Croatia14 wrote:
honestly I hoped for one of the other two, but Langeveld raced for third and Stybar always was going to loose in a sprint...should've just stayed at the wheel until the velodrome or go hard earlier...
All those complaining about him not working...Why should he, as his teammate was the "major player" of this event behind with a chance to win?
Ah yes, a major player who lost in a sprint with Hayman is now expected to beat Degenkolb, Demare and Greipel? Give me a break...
you surely didn't follow the discussion here did you?
Degenkolb really strong today by the way, just bad tactics
You are basically saying that Stybar shouldn't work anyway, to allow Boonen to catch up and get massacred in a sprint against the sprinters I named above?
John St Ledger in Team Bunzl-Centrica and Team U25
Kirchen_75 wrote:
Tommeke lost the race when GVA bridged to Stybar and he wasnt there on his wheel for whatever fucking reason.
He was very inattentive during the race and it was gonna cost him somewhere.
Also Sagan looks weaker this year than last.
@Croatia14 Dege was very strong but he wheelsucked all the time and missed the key moves. So he deserved to lose.
Also very pleased to see Gorilla in 7th. Demare also surprised me in the race since he was dropped at some point but came back then attacked and still finished 6th.
Also Kristoff very disappointing in Roubaix again.
Boonen forgot that Roubaix is often for 75% decided on the asphalt between the cobbled strokes.
All Boonen did all race was ride hard on the cobbles and do nothing in between. He forget that his greatest wins came from when he went just after a hard cobble section.. on the asphalt
Well, the race started very nice, but a bit of an anticlimax in the last two hours. GVA obviously the strongest rider this season, winning after chasing for half an hour. If it wasn't going to be for Boonen, Van Avermaet is a completely deserved winner.
Boonen was good, but the other riders were all watching him. His team was also disappointing, aside from Stybar a complete no show. Probably the best cobbler of all time, definitely the most succesful one, it's a shame to see him retire.
I don't know where all the hate for Stybar comes from? He promised to help Boonen in his last race and he did his best until the end. This forum used to be better than this.
Langeveld very strong as well, good to see him back on top level. I don't know what Trek was doing though, even when Stuyven was dropped Degenkolb didn't want to ride with Boonen. Most unlucky team was AG2R though, I think between Naesen and Vandenbergh there were over 10 flat tires. It was worse than the Cyclocross worlds this year, they need to take a look at their material.
Finaly Sagan, he lost another year in my opinion. Just Kuurne is just not enough for him. I don't know what happened today, but maybe he's too confident in his spectacular riding style that he doesn't care about the sharp side of the cobbles? Pretty much the same as he didn't care about the spectators last week. He needs to start taking those things into account.
But all in all, one of the best cobbled season in living memory
Whilst I see the sentiment behind Stybar's negative tactics, people are imo right when they say that having Boonen back in a group really is no justification to not work, especially when said Boonen is alongside Degenkolb and Demare and who not. What will be the next excuse for QS? This is Paris Roubaix, the greatest 1d-race in history, and here we have Stybar, thinking he can sneak one by GVA. To think you can steal yourself out of the obligation to work inside the final 20k is strange especially when you are a pre-season favourite and have finished this race on the podium before! But I guess to each his own. It's not the first time QS has deployed such tactics either, so I'm not surprised. That being said, it's racing and that's fair use and of course you have to come up with a tactic to weaken GVA but nonetheless, it shows one's character when not working is all one can come up with in hopes to win the sprint. So i'm even more glad that such racing didn't get awarded and i hope Stybar will learn from it in the future.
Very pleased for Langeveld to achieve the podium too. Looks like he got inspired by his MG version. Also Moscon and Naesen will be future greats in the coming years, it'll be great to see them develop.
Sagan with some bad luck once again, however as Ollfardh pointed out, he rode too much on the sidelines. Similiar to Ronde, this is what ruined his race and he forced his luck too much, one could say. Especially with a Mavic shit wheel riding on the cobbles is the wise thing to do. All too often he rides on the sideslines. Still today was his big chance to win Roubaix and he looked never better in doing so. Surely just like in previous years, he'll come back even stronger, so be wary.
