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:
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!
Extremely happy with that result, like a weight off the shoulders 😂
Cracking race today. Really enjoyed it. In different circumstances (ie without Laporte, or if Pogacar had attacked WVA), I think the group would have caught the front of the race and I could see MVDP winning
Yeah, in fairness Pog did attack a couple of times and WvA matched it, but I guess maybe Pog didn't go all in or keep trying for fear of MVDP catching up.
Just caught the last 30km or so. Really pleased for Wout, he deserves that. I am a massive MVDP fanboy but if he couldn't win I am glad it was Wout
So happy for Wout - couldn't have happened to a better guy !!
Happy for WvA, very glad that Pogacar didn't win.
Gutted for Vos although the finish did look epic any which way.
I was fortunate to be in the velodrome at Roubaix spectating with junior today. The crowd went absolutely bonkers when they came in and when WVA pulled away after the back straight it went to another level of bonkers 😜
Wout post race - pure class.
“It means everything to me. It’s been a goal since 2018, when I first did this race. It’s been eight years since that race, and I lost a teammate, Michael Goolaerts. Ever since then, it has been my goal to come here and point my finger to the sky. This victory is for Michael and especially for his family,”
“That was a really tough day,” he said of the 2018 edition of the race, “and ever since then, I have been unlucky in this race, but it brought me experience. Even today, when luck was not on my side, I kept believing, and finally the reward was there”
