94th Ronde van Vlaanderen - April 4

[Captain_Obvious]

Oh give us a break will you. I watched the interview too, and re-watched it on their website: Armstrong was genuinely surprised about who won and he didn’t act the snob or jerk.

 

[sublimit]

Unbelievable coverage, watched it on Eurosport HD.

you could see the pain on the Saxo and Sky riders faces with 120 K to go just riding themselves into the dust. superb stuff.

 

[Anonymous]

just imagine cadel on the bosberg... would of raped cancellara and boonen!

You are on a sugar high...

 

[LugHugger]

Hammond 7th.

yep, not surprising but the guy flies under the radar at this time of year. he's pretty much a shoe in for top 20's in RvV and PR plus many of the semi-classics and he rarely gets a mention. chapeau roger.

 

[goggalor]

Oh give us a break will you. I watched the interview too, and re-watched it on their website: Armstrong was genuinely surprised about who won and he didn’t act the snob or jerk.

Yup.

Interview here: http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/MG_sportnieuws/MG_wielrennen/1.752224

 

[kurtinsc]

This is the third time that Lance has finished in the top 30 at RVV post cancer.

He's no Boonen or Cancelerra obviously... but he DOES deserve some respect for his ability to ride on the cobbles. I hope something gets tried on the cobbled stretches at the tour... not so much because I think the time differences will be large enough to really matter much for the GC... but more to satisfy my curiousity to see if it's better for a GC guy to have strong teammates on the cobbles (like the Schlecks will have with Breschel and Cance) or to be proven solid on the cobbles yourself but not have a team for support (Armstrong).

Of course... maybe Lance's performance isn't all that different then the Schlecks or Contador would do... there really wasn't another GC type guy in the field this year.

 

[sublimit]

I dont blame Cadel for missing this race.. the guys a glorified fitness fanatic not a racer. The other Aussie riders you have to respect though, Hayman looked strong today and just rode away at one stage.. O' Grady blew himself to bits chasing with Saxo, Sky.

 

[Ned Flanders]

This is the third time that Lance has finished in the top 30 at RVV post cancer.

And 27th place today is deceiving. It's the group that you're with that is important and LA's group all effectively got joint 6th.

Joint 6th is very impressive.

 

[Mellow Velo]

And 27th place today is deceiving. It's the group that you're with that is important and LA's group all effectively got joint 6th.

Joint 6th is very impressive.

Farrar was 5th.

With logic like that, I'd suggest less of the joint and more fresh air.
Welcome back, enjoy your brief stay.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

- Canc and Breschel had the same problem: loose front brake. The mechanics totally dropped the ball, and to make matters worse they gave Breschel O'Grady's bike at first, so he had to switch again. He was totally p*ssed at the finish. Amazing interview - 'yeah, you know mechanics can make mistakes.... (looong pause).... but when they f*ck you up... well, it's not so good then'. WOW.

That was astonishing. After that puncture and slow change off the neutral car cost him the G-W win Breschel must be wondering what's going to go wrong next - maybe held up at the level crossing next week or perhaps his bike will just explode into bits in the velodrome

 

[Anonymous]

That was astonishing. After that puncture and slow change off the neutral car cost him the G-W win Breschel must be wondering what's going to go wrong next - maybe held up at the level crossing next week or perhaps his bike will just explode into bits in the velodrome

It wouldn't have mattered today. Nobody on the planet was beating Spartacus.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

It wouldn't have mattered today. Nobody on the planet was beating Spartacus.

Did it cost him the win ? - probably not
Did it cost him a place on the podium ? - probably

 

[Steel4Ever]

I'm sure I'll catch flak for this but, whatever! (fickle roadies! lol)

This is really the first year I've paid close attention to -- and watched -- Flanders. Sure, I knew about the Muur and the Kopp and Skibby and all that, but didn't really know the race. Gotta say...I love this race!

Sure, P-R carries all the mystique and romance etc., but I'll be damned if RVV isn't the true hard man's race! In P-R you have to have a bag full of luck, in RVV...just strong as hell. There is no hiding.

