Alright, my dear readers. After 3 weeks of 'studio matto e disperatissimo', on Tuesday I've finally taken (and passed) my history exam. Therefore, after spending three weeks of my life learning the name of every Pope that walked on this Earth between 1492 and 1796, me finally has some well-deserved free time. As a consequence me has finally been able to reply all the comments that you, faithful readers, have left on this blog in the lat few weeks (I know, it was high time!!) and to create this post about the upcoming Tour of Flanders.
Flanders is probably my second favourite Classics right after Milan-Sanremo and I'm really looking forward to it. This year the riders won't face the famous Kapelmuur (also known as 'Grammont'), but they'll face for three times in a row Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg and Paterberg. Experts say that the race will be harder than usual this year, but of course most of the supporters don't agree with the exclusion of the Kapelmuur.
Flanders is probably my second favourite Classics right after Milan-Sanremo and I'm really looking forward to it. This year the riders won't face the famous Kapelmuur (also known as 'Grammont'), but they'll face for three times in a row Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg and Paterberg. Experts say that the race will be harder than usual this year, but of course most of the supporters don't agree with the exclusion of the Kapelmuur.
Talking about the possible contenders for the victory, here's the start list of the race (source: Cylingnews), to which I added the usual little comments of mine. Enjoy!
SAXO BANK: Tosatto, Jorgensen, Klostergaard, Kroon, Lund, Marycz, Morkov, Roberts. The team of last year winner, without said winner. Nick Nuyens in fact broke his hip during the first stage of Paris-Nice, so that he won't be able to take part in tomorrow's race. Team Saxo Bank has a good team anyway , even if so far none of the riders that form it has ever had a major result in a Classic. Still, Kroon, Tosatto, Kastergaard and Lund (breakawayer at last week's Gand-Wevelgem) are very experienced, whereas Marycz, Jorgensen and Morkov are young and talented guys who could take part in a breakaway.
BMC TEAM: Gilbert, Ballan, Schaer, Hincapie, Hushovd, Van Avermaet, Burghardt, Quinziato. BMC probably has the strongest Cobblestone team in the world. Gilbert doesn't seem in good form, that's true, but this team can still count on Thor Hushovd and Greg Van Avermaet, with Quinziato, Burghardt, Ballan and Hincapie ready to help their captains with their talent and experience. Hushovd will probably race as main captain, whereas Van Avermaet is likely to be the protected rider in the team. Look out for these guys!
OMEGA PHARMA QUICKSTEP: Boonen, Chavanel, Devenyns, Maes, Steegmans, Terpstra, Trentin, Vandenbergh. After winning Gand-Wevelgem, Tom Boonen is very determined to win at least another Classic this month. Tommeke is strong and experienced and he has a very good team too. Moreover, he's showed that he's in a very good form. Devenyns, Steegmans and Vandenbergh are experienced helpers, whereas Chavanel is the team's protected rider. Terpstra is in a very good form too, whereas Trentin is young but talented.
LOTTO BELISOL: Bille, Cordeel, Debusschere, Dehaes, Van Genechten, Dockx, Sieberg, Willems. Lotto's team is a mixture of experience (Willems, Sieberg, Dockx) and young guns (Bille, Debusschere Cordeel) who will probably try entering a breakaway.
SKY PROCYCLING: Boasson Hagen, Eisel, Flecha, Hayman, Hunt, Knees, Stannard, Sutton. Flecha is the team leader, although he's had some physical problems in the last few days. If tomorrow he doesn't feel weel, his role in the team will probably be taken by Boasson Hagen, who was the team leader also at last week Gand-Wevelgem. The rest of the team is formed by very experienced and good helpers, amongst which there is also Eisel, winner of 2009 Gand-Wevelgem.
AG2R LA MONDIALE: Belletti, Elmiger, Goddaert, Gazvoda, Lemarchand, Minard, Mondory, Houanard. Ag2r has a team formed by talented breakawayers like Minard, Mondory, Elmiger and Houanard. Moreover the team has a fast guy like Belletti.
