Spring 2013

TO THE HEART OF THE PELOTON

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SPRING 2013

premiereetape Classic Riders Qhubeka Roubaix 1990 and so much more...

Can Andy return to top form?

SCHLECK IS BACK

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 路 Paris Nice 路 Ronde Van Vlaanderen 路 FAQ

CONTENTS

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CONTENTS

12 Andy Schleck The forgotten man of 2011 is back on the Comeback Trail 60 Flanders We review the Ronde Vaan Vlaanderen, the most iconic race on the Calendar 32 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad The opener to the Belgian Classic season produced plenty of surprises 37 Great Classics Riders Who were the greatest on the Cobbles and the Muurs?

4 Paris Nice The Race to the Sun got underway in some of the most extreme conditions ever 54 MTN Qhubeka Its the team from South Africa that everyone is talking about 20 Classic Stages - Paris Roubaix 1990 It was the closest finish ever in the history of the race, and we’re still not sure who won

68 Faq

Team Costs, Director Sportif

70 Opinion

Globalisation of Cycling

Gerald Ciolek Wins in San Remo as Peter Sagan, Fabian Cancellara and Sylvain Chavanel look on (Sirotti Photo) 3

PARIS-NICE RACE to Words: Niall Grant

the

SUN Paris Nice is a race that from its’ highs in 2012 has faded from the limelight this year. The perception is that the main GC contenders for this years major Tours were engaged otherwise in Tirreno Adriatico, feeling the challenges of the Italian stage race more reflected their ambitions later in the season. The case to suggest that one of cyclings most famous races was somehow declining in stature could be made, but when one reviews the calibre of the names left behind, the so-called ‘support’ riders, we can see that anyone expecting a second-rate race would be deeply disappointed.

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clockwise from the top : Sylvain Chavanel time-trials his way to second in the Prologue (OPQS/Tim De Waele). Andrew Talansky of Garmin cruising on Stage 2 (Slipstream Sports ). Sylvain Chavanel gets the green jersey after stage two (OPQS / Tim De Waele).

Of the major contenders it was true some names were missing. Last Years’ Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and his number two Chris Froome were absent, as were Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Andy Schleck. This race was never going to be about them anyway, the truth being the main contenders always seeing early spring as more of a form checker. With the field that remained, it seemed to create a much more intense race with the riders knowing that this was their big opportunity to impress the fans and their sponsors that they can be considered as contenders in their own right. Of the favourites, several names were instantly recognizable whilst others were highly thought of. Richie Porte of Sky was defending their title this season, hoping to shake the superdomestique tag and prove that if given the opportunity, he could perform at the highest levels.

Having already served apprenticeships with Alberto Contadors Saxobank and being a huge help to Wiggins and Froome in the Tour last year, great expectations lay at 6

his feet and many wondered if he had what it takes to go beyond the podium and into the winners jersey.

Teejay Van Garderen, 2012 Tour de France White Jersey winner, was representing BMC and many quietly picked him over Porte as the number one favourite. Garmin had gone for a mix of exuberance and experience, having one of the youngest in Andrew Talansky and one of the oldest in David Millar on the team. Omega Pharma Quickstep had high hopes for Veteran Sylvain Chavanel, coming off a successful Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, whilst Astana were hoping that young Colombian Nairo Quintana could provide some surprises. Last years runner up was Liewe Westra of Vacansoleil, and he was expected to mount a strong challenge. There were also the riders with different agendas rather than aims direct on the GC. Tom Boonen was still very much in recovery after the nasty arm wound in pre-season, whilst Phillipe Gilbert, companero of Van Garderen, was in training for the classics in one months time.

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of Lieuwe Wiestra on the start ramp. Gaudin pulled off one of the great Paris Nice upsets in the prologue stage, which meant he was the leader on the road for the next days stage.

After the drama of the previous days, it was to be business as usual for the sprinters on a relatively flat stage of 195km between SainGermain-en-Laye and Nermours. Though there was an early breakaway, there was also an inevitability about it and little doubt that it would be caught. There was a small climb of the Cote de Buthiers, though nothing of serious concern. The crash that followed was a concern, taking out Rui Costa of Movistar who was forced to retire, as well as causing injuries to Alexander Kristoff of Katusha who despite his accident could continue.

Looking at the list of starters and contenders, the field was slightly diminished but the talent was still there in considerable volume. The quality of the racing of course dictates the race rather than the participants, and we were fully expecting a great week of racing and surprise, to enthrall and entertain. In that respect, no one who saw this years Paris Nice would leave emptyhanded.

The ambiance was set right from the prologue. A short, 2.9km route around the small town of Houilles had already set the tone. With such a small distance, the time gaps would never result in much at this level, though it presented a fascinating arena with a big chance for an upset.

The first significant time was that of Europcars Damien Gaudin whose quality finish of 3:37 on such a technical course looked formidable even in the early stages. As one by one Chavanel, Wiestra and van Garderen, time triallists all, were not able to beat the French pursuit champions time. Even Gaudin struggled to comprehend his victory, admitting that he was shaking when he saw the figure

With 20km to go in the race, the pace quickened to catch the breakaway but it was too much for some in the peloton, Tom Boonen in particular, who would be out of contention by the time the stage finished. Sylvain Chavanel found himself in the leading group once the breakaway was caught, and was one of the more aggressive as they passed the flame rouge. It was always going to be a day though for sprinters, and after some barging between FDJ’s Nasser Bouhanni, Lampres’ Allessandro Petacchi and Blancos’ Mark Renshaw, it was left to Bouhanni and Petacchi to continue the push. Bouhanni after sucking on Chavanels wheel was able to get the power he needed to outgun the aggressive fuschia-clad rider to take his second win of the season. Nacer Bouhanni was not only the stage winner, but the new leader of the yellow jersey and all in his first ever Paris Nice.

In the second stage, and Bouhannis first in Yellow, it would be a day that fate played its cruel hand for the young Frenchman. As he was being protected by his fellow teammates, at around 60km whilst taking a tight bend, it all became too much for him as he crashed breaking his front teeth in the process, and he was led to a disappointing withdrawal from the race. The other sprinters in the race were eyeing up their own moment on the podium, especially Argos Shimano rider Marcel Kittel who was sidelined in the previous stage having missed the split. As they approached the closing kilometers, Lampre and Cannondale in their familiar team jerseys were dictating the sprint train and it looked like Cannondales Viviani or Lampres Petacchi would be the victor as they passed the red awning. The Cannondale almost seemed to get lost in the scramble once that marker had passed, allowing other teams into contention. With 300 meters 7

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to go, Petacchi seemed to have it in the bag before the white kit of Argos Shimano swung out and pushed down the right hand side, allowing Kittel to take what looked like an easy victory and showed exactly what kind of form he was in. The German had a difficult year last year, and he was delighted with his win. There was also a new GC leader, Cannondales Viviani who had managed the podium once again.

Stage 3 was as close to a classics route as one would find in middle France, and it would look on paper to be a stage Gilbert and Chavanel would be happy with. The route featured some third category climbs, as well as a tough finishing section involving a loop over a challenging climb of nearly 7%. The rain teemed down and one could have thought they were in Flanders rather than Wine country.

The race followed the normal pattern of a breakaway being caught, but drama was created by the final climb. Astana Rider Andriy Hryvko mounted an assault and Skys’ Vasil Kiriyenka joined him, before crashing. This gave opportunity to six other riders, including Richie Porte and Andrew Talansky. It meant a bunch sprint between these seven for the accolades would occur, and youth was the victor as young American Talanksy took the spoils and we had a new leader in the General Classification.

Tougher climbs featured on stage four, including 2 second category climbs of 8% in the last 20 kilometers.

The stage was to drift from Briode to Saint Valler and the distance was just under 200km. As sprinters took a back seat , the race for the General Classification was about to take shape. Saxo-Tinkoffs’ Michael Morkov who had been a quiet rider all race, went in the early breakaway but was far too dangerous a rider to be given a free rein and was soon caught. Tommy Voeckler of Europcar and Movistars’ Javier Moreno were next to try their luck, and though the break at one point was sizeable Garmin had too much at stake to allow it to continue. Talanksy and support were able to close them down, even when Voeckler made another run for it. Amazingly the stage finished in another bunch sprint, this time involving names you would associate with the contenders. It was Orica Greenedge rider Michael Albasini, who had been subdued up to now, and burst into life to take the victory after coming out behind the wheel of Astanas’ Iglinsky.

The race made little impact on the overall, with Talansky still holding the fort.

The big stage was the fifth one, a summit finish on La Montagne de Lure, a climb of nearly 15 km. There were 8

Above : Andrew Talansky of Garmin Sharp wins a hotly contested sprint Yellow Jersey in one of the biggest races on the early season calendar after wins a sprint on Stage Six along Nices’ beautiful promenade des Anglais. his valiant efforts right under the nose of Phillipe Gilbert. (OPQS / Tim

five other climbs to contend with, though none as bad as the final one. Any contender for Paris Nice would have to get their act together today. Breakaway specialist Jens Voigt of Radioshack–Leopard was first out the block, and though they had over 6 minutes at one point Voigt was no threat to the overall, nor were his fellow escapees Dupont or Borghini or Lemoine. Voigt was desperate for a win in this race and dropped his companions at the foot of the final climb, which was just as well as they were caught by Team Sky and Richie Porte. Voigt as well was swallowed up despite valiant efforts, and now the true GC race could commence. Talanksy together with Nairo Quintana of Movistar tried to dish out the hurt to Porte, but sky were stoic and determined as they closed any gaps that emerged easily. After three failed attacks by the Garmin rider, Porte made his move. He showed he was no support act, sprinting away for a solo victory, ahead of runner up Dennis Menchov by nearly 30 seconds and 35 seconds ahead of Andrew Talansky, who might now wish he had a more experienced head on his shoulders.

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on Stage 3 of Paris Nice, allowing the young american rider to gain the a tough day on the road. (Slipstream Sports). Right : Sylvain Chavanel . A partisan crowd was there to see him gain applause and accolades for m De Waele).

A ride of 220 km to the ‘Sun’ of the Nices’ Promenade des Anglais on a Saturday afternoon sounded like the ideal weekend, but their was serious business on the road to take care of. Again, more climbs of varying gradients and difficulty including the Col de Ferrier. The climbs though were some way out of Nice, and as long as the sprinters could survive the earlier undulations, they would have a good chance for an iconic victory. A breakaway formed, but it was a dangerous one when Sky realized an FDJ rider Arnold Jeannesson was amongs them. The breakway had three minutes, and Arnold was 2 minutes behind. Quick maths dictated the breakaway needed to be closed down fast, and it was with 30 km still to race. After the tests of earlier, it was time to hit the beach on the promenade des Anglais, allowing a bunch sprint to form in the most dramatic of locations. Dangerously from Richie Portes perspective it was Sylvain Chavanel who won, sprinting past Ag2rs Dumoulin and World Champion Phillipe Gilbert leaving them astonished to say the least.

It was all going to come down to the final 9.6 km time trial up the Col D’Eze, a specialty that Talansky, Porte and Chavanel all were comfortable with. Porte had a lead of 32 seconds on the Garmin Rider and 42 seconds on both Chavanel and last years runner up Wiestra. A short distance though would make it a difficult task providing no mishaps from Porte. For the stage itself, Gaudin of Europcar was again the early leader with a time of just over 22 minute. With everyones legs warmed up though, this wasn’t going to stand and the most impressive time before the main contenders was set by Nairo Quintana the Colombian movistar rider, who achived a blistering time 19:43, a time that looked impossible to beat. As it was, two other riders would. The first to come close, and perhaps most surprising, was that of AG2R Mondiales Jean-Christophe Peraud, who was able to post 19:48, allowing him to reach the podium and delight hometown fans. Talansky was next, and he was able to reach 19:39, a time that would make the race closer than it seemed at the start. Pressure was on the young Australian Richie 9

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Porte, pressure that he thrived on. He saw the opportunity for the biggest win in his career, and he took it, posting 19:16 a time no one even came close to. Over such a short distance even on a climb is an unbelieveable time and shows that Team Skys so-called ‘domestiques’ would be major Grand Tour contenders in their own right.

