Velo Club Sud Eglise

What a carry on – VCSE reflects on the Ronde

Yesterday confirmed that whatever hex Fabian Cancellara was under in 2012 has left him and is making Tom Boonen’s year one to forget. Last year, Cancellara fell while going through a feed zone (Geraint Thomas suffered a similar crash yesterday) while Boonen won the first running of the Ronde on it’s new parcours.

Cancellara had demonstrated his form at Milan San Remo and had proved imperious at E3 Harelbeke, riding away from the field with kilometres to spare. Much of the speculation ahead of this years classics was whether the tactic of attempting to ride rivals off his wheel would work with Peter Sagan in particular and riders like of Sylvain Chavanel looking in good touch. The relative strengths of Cancellara’s team Radioshack verses OPQS, Cannondale and even Sky in the classics was also questioned, with Cancellara often having no teammates to work with as races reached their closing stages.

His performance at E3 probably made him joint favourite with Sagan ahead of the Ronde. Boonen, who was bidding to win for a record third time has shown flashes of form this year but nothing resembling his results in 2012.

Eurosport were putting the editorial direction if not their money on a Boonen Cancellara face off. When the snooker from Bejing had finished overrunning the plan was to show extended interviews with both riders before cutting to the live feed. Like many great plans it unravelled in the face of a tweet from Boonen’s girlfriend announcing that he was already out of the race with less than 20 k’s completed. There was ample footage of the aftermath but with no other riders apparently involved, during the race at least it was unclear how it had occured.

As hasty re-edits were implemented we at least enjoyed Cancellara rhapsodising about the race. While he appeared quietly confident, you could sense Boonen’s realism about his chances even in a shortened interview.

Using this parcours for the second time the peloton would climb the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg three times and as the leaders approached for the final time the critical moves were poised to take place. The intervening kilometres had been characterised by a surprisingly strong showing from Radioshack with Hayden Roulston doing some monster turns at the head of the peloton. There was a breakaway for much of the race but this was never more that a few minutes away.

Up the final climb of the Paterberg it was now head to head between Cancellara and Sagan as their rivals in leading group ran out of legs. As the outside bets prepared to argue over the scraps Cancellara and Sagan began their final ascent of the Kwaremont. Those hoping for a Sagan win hoped that the signs that fatigue was setting in over the crest of the Paterberg was illusory. As both riders hit the final third of the climb those hopes were dashed as Sagan faltered as Cancellara picked up the pace.

What had been 30 seconds at the summit was over a minute at the end as Cancellara the time trialler delivered an emphatic victory, slowing to a comparative crawl as he crossed the line. Sagan had a job on his hands to retain his podium position, working hard with eventual third place finisher Jurgen Roelandts of Lotto.

Lotto could feel pleased with their race. A rider in the break all day, joined by Andre Greipel and as those two faded late on the faintest chance of a solo win for Roelandts. Sky’s fabled classics squad failed to fire again and it’s hard to see things improving at Paris Roubaix on Sunday.

The post race analysis was dominated not by Cancellara’s victory but Sagan’s unfortunate arse grab of one of the podium girls. Cue a lot of hand wringing about sexism in the sport. There’s clearly lots to discuss at the inequalities between men’s and women’s professional cycling but Sagan’s actions don’t merit becoming the metaphor for this.

As for Boonen, he would be forgiven for writing off his season now. Reports suggest that he didn’t sustain any broken bones but with it looking unlikely that he will be able to put in many miles ahead of the weekend it’s hard to see him beating his ‘other’ record at Paris Roubaix on Sunday.

She can sing too! – UCI women’s world cup Trofeo Alfredo Binda

Race report and video from yesterdays Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Look out for Marianne Vos having a singalong on the start line; not too sure about her taste in music!

Do Sky have a new game plan? – VCSE’s Racing Digest

The weather across Europe has showed solidarity with even Corsica resembling the UK this weekend. The stage race in 48 hours that is the Criterium International had opened with Saturday’s short (sprint) stage followed by a time trial.

Richie Porte echoed some of the form that had seen him win the Col d’Eze time trial at Paris Nice a few weeks ago taking a one second advantage into today’s final stage to the top of the Col de l’Ospedale. But where was Chris Froome? Richie admitted that he had come to ‘work for Froome’ so it was perhaps a result that even Sky hadn’t planned for.

Sky’s preferred tactic of riding off the front in stage races hasn’t won them universal praise but as we have mentioned in previous posts the Sky system isn’t infallible. Bradley Wiggins’ preparations for the Giro haven’t exactly gone according to plan as he lost his support riders as the highest summits and steepest ramps approached. Wiggins coped manfully with this in Catalunya attacking at pace and blowing the peloton apart on more than one stage. However both of Sky’s leaders look vulnerable when they have burnt all of their (supporting) matches.