Tommeke's final race, hm.. he disappeared but he really, really tried. So kudos for his actions but more was expected. Now missing out on 2016 sucks even more. I definitely agree with ruben, Boonen didn't go full out on the asphalt where it mattered most today. Farewell Tom, you'll be missed in the bunch.
Edited by Shonak on 09-04-2017 18:23
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
GVA just confirmed to me he is the greatest classics rider and possible the best rider in the world at this moment. Winning as different races as Rio and Roubaix is absolute amazing. Then you add Omloop, E3 and G-W and a 2nd places in Flanders (probably would have won if not for Sagan). Astonishing by Greg! I've never seen a rider playing so well to his strengths, literally ALL of his classics wins are won in a group of 3-5 riders and then he proceeds to easily beat them in the sprint. Insane stamina. I don't think anybody could beat him in a sprint today.
Degenkolb was in a very good position, but was very disappointing. Kristoff was as well, but never really expected much out of this guy this year. Both are miles away from their 2015 form.
Stybar amazing. Where did that come from? Played the final to the best of his abilities, he was just up against a monster. Tommeke took the matter in his own hands and attacked many times (thats why I like him so much), but his best days are unfortunately beings him. Still one of the best riders on the cobbles.
Sagan predictably ran out of gas after his attacks and punctures. Struggled mightily on Carrefour and called it a day.
Naesen was a monster, I think he punctured at least 3 times, always chasing back. He reminds me of Vanmarcke. Hopefully Naesen is more cold blooded and is able to win when it really counts.
Okay, i had to take my son outside for a walk right after the finish, but now i am back to read and comment.
Nice race i would say, the middle part was by far the best though, i think that apart from velodrome, last 20-30kms were anticlimatic as Ollfardh wrote. Greg is awesome this year, best rider by miles ahead of anyone else, Sagan looks like poor guy next to Gregs greatness this year. Å tyby tried with smart sudden move and lost only by metres, but no chance of course. I dot think he made any mistakes earlier, what he could have done against GVA? Have you seen that attack, where he closed the gap in nano-seconds? Some people here are very strange in their opinion on Å tyby, calling him names and whatever....one of the most humble guys in the peloton, dedicated to his team and always open to public. So when some nobody is calling him shitbar here, it is very sad. Rather sta quiet, when you dont have anything valuable to bring into discussion. I heard the premade interview with Å tybar during the race and he said they are 100% fro Boonen in this race. But i dont think he could hae done better even in different case.
Sagan with a very bad luck indeed, of course it is also your fault when you have flat tire at Roubaix, but you need luck too...and a strong team that will bring you back. Bora was good this race, but still not BMC obviously, Greg had a perfect help after his puncture...Sagan basically attackd and dropped majority of guys twice and twice got stopped by punctures. So i am shocked to see some posts saying he is not strong this year, hell have you seen the race at all? He was the strongest guy in the race next to Greg and few others.
By the way, reading the comments, whats up with all the hate for Styby? Finally he did something, he attacked many times instead of trying just trying to follow and then you guys are flaming him. The only way he could win was to try and tire GVA anyways.
And thats another rider that should ride Amstel, finally coming into form now, too bad the cobbles are over.
Edited by Riis123 on 09-04-2017 18:38
All these 3 riders SHOULD race Amstel, they would be some of the favourites. Its another matter if they will, I think Sagan is super frustrated and needs a break and Greg will probably call it quits after quite possibly the greatest classic campaign I've seen.
I heard Naesen is already confirmed for Amstel, but I don't think GVA or Sagan will ride. Let's hope Ollie has some better luck there, this guy definitely deserves a win.
EDIT: GVA confirmed as well, and he expects full leadership (shouldn't be an issue)
Edited by Ollfardh on 09-04-2017 20:58
You can make a case for this one as well I think. But there is just such a big difference between 2nd and 1st in Flanders.. If he wins Amstel tho, there's no question.
