# Paris-Roubaix - Live feed and discussion



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Eurosport Live Stream | Live Eurosport Streaming

I got that link after searching through steephill.tv and wiziwig.tv.

Dry and dusty day.

Sectuer 19 now and heading toward the forest.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan punctures. teammate swaps wheel and they chase back on through the teamcars. had some issues with his right shifter or tape.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan drops most of his team and struggling to get back on before arrenberg


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

riders are getting nervous, baking corners through the lil villages.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

the crane elevators looms in the background.

dust on sectuer 19 is horrid. many mouths of mud today.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Into the forest!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

mavic neutral service moto "helping" a rider in arenburg


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

punctures left and right. its almost like someone dropped carpet tacks on the course, but that could never happen.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Train!!!!!!!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

europcar surfing the cobbles


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

another rider pedals on the walkway then crashes. this time at least spectators were safe.

peloton was not so lucky.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

I look into my crystal ball and can see a "NO SIDEWALKS" rule in the sport's future and it will be forever called the "Roulston Rule".


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

finally an attack.

mike, I thought there was a new rule about that already this year. after last weeks spectator disaster, I though they were really gonna start fining riders. especially in dutchland were there is more furniture on the roads than in ikea.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

76k left

that attack didn't really stick, but it was a test to see who is strong. looks like it might be the usual suspects this year.

my feed keeps freezing


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

reports are 18 punctures in the forest! maybe there were carpet tacks...

pace is said to be very high, leading group has a minute or so gap.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

streaming is getting rough. tried six different streams and they are all buffering. thanks universal sports!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

better stream here, in French:
streaming foot,basket,ligue 1,bundesliga,premier league,liga,streaming,replay,revoir,live

boonen attacked but got shut down.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

bmc and cannondale seem to have a good compliment of riders to control chase 1.


lead group has :09 and falling at secteur 11:
boonen starts to gap with two riders. he is strong


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sectuer 11 and they all seem more relaxed. boonen digs, but this may just burn too many matches for him today. if he can get the velodrome with a few riders he should win.

thor trying to bridge


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen
touches his hip as he and four others exit sectuer 11 through what appears to be a furry convention.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

the lead group is :15 with 50k to go.

every time boonen is the tip of the spear the lead group panics.

sectuer 10


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen almost taken out by a French flag.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen leads through the pave like he is a tour guide. a sadistic tour guide.

boonen calls for the others to work. Thomas, thor, martinez, de baker and tankink tell him to quit whining.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

weltyed said:


> boonen leads through the pave like he is a tour guide. a sadistic tour guide.
> 
> boonen calls for the others to work. Thomas, thor, martinez, de baker and tankink tell him to quit whining.


ha,h ha! that's funny. :cryin:


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

lead group must be working together as they stretch the lead to :35. the peloton is still on the sectuer. the tight road is killing their attempt to catch.

it looks like there is a splinter group chasing, but I annot be certain.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

very dangerous time for the chasers.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

lead is now :47

40k to go

looks like Fabian is doing all the work in the chase group. trek has nobody in the lead group, so unless deals are made, I don't know if he can catch and continue.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Cancellara, master tactician, let's boonen get a minute with 40k to go...


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

belkin takes control on the sectuer. Fabian caught back a lil. he looked relaxed last I saw him.

belkin rider takes off


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

vanmarcke attacks. looking good.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Fabian starts laying it down. this could be his bridge, networking with two belkin riders.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

gap is falling as they consider the belkin chasers and Fabian the leaders of group. at :29 now.

can they catch and Fabian rest/recover in time?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen and thor will soon panic. guaranteed


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

I think sagan started to attack, but they went to break.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen tries to lose the lead group.


its starting now.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen hits sectuer7 first and has a trailing tail. sagan keeps looking over his shoulder at I think vanmaerk. Fabian is close behind.

the Moulin looks nice, spinning at a leisurely rate.

boonen and clan off the pave. tom is not happy with his tourists. 

sagan almost bites it, bunny hopping off and back on the road. he is good at tricks.

trek has a wind eater for Fabian now. expect Fabian to hit the switch in a few clicks and bridge.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan is :18, Fabian is :37


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

the lead group is finally working together again, but not much. 

at 30k astana is panicing with a slow rear wheel leak. Fabian is about four back in chase 2, drinking.

boonen sits up and forces the group to work. sagan and friend are not making much headway.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

I expect thor and boonen to take off soon. thor will pray he doesn't go ankles over elbows again. boonen just doesn't want sagan to make it to the velodrome with him. that is his biggest worry, and he seems to be freaking out a lil.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Eurosport commentary absolutely useless.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan's frined is wynants of belkin. Fabian was working with a belkin rider when those two got away. I expect him to do it again if he doesn't solo. it would be a good tactic for belkin.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

26k to go. place your bets and predictions. it will get frantic fast.

will Fabian power away? will boonen cry like a baby or will he set records?
will thor get a chance? will sagan kill boonen?


