he usually goes with 70km to go, there's hope;)
Video link stopped after a while, went pay for view, good while it lasted...
I went round to a mate's to watch it on his TNT subscription but I said when I got there I'd found a free Youtube stream. A lot of the live comments ticking up the side were asking the same - how the hell is the streamer getting away with doing that?! Guess it was only a matter of time before it got shut down.
The Men's race became a predictable procession from the 50km mark. Women's was marred by that big crash but nice to see a new face on the top step.
Paris Roubaix today - so, Pog, MVDP or someone else? Can Pog get rid of MVDP on the flat? Can Ganna hang on?
I'm going to predict a Pog win.
I’d love to see van Aert win it but I can’t see past MvdP.
I think Zoe Backstedt is in with a chance of a podium in the women’s race. She seems to be on good form at the moment.
Can someone who has a working forum report @13thfloormonk and their post on 20th of March to the mods? They've done nothing wrong, it's just the formatting of this thread has gone to pot after their link.
Thanks
I do love the drama of P-R.
Wout, wout
let it all out,
please win this race we all scream and shout,
come on, we’re rooting for you,
come on
Wow-t!