Cancellara

[Pantheon of Greats]

Yeah I just watched it again.

Boonen was only just behind FC when the attacked started. It was not started by FC. FC followed the attack and Boonen did not, and then when the attack eased up FC simply just kept going. Boonen then saw what was going on but dithered and failed to react. He only moved up about two places. By then it was already too late.

 

[hfer07]

Fabian records:

Ronde van Vlaanderen gap: 1'-15" riding away @ 15 km to the finish
Paris-Roubaix gap: 2'-0" riding away @ 45+ km to the finish

 

[erader]

Yeah I just watched it again.

Boonen was only just behind FC when the attacked started. It was not started by FC. FC followed the attack and Boonen did not, and then when the attack eased up FC simply just kept going. Boonen then saw what was going on but dithered and failed to react. He only moved up about two places. By then it was already too late.

bottom line is cancellara is the stronger cyclist and current king of the pave. period.

ed rader

 

[Race Radio]

If this cycling thing does work out for him he can always go back to being a pimp

Where did he get that suit?

 

[zealot66]

dope or not, he is incredible right now.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

To OP, the others weren't working. Flecha and Hushovd admitted after the race, that when Cancellara went, they thought they were riding for second place and said that catching Cancellara is impossible

Both Hushovd and Flecha admitted they were saving energy for 2nd place. So did Hammond on the Team Cervelo website.
Now, the only guys that tried to ride where Boonen and Hoste (the guy flapping his arms widely yes ).

Thus Cancellara could ride away so much in so little time. It's a shame.

 

[red_explosions]

I believe folks. So some dude from Mr 60%'s team smokes the entire field twice in a week breathing through his nose? Just do what I do - stick your fingers in your ears and say 'la la la' over and over again. Everything will appear normal.

 

[ChrisE]

Fabian records:

Ronde van Vlaanderen gap: 1'-15" riding away @ 15 km to the finish
Paris-Roubaix gap: 2'-0" riding away @ 45+ km to the finish

Yeah, and you know he shut it down well before the finish both days.

 

[BroDeal]

He is dressed like he should be in a circus taming lions.

 

[Guidokcd]

Why in the world is Flecha clapping as he crosses the line third? He conceded first race for second and lost that. I think if all of those guys in the chase had worked together immediately, they could've caught FC. He made a very smart move, but they all should've known better after his performance at Flanders. Racing for second. Nobody cares who gets second. Ask Hincapie. Even Boonen decided he wasn't going to race for second.

 

[autologous]

He is dressed like he should be in a circus taming lions.

no, that's his day job, just like today.
Just that in the bunch that he tamed today, there were quite a few clowns mixed in with the lions.

 

[sida-mot]

Why in the world is Flecha clapping as he crosses the line third? He conceded first race for second and lost that. I think if all of those guys in the chase had worked together immediately, they could've caught FC. He made a very smart move, but they all should've known better after his performance at Flanders. Racing for second. Nobody cares who gets second. Ask Hincapie. Even Boonen decided he wasn't going to race for second.

My guess is that only Boonen felt like he had the legs to give it a go. Nobody chooses to race for second if they believe they have a chance for first. The way that gap just went up to 30 secs in no time must have crushed the morale of the chasers, except for maybe Boonen then.

 

[Race Radio]

From Cyclingweekly

Britain's Roger Hammond, part of the lead group, dismissed Boonen's claims, saying "Four of the seven riders there were exhausted, going flat out and you can't have expected them to ride any faster."

"The collaboration was there, just not at his [Boonen's] level. You could say he didn't collaborate after Carrefour D'Arbre, either, when he was dropped."

 

[Willy_Voet]

Thought this from CN (quoting Boonen) was funnay:

"There really has never been a chase on Cancellara. There was no co-operation," said the 29 year-old Belgian, emphasising his frustration on the lack of organisation in the chase. "If you ride with three guys then you close that gap, even on Cancellara; it's not just that this year he has jet engines installed up on his ****."

edit:

And while I'm at it...Boonen again:

"I wouldn't hesitate to use the same tactics," said Boonen, who had attacked on the asphalted roads too, just a few kilometers earlier.

 

[pmcg76]

I think people should also remember Fabian's 06 Roubaix performance which was super-impressive also, he just rode away from everyone like today but just didnt do it from as far out.

I also think tactics also played a big part in him getting such a huge lead, Boonens' words seem accurate although Hammond seems to be suggesting they were all tired. I dont think Flecha was that tired and he seemed to be one of the worst at the sandbagging. I think Cancellara had everyone other than Boonen psychologically beaten beforehand.

