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I watched it on Sunday. I couldn’t sit still. I danced, I jumped, I shouted.
It is among the greatest sporting events known to mankind: Paris-Roubaix. You all have had plenty of time to read the full run-down at countless other websites that profess to be purveyors of “news.” We’re more in the line of “bitter commentary.” If the shoe fits, wear it.
Some very good pics here: cyclingnews.com/races/108th-paris-roubaix/photos.
He rode into the velodrome alone, as a champion should. The only word that comes to my mind at the moment is “impressive.” But that lacks enough punch to really properly describe was transpired. He completely owned it. He went when he felt the moment was right, he went all in, and he stuck it.
God damn, that was some great racing. Even my parents watched it on t.v. They thought it was great stuff.
And, to make up for the time I spent watching that instead of hitting the books, I was up till 1:30 am. The work is still there, it doesn’t go away. The books, they wait for me. Last night was better, but not by much. Tonight is as tonight does.
The river keeps on flowing.
I can’t wait for this semester to end. Someone told me once, oh, you’ll have time to ride your second year. Well, I don’t. I have zero time for the bike. It pretty much goes; 1) family, 2) school, and only then 3) bike.
I cannot wait to get fit again. (Bring on the comments of “you were never fit!”) Next year will be different. I will be taking two courses over the summer to soften the load for next fall. I very much look forward to getting some sun on these arms and some miles in these legs.
The bikes, they wait for me too.
And the river keeps on flowing.
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Agreed BJ,
After watching both performances, in emails I struggled to find words that I felt fully described what Cancellara achieved.
Then I remembered one of my favorite quotes.
“Henry Louis Mencken was a force of nature. He seized each day, shook it to within an inch of its life, and gaily went on to the next…”
Substitute Cancellara for H L Mencken & discreetly lose the gaily bit & you have it.
…hope my comment regarding fabian cancellara as per “game recognize game” wasn’t misinterpreted as my believing the man rides dirty…
…i see spartacus as being one of the cyclist’s of this era…he’ll never be an overall tour de france winner but he knows his strengths & how many times has the guy ridden away in tt mode, whatever the distance & stayed away…
…everyone knows it’s likely coming but organized chase or not, his drive & determination can’t be reeled in…
…the man exudes class on & off the bike…
…the cocaine cowboy castigated other lead riders for “settling for second place” & inferred that if he couldn’t win he didn’t care where he placed…
…hmmm…whether cancellara went when you were at the back or not, dude, there were 50k’s of road n’ cobbles with which to pull him back…he rode away, why not you if you were as good ???…or were you conceding @ about 45k’s…
…it rather looked like no matter what, you weren’t the man for the day, tommy boy & that final lap n’ a half in the stade told a different but trite story…
…just sayin’…
From the sound of things it all came down to one man in that group willing to go all in at what was not supposed to be a decisive moment. While the rest of them were deciding whether or not to risk chasing, Cancellara was out getting the job done. I still think Boonen went in with the legs to win it, but wearing himself out repeatedly attacking that group so far out, and without any backup, was just stupid. I don’t blame him for giving up though. Even if he was strong enough to get up front and reel Cancellara in on his own, he still would have had seven guys sucking his wheel ready to throw down in the final 5k.
Also, Flecha sitting up and applauding Thor at the finish line was pure class.
I think the crux of Boonen’s troubles was his isolation. He was alone up there. Sure, the group collectively thought (and perhaps rightfully so) when Cancellara was powering down the road, Boonen, you’re the favorite, you chase him.
What was the group to do, tow Boonen back up to Cancellara so Boonen could then attack?
No. They weren’t going to do that.
Where were all of Boonen’s team mates? He should have been with two, if not three, men he could rely on. They were no where to be seen.
Lefevere is know, at least to me, for his uncanny ability to put his men forward when it matters. And, on this day, the opposite. Maybe he needs to hire some different people for the future. How many former employees are on different teams? And how many of them were there, but in different team strip?
Boonen may have been the strongest man in the race. But he cannot carry the entire peloton on his shoulders.
I think I saw a different race. I can’t remember the last time the group let someone solo from 50K out (Hamitlon 2003 TdF?). And they did let him. Not that they would have caught him if they tried but they didn’t. It was race over with 50K to go, that is not too exciting. I’m gonna side with Boonen on this one, racing for 2nd place with 50K to go?
