Rate Paris-Roubaix 2016

[Max Rockatansky]

10/10.

I had goosebumps when Sep somehow jumped into Carrefour de l'Arbre with Boonen at his wheel and the four time winner simply not being strong enough to hang on. This was so intense and from here on attack after attack with everyone going for the win. And in the end a winner, who raced his first Paris-Roubaix in 2000. He finished it, while Museeuw took the victory pointing to his almost amputated leg. Just wow.

Another conclusion. The first rainy edition will cause a million crashes.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

He never distanced Cancellara I swear. He wasn't that strong today, otherwise I'm pretty sure he would've won. Standard, EBH and Boonen were good but I was expecting Sep to distance them by more than 10 seconds.

Agreed, he wasn't that strong like Cancellara and Boonen have been at times in the past decade. But I think he was the best on the cobbles in this edition. He put the other contenders into difficulty on each of the last sectors. Just couldn't get enough of a gap to make the attacks stick on the asphalted roads.

Certainly the best of the five-man-group. Paris Roubaix is not a 250km only-cobbled-race though and if he doesn't improve his engine, he will never win the race.

That's true. It was almost a disadvantage for him that there wasn't a rider like Sagan, Canc or Degenkolb. The make up of the group meant they were always going to work together to chase him down. If there would have been a clearer favourite there, they all might have looked around and waited, allowing Sep to slip away.

Both yes and no.
1) he lacks the engine to hold off chasers
2) This is where you are wrong. If it was EBH who had attacked at the end of Carrefour, then they would still be chasing him. Vanmarcke could not have an easier group to attack from in my view.

 

[HelloDolly]

10 from me

And I agree that VAn Marke looks strongest on the cobbles ....but so what ...the race ends in the velodrome and that is where you need to win

I also thought Sagan & Cancellera being in the second group made the race ...would they/ would they not get back etc.....otherwise would have been a more predictable race

Not sure if EQS and Boonen did not leave too much on the road
Same with Van Marke
SKY were sitting pretty till the crashes but hey ho that is cycling

Pretty perplexed as to what happened to Stybar

 

[jsem94]

10. From I started watching from 140km to go and it was action packed all the way. I was glued to the screen, even forgot to eat. Now I'm starving and making some dinner. What a race. I thought it would die down after Carrefour, but they kept attacking each other over and over again, and even when Boonen and Hayman were clear, Sep caught up and eventually Stannard too to clinch the third place.

The way the race had split up made it so much more exciting than usual. Racing was on from the moment the split happened and Sagan's team was his weakness. Cance's fall, showing that even the greatest slip up and this race shows no mercy. Sagan once again masterful on the bike, jumping over Cance. Just so many moments.

It was the best Roubaix I've ever watched, maybe the best classic that I've ever watched too given the stature of the race (there have been equally exciting races, but here there is so much more on the line).

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

He never distanced Cancellara I swear. He wasn't that strong today, otherwise I'm pretty sure he would've won. Standard, EBH and Boonen were good but I was expecting Sep to distance them by more than 10 seconds.

Agreed, he wasn't that strong like Cancellara and Boonen have been at times in the past decade. But I think he was the best on the cobbles in this edition. He put the other contenders into difficulty on each of the last sectors. Just couldn't get enough of a gap to make the attacks stick on the asphalted roads.

Certainly the best of the five-man-group. Paris Roubaix is not a 250km only-cobbled-race though and if he doesn't improve his engine, he will never win the race.

That's true. It was almost a disadvantage for him that there wasn't a rider like Sagan, Canc or Degenkolb. The make up of the group meant they were always going to work together to chase him down. If there would have been a clearer favourite there, they all might have looked around and waited, allowing Sep to slip away.

Both yes and no.
1) he lacks the engine to hold off chasers
2) This is where you are wrong. If it was EBH who had attacked at the end of Carrefour, then they would still be chasing him. Vanmarcke could not have an easier group to attack from in my view.

I think you're underestimting how hard it was to get away from that group of 4 riders - all working well together - at the end of a hard race. I don't think anyone in the world - even Cancellara or Tony Martin at their peak - could have held off Boonen, Stannard, EBH and Hayman all taking turns and chasing hard.

