# Paris-Roubaix Discussion -spoilers be here



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

BIG thanks to ene for the link to the live coverage. hope my updates helped anyone who couldnt see the race.

so, i guess fabian just couldnt pull away, eh? when all three got on the track, im sure the cacophony in the velodrome was a chorus to boonen and death tolls for fabian and ballan.


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

weltyed said:


> BIG thanks to ene for the link to the live coverage. hope my updates helped anyone who couldnt see the race.


Cheers to the link provider :thumbsup: 



weltyed said:


> so, i guess fabian just couldnt pull away, eh? when all three got on the track, im sure the cacophony in the velodrome was a chorus to boonen and death tolls for fabian and ballan.


CSC SD Scott Sunderland said that Fabian was cramping, probably the reason why he was shaking his legs at the 5 km mark.

-- 
Regards


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

Rain, snow, sunshine, overcast; Paris-Roubaix is always an exciting race. 
Boonen won a deserved victory. Martijn Maaskant (4th) from Slipstream had quite a race too. O'Grady's 5th is very good considering his nasty crash last season.

-- 
Regards


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## enemyte (Jan 31, 2006)

Ballan did not have a team mate from the Arenbourg onwards, while Boonen and Cance had 5 each, so Ballan rode, I think, the race of his life to still be there in the finale. Cancellara really should have tried further out, or allowed everyone to be there in the velodrome (Hoste et al) so it would be easier to slip away.....
About Boonen, his back-up team is still the best (Devolder, Hulsemans and Weylandt was all there to shield him from the wind after Arenbourg), and what Lefevre and Peeters don't know about cobbled classics is just simply not worth knowing.......


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## enemyte (Jan 31, 2006)

By the way no probs about the linkand if im around (My partner is very heavily pregnant), I will post a similar, high quality link for Amstel Gold (still, my favourite beer)


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## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

I watched on cycling.tv, and had no problems with the 800k feed once I got logged on (that process took 10 minutes).

That said, it was the most exciting race of the year thus far. QS played their tactics perfectly, and when it was just the 3 big guys, the rode great together and totally destroyed the folks left behind.

You could tell Boonen was crazy worried about Cancellara. From about 15km in, everytime Cance was behind Boonen, he would look behind every 5 seconds. 

I can't believe how relatively easy Boonen rode away from the other two in the velodrome. It looked to me like he was starting his sprint from a long way out.


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## FTM (Feb 4, 2005)

I had no real problem with cycling.tv but the video streamed from the link enemyte was much better, I listened to the cycling.tv commentary and watched the sputnik feed full screen Quicktime.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Motha freakin crap... I missed it. Dammmmnnn.

Any idea if there are places to catch the highlights? How did Devolder do in the end? Gusev? Hincapie? 

I soo wanna watch highlights of it.


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## robbyracer (May 30, 2007)

I missed it too. I was going to read the live reports on Cycling News but I accidently clicked the 'latest' instead of the 'next' link and found out who won. Oops. That made for a quick read and now I'm off for a ride. Congrats Boonen!


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## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

uzziefly said:


> Motha freakin crap... I missed it. Dammmmnnn.
> 
> Any idea if there are places to catch the highlights? How did Devolder do in the end? Gusev? Hincapie?
> 
> I soo wanna watch highlights of it.


You'll probably be able to find the last couple hours on thepiratebay by tomorrow.


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## rkj__ (Mar 21, 2007)

The finish is on YouTube






That guy sure knows how to sprint.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

I agree Ballan rode a great race to be there at the end, but what was he doing once inside the velodrome? They had enough of a gap to try some positioning moves, but instead Ballan led them out the whole way at a steady tempo and ended up third anyway. He gave Boonen the perfect leadout, almost makes you wonder if a deal had been worked out.


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## tron (Jul 18, 2004)

Why did Ballan and Canallera let Boonen sit on their wheels coming into the velodrome and on the track? They had no chance that way.