GREENEDGE: Goss, Cooke, Langeveld, Keukeleire, O'Grady, Tuft, Vaitkus, Wilson. This very talented and successful team, after winning Sanremo, is ready to tackle the Cobblestone classics too. The team's line-up is an explosive mixture of experienced champions (O'Grady), strong helpers who can also play their own cards (Cooke and Tuft) and a few young guns who are ready to give their best to win this Classic (Langeveld, Goss, Keukeleire). This team doesn't fear anyone and its riders will probably be up there even in the last part of the race.
ASTANA: Bazayev, Bozic, Gruzdev, Guarnieri, M. and V. Iglinsky, Murayev, Fofonov. The Kazakh team has a good line-up for tomorrow. Guarnieri is a strong sprinter and is also in a very good form, whereas Maxim Iglinskiy is a very good Classic rider and hopefully tomorrow he'll show us something good.
EUSKALTE-EUSKADI: Cazaux, Garcia Ambroa, Bilbao, Minguez Ayala, Perez Lezaun Perez Moreno, Saez, Urtasun Perez. The Basque team is built to get victories on the steep climbs of the Grand Tours, so tomorrow its riders will probably try to enter some morning breakaways while waiting for the Ardennes to arrive.
FDJ: Bonnet, Boucher, Chainel, Geslin, Ladagnous, Guesdon, Delage, Rollin. Dear readers, let's all dedicate a standing ovation to Frederic Guesdon. This 39 year-old rider in fact had a very serious crash at TDU, but he's been able to recover in time for his great farewell to competitive cycling, which is planned for next week Paris-Roubaix. Frederic is a tough rider and I'm sure he'll try getting a good result also tomorrow, even if his form isn't that good. However, one thing is sure: there will be lots of people cheering for this guy tomorrow!
KATUSHA: Porsev, Cabre, Freire, Vantomme, Gusev, Kristoff, Kuchinskiy, Paolini. The Russian team has some good cards to play tomorrow. Gusev is a good cobble-rider, just like Kuchinskiy. Paolini is a very experienced all-rounder, whereas Freire can always be dangerous.
LAMPRE: Righi, Mori, Buts, Cimolai, Graziato, Hondo, Krivstov, Viganò. The Italian team, who's facing a storm of doping accusations right now, doesn't have a precise leader for tomorrow. As a consequence, Davide Viganò may get a chance to try and make his own race. Allez Davide!
MOVISTAR: Amador, Erviti, Herrada Lopez, Konovalovas, Lastras, Gutierrez, Ventoso, Visconti. Movistar has a good team. Visconti in fact is fast and resistant, whereas Lastras is one of the best all-rounders out there. Konovalovas is a strong rider too, just like Ventoso.
LIQUIGAS: Sagan, Bodnar, Da Dalto, Sabatini, King, Koren, Marangoni, Oss. Liquigas has really grown on me this year and tomorrow I'll probably be rooting for Peter Sagan. The boy is resistant, fast, cunny and in a very good form. Although he's unexperienced (after all, he was born just in 1990), I think he definitely has the skills to win tomorrow's race. Together with him tomorrow there will be other good riders like Bodnar, Sabatini, Koren and Oss.
RABOBANK: Boom, Van Emden, Breschel, Leezer, Tankink, Tjallingii, Van Winden, Wijnants. The Dutch team always has a good line-up for the cobble races. Boom is fast and resistant, whereas Breschel is back at top level after a year ruined by crashes and injuries. The Danish is in good form, strong and fast. Let's hope he's also lucky tomorrow!
GARMIN: Farrar, Haussler, Klier, Maaskant, Bauer, Rathe, Vansummeren, Vanmarcke. Here's another very good line-up. Farrar and Haussler are both fast and resistant, even if the captain of the team tomorrow should be the young Vanmarcke. I've always liked Sep and I'm sure he'll do everything he can to remain with the strongest riders until the end of the race. Also Maaskant and Vansummeren are very strong riders and I'm sure they'll do their best too tomorrow.
RADIOSHACK: Cancellara, Bennati, Gallopin, Irizar, Nizzolo, Popovych, Roulston, Rast. Cancellara is back at super-high level, Bennati is in a wonderful form, Popovch is a great helper. The Swiss rider is probably the main favourite for tomorrow and the other riders will have a tough time trying to keep him in check.
