Dwars door Vlaanderen March 20, 2013

[manafana]

Gallopin or Chainel are other names we should watch, gallopin has been knocking on the door this year and always good on cobbles.

 

[xrayvision]

Wanna see what the former U23 Ronde de Vlandern winner Marko Kump can do here, but hes probably not in the best shape after his crash and operation. Pity with such an opportunity lost.

 

[xrayvision]

The live coverage should start 14.25 CET.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Thomas riding btw

 

[Cimber]

Breschel and Cantwell out due to illness (reckon it was the cold MSR that caused it). Breschel is supposed to be ready for E3 (but my guess is he wont be 100% for that).

http://www.feltet.dk/nyheder/breschel_maa_opgive_dwars_door_vlaanderen/

 

[Lanark]

Breschel and Cantwell out due to illness (reckon it was the cold MSR that caused it). Breschel is supposed to be ready for E3 (but my guess is he wont be 100% for that).

http://www.feltet.dk/nyheder/breschel_maa_opgive_dwars_door_vlaanderen/

That's hardly a guess, when was the last time he was 100%

 

[King Boonen]

Sticking with my pick, Durbo the turbo to pick up his first semi-classic...

 

[Kwibus]

"Forecasted rain not a concern for Belgian road champion"

This is Cyclingnews.com talking about Terpstra. Next to it a picture of Terpstra with his dutch national jersey.

*facepalm*

 

[Lexman]

Given all the non starters today because they rode MSR i guess Boonens decision to not restart was not that stupid after all...

Van Keirsbulck FTW

 

[MagnusMagnussen]

In this weather, look out for... Eeckhout!

 

[Wilba60]

Sticking with my pick, Durbo the turbo to pick up his first semi-classic...

Seems like OGE will be riding for Keukeleire but have Durbridge as a foil.
In His Own Words: Sport Director Laurenzo Lapage Previews Dwars door Vlaanderen
Dwars door Vlaanderen is the first of three one day Belgium classics on schedule this week. While Wednesday’s race is the only one of the three not to have WorldTour ranking, it serves as an important start to the cobbled action that begins in Roeselare and crescendos to a finish with Paris-Roubaix early next month.

Jens Keukeleire rounded out the top ten in Waregem last year. He’s back, surrounded by an interesting mix of experienced and less experienced riders, who may be able to help him go better this year. Sport Director Laurenzo Lapage will guide the team in Belgium and previews Dwars door Vlaanderen for you here.

I’ll start by reviewing the roster for you as we have a slightly different approach to the race this year. Here’s who will bring and what role I expect them to play:

Jens Keukeleire: Jens raced Milan-Sanremo, so we’re hoping he’s fully recovered from that effort. He’s a local. He knows the roads well and did a good race here last year. Another good result from him is possible

Fumy Beppu: Fumy is important for the team because he’s already done this type of race several times. He showed in Paris-Nice that he’s good condition. We’ll look for him to play a support role.

Leigh Howard: If Leigh can survive the hills and cobbles, he’s a rider that will be in contention for a field sprint. We already saw early in the season that he’s good in a hard finish.

Mitch Docker: Mitch is versatile. We can use him in several different ways. He is equally good in a breakaway or as a lead out man for Leigh.

Michael Hepburn: After doing great things on the track during the early season, Heppy is now standing in front of a new start on the road. We have to give him time to adapt, but the qualities are there for him to succeed in this type of race.

Luke Durbridge: Durbo can make an importation contribution in just about any type race. He’s focused on this block of racing, so it will be interesting to see what he can do here

Aidis Kruopis: Aidis was a bit sick last week, and we won’t have a good sense of how he recovers until he’s doing a race effort. With Aidis, we’ll have to wait and see.

Tomas Vaitkus: Tomas is one of our more experienced riders. We’ll look to him to guide the younger guys.

As you can see, we have a mix of young guys, some of whom have never raced a cobbled classic before, and older, more experienced riders. It will be especially important for us to ride as a team with this line-up. Jens Keukeleire is our most obvious option for a good result, but Leigh and Durbo could also surprise.

 

[federalski]

Why no BMC here?

 

[MagnusMagnussen]

Peloton split in 2 parts now. 46.2 k in the first hour.
First riders quit the race: Hayden Roulston and Niels Wytinck.

 

[RedheadDane]

Why no BMC here?

Coz they decided not to race...

 

[federalski]

Coz they decided not to race...

Thank you for clearing that up for me...

