# your favorite Spring Classic



## Moonnerd (Feb 18, 2012)

What is your favorite Spring Classic, and why?


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Flanders. Cobbles, narrow twisty roads and it's ridden with the intensity of a 2hr criterium.


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## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

Paris-Roubaix. I love that it's flat and just pure attrition. We are overdue for a muddy one. I can't wait for the next 2 weeks. Flanders is a close 2nd for me.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Paris Roubaix. Nothing else compares.

Anyone can ride the route of most races. Very few could ride the route of Paris Roubaix.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

Roubaix is obviously the most selective. Flanders is exciting. Omloop is first. My favorite is Milan San Remo. The scenery is gorgeous, its so long that the finish is always unpredictable and the last 10 km are the most thrilling of the year.


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## Moonnerd (Feb 18, 2012)

Thanks. Paris-Roubaix has always been my favorite, with Milan-San Remo second. But the Belgian races are really growing on me. And I love the Strade Bianche even though its a new race.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Ronde*

always, the bergs/muurs just make it a better race than Roubaix (my #2 and really close) then probably L-B-L, then Amstel, then MSR. Heck I'd put minor classics like Fleche Wallone ahead of MSR and Gent Wevelgem close. MSR is typically a snooze fest. Break gets caught, finishes in a bunch sprint, repeat


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

what ATP said... though my favorite of the Monuments is Lombardia... just so beautiful.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Creakyknees said:


> what ATP said... though my favorite of the Monuments is Lombardia... just so beautiful.


Indeed. That one should be moved to an earlier slot in the year to bring in more talent in better form. Same with Worlds and the Vuelta (though I don't know how to make the last one fit).


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

I like Milan San Remo, because it's the first, it has an Italian flair and it is wide open as to what kind of riders can win in any given year.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Lombarida*



Creakyknees said:


> what ATP said... though my favorite of the Monuments is Lombardia... just so beautiful.


is beautiful. I didn't mention it because it is a fall classic


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*you feeling okay?*



Chainstay said:


> I like Milan San Remo, because it's the first, it has an Italian flair and it is wide open as to what kind of riders can win in any given year.


15 years, 4 non sprinter wins

1997 Erik Zabel (GER)	Team TelekomSPRINTER
1998 Erik Zabel (GER)	Team Telekom SPRINTER
1999 Andrei Tchmil (BEL)	Lotto-Mobistar Classics Hard man
2000 Erik Zabel (GER)	Team Telekom SPRINTER
2001 Erik Zabel (GER)	Team Telekom SPRINTER
2002 Mario Cipollini (ITA)	Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo SPRINTER
2003 Paolo Bettini (ITA)	Quick Step-Davitamon classics guy with good kick, won small sprint
2004 Óscar Freire (ESP)	Rabobank SPRINTER
2005 Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)	Fassa Bortolo SPRINTER
2006 Filippo Pozzato (ITA)	Quick Step-Innergetic Classics guy who snuck off while other riders watched his Sprinter team mat
2007 Óscar Freire (ESP)	Rabobank SPRINTER
2008 Fabian Cancellara (SUI)	Team CSC Classics guy who pipped the sprinters
2009 Mark Cavendish (GBR)	Team Columbia-High Road SPRINTER
2010 Óscar Freire (ESP)	Rabobank SPRINTER
2011 Matthew Goss (AUS)	HTC-Highroad SPRINTER
2012 Simon Gerrans (AUS)	GreenEDGE SPRINTER (correction Classics Guy)


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## nathanbal (Feb 23, 2009)

simon gerrans is definitely NOT a sprinter!


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Flanders.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Roubaix. The first race I ever really saw. And it's frickin' dangerous!
Second La Primavera. So beautiful, fast and suspenseful. atpjunkie's list is flawed as it mixes all rounders who can sprint with pure sprinters.

But lately Strade Bianche sails up, of course. But that doesn't count if it's Monuments only, and I prefer Lombardia to De Ronde and Liege of those.


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Paris Roubaix. Nothing else compares.
> 
> Anyone can ride the route of most races. Very few could ride the route of Paris Roubaix.


Everybody can ride Paris-Roubaix. You just end up completely busted.

I rode most secteurs pavés when I was 12y old. I was living in the area and they did a small Roubaix race for the younglings. We rode the pavés in a non competitive way starting a bit before _carrefour de l'arbre_ following some amateurs racers then they launched us in the last kilometers before the velodrome. It was fun, short enough not being to much a pain for kids although some hit the deck and a few collarbones were broken that day.

Later when I was in U23 I did a pro/amateur criterium in belgium near the border. I don't remember the name of the place but the course was very short (5km) with half of it made of pavés similar to the roubaix one. We did almost as many pavé km as in Paris Roubaix but with very small time to recover between them and in a shorter time. That was harder. A few laps from the end I stopped because I couldn't shift or brake anymore, my fists were tightly clenched on the bars and I couldn't move the finger. I stopped braking with my feets and asked someone to untight my fingers from the bars. I was still a student and the next day I had a hard time taking notes and writing during the courses.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

Flanders, then Roubaix.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

I'll take umbrage with the last two years on your list and add the following.

