Paris Roubaix

Chips Lovell

Anyone planning to watch this on Sunday? And does anyone want to tip a winner?

Boonen looked very strong last week and I'd say might have gotten if the Devolder move didn't work. Cancellara's been on great form too but I'm wondering if his form peaked for Milan - San Remo?

Planet X

Ballan
Big George
Gusev.

My two bob's worth.
Yeah I know it's three but..........:pac::pac:

michaelm

I agree that Boonen would have won it if it wasn't for his team mate making the break. Was at the Tour last weekend and had the pleasure of watching them on the famous Koppenberg climb - all the talk among anyone I spoke to was they expected Cancellara to win either last weekend or this weekend so the Swiss man gets my vote for Sunday.

Chips Lovell

Planet X wrote: »

Ballan
Big George
Gusev.

I've a soft spot for Ballan. He's a horse of man. You could see him trying out his form in the Tirreno Adriatico and he's been up there at the last few Belgian races but I haven't really seen him make a move this year.

michaelm wrote: »

...had the pleasure of watching them on the famous Koppenberg climb...

There was a great shot of the TV footage where you could just see the crest of the Koppenberg and suddenly Boonen appears over it leading everyone else. Snow was falling, everyone was filthy.

Chips Lovell

By the way, Gusev won't be riding. Astana weren't invited.

fish-head

I do indeed plan on watching this. Should be great.. I hope it rains!

bunnygreen

Lads i know im probably stating the obvious here but luck is going to play a major part in the Roubaix,can you avoid bad luck?.Reading the race is one thing but trying to avoid pile up in front is another esp on the cobbles.Has anyone seen the classic A Sunday In Hell, Mercx De Vlameminick et al,great stuff,anyway heres my picks
Flecha
Boonen
OGrady

zzzzzzzz

I thought I read somewhere that eurosport are only showing the last hour of this?

Is there any decent web streams going?

Chips Lovell

You're right, its way more of a lottery than any other race.

Flecha's a great pick. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in previous years. He's always there or thereabouts.

I managed to get a copy of A Sunday in Hell last year. Great film. I loved the deadpan narration and the fact that they just let the pictures tell most of the story.

Chips Lovell

Yep, Eurosport is only showing the last hour, which is a bit of a pain. Cycling.tv are only showing it to North America, which is a shame because they usually show a few hours of a race. Cyclingfans.com often have streams of live races but you often don't know until the day or the day before if they'll have it and the quality will be mixed. I'm going to try them until Eurosport comes on the air.

niceonetom

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

I thought I read somewhere that eurosport are only showing the last hour of this?

really? the bastards. they'll probably be showing highlights of the 1977 bolivian second division ladies' curling. again.

big george each way or cancellara ftw.

bunnygreen

i think it starts at 330 on eurosport,so most of its over,eltonto your right about the deadpan voiceover,very minimalist,but plenty of mud, pain, mud, pain, cobbles and pain.

shapez

In no particular order...

Fabian Cancellara
Stuart O'Grady
Juan Antonio Flecha
Alessandro Ballan

They are giving rain for the race, which will make it interesting. I'll be wrapping up my Sunday afternoon nicely after the club ride!! Enjoy.

Chips Lovell

While O'Grady didn't look to be in too bad shape at Gent Wevelgem, he's been saying that he's still not back on top form after the injuries he sustained last year in the Tour.

bunnygreen

OGrady is a tough nut,i know hes not back to 100% but this is his type of race,id see him top 5 and yep that rain is going to make it some spectacle

sy

If its wet on Sunday, not sure if Cancellara will risk the rest of his season. His form this year is awesome and he will get stronger over the next 2 years!! Say him on the stage in Cognac last year. It just started to rain as he left the platform and he was taking it very gingerly around the first corner. Have some good photos of that day and if anybody interested will put them up somewhere.
Big George is flying as is Boonen. My bet is Ballan with Tom second and George third! But as stated earlier , a lot will depend on luck and weather.
Any of you remember the photos of Kelly after his first victory in Roubaix. They say he didn't want to wash the muck off after the race!!
Should have similar pictures this year as its been a while since they had heavy rain on the raceday. It really emphasises the "Hard Man" image that is always associated with this incredible race.By the way if you know anybody with a sat system bought at Lidl they will have German Eurosport which always shows most of the race. Commentary is a little depressing but better than watching that "1977 ladies Bolovian curling" Nice one Tom!
Love reading this forum and wish it was around in my younger cycling years!! Enjoy Sunday, it has to be the toughest one day race of them all.