Of course...everyone already knows that (am I the last? lol). Glad there is still room on the ol' bandwagon! Hope my old wife Paris doesn't get jealous of my new girlfriend Ronda!

 

[curium]

What did Boonen have to say about being dropped on the Muur?

Is there an English interview available yet?

 

[joy118118]

well, riis should worry about breschel's contract.

 

[joy118118]

What did Boonen have to say about being dropped on the Muur?

Is there an English interview available yet?

he said he had a cramp

 

[Steel4Ever]

well, riis should worry about breschel's contract.

Man, I would do whatever it took to keep this boy on my roster! Look at the footage when he was leading Boonen -- so calm and within his limits, making Boonen suffer. If it hadn't been for his crappy (and s l o w) mechanicals he would have had much more success this spring. This dude is strong.

 

[skidmark]

Oh give us a break will you. I watched the interview too, and re-watched it on their website: Armstrong was genuinely surprised about who won and he didn’t act the snob or jerk.

Yeah, you may be right. I realize this is probably a sensitive topic since there are a lot of 'haters' of Lance and people are sensitive about it, but I really just watched it and was super put off by his attitude, no preconceived hating notions. Rewatching it, he was kind of dismissive about it, but not a total jerk like my first impression, for sure. Keep in mind that I got 4 hours of sleep and had just been glued to the computer for 4 hours, so my brain wasn't in the best place to make objective judgements.

Anyway, sorry if you were put off by my perceived grudge.

 

[Captain_Obvious]

Yeah, you may be right. I realize this is probably a sensitive topic since there are a lot of 'haters' of Lance and people are sensitive about it, but I really just watched it and was super put off by his attitude, no preconceived hating notions. Rewatching it, he was kind of dismissive about it, but not a total jerk like my first impression, for sure. Keep in mind that I got 4 hours of sleep and had just been glued to the computer for 4 hours, so my brain wasn't in the best place to make objective judgements.

Anyway, sorry if you were put off by my perceived grudge.

Thats Alright then.

Also keep in mind that the riders had gotten up at 5am and had just ridden a 6.5 hour race. It’s easy for us to try and find subtext where there usually isn’t one.

 

[theyoungest]

Such an effing joke Vacansoleil didn't get an invite for 2 of the 3 Ardennes classics. Clearly one of the strongest teams today.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Instead, we'll see Landbouwkrediet who field the awesomeness that is Bert de Waele

 

[Captain Awesome]

Just watched(and read) the danish interview with Matti Breschel... damn he was p.i.s.s.e.d ... But seriously, what a mistake by whoever was responsible! Not only was Breschels bike completely trashed, but how can they NOT find his reserve bike, and then they gave him O'gradys bike that didnt fit him...

This must be the worst mistake since the Evans incident(and maybe probably even worse, cause that was a neutral car right?). This time it was a Saxo Bank car that made the mistake. But i really can't comprehend that they couldn't find his reserve bike, when he was one of the favorites to win the race. It's an unbelievable mistake!

And even worse, riders like Gilbert have said that there were 3 riders that was above everyone else today: Cancellara, Boonen og Breschel... So Breschel would have had a decent chance to go on the podium.

What an unlucky season for Breschel

 

[Michele]

For sure Breschel must be the most dissapointed; at first it looked like he wanted a wheel change but then the mechanic started to run around the car trying to find his bike.
And it wasn't the nicest moment, with about 50kms to go.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Boonen after the race said that he wasn't riding pace and wasn't feeling tired when Cancellara went. He said something about shifting gear and then his wheel slipping and then he had cramps in his right leg..
And closed off by saying he didn't feel worse than Cancellara today.
Meh, you aren't as strong as someone if that someone rides 1:10 away from you Tom

 

[thehog]

Oh give us a break will you. I watched the interview too, and re-watched it on their website: Armstrong was genuinely surprised about who won and he didn’t act the snob or jerk.

Yes but he still didn't say respect. Probably thinks he has a lot to learn.

Armstrong is a tosser. Period.