3 Days of De Panne *Spoilers*

[MattTuck]

In case you want to watch bike racing this morning :)

stream (http://wikitv.eu/eurosport-2/) as always, at your own risk.

[nooneline]

Kristoff casually devouring all comers at De Panne, again.

[MattTuck]

EttixMisstep didn't get someone in the 17 man break, and then has to chase all day. Out of the top 10... more strategic brilliance. :crap:

[kramnnim]

What happened to the Astana guys at the end? A coworker interrupted me at 2k to go. Looked like Kristoff started his sprint early and they didn't have the ability to come around?

[kramnnim]

Oh, looks like they were working to stay ahead of the pursuers so they have a better chance at the GC win.

[MattTuck]

What happened to the Astana guys at the end? A coworker interrupted me at 2k to go. Looked like Kristoff started his sprint early and they didn't have the ability to come around?

They started sitting on his wheel at around 1km. He picked it up at about 175m to go, and they just don't have enough to come around.

Here's the video: Last 2K (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhuF14Jz9rw)

[nooneline]

They started sitting on his wheel at around 1km. He picked it up at about 175m to go, and they just don't have enough to come around.

Here's the video: Last 2K (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhuF14Jz9rw)

yeah, they had no chance. they were working that move pretty well in order to get time. even though kristoff was working too it's a safe bet that a) he'll outsprint them (or anybody else for that matter), and that b) they'd have worked hard enough that a viable late attack wasn't really possible.

[ptourkin]

I've recommended a Eurosport subscription through a VPN many times - just want to add an addendum. Private Internet Access privateinternetaccess.com is the best VPN I've used and is only $3.33 a month if you buy a year. It is working seamlessly on my Mac, Win 8 and Linux Mint with great speeds for the Eurosport live feed. So much cycling on this time of year, it's worth it for me - especially getting Paris-Roubaix all the way through instead of just an hour.

[MattTuck]

Kristoff's first win since Oman.


Did you happen to see what happened with Phinney? When I first started watching it, he was just dropping out of the break, and getting caught by the main field. They never said if it was a mechanical, or what.

There was an article a few weeks ago about how he is stronger now than he's ever been, but also another article saying how he's in chronic pain and it takes him like 3 days of rehab after a race to get his leg back to normal.

[kramnnim]

I've been using Torguard, has been working well. Getting the Eurosport app onto my iOS device took a little effort.

[ptourkin]

I've been using Torguard, has been working well. Getting the Eurosport app onto my iOS device took a little effort.

Their apps aren't my favorite either. They still use Silverlight on the web for some reason but the amount of cycling they have right now is impressive and I like their TdF coverage better than the doper loving/conflicted/doper NBC Sports crew.

[jpw]

Astana isn't a real team. it's just Nibali and his entourage.

[MattTuck]

Kristoff's first win since Oman.


Did you happen to see what happened with Phinney? When I first started watching it, he was just dropping out of the break, and getting caught by the main field. They never said if it was a mechanical, or what.

There was an article a few weeks ago about how he is stronger now than he's ever been, but also another article saying how he's in chronic pain and it takes him like 3 days of rehab after a race to get his leg back to normal.

To sort of answer my own question... from an article on cycling news...

Taylor Phinney’s strong showing at Gent-Wevelgem has given him the green light to join the BMC team line-up at Tour of Flanders on Sunday. It will be his first Monument in two years since breaking his leg in a crash at the USA national championships back in 2014.

"I didn't expect to race Ronde van Vlaanderen but my performace at Gent-Wevelgem was a pleasant surprise, so I'm really humbled to line up at one of the biggest races of the year with such a stellar team," Phinney said in a team press release.

Phinney returned to the Belgian Classics at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday for the first time since his 2014 crash, and ahead of the race his BMC team stated that there was no pressure on him to perform. He was a strong contender during the race and ended up finishing 33rd place.

Before Gent-Wevelgem, Phinney had raced at Tour du Haut Var, La Provence, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico where he helped BMC win the opening team time trial and placed 15th in the individual time trial.

Greg Van Avermaet will lead the BMC team at Tour of Flanders, which also includes Marcus Burghardt, Jempy Drucker, Stefan Küng, Daniel Oss, Manuel Quinziato and Michael Schar.

I'm still not sure if they're playing coy with his leg, or if he's on some winning form.

