# E3 Prijs Harelbeke 2011 - Cancellara attacks, plus final km's



## Keski (Sep 25, 2004)

26/03/2011, Belgium, cat. 1.HC


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## eltourista84 (Apr 9, 2006)

Nice! Thanks for sharing. Is that Dutch they are speaking?


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## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

That wasn't even human. He's a different life form.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

As the commentator's say: a phenomenon.

That attack he does from the front is WHAT!? Ok I can ride my brother in law of my wheel, but those are professional cyclists.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Spartacus!*

has mechanical, gets new bike, catches chase group, attacks, dumps chase group, catches lead group, attacks and breaks it up a bit, counter attacks the counter attack and solos for 15K putting time into a dozen chasers

Man vs Boys

so he's now won races on all 3 major bike brands it seems, Trek, Specialized, Cervelo

almost dutch. Belgian Flemish, the dutch can understand it


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## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

Wow! Cancellara is a beast.


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

Amazing


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## thehook (Mar 14, 2006)

We are watching to Greatness! WOW!


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

all that on a back up bike. i guess when adrenaline gets goin, it gets going. reminded me of when he rode everyone off his wheel, i think two years ago in roubaix. will he go for the stripes this year?

the kit colors are nice, but it almost looks like he won it in a nashbar jersey or something: "this space for rent" or unattached.

and haussler got pipped at the line, right? ouch.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

I loved the look on the face of the Robobank rider when he couldn't catch FC's wheel.


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## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

It was like he said, "eff it" and just gave up; couldn't do it.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Epic ride, just rode away from everyone else. No cat-and-mouse nonsense.

Sad to see the top one-day rider still looking for a sponsor to put on his jersey.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

I figured it out - when they did the bike change they gave him the one with the electric motor! That's kinda ballsy using it two years in a row.  

But seriously - we saw the ultimate lesson in one-day bike racing here again today.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

and that lesson was attack
and attack again
and suffer alone to victory
he was still hurting in the tent waiting to go to the podium


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

*Why did he have to switch bikes*

I had to get up and when I came back he was behind but came back to the G2 group pretty fast. How fast do you think the main group was going at. He seemed to make it back rather easily.(for him  ) I missed the bike switch. What happened to his main bike. 


oh yeah Keski you da man Thanks again


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## DiegoMontoya (Apr 11, 2010)

Kram said:


> It was like he said, "eff it" and just gave up; couldn't do it.


No, Tankink cramped. You can hear the commentators note the cramp right away. He was holding his left hamstring. 

Not that it would have made any difference. He may have held Cancellara's wheel for another 50 meters.


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## Doolab (Feb 13, 2008)

I always enjoy watching Cancellara unleash his quadzillas on everyone in a race. 
Another stunning performance from Spartacus today. That man is a legend.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

evs said:


> I had to get up and when I came back he was behind but came back to the G2 group pretty fast. How fast do you think the main group was going at. He seemed to make it back rather easily.(for him  ) I missed the bike switch. What happened to his main bike.
> 
> 
> oh yeah Keski you da man Thanks again


He had flats, I'm not sure why the bike switch, maybe speed? He was brought back to the front by Stuart O'Grady who singlehandedly shut down what could've been the final selection. Shortly after, he left them. How painful it must be to watch that gap open so slowly (they were flying when he attacked) and not be able to do a thing about it. I love watching this guy do his thing.


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## peter584 (Aug 17, 2008)

Probably using illegal bar tape


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## chuckice (Aug 25, 2004)




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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

davidka said:


> He had flats, I'm not sure why the bike switch, maybe speed? He was brought back to the front by Stuart O'Grady who singlehandedly shut down what could've been the final selection. Shortly after, he left them. How painful it must be to watch that gap open so slowly (they were flying when he attacked) and not be able to do a thing about it. I love watching this guy do his thing.


It showed the bike change clearly. He was stuck in one gear - small cog, small ring, as though he gear cable had broken.


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

*Cancellara beyond power, Tactics: Out of Sight, Out of Mind*

Observe his smart tactics @ 1:11 and 1:26 in (1/2). 

