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From Gent to to Liege, how was it for you?

Oct 29, 2009
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I will need to start a thread at some point, so I might as well start here.

I left Gent about at the end of March, and reached Liege roughly a month later, crossing a nigh endless amount of hills, cobbles, and cobbled hills, all without getting cramp once. Not bad going for a sofa surfer.

This block of races (in 2 parts) is usually the real highlight of my cycling year, probably an infliction I picked up on account of growing up within spitting distance of the Belgium border. But a reply in another thread made me realize that my experience of this year's "Belgian" Spring classic season, has been totally different from last year, if not all years before this.

I am trying to figure out if this was due to the race calendar rescheduling that went on. Or because of the route changes, which altered the nature of some of the races significantly (and in my mind for the better). Or because the utter dominance of Cancellara in the Flanders stretch (Paris-Roubaix will forever be a Flanders race to me). Or because of the willingness of class stage riders to participate in earnest (which might well be a consequence of the rescheduling too).

Normally I am less excited about the Ardennes classics than the cobbled ones, by some distance, and I like the Ardennes classics a lot. But looking back, the enjoyment I got out of the "two halves" of April felt much more balanced in many respects. The route alteration in Fleche, to me, was a massive improvement. The whole "Flanders Classic" project, and effect on closely related races, is also a success, in my book. And that was with Cancellara and infuriatingly good weather depriving us from the gritty fireworks. Can't wait for a wet Spring.

I was curious how other people looked back on the "Belgian month" as a whole. And as a side question: if playing musical chairs with the races, and fiddling with the routes themselves, has created a noticeably different experience, and if so, how?
 
Oct 29, 2009
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Race Radio said:
Don't forget Het-Volk and KBK. Both great races for the start of a good classics season.

Trust me, I haven't forgotten about them. But there is a defined month in which most of the classics and semi classic action takes place in Belgium, and on its doorsteps. I wanted to focus on those that are to me part the same 2 "sets":

- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- E3 Prijs
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Driedaagse De Panne
- Ronde van Vlaanderen
- Scheldeprijs
- Parijs-Roubaix
- De Brabantse Pijl
===
- Amstel Gold
- La Fleche Wallonne
- Liege Bastogne Liege

It has 2 distinct parts as we all know. But together it is one superb month of cycling, a month that this year has seen some structural changes - dates and routes. (to pre-empt: Ronde van het Groene Hart and Koeln don't fit in, to me).

Just curious of all that fiddling was worth it to people, in the end.
 
Apr 29, 2009
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Claaics season Ruined by dope cheat Vinoukerov

Liege Bastogne Liege was ruined by the convicted dope cheat Vinoukerov.

I wonder what day the positive dope test will be announced?
 
Sep 11, 2009
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I agree with you, the second half was much more entertaining. I would have been much more satisfied if Tommeke won Flanders or Paris Roubaix but they didn't have the same excitement as Amstel Gold, which was by far my favorite race to watch.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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I usually prefer the cobbled Classics to the Ardennes races but, for me, the Ardennes shone this year, possibly because, for the first time in a long time, they moved away from 'specialisation' towards a broader collection of talents - that last group at L-B-L represented so much of what's (hopefully) to come it was positively lipsmacking.

We also enjoyed better coverage than ever before so I would have to say the experiment was, for me, a success highlighting the contrasting styles between the races and rekindling my appreciation of the Ardennes
 
Mar 18, 2009
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I enjoyed the first half of the season, but I am biased because I watched RVV from the Kapelmuur and PR from the Carrefour de l'Abre for the first time. While it may have been boring to watch Cancellara TT his way to victory on live feeds, especially in PR, it was exciting watching it live with dust in your face, people shouting, everyone supporting their own rider or nationality.

However, the races in the second half of the season were excellent and with some worthy winners, especially Gilbert and Evans. I cannot wait for WCP DVD for all of these races, but Evans's win was a highlight and not only because I am an Aussie. I also enjoyed Vino's win. He doped and served his time. If he doped again, then he'll be caught. Otherwise I am happy for his win.
 
So I've now wrapped up my first full spring season of pro road cycling (armchair edition) since I 'left' the sport over 15 years ago. :)

1. Amazing to see that some of the same names from way back when are still around. Old biffers like Jens Voigt are still up there :)

2. No big surprises, perhaps except Traksel in KBK, but then that wasn't exactly a normal race. I was warmed by the wins of Gilbert, Evans and Flecha. Not so hot on Vino and Cancellara's PR (from the armchair POV).