Porte showed he had the will, passion, commitment, strength and talent to deliver when given the opportunity.

This was a fact he confirmed himself, stating that “if the team is willing to back me, and send me to races, I can finish it off.” At the same time, he’s under no illusions about his role in Sky, wishing to continue his ‘apprenticeship’ under Froome and Wiggins., his main concern being “to make the squad for the Tour de France.” That said, he was optimistic about his time at Sky, and was keen to stress his target of 2014 Giro D’Italia team leader.

We learnt in this race that Sky is about more than just Froome and Wiggins, Garmin have a precocious talent on their hands, and that together with Movistars Quintana and FDJs’ Nacer Bouhanni, we have a great deal of racing to look forward to over the next few years. PE

“If the team is willing to back me, I CAn Finish it off”

Richie Porte

Exteeme left : Richie Porte on his way to a winning final time trial (Getty Images). Inside left : riders set off on their races against the clock.

(Ayesha Iqbal / Premiere Etape). Below : Richie Porte celebrates the moment as winner of Paris Nice ( Ayesha Iqbal / Premiere Etape)

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SCHLECK

Andy Schleck looks a shadow of his former self. Are there green shoots of recovery, or will he always be known as the rider who never fulfilled the promise of his younger days?

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t first glance, Andy Schleck is hard to miss.

The gangly, young, and slightly awkward climber with pointed features and steady bike movement has been a feature of every season since he first started racing professionally over 8 years ago. Every season that is except 2012 His reputation now is of a career lost, a combination of circumstances, fate and cruel luck conspiring against the Luxembourger to make the adoring public almost forget he was still racing. Tales of drinking in Munich Hotels, friction with team bosses, the strain on his fraternal relationship, a severe pelvic injury and other factors are now rumoured to be impacting on his very mental health and creating a caricature at the age of 28 of a washed up rider who has seen better days.

The reality is one of a complex and decidated cyclist who upon further inspection can confirm that reports of his death are greatly exaggerated.

The Schleck story begins with his father Johny Schleck, an accomplished cyclist in his own right. The ‘cycling runs through the family blood’ is a cliché but no other seems appropriate when discussing the Schleck ancestry.

Johny’s father and Andys Grandfather were already riding the fields of Luxembourg during the interwar years, a maverick without a team but who mixed it with the big names.

Johny was the one who took Gustavs dedication a step higher, becoming a fully fledged professional cyclist in the mid sixties. His Palmares are impressive, riding the Tour 8 times in the service of others, helping the great Luis Ocana to victory in 1973.

Its important to remember in this age of forgetfulness that Andy’s father had many achievements other than simply bringing two talented cyclists into the world.

And talented they were. The eldest is Steve Schleck, a politician rather than a sportsman, followed by Franck Schleck in 1980 and then Andy five years later. Steve was the first to try and continue the family tradition and though a competent rider, he was never going to be a great. Franck was the first to really pick up the Torch.

He served time in the Military as is his obligation as a Luxembourger, then he was ready to turn professional.

As always with young prospects, he found it heavy going finding a team that matched his ambition, settling for Italian continental outfit De

ANDY SCHLECK THE INCREDIBLE COMEBACK?

words Niall Grant photos Sirotti Photo

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Nardi for one season before he gained a Stagiere contract with cycling giant Festina. After that though, his luck changed when the team folded before he could begin his life as a professional cyclist. Finding himself without a team, he was able to make some useful calls, one of which was to his old Amateur boss Marcel Gilles.

Gilles knew Danish great Bjarne Riis during his early career as a struggling cyclist on the road to glory. Riis went on to win a controversial 1996 Tour before forming Riis cycling.

Gilles was able to recommended

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the brilliant new rider from his old stomping ground, and Franck never looked back, winning a place on Riis’s new team CSC just in time for the 2003 season.

Bjarne Riis though was always looking. As Franck impressed in his new life, he sang the praises of his younger brother, and Riis listened.

Bjarne had heard stories of Andy, now 19 years old, racing for the prestigious amateur club Roubaix, a club wrapped in cycling folklore and having amongst its alumni Stephen Roche and Alain Bondue. Cyrille

Guimard was president of the club and told anyone and everyone that Andy Schleck was the best talent he had seen since Laurent Fignon.

In 2004, as Andy Schleck rode one of the major U23 races “La Fleche Sud’, word had reached Riis from another direction. The Danish cycling team was a participant in the race, and watched in amazement as the youngest Schleck rode to victory, adding to his Palmeres the Under 23 National road and time trial championships. Bjarne was convinced now that Andy had to come in to try out for CSC.

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He repeated his request to Franck that he ask his brother to try out for the team. In true Riis style, he was put into some tough Italian races in the close season, and after the first Andy demonstrated enough to sign, Bjarne creating the deal straightaway, making the prodigy a fully fledged professional for the start of the 2005 season.

His first race was the Volta Catalunya, hardly a race to get broken into gently. Andy finished, content to ride with the peloton and finish his first professional race. The rest of the season was fairly light as he got used to the rigors and demands of the life that he had chose. He rode in support of his brother on many occasions in those first couple of seasons, content to ride out of the limelight and slowly build his cycling knowledge and pedigree, even when his elder brother was making the Schleck name his own.

That all changed in 2007, when Andy was chosen to ride in his first ever Grand Tour, the Giro D’Italia.

Featuring climbs that would terrorise most of the peloton, as well as the profile and resultant media attention, it was a brave move by his team to take the precocious talent and throw him into the Wolves den. If Andy was meant to be the domestique led to slaughter on the climbs, that never materialised, not for one second. Stage ten of that race was when Andy exploded onto the world stage. Danilo Di Luca, eventual race winner, escaped from a long way out together with other GC contenders.

Then the brothers from Luxembourg, as they were catching their breath from some of the tough gradients of the climb, audaciously attacked.

Andy accelerated on and on, creating velocity from nowhere and leaving carnage in his wake. Only Di Luca

and Simoni were able to pace back up to him. Andy wasn’t able to finish the job, but his abilities on that climb shocked and terrified the peloton. Di Luca eventually soloed to victory in the climb, but the name everyone was talking about was Andy Schleck. Was it a one-off, Would he be dropped now that the “real” Giro had started?

Not at all.

The Zoncolan is one of the Giro’s most feared climbs and making its Giro debut in 2007. A continuous gradient of torture reaching 20%, only the Angliru or Ventoux can rival it for the devastation it causes the peloton every time it is featured. For Andy Schleck, he viewed it as one more chance to show he was with the very best. As Leonardo Piepoli and Gilberto Simoni fought out a neck and neck battle, just behind them was the young white jersey wearer, having the audacity to lead the Maglia Rosa wearer Di Luca and even look back to see how much time he was putting into him ( 24 seconds, as it turned out). In the following days time trial, he was able to beat Di Luca by over 30 seconds and even future star Vincenzo Nibali’s time by 15. He never won that years Giro losing out by 2 minutes, but he gave the big names a fright. Bjarne Riis and CSC knew

they had a prospect on their hands, but they never imagined they would have the greatest young contender for a Grand Tour since Greg Lemond.

Franck himself mentions that at that moment, after the 2007 Giro, he went from being a great cyclist to Andy’s older brother, a scenario he had never before experienced and now one he was to concede. Andy finished second that year, a mere 2 minutes back on eventual winner Di Luca, and he went from a cult following to a national hero in his native country. Not since the ‘Angel of the Mountains’ Charly Gaul had a Luxembourg rider so enthralled their home crowd.

His star continued to rise over 2008, as the focus in CSC was about how Andy would cope in the Tour. Never has a participation been so anticipated, with Luxembourgers’ feeling he had enough for the win. In the end, he finished 12th and as some of the hype died down he targeted 2009 as the year he raised the already high bar of expectation.

Liege Bastogne Liege was a major target not only for him, but for CSC. He played down his chances, saying he “doesn’t have to win”, but one could feel the watchful gaze of Bjarne Riis stifling the atmosphere 15

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with his desire to make good on his Luxembourg investment. CSC had not had much to shout about in the classics, and Andy was their saviour as far as the Dane was concerned.

The young Schleck showed no sign of the mental challenges he would face later on, delivering the goods when it counted and winning his first senior race in a brilliant break away from the Boar of the Ardennes Phillipe Gilbert showing he wasn’t a magician with an ineffective wand, but instead held a potent and explosive mix of tricks.

A wave of relief was over his face in 16

the last few hundred meters, reveling in the weight finally being lifted off his shoulders. This relief he took to the Tour De France, which was marked with the comeback of Lance Armstrong.

In that years’ Tour, he accounted himself greatly. He Equaled his placement in the Giro two years ago with a mule-like climbing display, able to stay with the leaders and brave enough on some stages to dare set the tempo. He was swimming with sharks and looking confortable. Alberto Contador was the victor that year by

over 4 minutes, the form he was in making any other result improbable.

Like Jan Ullrich before him, the discussion with Schleck was not if he would win the Tour, but instead how many he would win.

The 2010 Tour was controversial even before Contadors title was stripped from him. During a Pyrenean stage, the Spaniard had flaunted the rules of the Peloton by attacking when Andy Schleck, in Yellow, had a mechanical. As he desperately tried to put his chain on, Contador sped off up the slopes, putting in time of

SCHLECK

close to 40 seconds on Andy. The Luxembourg rider was furious at the end of the stage, shouting and blood boiling for hours after the finish line.

Alberto was conciliatory , and put a shaky defence forward that he was ‘unaware’ of the difficulties. With the fire in Andys belly, he tried to catch up and the duels in the mountains over the last stages made compelling viewing. In the end, Contador was over the line in the Champs Elysees by a total time of 39 seconds, almost the same as the unfair advantage he had gained during ‘Chaingate’. Many feel justice was done in many ways when Contador was stripped of the title for doping, and the brave runner up being given Yellow retrospectively.

Perhaps the least happy about this was Andy himself, saying that the Tour is won on the road, not in the Courtroom.

On the subject of Courtrooms and Fair Play, there were major changes afoot within Saxo Bank, home of Riis cycling. A Luxembourg cycling team, Leopard Trek, was being set up right under the nose of Bjarne, and had managed to poach the prize assets of the team. Franck Schleck, Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Jens Voigt and Director Sportif Kim Anderson were all heading south to the central European Superteam, whilst Riis was left holding the foundations to what could have been the greatest team in Tour history. Though Riis went on to sign Contador, Saxobank were never as strong as when the Schlecks were with them. The same could be said of the deserters (Cancellara excepted) who have never been the same since they left the Riis fold.

Its hard to point to where the difficulties started in the new team.

On paper, they were perhaps the strongest team in the world. In reality, behind the jokes and the smiles there

was enormous pressure from sponsors and fans to deliver. This pressure is one that Andy found increasingly difficult to deal with. The team was strong going into that years Tour, a ride for which Schleck junior had made no qualms about it being his main and only target. He felt he had proved himself at the highest level, was receiving a salary to match that perception, and could now afford to choose the race that he wanted to race.

Franck, now known as Andys brother more than for the great stage rider he was, instead became the second part of a ‘Schleck Sandwich” who would pester and cajole the peloton till they surrendered. This was the blueprint, but when the building started to go up there were evident structural weaknesses.