At each bend in the road Cancellara accelerates just a touch to take the tactical/physiological advantage of being out of sight of the pursuing peloton. At 1:26 he looks back to judge the distance back to those in pursuit and attacks again at the bend in the road which coincides with a gradient rise. He thus kills two birds with one stone by putting more distance between himself and the peloton without them knowing and he successfully drops the guy on his wheel. The peloton either never sees Cancellara again or they are demoralized when they suddenly see how much he has gained on them after just few clicks up the road. THIS is how you psychologically slay your opponent.


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

atpjunkie said:


> has mechanical, gets new bike, catches chase group, attacks, dumps chase group, catches lead group, attacks and breaks it up a bit, counter attacks the counter attack and solos for 15K putting time into a dozen chasers
> 
> Man vs Boys
> 
> ...


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boonen-surprised-by-gent-wevelgem-victory

“In 2004 my main objectives were still Harelbeke, Wevelgem, the Scheldepreijs, and Waregem, and at Flanders and Roubaix I was a helper back then,” he said. “So my biggest aims of the season were always the Wednesday races and I think in the years after I became a Sunday racer.

“At the beginning I was more of a Wednesday racer, but then Museeuw stopped and I became the weekend guy.”

I have wonder how much he's was thinking about Cancellara and place in the pecking order when he made this statement. Perhaps at just age 30 he's already resigned to just being a Wednesday racer (again), no longer the man on Sunday. Who would imagined Boonen as an underdog of sorts in the spring classics a few years ago?


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

what he's been doing over the past few years is as special as any other pro, in any other sport. He knows what he's going to do. His competitors know what he's going to do. They watch it happen with their own eyes. They can do NOTHING to prevent it. truely marvelous.
If he takes Flanders, PR, LBL or Amstel, It will be even more amazing.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

what he's been doing over the past few years is as special as any other pro, in any other sport. He knows what he's going to do. His competitors know what he's going to do. They watch it happen with their own eyes. They can do NOTHING to prevent it. truely marvelous.
If he takes Flanders, PR, LBL or Amstel, It will be even more amazing.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*wow*

Fabian is an absolute beast. pure. raw. power. amazing.

I wonder what this will do to the tactics for RVV? will, like Vaughters suggested, everyone simply race to neutralize FC and then a second rate rider slips away to victory?

either way Boonen is probably very worried.


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## MG537 (Jul 25, 2006)

bnoojin said:


> Fabian is an absolute beast. pure. raw. power. amazing.
> 
> I wonder what this will do to the tactics for RVV? will, like Vaughters suggested, everyone simply race to neutralize FC and then a second rate rider slips away to victory?
> 
> either way Boonen is probably very worried.


Unlike in 2010, this year Boonen has only one man to mark. Guess who that is. Don't put in any unecessary effort. Let your team do that. 
At the same time this may be easier said than done. 
It will all play itself out on the Muur, Kappel Muur climb.


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## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

Gear issues, running Di2 if I'm not mistaken, dead battery?


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

MG537 said:


> Unlike in 2010, this year Boonen has only one man to mark. Guess who that is. Don't put in any unecessary effort. Let your team do that.
> At the same time this may be easier said than done.
> It will all play itself out on the Muur, Kappel Muur climb.


Tom should have marked FC last year, but didn't. After the brute force display at '10 Ronde it was obvious who was the one man to mark but Tom is still trying to race like he's still the king of cobbles. somehow Quickstep should use their strength in the team to try and counter FC. otherwise, Tom will look like Pozzatto and the Flemish fans don't want to see their hero be an unamimated wheelsuck. 

I was telling Boonen last year (thru my tv) to just hang on to Fabian's wheel and outsprint him at the line. I think he did too much work and FC blasted away from him in two consecutive weekends. maybe Chavanel can play rabbit making other teams chase, like Devolder used to.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

bnoojin said:


> T maybe Chavanel can play rabbit making other teams chase, like Devolder used to.


problem for quick step is that leopard also has O'Grady, Klemme, and Weylandt, they can play many hands as well.


