Paris-Roubaix 2012 - The Queen of the Classics (257.5km)

[spalco]

Lol @ Queen of the classics.

Liège is the oldest one deal with it.

Ok, so how about we agree to call LBL the Granny of the Classics from now on?

 

[Red Rick]

pointless discussion is pointless

 

[El Pistolero]

They're just nicknames guys....


Milan-San Remo: La Primavera/La Classicissima
Ronde van Vlaanderen: Vlaanderens Mooiste
Paris-Roubaix: L'enfer du Nord, La Reine
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: La Doyenne
Giro di Lombardia: La corsa delle foglie morte

 

[Spine Concept]

They're just nicknames guys....


Milan-San Remo: La Primavera/La Classicissima
Ronde van Vlaanderen: Vlaanderens Mooiste
Paris-Roubaix: L'enfer du Nord, La Reine
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: La Doyenne
Giro di Lombardia: La corsa delle foglie morte

Indeed. Whether or not one likes the one or the other better - and thus deeming it ''the Queen'' - is all subjective.

 

[Zoncolan]

They're just nicknames guys....


Milan-San Remo: La Primavera/La Classicissima
Ronde van Vlaanderen: Vlaanderens Mooiste
Paris-Roubaix: L'enfer du Nord, La Reine
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: La Doyenne
Giro di Lombardia: La corsa delle foglie morte

Exactly.
Except the last one no longer applies.

 

[Echoes]

**** or get off the pot.

hey I'm not 24h a day on CN.

It's updated now.

I was poking gentle fun at Echoes because they start the Milan-San Remo thread every year (and at least one thread in the interim) to complain about how only complete fools would call it a sprinters' race, because back in the 70s and 80s sprinters couldn't, and didn't, win it. Never mind that 2/3 of the editions in the last 15 years have been sprints. And when Gerrans won, they posted repeatedly about how they were right and we were wrong because it wasn't a sprint.

Hence how, because once upon a time there weren't that many cobbled sections in Paris-Roubaix, Echoes should be posting incessantly to remind us it's not really a cobbled race

WE (majestic, lol) will gently reply that the least cobbled edition was 1965, the year before they completely changed the route, and it still had a 22.5 km cobbled distance, which is about the same as the cobbled distance of the kermess race that we've seen today.

And yeah, Paris-Roubaix had to deal with the asphalting and modernizing of the road network after WWII, just like any other race at the same time. But nobody remembers it. Just like by 2030, for instance, nobody will remember that Milan-Sanremo had a credibility problem (due to the thing we can't discuss on this section) in the noughties.

We insist Paris-Roubaix has always been cobbled and its cobbles had always been harsher than everywhere else, only in the old days, there were cobbles everywhere and that's why it did not directly stand up as a cobbled classic.

 

[Echoes]

Meh, Ill think about PR only after RVV has managed to sink in.

Why should I have cared for this kermess ??

First P-R: 1896
First LBL: 1892

It was not even a pro-race in 1892. The 1908 to 1913 were not even pro either.

Liège hardly had an international field before 1951 and was hardly considered a major classic before 1968/69. Go stats !

The Tour du Lac Léman was created in 1879.


Edit: I hate having my posts below a page : http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=829823&postcount=30

 

[Echoes]

Erm...yes it was. The main roads became less and less cobbled in the 50's and 60's though. That's why the start moved to Compiegne and the final was concentrated between Valenciennes and Roubaix.

Correction.

As I updated in my second reply on this thread, the move to Compiègne dates from 1977, with a second wave of asphalting around Templeuve but not as big as the road network modernizing of the 50's.

I you watch A Sunday in Hell (1976 edition), you definitely have the start in Chantilly !

 

[El Pistolero]

Ok the Ronde is done, now it's time for this kermis koerske!

 

[Angliru]

Didn't know that. Thing i've gotta read abit about the history of this race.

Man, I didn't know that either. I'm embarrassed.

 

[tb1919]

In a car with sat nav, have you much of a chance of watching the race live at may be Arenberg or Famars & then getting to the velodrome to watch the finish? Don't know whether the velodrome fills up really early or whether the traffic is just so bad there's no point in trying even if you take a longer route

Thanks

 

[Bala Verde]

Any (good) cycling bars in Rome (at all) that show pr?

 

[The Sheep]

Could we have some snow in Paris-Roubaix this year?

 

[Zam_Olyas]

In a car with sat nav, have you much of a chance of watching the race live at may be Arenberg or Famars & then getting to the velodrome to watch the finish? Don't know whether the velodrome fills up really early or whether the traffic is just so bad there's no point in trying even if you take a longer route

Thanks

ASk ScottSocal ..pm him.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Could we have some snow in Paris-Roubaix this year?

Most of the forecasts say sunny/cloudy on sunday. But it should be raining a lot saturday. Interesting.

 

[karlboss]

Tough to see anyone beating OPQS.

 

[Moviefan1203]

Tough to see anyone beating OPQS.

Toms to lose.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Hushovd is better suited to Roubaix than Ballan for BMC but Thor simply does not have the form. He'll have to wait at least another year.

Boonen's race to lose. I think we will see a similar podium in Roubaix as we saw in De Ronde with maybe Flecha doing a bit better.

 

[luckyboy]

Pity for Thor that he hasn't got great form - this is turning into his best chance in some time.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Hushovd is better suited to Roubaix than Ballan for BMC but Thor simply does not have the form. He'll have to wait at least another year.

Boonen's race to lose. I think we will see a similar podium in Roubaix as we saw in De Ronde with maybe Flecha doing a bit better.

I think Sagan and Pippo will round out the podium. Flecha is a likely top five, as always.

Whatever the case, it's a safe bet that OPQS won't allow an outsider to win this thing a la 2007 or 2011. I think the best bets for the win are Boonen (if OPQS stay together and control the race) or Chava (if they send him up the road to make other teams work).

 

[auscyclefan94]

I think Sagan and Pippo will round out the podium. Flecha is a likely top five, as always.

Whatever the case, it's a safe bet that OPQS won't allow an outsider to win this thing a la 2007 or 2011. I think the best bets for the win are Boonen (if OPQS stay together and control the race) or Chava (if they send him up the road to make other teams work).

I think Sagan will again struggle with the distance and the brute power required for Roubaix on the rough cobbles. I don't expect him to feature.

 

[blaxland]

with everything that has happened in the last 24 hours(Cancellarra's,Langevelde's crash)Tom Boonen OPQS must smiling all the way to the bank.They would have to be at unbackable odds to win on sunday.All thats left now is for the minor places.
1st=BOONEN
2nd=Breschel
3rd=Ballan
Who will be Greenedge's leader for PR now?Goss/O'grady maybe?

 

[Parrulo]

I think Sagan will again struggle with the distance and the brute power required for Roubaix on the rough cobbles. I don't expect him to feature.

sagan didn't struggle with the distance at all today, the kid is a beast so i wont underestimate him again like i did for today. i expect to see him do well in P-R as well

 

[nickel999]

I'll go with Lars Boom

It would be great to see a Cross guy win P-R

 

[Parrulo]

I'll go with Lars Boom

It would be great to see a Cross guy win P-R

boom doesn't seem to be in great shape which is a shame as he did very well in roubaix last year. i would love to see him ride a 94 kind of roubaix he would be the big favorite (if he finally can handle the distance) on a race like that.