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

[spalco]

Changed my avatar in honour of this tremendous victory.

 

[Lexman]

48 km/h on the cobbles , who does better ... no one

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/120408_PR_reactie_Boonen

 

[Highlander]

Frederic Guesdon finishing after that crash 100 km from the finish, congrats to him

Unfortunately, the official results make it appear as if it won't count as they list him outside of the time cut. I understand the purpose for the time cut, but given the circumstances of the crash and the fact that this is his final race, I would like to see the officials ignore that and allow the finish to count.

 

[meat puppet]

The engine metaphor is not particularly revealing, agreed.

So if EBH truly cannot load up on carbs during the race, he basically has to rely on his fat metabolism at race finales when others are still burning glycogen, and we all know that glycogen is the fuel for higher intensities. If this is so, then EBH can basically just hope he does not run out. Others take gels and try to make sure they dont.

In this sense then I would rather claim that he has a rather "big engine". By engine of course, if the term is to be meaningful at all, I take it we mean an individual's ability to oxidize fat and glycogen for muscle energy. Mainly fat, because that tank is unlimited. Glycogen not so.

It would be truly astonishing if EBH delivered in 250+k race finales relying on fat metabolism only. So it's the tank(ing). And this talk is obviously academic ,yes. Still everyone who has bonked knows the difference between glycogen and fats.

 

[Frosty]

EBH seems to have had the form in the shorter classics. In G-W he was in the final reckoning, he seemed to be sprinting well and if it hadnt been for Marcato's highly questionable maneouvre then he could have won. In E3 Prijs he finished well down but its difficult to know how well he was going as he was on Cancellara's wheel expecting him to try and power away towards the end. Cancellara didnt and so he ended up a long way back when the sprint started.

In the longer classics... in Milan San Remo he was in the group on the Poggio but badly placed at the back. I still havent heard how this happened as on the live pictures he and Lovkvist were about 9th one moment and then right at the back the next? On the climb itself the bunch was right across the road meaning he couldnt get through and was too far back to react when the attacks happened at the top. Maybe if he was in really good shape then he should have made an extra attempt to get close to the front near the bottom of the climb, maybe having an extra team mate or two would have helped - we still cant say if it would have made much difference. In P-R and the RVV he seemed to be going well but faded towards the end.

It would therefore seem as if he is in good condition generally but just lacks it when the race gets really long - its not a case of him being in bad condition generally. This may have been his first attempt at the classics without being injured (?) so hopefully Team Sky's staff will be able to look into what happened and work some solutions for next season.

 

[Red Rick]

What's the use of the time cut in one day race's. At least pay some respect to the veteran that races the last 100 km knowing his race was done

 

[jsem94]

Tommeke really put some people in place here, saying that he wheelsucks etc.

But how stupid was it of Ballan and Pippo now in hindsight to have let Terpstra and Boonen go?

 

[burning]

What's the use of the time cut in one day race's. At least pay some respect to the veteran that races the last 100 km knowing his race was done

You gotta finish within %5 of winners time

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Just read that EBH had a puncture?

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Tommeke really put some people in place here, saying that he wheelsucks etc.

But how stupid was it of Ballan and Pippo now in hindsight to have let Terpstra and Boonen go?

Maybe they realy just coudln't follow in that moment. Terpstra performed very strong today as well, but just coudln't follow Tommeke. I mean it looked stupid how the race went for the chasers, but it was madly fast from the beginning on and in the end you saw that they didn't have much more in them left.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I see this with the naked eye. turgot is 2nd

weening/kloden was closer in my memory

 

[Trofinios]

Just read that EBH had a puncture?

LOL, if that is true and was the reason why he dropped. We could then erase a couple of pages discussion why EBH can't handle long races. But why did he finish 8 minutes behind then? Saving himself for Amstel gold race?

Edit: Just read an interview with EBH: he just got empty and had nothing left to give.

 

[Red Rick]

dlwssonic is officially the new jinx-champion of the world. Well done. Looking clever here.