Until today that is, as the peloton approached the finish with Porte in yellow. Sky had been doing their normal job with Kiryenka leading, Froome mostly out of camera shot sheltering Richie. With seconds between the GC including Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) and Andrew Talansky (Garmin) the race was finely poised. An attack from Johann Tschopp (IAM) did for Kiryenka and with BMC and AG2R holding a numerical advantage Sky looked susceptible to attacks.

What happened instead was that Froome attacked! Rain and cloud prevented seeing it, but the confusion of Van Garderen and the others was palpable. Was Froome chasing down Tschopp? Had he realised he had lost Porte? While minds were blown Froome raced away and by the time Van Garderen and Talansky responded the damage had been done. Porte showed he still had the legs by riding away himself and claiming second although he would be relinquishing the overall to Froome.

From VCSE’s perspective the result could open up a new way of winning for Sky. In Porte Sky have a rider who looks like a potential GC contender. If Sky were to take two potential GC winners into the grand tours this year they could make themselves much harder to mark if they were prepared to flip the leaders jersey the way they did today in the Criterium.

It’s a tactic that could really pay off as a number of Sky’s rivals for GC honours do not possess a strong second leader, Katusha an obvious example. The question is; was today’s result for Sky by accident or design?

The return of Spartacus – wheelie’s optional

A win to please everyone (well most people!) saw Fabian Cancellara win Friday’s E3 Harelbeke. The race named after a motorway, while not one of the top classic races, had a strong field including Tom Boonen and Peter Sagan.

There’s been a lot of discussion about Cancellara’s continued ability to ride people off his wheel and Spartacus himself had shown his frustration at doing the hard work in races like Milan San Remo last year only to lose out in the final sprint to the line.

Boonen and Cancellara had been in an elite breakaway over the famous climbs of Flanders but it was Boonen that cracked first as Cancellara’s pace proved too much for everyone. Cancellara showed signs of hitting form at the right time last week at Milan San Remo but for Boonen following his abandonment at the same race there are signs that he could be having the kind of luck in the classics this year that Cancellara had last year.

Another rider hitting form at the right time is Peter Sagan, although with Sagan it seems he is always capable of doing something. Podium spots at E3 and Milan San Remo have been eclipsed today with victory in Gent Wevelgem.

If the first few races of the classics season have been a battle of attrition against the weather then Sagan has proved to be the most hardy member of the peloton following another abandonment by Tom Boonen (following a crash) and Cancellara.

Everything is nicely poised for next weeks Tour of Flanders. Can Tom Boonen rediscover the form that made him so dominant last year? Unless it was the ultimate hubristic gesture, Boonen’s wearing of a jersey listing the number of his wins at E3 suggests he believes he is capable of winning this year.

if the weather doesn’t improve in the next seven days Flanders could throw up another surprise winner like a Ciolek or require the consistency of a Sagan or Cancellara. VCSE suggests a good each way bet could be someone prepared to animate the race like Heinrich Haussler.

Super Sub

Bradley Wiggins wasn’t the only rider at the Volta a Catalunya this week preparing for the Giro. Ryder Hesdejal had chosen the race as his first of the season where he will be hoping to defend his title in Italy against another face from this weeks action Jaoquim Rodriguez.

Unfortunately for Hesdejal things didn’t go quite as planned and he looked out of sorts in the mountains during the mid week stages. The good news for Garmin was that Dan Martin was in great touch and his solo on the queen stage on Thursday was VCSE’s ride of the week.

Dan has talked in recent weeks about his chances and while his overall win went down to the wire around the Olympic park in Barcelona today his closest rival Rodriguez failed to offer much resistance. Whether the result will see the emergence of Martin as a grand tour contender this year remains to be seen but as with Richie Porte it provides his team with options.

Unstoppable? Maybe..

The next round of the women’s world cup took place in Italy today with the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. The inevitable question of who could challenge Marianne Vos for the win was answered by a native. Elisa Longo Borghini (Hitec). Part of two rider break with Amanda Spratt (Orica), Borghini broke away to the delight of the understandably partisan crowd.

VCSE’s own favourite’s Wiggle Honda didn’t figure today but have got off to a great start in their inaugural season with wins for Georgia Bronzini and Emily Collins in recent weeks.

VCSE on Flipboard

One of the apps we really love at Velo Club Sud Eglise is Flipboard. It’s an aggregator for news, the things we’re interested in and social feeds like Twitter.

Of all the aggregators available it has the dual benefits of looking great on either tablet or phone and the ability to ‘hack’ the content to add your own stuff.

There are numerous links on how to do this online but if you have an RSS feed or the URL for a RSS feed you can add the blogs you like to your Flipboard.

Flipping Brilliant – VCSE on Flipboard for iPad

We have an RSS follow link on our home page you can use to get VCSE on your mobile device. Send us am email if you need any help with getting our content in this format.