VACANSOLEIL: Devolder, Boeckmans, Larsson, Leukemans, Marcato, Mol, Selvaggi, Westra. Leukemans is a great cobble-rider, Westra is an all-rounder, Marcato is fast and resistant. Add Devolder (winner of 2 Tours of Flanders) and you get a very good team.
TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN: De Vreese, Lietaer, Neirynck, Van Hecke, Vanspeybrouck, Vandousselare, Jacobs, Wallays. Topsport isn't a very famous team, but every year it offers us some interesting riders to watch during the Cobble Classics, so I'm very happy to see they were invited to the race also this year.
LANDBOUWKREDIET: Amorison, Barbe, Juodvalkis, Commeyne, De Waele, Hovelynck, Planckaert, Traksel. Landbouwkrediet is another good team, even if it isn't really famous. In its line-up it has guys like De Waele, Amorison, Planckaert and Traksel, guys who could even make it to the top 15.
ACCENT JOBS - WILLEMS: Hoste, Cappelle, van Groen, Van Melsen, Scheirlincx, Van Dijck, Goris, Van Landschoot. Accent Jobs has two strong riders like Hoste (one of the best - and most unlucky - cobble riders out there) and Scheirlinckx, so look for it!
FARNESE VINI: Hulsmans, Ascani, De Negri, Failli, Gatto, Mazzanti, Pozzato. Gatto is in a very good form, just like Pozzato. If Pippo wins, however, La Gazzetta will keep publishing photos of him for the next two years - and I'm absolutely not ready to stand a sight like that for such a long time.
PROJECT 1T4I: Degenkolb, Curvers, De Backer, Veelers, Klemme, Sinkeldam, Stramsnijder, van Zandbeek. Another team with a very good line-up: Degenkolb is in a very good form, Klemme is a great cobble-rider and Stamsnijder is a good and experienced helper.
EUROPCAR: Voeckler, Chavanel, Gautier, Géne, Jerome, Pichot, Turgot, Veilleux. The key word of this team is 'breakaway' and tomorrow Voeckler, Jerome, Gautier, Pichot and Turgot will surely do their best to show their green jerseys in an important breakaway.
TEAM NETAPP: Bugnies, Hollenstein, Eichler, Jarc, Schillinger, Schulze, Seubert, Schwarzmann. I just know one thing about this team: Hollenstein is a promising, brave rider and I'm sure he'll try doing something tomorrow.
So, this is the start-list for tomorrow. My picks for the podium? Sagan, Boonen and Cancellara. However, keep an eye also on Pozzato, Hushovd, Langeveld, Flecha, Leukemans, Degenkolb and Breschel. That's all for the moment, have a nice Saturday and enjoy Flanders!
SAXO BANK: Tosatto, Jorgensen, Klostergaard, Kroon, Lund, Marycz, Morkov, Roberts. The team of last year winner, without said winner. Nick Nuyens in fact broke his hip during the first stage of Paris-Nice, so that he won't be able to take part in tomorrow's race. Team Saxo Bank has a good team anyway , even if so far none of the riders that form it has ever had a major result in a Classic. Still, Kroon, Tosatto, Kastergaard and Lund (breakawayer at last week's Gand-Wevelgem) are very experienced, whereas Marycz, Jorgensen and Morkov are young and talented guys who could take part in a breakaway.
BMC TEAM: Gilbert, Ballan, Schaer, Hincapie, Hushovd, Van Avermaet, Burghardt, Quinziato. BMC probably has the strongest Cobblestone team in the world. Gilbert doesn't seem in good form, that's true, but this team can still count on Thor Hushovd and Greg Van Avermaet, with Quinziato, Burghardt, Ballan and Hincapie ready to help their captains with their talent and experience. Hushovd will probably race as main captain, whereas Van Avermaet is likely to be the protected rider in the team. Look out for these guys!
