The Cobbled Classics thread – spoilers!

So, with several big hitters out with broken collarbones (or worse), what is the likely impact on the Giro?

what is the likely impact on the Giro?

Pogacar to win all three Grand Tours this year. 😉

Bernal to win TdF?

Pogacar to win all three Grand Tours this year. 😉

Pogacar to win the Giro at a cruise, win the TDF closely from Bernal with Wout Van Aert in third, then get battered by all the Big Hitters* coming back to fitness in the Vuelta

*as in Roglic, Vingegaard et al,. not WCA and the STW Big Hitters

Velo have done a dive into the power numbers on Paris- Roubaix to see what it takes to win. Tailwind notwithstanding, some of the outputs are just astonishing.

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-training/power-analysis-mathieu-van-der-poel-paris-roubaix/

Two hours at 4-5W/kg. Something for Zwifters to aim at 😉 . The first 100km were insanely fast and the power output shows why. There are no cobbles in the first 100km, but Alpecin Deceuninck wanted to drill the peloton and beat them into submission. They succeeded.

For reference, Bike Calculator predicts a tailwind of 19 kph, to get 98km at 306W in 1:53:38 riding on the drops. Probably about right.

Not 100% related to the remaining Classics (Amstel Gold this weekend) but here’s an update on the riders who crashed last week. It does mention that Roglic will probably still try at ride LBL the following weekend, he’s about the best recovered of everyone.

https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/injury-update-jay-vine-walking-vingegaard-and-evenepoel-operated-upon

Preview of Amstel:

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/amstel-gold-race-preview

https://www.rouleur.cc/blogs/the-rouleur-journal/amstel-gold-race-preview-can-anyone-get-the-better-of-mathieu-van-der-poel

Great finish there in the women’s Amstel Gold!

Premature celebration!!
I don’t know how you would get your head around doing that??

I don’t know how you would get your head around doing that??

and how **** dumb you look when you get it wrong!

Definitely going to practice my bike throw technique for the big sprint to the pizza shop in the next village. That will be in Wiebes nightmares for ever!

blimey less than 50k to go and still a “proper” peloton  !

Premature celebration!!

I don’t know how you would get your head around doing that?

I’ll never understand why they don’t just wait 10 yards to make sure 🤷

I’ll never understand why they don’t just wait 10 yards to make sure 🤷

I suspect she will next time. Not so sure about the time after that !

MvdP finally ran out of team mates

well played Tom.

He gave the impression of confidence in his pre race interview but I wasn’t really expecting Tom to win. He’s proving to be a bit of a one day contender!

Fun stat: this is the first race in ~8 years without MvdP on the podium*.

Really cool to see pidcock in one-day mode. He’s a really exciting racer to watch and it’s been a shame that his talents been hidden for a while.

*haven’t fact checked this. Feels about right

In truth he (MvdP) didn’t look that up for it today, he closed a couple of gaps mid race then gave a kind of virtual shrug of I’m not dragging anyone to the front so it’s up to you. Perhaps he’s human after all, with the only road racing being just about 3 full on monuments only telling it’s toll.

Premature celebration!!

I don’t know how you would get your head around doing that?

Glad that Vos got it though! 💥

Good news! A message from Jonas ?❤️

????? ????????, ??’? ???? ??? ?? ?? ????? ??? ????????. ? ???? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??. ??? ? ????… pic.twitter.com/5wI6Ot4uJR

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) April 16, 2024

Flèche Wallonne tomorrow. Woohoo.

I mean Mur de Huy.

going to be odd with no Alaphillipe/MvdP/WvA/Pogacar/Remco/Roglic though makes it a great opportunity for someone else such as Thomas Pidcock

I’m out in Spain at the moment (sorry… 😉 ) so heading off for a ride now and hopefully be back in time to watch Fleche Wallone on one of the many cycling cafes around here.

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/la-fleche-wallonne-preview

Fleche is not the most beloved of the classics but I think of it a bit like a sprint stage in a grand tour. Nice to have a bit of not-much-happening and an exciting finish as a bit of a palette cleanser after all the cobbled chaos. Also nice for some of the less superhuman riders to get a chance today.

some scary descending @ the tour of the alps in the cold and rain! Ganna Solo attack and it’s not looking good for G

absolute carnage @ Fleche !

Luke Rowe “Bulldog chewing a wasp” re Tom Pidcock 😀

absolute carnage @ Fleche !

Grim

Blimey, I hope Luke Rowe and Steve Williams are good mates !

It’s a uno-x TTT with a few hangers on from other teams.

proper classic that!

it’s not looking good for G

A decent training block though.

Yes it was pretty chilly in Belgium.

Damn, Skjelmose was shaking… ? #FlecheWallonne

Hope he's in front of a fireplace with winter socks now. pic.twitter.com/sERd7B9NXb

— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) April 17, 2024

https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/mattias-skjelmose-carried-from-bike-as-only-44-riders-finish-wet-cold-fleche-wallonne

The final Spring Classic this weekend, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/liege-bastogne-liege-route-riders-and-all-you-need-to-know

cracking descent @ tour of the alps

WTAF frigging’ell that was a nasty bit of road! glad to be wearing a lid!

An intensely satisfying outcome in the Women’s race. It’s really good to see Niewiadoma win a road race outright, and how pleased the other racers were for her.

https://escapecollective.com/at-fleche-wallonne-kasia-niewiadoma-finally-put-it-all-together/

There seemed to be a lot more big hitters left at the end of the women’s race than in the men’s.

It’s a uno-x TTT with a few hangers on from other teams.

I’m not sure about. I watched all of the Eurosport coverage, so maybe it was before that coverage started, but it really wasn’t an Uno X TTT, more like a masterclass in how to do sweet FA with your whole team. They didn’t pull, they barely attacked, and only managed to get two riders in the top 20, the first one being 6th. That’s despite the commentary team telling us how well prepared they all were for the conditions. 😀

It was a good race though – I love Fleche Wallone!