Omloop Het (Volk) Nieuwsblad - Feb 26th 2011

[SpannerBender]

New background.

Yep, done!

 

[mewmewmew13]

Nice pic, quite the finish!

 

[jens_attacks]

awesome pic!

 

[Granville57]

Oh boy, I got stuck working this morning, so with countless interruptions (don't these people understand the significance of cobbles and rain!?) it has taken me, literally, five hours to get through the last fifty pages of this thread.

I studiously avoided the home page or any other news feed so that I could enjoy the drama. That final sprint alone took me 90 minutes to get through (talk about suspense!)...what don't these people around me understand about COBBLES AND RAIN!?

Whew. Anyway, thanks for a great thread everyone!

Now off to this... (I'm exhausted)

final K
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snvdxlc0gPs


final 4k to follow.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Ryaguas]

Awesome pic...

I'm still quite mad cuz Flecha didnt win

 

[Granville57]

Oh!
AT. THE. LINE!!!

(I know, I'm waaaaaay late to the party, but that was cool.)

 

[Francois the Postman]

Flecha showing his class:

"Flecha also played down any suggestion that Langeveld had jinked left when starting the sprint, stressing: "It's all part of the game and there was nothing in it - when you are beaten by such a small margin at the end of 200km you can say any number of things cost you but it was a fantastic sprint and sometimes you have to know how to take a loss."

Yeah, I have a lot of time for riders like this. Generous in defeat, no excuses, straight up. Class rider. If he ends up at other side of that inch in a race like this very soon I will certainly raise a glass for him.

It has been a rather superb day for me. Wet cobbles, a great day's racing in the best company I could hope for. I now also know all about the track scene in Eindhoven, pre WWII, that I will ever need to know.

It looks like I will be back here at my old man's place for the Amstel Gold weekend, but I just might go and see that race live.

Thanks everyone for keeping to race chat only the moment the racing got serious, and the CQ chat, etc, out of this thread until after the race had finished. It keeps it enjoyable for all.

 

[stefrees]

Great racing, fitting rabo won as IMO they've been strongest team this season, with sky being 2nd strongest despite not winning much

 

[Granville57]

Uh...what happened to my Garmin-Cervelo boyz?
Wrong tyre pressure?

Dammit, JV! This is exactly what I was worried about when you fellas were cavorting around the Cayman Islands. I think you may have been confused about the type of "wet conditions" the team needed to prepare for.

For every race this spring with no argyle on the podium I am going offer a gentle reminder of days gone by.

Here's my first:

Get used to it...or not. It's out of my hands at this point.

 

[Winterfold]

Fantastic race - so close for Flecha but a very deserving winner in Langewald. Sky looking good in the first real race...

 

[thirteen]

Yeah, I have a lot of time for riders like this. Generous in defeat, no excuses, straight up. Class rider. If he ends up at other side of that inch in a race like this very soon I will certainly raise a glass for him.

i agree and it is, sadly, far too rare. a class act.

not to take anything away from Langeveld, though. he trusted in himself, rode strong, took a chance and it paid off.

chapeau to both!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Glad I recorded the race. Epic battle between two ex-teammates. A sprint of two dead guys and the right guy winning

The whole podium was (ex)-Rabo... Also good to see Maaskant in his old form. With the fall came a bike change, something the lovely Sporza guys missed, and he had to chase for 15km before he returned to the chasing group, so he really did an excellent job.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Langeveld looked reasonable so he might be saving energy knowing that Flecha is coming across

Unbelievably, I just read through the topic, and this is the only smart comment I found.

Seriously @Langeveld is toast quotes. Did you guys watch the same race? He looked like he was just riding his own pace, not trying to stay infront of Flecha (that would blow yourself up). Flecha was going maximum and almost killed himself to fix the final 100m...

 

[Captain_Cavman]

Sky have probably looked the most powerful outfit in the run-up to this weekend without actually winning much. So my money's on them to continue in this vein and podium but not win.

Rabobank have had a stunning start to the season but I can't see anyone who's likely to win here.

Garmin have looked strong but Hushovd less so.