I still think Cancellare would have won which ever way it played out today.

 

[peloton]

I believe folks. So some dude from Mr 60%'s team smokes the entire field twice in a week breathing through his nose? Just do what I do - stick your fingers in your ears and say 'la la la' over and over again. Everything will appear normal.

well played!

 

[la.margna]

they're all full

Cancellara is not more or less loaded than the others. And cycling not more or less dirty than other sports.

As they're all full, on a relative basis, this should level the playfield.

So it is still courage, tactics, technique, talent, skill that makes the difference and above all the mental preparation and determination to win. The difference in the head was a major factor that Pharmstrong did win the Tour 7 times.

And don't forget that there was no organised chase, they almost immediately started racing for second place. In the Kappelmuur, Boonen had cramps. So sometimes you also need luck.

So discussions like these are useless and a waste of time. The top riders have all the same budget and equal access to state-of-the-art medical treatments. Although it's sad, we can't change it unfortunately.

Therefore, let's focus on cycling and the race. And let's be honest, Flanders and Roubaix was grande ciclismo!

 

[pedaling squares]

To address the OP, yes I suspect he is on a program. But I hardly think he was the only one in the bunch who was charging. Strength, tactics, timing, luck, and perhaps above all 6-7 people who wouldn't work to bring him back contributed to this victory. I'll keep watching, I'm no more disillusioned after PR than I was when I woke this morning.

 

[3rdWheel]

I hope the chase group was tired at the moment of Cancellera's attack because they had to think this would be a repeated of Flanders if they didn't catch the World Time Trial Champion before the gap got too large. And as someone noted Cancellera did the same thing in '06 just not as far out. So what Cancellra did was not atypical of him, doped or not.

 

[Parrot23]

The big disappointment was everyone just gave up. There was no conviction or shared responsibility in the chase. Only two men thought they could win. One of them did.

+1 Agree. Even Cancellara should not be able to ride away 3 whole minutes at one point against 5-8 guys working together. The latter surrendered too early. Boonen is right on this one.

(These guys could learn something from competitive golf in their spare time, re the Masters today : a top golfer will get killed on a course if he thinks he's lost before he's started).

But does look like Boonen uses up an awful lot of gas in some of his victories (e.g., last year's Paris-Roubaix, he was all over the place, accelerating here, accelerating there, etc.); bobbing around all over the road. Wasteful? Maybe tired when Spartacus attacked. Looks like Cancellera, per Armstrong, has learned the value of one big attack.

Yet, maybe it's only if you have such a huge engine (by whatever means) you can "afford" to do this, whereas Boonen is always looking for openings here and there and will take what he can get. Different type of rider. Has a different set of cards to deal with.

 

[theswordsman]

I've really liked the guy in the past, I, perhaps naively, don't believe all the top guys are cheaters, but I wish he'd have been breathing harder as he went through all the stages of his victory celebration. I hope he's clean, but after being burned by Sella's stage wins at the Giro a couple of years ago, I can't smile right now.

But I thought this was good, via Google Translate, because he obviously has the peloton believing in his advantage.

Rumor Cancellara

The secret of Fabian Cancellara? A dynamo hidden in his pedal, allowing it to move faster. The fantasy is all the funnier it became in an uproar within the platoon. A French rider has reported to http://www.cyclismag.com this "noise" surprising. Those who really believe the arguments brandished as many changes as Cycling. It is already more original than a suspicion of doping!

http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5737#ancre3

 

[goggalor]

He is dressed like he should be in a circus taming lions.

Spartacus does not tame lions, lions tame him.

They try, anyway.

 

[**Uru**]

This just cracks me up. Last week, Spartacus wins and the there is an immediate thread started asking who the real winner is. Today, he wins, but there is a thread started before the race is even finished. He may or may not be doped. Everyone in the peloton may be doped. But let me ask you this...could the very same thing happen if they are not doped? Seems to me that the answer is yes. Boonen himself said that he might have done the same thing (he in fact tried but could not get away). The fact that none of the guys behind Spartacus wanted to give chase indicates to me that they gave up, not that he cheated.

 

[usedtobefast]

If this cycling thing does work out for him he can always go back to being a pimp

Where did he get that suit?

Pimps R Us, i hear.

 

[la.margna]

Ridicolous to claim Cancellara attacked while TB was eating/drinking. Check it out for youself in the video. Tom had finished eating/drinking and was relaxing behind Fabü, before the two FDJ/BBOX riders attacked and Cance countered their move only to realise that for once, nobody was sucking his wheel, so he put down the accelerator and the rest is history.