Bikey Rockin The Cobbles...

Hi All,

Two posts today (for the tri fans out there just read below. But the Bikey world has been rolling thru Belgium, France, and Spain, and it has been a great week. And just 7 short days  after basking in the glow in Flanders, we get ready for this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix.

 Also one minor housekeeping note, as I have changed the way that the underlined links will appear. If you click on any link, it will appear in a new page rather than leave this page. Enjoy.

First off, last Sunday’s Tour of Flanders. I think it’s great that some of these great one-day Classics (or Cycling Monuments if you read last week’s post) are so tough and demanding that only the very best cyclists are around near the end. This year, an early break was contained and the group of all the favorites (Cancellara, Boonen, Flecha among others) was upfront.  With 40 km to go, Cancellara and Boonen decided to go on one of the cobbled climbs, and the two of them stayed away for the rest of the day. Cancellara then decided with 16k to go that he better not risk a sprint finish with Boonen (the three-time winner of Flanders) so he attacked again on one of the steepest pitches, and simply rode away from Boonen. From there, it was just another day in the time trial saddle and an easy one minute victory in what Cancellara called “the biggest of the race of the year for me”. It was a great race even though it lacked any late drama.

Lance Armstrong also had a great day in Flanders, as he finished in the main group that finished after the first 4 riders.  However, he got  sick post-race and had to drop out of a minor stage race this week. He is now back into an extended training mode and probably will not be racing until the Tour of California

Canadians also played key roles in Flanders as both Michael Barry (Team Sky) and Dominique Rollin (Cervelo) spent a lot of time near the front of the race as they protected their team leaders Juan Antonio Flecha and Thor Hushovd. Rollin is exactly the type of rider who might someday be a podium contender in these big one-day races. He's still young and learning how to race in Europe, but someday it will be great to see him being the team leader for these types of cobbled races. 

Speaking of Canadians, this week also saw Canadians near the top of the leader board in Vuelta Ciclista Al Pais Vasco . Going into Thursday’s stage 4 at this weeklong stage race in Spain, Ryder Hesjedal was in third overall in GC (behind Oscar Friere and Alejandro Valverde). But a bad stage 4 pushed him out of podium position. Still, it adds to his list of good results this season. Big things ahead for Ryder as we get closer to the Grand Tours. Hesjedal was also joined by his teammate and fellow Canadian Christian Meier  on the awards podium, as Meier held both the king of the mountains jersey AND the Sprint Leaders Jersey for a few days and still holds the blue Sprint Leaders Jersey heading into the weekend. Not a bad week for the Canadians!

So after last week’s Tour of Flanders, which is known for lots of short, uphill, cobbled sections among its 260 km, this  week the cycling eye turns to the Roubaix Velodrome, where Paris-Roubaix ends after 259 grueling kilometers. And oh yeah, 53 km of those are on some of the worst cobbled roads in Northern France. It is not called “A Sunday in Hell” and “The Hell of the North” for nothing. The logo above is from Endurance Conspiracy, and I love it! The race itself expected to be a rematch of last week’s Tour of Flanders – with Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen the heavy favorites. Add in some seriously strong riders like Thor Hushovd, George Hincapie, Fillipo Pozzato, and David Millar (great in Flanders before fading late) and it should again be time for the biggest names in the sport to shine. This is not a race for the Schlecks or Contadors of the world, instead it’s the big guys who love the cobbles who’ll be the near the front. Can Cancellara do it again? Can Boonen win Roubaix for the fourth time?Canadians on the start line will once again include Michael Barry and Dominique Rollin. Go boys!!

Looking ahead to May for a second, cycling fans should get their fill of the favorite cyclists as the top cyclists in the world start to plan for either the Tour of California or the Giro d’Italia. The Giro is expected to have stars like Carlos Sastre, Ivan Basso, Brad Wiggins, and Cadel Evans along with sprinters like Robbie McEwen, Tyler Farrar, Andre Greipel, and Oscar Friere. On the other side of the world, the Tour of California will feature Mark Cavendish, the Schleck  brothers, Fabian Cancellara, and most of the top Americans (Hincapie, Armstrong, Leipheimer) and Canadians (Hesjedal, Rollin) talent. The Tour of California also officially announced the teams that will compete in May, and in addition to the big ProTour teams (Cervelo, RadioShack, Team Sky, Columbia, Garmin, Saxo Bank, Quick Step), they invited a grouping of top North American teams including…drumroll please…the Canadian-based SpiderTech-Planet Energy team! This is the upstart Continental team run by Canadian cycling legend Steve Bauer and now sponsored by Canadian gazillionaire Jim Balsillie. 

Speaking of Team SpiderTech, they have had a great start to the 2010 season, with several wins and are currently sitting among the top American Continental Teams. Although Team SpiderTech may not become a European team for at least 2 years, they are starting to build some pillars that might (hopefully) get them into the Grand Tours.  I’ll keep you posted…