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Then… Hell of the North.
Schelderprijs first!
https://www.cyclingnews.com/scheldeprijs/
Wednesday for both Men's and Women's races.
Then it'll be time for Hell of the North!
The weather in the women's race was proper minging....Watched both races from 60km or so out. Both showed that you have to be at the front on the Koppenberg to not get caught up in the falling-off mayhem that always happens, even in the dry. It's not like it's a new phenomenon either - people have been falling off there for decades! 🙂
The impressive thing about MVdP yesterday was at around 100km to say 50km to go, he sat back and watched others attack and was supported by his team very well. He never panicked but let the likes of Jorgensen and Pederson blow themselves up. Neither Lidl or Visma seemed able to organise their numbers into a coherent plan to put pressure on
Pretty cool that Nairo made the top 15 yesterday. Bodes well for Movistar this year
When you sprint at 45 degrees across the track you can expect to be put to the back of the bunch by the comm!
I've seen a lot of comments on social media to the effect that it wasn't as bad as some, no danger caused etc. I find it hard to accept that - he clearly impeded Pollitt and there was no danger because Pollitt came off the gas, otherwise he'd have been in the barriers (ask Fabio Jakobsen how that feels). But I've been criticised (maybe justifiably) for being naive as regards racing etiquette, so maybe I'm wrong.
Pretty cool that Nairo made the top 15 yesterday.
In what?
Nasty crash in the Women's race. Broken arm for Lizzie Deignan and a broken jaw/teeth for Marlen Reusser. That'll change things a bit for Roubaix.
criticised (maybe justifiably
nah. Head down straight at the line, no veering. Dem’s de roolz. He was all over the road. Might claim tiredness but clearly impeding other riders. Any team would have lodged a complaint.
No Cav in Schelderprijs. He's going on a training camp.
Women's results from what sounded (I was only following the live feed) to be a bit crashy.
1 WIEBES Lorena Team SD Worx-Protime 03:12:00
2 KOOL Charlotte Team dsm-firmenich PostNL + 00
3 FIDANZA Martina Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling + 00
https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/scheldeprijs-women-2024/elite-women/results/
Men's
1 MERLIER Tim Soudal Quick-Step 4H 17' 04"
2 PHILIPSEN Jasper Alpecin-Deceuninck "
3 GROENEWEGEN Dylan Team Jayco-AlUla "
OK, now it's time for the Paris-Roubaix build up!
I have to say that since even the full on race bikes became a bit more "all round", I'm actually quite glad to see the back of the whole Paris-Roubiax mystique and special modifications stuff that got endlessly promoted - most riders now are just using normal race bikes, maybe with wider tyres. Gearing has got higher anyway as average speeds have increased, aero bikes are perfectly capable on cobbles so no need for the special edition cobble-specific machines. Just get on and ride it!
I’m actually quite glad to see the back of the whole Paris-Roubiax mystique and special modifications stuff that got endlessly promoted – most riders now are just using normal race bikes, maybe with wider tyres. Gearing has got higher anyway as average speeds have increased, aero bikes are perfectly capable on cobbles so no need for the special edition cobble-specific machines. Just get on and ride it!
I'd have to disagree with that. For me the weird and wonderful modified bikes were part of the joy of Paris-Roubaix.
Not having them takes something away from it in my mind.
This is apparently the chicane they're building at the entrance to Arenberg in an attempt to stop the mad 60kph dash for positioning.... 😳
https://twitter.com/mathieuvdpoel/status/1775599036214776076?t=1QanKFcvrW3EHqxKkMhD1Q&s=19
Posted 3rd April, surely they’re a couple of days late with it?
Could you imagine the carnage of a group hitting a chicane like that, still desperate to be the first into Arenberg?
It would be a shame if they were to try and mess with the run in to Arenberg, the crazy sprint for position is one of the highlights of the race!
I agree, I think there's just going to be a mad 60kph dash for a narrow chicane instead. All it'll do is push the crash back to about 20m earlier. 🤷🏻♂️
There's no complete start lists online yet but obvious omissions are WvA and Lizzie Deignan.
Official website (which also mentions the chicane by the way so it's not an April Fool) is here:
https://www.paris-roubaix.fr/en/
That’s just ridiculous.
Arenberg will be awful, I’d imagine, if you’re hitting it at slower speeds and trying to get up speed on the cobbles. Especially so this year as it looks like it might be damp.
Maybe they should just have it like the sportive? When you get to the start of the sector you just have to slalom between the halfwits who think it’s a great idea to block the road to take photos.
Surely that chicane is an April Fool? That descent down to Arenberg is the most dramatic part of the race. I did the sportive years ago and the sense of doom approaching that gap in the forest was like nothing else. Somehow the cobbles are extra slippery no matter what the weather.
What are they going to do to stop riders having nasty crashes on tarmac? We've had several so far this year.
I think it was the riders who asked for safety measures to be fair. It's hard to appreciate how bonkers the Arrenberg is on a road bike unless you've tried riding it. Doing it at the speeds they hit it must be terrifying.
I think it was the riders who asked for safety measures to be fair.
Yes it was - I think it's a bit divisive but there are some riders coming out strongly in favour of it.
The problem is that it’s the first selective cobble sector of the race so there’s a sprint for position before getting singled out. If the big bunch sprinting into it is a problem then the correct fix is probably more selective cobble sectors before it to thin out the race, not a stupid tarmac chicane to sprint into instead.
What are they going to do to stop riders having nasty crashes on tarmac? We’ve had several so far this year.
