The Spring Classics - 2015

[Gen]

Well great race.. full of drama and not often you see those 3 in a break.. well done..

[gummibear]

Who would have though Garaint Thomas would be on the winners podium

[tombeej]

I've got a sneaking feeling in my bones that it's Geraint Thomas' day today.

 

(That is, as long as he stays on his bike).

So now I've called 2 races in a row. It's going to surely snow here in KZN.

 

Hell, I think I should go out a buy a lotto ticket quick sticks.

[Gen]

So now I've called 2 races in a row. It's going to surely snow here in KZN.

 

Hell, I think I should go out a buy a lotto ticket quick sticks.

I think you should start making other predictions. . Like Sagan winning.. But he ain't looking so good from the front hey.. also they had to work really hard for a ling time.

[tombeej]

A very good day for Team Sky today.

 

Copied from their twitter account:

 

#CoppiEBartali: @swiftybswift stage win and race lead

#VoltaCatalunya: @richie_porte race lead

#E3: @GeraintThomas86 race win!

 

#HellOfARide

['Dale]

So now I've called 2 races in a row. It's going to surely snow here in KZN.

Hell, I think I should go out a buy a lotto ticket quick sticks.

You're a machine!

 

Awesome race.

Geraint Thomas did say that he's never felt this strong.

 

How hectic was van Avermaet Over The Bars on that farm road chicane!

 

The Skyborgs will be very happy with their Spring campaign thus far after Stannard's glory and now today.

 

That was a tough parcourse.

eish!

['Dale]

I think you should start making other predictions. . Like Sagan winning.. But he ain't looking so good from the front hey.. also they had to work really hard for a ling time.

Sagan is looking like a shadow of himself

He even missed the podium as he mustve totally bonked.

 

Hmmmm

And there's lot of tension in the Tinkoff camp.

[Gen]

Sagan is looking like a shadow of himself

He even missed the podium as he mustve totally bonked.

 

Hmmmm

And there's lot of tension in the Tinkoff camp.

Yeah something is def off with that team. .[emoji24] Oleg is singlehandedly stuffing als up

[HappyMartin]

Sagan seems to spend a lot of time without support in that team.

[T-Bob]

Who would have though Garaint Thomas would be on the winners podium

 

Me! @ out of 3 wasn't bad. Not sure what Sepp VM was playing at, he looked clueless with out a race radio and couldn't get his team organised to chase (or thought that he'd leave it all to BMC which was a poor idea).

 

Jeez for a 'little' race, that was carnage. Sparticus, GVA it was all over the place and has blown the bookies fav's away. Even at the end when Sagan packed up that was something else. Oleg is going to go full retard at this rate.

 

I feel for Sagan, it's a multi million dollar move and something is up. The tinkoff team was heralded as as strong as the best at the beginning of the season but it's not going to plan. Having the dodgy Riis suspended can't help focus either. 

[tombeej]

Not much time to take a breath, folks. We’ve got the 3rd Belgian classic in 5 days coming up on Sunday: Gent-Wevelgem.

 

Degenkolb is defending champ.

 

Live coverage starts on Supersport channel 208 from 14h00.

[emme]

Not much time to take a breath, folks. We’ve got the 3rd Belgian classic in 5 days coming up on Sunday: Gent-Wevelgem.

 

Degenkolb is defending champ.

 

Live coverage starts on Supersport channel 208 from 14h00.

And rain predicted...!!!

[Pure Savage]

Who would have though Garaint Thomas would be on the winners podium

After MSR I think there was a massive chance of him being on the podium!

[tombeej]

Jeez for a 'little' race, that was carnage. 

 

It's a World Tour ranked race, so outside of the 5 monuments it's one of the biggest classics of the year.

 

Same with Gent-Wevelgem tomorrow.

 

This is one of the biggest weekends of the spring classics.

[tombeej]

With all the 'surprise' at Geraint Thomas' win yesterday, I decided to write this little piece about him....

 

This has been a long time coming for Geraint Thomas – it really should not be surprising. Sure, we haven’t seen as much of him in the spotlight of World Tour road racing as other young stars because he’s a quiet and modest young man, has been working for other team mates in his developing years on the road, and has also spent a good few years dedicated to the track.

 

But he’s 28 now, and just entering the prime of his life. For the next 5 years at least, he’ll be at the peak of his abilities, and we must expect to see him always at the pointy end of the field for years to come.

 

You guys know I’ve been punting Geraint for some time now. He’s got massive talent. The last couple of years, though, he’s also had an unfortunate talent for falling off his bike in just about every race. Hugely frustrating for him I’m sure, but also his supporters. I hope he’s got that bogey off his back now and can focus on fulfilling his huge potential.

 

So just how big is his potential for more major wins? Well let’s have a closer look.

 

We forget that he’s already a two-time Olympic Gold medal winner on the track in the team pursuit and three-time winner of the rainbow jersey (+ 2 silver medals). At the tender age of 21 he won his first gold medal in the world champs on the track, breaking the world record at the time as well.

 

He’s got a monster engine and has a real knack for 1-day classics (remember he won Junior Paris–Roubaix when he was 18). People have short memories: they forget he’s already podiumed a few times in big 1-day classics and came very close in others. In 2011 he came 2^nd in Dwars door Flaanderen. 2 years ago he came 4^th in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Harelbeke.  Last year he got 3^rd in E3 Harelbeke. He should have a lot more already, but had a lot of bad luck.

 

In the last 18 months or so he’s started to peak. Starting with his podium in E3 last year to his big ride in Paris Roubaix (one of the strongest riders in the field that day), and then onto his win at the Commonwealth Games road race in the rain. That was a seriously impressive ride – he literally just rode away from the field on his own with a long way still to go and they never saw him again. This year he’s looking super strong. In MSR he was in my mind the strongest rider on the day, and he’s just getting stronger and stronger. He’s learnt how to ride on cobbles, rain, mud and super narrow roads - see how comfortable he looks in those conditions now, completely at ease. He’s tough-as-nails (rode a whole TDF with a cracked pelvis) and is mongrel personified. Tactically he knows where to sit high in the bunch where it’s safer, has an instinct for when the final selection will be made and when to make the right attack at the right time. All this grey matter is backed up by a monster engine. He’ll make a mistake once, but won’t make it a second time. He’s a very clever bike rider.

 

But for some reason, he manages to stay under the radar. With all the hype around riders like GVA and Vanmarcke (who’s palmares aren’t even close to being in the same league as his), he manages to stay out of the limelight.

 

I think those days are over now. For those of us who have been supporting him for some time now, and finally seeing him come good, it’s great to see. I just hope he enjoys the attention and doesn’t let it overwhelm him.

[HappyMartin]

It's a World Tour ranked race, so outside of the 5 monuments it's one of the biggest classics of the year.

 

Same with Gent-Wevelgem tomorrow.

 

This is one of the biggest weekends of the spring classics.

You picking them well at the moment. What's your call for tomorrow?