Doppio: 03

a weekly double-shot of road racing

Wednesday 3rd April 2013

issue 03

rapha.cc

30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

—Ronde van Vlaanderen

—Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco

—Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco

de ronde review + paris-roubaix preview

Of Mice and Men Peter Sagan CANNONDALE

2

Fabian Cancellara RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK

1

Jürgen Roelandts LOTTO BELISOL

3

We are in the middle of two weeks in Flanders, the historical region that spans the Belgian and French borders on the shores of the North Sea, that are already proving the Scots poet Rabbie Burns to be a shrewd commentator on the Classics: "The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry / And leave us nought but grief and pain, / For promised joy."

Tom Boonen’s early crash in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday past – at 19km from the start so early that the UK TV coverage missed it – changed that race completely, and will have provoked a major reconfiguration of Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s season. Boonen may have struggled to rebuild his form since an elbow operation in January, and crashing out of Gent-Wevelgem the week before hardly increased his prospects at the Ronde.

Geraint Thomas’s race also did not go to plan when the Team Sky rider, who had said that the Ronde was his main target after re focusing on the road after the Olympics, went down in the bunch on a flat, straight section of road with 35km to go.

Despite the help of some friendly Garmin-Sharp soigneurs in sorting out his mechanicals, Thomas failed to build on his initial promise. The race had already taken on a strangely neutralised quality in the wake of Boonen’s crash, so the attack by Fabian Cancellara, which would culminate in the moment of truth between him and Peter Sagan, seemed inevitable. In the event, Cancellara dispatched the Slovak almost as easily as he did Boonen on the Kapelmuur in 2010, before time-trialling his way to victory from the final climb.

So what of Roubaix? Never a straightforward race, its roots lie in a scheme by two industrialists to promote their newly built velodrome in the town.

WEDNESDAY —Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco —Scheldeprijs

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

—Driedaagse De PanneKoksijde

—Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco

—Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco

—Paris-Roubaix

They contacted Le Vélo, a Parisian paper, which sent a correspondent, Victor Breyer, to ride some of the course. Arriving filthy and exhausted from the cobbles, Breyer swore he’d send a telegram to his superiors calling off the idea; yet, after warming up with a few drinks, no doubt paid for by the putative race hosts, the telegram was never sent. All of which is to say that Paris-Roubaix is the result of a delirious masochist’s bar-room schemes (Victor Breyer went on to preside over the Tour de France’s legendary, lunatic first ascent of the Tourmalet in 1910), and any prognostications should be approached with extreme caution.

Boonen will not be there, but, in no particular order, Cancellara, Ian Stannard, Lars Boom and Johan Vansummeren will. As will a reinstated four-star sector of cobbles not seen since 2008, a 1,600m stretch between Wallers and Hélesmes, which could prove significant. Renamed Pont Gibus, after Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle, it comes just after the Trouée d’Arenberg and contributes to the 52.6km of rough stuff this year, an increase on 2012. And, should current forecasts prove accurate, there will be cold, wet weather. If it does rain (and weather predictions are only marginally more reliable than the riders’ starting prices), it will be the first wet Roubaix since 2002. One thing is certain: unlike Tour of Flanders, where both the men’s and women’s races were perfectly executed by their respective winners, next Sunday, the best laid plans of mice and men will go awry. paris-roubaix race type: Monument distance: 254.5km region: Northern France cobbles: 27 sectors / 52.6km

who’s your pic k for # pr ost y le?

quote:

Pain was my share today, up to next year @TomBoonen1

From the cobbles of the Kwaremont and the steep Paterberg, it's only a small step to an MTB race, isn't it? @Marianne_Vos raced MTB the day after Flanders… and won

moment of panache: The RVV was a chronicle of an attack foretold.

Everyone – including Sagan – knew Cancellara had to attack from the front and ride the contenders off his wheel. So Fabian’s final burst on the Paterberg was all the more impressive for it.

a weekly double-shot of road racing

Wednesday 3rd April 2013 weekend weather

junior paris-roubaix

Cobbleshock London

San Francisco

Osaka

Roubaix

Sunny Saturday, rain Sunday, 7C. Winter Jersey, but time for shades!