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

boonen has used a ton of energy. for naught so far.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Thor soft-attacks to see who goes with him. boonen drags the group to him. boonen is nervous and somehow thor seems to be better at controlling this group.


an attack off the front, but that is shut down.

Fabian starts his slow grind back. the dust and cobbles are crazy today.

I fully expect boonen to lose his marbles.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan and friend are now with the leaders.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

too many green teams this year! lots of green at the front.

skies are clouding over, but I doubt it will rain.

sagan goes, hard, soft, then hard when nobody follows!!!!!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan builds a nice lead with 20k. he has his hands over his bards in pseudo aero style.

that lead group is busted. sagan has played it nicely. relaxedoff the front he has maybe :07 now.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

official sagan has :15, then :23 to the peloton. 

sagan hits sectuer 5 solo about :20 ahead of boonen and buds.

Fabian and friend are drilling it. I believe it is inded with a belkin rider


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Fabian slips, almost into a barrier while another rider bites it at the apex. that will impact all riders behind him.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan starting to suffer solo. his lead is slowly falling. it was a move he needed to make, but he might not have enough in the tank.

certain team race radio is shrieking with Fabian reports. he is a hailstorm on its way to destroy the roof of the race.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sagan soft pedals before sectuer 4 and then powers away! this is an Armstrong move. feign pain and power away.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonens brain has melted.


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## waterloo (Nov 8, 2005)

NBC Sports Live Extra is where it's at. Login with your cable provider credentials for Phil and Paul and avoid the peril of Eurosport or Bein streams.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

riders preferring the grass gutters on this medieval sectuer.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

15k, four sectuers left and sagan is in trouble.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

the feed has become useless. also shut up about brad wiggins already.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

terpstra in pain.

they are all in pain, only some play poker


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

waterloo said:


> NBC Sports Live Extra is where it's at. Login with your cable provider credentials for Phil and Paul and avoid the peril of Eurosport or Bein streams.


my cable provider is not supported it appears.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

it is joined up!

Fabian will pull away, but when? unless he uses the tactics he learned earlier this year. but does he dare enter the oval with sagan and boonen?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

boonen now in group two. he has terpstra as a wind break, but with stybar up front with cancellara what will they do?


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Wish they had Kelly/Harmon commenting instead of these Muppets.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

riders are getting tired, nervous and twitchy.
lead group at :17, forcing Fabian to do much of the work. for the time being he will allow it. he takes some nourishment while boonen leads the chase in the drops


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

wiggins hanging out in the back of the pursuit group.

Fabian still leading through the streets. he peels off and drops back to fourth wheel.

the pursuit group is getting disorganized and almost every rider for themselves.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Lol at Bradley Wiggins...


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

oh, my, this lead group is a who's-who of sprinting tactics. it will be crazy if opql can get boonen caught up with them, but with 10k, I dunno.

sagan is relaxed. everyone in the lead is relaxed.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

who ya got in the final five? i like dagenkolb.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

lead group down to :07

they are now looking around.
"you go. no you."

wiggins sees it and takes the the lead of the chase


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## waterloo (Nov 8, 2005)

dnice said:


> my cable provider is not supported it appears.


Yeah I have Time Warner and was out of luck until one of my several friends with a different provider who I texted finally woke up, responded and shared their login. Great timing.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

dkolb is a good call. I see sagan in there with Fabian

at sectuer 2, only one "sectuer" left and that is a nice primrose path through town. a long straight where sagan, dkolb and Fabian will make their moves.


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## waterloo (Nov 8, 2005)

final eleven


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

final 12? wow!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

its pretty much altogether now.

this will be a crazy ending!!!!!!!!

does boonen have enough in the tank? how many can fit on that track at once? there may be carnage on the deck


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

terpstra plays Fabian at 6k.