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## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

I saw Hard Luck Hincapie was riding today with a deep section rim in the front and a regular wheel in the rear. Excuse my ignorance, but can someone explain the advantage Hincapie was trying to get with the aero wheel on the front end? Was it because there was a tailwind (and this was the fastest P-R since 1996) that he was trying to leverage the aero on the front end and yet maintain some suppleness and flex in the rear (hence the regular rear wheel) to float over the cobbles? :idea:


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## ejpres (Jan 30, 2007)

tron said:


> Why did Ballan and Canallera let Boonen sit on their wheels coming into the velodrome and on the track? They had no chance that way.


I think the race was pretty much already ridden by then. So they were basically saving the podium by that. Cancellara had cramps, Ballan not the power anymore and Boonen knew it and they knew he knew it.


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## FTM (Feb 4, 2005)

he started with both deep rims but had two flats, I'm assuming the wheel change was because of a flat.


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## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

FTM said:


> he started with both deep rims but had two flats, I'm assuming the wheel change was because of a flat.


That's a dispositive explanation. Thanks!


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

See, Tommeke is wearing #51... it's all fate.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2....php?id=/photos/2008/apr08/roubaix08/DSC09886


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*close*



fornaca68 said:


> That's a dispositive explanation. Thanks!


ther second mech for George wasn't a flat. the wheel broke

uh george, Hed wheels at Roubaix??????


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## magnolialover (Jun 2, 2004)

*Great race...*

Great race by Boonen once again.

To answer all of the questions that are undoubtedly going to come:

1. Fabian couldn't attack from far out, or from even say 5k out, because he was out. Of. Gas. End of story. If he had attacked, he would have cracked, and not finished anywhere near the podium. The finish was pretty much set by the time they got into the velodrome.

2. Ballan was cracked as well. Boonen only had enough power left to take the sprint, and the other 2 could really only watch. 

3. Hincapie is NEVER going to win this race. He should stop trying. And I think that stinks, because I do like him as a rider, and as a person, it's just too bad. He ain't got it.

Slipstream rode a great race today.

That's about all I have to say for now. Another great year in the books.


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## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

tron said:


> Why did Ballan and Canallera let Boonen sit on their wheels coming into the velodrome and on the track? They had no chance that way.


Cancellara tried to drop back on the way into the velodrome but Boonen pushed him back in front with his hand. He was so focused on Cancellara and it was pretty cool to watch. I was psyched that it was streaming on cycling.tv when I woke up. I thought for sure it would be a pay per view.


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## Mosovich (Feb 3, 2004)

*The wheel that broke..*



atpjunkie said:


> ther second mech for George wasn't a flat. the wheel broke
> 
> uh george, Hed wheels at Roubaix??????


Was a teammates "regular" wheel, not the HED.. Still, poor George, dude had perfect team and everything.. Maybe next year..

On the flip side, it could've been worse.

And, what about Slipstream.. Great ride by them!!


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## giovanni sartori (Feb 5, 2004)

magnolialover said:


> Great race by Boonen once again.
> 
> To answer all of the questions that are undoubtedly going to come:
> 
> ...


Yeah, great analysis because that 2nd place was just a fluke.


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## Kris Flatlander (Sep 9, 2006)

fornaca68 said:


> That's a dispositive explanation. Thanks!


Magnus Backstedt's race was also ruined by wheels. I believe he decided to run a 303/404 combo (or possibly 404/808), both wheels cracked in the Arenberg, game over Maggie


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Fabian tried*

to attack at the same section where he launched himself to victory 2 ya.
Boonen and Ballan countered. Ballan tried a little something as well. When they rode together, every time Boonen took a pull he was putting a little hurt on them. It's P-R, you hope to win it once in your career. The ones who will win it multiple times are always in the hunt, so are some who will always be also-rans.
Boonen has been close every year, it was only a matter of time. Fabian may repeat as well, they are the creme of the crop right now.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

It certainly seems like Boonen has a real advantage in Roubaix with his abilitiy to sprint . . . and having the best Classics team doesn't hurt either. I'd still like to see him win from far out like de Vlaemick.


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## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

atpjunkie said:


> ...Boonen has been close every year, it was only a matter of time. Fabian may repeat as well, they are the creme of the crop right now.


no doubt, it was very cool to see the two top favs at the front backing up their hype. Heroes are good for sport.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*he did that*

at his first victory at Flanders
he is too marked at Roubaix, so his strategy winds down to what we saw
everyone knows they must shed him before the end
someday he may see a chance to solo away but unlikely, why play that card when the decks is already stacked in your favor?