OMEGA PHARMA QUICKSTEP: Boonen, Chavanel, Devenyns, Maes, Steegmans, Terpstra, Trentin, Vandenbergh. After winning Gand-Wevelgem, Tom Boonen is very determined to win at least another Classic this month. Tommeke is strong and experienced and he has a very good team too. Moreover, he's showed that he's in a very good form. Devenyns, Steegmans and Vandenbergh are experienced helpers, whereas Chavanel is the team's protected rider. Terpstra is in a very good form too, whereas Trentin is young but talented.
LOTTO BELISOL: Bille, Cordeel, Debusschere, Dehaes, Van Genechten, Dockx, Sieberg, Willems. Lotto's team is a mixture of experience (Willems, Sieberg, Dockx) and young guns (Bille, Debusschere Cordeel) who will probably try entering a breakaway.
SKY PROCYCLING: Boasson Hagen, Eisel, Flecha, Hayman, Hunt, Knees, Stannard, Sutton. Flecha is the team leader, although he's had some physical problems in the last few days. If tomorrow he doesn't feel weel, his role in the team will probably be taken by Boasson Hagen, who was the team leader also at last week Gand-Wevelgem. The rest of the team is formed by very experienced and good helpers, amongst which there is also Eisel, winner of 2009 Gand-Wevelgem.
AG2R LA MONDIALE: Belletti, Elmiger, Goddaert, Gazvoda, Lemarchand, Minard, Mondory, Houanard. Ag2r has a team formed by talented breakawayers like Minard, Mondory, Elmiger and Houanard. Moreover the team has a fast guy like Belletti.
GREENEDGE: Goss, Cooke, Langeveld, Keukeleire, O'Grady, Tuft, Vaitkus, Wilson. This very talented and successful team, after winning Sanremo, is ready to tackle the Cobblestone classics too. The team's line-up is an explosive mixture of experienced champions (O'Grady), strong helpers who can also play their own cards (Cooke and Tuft) and a few young guns who are ready to give their best to win this Classic (Langeveld, Goss, Keukeleire). This team doesn't fear anyone and its riders will probably be up there even in the last part of the race.
ASTANA: Bazayev, Bozic, Gruzdev, Guarnieri, M. and V. Iglinsky, Murayev, Fofonov. The Kazakh team has a good line-up for tomorrow. Guarnieri is a strong sprinter and is also in a very good form, whereas Maxim Iglinskiy is a very good Classic rider and hopefully tomorrow he'll show us something good.
EUSKALTE-EUSKADI: Cazaux, Garcia Ambroa, Bilbao, Minguez Ayala, Perez Lezaun Perez Moreno, Saez, Urtasun Perez. The Basque team is built to get victories on the steep climbs of the Grand Tours, so tomorrow its riders will probably try to enter some morning breakaways while waiting for the Ardennes to arrive.
FDJ: Bonnet, Boucher, Chainel, Geslin, Ladagnous, Guesdon, Delage, Rollin. Dear readers, let's all dedicate a standing ovation to Frederic Guesdon. This 39 year-old rider in fact had a very serious crash at TDU, but he's been able to recover in time for his great farewell to competitive cycling, which is planned for next week Paris-Roubaix. Frederic is a tough rider and I'm sure he'll try getting a good result also tomorrow, even if his form isn't that good. However, one thing is sure: there will be lots of people cheering for this guy tomorrow!
KATUSHA: Porsev, Cabre, Freire, Vantomme, Gusev, Kristoff, Kuchinskiy, Paolini. The Russian team has some good cards to play tomorrow. Gusev is a good cobble-rider, just like Kuchinskiy. Paolini is a very experienced all-rounder, whereas Freire can always be dangerous.
LAMPRE: Righi, Mori, Buts, Cimolai, Graziato, Hondo, Krivstov, Viganò. The Italian team, who's facing a storm of doping accusations right now, doesn't have a precise leader for tomorrow. As a consequence, Davide Viganò may get a chance to try and make his own race. Allez Davide!
MOVISTAR: Amador, Erviti, Herrada Lopez, Konovalovas, Lastras, Gutierrez, Ventoso, Visconti. Movistar has a good team. Visconti in fact is fast and resistant, whereas Lastras is one of the best all-rounders out there. Konovalovas is a strong rider too, just like Ventoso.