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## waterloo (Nov 8, 2005)

it's Sagan if it comes down to a sprint. could be a crowded velodrome.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

this
will
be
scary


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

at 5.5k Fabian eats a gu?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

terp has :11, but that wont last. that was trying to break the group so they could get boonen


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

good tactics by OPQS


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

feed is going crazy.

4k and the group is not chasing

:14 for terp now

first time I have seen Fabian look worried


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

how is terp not vomiting?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

3k. here we go. there will be a flurry before the entrance


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

terp has :18 as he enters the tree-lined cobbles!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

sweat pouring off his nose, mouth agape like a thouroghbred on the final turn


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

holy cow. absolute suffering!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

terp enters the barriers solo and onto the banked track!!!!

this is his victory


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

a solo stage for the victor! his garden cobble is taken alone!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

the rest now enter. a fight for second
or first loser


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

omega pharma quickstep lotto Kleenex played it brilliantly


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

Congrats Terpstra! Absolutely deserved. How does one miss the sprint for second and third?

Fabu on podium for the 12th consecutive finishing monument?

brilliant race!


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

What an incredible race. The best PR and one of the best races I have ever seen. Wow...


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Best P-R in years.

Laugh at Wiggins all you want, but where are any of the other Grand Tour riders? Where's Froomey now eh? Contador? Evans is a fair hard man, where was he? Wiggo is still a stick man compared to big guys like Tommeke, Terpstra and Fabu but he finished alongside them.

His teammate G did well too. He has had a bunch of injuries this year but it doesn't slow him down.

I would have loved to see Sagan win. He had a tough race, flats and mechanicals, and dangling off the back of the bunch all day. Then he turns it up and goes off the front while the favourites are all looking at each other. THAT is racing...not the constant looking over the shoulders.

Boonen raced too hard too far out. Too bad he didn't get #5.

Thor was impressive too, as strong as anyone today. He absolutely flew on the cobbles! Flat out right on the crest. Chapeau!


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Best P-R in years.
> 
> Laugh at Wiggins all you want, but where are any of the other Grand Tour riders? Where's Froomey now eh? Contador? Evans is a fair hard man, where was he? Wiggo is still a stick man compared to big guys like Tommeke, Terpstra and Fabu but he finished alongside them.
> 
> ...


I was impressed with Wiggins' performance as well. Hushovd too. It also looks like Degenkolb has successfully made the transition from bunch sprinter to classics rider in a big way. But at the end of the day, it's Terpstra and that final attack that deserves the applause. Niki rocked it today. It was also nice to see Boonen, Cancellara, and Sagan fight through some adversity and Stybar in the mix again.


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## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

Er, Contador was too busy winning the Tour Vasco....


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

jmoryl said:


> Er, Contador was too busy winning the Tour Vasco....


Hehe


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

jmoryl said:


> Er, Contador was too busy winning the Tour Vasco....


Exactly. One trick pony doing what he is good at. 
At least Wiggins was trying something different.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

er, i'm as big a wiggins fan as any, and i'm quite happy for him. he rode an impressive race, particularly that bridge at the end--massive effort. HOWEVER, that eurosport commentator was ove the top in his fanboy-ish praise, which became very annoying. my criticisms were towards the commentator NOT wiggins.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Well, I'm already seeing negative excuses popping up around the internet for Wiggins' strong performance. The man is a very, very good bike racer and in the era of generalists, I think he could have been one of the greats....

Boonen was excellent; I suspected when he went hard as early as he did that OPQS may have decided that Terpstra was their man for the day. His (Terpstra) attack at the end was a killer; very good stuff. Terpstra has been a hard worker for a long time and I had hoped that he would bag his own hell of the north one day. He didn't leave anything on the course. Very deserved win. 

Great Roubaix :thumbsup:


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Exactly. One trick pony doing what he is good at.
> At least Wiggins was trying something different.


trying? not the first time he rode it. 
what would the point of contador in PR be? there's little doubt he would not be competitive and the price could be high.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

I disagree - the P-R this year was NOT as exciting as I hoped. In fact the finale was quite boring.