[echappist]

anybody saw this? tram lines in the last 2k, and riders actually hopping over the other side of the tracks

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X9jeqgtaPns/Vvv1VPecxLI/AAAAAAAAEFc/uEnUge2Rwn0DUNq65xUWwCzKhrJ6sN6DwCCo/s800-Ic42/Drie_daags.png

[BdaGhisallo]

Whoa! Viviani really sniped Kittel in today's stage. Popped out in the last 100m after Kittel had his lead out train position him perfectly, but couldn't maintain it to the line.

Kudos to the italian. Probably his biggest sprint win in terms of who he beat and how.

[MattTuck]

anybody saw this? tram lines in the last 2k, and riders actually hopping over the other side of the tracks

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X9jeqgtaPns/Vvv1VPecxLI/AAAAAAAAEFc/uEnUge2Rwn0DUNq65xUWwCzKhrJ6sN6DwCCo/s800-Ic42/Drie_daags.png

yeah, stuff like this just seems unnecessary.

There is a picture floating around (I posted it a long time ago), of paris-roubaix, back in the day... where lots of the roads had tracks. stupid then, stupid now.

[Lovetoclimb]

Whoa! Viviani really sniped Kittel in today's stage. Popped out in the last 100m after Kittel had his lead out train position him perfectly, but couldn't maintain it to the line.

Kudos to the italian. Probably his biggest sprint win in terms of who he beat and how.

Etixx continues to miss the mark

[ptourkin]

Whoa! Viviani really sniped Kittel in today's stage. Popped out in the last 100m after Kittel had his lead out train position him perfectly, but couldn't maintain it to the line.

Kudos to the italian. Probably his biggest sprint win in terms of who he beat and how.

His ability to sprint at this time of the year is pretty good from the winter he spent on the track.

[kramnnim]

Etixx continues to miss the mark

Their lead out train was perfect...for Viviani. lol.

[nooneline]

Want to talk failed leadout trains? think about Garmin's attempts for Farrar back when Cavendish was still on Highroad. They'd keep try to queue it up with a few kms to go, and without fail they'd get brutally swarmed at the red kite.

Considering the alternatives, I'd say that the EQS leadout was pretty damn good. Kittel had to launch a little bit early, and it still came down to a bike throw. I'd say that the problem was that Kittel was just barely not fast enough - not that the team's approach failed. That said, expectations on EQS are very high - especially when they have some failures on their scorecard. And every "close" counts only as a "miss."

Gotta give some credit to Viviani - that was a hell of a sprint, and he doesn't beat the A-level sprinters in head to head sprints very often. I loved his victory salute. No poise - just a fist pump and a roar. Totally savage, raw, and emotional. Awesome.

[pasadena]

200m out is a long sprint into a cross-headwind!
Viviani was totally ready, you could see him waiting from over a K out.
Kittel did a great job, Viviani just worked that strategy perfectly.

[Zoodles]

anybody saw this? tram lines in the last 2k, and riders actually hopping over the other side of the tracks

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X9jeqgtaPns/Vvv1VPecxLI/AAAAAAAAEFc/uEnUge2Rwn0DUNq65xUWwCzKhrJ6sN6DwCCo/s800-Ic42/Drie_daags.png

The saying careful what you wish for comes to mind. Sure the tracks look bad from the helicopter but if the riders had some warning or the tracks were up to date (ie not deep) then it's the urban finish is a better alternative to finishing on a six lane freeway.

Rider safety is paramount, obviously, interested to see if they had complaints.

[MattTuck]

Didn't watch this morning's stage, but it appears EQS figured it out, finally.

[kramnnim]

Was it televised? I assume the TT is on now...

[MattTuck]

It was on Eurosport earlier, but I just saw the results on procyclingstats.

[echappist]

Was it televised? I assume the TT is on now...

the on-demand replay is up

tricky final corner (4-lane road into 1.5 lanes). thought to myself: someone is going to crash here. and sure enough...

[kramnnim]

Must have been on while I was sleeping...

It's easy to dislike Astana, but Westra and Lutsenko both accepted my friend requests on Facebook, so I was happy to see them do well.

[jpw]

Kristoff looks old enough to have retired years ago.

[MattTuck]

Kristoff looks old enough to have retired years ago.

He's 28. This isn't a beauty contest :) It turns out sprinting from 200m out takes a toll on you.