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

atpjunkie said:


> at his first victory at Flanders
> he is too marked at Roubaix, so his strategy winds down to what we saw
> everyone knows they must shed him before the end
> someday he may see a chance to solo away but unlikely, why play that card when the decks is already stacked in your favor?


I understand that. Still, it'd be nice. 

Why do you think Roger was able to win with long breakaways then? He was a pretty good sprinter as well.


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## Mosovich (Feb 3, 2004)

*Hincapie's chances...*

were better this year than ever.. He had a solid team and everything.. I think he can win it, he's just gotta get rid of the roubaix curse!! He looked great as did alot of other guys, but luck just wasn't on his or thier side.. I'd rather lose by not being strong enough than because of technical errors.. You know those three had to be thinking yesterday "tires don't fail me now!" Great race, imagine if all the favorites had entered the velodrome together.. What a finish that would've been.. Boonen was the strongest, and luckiest..


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## The Sundance Kid (Oct 2, 2007)

From Boonen's mouth to your computer screen:http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5814&status=True 



> Boonen could have attacked at this point and won in dominating solo fashion, but he described doing that as being a 'smart-ass,' so he waited until the velodrome and made sure there was no mistaking his performance for a 'smart-ass,' but rather, an all-out drubbing in the final 200m. Boonen could have ridden away solo, there's little question in that, but he waited to show the whole world just how strong he was, and it was oh so obvious when he opened up his sprint and neither Cancellara or Ballan could even get out of their saddles


He could have done it and he didn't need to. He may even have done Ballan and Cancellara a favor working with them. As ATP said they knew they were cooked.


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

Mosovich said:


> were better this year than ever.. He had a solid team and everything.. I think he can win it, he's just gotta get rid of the roubaix curse!! He looked great as did alot of other guys, but luck just wasn't on his or thier side.. I'd rather lose by not being strong enough than because of technical errors.. You know those three had to be thinking yesterday "tires don't fail me now!" Great race, imagine if all the favorites had entered the velodrome together.. What a finish that would've been.. Boonen was the strongest, and luckiest..


Well, one can optimize ones luck at PR; there are always crashes in the Arenberg section so a good position in front before hitting that section is important (this fighting for positions means that there are always crashes before Arenberg too)
Team CSC did the right thing this year by collecting their squad before Arenberg and hitting the sector in high speed while in front of the peloton.
Team CSC and Quick Step also choose strong wheels (32 spoke 3x on alu-rims i think).
Magnus Backstedt entered Arenberg with a pair of deep-section carbon rims and came out with two broken rims. During the double wheel change a brake pad was pushed off so he only had one working brake, which in turn required at complete bike change. At that point Backstedt was no longer a contender in the race. Was Magnus unlucky? Sure, but he could had optimized his luck by choosing stronger wheels.

Same with Hincapi, he also choose a pair low spoke count carbon wheels, so when his rear wheel broke, apparently just by riding on the Pavé not by crashing, he was unable to get back in the fight for a podium placement since a group of 8 top contenders and their lieutenants had made a breakaway.
Unlucky, sure, but by choosing equipment that couldn't handle the PR requirements he didn't exactly optimize his chances for winning.

An ex-pro who was commentator at the race-stream I saw was convinced that some git at neutral service had handed Hincapi a strange choice of frontwheel when he saw Hincapi's bike after the wheel change, since he couldn't fathom that anybody would actually start PR on such wheels.
Hincapi is accident prone in Paris-Roubaix but perhaps the accidents are not entirely random bad luck.

-- 
Regards


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## KeeponTrekkin (Aug 29, 2002)

*Hincapie & Mech Woes*

From what I've read, George rejected his PR bike ('cross fork with alu steerer tube, canti's, extender rear dropout, 32spoke, 3X wheels) and rode his regular road bike because he didn't like the fit or feel of the special bike. Naturally, he had mechanicals with the regular bike and it's deep section carbon wheels, suffering at least one broken wheel.

Can anyone shed some light on Geroge's mechanical(s)?


