Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde 2.HC 26th-28th March 2013

[Dazed and Confused]

Pretty easy for Sagan, but a sterner test will come.

Nice ride by Gaudin, too bad he couldn't get anybody strong enough to go with him.

It will be a miracle if Boonen hits top form for RvV.

 

[l.Harm]

Still he was the best today, even when he wouldn't have won.

 

[HiCadence]

Back under your bridge.

Don't know what this means.

Am i not allowed to speak my opinion?

 

[kingjr]

Come on We both KNOW luck played a part for Sagan today.

That doesnt contradict the statement you quoted.

 

[HiCadence]

Still he was the best today, even when he wouldn't have won.

The fan boy is strong in this one.

 

[l.Harm]

The fan boy is strong in this one.

Whatever.

 

[jens_attacks]

sagan wasn't even breathing after the sprint, of course this was easy for him

huge fail by omega, instead of going in the attack they decided to put the cards on cav...idiotic tactic, i hope they will lose the overall

ride of the day? the beast gaudin,huge lungs right there. in my opinion he's hot favourite for both ronde and (especially) roubaix.

 

[insideout leadout]

Come on We both KNOW luck played a part for Sagan today.

Luck always play a part not just today and not just for Sagan.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

huge fail by omega, instead of going in the attack they decided to put the cards on cav

Which is the opposite everybody else here is complaining about.

Perfect race by OPQS, imo.

 

[HiCadence]

Luck always play a part not just today and not just for Sagan.

Luck as in he messed up Demares sprint wether he knew it or not.

 

[Winterfold]

huge fail by omega, instead of going in the attack they decided to put the cards on cav...idiotic tactic, i hope they will lose the overall

.

eh? They didnt commit totally (although Boonen did) - that was the problem, I agree half committing to Cav is an idiot tactic, if you are betting on him, you bet the house.

Still they can have a good battle with Sky for most 4th places...

 

[HiCadence]

Sagan didn't celebrate like a complete tool today so at least the race was somewhat bareable to watch.

 

[garyhoop1]

Videos

Videos from Stage 1 - http://bit.ly/16VPDk7

 

[Ferminal]

yeh ok, move on please.

 

[saganftw]

omega did ok- ish

they were working for cav obviously,untill the point that he couldnt stay in the front so they switched to chavanel with his little attack,then they simply ran out of course...so blame cavendish

i think what they should do when sagan attacked,chavanel should go with him,they would have made a big gap,sagan would take the stage and chavanel big lead in 2nd place and take the overall win in TT

 

[theyoungest]

Which is the opposite everybody else here is complaining about.

Perfect race by OPQS, imo.

Not really. They went for Cav, but not very convincingly, resulting in nothing. Cav was out of the game, and their GC guys gained 4 seconds or so.

I can imagine Cav doesn't like Chavanel very much anymore. The guy who can't win a race ruins the chances of the guy who can.

 

[TeoSheva]

Everything still open forthe GC, the peleton was only 9sec behind.
Can Sagan win? or he will save energies for Sunday?

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

eh? They didnt commit totally (although Boonen did) - that was the problem, I agree half committing to Cav is an idiot tactic, if you are betting on him, you bet the house.

Still they can have a good battle with Sky for most 4th places...

In a stage like today, nobody bets on Cav, neither did OPQS. Though as long as Cav is still up there, they could just as well try to keep the group together.
But then Sagan attacks, Cav is over (was already really impressive he was still there), and Chavanel is the only GC rider on the front. (the 2nd best TTer in the front group: Terpstra).
So no, OPQS didn't win this stage, but maybe the won the race, with the next two stages for Cav.

Like I said: perfect race.

 

[gooner]

huge fail by omega, instead of going in the attack they decided to put the cards on cav...idiotic tactic, i hope they will lose the overall

Especially as there was a significant chance that the accumulation of short climbs was going to find him out in the end.

Nice stage though.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Everything still open forthe GC, the peleton was only 9sec behind.
Can Sagan win? or he will save energies for Sunday?

Well, this kinda ruins my perfect race theory. Difference Sagan-Chava is thus as big as Chava-rest.

Although on this form, my bet for GC still is on Chavanel

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Everything still open forthe GC, the peleton was only 9sec behind.
Can Sagan win? or he will save energies for Sunday?

Don't think he will do the TT. Might concede the leader's jersey on stage 2 by not contesting and then slowly disappear.

 

[maltiv]

Well, kudos to Kristoff for finishing 3rd after single-handedly bridging up to the break with 5k to go.

He has, much to my surprise, developed into a very strong rider for the classics. He's certainly a favourite for winning the bunch sprint from the peloton in RVV

 

[manafana]

good of FDJ not to make an appeal for the sake of making an appeal.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Everything still open forthe GC, the peleton was only 9sec behind.
Can Sagan win? or he will save energies for Sunday?

He will ride just 2 or 3 stages - not decided yet. He won't start in TT. Cannondale will work for Viviani tomorrow nevertheless.

 

[saganftw]

nice words from demare

Demare and his directeur sportif Marc Madiot carefully studied the replay of the sprint but accepted defeat.
"Peter moved across slightly but that's part of racing, part of sprinting," Demare admitted.