So we're left with the Belgians. Quickstep has the better form. So,

1. Quickstep (Boonen probably).
2. Edging out someone from Sky.
3. Gilbert or some other Belgian.

OK so some of the prediction wasn't totally accurate, or indeed slightly accurate. I blame the Belgians.

But look at part 2 of the prediction! Spooky huh?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

i think flecha used a wrong tactic. he was stronger he should had attacked in the last K and stay in front till the finish line . . . imho

How can you say Flecha was stronger? Because he closed a gap to a guy that was riding on his own already for 450m (before Flecha caught him)

When he came to 11/12 seconds Flecha was really struggling, if Langeveld didn't wait there he'd probably win solo. But he played it smart and took no risks.

 

[theyoungest]

Unbelievably, I just read through the topic, and this is the only smart comment I found.

Seriously @Langeveld is toast quotes. Did you guys watch the same race? He looked like he was just riding his own pace, not trying to stay infront of Flecha (that would blow yourself up). Flecha was going maximum and almost killed himself to fix the final 100m...

It's Langeveld's graceful riding style that makes it seem easy for him, and Flecha's style that makes it seem the contrary, but Flecha was definitely coming up strong. I know you're happy with the win, but please don't make Langeveld seem like some superhuman being like you do with most Dutchies.

 

[luckyboy]

Wow, that looked great from the 20 minutes of highlights I just saw. Well deserved win. Gonna try and find a torrent after the weekend.

Roll on K-B-K, which I should be able to see live

 

[hrotha]

How can you say Flecha was stronger? Because he closed a gap to a guy that was riding on his own already for 450m (before Flecha caught him)

When he came to 11/12 seconds Flecha was really struggling, if Langeveld didn't wait there he'd probably win solo. But he played it smart and took no risks.

Took no risks? Hello? He almost lost the sprint?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

The crucial point is, he didn't

There is no almost in sports.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I think Langeveld was the strongest, but I think he conserved energy when Flecha was close to bridging across which was smart.


Felt sorry for quinziato who couldn't couldn't clip out of his pedals because his legs were so cold. That's what cycling is all about!

 

[hrotha]

The crucial point is, he didn't

There is no almost in sports.

There is when you're talking about "taking no risks". He clearly did. Going solo is the least risky option.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Going solo had the bigger risk of cramping later on and certainly lose. Better to spare every bit of energy in a race like this.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Yeah, I have a lot of time for riders like this. Generous in defeat, no excuses, straight up. Class rider. If he ends up at other side of that inch in a race like this very soon I will certainly raise a glass for him.

It has been a rather superb day for me. Wet cobbles, a great day's racing in the best company I could hope for. I now also know all about the track scene in Eindhoven, pre WWII, that I will ever need to know.

yeah, classy act.

This is flecha his best. I forgive him for his wheel sucking at p-r last year

New background.

yep me also, epic stuff.

Awesome pic...

I'm still quite mad cuz Flecha didnt win

application into the dutch mafia officially denied.

Glad I recorded the race. Epic battle between two ex-teammates. A sprint of two dead guys and the right guy winning

The whole podium was (ex)-Rabo... Also good to see Maaskant in his old form. With the fall came a bike change, something the lovely Sporza guys missed, and he had to chase for 15km before he returned to the chasing group, so he really did an excellent job.

yeah he looked excellent. Hope he can display some of his talent this spring.

 

[zapata]

Dam. I just watched the replay, since I couldn't watch it live (idiotically, I had made a promise to go to a museum today..), and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed, being an unabashed Flecha-fanboy. Pretty weird race today, but kudos to langeveld, (and to ak-zaaf, the only person on earth who predicted langeveld to win).

Also, Offredo looked strong. If and when he gets a brain, he might win some big races.

 

[El Pistolero]

How can you say Flecha was stronger? Because he closed a gap to a guy that was riding on his own already for 450m (before Flecha caught him)

When he came to 11/12 seconds Flecha was really struggling, if Langeveld didn't wait there he'd probably win solo. But he played it smart and took no risks.

It's all what if, but if Flecha went when Langeveld attacked he would've probably dropped Langeveld somewhere along the way.

But if Flecha went that early than the other teams would perhaps have organized a better chase.

Flecha closed a pretty big gap, of course he was tired after he finally caught him...