Who will win PR 2014?

[theyoungest]

Yeah, Boonen will be better in Roubaix. But I think if OPQS will win, it will be a tactical one, and in that case it's probably Vandenbergh or Stybar, no one will let Boonen simply ride away.

Based on today you'd expect Cancellara and Vanmarcke to be the strongest, and maybe if Vanmarcke doesn't crash early in the race next time he'll have some more left in the tank.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

is kristoff not riding?!

 

[fauniera]

Gaudin should have stayed with Turgot at Europcar, they would have a very nice cobbles team, so none of them has anything

Turgot went to Ag2R as well. What to expect from him in Roubaix?

 

[HSNHSN]

Same here (also regarding Kristoff, the guy gained a level this year)

Norwegian guys seem to have a record of driving about twenty meters behind the leading group for tens of kilometers without getting to it and in the end having to let it go. I've seen Hushovd do this several times and if today's RVV is any indication, Kristoff seems to have a talent for this as well. It makes for interesting races, so let's hope he can live up to this expectation.

Yeah, Boonen will be better in Roubaix. But I think if OPQS will win, it will be a tactical one, and in that case it's probably Vandenbergh or Stybar, no one will let Boonen simply ride away.

Based on today you'd expect Cancellara and Vanmarcke to be the strongest, and maybe if Vanmarcke doesn't crash early in the race next time he'll have some more left in the tank.

Interesting. Didn't OPQS just loose today due to failing tactics?

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Gonna go with one of my new favourites: Kristoff

 

[maltiv]

Kristoff himself says that RVV suits him way better than P-R. He's more fond of the sudden accelerations than the steady hard pace in P-R.

Still, he was 9th last year, and he's clearly at another level now.

 

[SafeBet]

OPQS should be ashamed of the way they rode today, hence going all in next Sunday. I'm expecting big things from Stybar.

Favorites are Cancellara, Sep and Degenkolb.
Wiggo has a chance to crack the top5, not sure if he can be a true contender.
After today I have a little more faith in Pippo too. He said he felt great the whole race, but just couldn't change the pace on muurs.

 

[CycloAndy]

Kristoff himself says that RVV suits him way better than P-R. He's more fond of the sudden accelerations than the steady hard pace in P-R.

Still, he was 9th last year, and he's clearly at another level now.

The gradient increase today ended his chase, so a flat PR may suit him more.

 

[Jspear]

I really want to see Cancellara get another set of Flanders/Roubaix wins, so I'm going with him for the win. I'd like to see OPQS podium. They've got a lot of talent....hopefully they can play their cards better than they did today. I also would like to see Phinney do well. It would be nice if he could develop into the next Cancellara.....become the new king of tt and classics.

 

[Archibald]

would like to see Cancellara get 4, but also would love to see GVA finally win

 

[hfer07]

Degenkolb.

+100
10 char

 

[Eyeballs Out]

For me Boonen is the favourite. He's not got too much ground to make up based on what happened in the Ronde and (this year more than ever) he's better in this race. In fact the whole of OPQ is probably better suited to this race.

 

[greenedge]

I voted Cancellara but i think OPQS with Terpstra and Boonen will be massive threats and GVA and Vanmarcke should be up there too.

 

[Volderke]

***** Cancellara, Vanmarcke
**** Boonen, Kristoff
*** GvA, Terpstra, Vandenbergh, Stybar, Gaudin,
** Thomas, Degenkolb, Devolder, Langeveld, Leukemans, Boom
* Everybody else: Amador, Turgot, Wiggins, Vinokourov...

(names in bold with more than one * are not in the poll)

 

[De Snelle Duif]

Expecting Vandenbergh and Terpstra here. Vandenbergh seems impossible to shake off when it's flat and could win with a surprise manoeuvre. Also he won't be climbing in this race. Terpstra seems also better fit for flat cobbles than cobbled climbs but he might be dead tired by now.

Gaudin or GvA winning this would be great though.

 

[The Barb]

Kristoff himself says that RVV suits him way better than P-R.

This is interesting, and I don't understand the rationale.

Dude was beastly in Flanders and I would have thought P-R suits him better. He's gotta be at worst the third best chance (behind Cancellara and Vanmarcke).

 

[Archibald]

Anyone seen a forecast?
Do people have a different idea on the winner should it rain?

 

[Pentacycle]

This is interesting, and I don't understand the rationale.

Dude was beastly in Flanders and I would have thought P-R suits him better. He's gotta be at worst the third best chance (behind Cancellara and Vanmarcke).

Sprinters don't like a consistent high pace, compared to the interval race which is the Ronde. Flat doesn't mean it suits sprinters more. Degenkolb, Sagan and Kristoff are likely to face problems recovering from the cobbles, when they have to deal with a hard pace set by for instance Cancellara or Vanmarcke.

 

[VanBsr]

Anyone seen a forecast?
Do people have a different idea on the winner should it rain?

Partly cloudy on sunday.Showers announced for friday and saturday.

 

[42x16ss]

Since Fabian and Tommeke have this knack for doing the double, I'll go with my head and say Cancellara for the win, after an epic battle with the OPQS lads. Vanmarcke, Thomas, Langeveld and Van Avermaet to be right in the mix as well.

Hayman to come from nowhere with a surprise top5

 

[Leonardus]

It's almost impossible to drop Cancellara on the cobbles and still very hard to beat him in a sprint so he is the man to beat again. But it would be great if Vanmarcke took the win, great rider who deserves to win a monument.
I wonder what the Steppers will do next week, could make it very interesting.

 

[tomorrow]

voted for sagan as dark horse(wow, I didn't actually think I will write this combination someday, but here it is):
1. after a dissapointing race, he usually does well the next time(doesn't mean he must win, but it raises his chances)
2. nobody will mark him here, especially after this year's RvV, so he probably won't be "played" into working as in RvV, where also his team manager said, he did work on Kruisberg where he needn't to.
3. I probably won't be able to watch, and he usually fails big time when I'm watching. Though, this point is not very scientific i know

 

[fauniera]

I wonder what the Steppers will do next week, could make it very interesting.

They have to ride more aggressively. When you have the numbers, you have to attack to make the advantage count. At the Ronde all three Omega captains (Boonen, Terpstra, Stybar) hid in the bunch or in the big lead group after Taaienberg and were then dropped on the Kwaremont. Great tactics.

 

[alspacka]

Backed Sep V for RVV, I'll stick with him for PR.

 

[Jack_89]

I hope to see Boonen more competitive than Ronde