3. Nice to see the crowds are still out there in force. I prefer to see PR and Flanders with a touch of mud and perhaps the 'clean-up' at the Carrefour de l'Arbre has backfired, but it all made for good spectating on the whole.
 
Jan 27, 2010
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thanks to the new route and new date, gent-wevelgem is now a really good race in my opinion - maybe it will become a true classic.

the big cobbled classics were tedious this year i'm afraid, due to a combination of rider form and weather. this was the first time i have ever bet on a short priced favourite in a cycling race (odds-on!!!) but it was totally obvious that Cancellara would win P-R, and totally obvious that Boonen would be the only realistic challenger. all that in a race that's supposed to be really unpredictable.

agree with comments above that it's great to see a mixture of riders in liege - but to be honest that is usually the case, maybe we have just got used to certain lazy GT riders overshadowing these races with talk-a-lot ride-little media circus at this time of year.
 
Mar 19, 2009
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auscyclefan94 said:
Preffered Ardennes over Cobbles. Cobbles were very closed races this year. Ardennes were close till the last minutes of the racing.

I understand what you're saying but I wouldn't call it closed races.

In the Ardennes & Amstel there was still an almost complete peloton at less than 30km to go (Amstel: Eyserbos @25km to go, Fleche: 2nd Mur @29km to go; LBL: Roche aux faucons @20km to go.). The first 2 hours of the live coverage you could easily take a nap without missing anything important. That's closed racing.

In RVV the favourites meet a first time at the Koppenberg 70km to go; In PR the Bois De Wallers is @95km to go. The difference is PR & RVV were decided @45km & @15km to go because of a superhuman being. The ardennes & Amstel were undecided until the last km.

I must say I enjoyed both the cobbled and Ardennes but because of different reasons. The cobbles because it was amazing to see Cancellara; the Ardennes because Gilbert not only confirmed his results of last year but made the race like he did in Lombardy.
 
Mar 19, 2009
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galaxy1 said:
thanks to the new route and new date, gent-wevelgem is now a really good race in my opinion - maybe it will become a true classic.

Indeed, the race I enjoyed the most.

I just hope they can come to an agreement to organize the E3 on an other date so Canc, Boonen, Pozzato etc can ride G-W as well.
 
Apr 8, 2009
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Contralamontre said:
Liege Bastogne Liege was ruined by the convicted dope cheat Vinoukerov.

I wonder what day the positive dope test will be announced?
hopefully sooner rather than later

back onto the topic at hand - Some say Cancellara's win was boring - I thought it was breathtaking and goes to show how great Sparticus is.

Also ive someone said to me before the start of the 'classics season' that Cadel would win one of them I would of taken it in a heartbeat - I think he is riding better than ever :D
 
Sep 11, 2009
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sportzchick said:
hopefully sooner rather than later

back onto the topic at hand - Some say Cancellara's win was boring - I thought it was breathtaking and goes to show how great Sparticus is.

Yea Cancellara's wins weren't NEARLY as suspicious as Vino's.
 
Jan 27, 2010
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sportzchick said:
back onto the topic at hand - Some say Cancellara's win was boring - I thought it was breathtaking and goes to show how great Sparticus is.

both breathtaking and boring in my opinion. i much preferred watching the more competitive races.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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sportzchick said:
innocent untill proven guilty

Vino is a PROVEN cheat there is a difference

Proven, yes. But found guilty and served his time. Because he has cheated in the past doesn't necessarily make him a cheat for life. I am sure we have all done something in the past that we have not been proud of or even were perhaps illegal. Those events do not define who or what you are unless you do them regularly.

But what makes Vino's performance any more remarkable than any other rider, especially Cancellara's domination of the cobbled classics? It doesn't matter if he was suspended for doping in the past, because he has served his time and is now allowed to race professionally again. Are you arguing that Vino should be denied the potential to win a race ever again, or even race again professionally? What about all of the other suspended riders that have returned to the professional peloton, the likes of David Millar in particular? It's hypocritical to question Vino's win and not anyone else's win just because he has previously been suspended for doping.
 
Mar 11, 2009
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Francois the Postman said:
Me too. But from Gent to Liege really wasn't clear enough then. I thought we knew what period that was here :)

Omloop het Nieuwsblad is originally Gent - Gent. :)

Loved the cobbled semi-classics as I do every year. Gent - Wevelgem kinda stood out for me because of the new date and parcours. It brought everything I wished for.
Boonen didn't win anything but he didn't disappoint at all for me. Attacked anytime the Taaienberg or Paterberg came up and tried to make the best out of being isolated when it occurred.
Canc was long-term awesome. A grandpa's lap story.

