The Thread about Nothing....

[531Aussie]

er, um.....I don't suppose anyone watched one of the biggest races on the calendar last night?

What happened to Cooke toward the end? I guess when he got back on that bunch after his little crash he didn't have enough to do anything more than just stay with that group. Is he dreaming when he says he reckons he's a chance for a Classic?

And what about O'Grady? Did he fark up by missing the move when Cancellara went up the road?

 

[thunder]

er, um.....I don't suppose anyone watched one of the biggest races on the calendar last night?

What happened to Cooke toward the end? I guess when he got back on that bunch after his little crash he didn't have enough to do anything more than just stay with that group. Is he dreaming when he says he reckons he's a chance for a Classic?

And what about O'Grady? Did he fark up by missing the move when Cancellara went up the road?

Cookie goes bang about 200 kms. His gear aint good enough. I though Corti would have fixed that.

Both at Flanders and Roubaix, at about 200km he had the best position in the bunch, top 5.

The only problem, no help. But you can follow wheels. I think he must just not have the adequate energy system.

Has done ok in Paris Tours, did ok at Zolder Belgium worlds in 02, and in 03 San Remo, top 15 I think.

But not in Flanders and Roubaix. He knows the roads well enouugh now, no longer an excuse.

 

[thunder]

531, Ogrady was on the back of the bunch, he could not follow the move as he had to be an anchor on Maaskant and Hoste. He could not tow them up to Canc/Boonen/Ballan.

 

[bbp]

531, Ogrady was on the back of the bunch, he could not follow the move as he had to be an anchor on Maaskant and Hoste. He could not tow them up to Canc/Boonen/Ballan.

Yeah it looked exciting when OGrady bridged up to Devolder and was in front but I don't think Devolder ever had any intention of making an effort to break to the finish, he had his go last week and was simply whittling that group of 30 down for his boss Boonen. CSC had to decide whether to let O'Grady try to make it to the end which (even if he was strong enough) would have given Devolder a free tow, or leave it to Cancellara to try and face off with Boonen. Once Tom and Fabian got free Stijn and Stuey were never going to tow the others back up.
CSC tried to control things a bit but Quickstep had more numbers there for longer and were just too good.
I was a bit annoyed the broadcast took so long to start. What was it 10.45 when the satellite feed finally came on? The jostling before Arenberg would have been handy to see.

 

[Albert 50]

Can we have a report from the B2B.
Al?

110k of pain!!! I had a relaxing ride last year. This one I always felt like I was suffering although I was a couple of minutes quicker. Perception isn’t everything I guess. I wanting to crack the 3.30 mark this year but missed out by a few minutes. Maybe that means a return next year?

The start was in waves 3 minutes apart with the over 50s starting last, 12 minutes behind the elite. The timing was done via transponders attached to your ankles which made you almost feel like a pro. We had to contend with freezing rain in the early part, some guys were riding in hail, fortunately I missed that. I did a lot of work in the small group I was with before Rockley Mtn & it rained before I got there with the 2k gravel section softened up enough that your tyres sunk in about 10mms making the grade appear even steeper. I started the decent from Rockley solo & rode for about 15 ks before a group from the short coarse came along around 8ks from Bathurst.

The absolute ***** of a hill taking you to the top of Mount Panorama is 1k of terror after already doing 109ks. I did some zigzagging at times with the occasional off seat effort getting me to the top.

The overall winner was Andrew Crawley from Turramurra 2:49:09 & the fastest over 50 was in 03:08:59.

I suffered badly from the old back as well this year

Hey saccy, I called into the Knickerbockers & asked some of the cricket club guys did they know of a club member that rode a treadly & only got "ahhh...not that I know of"

 

[531Aussie]

531, Ogrady was on the back of the bunch, he could not follow the move as he had to be an anchor on Maaskant and Hoste. He could not tow them up to Canc/Boonen/Ballan.

thanks. I know he can't take competitors up to a teammate, but I thought he could've gone off at the same time as Cancellara. Maybe he was a bit knackered after his effort to get off the front

 

[badsac]

Hey saccy, I called into the Knickerbockers & asked some of the cricket club guys did they know of a club member that rode a treadly & only got "ahhh...not that I know of"

Gah that sucks. Though not surprising since I don't rekon I would have known half the people there and 3/4 of the ones I did probably wouldn't know I ride. Should have told you to ask for Baldy. That would have found me. I only ended up having 4 beers too so I could have rode.