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

the bigger question re Hincapie, is how is he ever going to win: he can't ride the favorites off his wheel in a break and he can't sprint with the top finishers.


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## Einstruzende (Jun 1, 2004)

stevesbike said:


> the bigger question re Hincapie, is how is he ever going to win: he can't ride the favorites off his wheel in a break and he can't sprint with the top finishers.


Answer: He won't. If memory serves, he is 34 or so now, and I bet the list of people that win PR at 35+ is pretty darn short, especially in the modern era. I like the guy and all, but he has definitely had some bad luck the last 3 years. Not that it matters, does anyone see him riding with Cancellara or O'Grady during 2006 and 2007? Not to mention this year's finish. He already experienced what it's like to enter the Velodrome with Boonen.


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## magnolialover (Jun 2, 2004)

*Now now...*



giovanni sartori said:


> Yeah, great analysis because that 2nd place was just a fluke.


Now now. I never said it was a fluke. What I did say was that if Fabian had tried to attack, he would have cracked, lost massive amounts of time, and wouldn't have been anywhere near the podium. That's the truth. I'm not saying that the man didn't ride a good race, he did, but second was all he was going to get this year, at best.


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## cyclelogic72 (Dec 1, 2006)

<snip>Magnus Backstedt entered Arenberg with a pair of deep-section carbon rims and came out with two broken rims. During the double wheel change a brake pad was pushed off so he only had one working brake, which in turn required at complete bike change. At that point Backstedt was no longer a contender in the race. Was Magnus unlucky? Sure, but he could had optimized his luck by choosing stronger wheels.
<snip>

I too remain baffled by such a seemingly unwise choice, especially (especially!) given Backstedt's size (odd, too, because he's also known to be quite a gear-head and very interested in all things bike-tech related and careful about his equipment choices). I did read recently that Zipp are in the midst of serious R/D on an extra-strong deep-section carbon wheel precisely for use in the Euro Spring (read: cobbled) races. Perhaps poor Backstedt was riding some form of prototype(?)...


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*stranger even*

on Specialized's site they are saying Boonen, Devolder and Co.rode standard roval wheels. I checked the site and couldn't match their race wheelswith any of Rovals,including the Roubaix. They did look oddly similar to Black Record Hubs,laced 32- 3x to grey MAvic Reflex Ceramics with Roval stickers


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

stevesbike said:


> the bigger question re Hincapie, is how is he ever going to win: he can't ride the favorites off his wheel in a break and he can't sprint with the top finishers.


George has answered that question over and over already.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

atpjunkie said:


> on Specialized's site they are saying Boonen, Devolder and Co.rode standard roval wheels. I checked the site and couldn't match their race wheelswith any of Rovals,including the Roubaix. They did look oddly similar to Black Record Hubs,laced 32- 3x to grey MAvic Reflex Ceramics with Roval stickers


Not that suprising considering the lies, damned lies, and rebadging tradition in cycling.

I did see that QuickStep rode 27 cc tublars. That's pretty wide.


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

I was in the Village Depart and got some close-ups pics of Tomeke's wheels. They were Record hubs laced to Ambrosio (excellence?) rims - 32x3. When I saw George's wheels, I said to my buddy - there goes a bikeload of fail!


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

FWIW - Hincapie says it was a flat. From Cyclingnews:

"George Hincapie's run of Paris-Roubaix misfortune continued at the weekend, dashing the American's hopes at the Spring Classic once more. The Team High Road rider suffered a puncture just as the peloton started to fracture.

"I am very disappointed with the outcome of the race on Sunday," he admitted on his website GeorgeHincapie.com. "I had great legs all day and was doing everything right. Unfortunately, I had a mechanical at a very critical moment.""

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/apr08/apr15news2


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## interested (Sep 21, 2005)

JSR said:


> FWIW - Hincapie says it was a flat. From Cyclingnews:
> 
> "George Hincapie's run of Paris-Roubaix misfortune continued at the weekend, dashing the American's hopes at the Spring Classic once more. The Team High Road rider suffered a puncture just as the peloton started to fracture.
> 
> ...