bunnygreen

hear hear,its a great forum,thanks to all who contribte

sy

Nice one Sean. Look no looks!! and don't you love those down tube shifters and the cool helmet :eek: Probabably should read Skil Sem(ent) . Mind you those cables wouldn't look too good on todays campy bikes. Long live our king of the classics!

Tomas_V

niceonetom wrote: »

really? the bastards. they'll probably be showing highlights of the 1977 bolivian second division ladies' curling. again.

Swing your dish over to 5 West and you'll get it (FTA) on France 2. They're showing it from 12:30 to the end, with analysis in the 'Stade 2' program afterwards.

If you can't follow the French commentary (brilliant/riveting - using reporters on motorbikes with each group), fire up CyclingNews on your laptop/PDA.

niceonetom

i don't have a satellite dish but i have found a [URL="mms://80.160.76.117/tv2sputnik3"]stream on the internet[/URL]. i thought it was in dutch but i think it may be in flemish (they insist there's a difference :rolleyes:). also there's the eurosport ticker. between the two i'm getting the general idea of what's going on.

if anyone has an audio stream (in english, though i'd settle for american) i'd be grateful for a link?

colm ó maonaigh

NICEONETOM..................that's the business...........tnx

E@gle.

Boonen won, the other 2 hadnt a hope of out sprinting him

Raam

E@gle. wrote: »

Boonen won, the other 2 hadnt a hope of out sprinting him

It looked too easy for him in the end.

smithslist

Raam wrote: »

It looked too easy for him in the end.

thought cancellara would give more in the sprint, surprised that he didnt try to counter attack since he knew that he couldnt take boonen in the sprint.

good race....

titan18

It was a good race but where was the mud.It was meant to rain and we'd get a mudfest.Shame!

michaelm

Could anyone who knows more about these things than me (very little) explain why either Cancellara or Ballan didn't try to make a break in the closing Kilometres. Even I know that Boonen has a devstating final sprint, it was so obvious as soon as they reached the velodrome that big Tom was going to win, the other two looked like his lead out men, was it that they had given up?

Chips Lovell

smithslist wrote: »

thought cancellara would give more in the sprint...

Both of them looked like pretty tired men and by the time they got to the velodrome I'd say they knew they were in a race for second. Neither could take Boonen in a sprint.

michaelm wrote: »

Could anyone who knows more about these things than me (very little) explain why either Cancellara or Ballan didn't try to make a break in the closing Kilometres.

As I said, they both looked pretty tired. I'd say each thought they had only one shot left left in the chamber and were waiting for the other guy to go, hoping that Boonen would chase and then go themselves once he'd neutralised the other guy.

sy

Hi michaelm, for what its worth I think they just didn't have it in their legs. Cancellera made a big effort on the second or third? last section of pavé but Boonen chased him down and got on his wheel. That was his big effort(Cancellera) and when Boonen responded easily the race was as good as over. Cancellera won 2 years ago by just riding away from the opposition when he hit the rough sections.(that was one of the most awesome pieces of riding I have seen in many years of watching these classics ) Boonen was just too strong today and Ballan just had nothing left at the end. The finish was disappointing as a spectacle.

sy

Agree fully with el tonto

The Crunch

My guess is that both Ballan and Cancellara were waiting for the other to attack first knowing that Boonen would have to chase. They were hoping the other would do the first soften up attack and they could go on the counter. But it's true that neither, especially Ballan, looked to have a lot left in the legs anyway. I think it was telling when Cancellara called for his DS in the closing kms. I suspect he was a bit legless at that point and, as a result, a bit clueless. Great to see the top three classics riders of the last few years in the winning move.

Harrybelafonte

Anyone know where I could watch the highlights online (without paying)?