Ghent-Wevelgem

[wilmar13]

OK all I have to go on is the Velonews blow by blow. Anybody watch it live can answer the following questions for me:
What happened between Magnus and Pozzato?
Did Mattan draft a motorcycle after Flecha dropped him to get the win?

Enquiring minds want to know???

 

[Roadrash Dunc]

OK all I have to go on is the Velonews blow by blow. Anybody watch it live can answer the following questions for me:
What happened between Magnus and Pozzato?
Did Mattan draft a motorcycle after Flecha dropped him to get the win?

Enquiring minds want to know???

Pozzato was so keen to suck the big green giants wheel that he clipped it just after a corner and took Magnus down with him.Silly ******* , i bet Mangus wasnt too happy although he seemed to come out of it the better.He still couldnt get back to the break , shame , was looking like his day.

The finish was outrageous.Flecha had a massive gap and had the win in the bag but the sponsors cars , tv crews and other asorted traffic did everything but give Mattan a piece of rope to hold onto to get back to Flecha with 100 metres to the line.
He wasnt just drafting a motobike , he had cars and all sorts helping - he literally shot up to Flecha over the last km.
I havent seen such an obvious piece of drafting in along time and not to have the race organisers do something about it is a shame.It was Flecha's race without a doubt if those cars had done as expected and pulled over.
If the race wasnt in Belgium you can bet there'd have been an uproar , but as it is , they got a Belgian winner so i guess nothing will be done.

 

[DiabloScott]

I've been reading some posts on an Italian newsgroup and boy those guys are mad as hell. Calling the whole thing a scandal. It's a big enough deal to get argued about forever, and I think there will be official protests, but I don't think they'll penalize Mattan.

A similar thing happened in Flanders where race vehicles helped get PvP and Boonen to the bottom of the Muur de Geraardsbergen a little quicker - not as manipulative in the final result but just as inappropriate.

Haven't found quite as much spite in the Spanish sites that Flecha was robbed, maybe just a matter of time. Or maybe there's an Italian-Belgian hostility that is playing a part in all this.

 

[BelgianDude]

I've seen the race on TV and the cars and motorcycles were just not expecting Mattan to get back to Flecha.

Flecha said afterwards that he's happy with the 2nd place and that the strongest guy won the race

 

[Roadrash Dunc]

I've seen the race on TV and the cars and motorcycles were just not expecting Mattan to get back to Flecha.

Flecha said afterwards that he's happy with the 2nd place and that the strongest guy won the race

Id love to see that quote , i call BS myself.He was flat out robbed.If thats what he said hes being way too diplomatic.Ive nothing against the Belgians atall , but this race was bent.Mattan might not be at fault , but the race organisers are.It was chaeting , pure and simple.

 

[Laggard]

The fact is he caught up to the motorcade on his own. Once there he didn't spend more than a second behind each vehicle and once past them he continued to pull away to the finish.

 

[BelgianDude]

Id love to see that quote , i call BS myself.He was flat out robbed.If thats what he said hes being way too diplomatic.Ive nothing against the Belgians atall , but this race was bent.Mattan might not be at fault , but the race organisers are.It was chaeting , pure and simple.

no BS at all, he said it an interview on Belgian TV.

his own words are here - (In Dutch, so you have to trust me)

http://www.standaard.be/Nieuws/Sport/index.asp?Snel=1&ArticleID=DMF06042005_040

....Eigenlijk ben ik niet echt ontgoocheld, maar eerder tevreden met die tweede plaats. Nico Mattan was voor mij de sterkste renner in de wedstrijd. De manier waarop hij over mij kwam, zegt genoeg.....

Translation

I'm not really disappointed and I'm happy with my 2nd place. Nico Mattan was the strongest in the race, the way he outsprinted me says it all

 

[tcklyde]

no BS at all, he said it an interview on Belgian TV.

Anyone have any info on Andreas Klier's condition? The few pictures I saw sure seemed to make it look like he was in a lot of pain...

 

[BelgianDude]

Anyone have any info on Andreas Klier's condition? The few pictures I saw sure seemed to make it look like he was in a lot of pain...

hospital, knee and foot

 

[patch70]

hospital, knee and foot

Apparently no broken bones but unsure whether he'll start in P-R.

 

[Roadrash Dunc]

no BS at all, he said it an interview on Belgian TV.

his own words are here - (In Dutch, so you have to trust me)

http://www.standaard.be/Nieuws/Sport/index.asp?Snel=1&ArticleID=DMF06042005_040

....Eigenlijk ben ik niet echt ontgoocheld, maar eerder tevreden met die tweede plaats. Nico Mattan was voor mij de sterkste renner in de wedstrijd. De manier waarop hij over mij kwam, zegt genoeg.....

Translation

I'm not really disappointed and I'm happy with my 2nd place. Nico Mattan was the strongest in the race, the way he outsprinted me says it all

Ah thanks for that dude.The pictures i saw must have been confusing.Seems like it wasnt a big deal.

 

[bobke]

Anyone else remember when George Hincapie won Philadelphia Nat Pro Championships, the AFTER the podium ceremony at the press conference the win was taken away from him, when another team lodged a protest that he was drafted back after a flat near Lemon Hill for a km or so. George accepted it and moved on.