General race thread 2021 **spoilers**

CantGetNoSleep

Is there any highlights of this? I had planned to watch the last hour or two until my boss phoned. She hung up at 1.3km to go

odyssey06

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Is there any highlights of this? I had planned to watch the last hour or two until my boss phoned. She hung up at 1.3km to go

In the listings for Eurosport 1, there's a highlights programme down this evening for the E3 classic from 630 - 8pm.

Mefistofelino

Van der Poel: Van Aert and I did most of the work

Which, you'd imagine, was the whole point of DQTs tactics.

TheBlaaMan

Gent-Wevelgem is on tomorrow on the usual outlets, with coverage starting just after noon. Lots of contenders including Sam, but those classics specialists who are not in Catalunya will be favoured in this race unless Sams team can get him over the Kemmelberg (only 600m-long but it ramps up to 16%) at 35km to go - then things could get interesting.


Mens course

Rain wont feature, but there is a certainty that echelons will, especially in the final hour along the run into Wevelgem. There are plenty of previews online but most opt for Wout van Aert to win as Mathieu van der Poel is not in the race (not sure why....resting up in advance of Flanders, presumably) so there'll be no risk of a reprise of the stalemate of the 2020 race (which was less than 6 months ago) and Mads Pederson and Jesper Stuyven from Trek-Segafrego are also on good form and the former could repeat his win. Hard to see beyond van Aert though.

The womens race will be interesting too and a good part of that is also being shown live as it follows on from the mens race and there should be two hours of that - 6 hours of cycling. Longo Borghini, Vos (for a TJV double) or Kopecky for the win. Book your seat on the sofa.

I thought Mads Pederson didn't look great yesterday at all, he was a DNF if I recall.

I don't see it as a day for Sam but fingers crossed I'm wrong. I think he'd have a good chance getting over those at pace with the team once but 2 or 3 times if it's raced hard is going to hurt him a lot.

TheBlaaMan

https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1375920454343536640

retalivity

Trek (Stuyven and Pedersen) out of Gent-Wevelgem after positive covid tests

https://twitter.com/TrekSegafredo/status/1375933910249537550

Jesus when I said Mads wasn't looking great yesterday I wasn't expecting that follow up

Hopefully every one is ok and not got symptoms.

CramCycle

I was following one of the Irish Track Sprinters in Instagram and she got Corona over the Christmas, really knocked her HR and recovery out quite a bit and that was without any discernible symptoms to the naked eye so it could well have been that. Hope they all recover OK, as an athlete the fear of long covid must be a genuinely worrying concern.

happytramp

BORA out of G-W too.

Looks like Sam is in a group of 13 off the front of the peloton.

Actually it's more like a group of 25

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Looks like Sam is in a group of 13 off the front of the peloton.

Actually it's more like a group of 25

Yeah and he has no team mates. Wonder will they work together and take it to the end.

Statement from Bora https://www.bora-hansgrohe.com/en/news/argonnews202103gent-covid/argonnews202103gent-covid/518888691

happytramp

Can't see how bennett is going to manage from here... In a group of 35 of the favourites without a team mate. Pelton doesn't seem to be coming back.

retalivity

happytramp wrote: »

Can't see how bennett is going to manage from here... In a group of 35 of the favourites without a team mate. Pelton doesn't seem to be coming back.

Just sit on and do no work...I guess DQS would prefer it to come back together

Gap is down to 1:30 from 2 minutes at the moment according to CyclingNews, procyclingstats seems to be down.

I think most of the fast lads are there in that group with Sam.

dastardly00

With the size of this breakaway and some of the riders in it... it could go the whole way

Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal), Danny van Poppel (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious), Jack Bauer (BikeExchange), Luka Mezgec (BikeExchange), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange), Robert Stannard (BikeExchange), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Luis Mas (Movistar), Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar), Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos), Sven Erik Bystrøm (UAE Team Emirates), Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Michal Golas (Ineos), Timothy Dupont (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB), Jeremy Lecroq (B&B Hotels), Cyril Lemoine (B&B Hotels), Stefan Bissegger, Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-Nippo), Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana Premier Tech) and Laurenz Rex (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB)

dastardly00

Has the Live Show on the GCN app started yet for anyone else? It was meant to start at 12.10

TheBlaaMan

wowsers.....echelons over De Moeren!
The wind wasnt strong enough when they covered this section of the route in De Panne during the week........different story today.

Sam and Michael Matthews each with support riders in the front group, along with Wout van Aert

dastardly00

aaaaand it's live!

96 km remaining and 1'17" from the lead group to the next group

dastardly00

It looks like there are 5 DQS riders in the second group

Good positioning from Sam into the climb there.

De Bhál

Go on De Gendt

Just broke away on his own in the volta. Under 5 to go

retalivity

De Gendt masterclass on show here

De Bhál

Love that Ridley

dastardly00

https://twitter.com/GentWevelgem/status/1376138123088920577

De Bhál

Passing tower in glendalough now in Gent Wevelgem

Bit weird

happytramp

Haven't been able to watch but sounding like QS have made a pigs ear of this.

NamelessPhil

If it's a replica round tower, it's the monument to the Irish soldiers who died on the Somme in WWI

De Bhál

NamelessPhil wrote: »

If it's a replica round tower, it's the monument to the Irish soldiers who died on the Somme in WWI

Thanks, it's an impressive monument