Sagan and Cancellara the big favourites among bookmakers at around 4 and 5. GVA, Kwito, Kristoff and Vanmarcke is around 10-12. Then you have the EQS galore, EBH, Benoot and Thomas at +20.
I think it will be important for the race that Kristoff somewhat is back. Im hoping GVA to be at 100%, but its hard when you are sick that close to such a big event. Not optimal... EQS has to attack whenever. The classics have shown so far that they don't have anyone who can follow Cancellara and Sagan on the hills. Stybar to some extend. Boonen looks like an old man in the terrain he previously has dominated, he should be much better for Roubaix, but I really can't see him doing anything here as much as I want to.
"Who can beat Cancellara for the win?" is the question.
GVA & Sep please but honestly, Flanders must be Cance playground. I also wouldn't mind Roelandts taking a big one. Hm. There's little hope for Etixx I'm afraid.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Ollfardh wrote:
Cancellara not in the poll? Stannard not in the favorite list?
Cancellara definitely the man to beat IMO
Added Stannard and few other outsiders to the favourites list but Kwiatkowski and Rowe stronger than him IMO on the Sky team maybe even Thomas but who knows how he rides Ronde if he switched focus to GC apparently.... Highly doubt Stannard will be able to follow big accelerations on Taaienberg, Kwaremont and Pater.
4 men stand the biggest chances for me: Spartacus, 2agan, Sep and Greg. If Etixx get their tactics right Terpstra might also be in for the win (I have the impression he's in a better shape than Stybar atm), but of course that's quite a big if given the season so far. One final outsider might be Boom for me, who seems to be doing quite well as well.
Well Stannard got 3rd in E3 after disrupting the chase most of the time, he looked really strong to me. Combine that with winning Omloop twice. If he gets good odds, I will place a bet on him (with pcm money ).
Selwink wrote:
If Etixx get their tactics right Terpstra might also be in for the win (I have the impression he's in a better shape than Stybar atm),
I dont think Å tyby is in some bad form, he destroyed himself together with Cance at E3 by chasing so hard the leading group after they both punctured, no chance to do anything after that. The fact that he hold onto wheel of Spartacus there even showed his great form i would say.
At G-W, he tried to chase the leading group with some others, but they have not managed it. I still see Å tyby as by far the best bet for Etixx chances at De Ronde, along Terpstra and Trentin. Boonen is shadow of his former self for me, maybe he can do something in Roubaix, but not at De Ronde i suppose...
Edited by Avin Wargunnson on 30-03-2016 13:40
Ollfardh wrote:
Well Stannard got 3rd in E3 after disrupting the chase most of the time, he looked really strong to me. Combine that with winning Omloop twice. If he gets good odds, I will place a bet on him (with pcm money ).
But De Ronde is much harder climbing wise, isnt it? I would say he has good chances for top5 at Roubaix, but not better than Kwiatek or Thomas in De Ronde.
For Sky, I would say Stannard is only the 4th best rider on their team.. its actually pretty scary how much depth they have for De Ronde with Thomas, Rowe and Kwito who I think will win. I read that Stannard and Rowe would work for Thomas and Kwito here and be captains in P-R.
Ollfardh wrote:
Well Stannard got 3rd in E3 after disrupting the chase most of the time, he looked really strong to me. Combine that with winning Omloop twice. If he gets good odds, I will place a bet on him (with pcm money ).
But De Ronde is much harder climbing wise, isnt it? I would say he has good chances for top5 at Roubaix, but not better than Kwiatek or Thomas in De Ronde.
It's pretty much the same hills, though Ronde has more and they follow up quicker, yes. But I'd say nothing comes closer to the Ronde than E3. The thing with Sky is that they have many options, with Kwiat and Thomas there, who will follow when Stannard attacks?
Selwink wrote:
If Etixx get their tactics right Terpstra might also be in for the win (I have the impression he's in a better shape than Stybar atm),
I dont think Å tyby is in some bad form, he destroyed himself together with Cance at E3 by chasing so hard the leading group after they both punctured, no chance to do anything after that. The fact that he hold onto wheel of Spartacus there even showed his great form i would say.
At G-W, he tried to chase the leading group with some others, but they have not managed it. I still see Å tyby as by far the best bet for Etixx chances at De Ronde, along Terpstra and Trentin. Boonen is shadow of his former self for me, maybe he can do something in Roubaix, but not at De Ronde i suppose...
However, when looking back at E3, Stybar was dropped from the leaders group some 15k to go (I think), while Cance managed to hang on and even sprint in the battle for third.
At G-W he may have tried to reach the other group, but the fact that they did not actually reach them does tell me a lot about the strength of the three (four ) leaders.
Still, Stybar is a dangerous outsider for me (I never said he's in a bad shape, just in a worse shape than Terpstra), but I definitely rate Terpstra higher at the moment.
And I totally agree on the Boonen part, I think the Wuyts-effect plays a large role in his hype among the Belgians.
Stybar's form is good no worries He was up there with Cance at Strade, but actually he should have won given the circumstances. Strong at Tirreno too. But unlike, Vanmarcke, he also did not make the jump to Cance's group in time along Rowe and GVA.
So, form is good, it just seems that he is sleeping at crucial moments. Some more aggression (thinking like GVA@Ronde14) could well help Stybar, he is waiting too much around and then reacting too late.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Boonen can win, but he can't ride like he did before. He needs to attack before the rest does. He's still good on the flat and on the cobbles, but the hills are killing him. Roubaix should suit him more, but he'll be ready this sunday.
Cancellara
Van Avermaet
Sagan
Terpstra
Stybar
Kristoff
Kwiatkowski
Trentin
Drucker
Rowe
Démare
Haussler
).