This is true in so many way's. Guy's you just got Tom'd, Geboon'd, and owned

 

[The Sheep]

I see this with the naked eye. turgot is 2nd

weening/kloden was closer in my memory

That was for 1st place though.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Turgot Ballan split.

Blue is bit i coloured in of red line that was significantly black when zoomed in, as it is part of Turgots wheel.

exactly. turgot 2nd \, ballan 3rd

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Today I'm making my last posts as RDV4ROUBAIX, I'm sending the Admins a request for a name change.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Engine meaning what? If the engine is empty, then why is it empty?

Such spectacular cracks (losing 8 minutes in 20 km) are usually always caused by being sugar empty. You probably don't cycle yourself, but if you did, you would know what I mean. When you don't get enough sugar towards the end of a long race, one just suddenly cannot keep turning the pedals anymore, even if one felt great 3 minutes earlier. It's really weird.

I think by now really this apples best to you:

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Boonen: 7 monuments, tied for the record in both Flanders and P-R, and with the way he's riding now, the odds are pretty good (putting it mildly), that before he retires he'll win at least one more of one them, making him the greatest rider of the cobbled classics of all time. But then, you kind of knew that watching the last 20 km of this race.

only if cancellara breaks his collarbone again in this period

 

[spalco]

Maybe they realy just coudln't follow in that moment. Terpstra performed very strong today as well, but just coudln't follow Tommeke. I mean it looked stupid how the race went for the chasers, but it was madly fast from the beginning on and in the end you saw that they didn't have much more in them left.

No, it was definitely confusion or miscommunication or something. It wasn't even really an attack, although I'm sure Boonen and Terpstra were going pretty fast. But no way riders like Ballan and Pozzato should leave a gap on a flat, tarmaced non-technical road section like that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGiDP9qhDos

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Why is everybody poitning to Sky/BMC/Rabo fail, while Garmin made a bigger fail with the team they had

vanmarcke was sick. haussler sucks ever since he left cervelo and van summerne is having a bad year as well although rode quite well today. sky on the other hand had a great flecha, hayman and stannard and the man they pulled for failed miserably... again... sky had 4 guys in the final and theu finished 4th

 

[Echoes]

Today I'm making my last posts as RDV4ROUBAIX, I'm sending the Admins a request for a name change.

NO !!!!!!

Roger will get his record back in a few weeks.

Or well. Maybe.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

What's so hard to understand? It takes year of training and racing to reach ones peak in long and hard races. The fact can just be that EBH isn't there yet. He has improved a bit this year, maybe 2-3 more years and he can be competitive right to the end.

he hasn't improved his engine at all in the past few years. and it's bs that riders grow this engine. maybe in some rare cases but mostly it's a given already at young age. boonen and uran for instance podiumed monuments under age 22. ebh is turning 25 soon... sagan is 22, look at him in flanders and msr. clealry has has the engine. those are classic riders for the future, just as henao I will promise you will show he has that engine too at the get go the coming classics races.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Tommeke really put some people in place here, saying that he wheelsucks etc.

But how stupid was it of Ballan and Pippo now in hindsight to have let Terpstra and Boonen go?

how does that put people into place? he wheelsucked last weke and todya he didn;t wheelsuck and rode great. end of story

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

LOL, if that is true and was the reason why he dropped. We could then erase a couple of pages discussion why EBH can't handle long races. But why did he finish 8 minutes behind then? Saving himself for Amstel gold race?

Edit: Just read an interview with EBH: he just got empty and had nothing left to give.

for you as well

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

he hasn't improved his engine at all in the past few years. and it's bs that riders grow this engine. maybe in some rare cases but mostly it's a given already at young age. boonen and uran for instance podiumed monuments under age 22. ebh is turning 25 soon... sagan is 22, look at him in flanders and msr. clealry has has the engine. those are classic riders for the future, just as henao I will promise you will show he has that engine too at the get go the coming classics races.

Usually don't say things like this, but this is bull****
It is perfectly natural to build up this "engine" over years, in fact that is what most normal (Boonen, Sagan as obvious exeptcions)