He would have had to have been close to Vo2 max power for about half an hour, while the others took one minute turns. Just not possible.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

He never distanced Cancellara I swear. He wasn't that strong today, otherwise I'm pretty sure he would've won. Standard, EBH and Boonen were good but I was expecting Sep to distance them by more than 10 seconds.

Agreed, he wasn't that strong like Cancellara and Boonen have been at times in the past decade. But I think he was the best on the cobbles in this edition. He put the other contenders into difficulty on each of the last sectors. Just couldn't get enough of a gap to make the attacks stick on the asphalted roads.

Certainly the best of the five-man-group. Paris Roubaix is not a 250km only-cobbled-race though and if he doesn't improve his engine, he will never win the race.

That's true. It was almost a disadvantage for him that there wasn't a rider like Sagan, Canc or Degenkolb. The make up of the group meant they were always going to work together to chase him down. If there would have been a clearer favourite there, they all might have looked around and waited, allowing Sep to slip away.

Both yes and no.
1) he lacks the engine to hold off chasers
2) This is where you are wrong. If it was EBH who had attacked at the end of Carrefour, then they would still be chasing him. Vanmarcke could not have an easier group to attack from in my view.

I think you're underestimting how hard it was to get away from that group of 4 riders - all working well together - at the end of a hard race. I don't think anyone in the world - even Cancellara or Tony Martin at their peak - could have held off Boonen, Stannard, EBH and Hayman all taking turns and chasing hard.

He would have had to have been close to Vo2 max power for about half an hour, while the others took one minute turns. Just not possible.[/quote]
Then let's just agree to disagree, cause history shows something else.

This quoting system

 

[Cannibal72]

Re: Re:

Obviously a 10. Only the most partisan of fanboys could vote for anything else.

If you didn't enjoy this you should stop watching cycling.

Why can i not enjoy cycling and give it a 9.5?

What a stupid reaction, and really rude tbh.

I just wanted to have Sagan and Canc a bit more involved in the race. Especially because they were dropped because of a crash. That's always a pity, for any rider.

Wait that split was caused by a crash? I thought they were just caught out by an unexpected acceleration and bad positioning

There was a crash on a cobble section, and at the same moment Der Tony accelerates at the front of the peloton.

I think that we first saw them gapped after the Incredible Cyclocross Demonstration, but I didn't see them there and I'm pretty sure Martin was already drilling it on the front then; even if they were caught up behind the crash, that was because they and their teams were badly caught out by the crosswinds, and anyway they just didn't demonstrate enough Incredible Cyclocross Skills.

No way sep is the best cobbled rider... sagan, boonen and cancellara are a step above

I don't know about Sagan and Cance because they weren't in the mix, but Sep really outgunned Boonen in the cobbles today and I rekon he'd have done the same to the other two.

Based on what?

Sep's not the best rider in the cobbled classics (his palmarés show that) but the point is that he's the best rider on the cobblestones themselves: just watch his technique. (Cance and Sagan are good on the pavé, but they's not quite as good as Sep; they make the difference with their power and explosivity respectively.) He'll win Roubaix eventually. I have to say, though, I think Sep was the strongest of the 4-man group; EBH, Stannard, Hayman, and Boonen were all gapped at one point or another, but Sep did a lot of chasing successfully.

-----------------

Magnificent riding from Martin and Moscon on their debuts, and from Hayman and Boonen on (presumably) their finales; a generational Roubaix. Dearly as I love him, though, I'm glad Boonen didn't take it from Hayman, because I suspect he would have woken up one morning and found horses' heads in place of his cobblestones. If Sep's cobblestone riding masterclass had succeeded, the race would have been a 5/7 perfect score, but sadly it can only be a 10, and not just because of the last 30 km. In Milan-San Remo, the decisive moment came at about 800m (if I recall), on - as usual - the Via Roma; in the very exciting Ronde, the decisive moment came with 30km to go, on a climb - not a traditional one, but equally a standard enough place to launch an attack. The decisive moment in Roubaix came on a fairly innocuous section with 110km to go; this race really is non-stop action. I haven't seen a sporting event so distinctive, so unpredictable, so genuinely iconic, since...well, yesterday. It's quite hard to accept that I'll have to wait another year for both the Grand National and Paris-Roubaix.