LIQUIGAS: Sagan, Bodnar, Da Dalto, Sabatini, King, Koren, Marangoni, Oss. Liquigas has really grown on me this year and tomorrow I'll probably be rooting for Peter Sagan. The boy is resistant, fast, cunny and in a very good form. Although he's unexperienced (after all, he was born just in 1990), I think he definitely has the skills to win tomorrow's race. Together with him tomorrow there will be other good riders like Bodnar, Sabatini, Koren and Oss.
RABOBANK: Boom, Van Emden, Breschel, Leezer, Tankink, Tjallingii, Van Winden, Wijnants. The Dutch team always has a good line-up for the cobble races. Boom is fast and resistant, whereas Breschel is back at top level after a year ruined by crashes and injuries. The Danish is in good form, strong and fast. Let's hope he's also lucky tomorrow!
GARMIN: Farrar, Haussler, Klier, Maaskant, Bauer, Rathe, Vansummeren, Vanmarcke. Here's another very good line-up. Farrar and Haussler are both fast and resistant, even if the captain of the team tomorrow should be the young Vanmarcke. I've always liked Sep and I'm sure he'll do everything he can to remain with the strongest riders until the end of the race. Also Maaskant and Vansummeren are very strong riders and I'm sure they'll do their best too tomorrow.
RADIOSHACK: Cancellara, Bennati, Gallopin, Irizar, Nizzolo, Popovych, Roulston, Rast. Cancellara is back at super-high level, Bennati is in a wonderful form, Popovch is a great helper. The Swiss rider is probably the main favourite for tomorrow and the other riders will have a tough time trying to keep him in check.
VACANSOLEIL: Devolder, Boeckmans, Larsson, Leukemans, Marcato, Mol, Selvaggi, Westra. Leukemans is a great cobble-rider, Westra is an all-rounder, Marcato is fast and resistant. Add Devolder (winner of 2 Tours of Flanders) and you get a very good team.
TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN: De Vreese, Lietaer, Neirynck, Van Hecke, Vanspeybrouck, Vandousselare, Jacobs, Wallays. Topsport isn't a very famous team, but every year it offers us some interesting riders to watch during the Cobble Classics, so I'm very happy to see they were invited to the race also this year.
LANDBOUWKREDIET: Amorison, Barbe, Juodvalkis, Commeyne, De Waele, Hovelynck, Planckaert, Traksel. Landbouwkrediet is another good team, even if it isn't really famous. In its line-up it has guys like De Waele, Amorison, Planckaert and Traksel, guys who could even make it to the top 15.
ACCENT JOBS - WILLEMS: Hoste, Cappelle, van Groen, Van Melsen, Scheirlincx, Van Dijck, Goris, Van Landschoot. Accent Jobs has two strong riders like Hoste (one of the best - and most unlucky - cobble riders out there) and Scheirlinckx, so look for it!
FARNESE VINI: Hulsmans, Ascani, De Negri, Failli, Gatto, Mazzanti, Pozzato. Gatto is in a very good form, just like Pozzato. If Pippo wins, however, La Gazzetta will keep publishing photos of him for the next two years - and I'm absolutely not ready to stand a sight like that for such a long time.
PROJECT 1T4I: Degenkolb, Curvers, De Backer, Veelers, Klemme, Sinkeldam, Stramsnijder, van Zandbeek. Another team with a very good line-up: Degenkolb is in a very good form, Klemme is a great cobble-rider and Stamsnijder is a good and experienced helper.
EUROPCAR: Voeckler, Chavanel, Gautier, Géne, Jerome, Pichot, Turgot, Veilleux. The key word of this team is 'breakaway' and tomorrow Voeckler, Jerome, Gautier, Pichot and Turgot will surely do their best to show their green jerseys in an important breakaway.
TEAM NETAPP: Bugnies, Hollenstein, Eichler, Jarc, Schillinger, Schulze, Seubert, Schwarzmann. I just know one thing about this team: Hollenstein is a promising, brave rider and I'm sure he'll try doing something tomorrow.