Boonen, Sagan, Hushovd and others had early attacks but they did not stick. The bunch was close to the smallish break for a long time but lacked the motivation to close it down completely, even though they could have done so with ease - each time the gap would get down to 10 seconds they would back off. 
When Sagan attacked, and then Cancellara, Vanmarcke, Stybar & Degenkolb (finally!) made their move and bridged to Sagan, I was hoping this would be the group to battle it out. In my opinion it is most exciting when you have a small-ish 3-6 riders in the finale, with closely chasing larger group. 

Unfortunately they couldn't work together and got chased down by a huge bunch.
Gruppo compatto. The excitement was over. I am happy that Wiggo and Boonen and others made a connection but having a group of 20+ with just a few K's to go was boring. Again, I am happy that Terpstra went for it and spared us the spectacle of dozen riders doing bunch sprint on velodrome, and kudos to him for TTing all the way to the finish but it seemed like there was absolutely no interest in chasing him or covering the attack. The large group was watching each other and "soft-pedaling" (as much as one could) to the velodrome. Which was disappointing.

Cancellara keeps eating gels with 3K to go, Sagan not even pedaling, sitting upright, everyone watching everyone else, racing for 2nd. Little drama, little excitement as Terpstra simply rode away and stretched his lead with nobody really chasing him. 
Rather anti-climactic if you ask me. Especially compared to last week's Flanders, which went down to the wire.

It was impressive to see Wiggins make the bridge within the final group of 11 or so, but he is not the same rider that won TdF and lets be frank - he was never much of a threat or a big factor in this P-R. I am frankly tired of hearing about Wiggo - TdF and its winners somehow must find its way in discussion of even cobbled classics.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

One trick pony?
Contador's "trick" is winning races - doing exceptionally well in BOTH climbing and Time trialing. Again. Which is exciting. 

Wiggo is rather versatile at sucking at multiple different disciplines now.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

55x11 said:


> One trick pony?
> Contador's "trick" is winning races - doing exceptionally well in BOTH climbing and Time trialing. Again. Which is exciting.


but essentially only in a stage race setting. 
winning milano-torino is great and all but......


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

55x11 said:


> I disagree - the P-R this year was NOT as exciting as I hoped. In fact the finale was quite boring.
> 
> Boonen, Sagan, Hushovd and others had early attacks but they did not stick. The bunch was close to the smallish break for a long time but lacked the motivation to close it down completely, even though they could have done so with ease - each time the gap would get down to 10 seconds they would back off.
> When Sagan attacked, and then Cancellara, Vanmarcke, Stybar & Degenkolb (finally!) made their move and bridged to Sagan, I was hoping this would be the group to battle it out. In my opinion it is most exciting when you have a small-ish 3-6 riders in the finale, with closely chasing larger group.
> ...


which moron would lead out degenkolb/boonen? 
why would degenkolb kill himself to be oversprinted by a freshes boonen and probably cancellara as well?


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

dnice said:


> er, i'm as big a wiggins fan as any, and i'm quite happy for him. he rode an impressive race, particularly that bridge at the end--massive effort. HOWEVER, that eurosport commentator was ove the top in his fanboy-ish praise, which became very annoying. my criticisms were towards the commentator NOT wiggins.


"Sir Bradley, resplendent in his beard!"  

Perhaps @carltonkirby has a man-crush on @bradwiggins


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Exactly. One trick pony doing what he is good at.
> At least Wiggins was trying something different.


Don't really understand cycling do you?


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## JackDaniels (Oct 4, 2011)

Was surprised that Sagan and Cancellara were so quick to roll over in the last 5k. Wiggins was obviously just happy to be there. Boonen was his own worst enemy by killing himself from 60k. Everyone else in the top 10 has plenty of bridesmaid experience (except maybe for Degenkolb I guess).


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

JackDaniels said:


> Was surprised that Sagan and Cancellara were so quick to roll over in the last 5k. Wiggins was obviously just happy to be there. Boonen was his own worst enemy by killing himself from 60k. Everyone else in the top 10 has plenty of bridesmaid experience (except maybe for Degenkolb I guess).


