T-Bob Posted March 28, 2015 Author Posted March 28, 2015 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. Yeah, I rate it and it's always a tough, good race but stupidly it's often seen as a recon for Flanders or an exercise for the main contenders of Ronde / Roubaix to test each other out and score some points. Even in an interview yesterday Sky said 'we've proven we're good enough at this level and can now look to get a big one', which is crazy. Even with Sagan's win last year it in the press it wasn't a case of a great result for the season, it was seen more in terms of why isn't he nailing a monument.
T-Bob Posted March 28, 2015 Author Posted March 28, 2015 Gent-Wevelgem has only got the 10 climbs and they finish further out than E3 (17) so it should come down to a sprint and that will probably be:- Cav' (if he can keep his chain on)- Degenkolb- Kristoff Wonder who is supposed to lead BMC after GVA took a hard fall and Glibert is off thinking about the Ardennes.
'Dale Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 Cav' needs a chain catcher on the outside of the big bladeHehehehe
tombeej Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 The things Cav was saying in the media after MSR about his chain falling off and that it's happened before - I can imagine that things are not too rosy for the teams head mech (if he still has a job). He must be missing Gary Blem.
T-Bob Posted March 28, 2015 Author Posted March 28, 2015 The things Cav was saying in the media after MSR about his chain falling off and that it's happened before - I can imagine that things are not too rosy for the teams head mech (if he still has a job). He must be missing Gary Blem. Sram should have a little dig and donate one of their 1x11 prototype road kits to him.
tombeej Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 Sram should have a little dig and donate one of their 1x11 prototype road kits to him. Ja, FSA must be feeling the heat too. Not good publicity for them hey.
meathead Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 Thanks for the all the comments and updates. Really enjoying it.
T-Bob Posted March 28, 2015 Author Posted March 28, 2015 Tinkoff DS sums up Sagans day: “It’s s*it because in that group of three he should’ve been the fastest,” Tinkoff sports director, Tristan Hoffman told VeloNews. “He was so disappointed. Then, to make it worse, [the] whole group passes him.” Opps.
gummibear Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 After MSR I think there was a massive chance of him being on the podium!I lost 50 bucks at the bookies on that one.Could have made a few if I'd gone with Thomas[emoji6]
milky4130 Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 I see Spartacus is out of the classics with some broken bones?
Yo-Yo Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 Sprint or Breakaway for tomorrow? Maybe Sagan will be trying save his job and 3 yr / $4M salary. I hope he buys Alonso a beer for inflating his worth last year before he started to over think everything and stopped winning. Tinkoff are due to announce the B.Riis outcome tomorrow to add to the pressure.
tombeej Posted March 29, 2015 Posted March 29, 2015 Todays weather forecast for Wevelgem looking pretty epic. Cold, raining and sustained winds of around 40 km/h with gusts over 50 km/h. That means there's more of a chance to break things up and force a smaller final selection at the end. So guys like EBH (who won it in 2009 in the rain) and Vanmarcke will feel like the have a chance now.
tombeej Posted March 29, 2015 Posted March 29, 2015 You picking them well at the moment. What's your call for tomorrow?Degenkolb hurt his hip in his fall on Friday. A bruised hip is never good news for a cyclist: it often 'locks up' the leg and can cause loss of power for at least a few days afterwards. For that reason, my boy Degenkolb is not on my winners list today (I hope I'm wrong - I usually am ). If it comes down to a bunch sprint then Kristoff and Cav are favourites. Desperation and anger/frustration are powerful motivators. Vanmarcke is angry and frustrated. Sagan must be feeling desperate and backed into a corner. Both Need this win desperately, so I expect them to initiate the attacks today. Sky will be prominent again (such a cohesive unit this year) but my money is not on 'G' today. He might still be feeling the effects of Friday and Sky might be riding for Swifty today - their strategy for each race appears to be 'horses for courses' with no single team leader. But todays weather is going to be the final referee I think. And I think the Belgian teams know exactly how to play this one. Quickstep, LottoNL-Jumbo and the Belgian boys on BMC. It's going to be who's mentally stronger vs who is physically stronger, someone who lives for Rule #9, who relishes these conditions. So with that said, my pick is a duel between Stybar and Vanmarcke, with EBH my reserve pick.
tombeej Posted March 29, 2015 Posted March 29, 2015 I'll add one more pick: Lars Boom. He loves these conditions.
tombeej Posted March 29, 2015 Posted March 29, 2015 Is it on DSTV today?Live coverage starts on Supersport channel 208 from 14h00.
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