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

Wish I had seen this race - sounds like his flight at last year's P-R - pure domination.

We are watching a legend form - sit back and enjoy!

Great win for Saxo 2.0 / Leopold trek!


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*no he's making note*



TerminatorX91 said:


> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boonen-surprised-by-gent-wevelgem-victory
> 
> “In 2004 my main objectives were still Harelbeke, Wevelgem, the Scheldepreijs, and Waregem, and at Flanders and Roubaix I was a helper back then,” he said. “So my biggest aims of the season were always the Wednesday races and I think in the years after I became a Sunday racer.
> 
> ...


that when he left Postal for QS he was a helper on the big races
then he became 'the man' 
Wevelgem is now a Sunday race
he is in no way 'past his prime'
he won Roubaix in 2008, 2009, 2nd in Flanders (and MSR) last year
he only took 5th at last years P-R because no one would work with him to bring back Cancellera. In fact much of Fabian's victory at P-R last year is owed to Boonen. Because Boonen was in the chase group, no one wanted to work as Boonen would have most likely beaten them had it all come back together. Flecha and Co. started racing for second being the gutless cowards they are. 
The fact that Boonen finishes so high year in year out at Flanders and Roubaix is testament to his prowess. He is the most watched man in both races, and in both races he is typically the main protagonist. He never cowers from the pressure nor the the fact that the entire peloton is awaiting his every move.
he is close to tying the all time record for winning Roubaix and has 2 Tours of Flanders already, and came close to doing the double in back to back years.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*untrue*



bnoojin said:


> Tom should have marked FC last year, but didn't. After the brute force display at '10 Ronde it was obvious who was the one man to mark but Tom is still trying to race like he's still the king of cobbles. somehow Quickstep should use their strength in the team to try and counter FC. otherwise, Tom will look like Pozzatto and the Flemish fans don't want to see their hero be an unamimated wheelsuck.
> 
> I was telling Boonen last year (thru my tv) to just hang on to Fabian's wheel and outsprint him at the line. I think he did too much work and FC blasted away from him in two consecutive weekends. maybe Chavanel can play rabbit making other teams chase, like Devolder used to.


Fabian attacked when Boonen went back to the team car at P-R. At Flanders Fabian just outpowered him straight up


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

The fact that Boonen went back to the team car at an inopportune moment at Paris Roubaix last year was a pivotal factor but I don't believe the chase group was capable of catching Cancellera even if they were willing to work with Boonen. Also, Cancellera and Boonen went man to man at Flanders and Cancellera rode away from him. This informs my belief Boonen can't beat Cancellera without a twist of luck. Cancellera is too strong and too savvy.


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## The Moontrane (Nov 28, 2005)

atpjunkie said:


> that when he left Postal for QS he was a helper on the big races
> then he became 'the man'
> Wevelgem is now a Sunday race
> he is in no way 'past his prime'
> ...


Just to elaborate a bit, Boonen also won P-R in 2005. He's gotta tie de Vlaeminck!


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*not buying it.*



atpjunkie said:


> that when he left Postal for QS he was a helper on the big races
> then he became 'the man'
> Wevelgem is now a Sunday race
> he is in no way 'past his prime'
> ...



sorry, but Tom is not the force he once was. (I'm a fan of Boonen, too) not saying he's washed up by any means, just that he's not the absolute king of cobbles anymore. I really believe Tom was embarrassed at how Fabian powered away from him at Flanders last year. Tom used to intimidate his rivals in March/April-Fabian is doing that now.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*true, but...*



den bakker said:


> problem for quick step is that leopard also has O'Grady, Klemme, and Weylandt, they can play many hands as well.



O'Grady, one of my favorites since '98 Tour and he did get a 4th at Flanders in '04 I think but, eh, he's kind of past it now. Weylandt, well he hasn't really reached his potential yet. Leopard is a new team (I know that has to be semi-qualified since much of it is Saxo-transplant) but they've still got some proving to do.