1988 Laurent Fignon (FRA)	Système U – Gitane GC/All arounder
1989 Laurent Fignon (FRA)	Super U-Raleigh-Fiat GC/All arounder
1990 Gianni Bugno (ITA)	Chateau d'Ax-Salotti All arounder
1991 Claudio Chiappucci (ITA)	Carrera Jeans-Tassoni Climber/all arounder
1992 Sean Kelly (IRL)	Lotus-Festina Sprinter who won by out descending the field
1993 Maurizio Fondriest (ITA)	Lampre-Polti All arounder
1994 Giorgio Furlan (ITA)	Gewiss-Ballan All arounder
1995 Laurent Jalabert (FRA)	ONCE Bad-ass M-Fer
1996 Gabriele Colombo (ITA) Gewiss Playbus Meatball? (never heard of this guy)


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*and Eddy Merckx won it seven times...*



kbiker3111 said:


> I'll take umbrage with the last two years on your list and add the following.
> 
> 1988 Laurent Fignon (FRA)	Système U – Gitane GC/All arounder
> 1989 Laurent Fignon (FRA)	Super U-Raleigh-Fiat GC/All arounder
> ...


so what do we take from this? What happened to all arounders winning MSR? 
guess sprinters found the 'ability' to win this somehow....

so all rounders or hardmen only make up less than 30% of the winners in the last decade plus
the original point being to counter that this race is 'wide open'

and yes, sorry I did mis label Gerrans


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*really, which ones?*



kbwh said:


> Roubaix. The first race I ever really saw. And it's frickin' dangerous!
> Second La Primavera. So beautiful, fast and suspenseful. atpjunkie's list is flawed as it mixes all rounders who can sprint with pure sprinters.
> 
> But lately Strade Bianche sails up, of course. But that doesn't count if it's Monuments only, and I prefer Lombardia to De Ronde and Liege of those.


are you going to call Freire an all arounder? because I'm looking at the list and other than the typo/paste error over Gerrans I called those straight up


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## Lazy Spinner (Aug 30, 2009)

Roubaix - beautiful in its brutality and a complete crapshoot for the favorites. Often, the strongest and fittest man will not win due to a poorly timed puncture, a crash, or by allowing a brash upstart to get away "way too early" for conventional thinking. It's equal parts strongmen contest, chess match, and horror movie.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

atpjunkie said:


> so what do we take from this? What happened to all arounders winning MSR?
> guess sprinters found the 'ability' to win this somehow....
> 
> so all rounders or hardmen only make up less than 30% of the winners in the last decade plus
> ...


What was unpleasant about Goss' victory? It was a large break and Goss did his fair share of work. Its not like he sat on the whole time. Aside from maybe Scarponi, Goss was the best in the race and just happened to also be a sprinter.


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## MG537 (Jul 25, 2006)

My favorite monuments in order
1) Paris Roubaix. The hell of the north......Hell ya!
2) Flanders. Kopenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Muur Kappel Muur (left out this year?) .... need I say more?
3) Liège Bastogne Liège ..... Hill after hill after hill after hill.....
4) Giro di Lombardia ..... One last race before the winter blues 
5) Milan San Remo .... Love the Cipressa and the Poggio. Not a big fan of bunch sprints.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

atpjunkie said:


> are you going to call Freire an all arounder?


I see him as an all rounder who has a fantastic sprint, yes.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Though not a classic, Criterium International is really growing on me, especially since the move to Corsica and the more difficult finale. It's a nice punchy stage race that shows all the different disciplines and can be raced very aggressively.


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

Roubaix, Flanders, L-B-L -- whichever one has the wettest ride.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.... I will maybe be there next sunday


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## austincrx (Oct 22, 2008)

Which ever has the most exciting finish, but I'm partial to Giro di'Lombardia as well. I just like that race for some reason. Probably becasue it signals CYCLOCROSS IS COMING!!! and that it's going to start getting cooler. 

Milan San Remo was really exciting this year, but Paris Roubaix is always pretty exciting and is probably my favorite.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

Flanders for sure. It has everything in spades: agressive racing, cobbles, narrow roads, short steep climbs, a rich history, rabid fans, often bad weather, and the hardmen of the peloton slugging it out, and the iconic Muur-Kapelmuur. I get chills when the race leaders pass the chapel at the top of the hill.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*or a*



kbwh said:


> I see him as an all rounder who has a fantastic sprint, yes.


Sprinter that sometimes gets in a breakaway

He competes in bunch sprints, he may not win but he competes in them. He pipped Zabel at the line, he's a sprinter

check his palmares sometime, he wins sprint stages of tours and classics or semi classics that end in sprints


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*can you believe*



bnoojin said:


> Flanders for sure. It has everything in spades: agressive racing, cobbles, narrow roads, short steep climbs, a rich history, rabid fans, often bad weather, and the hardmen of the peloton slugging it out, and the iconic Muur-Kapelmuur. I get chills when the race leaders pass the chapel at the top of the hill.


No Muur this year????????


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*seriously?*



atpjunkie said:


> No Muur this year????????


I thought I had heard something to that effect but passed it off as mere talk.

what is the justification?


