Really excited for the race. I would love to see fabian work his magic, but do you really think that he will be able to ride away from everyone or will something else happen?
He’s got my vote.
Never doubt Spartacus.
I wouldn’t bet any money on it, the boys from quickstep and garmin will be doing their mighty best to contain him tomorrow, yeah he’s the strongest but he has hundreds of riders riding against him. Watch for a break to stick, why? The only team pulling will be Leopard.
Boonen or Thor in a sprint.
I’d probably put my money on fabian, and I’d like to see him win, but I’d LOVE to see BOONEN get his redemption, especially after all his knee issues.
BOONEN will hold all wheels Sunday, and take it in a sprint (I hope)
Fabian 1st
Gilbert 2nd
Boonen or Thor 3rd
Philly Gilly.
If it was up to a sprint I’d definitely want Thor to win.
If Gilbert attacks late from a select group, I don’t think Fabian is going to be willing to do all the work to pull him back only to then let Boonen or Thor win the sprint.
1st Gilbert
2nd Thor
3rd Boonen
http://www.steephill.tv/classics/tour-of-flanders/
Sunday April 3, 2011
Check out the second picture “The Koppenberg is no joke: Action from Friday’s training on the Koppenberg with amateurs strewn all over the road. This guy’s fellow club member, further down the hill, broke his hip and suffered a heart attack.”
The Koppenberg will make a selection but not THE selection, which will be made on the Muur most definitely. Unless some favourites have mechanical problems shortly before, I don’t expect the Koppenberg to take out any of the guys we have been predicting, they will all know to be near the front, and the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg shortly before will mean the strong have time to move up in the field.
Gilbert might be able to get away from the others on the Muur with his punchy attacking style, but the technical descent on the back side favours Cancellara, as does the 20km of good road after the Muur. Unless a group of 4 or more get over the Muur ahead of Cancellara by a significant margin, I don’t see him having a problem reeling them back in and blowing right by them.
Anyone have info on good links to watch the race? Also, when will coverage start?
Earliest live video: 12:00 CEST (6:00:00 AM EDT);
Approximate finish: 16:14 CEST (10:14:00 AM EDT)
Thanks for the live link.
Obviously the Koppenberg won’t be the determining hill, but I thought I’d share the article, which gives a nice history of the climb.
The only problem I could see for Cancellara is that he is THE man to beat. Everyone will be expecting him around the corner.
The 95th Tour of Flanders Preview
route knowledge is very important in this race you don’t want to be stuck behind riders putting foot on ground. You’d better be prepared…
Damn it. Nuyens didn’t take a single relay in the last 5 km. Cheap.
I am thouroughly dissapointed with that outcome. I would have been happy to see just about anyone else win that