First was Andy’s abilities against the clock. He was never the greatest in this discipline, but against the best riders in the world he was at a major disadvantage. With the margin of error being so small, having deficiencies on the clock of minutes rather than seconds would mean the Tour was a massive task. Andy would need to put these minutes in on the mountains, to provide an appropriate buffer against the likes of all-rounders

such as Contador and Evans. Never was this more on display than in the 2011 Tour. A brilliant Solo effort up the Galibier before running slightly out of steam was enough to prove his talents, but just two days later with the time trial there was enough to illustrate his weakness. He has put hundreds of days into practicing his contre montre, and it is a sad irony when he’s climbing a mountain solo there is no problem but put a clock there and he falters.

Second was the perception that he just did not possess the killer instinct, content to sit on someone’s wheel and look to others such as his brother for support, rather than go on the attack.

The stage on the Galiber should be enough to dispel those doubts, but these doubts remain. Fuel for these views have been his comments particularly around descents and being quite vocal where he feels they are taking too many risks with the riders in order to entertain the crowd.

Andy has never been a great downhill rider, and these opinions could be ones that seek to redress the balance to

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climbing rather than any real danger.

Of most concern to all his fans has been what has panned out during the course of 2012 and continues to raise serious questions about his long term future, and that is his mental frailty. Events in 2012 started when an arranged marriage between team owners of Leopard and Radioshack took place, bringing volatile and controversial Director Sportif Johan Bruyneel to the team and in charge of the Scheck’s. A clash of personalities followed, and there were few weeks where rumours of a bust-up were

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not strenuously denied. Matters came to a head between Bruynel and brother Franck during that years Giro D’Italia, with the rider furious that he was forced to target that race as team leader rather than support his younger brother in the Tour. Meanwhile, events on the field overshadowed any petty squabbles off it. Andy suffered an injury in the first time trial of the criterium dauphine, and what appeared at first glance to be a niggle developed into a careerthreatening broken pelvis. As the summer rolled on, Andy was forced

to withdraw from race after race.

When it couldn’t get any worse, it did during the Tour with Franck testing positive for a banned substance and facing suspension from racing. Andy now faces 2013 without him, and will have to dig deep into his mental reserves to restore his fans faith in him.

So is it Fair to describe him as “another Jan Ulrich”? Yes and No. No because unlike Ulrich and so many others, there have been no suspicions around Andy. He’s been strong since he started racing, and he’s never been

SCHLECK

implicated in the same talk that has occasionally visited his brother.

Outside of this, and in many other ways the comparison is valid. There is the appearance that he struggles with the discipline of cycling, enjoying his youth more than most. There is the alleged incident in a Munich hotel earlier in the year where its claimed by a French politician that Andy was drunk in a lift, and then there is a further incident back in 2010 with Saxobank which resulted in Andy Schleck and Stuart O’Grady being sent home from the Vuelta Espana after going for a drink before bed.

Minor indiscretions in most sports, but in cycling where discipline and endurance is everything, warning flags are there for all to see. Undoubtedly as well the time away from his brother has been hard, they have raced competitively with each other and famously declare they never race against each other. The 2010 Tour was raced without him after an early fall, but whether he can go a whole season without his superdomestique by his side wihout this impacting performance is doubtful.

Andy for his part has a habit of suprising us all. When we expect too much he delievers little, but when he write him off he returns to devastating effect. He is no stranger to the Grand Tour podiums, and is now a winner of one in his own right. He has been to the depths of the sport during the past season, and there are some green shoots of recovery in the air, including his ride in the Criterium International. Cycling has been poorer for his absence last season, and a brave rider like the Luxembourger is what is needed in the Grand Tours for 2013. PE

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ROUBAIX 1990

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PARIS

ROUBAIX words : Stuart Adams photo : Sirotti

The first Paris Roubaix of the nineties was anticipated greatly. A change in cycling was underway, with more media attention than ever before being focused on the sport as it internationalized itself.

For new viewers to the sport leaving their comfort zones of the Tour de France and World Championships would be enthralled and enraptured

1990

with perhaps the best ever classics race. So many twists and turns over a stage race would be rare, but over one day was simply phenomenal.

The Racers representing the old in Eddy Planckaert, the young in Edwig van Hooydonck and the international in Steve Bauer duked it out over perhaps the best Paris Roubaix of all time.

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ROUBAIX 1990

STEVE BAUER Before Ryder Hesjedal, there was another Canadian rider, a fantastic sprinter by the name of Steve Bauer.

Lightning fast, he was a pivotal part of the 1980s peloton. Originally a track sprinter, he discovered a talent for the road, especially in his native Canada.

He was national champion for three years running between 1981 and 1983. He made the move to the world of professional road racing after a phenomenal 1984 Olympics, winning the silver medal. He turned professional immediately afterwards, and in only his second professional race won the bronze medal at that years World Championships.

La Vie Claire spotted his talents first, and courted him to make the move to Europe where he would race in some of the world’s most prestigious races.

With Bauer, Controversial Frenchman Bernard Tapies’ team was able to win two Tours back to back.

The 1980s peloton was a time of great change for the previously exclusively European racing scene, and Steve Bauer was part of the conglomerate of Anglophones that were starting to dominate the mid 80s in terms of the major races.

Though a sprint star on the track, he was remarkably versatile on the road, just missing out on the podium for General Classification for the 1988 Tour as well as reaching numerous top 5 spots in the monuments.

He never had the Palmares to go along with some of his more famous expats such as Phil Anderson or Greg Lemond, but an opportunity to address that balance came in 1990. He had a disappointing classics season up to Paris Roubaix with his new team 7 Eleven, only scraping into the top 100 at Milan San Remo and outside the top 50 at Flanders. Paris Roubaix was his last chance of the spring.

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ROUBAIX 1990

EDDY PLANCKAERT n

Eddy Planckaert was born in Nevele on the outer reaches of East Flanders near Ghent. When people say ‘cycling was in their blood’, this is literally the case as Eddy is a member of cycling’s most famous family, together with his brothers Willy and Walter.

He himself is the youngest of the trio, and was still in his early teens when his eldest brother was the Green Jersey winner in the 1966 Tour de France.

Already having an inroad to cycling thanks to his elder brothers, he earned his place on teams through merit and was one of the regions great cyclists. He was already Belgian Junior Champion for three years in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He remained without a professional team for the next two seasons, despite winning “Vlaamse Pijl” two years in a row. He was eventually snapped up in 1980, but it was after moving teams to Wickes-Splendor that professional success came. He was the winner of the second part of a split stage at the Tour de France through Brussels. His teammate, the then unknown Sean Kelly, was also to win a stage during stage 17. His achievements continued in abundance and was a formidable rising star by the time of the early eighties.

It was his 1982 season that was a breakthrough year, finishing on the podium in the Tour of Flanders and making him a permanent favourite with the home crowd. From that point, he was a major contender in most monuments, winning Het Volk two years running in 1984 and 1985, as well as Flanders 1988 (the same year he won the Green Jersey in the Tour).

1990 was disappointing as a puncture hit his Tour of Flanders chances, and he limped in for a top 50 placing. Like Bauer, all sights were on Paris Roubaix.

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ROUBAIX 1990

EDWIG VAN HOOYDONCK Edwig Van Hooydonck was a tall, gangly figure with

auburn red hair from the northern provinces of Belgium near Antwerp. He was one of the top amateurs for his time, in particular with his Under 23 victory in the Tour of Flanders Junior edition. This race was fiercely competitive featuring not only star struck Belgians but also the best the Eastern Bloc had to offer, Warsaw Pact teams being prohibited from professional racing. As a result, the pace was fast and competitive as far as amateur racing goes.

When he made the move to a professional contract, he signed with Superconfex-Yoko, and had some good results.

In 1987 his first real year as a professional he was able to win a stage of the Ronde van Nederland. 1988 displayed his versatility further as he rode to a time trial victory in the now-defunct GP Eddy Merckx in a circuit around Brussels, together with a GC win in the Tour de Andalucía.

1989 allowed him to fulfill a lifelong dream at the age of 23, by winning the Tour of Flanders. A sharp attack on the Bosberg in one of the decade’s most exciting editions allowed him to solo to victory in the rain and win one of the most prestigious races in cycling. The events of that race not only defined the young rider for a short time as “the next Eddy Merckx”, but also gave way to innovation on his part. After his experience in that race, aggravating a knee injury due to its exposure to weather extremes, he developed the use of ¾ length bib shorts which to this day are known as “Van Hooydoncks” in the Dutch speaking areas. 1990 was expected to be a continuation of the young classic riders success, and Paris Roubaix was targeted.

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The race is always one of the most demanding on the cycling calendar. Blustery crosswinds, dusty back roads and of course the pave or cobbles. There are over 22 sections along the route, some for a few hundred meters, and some that go on for miles of bone shattering drudgery.

The cobbles when wet become like an ice rink, and when dry can cause untold misery on the wheels. With little space available for mechanicals, a puncture or other such bad luck can be the end of the race. You can see why it was that Bernard Hinault used the crudest terms to discuss Paris Roubaix, but he still felt the draw enough to race it.

The first breakaway went early, even for Paris Roubaix, at 18km. It featured riders Stefan Joho, Peter Pieters and Rob Kleinsman. The breakaway had over 3 minutes on the peloton by the time they reached the forest of Arenberg, and it was becoming essential that the chase be put into motion. Eddy Planckaet was the one to pick up the mantle, with his Panasonic team aghast at his decision to chase so early. No one in Planckaerts family had ever won Paris Roubaix, and he dearly wanted to be the one to break the ice. So much so that he ignored the cries of strict disciplinarian and Director Sportif Peter Post to hold back. Post, with his decades of experience, was probably 26

right but Eddy’s heart and legs were telling him something different as he eschewed the team orders. He caught the early breakaway and was out alone for a while before two riders, Martial Gayant and Kurt van Keirsbuik, were able to join him.

The dry weather was causing dust swirls, making it difficult for the riders to see the distance they had to cover to catch.

Planckaert was able to draw up to the leaders alone, and was able to relay with the breakaway till the 60km mark.

At this point, the chase was on. Laurent Fignon led the pursuit, the ponytailed Frenchman also known as ‘The Professor’. He was aware that his was a career that was on the wane, and in many ways a metaphor for the state of French cycling. When he began racing at the start of the decade, France was the dominant member of the peloton, but when it closed they as a nation would win very few races. Van Hooydonck was joining him in the chase, and they successfully brought the gap down from one minute thirty to less than forty seconds by the time they reached the eighth section of pave.

On the narrow roads of Paris Roubaix, a strong team is everything and it can cause havoc with the peloton if one is allowed to dominate. In the days before race radios,

ROUBAIX 1990

cunning and tactics were undertaken as much by the riders as the Director Sportif, and it was inspired by the Panasonic team to have the foresight to slow the race down.

By spanning the road, they were able to boss the peloton, allowing their rider Planckaert (whose team car was driven by eldest brother Walter) to extend his lead. By the end of the section, they were back up to a gap of 1minute 30.

became less of a concern during section three, as Fignon began to wilt under the efforts he had made earlier in the race.

At 35 km to go, Van Hooydonck felt that it was time to chase. The rider escaped from the clutches of Panasonic, and as the neutral car gave way that was splitting the riders, he merged with Planckaert and took his place at the front of the breakaway as if he had been there all along.

So now with 20km to go, the riders had to look at each other, one eye on working together and the other eye on the prize of one of the most prestigious monuments. The pace being set by Planckaert and Von Kreisberg being too much for the other riders over the cobbles and they were glad to be through the second section, making just one more cobbled section till the Velodrome of Roubaix. It was now apparent that the final winner would come from this leading group.