I just have a hard time believing Leopard as a team (primarily built for Schlecks and the Tour) can match the experience, depth and tactics of a QS or other teams.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

bnoojin said:


> O'Grady, one of my favorites since '98 Tour and he did get a 4th at Flanders in '04 I think but, eh, he's kind of past it now. Weylandt, well he hasn't really reached his potential yet. Leopard is a new team (I know that has to be semi-qualified since much of it is Saxo-transplant) but they've still got some proving to do.
> 
> I just have a hard time believing Leopard as a team (primarily built for Schlecks and the Tour) can match the experience, depth and tactics of a QS or other teams.


O'Grady killed himself for Cancellara and still got 9th saturday. 
got a 10 in milano san remo. He seems to be doing ok.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

den bakker said:


> O'Grady killed himself for Cancellara and still got 9th saturday.
> got a 10 in milano san remo. He seems to be doing ok.


maybe I underestimated Stuey a bit. I never doubted that he isn't still an invaluable team helper, 10th in MSR is impressive. but it's not Flanders. my point is that the teams have to acknowledge that Stu is a real threat if they don't watch him. at 37 and a 10th place in 2007, I don't think any team ds considers him a legit threat. let's be honest, no one thought he could pull off PR in '07 but that was 4 years ago. 

on the other hand, Chavanel, if given enough space has shown he's figured out one-day cobbled racing somewhat and can be that for QS.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

bnoojin said:


> maybe I underestimated Stuey a bit. I never doubted that he isn't still an invaluable team helper, 10th in MSR is impressive. but it's not Flanders. my point is that the teams have to acknowledge that Stu is a real threat if they don't watch him. at 37 and a 10th place in 2007, I don't think any team ds considers him a legit threat. let's be honest, no one thought he could pull off PR in '07 but that was 4 years ago.
> 
> on the other hand, Chavanel, if given enough space has shown he's figured out one-day cobbled racing somewhat and can be that for QS.


meh, Tchmill won at the age of 37, Musseuw was close to that as well. One-on-one O'Grady will never win, but you cannot let him go up the road because you want to wait and see what Cancellara will do.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

den bakker said:


> meh, Tchmill won at the age of 37, Musseuw was close to that as well. One-on-one O'Grady will never win, but you cannot let him go up the road because you want to wait and see what Cancellara will do.



I don't believe you can compare an established cobbles campionissimo like Museeuw to O'Grady. 

Tchmil, well, not exactly a fluke, but not something to base your team's race day tactics on. I would assume Tchmil was team leader on that day, too.

I don't think O'Grady will go up the road but will instead be watching out for FC. 

I think J. Vaughter's comments will likely play out in that other teams will race negatively to beat Cancellara. I'm hoping the race conditions will be difficult enough to form natural selections of the strongest battling it out.

either way, I'm looking forward to my fave one-day race.

cheers.


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

bnoojin said:


> sorry, but Tom is not the force he once was. (I'm a fan of Boonen, too) not saying he's washed up by any means, just that he's not the absolute king of cobbles anymore. I really believe Tom was embarrassed at how Fabian powered away from him at Flanders last year. Tom used to intimidate his rivals in March/April-Fabian is doing that now.



Peeters is right. Ronde van Vlaanderen 2011 is Cancellera's race to lose.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*truth/gamesmanship*



TerminatorX91 said:


> Peeters is right. Ronde van Vlaanderen 2011 is Cancellera's race to lose.


yeah, I just read that. I believe it's pretty accurate but you also have to believe it's a bit psychological too. I'd do the same thing if I was QS. deflecting pressure from Boonen is probably a good tactic plus if you can convince the other teams to fixate on Fabian that can work in their favor.


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

bnoojin said:


> yeah, I just read that. I believe it's pretty accurate but you also have to believe it's a bit psychological too. I'd do the same thing if I was QS. deflecting pressure from Boonen is probably a good tactic plus if you can convince the other teams to fixate on Fabian that can work in their favor.


Of course. 

It seems like Cancellera was playing a bit of the same game in this interview too.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

TerminatorX91 said:


> Of course.
> 
> It seems like Cancellera was playing a bit of the same game in this interview too.