 

[cellardoor]

Re: Re:

because I suspect he would have woken up one morning and found horses' heads in place of his cobblestones.

You wot?

 

[Cannibal72]

Re: Re:

because I suspect he would have woken up one morning and found horses' heads in place of his cobblestones.

You wot?

With 5 wins, he would have gone ahead of Roger De Vlaeminck, who has previously belittled Boonen's wins and his rivals, and who has had enough bad news already this week, since Eddy Merckx left him out of his Roubaix dream team. I can't imagine 'Monsieur Paris-Roubaix' would be overwhelmed...

 

[jens_attacks]

10

A race from km 0 to the end.
I went for pee only once and eat only an apple in 7 hours.

 

[kingjr]

9.5, Only thing that I found annoying was that Cancellara and Sagan were dropped so soon.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Re:

9.5, Only thing that I found annoying was that Cancellara and Sagan were dropped so soon.

Have to agree with you there.....got up to watch the last 20kms on Steephill and was a little disappointed not to see either Canc or Sagan in the lead group.

Having said that, the last 20kms was an excellent watch...plenty of attacks and riders going full gas to the end!
Was shouting for Boonen, but super happy that Matty Hayman got the win....after all those years of racing.....38yrs old next week -

 

[Echoes]

Re: Re:

With 5 wins, he would have gone ahead of Roger De Vlaeminck, who has previously belittled Boonen's wins and his rivals, and who has had enough bad news already this week, since Eddy Merckx left him out of his Roubaix dream team. I can't imagine 'Monsieur Paris-Roubaix' would be overwhelmed...

De Vlaeminck never belittled Boonen's wins, he said that the field was depleted in each of Boonen's wins, which is fact. There were no rouleurs against him (except Cancellara in 2005 but RDV did not belittle that win). Merckx himself said he would have won 10 times against such riders. If one is belittling Boonen's wins, I guess it would rather have been Merckx. De Vlaeminck does not care about the record. I've heard him say it too many times. And the stupid Dream Team stuff, I'm not even sure he knows about it. It's not like he visits CN everyday, if he ever does. I mean that's a crap provocative article by CN. The rule of the game was just for Merckx to set up the best historical team, not to mention who were the best ever riders. I guess De Vlaeminck wouldn't like being just a domestique for Merckx. When he turned pro he told him: "I don't want to race with you, I want to race against you." And De Vlaeminck has always acknowledged Merckx was the better of the two of themeven on Paris-Roubaix. Godefroot even argued that it suited him to believe it because De Vlaeminck always needed a stronger opponent to shoot him dead centre.

I've heard De Vlaeminck praise Boonen many times, since 2002. A lot more than he praised Museeuw whom he really hated. I've heard him express disappointment at Boonen's loss to Cancellara in 2010, due to his stupid error of inattention. Because at the end of the day, De Vlaeminck remains a Belgian patriot and he surely rooted for Boonen against Cancellara in both's heydays. De Vlaeminck is not guy that medias turned him into. What is yet sure is that he has a big ego and he loves frequenting TV set (Wuyts said he feels the camera!), so he probably likes this image but in everyday life he's certainly different.

 

[DNP-Old]

This was one of the best and most intense races I've ever seen. Perfect climax also, was rooting hard for Hayman and Erviti.

 

[Captain_Obvious]

Re:

5/7. Perfect score.

I get that reference.

Amazing race though. Saw the whole thing. It had everything. My SO asked me to sumerize the race and i said no. Its almost imposible to write down all that happened. Beautifull race.

 

[Gigs_98]

This is already the worst day of the year for me. I couldn't watch the race because I wasnt at home, came back 50 minutes ago, immediately tried to find a full coverage but there were no on steep hill and cycling hub and in the no spoilers thread nobody posted a link at that point. So I watched the last 20 kilometers (which were pretty entertaining tbh) but missed about 100 more kilometers full of great racing. Angrily about missing the best race I would have ever seen I go to the forum again and see that a few minutes after I checked it someone posted the final 148 kilometers of the race. I can't describe how pissed I am right now.