Another 5 km, and Steve Bauer was able to bridge the gap, joining the breakaway. A big name missing from the group was the pursuing Frenchman Fignon, who through the tactics of Panasonic found himself trapped in the bunch after twice attempting to get up to the leaders. With such little racing left, Fignon would have to resign himself to another opportunity wasted.

In the final stretch of pave, Eddy and Bauer went for their final attack. Van Hooydonck sensed the danger, but was he too late to bridge the gap? The Canadian sprint star was splitting the group through sheer power, and Planckaert was hanging on desperately. Van Hooydonck caught the duo by the time they exited the final cobbled strip, and the trio knew now they would be together to the finish.

Meanwhile, the million dollar man as some had taken to calling Bauer after his switch to the 7 Eleven team, was aware of the danger of Laurent Fignon and was desperately trying to move the pace of the leading group on. This

Bauer made another move on a slight rise with 10km to go, but both Planckaert and Hooydonck had the legs. The leading group were extending their lead from their former breakaway companions, and with 5km to go Bauer made 27

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another move, speeding away unprovoked and Planckaert was straight on his wheel. Bauer abandoned his bid for glory and a grateful van Hooydonck who was caught out was able to ride up to the others. It was all going to rest on a sprint between the three biggest classics names.

As they made their way to the outskirts, the chasers seemed to be getting closer, and what was previously looking like a sewn up trio now threatened to have their boat well and truly rocked. With 6 seconds between them at one point, the arguing between Bauer and Planckaert as to positioning threatened their whole race. Eventually Planckaert worked with Bauer and Van Hooydonck and they were able to ensure they entered the Velodrome together.

More jostling though allowed two pursuers to speed up the inside track of the famous cycling arena whilst the breakaway was pushed to the upper reaches. Bauer needed to harness all of his former track experience in order to avoid the victory being snatched from him, whilst Planckaert was fortunate to see his teammate with him.

He moved quickly, hugging his wheel as they made the final lap. What had looked to be a race contested between three had somehow through delays turned into a fiveman bunch sprint.

Van Hooydonck was the first out, making a run for the line on the outside from about 300 meters, but Bauer was straight on his back. Planckaert moved out from behind Bauer and made his move on the outskirts whilst Bauer cruised past the Dutchman on the inside. As they came out the final corner with Van Hooydonck trailing, Bauer and Planckaert were neck and neck as they literally crossed the line together.

Even with multiple replays it was impossible to see who had won, and instead the decision had to go to the judges.

The judging panel, after much deliberation, gave it to Planckaert but it could have been either one of them, there being less than a centimeter and even modern technology still not able to comprehensively prove who won that day. PE

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ROUBAIX 1990

EDDY PLANCKAERT n

Eddy Planckaert never won another major race after Paris Roubaix. He continued racing until 1991, where he eventually retired after a long and illustrious career as the youngest of a major cycling family. He went to run a sawmill factory in Lithuania, before starting a similar venture in Poland. He returned to Belgium to take part in a popular reality show about the family, and now remains involved with various media and cycling projects in his home country, whilst living in a quiet cottage in the Ardennes forest close to the roads that made him one of the great Belgian cyclists.

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STEVE B

remained active i after his Roubaix yellow jersey duri consecutive days.

1996 Olympics, a His current team continental team the North Ameri

BAUER Steve Bauer

in cycling for another six years x runner up spot, and wore the ing the 1990 Tour de France for 9 . He finally retired after racing in the and moved into team management. m is Spidertech, who hold Prom status and are a major feature of ican racing scene.

ROUBAIX 1990

EDWIG VAN HOOYDONCK n

Edwig Van Hooydonck was pitched within the veterans, and the lessons he learned that day in Paris Roubaix allowed him a successful cycling career. Already a Flanders winner, he was able to add to this race with another win in that race in 1991.

Again attacking on the Bosberg, leading to his nickname Edwig Bosberg. He was not a one-race rider, also winning Brabanste Pijl 3 times and the GP Marseilles twice, before finally retiring some would argue far too early in 1995. At the age of 29. When asked why he took such a decision, the answer is sadly the same as that which continues to dog the records of the 1990s peloton today.

He alleges that doping by members of teams at such levels for such made it impossible for him to compete clean, and he was faced with either hanging up his jersey or racing dirty.

Thankfully he chose the former option, and can hold his Palmares up high.

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CONTENTS

Waking up to a morning temperature of 0 degrees centigrade is chilling. For the hundreds of spectators who came out to watch Omloop this would have meant making sure they were wearing their warm coats. For the cyclists, many of whom had come directly from the Tour of Oman it was more than a 30 degree drop in temperature, and now was most definitely the time be wearing as much as possible without altering their capabilities.

Tom Boonen described the weather as being “really, really hard”.

Juan Antonio Flecha, the Spanish Argentinian, who rides for Vacance Soleil was more than keen to win the race. He had already won Omloop in 2010 and made podium finishes in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. Having had a good year in 2012 it looked like he was about to attack 2013 with gusto.

Omega Pharma Quick Step’s local favourite Tom Boonen heart must have skipped a beat when he heard the crowd roar to his name. Without a doubt this classic specialist and sprinter must have been desperate to get back on to the Omloop podium, having been there in 2007,2012 holding a third and second place respectively, with the win in his hands.

Sky’s Welshman Geraint Thomas also looked super keen having had a fairly strong 2012 with wins including taking gold in the men’s team pursuit at the Olympic games, coming second in some of the stages of the Giro d’Italia.

Sylvain Chavanel, Omega Pharma Quick Step, came 10th in the Tour of Flanders in 2012, that would have given him a reverse taste of what to expect at Omloop (N.B riders normally ride in Omloop as a practice 32

WHERE EA

The Hell o

Compared to la in the sun, this hell. From adve comes opportu brave or foolha

AGLES DARE

CONTENTS OMLOOP

of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

ast years day was a frozen ersity though unity for the ardy.

words ayesha iqbal

SLIPSTREAM SPORTS 33

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down. Falling off to the side in a bunch up Trentin suffered a complex fracture to the arm which later had to be operated upon. Marcel Sieberg was the next to

for the Tour of Flanders which takes place approximately a month after Omloop), his other notable achievements for 2012 included coming first in the World Team Time Trial, National Team Time Trials and the 3 day De Panne 1st Stage 3b (ITT).

above : The riders attack the first cobbled climb of the day (Slipstream Sports). Right : Luca Paolini and Stijn Vanderberg form the winning breakaway (OPQS / Tim de Waele)

So it was on a bitterly cold Saturday morning with steam coming from their mouths and their teeth still chattering from the cold that 198 cyclists set off on the 198.9 kilometre course from Ghent’s Saint Peter’s Square, heading as far out as Heraadsbergen, become coming back again. They left to the sounds of loud cheers and claps from the hardy, all weather, Flemish supporters.

At 33 km an attack was lanced by William Clarke, Florian Vachon, Julien Fouchard, Nico Sijmens, Cyril Lemoine, Jerome Cousin, Zakkari Dempster. To this point none of the favourites had decided to show their hand. It could have been experience which held them back knowing that Omloop is a gruelling race and there would have been no point in peaking early and then flagging when it came to the climbs.

Initially the riders remained bunched together, almost to keep warm. It was finally at the 10th kilometre mark that NetApp-Endura’s Andreas Schillinger decided to lance the first attack quickly followed by fellow northerners, Sebastien Delfosse, Benjamin Le Montagnier, Aleksejs Saramotins, who seemed unfazed by the harsh weather . Three kilometres later their attempt to create an elite squad had failed as they were joined by the relatively young Jerome 34

Cousin, Hugo Houle who must have been eager to show their respective teams ( EuropCar, AG2R Mondiale) that were able to cut it above the rest of the peloton.

The first to go down at the 70 km mark was Lotto Belisol’s Gert Dockx who got stuck in a big bunch up.

Unfortunately he had to abandon the race with a broken elbow and collarbone.

At 123km mark things were looking good for the lead group as they had a 4.43 lead on the peloton.

140 km in to the race Omega Pharma Quickstep’s Matteo Trentin went

At 155 km things began to get interesting as some of the real contenders began to show their hands including race favourite Sylvain Chavanel began following the break away. At the Molenberg cobbled climb the French man was joined

by Stijn Vandenbergh, Maarten Wynants, Jurgen Roelandts, Greg Van Avermaet, Sven Vandousselaere, Marco Bandiera, Luca Paolini, Egoitz Garcia and other favourite Geraint Thomas. By this point this had changed, the early group leaders have been left behind and now, the real players begin to make their move. Approximately 45km to go, and with the bulk completed, Sylvain Chavanel went out on a limb and is ahead of the race. Suddenly it looks as Sylvain Chavanel could actually do this as no one seems close. 10 riders are chasing him. The new chase group included Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma Quick Step), and Luca Paolini (Katusha). Luca Paolini pushes the two faster until all of

“I’ve been ready for cobbles my whole life” Luca Paolini

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a sudden they are at the front of the 10 rider escape group. 25km until the finish line and this race is looking very different. While Stijn leads Luca into the streets of Ghent he is constantly looking over his shoulder to see what the Italian has got planned, a rather calm game of zigzagging ensues as each takes his turn to lead before Luca Paolini hammers to a sprint to win with Stijn Vandenbergh close on heels Sven Vandousselaere wins the third place by breaking to a sprint ahead of the chase group.

Unfortunately Sylvain Chavanel who looked so promising at one stage came seventh in the race sum says he was “…happy about my race,” with regards to his aggressive attack of the lead group he says, “I tried to attack and I was thinking somebody would have followed me.

When I remained alone I really didn’t 36

above : Luca Paolini celebrates his outside victory, whilst the other riders dream of what might have been (OPQS / Tim de Waele)

force the situation. With a headwind it wasn’t possible to go to the finish alone.”

It was a close call for Stijn Vandenbergh who came second but was unable to beat Paolini at the end. He made of point of saying, “Second place is also good, to win is better but with second I am happy,” He continued with,”…I really felt I was strong overall today. As for the sprint, Paolini went with 250 meters and he took directly two or three meters. He was simply too fast.

When I attacked I knew I had Paolini with me, and he is really strong. But after a hard race like today you don’t know how he will be in the final. I will sleep good because I am happy with my second place.”

After the race an excited but calm Luca

Paolini said “I’m absolutely happy about this win. it’s a very important victory both for me, for Katusha …

It was a special triumph for me in a very prestigious competition, one of the most beautiful Belgian classic race: I felt in a great condition despite the cold weather, and in the end I managed to win thanks also to my bigger experience…in the morning we decided the strategy, and everything went as we planned.

I wanted to anticipate the most favourite riders, and thanks to my shape I managed to”.

With sixteen wins behind him and already in his mid-thirties, some refer to this win as having taken place in the autumn of his career. Has Luca got what it takes to go further? We think so. PE

MASTERS OF THE

CLASSICS

M

ajestic and gritty in one fell swoop, the riders of the north are indeed a special symphonic breed. We select the best maestros of the cobbles and hills of the last fifty years WORDS : AYESHA IQBAL / ENRIQUE MORALES

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Quiet Irishman who dominated Paris-Nice but also rode a mean classic

SEAN KELLY Born in 1956 to a farming family in County Waterford in Ireland Sean’s life was pretty non-descript. After leaving school at 13 to work on the family farm, shocking by today’s standards, at 16 it looked like he was set for a life as a brick layer, fortunately for him his older brother began cycling at school as well as riding in local races.