Both reported they were spent at that point. Sagan had like 2 or so bike issues that forced him to chase back to the front multiple times with basically no support. Cancellara had a crash and said he just didn't have it at the moment. Same for Sep as he and Degenkolb, Boonen and Stybar were hoping for a sprint finish in the velodrome. I personally feel like Sagan and Cancellara could really use an upgrade in the talent around them on their classics teams. They are exceptional talents, but OPQS and Belkin have a great stable that seems to only be getting better. Giant and Belkin have more than one card to play as well.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

There are some good post race reports on each of the team home pages that provide insight into what was going on in the racer's heads.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

55x11 said:


> I disagree - the P-R this year was NOT as exciting as I hoped. In fact the finale was quite boring.
> 
> Boonen, Sagan, Hushovd and others had early attacks but they did not stick. The bunch was close to the smallish break for a long time but lacked the motivation to close it down completely, even though they could have done so with ease - each time the gap would get down to 10 seconds they would back off.
> When Sagan attacked, and then Cancellara, Vanmarcke, Stybar & Degenkolb (finally!) made their move and bridged to Sagan, I was hoping this would be the group to battle it out. In my opinion it is most exciting when you have a small-ish 3-6 riders in the finale, with closely chasing larger group.
> ...


To each his own, but for me racing is racing whether it is inside the velodrome or out and I enjoyed every second today. FWIW, it was brutal out there for them today. There were crashes and mechanicals everywhere and it seemed tougher than usual to stay on the front or get away. Multiple teams had a chance to play their cards, but ultimately the course and the strongest team won and I am fine with that. It was different than the last few years, but exciting still in my opinion.


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## JackDaniels (Oct 4, 2011)

Did Taylor Phinney crash or have another excuse? As much as I'd like to see him do well, I don't think I'll pay much attention to the Phinney hype until he can at least make it into a final selection group.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

JackDaniels said:


> Did Taylor Phinney crash or have another excuse? As much as I'd like to see him do well, I don't think I'll pay much attention to the Phinney hype until he can at least make it into a final selection group.


Not that I'm aware of and I came away feeling the same way you do about him. I applaud his GC win earlier this year, but it was really the byproduct of his time trial, which we already know he can do well. He just hasn't delivered on the road. That is pretty much how I feel about the BMC team as whole at this point (thus far at least). Always close, out in the break, but they rarely come away with the win anymore. We talk a little to much about them (myself included) when we take am honest look at their production. It's understandable though, because on paper they should be amazing, but alas they are not (yet????). I'm turning the page on them honestly. I will pull for them and the young Americans they have on their squad, but I'm not going to expect much. Outside of Cancellara, Trek Factory Racing is starting to look the same. A lot of hype, very little production in meaningful races.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

JackDaniels said:


> Did Taylor Phinney crash or have another excuse? As much as I'd like to see him do well, I don't think I'll pay much attention to the Phinney hype until he can at least make it into a final selection group.


on twitter the team posted a pic of a mechanic changing his wheel. also, van avermaet face plant-ed rounding a corner--the team also has that photo on its twitter feed. ouch!


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

dnice said:


> on twitter the team posted a pic of a mechanic changing his wheel. also, van avermaet face plant-ed rounding a corner--the team also has that photo on its twitter feed. ouch!


From what I could see they were trying to employ the same strategy as OPQS with Hushovd up the road in the break and Phinney and Van Avermaet in one of the lead groups behind, but it didn't work out as planned.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

dnice said:


> er, i'm as big a wiggins fan as any, and i'm quite happy for him. he rode an impressive race, particularly that bridge at the end--massive effort. HOWEVER, that eurosport commentator was ove the top in his fanboy-ish praise, which became very annoying. my criticisms were towards the commentator NOT wiggins.


Like how a bunch with Cancellara in it is the "Wiggins Group" Lol, 30 seconds back now to the wiggins group.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Sorry - I didn't realize Wiggins won several spring classics!


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

by sitting out and watching Terpstra disappear up the road with no attacks they WERE all effectively leading out Degenkolb and Boonen for 2nd (who did not podium by the way, and got beaten by Vanmarcke in the sprint). 

It stopped being exciting once the large group came together. I understand perfectly well why everyone rode the way they did, but it was still one of the least exciting P-R in years.


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## ruckus (Apr 1, 2014)

Sucks to hear when mechanical/bike issues is what causes poor performance or unnecessary energy, so depleted at the end.

Did not watch this but reading this thread, sounds like Trek and Cannondale team has some work to do. Once again Cancelllera and Sagan had to work without much support. And it's not as if both teams aren't capable, at least my impression both teams have great cyclists to make great teams.

So pretty much everyone underestimated Terpstra and while he made his break they were all too busy eyeing each other and let him take the win? Brilliant.

