Paris-Roubaix Live Discussion (With Spoilers)

[MattTuck]

It's on!

[cfox]

crack the shack. looks like some sesame street cooperation over there. world vs. shack

[vav]

I have NBC sports in front of me with fish fish fish all over the place :)

[vav]

edit: broadcast starts 8 AM EST NBC sports

[MattTuck]

cyclingfans has several working feeds.

http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/7356

Use with adblockers.

[MattTuck]

Greipel, starting his sprint with 110K to go....

[MattTuck]

Looks like Taylor Phinney leading through the Arenberg.

[MattTuck]

I have a strange urge to take a trip to Azerbaijan...

[FlashUNC]

i have a strange urge to take a trip to azerbaijan...

salice: Made from sport.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I just picked up the race 5k ago. What happened to Phinney?

[FlashUNC]

Amazing ride by Stybar so far.

[thegunner]

i thought the swiss train wasn't pulling anyone to the line :p

[azrider]

Amazing ride by Stybar so far.

when did he make switch to road ?

[e-RICHIE]

when did he make switch to road ?

Uh three years ago atmo.

[azrider]

Uh three years ago atmo.

ahhh.....well he's certainly learned how to follow wheels in short timemo

[thegunner]

i'm not really sure what just happened there to stybar...? did he just hit someone who stuck their arm out?

[azrider]

i'm not really sure what just happened there to stybar...? did he just hit someone who stuck their arm out?

Looked that way. Almost got clipped by the moto's. Those are some serious skills keeping it upright

[FlashUNC]

Total shame. Hopefully he gets on the podium.

[cmbicycles]

Anyone see how Andy Schleck is doing?:rolleyes:

[thegunner]

oh no sep! what are you doing!?

[thwart]

A true champion... if you can't win with your legs, win with your head.

[572cv]

No Spoiler.... if you missed this conclusion, find the follow up video somewhere and take it in. A freaking track sprint after 250 bone jarring K's. Many dancing bananas!

[azrider]

Can't ask for much more in a finish. Great race.

[thwart]

"the longest fight since I've been riding my bike"...

[pdmtong]

Where can I buy a pro-glide styler?

[texbike]

Wow! That was hard fought. Congratulations to the top 2. It was good to see them working together.

Texbike

[54ny77]

what a race!

[slidey]

That was awesome!! :banana:

[GregL]

Got to hand it to Sparty today. He proved he wasn't a one-trick pony. Rode tactically smart and then showed great patience and skill on the track. Brawn is good; brains and brawn are better.

Greg

[thegunner]

Got to hand it to Sparty today. He proved he wasn't a one-trick pony. Rode tactically smart and then showed great patience and skill on the track. Brawn is good; brains and brawn are better.

Greg

I still think sep should've pulled a gerrans a la last year. they had a 1:10 gap, there was no reason for him to pull through that much. but alas, arm chair quarterbacking.

[MattTuck]

Got to hand it to Sparty today. He proved he wasn't a one-trick pony. Rode tactically smart and then showed great patience and skill on the track. Brawn is good; brains and brawn are better.

Greg

Agreed. I've been a vocal critic of his lack of strategy (over reliance on power) in the past. This year, starting with Milan San Remo, I've been impressed by his ability to play race tactics.

He may have lost MSR, but I don't see many people unwilling to work with him anymore or purely marking him. It is so hard to win these races, and especially hard when you're marked. Very good racing.

[beeatnik]

Where can I buy a pro-glide styler?

Where can I meet a lady who likes a little bit of chest hair, some on the abs, none on the back and none on da gunz?

[cfox]

I still think sep should've pulled a gerrans a la last year. they had a 1:10 gap, there was no reason for him to pull through that much. but alas, arm chair quarterbacking.
100% correct. He had no business trying to look like a hero.

[MattTuck]

I still think sep should've pulled a gerrans a la last year. they had a 1:10 gap, there was no reason for him to pull through that much. but alas, arm chair quarterbacking.

I don't know much about Sep, he won het nieuwsblad last year if I recall, but he seemed a bit bigger on the bike than Fabian, and may have thought he had the advantage in a sprint.

I've often heard the lesson, "if you want to win xyz, you must be prepared to lose it." In this case, I think Sep is probably a straight up guy and figured he had an equal or better shot at winning a sprint, so he worked. Maybe a bit of inexperience led to him coming to the front too early (if he was afraid of the chasing group making it back to them), especially after FC attacked from behind.... but the fact that Sep was able to shut down that attack probably gave him some hope he wasn't at a huge disadvantage.