By 1970 Sean, too, had caught the cycling bug and was riding and winning in his own right. His career kicked off with wins at Shay Memorial Race in 1974 and 1975 while his stage wins at the Tour of Ireland in 1975 no doubt helped raise his international profile. In 1976 he won an amateur version of the Giro di Lombardia placing him firmly in the sights of the Flandrian team manager. From this point onwards Sean used his farming durability to work hard and train in the cold. There was no going back.

With a professional career spanning from 1977 – 1994 Sean had accomplished many of the toughest races including double wins of Paris – Roubaix, Milan - San Remo as well as three wins of the Giro di Lombardia.

Further wins include those of Liege – Bastogne – Liege in 1984 and 1989 as well as a win at Ghent Wevelgem.

In addition to the Spring Classics he also won the Vuelta Espana in 1988. Sadly he never won the Tour de France coming close in 1984, fifth, and closer in 1985, fourth.

Sean, however, has achieved in the Tour de France by coming number 2 in the hall of fame of repeat winners of the points classification having won the green jersey in 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1989. His greatest achievement without a doubt is his seven-year consecutive win of Paris-Nice from 1982-1988.

Paris-Roubaix referred to lovingly as the Queen of the Classics, is better known as the “Hell of the North”, and not without good reason. The “Hell” is not created by the unevenly cut cobbles, or the random gaps or even by the inclement weather which hits year on year but the combination of everything which turns the cobbles from an unkempt dust pit to a slippery uneven hell with the

added complications that only a peloton can bring with it.

In 1984, 158 participants took part only 42 finished.

Sean attacked while Gregory Braun had punctured and then took the lead with such force that none of the previous group leaders were able to catch up. Only Rudy Rogiers was able to remain coming second as Kelly had very quickly taken the victory in the Roubaix Velodrome. 1986 saw a similar spectacle take place, this time the finish was at Avenue des Nations-Unies and Kelly was en form despite not reacting to an attack by Rudy Dhaenens. Sean was able to make it through the cobbles and any other obstacles to ensure he took the Paris Roubaix crown for a second time.

The conditions of Paris Roubaix can quite nicely be summed up by Sean Kelly himself, “A Paris–Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris–Roubaix. Throw in a little snow as well, it’s not serious.”

Sean was a trailblazer for other irish riders in the peloton, and the new generation of cyclists from the celtic lands always point to him as their source of inspiration. He can now be seen commentating on those same riders for Eurosport as well as being involved in cycling team AnPost Sean Kelly.

With a professional career spanning from 1977 – 1994 Sean had accomplished many of the toughest races

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He ate every race in his path, including many classics. There are cyclists, then there’s Eddy Merckx.

EDDY MERCKX Eddy Merckx by all accounts, is, ‘the’ cycling legend.

His name is synonymous with the multiple wins of the Grand Tours. A total of five wins of both the Tour de France and Giro D’Italia, are what makes his name stand the test of time as well as a win in the Vuelta e Espana.

However, the collection of wins in the Spring Classics, over fifteen, is perhaps even more astounding as well as managing to win each one of the Spring Classics more than once.

Eddy was born in to a middle class French speaking family in 1945 in Meensel-Kiezegem, Belgium. It would have been very easy for Eddy to follow a very different path. However he hated being indoors and much preferred playing sports and being outdoors. This not only changed his life, but also changed the history of cycling.

He rode his first race in 1961, a dozen races followed before he won Petit-Enghien, in October 1961. In 1967 he began his attack on the Spring Classics winning Fleche Wallone, Ghent Wevelgem as well as Milan San Remo.

1968 saw him on podium for Paris Roubaix, coming first in the Giro D’Italia’s general classification. By 1969 he had most certainly exploded on to the cycling scene in the grandest sense. It would have been almost impossible to have not have heard who Eddy was. Before the Grand Tours had even begun, that year, he had won Liege Bastogne Liege, Tour of Flanders, the General Classification of Paris Nice as well as Milan San Remo. What was to come later that year was quite simply phenomenal; winning the king of the mountains, the general classification as well as the points classification of the Tour de France. Eddy was on fire.

Lesser riders would have, perhaps, decided to concentrate on the grand tours and avoid the unforgiving Belgian “spring” but as a Belgian he remained true to his fan base. His wins of the Tour of 40

Flanders were not only a huge personal achievement for Eddy but also rocked the Flemish cycling establishment.

A French speaker winning the Tour of Flanders was an issue akin to national pride, anyone other than French speaking Belgian would have been welcome to win.

In 1969 Merckx overcame a blizzard, and then later fine rain, to take title from the local Flemish Walter Godefroot. The 20,000 crowd must have been entranced and at the same time disappointed to see all of Felice Gimondi’s (the only real chaser) efforts fail coming in second. Eddy had won with more than a five-minute lead.

His wins in the Tour of Flanders...

Rocked the Flemish Cycling World

In 1975 Eddy took hold of the Tour of Flanders again, this time Frans Verbeeck, a Flemish native, chased Merckx. Eddy led him through the race. Not once did Merckx allow him to set the pace. 3 miles from the finish line Eddy attacked and beat Verbeeck with a 30 second lead. The rest of the peloton arrived some five minutes later.

Eddy’s victories remain outstanding none more so than those in Flanders.

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Court Jester or King of the Cobbles? Even now the controversial rider continues to divide opinions throughout Flanders

JOHAN MUSEEUW Johan Museeuw some see as the Mentor to Tom Boonen, others see him as a star in his own right. Most though would concede that Belgium’s ability for such a small country to produce rider after rider of such quality every generation is a legend in its own right. As it was, it was the turn of Johan to fill the void of the 1990s.

Museeuw is from the northern coast, and with the harsh weather, cobbles and unforgiving wind blowing in from the North Sea ensured that if he continued on his bike, he would be a classics rider. His father was a professional and urged Johan to continue in the sport he loved, but the son would soon eclipse the father’s achievements.

Johan started in the Tour-winning team of AD Renting, best known as the vehicle for Greg Lemond.

A sprinter by trade, he knew his specialisms would be best served as a Classics rider, and made the move to Lotto at the start of 1990 with this in mind. Lotto however thought differently, and he was an all-out sprinter for the majority of his time there, riding in the Sun of Spain and France rather than in the windswept cobble roads of Flanders. In 1991 he rode to runner-up in that years Ronde, his first podium finish in the Flemish classic.

By 1993, it was time for a change as he joined the Mapei team. Once that switch was made, he began to convert podiums into victories, leading a Belgian renaissance in the Spring Cobbles. Winning Flanders was his signal to the peloton that he was a serious contender and not just a podium starlet. His ability for climbing never previously noted, he stamped on his bike, urging it up the Muur and away from the claws of the challengers. Only Dutchman Frans Maassen managed to stay with him, and then he even nearly dropped Johan by the Bosberg. Museeuw was clinging on for dear life as they approached the final straight together, and then he found the legs that Maassen

lacked, sprinting to his first monument victory in front of a huge crowd.

It was a result that was to be his trademark, as victory upon victory in the cold harsh spring continued to come season after season. Paris Roubaix allowed him to show he had more in the tank than just Flanders, winning one of the calendars toughest races in 1996. When the World Championships arrived in Lugano that same year, he seized his opportunity to add more prestige, winning a close race just one second ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Gianetti.

King of the classics?

Enough to stand in the Kings Court

His career since that first significant win in 1993 never ever looked like deteriorating, a consistent and steady delivery of winning rides was the pattern till he retired in 2004.

By this time, he had won both Ronde Van Vlanderen and Paris Roubaix 3 times, together with 2 E3s and one Amstel Gold and of course the World Championship title. King of the classics? Probably not, but enough to stand in the Kings court.  

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Though best known for his Hour record , he was perhaps the best Italian classics rider of all time

FRANCESCO MOSER Whenever Francesco Moser, the Italian from the foothills of Trentino, is talked about there are two reasons one would mention his name. First is his Giro D’Italia win, where he beat French Superstar Laurent Fignon and some claim had a helping hand from an extremely partisan crowd The second is his Hour record, a record that stood until Graeme Obree. What is often forgotten are his exhilarating classics victories.

By rights, he should never have had the Palmares that he had. However, Moser was a true trendsetter in showing that riders from the Old Country could mix it with the best of the Flandrians and Bretons in some of Europe’s toughest races. Of course, the signs were already there in his powerful build and his track cycling pedigree. On the track, he was pursuit champion, whilst transferring these characteristics to the peloton gained a reputation as a rider who could mount attacks at a far more devastating rate than the competition.

He began racing in 1973. As a GC rider, he disappointed the fans that wanted nothing less than victory. Though he had some top ten finishes in his early years, the Tifiosi were upset after waiting so long for a serious challenger to the big races, and looking with hindsight it’s hard to understand their frustrations. It was not until he won the World Championships in Venezuela 1977 that home support began to see that he was an incredible cyclist.

In 1978 though that all changed when he won his first Paris Roubaix. It was not so much the race victory that won him accolades as much as the manner of the victory.

A solo breakaway from the devastation of a crash on slippery cobbles, he was nearly 2 minutes up on the nearest challengers as he rode into the Velodrome. Holding his arms aloft with the Worlds rainbow jersey you could see the relief after 5 years of trying in a race he knew he was destined to win.

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He was to repeat this victory twice more consecutively.

In 1979, he was racing against archrival Roger De Vlaeminck, who had a very public spat over who was supporting whom and led to De Vlaeminck moving teams to GIS. They bizarrely found themselves working together as teammates as they chased down a breakaway. Tragically De Vlaeminck crashed denying the crowd a final sprint and Moser crossed the line.

He said after the race “This year, I owe nothing to no one”, a jibe at the Flandrians complaints in the press during the week.

The rivalry played out for a third and final time in 1980, again featuring a De Vlaeminck crash, this time serious enough for him to have to withdraw.

For the third time, Moser was in the Velodrome alone and achieved a mystifying three straight wins in one of cycling’s toughest races.

Moser had other Palmares in other disciplines, including his massive 1984 Giro win, but he hope he will be remembered most for putting Italy on the Classics map.

For the third time, Moser was in the Velodrome alone and achieved a mystifying three straight wins in one of cycling’s toughest races

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The king of Liege Bastogne Liege who dominated the race during the eighties

MORENO ARGENTIN Moreno Argentin was another classic Italian rider, multiple stage winner of Grand Tours but best remembered through his domination of the Monument Liege – Bastogne Liege over the mid 1980s. Despite the name, is province was the fiercely nationalistic land of Venice rather than distant Latin American shores.

Some would argue Venice is not even Italian.

The Tifosi who followed Argentin around the Ardennes every spring certainly never saw it that way, cheering him to classics victory after classics victory throughout the decade.

For a race that was to define him, his start was inauspicious, being no match for the strong 1982 peloton in Liege he rode in with the rest of the support acts placed 39th. He redeemed himself with a podium finish in Milan San Remo, beating Francesco Moser to fourth place in a tight sprint. He surprised in the 1984 Giro D’Italia, again making third place against a strong field.

1985 was to be his watershed year. He had knocked on the door of success for the past three years, but this year was time for his breakthrough. His form was strong in La Fleche Wallone, finishing above Laurent Fignon by ten seconds, though two minutes off the pace of 1984 world Champion Claude Criquielion.

As these dramas often play out, just four days later he

For a race that was to define him, his start was inauspicious

was to have his revenge in controversial circumstances over Liege Bastogne Liege, a classic favoured by Climbers and not one you would expect Argentin to pick out as his target. The race started in normal fashion, until the riders reached La Redoute, one of the most difficult parts of the course. The crowd was huge, bringing to a halt the support cars and press motorbikes, causing chaos further down the road. Stephen Roche and Claude Criquielion, always sharp to opportunity, went on the attack.