Not too shabby – Flipboard for Android

Posted with Blogsy

Polar Express – VCSE’s view on the Spring Classics #2

Following a weekend away VCSE was looking forward to catching up with the first of the seasons key classic races; Milan San Remo. After the aborted attempt to view our recording of Kuurne Brussels Kuurne only to find that it had been cancelled due to snow the first few minutes of MSR felt like deja vu.

As Eurosport began their live feed on Sunday the race was currently stopped as the teams bussed the riders around the snow bound Turchino climb. In between episodes of some kind of sporting ‘You’ve been framed’ we were treated to the sight of the conditions on the climb through the sweeps of the wipers on the producers car.

Bypassing the snow if not persistant heavy rain and low temperatures the organisers prepared to re start the race with around 130km to go, allowing the six man breakaway to restore their 7 minute advantage before releasing the peloton. For the first hour or so the coverage was definitely for die hards as the feed from the motorbike cameras degraded into an acid trip or simply ‘froze’ whenever they were risked to be shown. Race radio was equally patchy in giving accurate information; suggesting at one point that Sylvain Chavanel had abandoned which was ironic when he appeared in the group contesting the win in the final stages.

There were some notable retirements (read did not want to get off the bus at the restart) including Tom Boonen and Niki Terpstra from Omega Pharma. When Chavanel’s ‘retirement’ was announced Mark Cavendish’s prediction that he would not figure in the race seemed prescient, albeit not for the reasons he gave beforehand.

The reduction in race distance may have pointed the outcome towards the sprinters but the conditions made predicting the likely winner a lottery. As the Cipressa climb approached the breakaway was caught and the cameras seemed to have dried out enough for the ‘real’ race to start.

Surprise Surprise – Ciolek in OPQS days

The two big stories? Gerald Ciolek winning would be a good place to start. Ciolek riding for neo pro conti team MTN-Qhubeka would have been among the outside bets even after the restart. MTN’s presence in the early season races has been universally welcomed as the first pro team from Africa but the coverage on Sunday had initially focused on some poorly handled wheel changes.

Ciolek timed his ride perfectly admitting that his tactics had been to ensure that he stayed in touch with the leaders over the final Poggio climb. Of the final bunch the descending the climb and heading towards the finish line Ciolek was arguably the only out and out sprinter present. However with the likes of Cancellara, Sagan in the group he still wouldn’t have been favourite.

You had to feel for Ian Stannard as the riders crossed the line in sixth place. Stannard was the man for all but the last few hundred metres. When the peloton had caught the break after another monster turn by Vasil Kiryenka Team Sky would have been looking to deliver Geraint Thomas or Edvald Boasson Hagen to the line. The Sky machines grand plan unravelled when Thomas appeared to slip on a white line taking out Tyler Farrar in the process. Boasson Hagen was dropped on the Cipressa but by now all eyes were on Stannard who had broken away with Chavanel on the Poggio.

Stannard will be a leader in some of the forthcoming Belgian classics and possibly Paris Roubaix also but he isn’t known for his sprinting prowess. He had the bit between his teeth on Sunday and deserves a Chapeau! for continually attacking, burning matches furiously and leading onto the finishing straight.

Peter Sagan may feel disappointed that he allowed Ciolek to get the drop on him at the line but he could be forgiven for having one eye on Fabian Cancellara. Cancellara himself said that he was happy with third in the conditions as ‘to arrive.. was victory in itself’.

For the Qhubeka team and Ciolek winning Milan San Remo was ‘incredible’ and announces them on the world stage in the best way possible. This was a fairytale result and it will be interesting to see whether the win spurs them on to bigger things. It’s hard to see that Ciolek would have won in ‘normal’ conditions and his victory came from his own tactical positioning rather than how the the team had worked for him.

There’s every chance that Stannard will kick on from this. His ride added up to so much more than his final placing. Sky have talked up how they intend to feature in the classics this season. Previously they have been criticised for not adapting to racing incidents, but Sunday indicated that they have learnt some new tricks.

As we head to Belgium this weekend things are shaping up nicely.

One for Tyler… not sure about Lance

We have managed to avoid talking about the inevitable so far but just in case anyone is in any doubt as to the VCSE position here’s a couple of new additions to the VCSE store.

The Pan y Agua T Shirt is available in our standard unisex style but as we think this is gonna be a popular line we have added a girls specific T Shirt also. Like all VCSE products they are out of competition tested ;o)

Not sure if Lance is going to want one but I think Tyler will get where we are coming from!

Just like Steve McQueen

Here at VCSE we have always been big fans of the the classic orange on baby blue colours of the Gulf Porsche team from the early 70’s. As a bit of a homage to the best racing livery in endurance racing and a nod to a certain cinematic icon we have updated the Track Club T Shirt.