"300k in less than 7 hours is pretty fast" 
I agree with him 
he does look like a washed up body there though.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

Mike T. said:


> It showed the bike change clearly. He was stuck in one gear - small cog, small ring, as though he gear cable had broken.


If you look closely, you can see him press the secret button that sets off a small explosive which melts the gear cable, providing the convenient excuse to change to the motorized bike. 
Same trick Merckx used hundreds of times.


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## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

I wonder what his 20 minute power number looks like? Anybody hazard a guess?


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*not the force*



bnoojin said:


> sorry, but Tom is not the force he once was. (I'm a fan of Boonen, too) not saying he's washed up by any means, just that he's not the absolute king of cobbles anymore. I really believe Tom was embarrassed at how Fabian powered away from him at Flanders last year. Tom used to intimidate his rivals in March/April-Fabian is doing that now.


2nd in Flanders and 5th (not trying) at Roubaix
no one dominates these races year after year, the fact that Tom is in the hunt every year says enough. Look I'm a Cancellara fan as well, when did he last win Roubaix before last year? 2006.
Again, I love Spartacus but saying Boonen is done is flat out ignorant. I'm glad there are the 2 of them because they make the best week in cycling that much better. If either of them didn't exist they'd not really have a foil, a nemesis.
Now lets look at results
2005 Boonen 1st RVV, 1st P-R, Fabian not top 10 in RVV and 8th P-R
2006 Boonen 1st RVV, 2nd P-R, Fabian 6th RVVm 1st P-R
2007 Boonen 6th P-R, not top 10 RVV, Fabian not top 10 in either
2008 Boonen not top 10 in RVV, 1st P-R, Fabian 2nd P-R not top 10 in RVV
2009 Boonen 1st P-R and not top 1o in RVV, Fabian no top ten in either
2010 Boonen 2nd RVV, 5th P-R, Fabian 1st in both
who has had better overall results? With a 2nd and a 5th how can one say he's 'over the hill' ridiculous.
Fabian was truly awesome at last years Ronde, it is rare for anyone to repeat. Boonen has done it, maybe this is Spartacus' year. Odds are against him. The fact that both of them come out swinging when all eyes are on them is the most impressive thing about them. Neither hides from being the favorite. Boonen, to his own detriment has sometimes slammed his fist on the table too hard. In 2006 at P-R he was so fast at Arenburg he decimated his own team and isolated himself.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*this has been both*



den bakker said:


> meh, Tchmill won at the age of 37, Musseuw was close to that as well. One-on-one O'Grady will never win, but you cannot let him go up the road because you want to wait and see what Cancellara will do.


Fabian and Boonen's other card. Stuey got up the road, as did Stijn Devolder because no one wants to pull either of the beasts into contention

what a great place to be


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Jesse D Smith said:


> If you look closely, you can see him press the secret button that sets off a small explosive which melts the gear cable, providing the convenient excuse to change to the motorized bike.


I wonder if a YouTube video will be posted to show this clearly happening? Will the UCI foil them with a new test using explosives sniffer-dogs? Will the dogs pee on Roger Hammond, mistaking him for a fire hydrant?


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

atpjunkie said:


> 2nd in Flanders and 5th (not trying) at Roubaix
> no one dominates these races year after year, the fact that Tom is in the hunt every year says enough. Look I'm a Cancellara fan as well, when did he last win Roubaix before last year? 2006.
> Again, I love Spartacus but saying Boonen is done is flat out ignorant. I'm glad there are the 2 of them because they make the best week in cycling that much better. If either of them didn't exist they'd not really have a foil, a nemesis.
> Now lets look at results
> ...


perhaps you didn't read my post. never said he was over the hill, just not THE man for the moment. Allesandro Ballan was clearly awed by Cancellara's ride at E3. I'll repeat, Fabian is the rider intimidating rivals not Tom Boonen.

quote from Pozzatto:
Cancellara definitely impressed at the weekend,” he said. “In Tom’s case, it was normal, he won a group sprint. It’s not as though he did something astonishing. So certainly I think Cancellara is the number one favourite.”

quote from Ballan:
"I knew Fabian was good, but so strong? It was extraordinary and rarely seen. Last year Cancellara was very good and I think he is even stronger than then."

