The Cobbled Classics thread – spoilers!

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

?? #Itzulia2024

Update on Jonas:

It was a nasty crash, but fortunately he is stable and conscious.

Examinations at the hospital have revealed that he has a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. He remains in hospital as a precaution. Thank you for all your messages. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dPd2IbpIFP

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) April 4, 2024

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.

 has potential to wreck the race if they crash.

It’s Paris-Roubaix, it’s sort of the point, no?

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.

https://www.rouleur.cc/blogs/the-rouleur-journal/paris-roubaix-femmes-2024-route-contenders-and-prediction

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. 🙂

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/paris-roubaix-favourites

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…

Tyre widths have gone up considerably over the years. They should have a good bit more grip if anything.

I think we witness a lot more crashes now because almost every moment of every race is now caught on camera. But I think a lot of it is probably down to how they race now. We hear it constantly from the older guys in the peloton and the retired riders, how speeds have gone up and it’s become so much more manic from the moment the race starts. Nicolas Roche was talking about it on Instagram about how descents were when he would usually go and grab a few bottles because that was the time to take a bit of a break. And that’s the thing that gets repeated: there are no breaks any more, the race is on until you cross the line. There’s a big change in dynamics there.

You get a lot of talk about bike handling too of course, how they haven’t grown up riding in chaingangs from the age of 3 like they used to or whatever, but I find it hard to believe that anyone in the pro peloton is a bad bike handler. Some of the shit they do on a daily basis is mental.

looks like it’s going to be a biblically fast race tomorrow,  26km/h gusting to 50km/h tailwind ! Echelons a go go on some sections 🙂

Forecast for the race looks like dry weather. Normally I look forward to a wet and muddy P-R but given all the horrible crashes recently I’ll be happy to see all the riders survive tomorrow unscathed.

My buddy riding the amateur event this morning, v.jealous. Just wish there was some footage! 😂

It’s still a massive bucket list thing for me but I’ve just never managed to string together the consistency and a decent period free of injury. Maybe next year 🙄

Anyone out in Roubaix today, riding the sportive and watching the pros race today/tomorrow?

Looks like you don’t get to finish in the Velodrome on the Sportive? I think I’d feel a little bit cheated about that!

Women’s race coverage starting on EuroSport now. 🙂
First section of cobbles coming up soon, live stream saying the race all together at the moment.

cracking race in the Basque Country!

Lots of back and forth in P-R so far, groups forming, being brought back, more attacks…
British Champion Pfeiffer Georgi slightly caught out and just dangling a few seconds off the back of the leading group of favourites. 16km to go…

Wow, close finish! Couldn’t call that one coming to the line.
Amazing for Pfeiffer Georgi getting podium too, she’s over the moon with that!

LOTTE KOPECKY WINS PARIS-ROUBAIX FEMMES!!! ? pic.twitter.com/eZr2V2jS2f

— Cyclist (@cyclist) April 6, 2024

The women’s race has been brilliant two years on the trot now. Kopecky and Vos seem cut from the same cloth: they both know how to take the race by the scruff of the neck.

Start list for the Men’s race tomorrow:

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/paris-roubaix/2024/startlist

I see Ineos have chucked in a last minute (and obviously healed up) Tom Pidcock!
Inrng have a good preview:

Paris-Roubaix Preview

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