jcza Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Saturday, March 1)Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (Sunday, March 2)Strade Bianche (March 8)Paris-Nice (March 9-16)Tirreno Adriatico (March 12-18)Milan-San Remo (March 23)Dwars door Vlaanderen (March 26)E3 Harelbeke (March 28)Ghent-Wevelgem (March 30)Driedaagse van DePanne (April 1-3)Tour of Flanders (April 6)Scheldeprijs (April 9)Paris-Roubaix (April 13) TheKaiser, GoLefty!! and Andrew Steer 3
'Dale Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Boonen is fit too What Spring racing we're gonna get!
jcza Posted February 25, 2014 Author Posted February 25, 2014 Watch out for OPQS - Boonen, Stybar, Cav etc. Hoping to see Darryl & Reinie in the mix at some of these races.
'Dale Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Watch out for OPQS - Boonen, Stybar, Cav etc. Hoping to see Darryl & Reinie in the mix at some of these races. I expect Daryl to be there, yeah, supporting Gerrans that is aiming at one of the monuments. Can't recall which one. I'm excited about Stybar after his fine showing at Paris-Roubaix last year.
jcza Posted February 28, 2014 Author Posted February 28, 2014 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Preview (from inrng) The spring classics start this weekend with the double-header of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday. No more Arabian nights in five star hotels and applying sun lotion, now it’s time to charge down farm tracks and apply a coating of mud. The Course Spread between Gent and Geraardsbergen, each about 40km apart the race is twists and turns like a tangled headphones cable to make a course that is 198km long. It changes every year and this year’s vintage has fewer climbs but is said to be concentrated. It includes infamous the Muur van Geraardsbergen but this comes after just 80km meaning it’s not going to decide the race, a symbolic passage. Instead the race is about the final two hours / 90 kilometres where a series of climbs and cobbled, including cobbled climbs help force a selection. The significant change is the reintroduction of the Wolvenberg instead of Varent, meaning a very steep climb with 53km to go and coming in a 10km section that includes the Taaienberg and Eikenberg. It’s here that the moto cameras will be shooting the dropped riders who didn’t make the cut. After these climbs come some flat cobbled sections to bounce the bike and crucially reward positioning until the Molenberg comes, the climb near the famous Vinkemolen windmill. With 31km to go comes the final cobbled shake out with the Padestraat, Lippenhoestraat and Lange Munte sections over 10km. These are flat sections and exposed and the winning move often goes clear. Prime Pick: Tom BoonenLikely winners: Half of OPQS, Jürgen RoelandtsDark Horse: Alexander Kristoff Note the absences, this is a great race but it’s not on the World Tour calendar and the likes of Cannondale and Trek Factory Racing are absent. New for 2014: loyal readers will recall the new UCI rule requiring riders to stick to the road, cycle paths and other shortcuts are forbidden and it’ll be interested to see how well this is enforced by the commissaires. Old for 2014: poorly pixellated pop-up pirate feeds, the voice of Michel Wuyts and traditional scenes like and the ambush banner-wavers like “Luc”. Weather: cold and the possibility of light showers. A top temperature of 8° gives a wintry feel. Crucially there’s a 20km/h wind coming from the north-west. Not enough to rip up the race but a headwind for the return leg to Gent. This can condemn a breakaway but equally a strong escape group can leave a divided chase group floundering.
Eldron Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Bring it! TdF and grand tours are fun to watch but are all a bit prima donna "ushered to the finish" when compared to the classics. I wonder if Stybar will be given some winning space this year? He's my dark horse favourite for the year! igknot 1
Eldron Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Bwahahaja: "Likely winners: Half of OPQS"...
jcza Posted February 28, 2014 Author Posted February 28, 2014 Bwahahaja: "Likely winners: Half of OPQS"... Stybar definitely in contention! Hope we find a decent feed to watch it on
rock Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Didn't wiggins say he was going for Roubaix win?
SwissVan Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Bwahahaja: "Likely winners: Half of OPQS"... To many chefs imo.... Will be good to see Boonen win tho
gummibear Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Sunday 27th April is the 100th Liege-Bastogne-Liege race jcza and lucmccann 2
jcza Posted February 28, 2014 Author Posted February 28, 2014 Betting Boonen - 5/2Stybar - 11/2Roelandts - 15/2VanmaerkeChavanelHushovd My outsider will be Kristoff and of course Reinie
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