2013 97th Ronde van Vlaanderen, 257km, Sunday 31th March

[Pippo_San]

wonderful. all that matters. not that it'd be wrong to "play sagan" with the girls too

just to put a closure to the "sexist-affair".
well done sir

 

[pastronef]

just to put a closure to the "sexist-affair".
well done sir

whoops! 20 pages about sagan
and I still have to check all the twitter stuff since yesterday!

 

[movingtarget]

I wouldn´t say someone worships him people just know who he is and that is really good for cycling imho...

was Tommeke setting a good example by taking cocaine? no...so why all the fuss about a shirt...

back to cycling - I was also impressed by Kwiat...he looked super strong in the escape group almost breathing with his nose riding up the bergs

Kwiatowski was very impressive at Tirreno and again at Flanders. Already showing a lot of talent.

 

[El Pistolero]

I expected more of Kwiatkowski when he signed for OPQS. And why shouldn't I expect more from the guy who tested as high as Peter Sagan back in 2009.

Perhaps he'll start winning big races next year.

 

[Carstenbf]

Kwiatowski was very impressive

Understatement of the year. I'd go as far as to say incredible, but then again perhaps that's for a different part of the forum.

 

[Angliru]

Can´t believe people are angry on Sagan for this shirt and for touching the lady´s a**...
I always thought Germans were the only ones being so... how shall I say... humourless and conservative.

I find it great what he does. Great athlete and great personality.

If it were your daughter or sister would your opinion be any different? Really his action was really quite regrettable. I'm sure this is not what the young lady signed up for when she took the job. What's next, grabbing a boob? A dry hump? A French kiss? Sagan must have lost his mind a little bit there. He really lost my respect.

 

[Pentacycle]

I expected more of Kwiatkowski when he signed for OPQS. And why shouldn't I expect more from the guy who tested as high as Peter Sagan back in 2009.

Perhaps he'll start winning big races next year.

They're different riders. High test results can indicate high anaerobic(Sagan) or aerobic(Kwiatkowski) talent in the making. Let's see where Kwiatko ends up and if he can still develop much, and whether he will aim for GC's or classics.

 

[l.Harm]

Understatement of the year. I'd go as far as to say incredible, but then again perhaps that's for a different part of the forum.

Probably people will say he's overhyped.

 

[Angliru]

Indeed! I would have turned around and smacked him across the face!!!

The question is would he have done it if he thought that she had a 6-5 250 lb brother standing behind stage? He knew he might be able to get away with it. He's a bit of a clueless @$$.

 

[Pentacycle]

This is the best description for who missed yesterday's race:

Credit to @PuritoRodriguez and the peeps who made it

 

[cineteq]

The question is would he have done it if he thought that she had a 6-5 250 lb brother standing behind stage? He knew he might be able to get away with it. He's a bit of a clueless @$$.

He already apologized. Move on, guess what, he'll learn from his mistakes like everyone else has done it through history.

Peter Sagan ‏@petosagan
Was not my intention to disrespect women today on the podium. Just a joke, sorry if someone was disturbed about it.

 

[SKSemtex]

Silly attempt to get this thread back to topic - Sagan to Slovak media after the race:

"I'm very happy for the second place. Fabian rode really well and today I was just not good enough for him. He attacked on the last climb, I tried to hold on to him but he was faster. I'm glad that the main group didn't catch up with us after that. Today the best rider won. I had a mild fall on the 130th kilometre but luckily nothing serious happened to me or the bike. I'm very sorry for Boonen's injury. It can happen to anyone, like with Cancellara last year. The entire race had a fast pace, in these Belgian classics you have to stay at the front and be cautious at all times. Now I will have a little rest, I will miss the Paris-Roubaix classic as you need longer regeneration after it and I will focus on Amstel."

He had also made another bet with Cannondale before the race:

"We made a bet that if I win, they would let me go to Roubaix next week. If not, I will rest until Amstel"

It´s pity Cannondale bet was not about podium instead of winning. I would love to see Sagan riding without any pressure, not being marked as favourite, "just for the fun of it".

 

[SafeBet]

Promising performance by Mattia Cattaneo as well. Held on with the best until the last Kwaremont.

 

[luckyboy]

I'm glad Lotto got their podium finish. Well deserved.

Pathetic stuff from BMC, Sky and OPQS.

QuickStep were much better than BMC and Sky. Just Kwiatowski, but he was great.

 

[hiero2]

Good point about Sagan doing some pulls,could almost sense a 'detente' between them,one classics master passing to another,maybe too romantic from me,but definitely a thawing of relations.Fab:"Okay son,there's an order here.there's me Tom and you,Tom's not good,i've cost you San Remo,so don't play up and you'll get Amstel later once i have E3/RVV/PR treble"

I like that he took turns too. Maybe not so smart, taking turns with Fabian is basically suicide (the Czech Eurosport commentators were surprised too, they were like "Oh **** son, what are you doing??") and maybe it cost him the strength to keep up with Fabian in the last metres of the hill, but at least noone can accuse him of wheelsucking like during the last TdF.

Overall I am satisfied with the result. Cancellara and Sagan were clearly the best riders today and Cancellara was clearly the best rider today. Deserved.

Haven't seen full race yet. How did the peleton not catch Sagan and Roelandts after the Paterberg? They seemed close in the one brief video I saw.

Sagan only pulled once that I noticed, but I'm glad he did - it shows honor in my mind. Yes, it may have been suicidal, but he declined several opportunities to take a pull, so he DID get some "rest" in.

As for getting caught, I think Sagan himself that is why he soft-pedaled for a bit, so he and Roelandts could work together to stay away. It was beautiful.

Except if I think too hard about it, the times I was ever in a situation like that, I was the pack fodder off the back, so I am green with envy of the rider who is strong enough to be in the front. But, as a fan of Canc, this was satisfying.

 

[Angliru]

isnt that an assualt?

Self defense.

 

[Angliru]

Just seen the full results. Maaskant actually finished the race after abandoning basically all other cobbled classics this season. Looks like he's finally getting better after (another) knee injury. Too late to make anything this season though. Sigh, since 2009 he's just been f**** all over by injuries and illness. Seems to be the fate of every talented dutch rider tho

I always wondered what happened to him. After starting his career so impressively he's been virtually invisible. He was looking to be the next great cobbled classic rider. Hope he can get back to that form from years ago.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I always wondered what happened to him. After starting his career so impressively he's been virtually invisible. He was looking to be the next great cobbled classic rider. Hope he can get back to that form from years ago.

Well his last few seasons have been a horror story. It didn't get much attention as obviously Maaskant is not exactly a big star. But he had one bad crash after another. And just when he looked to be back after finishing top 10 in omloop het nieuwsblad 2011, he had another horrible crash in PN costing him basically 1,5 season to even get to a decent level. And just at the start of this season he got an knee injury...

 

[il_fiammingo]

I just wanted to let you know the legend is back...

Muur 2010

Paterberg 2013

 

[jaylew]

Damn! Someone beat me to it!

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Sagan apology.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201101264360053

 

[Netserk]

For those who do not know what the pictures are about:

 

[Netserk]

And from 2011:

 

[spalco]

Cyclocosm: how the race was won.

http://cyclocosm.com/2013/04/how-the-race-was-won-tour-of-flanders-2013/

 

[cineteq]

Can you spot El Pisti here?
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/04/news/cancellara-to-club-spartacus-keep-the-koppenberg_280261