I would agree that Tom is more pedal to the metal, Fabian is a bit cagier with an edge in overall power output, but Tom's got the better sprint. that was my point earlier, Tom's tactics seemed a bit off. save some in the tank so that he can follow Fabian's final move and then Boonen should have a clear edge for a final sprint. but maybe Tom wanted to prove something and drop 'em all. idk, but Boonen has a lot of pressure in spring to win RVV and PR.

it should be a great show, regardless.

cheers.


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## bdaghisallo1 (Sep 25, 2007)

OnTheRivet said:


> Gear issues, running Di2 if I'm not mistaken, dead battery?


FYI, Cancellara was running 7900 when he had his gear issues, so DI2 is not to blame here.


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

OnTheRivet said:


> I wonder what his 20 minute power number looks like? Anybody hazard a guess?


4.5 horse power.


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

bnoojin said:


> perhaps you didn't read my post. never said he was over the hill, just not THE man for the moment. Allesandro Ballan was clearly awed by Cancellara's ride at E3. I'll repeat, Fabian is the rider intimidating rivals not Tom Boonen.
> 
> quote from Pozzatto:
> Cancellara definitely impressed at the weekend,” he said. “In Tom’s case, it was normal, he won a group sprint. It’s not as though he did something astonishing. So certainly I think Cancellara is the number one favourite.”
> ...


This is also point that I was trying to point at.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

TerminatorX91 said:


> This is also point that I was trying to point at.


yeah, I think it's safe to say the contenders are concerned about FC getting any kind of gap with less than, oh, 30k to go.

I agree with you on '10 PR, I don't think the others in the group could have pulled back Fabian. and generally, team leaders aren't mentally wired to work with their competition to pull back another competitor, anyway. they're too conscious of not doing more than the other guy, they hesitate and before you know it, it's a race for second especially with Cancellara's TT pedigree.

what's really scary about FC is that he's just riding guys off his wheel and going it alone. Boonen's best tactic is to stay with a select small group that he can outsprint.

I rewatched Tom's 2005 RVV victory last night. he counterattacked a Van Petegem move and went alone for final 6km or so. funny thing is, he could've outsprinted anyone in the break (maybe he was a little concerned about Erik Zabel, but this was '05 Zabel not vintage Erik) and he solo'ed in for an impressive win. his best season overall. 

but as they say, "that was then..."

and there's a new sheriff in town...


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*6 - 7 guys working together full tilt*



bnoojin said:


> yeah, I think it's safe to say the contenders are concerned about FC getting any kind of gap with less than, oh, 30k to go.
> 
> I agree with you on '10 PR, I don't think the others in the group could have pulled back Fabian. and generally, team leaders aren't mentally wired to work with their competition to pull back another competitor, anyway. they're too conscious of not doing more than the other guy, they hesitate and before you know it, it's a race for second especially with Cancellara's TT pedigree.
> 
> ...


could have pulled FC back
even Riis admitted so. They were gambling on no one wanting to work with Boonen. Had the group got organized Riis would have told Fabian to back off immediately but because of the in fighting he told Fabian to continue. Riis was able to report what the chase group was doing (or not doing) the entire time as it happened.

and my comment on the 'over the hill' was in regards to the comment that Boonen was resigned to Wednesday races


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

atpjunkie said:


> 6 - 7 guys working together full tilt [...] could have pulled FC back
> even Riis admitted so. They were gambling on no one wanting to work with Boonen. Had the group got organized Riis would have told Fabian to back off immediately but because of the in fighting he told Fabian to continue. Riis was able to report what the chase group was doing (or not doing) the entire time as it happened.


That may be true. But you will never see such a thing happen in a road race.


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## eddya (Aug 7, 2009)

bnoojin said:


> but Tom's got the better sprint. that was my point earlier, Tom's tactics seemed a bit off. save some in the tank so that he can follow Fabian's final move


I'm not so sure about that. Last year's E3 prijs showed both Flecha and Boonen not being able to keep up with Cancellara in the final 1-2 km.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

eddya said:


> I'm not so sure about that. Last year's E3 prijs showed both Flecha and Boonen not being able to keep up with Cancellara in the final 1-2 km.



do you mean the sprint part? I'd put my money on the green jersey winner.

or just being able to follow FC's last move. there's the rub...

from my point of view ('10 RVV/PR) Boonen does too much to whittle down the group and didn't have enough to stay with the Raging Bull.