As they sped off, Phil Anderson attempting to chase, rode straight into a press vehicle, just missing Argentin who found a gap between the carnage and was now pursuing the leading duo. After bridging the gap, they worked as a trio to fend off a counterattack by a furious peloton led by Anderson. As they descended into the outskirts of Liege, the groups were nearly together but the trio was not going to be outdone. Moreno waited patiently as Criquielion tried to make a break for the finish line, then Argentin calmly slipped out behind and powered past for the most important win of his career to date. The win surprised everyone, not least Roche and Criquielion who were not expected to be outsmarted.

After this win, the floodgates opened and Moreno Argentin went from obscurity to perhaps the best Ardennes Classics rider of a generation. To his Palmares were added 3 More Liege Bastogne Liege in 1986, 1987 and 1991, The Giro Lombardia in 1987, the 1986 Worlds and the monument of monuments, Ronde van Flanderen.

In retirement he has attracted controversy through contentious criticisms of modern riders, but he remains a popular and animated character in the world of Italian Cycling. .

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Mr Paris Roubaix was a title that took a decade to earn, but he now holds it in perpetuity

ROGER DE VLAEMINCK Roger De Vlaeminck was known as ‘Mr. Paris Roubaix’ by press and fans alike during the 1970s. Having won four of the races during the 1970s and making the podium a further 5 times. A monumental feat, all the more impressive when you consider his major rival was Eddy Merckx, then Francesco Moser.

Like most cyclists of that period, he emerged from humble beginnings, belonging to a family of travellers from Eastern Flanders. A naturally gifted athlete, he first tried his hand at Football where he demonstrated a deft touch with the ball and was already being watched by several teams in Belgium. When they didn’t come knocking he switched to cyclocross after his brother advised him it was a good way to escape the drudgery of village life. He became Amateur Champion of Cyclocross in 1968 and made his move to the professional peloton of road racing in 1969. He was off to a flying start as he won the Omloop Het Volk, a season opener and good form measure for future classics riders.

It was the next year that he again drove home his arrival with a win in Liege Bastogne Liege, followed by KurneBrussels-Kurne and a stage of the Tour De France. The Early 1970s allowed him to demonstrate the full range of his talents, as he won Fleche Wallone, Tirreno Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and the points jersey of the Giro D’Italia.

1972 brought him the first win of the race he became a legend in, that of Paris Roubaix. The race, with its twisting back roads, the harsh cobbles and challenging weather conditions were almost seen as an advantage for the Belgian. He grew up riding these same roads, he knew the conditions and the course as well as any other, and his discipline of cyclocross meant no obstacle was a burden.

It was his third title in 1975 that will perhaps give him the most satisfaction. Having spent the 1970s in Eddy 48

Merck’s shadow along with the rest of the peloton, he finally demonstrated the strength that would cement his reputation. Floods had devastated the course earlier in the week, making riders uncomfortable together with those following them. At the 100km mark, a group of riders attacked including Merckx and De Vlaeminck. The relentless pace caused mayhem until it was just four riders left.

Disaster struck The Cannibal as he caught a puncture, but Merckx was able to recover and not only brought back the escapees b u t powered through t h e m .

Only De Vlaeminck c o u l d follow, but shortly after Andre Dierickx, another Belgian rider from that period, was able to catch them as they all went into the Velodrome. The finish was the most exciting in years, a photo finish showing that De Vlaeminck had outsprinted the greatest rider of all time, and shown that on his day he deserved his title of “Mr. Paris Roubaix”. He is one of three riders ever to have won all five monuments (Merckx and Rick Van Looy being the other two).

He grew up riding these same roads, he knew the conditions and the course as well as any other

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The Badger was the king of the Tour, but thats not to say he didn’t have a soft spot for the classics

BERNARD HINAULT Bernard Hinault, le Blaireau or the Badger, is synonymous with the Tour De France. The farmer from Breton, who can now be found promoting the biggest cycling race on behalf of ASO, will forever be remembered for bossing the peloton and delivering a record 5 Tour de France Titles. In many ways he was the last great French rider. Though he is remembered as much for his personality as his victories, it’s this prickly personality that allowed him to morph every spring into one of the finest classics riders around.

Often considered as one of the ‘complete’ riders, who have in his Palmares Grand Tours, Stage Races, Sprint wins, Time Trials and of course the Monuments, a brave individual would compare him to Eddy Merckx on the good days. From his early days, including an early win in Paris Camembert, Hinault was always a bit special. He was taken under the wing

by Cyrille Guimard, a director Sportif with an already blossoming reputation at Gitane, soon to be Renault Gitane cycling.

Guimard believed that Hinault had to earn his stripes so to speak, even though he would have been ready for the big tours he understood the need to nurture. Instead, Bernard

From his early days ...Hinault was always a bit special.

concentrated on the flandrian races, where he achieved incredible success. Liege Bastogne Liege, an undulating course and considered good preparation for a combative Tour stage, was first in his sites in 1977. Chasing down a break amongst a devils cocktail of hailstones, snow and rain, he found himself in a sprint with the experienced Andre Dierickx. Hinault had already proved he could win in Belgium with Ghent Wevelgem earlier in the week, and he was not about to release himself from another victory this time around. Sprinting past the veteran, he was the first French winner of the Title since superstar Jacques Antequil in 1966.

After this, he continued to make sojourns into the territory over the late 70s and early 1980s, winning Liege Bastogne Liege again, as well as Amstel Gold and La Fleche Wallone. The one that called to him though was Paris Roubaix, a race he dearly wanted to win despite the claims to the contrary throughout his career, once even calling it a “race for d***heads”. In 1981,he knew if he were to be classed as the complete Rider, he would have to win Roubaix or Flanders. Wearing the Rainbow colours of his Worlds victory, he entered the famous arena with five other riders in a break that he had mostly led riding in the front. In that breakaway was the dangerous Roubaix specialist Roger de Vlaeminck. The Breton went straight on the offensive, holding off the attack by De Vlaeminck to win his only Paris Roubaix, the first Frenchman to do so for 25 years.

With that win his reputation was cemented. He never won another Classic, but other accolades were awaiting him by the Mid 1980s. Hinault remains as deeply committed to Cycling as he was in 1981, assisting the Amaury Sports Organisation with its sporting calendar. .

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Can Tom really count himself against the Classics greats? 4 wins and counting say yes

TOM BOONEN No review of the great classics riders would be complete, especially in modern times, without mentioning Tom Boonen, the popular Belgian rider whose home town is Mol, in the northern edges of Antwerp. No rider in Belgian history has united the country as much as “Tornado Tom’, a whirlwind of a rider who has made two incredible comebacks over the years and continues to surprise even at the age of 32.

His career started in an understated manner, at the now notorious US Postal team of 2002. Though a lot of dirt has been thrown at the team, there were some good apples one of which was Boonen. He reached the podium in his first and only season with them, before exiting stage left from the biggest team in cycling into the welcoming arms of Quickstep, who he would remain with for the foreseeable future.

It was in 2004 that he began to finally fulfill his early promise, winning Gent Wevelgem and Scheleprijs. He also won some stages in the Tour and for a while it looked as if sprinting would be his discipline. 2005 though was the year to redress the balance and give him the results and therefore the direction that his career would take. Even the most ardent Boonen fan though would be surprised at how much he would dominate the Spring of 2005.

His first monument win on the cobbles was the Tour of Flanders. He was up against his peers and would have been intimidated had he looked to his left and saw Erik Zabel, the undisputed Green Jersey rider. Boonen knew that as a sprinter he would have no chance against Zabel, instead launching a brilliant solo move just after the Bosberg. As Zabel and his wingman Andreas Klier gave chase, he was able to hold them off to ride to his first big win.

Most riders would be pleased with one monument, but that year he went on to win Paris Roubaix and the World Championships, making him the first rider to achieve 52

such a feat. Boonen then came back the next year and again won the Flanders classic, making people wonder if there was ever going to be another winner in that race.

The clean sweep was not to be, as Tom struggled with his form over the next couple of seasons before winning Paris Roubaix in 2008.

Shortly after that victory, he hit the rails as he tested positive for Cocaine.

Escaping criminal proceedings, he nonetheless was excluded from other races over 2008 and during 2009, only a lengthy legal battle preventing this purgatory continuing. Unfortunately, the mental impact of such a long spell out and the resultant media attention continued to haunt him, until he was able to banish the ghosts in 2012 and again win races. He dominated the Flemish classics last year so completely that he is the only rider to win the Quadruple of E3, Gent Wevelgem, Flanders and Roubaix. Tom Boonen divides opinion even now, but hindsight will cause us to champion his name when we talk about the great classics riders.

Even the most ardent Boonen fan though would be surprised at how much he would dominate

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QHUBEKA

QHUBEKA

THIS TIME FOR WORDS NIALL GRANT IMAGES QHUBEKA / DONOVAN THORNE UNLESS STATED

AFRICA

MTN Qhubeka are big news this Season. We find out why

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t was the stuff miracles are made of. MTN Qhubeka, the first African Pro-Continental cycling team ever, were in the final mix for one of the worlds oldest and most prestigious race, Milan San Remo. A cyclist, Gerald Ciolek, who had dropped off the radar the last few seasons, is there with the greats such as Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan. Most riders would be glad to be there at the finish, but the experienced German rider manouvres the bike brilliantly to leave Sagan and Cancellara openmouthed to sprint across the line and cause one of the great upsets in modern cycling. If no-one had heard of MTN Qhubeka, they had now.

The adventure started in 2006 with a vision to bring cycling to the continent, and to project

African cycling to the world. There have been some improvements in this area over the last few seasons, in particular the Tour du Maroc, the Tour of Algeria and the Tour of

Rwanda, but without the money or the potential sponsors the focus has been more Asian-based in terms of expansion by the UCI. The first years were about finding their feet and these years were spent riding in the African continental races. The biggest development was finding a new South African star, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, who in 2013 signed for Argos Shimano. He borught most of the continental points, but there were other strong riders as well who together allowed them to dominate the UCI Africa Tour in 2010 and 2012. With results like that, it was time to step up a gear.

Though there have been other teams with an African focus including Barloworld, MTN Qhubeka is the first to hold their licence in Africa to make it to pro-continental status. Getting to

QHUBEKA Pro-Continental status is in itself no walkover. There are numerous criteria to fulfill, and UCI points are the least of them. Finances are gone over with a fine toothcomb, huge deposits and guarantees have to be provided, and only after the second attempt were they provided with the licence.

The story of Qhubeka, the teams co-sponsor, is a noble one. Rather than looking to sell phones (though the MTN part of the equation are engaged in that), Qhubeka look at putting something back into Africa to attempt to address the inequality that Apartheid left in South Africa as well as the decades of mismanagement and poverty in the rest of the continent.

They aim to donate bicycles to children who perform valuable services in their community and participate in social or educational programs. It’s a reward to allow rural communities to progress and move forward (Qhubeka is Xhosa for “to carry on”). Since the initiative started, it has donated over 100,000 bikes, an awe-inspiring figure.

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Its these aims that have played a major part in attracting some of cyclings top talent to MTN Qhubeka, not least Gerald Ciolek. Ciolek, a cologne native, was the youngest winner of the German National Championships in 1995 and a former Vuelta Espana stage winner. He was best known as being part of the T-Mobile team together with Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish who made the sprint trio one of the most feared in modern cycling.

Able to generate huge watts on the final sprint, he should have been a natural fit at Omega Pharma QuickStep but he never looked comfortable. When the chance came to join MTN Qhubeka he leapt at it, taking what many would see as a risk but for Gerald it was an opportunity to join a team that meant something more than just victories and keeping sponsors happy. Always the thinking mans cyclist, he enjoys travelling and learning about different cultures, and the move to Qhubeka was the ideal move for him. It’s a move that has brought him the biggest win of his career.