Hill seasons started off great pretty good, Basque was close until the end, in Brabantse Pijl the escapees stayed away...
The AGR, FW and LBL seemed to follow a pattern that is becoming very predictable. In AGR you can fall a sleep until the Eyserbosweg but if you don't wake up until the last climb of the Cauberg you only missed 'le petit histoire'. Especially in a hard, narrow and nervous race like the Gold Race the trend is becoming more and more to 'just wait it out'. For Fleche it's already done, as predictable as a flat TDF stage.

LBL exploded, but again only in the end. Roche aux Faucons is a great addition to the race (last 3 years or something?). The organisation understood times have changed and the 6 favorites aren't going to battle it out after Redoute anymore. AGR and LBL usually give a great last 30km, anything can happen, but AGR is going the FW way.

Again, I'm not a big fan of hilltop finishes in classics. It paralyzes the peloton in the early hours and makes the favorites wait for the last KM.
Look at the Cauberg finish: Everybody thinks he has a chance so they all wait if they think they can do the Cauberg fast. There's always some idiot going way too early, just pick his wheel and hope the rest can't follow.

I like classics where a lot of guys can only win solo.
 
Apr 12, 2009
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Francois the Postman said:
Trust me, I haven't forgotten about them. But there is a defined month in which most of the classics and semi classic action takes place in Belgium, and on its doorsteps. I wanted to focus on those that are to me part the same 2 "sets":

- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- E3 Prijs
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Driedaagse De Panne
- Ronde van Vlaanderen
- Scheldeprijs
- Parijs-Roubaix
- De Brabantse Pijl
===
- Amstel Gold
- La Fleche Wallonne
- Liege Bastogne Liege

It has 2 distinct parts as we all know. But together it is one superb month of cycling, a month that this year has seen some structural changes - dates and routes. (to pre-empt: Ronde van het Groene Hart and Koeln don't fit in, to me).

Just curious of all that fiddling was worth it to people, in the end.
With the new route, i think De Brabantse Pijl fits in the second half.
 
Apr 8, 2009
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elapid said:
Proven, yes. But found guilty and served his time. Because he has cheated in the past doesn't necessarily make him a cheat for life. I am sure we have all done something in the past that we have not been proud of or even were perhaps illegal. Those events do not define who or what you are unless you do them regularly.

But what makes Vino's performance any more remarkable than any other rider, especially Cancellara's domination of the cobbled classics? It doesn't matter if he was suspended for doping in the past, because he has served his time and is now allowed to race professionally again. Are you arguing that Vino should be denied the potential to win a race ever again, or even race again professionally? What about all of the other suspended riders that have returned to the professional peloton, the likes of David Millar in particular? It's hypocritical to question Vino's win and not anyone else's win just because he has previously been suspended for doping.
to me two years is nothing.......atmo your might as well not have testing or bother with the drug war if cheaters are allowed back and winning as there is no way you could trust them again - ive always believed it should be a life ban and nothing is going to change that but if the fans and the UCI are going to be soft on cheats then sadly there isnt much I can do about it. All he and other cheats need to do is learn from their mistakes and not get caught again.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!
 
Oct 29, 2009
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ak-zaaf said:
Gent - Wevelgem kinda stood out for me because of the new date and parcours. It brought everything I wished for.

[too lazy to quote all the other comments that say the same]

Yup, that race stood out for me too. Some of that will have been novelty value, but it really gelled so much better with what was around it, I thought.

LBL exploded, but again only in the end. Roche aux Faucons is a great addition to the race (last 3 years or something?). The organisation understood times have changed and the 6 favorites aren't going to battle it out after Redoute anymore. AGR and LBL usually give a great last 30km, anything can happen, but AGR is going the FW way.

Yup, I felt the same. Of all the races, AGR is actually the one that satisfied me least this year. It has the potential to be a killer drop-fest, but delivers that less and less. The curse of the Cauberg.

Been up it once, but don't know the close area around it. The sadist in me I would kill to see a very short loop in which they have to do it a couple of times before the finish (not sure if that route option exists). If we are gonna have to wait for a final on the Cauberg, just lose some of the many climbs getting there and kill'em off at the end by doing it often. Ah well, I can dream.

It sounds like you and I enjoy very similar style races best.
 

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