Good work on the B2B. It sounded like the conditions were a bit more challenging this year. We actually went up to Rockley mount to watch the leaders go through. What about the peanuts closing half the road to put up a bloody safety barrier on the day of Bathurst biggest race? Probably the same wankers that don't believe bikes should be on the road and are always trying to sideswipe us. Thought the cones would cause more problems than they did. The only one we saw get out of shape was a bloke from the Bathurst Cycling club. Guess he was flat out on the good line the locals know about and didn't expect wankers to be putting obstacles on it. And year the back way up the mount is seriously steep. There were some dudes getting off and walking a bit even up near the leaders. I wonder if it would be worth turning right and doing it the right way round.

But yeah good work on beating your best time. I'll definitely be having a crack at it next year.

 

[classic1]

thanks. I know he can't take competitors up to a teammate, but I thought he could've gone off at the same time as Cancellara. Maybe he was a bit knackered after his effort to get off the front

It looked like he was totally marking Devolder to me.

 

[531Aussie]

It looked like he was totally marking Devolder to me.

I see

Do you reckon CSC decided that Cancellara was going better than O'Grady, or did they just let it unfold?

 

[classic1]

Cancellara was the pea but they'd take what they could get. O'Grady was obviously on a good day. I wouldn't think they would have been unhappy with an O'Grady v Devolder scenario if it came to a sprint in the velodrome.

 

[531Aussie]

How the heck did Maaskant get passed O'Grady, then get a gap on him? I couldn't believe it. I was just waiting for him to come in fourth, but........

 

[oely]

Cookie goes bang about 200 kms. His gear aint good enough. I though Corti would have fixed that.

Both at Flanders and Roubaix, at about 200km he had the best position in the bunch, top 5.

The only problem, no help. But you can follow wheels. I think he must just not have the adequate energy system.

Has done ok in Paris Tours, did ok at Zolder Belgium worlds in 02, and in 03 San Remo, top 15 I think.

But not in Flanders and Roubaix. He knows the roads well enouugh now, no longer an excuse.

He did have a pretty nasty crash apparently too, after he had chased back on

 

[Thylacine]

Why are you guys still here?

 

[bbp]

Cancellara was the pea but they'd take what they could get. O'Grady was obviously on a good day. I wouldn't think they would have been unhappy with an O'Grady v Devolder scenario if it came to a sprint in the velodrome.

I'm sure CSC would have loved that, but Boonen's reputation was riding on P-R after a lean year (?) and he had already given Devolder an up the road pass which became a win the week before, so once the damage was done they called him off, and thus Stuey's day was done. I'd say that the press talk from CSC before the race was not spin, and they were happy to play the Fabian card above the Stuey card too. Considering the selection SO'G and SD had already made in the group behind with their attack, he was pretty likely spent for the moment and ready for a breather too. All in all good work by the two lieutenants for their captains.
Although we're neglecting Ballan in this. For my money he made that group of three early on, and without the same kind of support in the prelude. Didn't leave enough in the tank for the final showdown this time, but he'll get there I'm sure.

 

[classic1]

Letting go is hard. We are trying to get closure.

 

[bbp]

Letting go is hard. We are trying to get closure.

Is you's a curmudgeon too?

 

[matagi]

Why are you guys still here?

Why not?

 

[bbp]

I see

Do you reckon CSC decided that Cancellara was going better than O'Grady, or did they just let it unfold?

It would be interesting to know what would have happened if FC had been sent to cover SD and leave O'Grady''s powder dry to cover Boonen in the final run in, but alas.

 

[classic1]

Is you's a curmudgeon too?

Curmudgeon? Sounds like a type of vegetable.

 

[531Aussie]

The more I think about it, was Boonen ever gunna lose?