Hearing Riis jump up and down taking credit for when Cancellara attacked can only make me think that it’s really time for an all out radio ban. Sure it’s Boonen’s fault for being at the back but Cancellara didn’t notice. Riis saw it on TV. And Riis just had to tell everyone how great of a DS he is for noticing. I heard Boonen say that he went to the back of the group to see who was in it. So is it his DS’s fault for not radioing him who was in the group?
I haven’t heard anything from Flecha but are you sure he was applauding Thor on the line? Maybe Cancellara? Or his own third place? I think I’m gong with the later.
I don’t think the outcome would have been any different if the group had chased. I think Cancellara would have still won. And I’m not hating on him. I got no problems with him winning. I’m upset because I think the race would have been more fun to watch had they chased. This is completely selfish. Having the race decided with 50K (OK maybe 40K, we all knew they were not chasing by then) to go isn’t fun. I just want to watch a fun race.
Cancellara’s attack was a masterpiece of timing. Anyone could have jumped onto his wheels as he slowly rolled on the big hurt. Simply superb game play. I’ll agree with DJ on the radio’s however. It needs to be the boys on the bikes, and not in the cars with the monitors, who are making the moves.
Saxo Bank did a great job of softening up the peloton for Fabian. I didn’t see any other teams driving it like they did. It was a little anticlimactic that Fabian was allowed to ride away 50K from the finish. And the way I saw it, Flecha was gracious in letting Thor have the sprint for second.
I also am sick of the radio inspired tactics. It needs to be the boys in the bunch doing what they think is necessary to win, not some assclown in a car balancing a ham sandwich on a half gallon of moo juice and watching a t.v. monitor on his dashboard. That shit is fucking weak sauce.
Perhaps because of the devolutionary effects of radio game play, the birds don’t react to situations as we just saw because they simple aren’t told to know better. I bet the game would be a lot more tight without a boss on the ham.
@ big johnny. I hear ya. One of the reasons why I liked Boonen for this one was that it looked like he was going to have good backup. Devolder has some major explaining to do.
…the courses for flanders & roubaix, etc., even w/ slight improvements are still serious damn hardcore & while i agree that “the classics” would remain more “classic” without the radios & tv’s, even with ’em, there are plenty a’ missed opportunities &/or dumb moves…
…& if it works for one guy, it can work for others…
…lefevere was privy to anything riis was & when you’ve got:
-(1) the talent & typically known tactics of cancellara showing his backside to the group…(& who hadn’t seen a teammate since breschel’s knee went south)…
-(2) a small group up front that the man might use to his advantage (fucker didn’t need ’em, shelled ’em)…
-(3) 50k’s to the stade…
-(4) a highly charged bunch in thor + teammate (no slouch, the brit), the cowboy, the archer, the model, all regular contenders for this particular chunk a’ rock !!!…plus…
-(5) all the damn radios n’ tv’s, seems like a couple a ds’s shoulda put down those milk n’ hammies long enough to suggest “how’s about you madams work this merde out a little closer to the finis’, eh ???”…
…& w/ or without that suggestion, why wouldn’t these known entities come to grips w/ the situation, being as they were all “well informed” about the constantly growing gap ???…
…anyway, i applaud both cancellara & pozzato, who himself had been sick & thus off form, for pointing out that part of their focus for the day was to pay tribute to the departed franco ballerini…sad, that…
…ah, yes, arm chair quarterbacking…sheesh, if only i was as good on the bike as i am at doing nothing !!!…
@Big Jonny: First year, they scare you to death. Second year, they work you to death. Third year, they bore you to death.
Time will come to get back to it. Until then, never let ’em get you down.
@John the Lawyer: I almost put that line in my post! Yeah, first years wasn’t so much “scare” for me as “holy shit am I busy” type stuff. No time at all to do shit but read. Second year much the same. The volume is ridiculous. My Con Law Prof is winding up the semester by assigning 100 pages of reading (~20,25,30 cases) per lecture for the next two weeks. Yeah, try and digest that much information, let alone boiling it down to a coherent outline. And, I have 5 classes! Need I mention that I haven’t been getting much sleep lately?
But, next semester, it all changes. You betcha.
@BJ & Gnome,
got that right, the sooner that we get rid of the fucking radios, the better for this sport.
Other than motorsport, I know of no other sporting disipline that allows this & frankly, they should get rid of it there too.
All boils down to keeping the sponsors happy.