55F average, with sunny intervals.

Merino Arm Warmers and a Gilet required.

Highs of 18C; sunny intervals, chance of rain.

Trade Team Jersey, Classic Bib Shorts, Wind Jacket.

Overcast with a light breezes, highs of 8C. Arm Warmers, Knee Warmers, courage.

women’s ronde van vlaanderen

Va Va Vos Charlotte Easton of the Look Mum No Hands! race team recounts the Women's Ronde as she saw – or tried to see – it.

Short of flying to Oudenaarde, hiring a helicopter and borrowing some binoculars it is pretty difficult to watch the whole of the Women’s Ronde. For years the men’s Spring Classics have inspired me to get out and ride my bike come what may. The riders exude a kind of toughness more commonly associated with frontline servicemen. Stoicism in the face of adversity. Initial investigations into how I would watch the Ronde voor Vrouwen were disappointing, but like the riders, I persevered.

My efforts across multiple media streams paid off, and I watched pre-race favourite Marianne Vos storm to victory, filling the only significant gap in her palmarès. The photographs of her crossing the line show how determined she had been and how fiercely she had contested the sprint. Ramping up the pace from the 200m mark she moved away from the group of four, and despite the raw aggression of Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-lululemon), and Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS), who chased right to the line, Vos was unassailable.

There had been early breaks in the 127km but they were brought back by the bunch. A group of three: Vos, Johansson and Elisa Longo Borghini (Hitec Products UCK), made the move that was to stick.

Vos set the pace while the others fell in behind her to take their turns. The heroic effort of the unmistakable, rangy twenty-six-yearold Van Dijk who crossed to the break was somewhat reminiscent of Cancellara’s work in the men’s race hours later.

The phenomenal strength of Emma Johansson will be what sticks with me. Her do-or-die attack in the last kilometres was feisty, courageous and brilliant. It’s just that Vos is something otherworldly. Her strength is Olympian in its quality. She is the warrior who has set the tone for a generation of female riders to come.

Eighteen-year-old Tao Geoghegan Hart was born and raised in east London. Part of the British Cycling Olympic Development Programme, the talented teenager was competing at last year’s Junior ParisRoubaix. With 20km to go, and with thoughts of the Roubaix velodrome looming, Tao was riding well and feeling strong. But they call it the Hell of North for a reason...

The race was a war of attrition, the bunch becoming ever smaller as crashes, cobbles and mechanical catastrophes gradually claimed victims among the hopefuls. Each sector would arrive complete with a fresh surge of adrenaline, urging you forward and through the mêlée of bodies.

The smoothness of the tarmac that followed was such a shock it felt like the abnormal element of the race. As the sectors came and went, my hands became increasingly tender; what I can only imagine arthritis feels like began creeping into my knuckles and fingers. Despite this, the legs continued to go and, fuelled by the fervour of the occasion, not to mention caffeinated cola gels and sticky, foil-clad cake, I soldiered on.

And just as I’d predicted, it was at 20km to go that crunch time arrived. The scar on my back, the hole ripped in my Pro Team Base Layer, both provide reminders of that moment, before I hit the deck, when I was still in with a chance. I have no idea how I crashed. But I remember the back spasms, the shame of riding at the rear of the field on the biggest of cycling stages. I remember, too, riding to the Roubaix velodrome with my head down; I was still fighting but this time it was to hold back the tears. The gates to the mythical velodrome closed moments before I arrived. It was one of my worst races of the year but one of the biggest lessons of my life.

Tao has again been selected to ride the Junior Paris-Roubaix for Great Britain this year. Read his full account of last year’s ride on the Rapha blog from Thursday 4th April. Visit: rapha.cc.

pavé pop charts

The top five Paris-Roubaix 2013 sectors.

5

4

3

2

1

Troisvilles à Inchy

Monsen-Pévèle

Wallers à Hélesmes

Carrefour de l’Arbre

Trouée d'Arenberg

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who’s your pi c k for # pr ost y le?

Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco. Screened live all week at Rapha Cycle Clubs.