Is anyone else amused that there is a Giant-Shimano team considering majority of UCI teams are Shimano sponsored?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

55x11 is right on. this could have been an "epic" finish, but it never materialized. I kept expecting something to happen, even after they all got together. I think terp did as well. he took off and waited. nobody chased so just kept going. too many opq in the group?

can thor win green at le tour? is he racing le tour? will bmc try for yellow and green?


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

weltyed said:


> 55x11 is right on. this could have been an "epic" finish, but it never materialized. I kept expecting something to happen, even after they all got together. I think terp did as well. he took off and waited. nobody chased so just kept going. too many opq in the group?
> 
> can thor win green at le tour? is he racing le tour? will bmc try for yellow and green?


Hushovd doesn't have it in his legs enough anymore to win the number of sprints it will take to come away with green against the likes of Cavendish, Da Gorilla, Kittell, and Sagan, etc in my opinion. Not even close. They will be pursuing the yellow with Tejay and Stetina.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

I thought it was a great Paris Roubaix. I am surprised to see so much disappointment.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

I too was disappointed in the finish. I expected more out of Cancellara and Sagan when Terpstra took off and was hoping they would have chased him down.

While I am far from a Sky fan, I thought Wiggins was terrific and would have loved to see him win, but Terpstra pushed himself in the final kms and deserved the win.


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## DZfan14 (Jul 6, 2009)

Man, I love Paris Roubaix and hate it the same. Hate it simply because after this race, there really isn't any other races that I get so geeked over. I love the tactics, the style of racing and the riders who are good at it.

-I thought this year was interesting. The Peloton stayed pretty fat into very late in the game. Is it just me or does it seem like Arenberg has come a bit early in the past two editions? That and the dry conditions may have something to do with it. They covered the course in 5:39? With a headwind? That's nuts.

-I was bummed to see BMC have bad luck, but it was good to see Thor animating things again.

-I think Boonen wasted too much energy in that small group that just kind of dangled ahead for a while with a 20s advantage. 

-Everytime I expected the race to just explode it didn't. Teams just did too good of a job neutralizing eachother.

-In the "finale" OPQS fired the first round, which was Terpstra and that was all that was needed. I thought it was a great win, he had a good spring, and I think he had some mechanical issues and had to work his way back up to the front at least once. If someone had countered Terpstra or if they chased him down, I am certain that Stybar would have launched next.

-Otherwise I was really worried we would see a somewhat large bunch sprint. But Terpstra soloing was preferable to Boonen, or Cancellara dropping everyone with 30k to go.

-Was it boring? No way. Watching a fuzzy feed on my big TV I was pretty engaged the whole morning. It wasn't the thriller we got last season, but it was entertaining.

-I really dislike Wiggo, but I grudgingly will give him some kudos. Even still, this wasn't the big deal that I am sure the fanboy British press will tell us it is. He's ridden competently there before and this race and the AToC are his priorities this season so he should have shown well there. 

-I thought it was impressive that Langeveld had himself up there at the end. He didn't have much help. I think Greenedge kind of wrote him off last season, so it's interesting to see him still performing.

-Geraint Thomas finally had a good ride there.

-Cancellara sucking gels in the last 5kms again? What is the deal? I think he missed an opportunity yesterday. But I thought he rode below his capability yesterday.

-Sagan had a good ride, he looked uncomfortable for a while after fighting back after some mishaps.

Anyways...


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## bruin11 (May 21, 2004)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Best P-R in years.
> 
> Wiggo is still a stick man compared to big guys like Tommeke, Terpstra and Fabu but he finished alongside them.


Huh. It seems like Wiggo and Terpstra are about the same size.

Bradley Wiggins | ProCyclingStats

Niki Terpstra | ProCyclingStats

Fabian Cancellara | ProCyclingStats


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## GearDaddy (Apr 1, 2004)

Ya know, I did think it was quite an entertaining race. It could have been a real classic, except the end of the race with Terpstra going clear and NOBODY doing anything was a bit of a letdown.

I guess the headwinds were an important factor here, and probably led to many of the other attacks by Hushovd, Boonen, and Sagan going nowhere. Those guys clearly cooked themselves in attempting to break free. I could at least see why they didn't have it in them to go for it in the end, as they burned their matches.

