Paris - Roubaix 2021 (03.10)

[Zinoviev Letter]

Being a southern-European, that's all there is to it, despite the barely dressed "explanations"

C’mon dude. Don’t be silly. A few people are salty because they want a big favourite to win through ostentatious displays of superiority (VDP), or conversely a real underdog (Vermeersch). Or because they are allergic to late blooming champions. It’s got nothing to do with him being from Southern Europe

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Is that actually a thing? (says the non-European)

No

 

[Extinction]

Colla is Italian for glue. He should change his name to Colla-brelli. He's won two major races now by staying glued to the rear wheel of the strongest for dozens of kilometers. It's the most painful thing in cycling, when the wheelsucker wins.

Paris-Roubaix under such conditions is an all out war of attrition. Anybody who arrives in the Roubaix velodrome for the win is a deserved winner. If anything MvDP is at times too generous, either because he is too zealous or too audacious. Fact is Colbrelli knocked him out in the sprint, which makes him a worthy winner.

 

[Frankschleck]

The people who are saying Colbrelli doesn't deserve it were watching a different race. Calling him a Simon Gerran's is ***, he attacked as one of the first and has attacked a lot in the last races he has driven. Saying it's underserved is just bs. Had back Moscon on 125/1 so that kind of sucks. Would have been fun to see what Boivin could have done, but also Walschied had he not crashed. Great race, hats of for the riders. Vermesch, but also Van Poel drove a fantastic race. Btw *** team work by Philipsen. Hats of for the lotto team.

 

[Netserk]

What else would he say? He lost because he crashed all by himself, it’s not like there’s someone else to blame

He lost because of a puncture (and it is not clear at all that he was at fault for that), and his new bike clearly wasn't set up like the previous one for the cobbles. Pure bad luck.

 

[Escarabajo]

Why have they cleaned the riders before they got on the podium? You want to emphasis how tough they are for overcoming the conditions, instead they look like they're in a skincare commercial.

Because they were afraid to crown the wrong one!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Colbrelli > Moscon: Picked up his bike and didn't hit anyone with it.

He was looking around, but nobody was close enough.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Dirty racing at its finest

 

[Rackham]

Unfortunately I like Roglic quite a bit more than Colbrelli.

Colbrelli rides angry.

It's just the way he is, i.e. you'll often see him waving his arms at opponents (he did that with Evenepoel in the world championship last weekend).

In that fateful Tour stage 3, Roglic was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It had nothing to do with "bike handling" (as some like Sean Kelly love to repeat), no, it was just bad luck.

Colbrelli is also a bit of a wheel sucker as well but as the winner he got it right today (& he also went on the attack earlier than MvdP as well).

 

[Red Rick]

Colbrelli rides angry.

It's just the way he is, i.e. you'll often see him waving his arms at opponents (he did that with Evenepoel in the world championship last weekend).

In that fateful Tour stage 3, Roglic was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It had nothing to do with "bike handling" (as some like Sean Kelly love to repeat), no, it was just bad luck.

Colbrelli is also a bit of a wheel sucker as well but as the winner he got it right today (& he also went on the attack earlier than MvdP as well).

VdP was actually the first one to attack even before Arenberg but didn't get any seperation anyway.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Dirty racing at its finest

Alpecin definitely has the best kit for these conditions.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1444706122775027715

View: https://twitter.com/SadhbhOS/status/1444706122775027715

 

[BlueRoads]

Is that actually a thing? (says the non-European)

Not at all. There actually are sometimes resentments towards Eastern Europeans, so, although when this is claimed as a reason in this forum it's usually non-sensical as well, I have to admit that is a thing. But that an Italian winner isn't liked because he's from Southern Europe... I suppose that's like claiming someone from California isn't liked because he's from the Southern parts of the USA.

 

[BlueRoads]

Alpecin definitely has the best kit for these conditions.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1444706122775027715

View: https://twitter.com/SadhbhOS/status/1444706122775027715

Vermeersch actually looked like crying as well and not happy at all, but van der Poel really refused the conference? Must be very, very disappointed...

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Not at all. There actually are sometimes resentments towards Eastern Europeans, so, although when this is claimed as a reason in this forum it's usually non-sensical as well, I have to admit that is a thing. But that an Italian winner isn't liked because he's from Southern Europe... I suppose that's like claiming someone from California isn't liked because he's from the Southern parts of the USA.

Speaking as someone who lives in Northern California, we are prejudiced against Southern Californians.