Flecha is different story. he has a domestique mentality. strong as an ox, no sprint to speak of and lacking in tactical savvy.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*not accurate*



atpjunkie said:


> Fabian attacked when Boonen went back to the team car at P-R. At Flanders Fabian just outpowered him straight up


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7xjsPqHg3o&feature=related

view at 2:10. FC counters moves by Hinault, Hoste and Leukemans, Boonen is one bike length away at most from Fabian but doesn't react. it was just a massive tactical blunder by Tom. maybe they couldn't have pulled him back, who knows, it's all theoretical.

I never said Tom was resigned to Wednesday races, but his bete noire is Cancellara at the moment.

Devolder quote:
Before the crash, Devolder told Sporza he felt "ready" for his bid to win the Ronde a third time, even though he spoke in great admiration of the race favourite, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard-Trek). "I've seen him on Saturday in Harelbeke, and his performance was the strongest I have ever seen in my career," Devolder said.

"I was left speechless. All the riders in the front group couldn't believe what they saw. It took me another day to recover from that."

Nevertheless, the 31-year-old did not give up hope of beating 'Spartacus'. "Everyone is afraid of him now, so he's not only my problem. But everyone can be beaten, so Cancellara can, too. But we'll have to ride real quick..."


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*that's because*



eddya said:


> I'm not so sure about that. Last year's E3 prijs showed both Flecha and Boonen not being able to keep up with Cancellara in the final 1-2 km.


Flecha doesn't give it his all
he half pedals those chases to save something 'just in case'

why he is so often a 'close but not the winner'


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*good observations*



bnoojin said:


> do you mean the sprint part? I'd put my money on the green jersey winner.
> 
> or just being able to follow FC's last move. there's the rub...
> 
> ...


Boonen has burned too many matches early many times in both of those races


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*from Bjarne*



bnoojin said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7xjsPqHg3o&feature=related
> 
> view at 2:10. FC counters moves by Hinault, Hoste and Leukemans, Boonen is one bike length away at most from Fabian but doesn't react. it was just a massive tactical blunder by Tom. maybe they couldn't have pulled him back, who knows, it's all theoretical.
> 
> ...


Riis carefully directed Cancellara during the race from the passenger seat of the Saxo Bank team car. He revealed that he told Cancellara to attack when he did, after noticing that Tom Boonen was too far down the line of riders.

Cancellara trusted his boss, didn't look back and opened up the after-burners, even though there was still 50 kilometres left to race. Before Boonen even realised what had happened and moved out of the line to look up the road, Cancellara had already opened a gap that would have been impossible for him to close.

"I told him to attack on the radio. As soon as I saw that Boonen was not on his wheel, I said: 'Now you go' ," Riis explained.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*agreed*



atpjunkie said:


> Boonen has burned too many matches early many times in both of those races


which is why I said he's racing like he's still the king of cobbles and can just flaunt his strength. it is not smart tactically.


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## bnoojin (Mar 24, 2002)

*race radios argument?*



atpjunkie said:


> Riis carefully directed Cancellara during the race from the passenger seat of the Saxo Bank team car. He revealed that he told Cancellara to attack when he did, after noticing that Tom Boonen was too far down the line of riders.
> 
> Cancellara trusted his boss, didn't look back and opened up the after-burners, even though there was still 50 kilometres left to race. Before Boonen even realised what had happened and moved out of the line to look up the road, Cancellara had already opened a gap that would have been impossible for him to close.
> 
> "I told him to attack on the radio. As soon as I saw that Boonen was not on his wheel, I said: 'Now you go' ," Riis explained.


for me, I'd rather the director didn't have this role, let the riders make more decisions on the road. I think the racing overall would be more interesting to see unfold.


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