But Cancellara seemed to have his chances, i.e. when he was in that small group at the head of the race with about 20K to go. But it came together again (and I think Terpstra can thank Wiggins and Thomas for their nice effort to join with the leaders!). Still Cancellara and Vanmarcke should have been able to follow Terpstra, as they hadn't really burned themselves up too much by that point, right? That's where it was a bit of a letdown when Terprstra went, they did nothing, and then it was clear that they were content to race for 2nd. 

Well, chapeau to Terpstra! He really was one strong mofo to break from that group into strong headwinds.


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## DZfan14 (Jul 6, 2009)

JackDaniels said:


> Did Taylor Phinney crash or have another excuse? As much as I'd like to see him do well, I don't think I'll pay much attention to the Phinney hype until he can at least make it into a final selection group.


He flatted at a bad time. Last year he just ran out of gas.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

DZfan14 said:


> He flatted at a bad time. Last year he just ran out of gas.


Phinney story here -

Phinney's Roubaix dreams go flat in the Carrefour de l'Arbre - VeloNews.com


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

bruin11 said:


> Huh. It seems like Wiggo and Terpstra are about the same size.


I thought Wiggo and Cancellara look way more different than 5 kilos would suggest. Would never have thought they'd be so close.

Graham Watson photo, doesn't help my argument but it's a nice pic.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

JackDaniels said:


> Was surprised that Sagan and Cancellara were so quick to roll over in the last 5k


Surprising and disappointing.

With all the firepower in that group they could have caught Terpstra easily. Instead they slow down and start playing the "You first" routine.

I thought Sagan would go because he seemed so motivated, coming from the back of the peloton to leading the race. He was going great and then gave up. Same with Hushovd, he was flying on the cobbles and was working okay with Boonen and gave up too. Cancellara too? Waits til the last minute, puts the hammer down, then gives up with 3 or 4 k to go?


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

How The Race Was Won - Paris-Roubaix 2014 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9kg3x-4-cg


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## Ridin'Sorra (Sep 7, 2004)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Cancellara too? Waits til the last minute, puts the hammer down, then gives up with 3 or 4 k to go?


In his case, maybe he thought that unless someone would try to catch Terpstra, it was pretty much pointless to pull? If Spartacus pulls to catch Terpstra, some will suck wheel and jump him in the end.

Boonen was spent after his effort. Did he jumped too early or was it team tactics?

Personally, what I am a little disappointed (it was a great race to me, though) is that nobody tried to help Boonen or catch Terpstra on fears to get spent and then being jumped by the likes of Boonen, Cancellara or Sagan.

I see the reasoning, but in the process, we are loosing some interesting racing.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Ridin'Sorra said:


> In his case, maybe he thought that unless someone would try to catch Terpstra, it was pretty much pointless to pull? If Spartacus pulls to catch Terpstra, some will suck wheel and jump him in the end.
> 
> Boonen was spent after his effort. Did he jumped too early or was it team tactics?
> 
> ...


He didn't even _try_ to chase terpstra. I could see him maybe taking a stab at jumping clear, and then giving up. He say he doesn't race for second but since he started his new "cagey" approach last year, he often does, and then says things like "second is a good result".


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

What was he even doing playing with his food with 6k to go? Was that some kind of mind game tactic?


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

well played by OPQS. Send Terpstra and have Styby to mark and Tom in the pocket. No one wanted to chase and that gave Niki the gap. There's a reason they win so many classics


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

atpjunkie said:


> well played by OPQS. Send Terpstra and have Styby to mark and Tom in the pocket. No one wanted to chase and that gave Niki the gap. There's a reason they win so many classics


I absolutely agree, brilliant strategy. It also says a lot about their depth, which is better than anyone's IMO.


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## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Surprising and disappointing.
> 
> With all the firepower in that group they could have caught Terpstra easily. Instead they slow down and start playing the "You first" routine.
> 
> I thought Sagan would go because he seemed so motivated, coming from the back of the peloton to leading the race. He was going great and then gave up. Same with Hushovd, he was flying on the cobbles and was working okay with Boonen and gave up too. Cancellara too? Waits til the last minute, puts the hammer down, then gives up with 3 or 4 k to go?