So, this is the start-list for tomorrow. My picks for the podium? Sagan, Boonen and Cancellara. However, keep an eye also on Pozzato, Hushovd, Langeveld, Flecha, Leukemans, Degenkolb and Breschel. That's all for the moment, have a nice Saturday and enjoy Flanders!
Great to hear that you enjoy uni and get good marks, Fede! :-) Unfortunately, Tien and I couldn't watch the Tour of Flanders, but we did have an amazing reason for it, because we went to Copenhagen and Malmö last weekend! The 27th of March was our parents' 25th wedding anniversary and so they took us there for the weekend to celebrate it :D It was lovely and Denmark is of course a cycling country, so we saw lots of bikes. We even bought t-shirts with the text "I *picture of a bike* CPH" :D It was lovely and the weather was okay too, only a bit of a cold and strong wind sometimes ;)
RispondiEliminaBoonen! It's already his 3rd win, although 6 years in between this win and the former one. He was simply the best, but it was interesting to see that Pozzato still got pretty close. We hope that Sebastian Langeveld never does that strange manoeuvre again.. whoa. He says that he's the one to blame and it's great that he admits that it was his own fault and not the fan's fault. Also very unfortunate that Fabian Cancellara fell. I suppose it was a very hectic race.. now: Paris-Roubaix next week! Can't wait :-)
Wow, a travel to Copenhagen and Malmö is surely a great reason for missing Tour of Flanders! I bet you and Tien had a lot of fun there :) Oh, and many congratulations to your parents, dears!! 25 years together, that's so sweet! :)
Elimina'I *bike* Copenhagen', that's great! I bet Cavendish has a t-shirt like that too ;)
I think wind can actually be a problem in Denmark, especially in the areas near the sea... Still, I'm sure the weather was better than it was in Italy in the last few days (this morning I almost froze while waiting for the bus in the pouring rain)!
Flanders was a hectic race indeed. Boonen was simply amazing, he kept cool until the end of the race and then he simply showed all his sprinting skills. Pozzato thought he had a chance against Tom, but I think he probably overestimated himself :P Imo, it would have been better if he had attacked in the last 2 kms, like Ballan (alright, I know: it's easy to talk from a couch!)
Langeveld's crash was so scary! And that poor supporter, I'd have nightmares every night if I were him. I think the poor thing reacted in a very natural way (if you see a rider coming towards you at 50 kph, trying to get out from his way is the most natural thing you can do!), but I bet he felt awfully sorry for causing that crash.
I really appreciated that Langeveld took the blame for the crash. He's an intelligent boy and a great rider and I hope to see him back on a bike as soon as possible.
Fabian's crash was so sad! At first I didn't want to believe my eyes -after all, I'm used to see Frank crashing, not Fabian!! Let's hope he'll be back at a great level at the Tour!
Hi Fede! Here I am!:) what about my uni...mmmh.. You said almost everything about my situation too talking about your situation! no time..not even the time to read about races, to keep myself informed about them! really a pity! but when your eyes are allowed to see such a show like Tom Boonen's yesturday victory, blessed him, you can just say "to hell with the time, with everything!" so I decided, in spite of everything, to create a blog; inaugural post dedicated to Tornado Tom! I guess ( I fear ) this post could remain the only one posted for years! but who cares, we feel the urge to write...let's write...once, twice a month, a year!who cares how many readers! this is what I wish you...and to me too :P ! If you would like to read my post ( I would be very very glad), here's the link.. ..my blog is still very unorganised...you know...lack of time :) http://thecyclingoflife.wordpress.com/
RispondiEliminaClo
Hello Clo! :D
EliminaAhah, right now my uni situation is looking pretty nasty :P On May I'm going to behave like a little insane girl and I'll try passing three exams (Russian, German, Linguistics) in a row. I'll need a lot of luck to do something like that!
Boonen's victory in Roubaix was a true masterpiece, I was so happy for him! He fully deserved a victory like that.
Welcome to the Blogosphere, my dear!!! I'm so happy for you! :D See? You've mmanaged to create a blog without problems and you've already written quite a lot of posts :D That's so great!
Keep up the good work dear!!
ps: check out the comment area in the next days, I'm going to leave some comments about the Galimzyanov story and other things as soon as I have some more free time ;)