Click through to the VCSE store and start your engines!

One for the ladies..

Doing the Giro? - new VCSE girls T shirt — Doing the Giro? – new VCSE girls T shirt

To mark VCSE’s decision to offer more coverage of the women’s racing scene we have added a women’s specific design to the VCSE store. In Giro pink and with every Giro Donne winner listed on the back.

All of our other designs are produced as a unisex T but we know that this new style offers a great fit.

Follow the links to the VCSE store on the right hand side of the page if viewing on your PC or Mac or at the bottom of the page on your tablet or mobile.

‘A girl who just likes riding her bike’

Joy (joi) noun – A feeling of great pleasure and happiness / a thing that causes joy

Recently reading some articles about Marianne Vos I was struck by two things that seem perhaps unconnected. The first; the fact that if she was a man she would be cast as the heir to Eddy Merckx, arguably the greatest ever cyclist. She is the consummate racer, a world and Olympic champion, winning across any two wheeled discipline she chooses. This in itself is noteworthy, one feels she should be celebrated more. Her profile should be higher than it undoubtedly is while she is still in her 20’s.

The greater impact is felt from the pictures in the two articles which were in the kind of magazines that probably see articles more as essays. In one photo, taken in winter sunshine so bright you can imagine the cold air, Vos is at a Cyclocross meeting. She beams from the page. Maybe from the satisfaction of a race won or someone who is naturally at ease having her picture taken. Perhaps her smile is because Marianne Vos enjoys riding her bike, any bike in any discipline, for ridings sake.

Happy - Marianne Vos — Happy – Marianne Vos

It’s natural here in the UK to seek to cast someone in the role of pantomime villain (only we actually know what a pantomime villain is after all) when one of our own is competing. After the best laid plans of the men’s road race at London 2012 were unpicked, the following day Lizzie Armitstead understood what every billboard was imploring; ‘Take the Stage’. As rain swept the Mall and the crowd yelled for a happy ending there was Marianne Vos to break the nations hearts and take the gold.

Armitstead, more understanding of her situation than the majority of those watching knew that the result was not some cruel twist in the GB Olympic fairytale. In the natural scheme of things finishing runner up to Vos was not as much of a disappointment as failing to jump Vos in the sprint, besides ‘..she is faster than most girls.. so I am chuffed with silver’.

In reality (read as among cycling fans) Vos was the clear favourite going into London and her palmares for 2012 as a whole is incredible, including road race and cyclo cross world championships and national cyclo cross and track titles. Added to the rainbow and national jerseys she also successfully defended her Giro Donne Maglia Rosa from 2011.

She was winning national championships within ten years of first riding a bike as a six year old and became a world champion while still a teenager, an achievement in itself until you realise this was across two disciplines. Endurance is an obvious need for any cyclist but the way Vos manages to sustain not just a level of competitiveness, but superiority from cross through road to the track is remarkable.

Motivation stems from becoming a ‘..more complete rider’ rather than the financial rewards despite being the most bankable rider in the female peloton. What comes across in her interviews is the joy that she takes from just riding her bike. Its ‘..a great feeling” to race, she describes road racing as ‘beautiful’.

It sums up the much lower profile of women’s racing in comparison to the men’s world tour however that it has taken victories in the few races that can be associated with the men for people to recognise Vos’ success, such as the Giro. She wants to see the sport grow, yet appears quite selfless about how she is instrumental in seeing the profile raised. What comes across is a strong desire to she women’s cycling expand and improve for all of her competitors. Certainly as passionate as Marianne Vos is about winning, she is capable of doing so without the expense of her relationships with the likes of Emma Pooley who she beat at 2011 Giro.

She describes cycling as a full time hobby, enjoying being out on her bike and in competition. One feels for her comparisons with Merckx are not important. For Marianne Vos perhaps being the worlds happiest cyclist is the greatest accolade that could be bestowed on her.

Postscript

Since writing this post over a year ago Marianne Vos has claimed further world championships in cyclocross (2014) and road racing. She won the women’s Tour of Flanders for the first time and in the last month the inaugral Women’s Tour in Britain.

‘#sadomaso’ – The toughest climb in cycling?

Stage six of the Tirreno Adriatico featured two climbs of the Muro di Sant’Elpidio. Not the highest climb the peloton will face this year, but arguably the steepest with several riders resorting to pushing their bikes up the climb.

Race organisers admitted that the climb may have been too much citing ‘losing half of your peloton’ as realisation that ‘mistakes’ had been made. The riders were more pointed in their comments with Fabian Cancellara describing the stage as ‘sadomaso’ (sado-masochism) and Alberto Contador summing up his thoughts as ‘Ufff!’

The clip currently showing on VCSE’s YouTube channel has the best (or worst?) bits.

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