Here is what Velonews says:

"Second in 2005, but missing from the winning break this time, was an unlucky George Hincapie (High Road). The tall American said he was strong enough to have been with the winners until he ran into trouble. He was riding at the front on the Bersée section of cobblestones, 53km from the finish, and racing as well as he has ever ridden in the Hell of the North, when his rear wheel broke. “I had great legs,” Hincapie said, “but there was nothing I could do.” "
http://www.velonews.com/article/74625/boonen-wins-paris-roubaix

Velonews seems to have rather precise information on where it happened (Bersée section, 53km from the finish), so they seem well informed. They also said it was the rear wheel that broke which is true judging from the footage, while cyclingnews only says a puncture, but not on which wheel.

-- 
Regards


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Don't discount George -- he's still an awesome 1-day and classics rider. Hell, he's more than that, but I wouldn't doubt that he still has it in him to win it in the next couple years.

So I guess the question to ask now is: how would have Astana fared if they were invited?


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> uh george, Hed wheels at Roubaix??????


I can't imagine what these guys who were riding carbon wheels (deep or shallow) at Roubaix were thinking.


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## vinch13 (Nov 30, 2006)

Hello everybody,

Sorry for my bad English, I just want to inform you that I realized a special report of Paris Roubaix Day with 40 pictures I took to live again this wonderful day. It’s always a pleasure to follow this race on the road and see all these champions. I hope you will enjoy my report, and all I already realized on several races as “Het Volk”, “Tour des Flandres”, “GP E3” …

=> http://www.photoscycling.com/blogvinch

Have a nice day  

Vinch from Lille (France)


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

iliveonnitro said:


> Don't discount George -- he's still an awesome 1-day and classics rider. Hell, he's more than that, but I wouldn't doubt that he still has it in him to win it in the next couple years.
> 
> So I guess the question to ask now is: how would have Astana fared if they were invited?


Everyone will debate (once again  ) George's chances next year, when he will promptly have "bad luck," yet again, or be strong but not smart. Same old story. 

Does Astana even have any potential Roubaix finishers (as opposed to winners)?


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## KeeponTrekkin (Aug 29, 2002)

*Hard to understand Big George's equipment choices*

His carbon wheels probably contributed to his steerer tube failure last year and his carbon wheels certainly contributed to the rear wheel failure this year.

Same with Magnus; what advantage did they think those wheels would provide that was worth the abuse of the pave?

Boonen chooses a 32x3 wheel (possibly with a wider tire like CSC) for more comfort and reliability and wins.


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## Kris Flatlander (Sep 9, 2006)

Pablo said:


> Does Astana even have any potential Roubaix finishers (as opposed to winners)?


I think they'd probably bet on Gusev/Vaitkus with Rast as an outsider.


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## Kris Flatlander (Sep 9, 2006)

KeeponTrekkin said:


> His carbon wheels probably contributed to his steerer tube failure last year


Care to elaborate? Just so you know he was running an aluminum steerer but I'd like to hear how the wheels caused this.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*as I expected*



philippec said:


> I was in the Village Depart and got some close-ups pics of Tomeke's wheels. They were Record hubs laced to Ambrosio (excellence?) rims - 32x3. When I saw George's wheels, I said to my buddy - there goes a bikeload of fail!


and they were kind of the ceramic grey yes?

finally got to watch the race

Boonen created the final split, he culled it to 3
Fabian tried 2x to go, Boonen easily countered
Ballan had been sucking wheels since there was 8.When Fabian attacked,Boonen had to ride aroundhim to avoid letting Cancellara get away.Ballanwas cooked for about the last 30K
Everytime tomeketook a pull he gapped the other 2 meaning Fabian was getting little draft to help him rest

Tom softened them up and then rode aroundthem like they were club riders
he was clearly the strongest


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## Kestreljr (Jan 10, 2007)

New link to highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_30tFc3Wk

Edit: Don't click- it is a teaser! 

I=FAIL


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## solorider (Aug 16, 2004)

*Luck breaks both ways*

Hinkapie is a great rider. Boonen or O'Grady or any of the top guys could have what happened to George happen to them next year. George will have his shot.

He still managed 9th! Also, who's testing Boonen's blood. The guy is an animal. Is that all natural? I hope it is. His performances in the classics has convinced me that the classics are way better than the Tour with all of its BS.

Go George! Go Tom!


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