I think with some more experience, greed, or ice water in his veins, he'd have just let FC waste himself out there. But that risks his chance if FC tries to play the same game. And frankly, it was nice to see someone not afraid of FC and willing to work with him for a shot at victory.

With less than a bike length difference, I don't think Sep should feel bad at all about his race.

[slidey]

I'm of the view that was an intentional half-dig by Fab with the express intent of having exactly the effect you mentioned.

...especially after FC attacked from behind.... but the fact that Sep was able to shut down that attack probably gave him some hope he wasn't at a huge disadvantage...

[FlashUNC]

Sep lost because he bodged the sprint on the track. Was cunning enough to get Fabian to lead them into the velodrome, but couldn't hold that ideal second position.

Gotta give credit to Fabian. At the moment when he needed to be, he was smarter than the other guy. Because I don't think he was necessarily the stronger man today.

[thegunner]

I'm of the view that was an intentional half-dig by Fab with the express intent of having exactly the effect you mentioned.

the guile of spartacus :)

[1centaur]

Really sorry not to see Stybar make it to the sprint. Would have been a big tell of his potential on the road. He earned a lot of respect by seeing Fab's move and staying with him. Think he might have burned out along the way but if not, would have been great to see, and at the least would have changed the dynamic of the sprint. Obviously from how quickly he lost time after his incident he was not on a massive day, but we was a gritty wheel sucker when others could not match him.

Also would have been interesting if that trailing group had been just 2 seconds slower at the sprint finish. Might have created a moment's hesitation and affected the line taken.

[ultraman6970]

Miss the darn race but read what happened and saw some videos moving around, looks like a few got really bad luck today eh?

Who ever gets FC next season will get podiums in the classics. Wonder who will be willing to pay for the Schrek brothers next season.

[AgilisMerlin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-dmgEJuw40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoXE2xasFKI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mmqVYnQZSA


ouch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH6I7LsmrtA


final 24:00 minutes

[jpw]

Stybar did very well to stay upright. Other riders would have made a mess of the spectators to his left.

How not to ride the cobbles;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf2by7TCjdw

[oldpotatoe]

It's on!

Holy moly, what a race. Do ya suppose there were any 'deals' made? Great finish, SO glad it was on the US TV. L-B-L in 2 weeks..on TV!!

[Jaq]

Stybar did very well to stay upright. Other riders would have made a mess of the spectators to his left.

How not to ride the cobbles;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf2by7TCjdw

Just goes to show what a crap-shoot that race is. Riding along, absolutely no pressure to perform, you can really pick your line, ride the side without fear of smacking spectators. And yet even then it's still quite dangerous.

[mcteague]

The fabulous Fabian couldn't stand when he got off the bike and pretty much had to be carried off. Talk about leaving it all on the road!

Tim

[uno-speedo]

Insane weekend and amazing race. Having ridden the pave on Saturday my respect level just shot up a massive notch, to put it mildly.

I encourage everyone to go!!!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8628618632_db280f410c_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8533/8631208283_46d92d93ab_z.jpg

[Jaq]

You know what would be an awesome prize? A slot on a recon ride with a team. Ride a short segment (or longer if they'll let you and you've got the legs), get a jersey and call it epic.

[BSUdude]

If I was in Sep's position I would probably be thinking "Holy #$@# I am in a position to win Roubaix and riding alone with Cancellara!" As a younger rider I could see how it might be hard to keep all your logical racing wits about you in that situation.

At that point I might be a little starstruck and just go pull because this cycling god is flicking his elbow. At least until my team director yells at me to stop or Fabian tries to burn me while I'm pulling.

Overall great race. Fabian looked completely wiped.

I don't know much about Sep, he won het nieuwsblad last year if I recall, but he seemed a bit bigger on the bike than Fabian, and may have thought he had the advantage in a sprint.

I've often heard the lesson, "if you want to win xyz, you must be prepared to lose it." In this case, I think Sep is probably a straight up guy and figured he had an equal or better shot at winning a sprint, so he worked. Maybe a bit of inexperience led to him coming to the front too early (if he was afraid of the chasing group making it back to them), especially after FC attacked from behind.... but the fact that Sep was able to shut down that attack probably gave him some hope he wasn't at a huge disadvantage.

I think with some more experience, greed, or ice water in his veins, he'd have just let FC waste himself out there. But that risks his chance if FC tries to play the same game. And frankly, it was nice to see someone not afraid of FC and willing to work with him for a shot at victory.

With less than a bike length difference, I don't think Sep should feel bad at all about his race.