 

[simo1733]

Seems like OGE will be riding for Keukeleire but have Durbridge as a foil.
In His Own Words: Sport Director Laurenzo Lapage Previews Dwars door Vlaanderen
Dwars door Vlaanderen is the first of three one day Belgium classics on schedule this week. While Wednesday’s race is the only one of the three not to have WorldTour ranking, it serves as an important start to the cobbled action that begins in Roeselare and crescendos to a finish with Paris-Roubaix early next month.

Jens Keukeleire rounded out the top ten in Waregem last year. He’s back, surrounded by an interesting mix of experienced and less experienced riders, who may be able to help him go better this year. Sport Director Laurenzo Lapage will guide the team in Belgium and previews Dwars door Vlaanderen for you here.

I’ll start by reviewing the roster for you as we have a slightly different approach to the race this year. Here’s who will bring and what role I expect them to play:

Jens Keukeleire: Jens raced Milan-Sanremo, so we’re hoping he’s fully recovered from that effort. He’s a local. He knows the roads well and did a good race here last year. Another good result from him is possible

Fumy Beppu: Fumy is important for the team because he’s already done this type of race several times. He showed in Paris-Nice that he’s good condition. We’ll look for him to play a support role.

Leigh Howard: If Leigh can survive the hills and cobbles, he’s a rider that will be in contention for a field sprint. We already saw early in the season that he’s good in a hard finish.

Mitch Docker: Mitch is versatile. We can use him in several different ways. He is equally good in a breakaway or as a lead out man for Leigh.

Michael Hepburn: After doing great things on the track during the early season, Heppy is now standing in front of a new start on the road. We have to give him time to adapt, but the qualities are there for him to succeed in this type of race.

Luke Durbridge: Durbo can make an importation contribution in just about any type race. He’s focused on this block of racing, so it will be interesting to see what he can do here

Aidis Kruopis: Aidis was a bit sick last week, and we won’t have a good sense of how he recovers until he’s doing a race effort. With Aidis, we’ll have to wait and see.

Tomas Vaitkus: Tomas is one of our more experienced riders. We’ll look to him to guide the younger guys.

As you can see, we have a mix of young guys, some of whom have never raced a cobbled classic before, and older, more experienced riders. It will be especially important for us to ride as a team with this line-up. Jens Keukeleire is our most obvious option for a good result, but Leigh and Durbo could also surprise.

Did any of them ride MSR ?

 

[theyoungest]

"Forecasted rain not a concern for Belgian road champion"

This is Cyclingnews.com talking about Terpstra. Next to it a picture of Terpstra with his dutch national jersey.

*facepalm*

Cyclingnews should stick to what they're good at: hyping random Aussies, Brits, and 'Mericans.

 

[Christian]

Here are some streams starting at 14:20 CET

http://videosdecyclisme.fr/2013/03/20/live-a-travers-les-flandres-2013-en-direct-video/

 

[MagnusMagnussen]

Peloton still together after 60K

 

[Christian]

Peloton still together after 60K

The longer they stay together, the longer they stay warm

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The longer they stay together, the longer they stay warm

dunno, I would rather be hammering in a front group than sitting doing very little in the middle of the bunch in these conditions.

 

[Christian]

dunno, I would rather be hammering in a front group than sitting doing very little in the middle of the bunch in these conditions.

I really have no idea, I just applied my knowledge from "March of the Penguins"

 

[Cimber]

CNs live ticker up:

The group is: Steegmans (OPQS), Bassajev (Astana), Mol and Veuchelen (Vacansoleil), Juul Jensen (Saxo), Hayman (Sky), Stamsnijder (Argos), Van der Sande (Lotto-Belisol), Saramotins (IAM), Sijmens en Zingle (Cofidis), Gène (Europcar), Napolitano (Accent Jobs) and Brammeier (Champions System).

 

[Dazed and Confused]

CNs live ticker up:

The group is: Steegmans (OPQS), Bassajev (Astana), Mol and Veuchelen (Vacansoleil), Juul Jensen (Saxo), Hayman (Sky), Stamsnijder (Argos), Van der Sande (Lotto-Belisol), Saramotins (IAM), Sijmens en Zingle (Cofidis), Gène (Europcar), Napolitano (Accent Jobs) and Brammeier (Champions System).

Pretty strong group. Could make it all the way. Who will do the work in the peloton?

 

[Netserk]

Hayman and Saramontins are IMO the strongest in the group. Steegmans should skip pulls, so that they'll easier get caught.