Another European import of note has

been Lithuanian Ignatus Konovalovas, the former movistar TimeTrial specialist. A winner of a Giro D’Italia stage in 2009, he is another rider who was in need of direction and has found just the vehicle to do it. A fellow export from Movistar is Spaniard Sergio Padilla, a rider who has finished on the podium in many notable races including the Tour of Langkawi, the Tour of Austria and the Vuelta Andalucia.

This team though is all about Africa.

Promoting Africa as a continent means having African riders who can prove that they can race with the rest of the Peloton on their terms, as well as developing African riders who can consistently compete at the highest levels. In this respect, they have made an excellent point of gathering the cream of the Continents talent. There are riders from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Algeria as well as their native South Africa.

Adrien Niyonshuti of Rwanda is one of those riders. He is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, six of his brothers dying during the violence. He began riding after getting a gift of a bicycle from his uncle, and was

QHUBEKA

“PEOPLE WONDERED WHY I WOULD JOIN A PRO CONTINENTAL TEAM BUT IT’S JUST BEEN UNBELIEVABLE” Gerald CIOLEK

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QHUBEKA spotted by US Tour de France rider Johnathan Boyer who was in Rwanda at the time. Boyer went on to be Rwandan national coach and immediately picked Niyonshuti who raced in both MTB and Road , as well as being the first Rwandan to race in Europe. He has represented his country in London 2012, and is relishing the chance to race in Europe more often.

Songeso Jim, a South African from the Eastern Cape, had never ridden a bicycle until he was 14. Orphaned at 12, he moved to the outskirts of Cape Town to live with his Aunt. He was able to borrow a bike from a cycling club, and it was all he could think about as he quickly became one of South Africa’s best riders. Initially he had to sneak out and train as his extended family were worried about the impact an injury would have on his work prospects, but these fears dissipated as success came.

After representing South Africa in the Nations Cup, he knew he was ready and was delighted when signing for

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MTN Qhubeka who can give him the chance to race in Europe.

Youcef Reguigui is Algerias first professional cyclist. A country synonymous with bitter political repression and a difficult independence struggle, French jars with Arabic but conviently provides a gateway to those wishing to explore the European racing scene, and is a country full of cycling fans. Youcef followed his father who was also a cyclist into the peloton, but unlike his father he will be racing under a professional contract. He is one of Africas most exciting young cyclists.

He made his European debut in this years Omloop Het Niewsblad, and is expected to take part in races such as the Tour of Turkey during the season.

He describes himself as a one-day rider, though with so many talents it would be surprising for him to restrict himself to this solitary discipline.

The team roster is full of stories to amaze, inspire and entertain, and with

“To think getting to the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and World Championships could start with growing a tree is very exciting for us”

QHUBEKA such emotive stories the team has been courted by most race organisers. Like a metaphor for Africa itself, the team are determined not to rush out and take things too fast, but instead to slowly build a solid foundation that will ensure they remain competitive and sustainable for the years ahead. This is why they have rejected offers to race in Grand Tours so far, and why they want to concentrate first by dipping their toes in the water.

And dip their toes in the water they have. The shock from the warmths of Africas deserts such as Algeria and Rwanda to the depths of the frozen hells of Ghent and the Alps would have put off many other riders. MTN Qhubeka though have managed to prove that they belong through some solid performances. Aside from Milan San Remo which is surely the jewel in the crown, there have been other successes and small victories, not least completing races where some ProTour names were forced to withdraw. The Spring racing season has been a frozen cauldron, fraught with difficulties and it has tested the reserves of the team more than most.

Cycling has been waiting for something to cheer about ever since the revelations of last autumn where yet another scandal and the reaction by the representatives of the Sport seemed to tear itself apart.

In times such as these, cycling is looking for heroes and teams that people can get behind. We want to be sure that those we cheer on the podium are the most deserving of victory, and this concern is at the forefront of the MTN recruitment policy, ensuring that no one who has ever been tainted with the brush of doping will pull on an MTN Qhubeka jersey.

So what can we expect from the new team? Will it lead to a boost in African cycling, will we have the first ever African winner of the Tour De France?

Anything is possible and it’s people doing the impossible that makes cycling so enthralling. PE

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WORDS : STUART ADAMS PHOTOS : SIROTTI

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN? THE RONDE VAN VLAANDEREN IS MORE THAN A RACE, ITS AN IDEAL. AS THE RACE CHANGES AND BREAKS FROM ITS PAST, IS IT TIME FOR THE PAST WINNERS TO STEP ASIDE AS WELL OR CAN THEY GIVE IT ONE LAST SHOT FOR GLORY?

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I The Flemish classic the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, or the Tour of Flanders when translated, is the pinnacle of a classic riders career. The race snakes through the best of the Northern Belgian countryside, taking in such scenic towns as Bruges and Oodenarde. The weather is often bitterly cold, the cobbled climbs can reach 20% in some sections, and there are thousands of flandrians lining the country roads cheering on the latest Belgian star through one of the toughest races they will ever race. It was the second year of a route change that began in 2012 and proved controversial, omitting the famous climb of the Muur de Geraardsburgen which had been the scene of so much drama over the years. Instead, the theatre of conflict would be the Paterberg, a climb the riders have to manage three times in their extended loop around the town of Oodenarde. The route has divided opinions greatly, but it has also made the potential winners field more open.

that required a minor operation, but he was hoping to begin his fightback in what is his most demanding part of the year with this race.

That said, the main contenders would still be familiar, Muur or no Muur.

First was Tom Boonen, the exciting Flandrian rider and king of the cobbles, former winner three times and last years defending champion.

His form had been hampered since an injury to an arm earlier in the season

Then there were the others. Luca Paolini was fresh from his impressive performance in Milan San Remo and after winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad earlier in the year he could not be discounted. The pure sprinters such as Greipel, Kristoff or Degenkolb were on impressive form,

Young pretender Peter Sagan was the most hyped of all the Ronde contenders. The youthful Slovakian with the outrageous victory salutes divides opinion as much as the route change, but no one doubts his talent.

He came close last year in the race, and was hoping to take all the spoils this time around.

Fabian Cancellara had a nightmare of a season last year, beginning with his accident in the feed zone some say caused through inattention and wrote off his spring season. He can never be discounted and had already been in blistering form during the last fortnight with his third place in Milan San Remo followed by a win in the E3. The difficulties facing Leopard seemed not to be affecting his preparation in the same way as last year, and he was expecting a podium place as an absolute minimum.

but the climbs were probably going to be too much for them when it came down to the final third of the race.

So as the race lined up in Bruges with the typical mammoth crowds and a breezy yet dry morning. The weather was still freezing but by now the riders were used to the frozen conditions having spent all spring racing under similar circumstances. As they got underway, the cold spurred the riders on to set a tough pace, pushing 46 KMH at one point and was definitely one way to warm up if the overclothes weren’t doing the job.

The first attack set off before the 10km mark, with Movistar rider Alex Dowsett leading the charge together with Zakkari Dempster from NetApp and Andreas Klier of Garmin. It was far too early to go and little chance of staying out for such a long and demanding race.

Disaster struck Tom Boonen only 19km into the race, hitting a small sign at the side of the road, sending him tumbling over the bars and causing a number of injuries. Though bravely trying to carry on at first, he struggled to get up and saw a deep gash on his right leg. At this he knew his race was over, and he was taken to hospital where it was confirmed that though there were no broken bones, a bad hip injury would cause him to

left ; the start line of the Ronde, massive crowds as always. Right : The riders attack the various climbs and cobbles that make the race so extraordinary.

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play no more part in the Spring classics season. The injury was devastating for Boonen and his fans and eyes would have to turn to someone else for the winner of Flanders this year.

At 50km, the breakaway was finally caught, but the pace slowed only slightly. As the riders came up to the first climb of the day at the Tiegemberg, another attack went this time holding some of the more dangerous riders in the peloton including breakaway specialist Michael Morkov of Saxo Tinkoff Bank. The breakaway was never allowed to get more than a few minutes ground, but as the riders hit the Molenberg, Andre Greipel and Marcel Sieberg from Lotto Belisol went out ahead, and were later joined

by Mchal Kwiartkowski of Omega Pharma andMartin Tjallingii of Blanco. The powerful Greipel seemed to be more aware of the opportunity more than most, and was desperately trying to find people to work with and extend the lead, but the other riders seemed reluctant and lacking in confidence. Every time Greipel pounded the pedals, he was forced to pull back after seeing no one would be there to help.

With the break of six being slowly reeled in, it was time for the real contenders of the race to start playing their hand. Europcar who had been with Voeckler at the front were forced to yield for Radioshack Leopard who came to the front for the first time in a long time. With all the speed being set, some riders were getting warm and before long the flandrian countryside was starting to be a stream of discarded overshoes and rain jackets.

The Koppenberg was next, and it only took one rider in such narrow

lanes to trip for the whole peloton to struggle. With the site of riders dismounting and running up the climb, the Director Sportifs were straight on their radios and again the front leaders were able to extend their gap.

It was always a doomed expedition though, and Radioshack moved quickly back to the front of the chasing peloton. The feed zone was next on the list of dangers and no one was concentrating more than Fabian Cancellara, having had a nasty fall in the section last year.

“One year ago I was on the ground and now I’m back and I’ve won Flanders on the new course” FABIAN CANCELLARA With another 10km from the feed zone, and the riders could see the break who now only had a lead of 20 seconds. Greipel was finished, the others also looking spent. Radioshack kept turning the pedals, working together as a team and looking dangerous. Yaroslav Popyvch was doing a lot of work, face dead ahead at the target breakaway whilst slightly upping the pace, causing the peloton to string out. Just then, disaster strikes as their team leader suffers a puncture.

Cancellara hones all his experience completing the groundwork for the wheel replacement, making the

transition when the car gets there as fast as an F1 pit stop. He was able to ride up to the bunch again and make it look effortless. A lesser rider would have cracked under the pressure, but he was nonchalantly back in the group after some subtle drafting by the team car.

The business end of the race approached, with only 40km to go and slowly the breakaway was sucked in. There was no real attack from the main field, but the pace being set meant only contenders could follow.

Classics Specialist and Lotto Hardman Jurgen Roelandts had made his way into the breakaway group, and it was now looking more dangerous. Sagan, Chavanel and Cancellara led the group, joined by Oscar Gatto before a mechanical caused him a setback.

As the final climb of the Kwaremont approached, Roelandts made his move, dropping the rest of the breakaway and was looking a dangerous outsider with only 18km to go. Cancellara was up to the challenge back in the bunch, going like a rocket fueled by unbelievable power leaving Skys Boassen Hagen and veteran Paolini looking at the disappearing swiss wondering what just happened. Only Sagan was able to follow, as he moved with him not looking anywhere near as confident.

The gap increased massively and the two escapees passed the remnants of the break and the Slovakian superstar was being given a master lesson in Swiss energy. Several times he found it hard to stay on the wheel as the brutal constant pace was breaking the race apart. Roelandts was reeled in as they approached the Paterberg, a steep section of an average 13% gradient. If Cancellara was going to win, this was his move. The rest of the peloton had organized themselves 65

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and Chavanel, Paolini and other big names began to shorten the gap to just 15 seconds.

With the experience of the man they call Spartacus, there was no need for the chasers to even attempt to close the gap. Cancellara knows this climb better than anyone else in the Peloton, and knew exactly when to press the gas. Roelandts was the first to falter, dropping back quickly.

Sagan looked briefly as if he had the power, but he didn’t know Cancellara still wasn’t going full speed as in the middle section he pushed on more and Sagan was done. Like Cancellaras destruction of Boonen on the Muur in 2010, he simply stayed in the saddle and Sagan had nothing.