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

bnoojin said:


> I thought I had heard something to that effect but passed it off as mere talk.
> 
> what is the justification?


Money.

Still, I enjoy Flanders a bit more than Roubaix, I just love hills and climbs. I agree that we're due for a wet Roubaix...

I love Strade Bianche and Lombardia even more.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

atpjunkie said:


> Sprinter that sometimes gets in a breakaway
> 
> He competes in bunch sprints, he may not win but he competes in them. He pipped Zabel at the line, he's a sprinter
> 
> check his palmares sometime, he wins sprint stages of tours and classics or semi classics that end in sprints


...and he won his first WC on a Cancellaraesque flyer.


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## matchmaker (Aug 15, 2009)

De Ronde and Paris-Roubaix. I might favor PR over de Ronde because I feel de Ronde is sometimes won by someone who takes profit from the fact that the favorites are looking at eachother, which hardly ever happens in PR, as that race is so hard that normally the best rider comes out on top at the end of the last pavé kilometers.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

kbwh said:


> ...and he won his first WC on a Cancellaraesque flyer.


that probably has more to do with the fact that he was a 23 year old unkown and was let go by the favorites, rather than his particular strengths as a rider.

I see Oscar as a classics/bunch sprinter type rider. He's similar to Erik Zabel, he climbs decently, has great endurance for the long classics, has excellent finishing speed, and consistent enough to win a green jersey.

but an all-rounder he's not so much, it has to be very flat parcours with lots of sprints. 2 minor stage race wins is more happenstance than indicative of an all-rounder.

he's a stage hunter and classics rider with very canny racing instincts.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*sad*



Dan Gerous said:


> Money.
> 
> Still, I enjoy Flanders a bit more than Roubaix, I just love hills and climbs. I agree that we're due for a wet Roubaix...
> 
> I love Strade Bianche and Lombardia even more.


I generally side with the traditionalists and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Milan San Remo excepted) But, maybe it will lead to an even better race with the new course. It will be sad to not see the Gerardsbergen passed by the riders this year.

There seem to be a lot of upset people over the new route according to the headlines about threats to strew nails on the course.


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

matchmaker said:


> de Ronde is sometimes won by someone who takes profit from the fact that the favorites are looking at eachother, which hardly ever happens in PR


I won't argue against the whole premise, but it certainly happened last year.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Ronde
Roubaix
Strade Bianchi
(Lombardia if we talk monuments, not just spring classics)
LBL
Amstel
Fleche
MSR (It's always just an incredibly hum drum race to me.)


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## CABGPatchKid (Dec 5, 2011)

Paris Roubaix – The race is one of pure attrition and I just love the Forest of Arenberg section, just beautiful IMHO

De Ronde Van Vlaanderen – you have to love it for the name if nothing else – and the very narrow cobbles roads, the very steep climbs, the chapel 

atpjunkie 

Thanks, Yes - corrected


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Flanders*



CABGPatchKid said:


> Paris Roubaix – The race is one of pure attrition and I just love the Forest of Arenberg section, just beautiful IMHO
> Flanders – The very narrow cobbles roads, the very steep climbs, the chapel -
> De Ronde Van Vlaanderen – you have to love it for the name if nothing else


and De Ronde are the same


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

atpjunkie said:


> so what do we take from this? What happened to all arounders winning MSR?
> guess sprinters found the 'ability' to win this somehow....
> 
> so all rounders or hardmen only make up less than 30% of the winners in the last decade plus
> ...


The route of Milano-Sanremo has changed over the years. Coupled with the team tactics that we have today, sprinters' teams had a firm grip over the race for a good decade or so. 

Here's some analysis if you are interested, starting from when the Poggio was introduced in 1960 and also when the Cipressa was added in 1982. 

Classiques Klassieker Classiche: La Primavera: the 2012 Milan-Sanremo


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## ean10775 (Mar 26, 2008)

Its really a toss up between Flanders and Paris-Roubaix for me, but I'll go with the Ronde because it was the first race I ever watched on television.


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## COstu (Apr 27, 2011)

Gotta go with Flanders. Love watching that climb up the Koppenberg!


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## scottmilk9 (Jul 31, 2006)

Liege Bastogne Liege = hills hills and more hills


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

PR. Usually, San Remo next. RVV, second if it's wet, otherwise third.


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## cyclusaddictus (Dec 8, 2011)

Everyone loves "the hell of the north", but I'm going to put a vote in for Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Long, fairly steep and relentless climbs, unpredictable weather, 258 km of Belgian hard knocks. Only the most hardened spring riders have a chance.


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## SCrowley94 (Apr 16, 2012)

Paris Roubaix, as Cancellara said, "Its a one day war"


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

kbwh said:


> I see him as an all rounder who has a fantastic sprint, yes.


Add Amstel as further evidence.


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## F45 (Nov 25, 2010)

Amstel Gold or Omloop


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*I have noticed*

how much less passionate the board has been post Amstel / Wallone


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

Paris-Roubaix - love that race - "The Hell of the North" is not to be outdone.
Pain, suffering, twists of fate, cobbles, dust, drama, history and the victory goes to a very lucky hard-man - priceless!


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