Nothing. As I understood it, the prospect of crashes before/in the chicane was just considered preferable and presumably slightly less likely than the same crashes at 60km/h on cobbles.
Road.cc linked to a post with a fairly horrific pic of someone's face covered in blood after a crash on the Arenberg.
Might be interesting, prolongs the spectacle (by a factor of however much slower they're going) and might be more/different technique required.
OR it could just be slow speed tip-toeing and comedy but relatively safe falls, which would be lame.
it’s ok for MvDP to call it ‘a joke’ though, he’s not going to be part of the peleton trying to get through while not being shunted to the edge of the road at 60e kph while everyone jostles for places
You’re correct, he probably won’t be one of the ones in the peloton trying to get through. He will, however, most likely be near the sharp end with several other riders who’ll all still be gunning it to get in to Arenburg first to avoid being stuck behind a faller.
As such, him and whoever else is with him will now be sprinting up to a ridiculously slow chicane instead, which also has potential to wreck the race if they crash.
Bit further south, massive crash in the basque country, very nasty, stage over 🙁
Ving, Rog, and even all out. Ving seemingly very serious.
Literally just switched it on. 🙁
There's going to be no-one left for the rest of the season at this rate.
test
Test
Looks
It looks as though by not being there, Pog will be the winner from Itzulia at this rate!
Hope that the three of them (and all the others) recover quickly as seeing Rog, Pog, Remco & Jonas at the Tour would be great. I was reading earlier that Motormouth Lefevere was still talking up Remco's chances for LBL though. From looking at the video it seemed that Remco came off the best of them all by flying off into the woods rather than hitting the concrete ditch hard.
Bit further south, massive crash in the basque country, very nasty, stage over
...and not a cobble in site, like several other horrible crashes so far this year.
From looking at the video it seemed that Remco came off the best of them all by flying off into the woods rather than hitting the concrete ditch hard.
Looked like it but then later he looked like he'd done his collar bone.
From cycling weekly
Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) broke his collarbone and shoulder blade in the same crash.
It’s Paris-Roubaix, it’s sort of the point, no?
I dunno. For me 180 dead stop chicanes where the peloton will be braking on a railway crossing is pretty far from the point of Paris-Roubaix. Could they not have brought the route in along the road the other way and had a 90 right turn into the forest instead? It’s telling they announced this three days before the race: it’s half arsed at best.
Women's race tomorrow, start list is here:
https://www.paris-roubaix-femmes.fr/en/riders
Of the three former winners since the Women's P-R was first run (Lizzie Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini, Alison Jackson), only AJ is on the start list.
LD is out with a broken arm from Tour of Flanders, ELB wasn't scheduled to ride it anyway.
Could they not have brought the route in along the road the other way
One way has a massive hole in the road, and the other is on narrow roads. I don't think any one thinks its a perfect solution, but the aim is to slow folks down, which it'll do. Riders may still crash (again; it's Paris-Roubaix) , but they won't be dong it at 60kph.
Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) broke his collarbone and shoulder blade in the same crash
If memory serves, #scapula is a pretty high-energy injury.
the full extent of yesterdays Basque Carnage.
DNF VINGEGAARD JonasTeam Visma | Lease a Bike-
DNF EVENEPOEL RemcoSoudal Quick-Step-
DNF ROGLIČ PrimožBORA - hansgrohe-
DNF QUINN SeanEF Education - EasyPost-
DNF GESBERT ÉlieArkéa - B&B Hotels-
DNF TESFATSION NatnaelLidl - Trek-
DNF LASTRA JonathanCofidis-
DNF VINE JayUAE Team Emirates-
DNF CRAS SteffTotalEnergies-
DNF FRAILE OmarINEOS Grenadiers-
DNF MIQUEL PauEquipo Kern Pharma
reporting Jonas has a punctured lung as well 😕
What are they going to do to stop riders having nasty crashes on tarmac? We’ve had several so far this year.
I was at a product launch a few weeks ago and they were talking about how many watts a particular pair of wheels would save, and then started talking about the aero profile of tyres and watts saved there. I'm wondering how many of these crashes are because teams or riders are electing to sacrifice grip in turns in return for a few watts saved in a straight line...
Personally I think its a by-product of the speed of the modern peloton - which in turn is probably down to stuff like tyre profiles, but more to nutrition and training developments.
Personally I think its a by-product of the speed of the modern peloton – which in turn is probably down to stuff like tyre profiles, but more to nutrition and training developments.
Nah. Riders have been able to corner at high speeds since the start of road racing. Even complete amateurs like us can have faith that our tyres will carry us around 50mph+ bends. The peloton on the flat or climbing is faster, because of your reasons, but no faster than when barrelling downhill, if you follow me?
Personally I think its a by-product of the speed of the modern peloton – which in turn is probably down to stuff like tyre profiles, but more to nutrition and training developments.
Modern TV viewing plays a part too. Used to be that the peloton would take it steady for the first 2-3hrs of a stage then race the last half once the TV coverage started. Now it's live coverage start to finish and there's a corresponding push to be in the break (and therefore on TV), be seen to be attacking and so on.
Aero has made a huge difference too - you only need to look back 10-15 years to see baggy jerseys, exposed cable routing, shallow section wheels. Now it's full skinsuits and aero bikes/wheels for everything, even the climbing stages.
Anyway, should be a good weekend. Hoping to get out early tomorrow before the weather gets too bad then back to the TV for the Women's race. 🙂