It was now a matter of a time trial, for Cancellara Sagan having no choice but to fall back with Roelandts. If theres

one man you don’t want to be chasing down as he’s solo with 10km to go it would be the Swiss prologue master.

Against the clock he’s the best in the world, and these distances would give no chance to either Roelandts or Peter Sagan. Cancellara simply rode to victory, extending his lead every kilometer until even with his celebrations he was still 1 minute 30 past his nearest chasing group. Sagan and Roelandts were too finished to contest a sprint for the crowds, the lotto rider happy for the Podium and Sagan forced to accept second place.

The chasing group were not as far behind, rolling in ten seconds later with some surprising names in the placements including a highly respectable fourth for Katusha rider Alexander Kristoff who looks to be the latest young prospect of 2013. Also impressive were placings for Heinrich

Haussler in a resurgent IAM Cycling team, as well as a demonstration that John Degenkolb could ride classics with a top 10 rather than being a pure sprint machine.

The race though was all about the resurgence of Radioshack Leopard and Fabian Cancellara, surely now after this victory can be counted as one of the great classics riders. Even when drama was unfolding around him, he kept a cool head for the climbs, for the mechanicals and for the competition. On his day, Fabian is unbeatable and can make great riders like Sagan and Roelandts look ordinary.

That’s not to take anything away from Peter Sagan and Jurgen Roelandts. To be there with one of the great riders of a generation is prestigious in its own right, particularly with such a high profile race. For Peter Sagan, he continues to go one better in this race year by year, and perhaps if he was to focus more on the riding and less on the drama he would see those second places being converted to victories. In criticism, it was disappointing to see his behavior on the podium and one would expect a more mature head on his shoulders by now.

Roelandts was very happy with his race, and it was pleasing to all to see his bravery earlier in the race rewarded with a podium placement.

The race perhaps lacked the drama of previous editions, but a lot of this is from the fact that two or three riders are head and shoulders about the rest of the field in these conditions rather than any other factor. People like surprises, and no one would begrudge Cancellaras victory but we await for someone other than Boonen to be able to challenge him effectively. PE 67

FAQ

How much does it cost to run a WORLD TOUR

TEAM?

Starting a team of any description is going to cost significant amounts of money, even if the team only races in Europe. They will be darting from France to Italy to Belgium to Spain to Denmark and back before its even gone April. The sheer logistics of carrying over 50 staff members around Europe means a number of costs.

The first are the bikes themselves. These can run into costs of £5000 or more for each bike, and equipment also costs money for all those flat tyres and derailleur problems. And for the people that ride them? Their salaries at a minimum are around £25,000 and this can jump to £2 million if you have a genuine Tour winner or Green Jersey wearer in your team. If your rider’s bill were under £5 Million for the year at the top levels, you would be doing very well indeed. Of course, the riders have Managers. Mechanics. Soigneurs. Media Officers.

All this can add at least another £1 Million to your wages bill. So now your bill is over £7 Million before you’ve even left the front door.

The teams are also expected to contribute towards the UCI’s antidoping enforcement programs as well as all licences, and this can run up to nearly a quarter of a million pounds. When you start adding in Team Buses, Team Cars, Petrol, Hotels, Food, the bill easily adds another £2 Million. This is why it’s essential that Sponsors be on board for the teams, because the costs are completely astronomical to be able to be absorbed or handled alone.

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So for a World Tour team, at the top levels the figure could be £12 Million, whilst even to stay in the World Tour league coasting for UCI points you would need at least £4 Million. These are annual running costs, significant capital outlay would of course add to this.

On the face of it, sponsorship would look a very good deal, the sponsors name plastered all over the jersey and shown round the world if your team is in the break for a 2-hour slot on prime television. The great problem with this is the association that comes from a rider who is subsequently caught cheating, and it’s a massive reputational risk. For example, if you mention the name “Festina” is your first thought the fine Belgian watchmaker of distinction, or the 1998 cycling team that was found doped to its eyeballs?

This leaves us with one of the great dilemmas in cycling.

We need sponsors to keep the sport alive, but sponsors will continue to stay away whilst cycling is perceived to be unclean. This is why riders seem reluctant to discuss the issue, not through any self-preservation but instead the fear from team management and sponsors that scares honest debate and discussion away.

Cycling has come a long way to adjusting the discrepancies between top riders and domestiques, but it remains a very hard sport for an aspiring entrepreneur to enter simply because of the high overheads and difficulty in attracting sponsors.

FAQ

what does a DIRECTOR SPORTIF

actually

THIS ISSUES QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED BY PETER MCTAVISH. ANY MORE? GET IN TOUCH!

DO?

The director Sportif, is the Sporting Director of the team. This can involve a number of roles and rquirements, which continue to incrase as the sport becomes more and more advanced. They are often former professionals themselves, and have varying involvement with the team, dependent on the team themselves.

Their primary role is to provide support to the riders during races. They are often seen screaming out the side of a peugot roaring their rider onto victory, or castigating him in a language or other. Recently we have seen this first hand through the “in car camera”, usually talking to riders over the race radios. They will expect to advise riders of the road conditions, to advise of their competitors positions within the race, how a breakaway is succeeding or failing, or a whole host of other incidents and events that can unfurl during the race.

Tactics of course play a massive part in the role, which is why they tend to be great cyclists. Surprisingly, some of the best Director Sportifs were not necessarily the best riders of their era, though they tend to have been respected highly. Bjarne Riis has a reputation of a hard and difficult director sportif, but he carried this reputation over from his time as a rider. He has taken credit for a number of successes as a DS, especially Alberto Contadors win in the 2012 Vuelta Espana. The idea to attack in Fuente de was alleged to have been as much his as Contadors.

their success. Understanding what is necessary to talk to riders, when to shout and when to mollycuddle, is essential. Johan Bruynel for example made a monster out of Lance Armstrong, but he had very little success with the Schlecks at Nissan Trek, mainly because his abrasive style rubbed them up the wrong way and made them antagonistic. Some directors such as Brian Holm work hard on the relationships they have with their riders, and he played a huge role in the success of Mark Cavendish, and it will be interesting to see the devastation such a partnership will bring to his results once again at Omega Pharma Quickstep.

As the years move on, some Director Sportifs now play a key part in the signing and letting go of riders. Sometimes the sponsors dictate the contracts, especially if the riders have a chequered past that they would prefer their brand not to be affected by, but often the DS is becoming more and more vocal. Some are now heavily involved in not only the main Tour teams, but also the small feeder teams with the neo-pros, advising which riders can make the grade and which can’t In short, the role of Director Sportif is a complex one and an underappreciated one. It can be hands on and it can be hands off dependent on the team, but each one plays a part in the success or failure of the team whatever their style.

Their abilities in man management often reflect well on 69

OPINION

OPINION THE GLOBALISATION OF CYCLING The internationalisation of cycling is a topic that has been hotly debated over the past few seasons, enough for the UCI to be continuing a number of stakeholder meetings on the subject, the most recent being the 18th of March this year. Throughout cycling, we can see its positive effects such as Gerald Cioleks win at Milan San Remo, a German rider racing in Europe with a South African team. Though cycling is a long way to go to be the rainbow nation, steps are going in the right direction.The exposure of the sport to shores outside of central and southern Europe began in the sixties, with the success of riders such as Shay Elliott and Tom Simpson, from Ireland and Britain respectively. These riders landed in the reaches of Flanders and Breton with little more than the shirts on their back, but they were able to forge a successful career under trying circumstances. In both cases though, it would end disastrously, Simpson dying on the slopes of Mount Ventoux from a combination of exhaustion and performance enhancing drugs, whilst Elliott shot himself in 1971 a broken man after his fathers death. Both tragic figures and hardly pinups for the benefits that exposure to foreign shores brought.

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Interest though was piqued further through the arrival of Australian contingents in the same spirit, particularly Allan Peiper and Phil Andersen. After arriving in Europe they impressed enough to ride for some of the greatest teams in that era, and made the sport immensely popular in their native continent. There were also trailblazers from North America, riders such as Greg Lemond and Steve Bauer.

What was most impressive with these new arrivals was their ability to win races, events which previously had been beholden almost exclusively to French and Belgians.

Their arrival was greeted with mixed feelings. The organisers of the events were grateful of the exposure and development , but the riders resented that the riders often found themselves in prime positions that they had been working for their whole lives. What the domestic riders failed to understand was the struggle that these early Europeans undertook to get where they are. No contacts to speak of, they earned their places in the team and got their contracts on merit.

Over time, with the race victories and dedication that these riders showed, in particular in the service of others such as work by Allan Peiper and Steve Bauer, led to respect and acceptance.

OPINION

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OPINION

The most incredible story was that of the Columbian arrivals. From one of the most divided and notorious countries in South America, these riders were posessors of some of the most amazing climbing abilities ever seen. The Columbian National team was given a wildcard entry in an effort to globalize the sport, and they grabbed the opportunity. Luis Herrera was able to win the iconic Alpe D’Huez stage in 1984 whilst still an amateur. After this, a professional team was set up , CafÊ De Columbia, who went on to be one of the cult teams of the late 1980s. They had numerous succeses including stages in the Tour de France, and Luis Herrera winning the Vuelta Espana in 1988.

Their arrival though was not welcomed by some quarters. Laurent Fignon was quite vocal about his opposition to their entry in European cycling, and made several allegations against them.

The Vuelta win was a true watershed moment for globalization, and cycling welcomed teams from diverse countries such as the United States, Russia Venezuela and Asia into the peloton as the years went on. This is reflected now in the language of the riders, who have to now conduct interviews in a variety of dialects and tongues.

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The effect on cycling has been positive, with a smorgasbord of riders with talent being allowed to enter the worlds toughest sport. That said, there have been aspects of xenophobia which have spilled over on the part of the new fans, feeling that their riders are not as welcomed by the Authorities. All of this is of course nonsense, and some riders such as Lance Armstrong or Floyd Landis sought to exploit these fears whereas as more evidence comes to light, these riders were treated fairer than most.

The governing authorities are united in their desire to bring new faces and new fans to the Sport. However, when this has been motivated by financial interests it can sometimes backfire, and the challenge of fitting exciting racing into a difficult European calendar is also problematic. The UCI has come under criticism for seeking to start a number of races in China, an area that is now possessed of enormous wealth. The result is empty roads and little interest when riders could be participating in other far more competitive races. The publicizing of racing in the Middle east can also not be discounted, but again these seems to be motivated purely by financial interests. The terrain is dull and flat, with the only factors being the wind that can cause huge sandstorms

making racing quite unpleasant in places. This can be seen every winter during the Tours of Oman and Qatar, with deserted highways and countries which are generally quite dangerous for cyclists away from the race.

Instead, the cycling authorities should be moving cycling to places that would benefit from the financial attention that such high profile events would bring. Countries such as Columbia, Vietnam and those in Eastern Europe as examples have fabulous cycling traditions where many new fans would also be found. Though its wonderful that events such as the Tour de San Luis in Argentina are receiving higher profiles, there is still so much more that could be done.

The constant drive for money should not be the overriding concern for the governing authorities, but instead they should look at what role they want cycling to play in the world. A more diverse sport would make for a more competitive and exciting one, and nurturing talent at all levels should be the number one concern. The UCI, ASO and RCS should be promoting diversity the right way with seeking out new audiences rather than simply new paycheques. Build the races, and the money will follow. this piece was written by Enrique Morales. his opinions remain his own opinions.

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Contributing Authors Ayesha Iqbal, Peter McTavish Enrique Morales, Stuart Adams

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