 

[Norbea]

I´ll give it 10 the day Eddy doesn´t die the last 2 km.

 

[SevenTimeTdfChamp]

Re: Re:

With 5 wins, he would have gone ahead of Roger De Vlaeminck, who has previously belittled Boonen's wins and his rivals, and who has had enough bad news already this week, since Eddy Merckx left him out of his Roubaix dream team. I can't imagine 'Monsieur Paris-Roubaix' would be overwhelmed...

De Vlaeminck never belittled Boonen's wins, he said that the field was depleted in each of Boonen's wins, which is fact. There were no rouleurs against him (except Cancellara in 2005 but RDV did not belittle that win). Merckx himself said he would have won 10 times against such riders. If one is belittling Boonen's wins, I guess it would rather have been Merckx. De Vlaeminck does not care about the record. I've heard him say it too many times. And the stupid Dream Team stuff, I'm not even sure he knows about it. It's not like he visits CN everyday, if he ever does. I mean that's a crap provocative article by CN. The rule of the game was just for Merckx to set up the best historical team, not to mention who were the best ever riders. I guess De Vlaeminck wouldn't like being just a domestique for Merckx. When he turned pro he told him: "I don't want to race with you, I want to race against you." And De Vlaeminck has always acknowledged Merckx was the better of the two of themeven on Paris-Roubaix. Godefroot even argued that it suited him to believe it because De Vlaeminck always needed a stronger opponent to shoot him dead centre.

I've heard De Vlaeminck praise Boonen many times, since 2002. A lot more than he praised Museeuw whom he really hated. I've heard him express disappointment at Boonen's loss to Cancellara in 2010, due to his stupid error of inattention. Because at the end of the day, De Vlaeminck remains a Belgian patriot and he surely rooted for Boonen against Cancellara in both's heydays. De Vlaeminck is not guy that medias turned him into. What is yet sure is that he has a big ego and he loves frequenting TV set (Wuyts said he feels the camera!), so he probably likes this image but in everyday life he's certainly different.

He has beaten a lot of quality riders. He didnt only beat fabian in 05 but also in 08. Flecha, Hincapie, Ballan. O'Grady and Hushovd all great riders which he beat.

 

[jaylew]

This is already the worst day of the year for me. I couldn't watch the race because I wasnt at home, came back 50 minutes ago, immediately tried to find a full coverage but there were no on steep hill and cycling hub and in the no spoilers thread nobody posted a link at that point. So I watched the last 20 kilometers (which were pretty entertaining tbh) but missed about 100 more kilometers full of great racing. Angrily about missing the best race I would have ever seen I go to the forum again and see that a few minutes after I checked it someone posted the final 148 kilometers of the race. I can't describe how pissed I am right now.

Sorry, man. I totally feel your pain. When I know I'm going to miss a big race, I usually make a point of avoiding all cycling sites and download the full coverage from cyclingtorrents as they always have the bigger races. Doesn't help you today, I know.

 

[ILovecycling]

Best part of the season is gone, how are you feeling about THAT?:crying:

 

[Eshnar]

Re:

Best part of the season is gone, how are you feeling about THAT?:crying:

Nonsense. The best part of the season is in May.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Re: Re:

Best part of the season is gone, how are you feeling about THAT?:crying:

Nonsense. The best part of the season is in May.

The Bayern Rundfahrt? I have bad news for you...

Seriously though, my yearly Giro vacation is all booked. Is it May yet?

 

[Saint Unix]

"This goes to 11."

Best race I've ever seen.

 

[Wilba60]

For those of us in the Southern Hemisphere who were up till after 1am it almost seemed like the chance of an Aussie win was lost when Hayman had a close call with Stannard on an early section of Le Carrafour de l'Arbre. He seemed to lose ground and almost crash. It was tough watching the next 2kms as Vanmarcke stepped up the pace and the only riders in vision were the 3 chasers. Hayman had to do a very tough section there on his own before finally getting back to the 5. That was a terrific recovery for Hayman and the rest is history.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Best part of the season is gone, how are you feeling about THAT?:crying:

Nonsense. The best part of the season is in May.

Obviously, now that part of that is in Holland, it's even better for some of us