 

[Netserk]

Not at all. There actually are sometimes resentments towards Eastern Europeans, so, although when this is claimed as a reason in this forum it's usually non-sensical as well, I have to admit that is a thing. But that an Italian winner isn't liked because he's from Southern Europe... I suppose that's like claiming someone from California isn't liked because he's from the Southern parts of the USA.

Huh? Everyone with access to the North Sea knows that one should view those infected by the Mediterranean disease with scepticism. Don't tell me that the average German doesn't think the average Italian and Greek are lazy bastards.

 

[Volderke]

Vermeersch actually looked like crying as well and not happy at all, but van der Poel really refused the conference? Must be very, very disappointed...

MvdP did interviews after the race, but he was shivering. I don't know if that was an excuse, but he looked like he hypothermic.

 

[fbjim]

C’mon dude. Don’t be silly. A few people are salty because they want a big favourite to win through ostentatious displays of superiority (VDP), or conversely a real underdog (Vermeersch). Or because they are allergic to late blooming champions. It’s got nothing to do with him being from Southern Europe

Ehh, it's always been a part of it. Or maybe I'm still wondering why Cipollini got dragged through the mud for quitting the Tour de France to the extent that the organizers wouldn't invite him anymore, yet nobody cared when Robbie McEwan did that at the Giro repeatedly.


A lot of cycling press is French and British (especially the english speaking press), they've never liked Italians.

 

[BlueRoads]

Speaking as someone who lives in Northern California, we are prejudiced against Southern Californians.

 

[Red Rick]

MvdP did interviews after the race, but he was shivering. I don't know if that was an excuse, but he looked like he hypothermic.

He was one of the first ones to get rid of the arm warmers

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Speaking as someone who lives in Northern California, we are prejudiced against Southern Californians.

I've heard it never rains there, so they would have been absolutely useless helpers in this race. A bit like Philipsen actually

FV became both the best Vermeersch and the best Florian and also managed to make Colbrelli look small on the podium.

 

[BlueRoads]

Ehh, it's always been a part of it. Or maybe I'm still wondering why Cipollini got dragged through the mud for quitting the Tour de France to the extent that the organizers wouldn't invite him anymore, yet nobody cared when Robbie McEwan did that at the Giro repeatedly.


A lot of cycling press is French and British (especially the english speaking press), they've never liked Italians.

There aren't many Frenchmen in these forums though, many more Italians.
And personally I love Ganna, and I didn't see much rejection of him here. Longo Borghini is also one of my favourite female riders and quite liked I think.
If anything, personally, I'm a bit prejudiced against British and Belgian riders because I sometimes get the feeling they are a bit full of themselves - but not all of them, of course.

 

[fbjim]

There aren't many Frenchmen in these forums though, many more Italians.
And personally I love Ganna, and I didn't see much rejection of him here. Longo Borghini is also one of my favourite female riders and quite liked I think.
If anything, personally, I'm a bit prejudiced against British and Belgian riders because I sometimes get the feeling they are a bit full of themselves - but not all of them, of course.

Yeah it's not so much here as the general discourse. I always noticed Italians being some of the first to be declared dirty by commentators and the like.

 

[Volderke]

I'm curious about tubulars / clinchers / tubeless tires used in this race (and in the top 10):
I read Bahrain was racing on the new Continental tubeless, so this is a first tubeless Roubaix win?
I reckon Lotto is riding on tubulars (Bora one disc)? Unless that's a Bora WTO, but I don't think Lotto rides tubeless Vittoria.
MvdP is probably on tubulars as well (Vittoria I think)?

And DQS was on clinchers I thought? Could that be the reason for all the punctures? Lampaert had 3 flats, and he told in the interview it was a pinch flat 3 times. You get pinch flats more easily with hooked rim beds...
And one of those flats was while he was following MvdP's attack bridging to the front group. So the choice of tires cost him a possible podium / win (he told he had very good legs).

 

[fbjim]

I've heard it never rains there, so they would have been absolutely useless helpers in this race. A bit like Philipsen actually

FV became both the best Vermeersch and the best Florian and also managed to make Colbrelli look small on the podium.

I remember Ridley riding those faux-retro decals a few years back, I didn't know they still offered those as an option.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Tom Paquot: "I thought about stopping 30 times, but my head didn't want to. I rode 150km alone, 50 of which without a feed station. In the last 5 kilometers, I cried more than in the last 2 years of my life".

https://twitter.com/x/status/1444700022189215753

View: https://twitter.com/GaetanScherrer/status/1444700022189215753


It's just such a special race.