What you have to remember is that this is after 250k of racing over cobbles. It's not like everyone in the bunch can jump whenever they want to, and they might have just run out of gas. Sagan did a lot of work up until that point, so he likely didn't have many matches left.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

atpjunkie said:


> well played by OPQS. Send Terpstra and have Styby to mark and Tom in the pocket. No one wanted to chase and that gave Niki the gap. There's a reason they win so many classics


Well said. OPQS took their lesson from RVV to heart. I was impressed- they all looked gassed. With Cancellara downing food and taking it as easy as possible, I figured everyone was just going to mark till the velodrome. When Terpstra hit the gas and hit it hard, I was out of my seat. Gutsy ride and well deserved win. OPQS made that race.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

Here's what the winners have to say about the race. It sounds like the wind was a bigger factor than we may understand:

Paris-Roubaix VIDEO: Niki Terpstra's Monumental Ride | Wall | Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

Rashadabd said:


> Here's what the winners have to say about the race. It sounds like the wind was a bigger factor than we may understand:
> 
> Paris-Roubaix VIDEO: Niki Terpstra's Monumental Ride | Wall | Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team


nice find. i rarely like those, but that was more than just a celebration of ther greatness, actually added some insight.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

dnice said:


> nice find. i rarely like those, but that was more than just a celebration of ther greatness, actually added some insight.


+ eleventy!

How about those 30mm tires!


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

AJL said:


> + eleventy!
> 
> How about those 30mm tires!


Happy to share fellas. Yeah, those tires piqued my interest as well. Very sweet.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

bruin11 said:


> Huh. It seems like Wiggo and Terpstra are about the same size.
> 
> Bradley Wiggins | ProCyclingStats
> 
> ...


and props to Wiggins. Only TdF winner (of late) to make the final cut at Roubaix

corrected


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> and props to Wiggins. Only TdF winner to make the final cut at Roubaix


Was hinault the last tdf champ to win pr?


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## dfischer1 (May 4, 2008)

Ridin'Sorra said:


> In his case, maybe he thought that unless someone would try to catch Terpstra, it was pretty much pointless to pull? If Spartacus pulls to catch Terpstra, some will suck wheel and jump him in the end.


Except Sep was sucking his wheel all the way to the end in 2013 and Cancellara still won. Much better finish in 2013.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

dfischer1 said:


> Except Sep was sucking his wheel all the way to the end in 2013 and Cancellara still won. Much better finish in 2013.


Vanmarcke was sucking wheel except for those turns he took in the wind.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> and props to Wiggins. Only TdF winner to make the final cut at Roubaix



Except for:	
Fausto Coppi
Louison Bobet
Felice Gimondi 
Jan Janssen
Eddy Merckx 
Bernard Hinault 

Im sure I missed someone but that is the short list of post war riders that won the tour AND won PR the list for Tour winners that made the top ten would be longer.

Unless you meant Tour winners riding this year in which case that's only Wiggo.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

32and3cross said:


> Except for:
> Fausto Coppi
> Louison Bobet
> Felice Gimondi
> ...


I meant 'of late'
Hinault was the last to win, Lemond was probably the last to challenge
I am well aware of cycling history, but yes I could have worded it better


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> I meant 'of late'
> Hinault was the last to win, Lemond was probably the last to challenge
> I am well aware of cycling history, but yes I could have worded it better



Yeah I figured esp because you seem to be aware there was cycling pre Lance 

Actually Lemond may be the last Tour winner to ride PR aside from Wiggo esp post Tour win.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

32and3cross said:


> Yeah I figured esp because you seem to be aware there was cycling pre Lance
> 
> Actually Lemond may be the last Tour winner to ride PR aside from Wiggo esp post Tour win.


Merckx's P-R wins all the more impressive as he was racing against one of the best at the game, Roger.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> Merckx's P-R wins all the more impressive as he was racing against one of the best at the game, Roger.


Hinault beat Roger, Moser, and Hennie Kuiper after crashing like 8 times and running into a dog in the WC stripes and then told reporters PR "is for [email protected]".

I'd say that is pretty impressive too.

oh yeah, Marc Demeyer was in that group too.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

foto said:


> Hinault beat Roger, Moser, and Hennie Kuiper after crashing like 8 times and running into a dog in the WC stripes and then told reporters PR "is for [email protected]".
> 
> I'd say that is pretty impressive too.
> 
> oh yeah, Marc Demeyer was in that group too.


The badger was classic. Granted Roger was well beyond prime and Moser had already won 3 in a row. Bernard hated the race and won which is impressive as hell. Just like his 1980 L-B-L win. He's my #2 to Merckx just for his sheer grit.


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