Rider of the week
The 70th edition of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad proved to be the best race of 2015 so far, which isn’t a surprise, considering the hype surrounding it, as it was the first Classic of a season many felt started just now, once the riders hit the legendary Belgian cobbles. The 200-km-long race which started and finished in Ghent had everything: attacks, punctures, drama, a hard fight between the strong men and a thrilling finale, which is sure to make it into the vintage collections of every fan.
After Taaianberg, where three of Etixx’s men were left at the front with Ian Stannard, the race resembled to the legendary wins of Mapei from 15-20 years ago, when Patrick Lefevere’s riders mastered the Classic to perfection to get a 1-2-3. In the end, it wasn’t meant to be that way, because a series of mistakes made by Tom Boonen, Niki Terpstra and Stijn Vandenbergh, combined with a very strong and impressive performance from Ian Stannard landed the win for the Brit, who became only the ninth rider in history to take successive triumphs in Omloop.
Thanks to his determination, great power, excellent tactic and instinct, Stannard responded to every attack of his opponents and eventually held off the Etixx-Quick Step trio, scoring what many thought to be an improbable win. One of the strongest cyclists of the peloton, the 27-year-old is building himself a nice palmares and if health and luck will be on his side in the weeks to come, Ian Stannard has every chance of becoming the first British winner of Paris-Roubaix.
Cafe Roubaix 
Cu 8 km ininate de Finish m-am gandit ca s-ar putea sa castige dar numai ptr o singura secunda mi-a trecut ideea asta prin cap. 😀 Nimic nu este imposibil in ciclism si in sport, in general, dar Ian cred c-a realizat ca cei 3 nu aveau nici o tactica si era un pic de haos in ceea ce privea alegerea de final care nu mai venea iar kilometrii se scurgeau…
Niki n-are treaba cu sprintul, cred ca acum multi nu vor mai musca momeala cu el plecand in evadare ptr ca nu va mai tine figura, este usor de invins la sprint.
Boonen: 4,5 km sunt o eternitate pina la Finish, la un eventual sprint cu Ian l-ar fi invins cu una, doua lungimi de bicicleta ! Cred ca Tom traieste mult din trecut atunci cand se afla pe bicicleta, altfel nu-mi explic lipsa de tactica si precipitarea care nu-l ajuta cand vine vorba de propiile picioare care nu mai duc ca-n trecut. Normal ar fi fost ca Tom sa castige lejer aceasta cursa, de altele mai grele nici nu mai poate fi vorba.
Ian Stannard a avut picioare puternice daca a raspuns la cele doua atacuri plus un sprint final ! Fantastic !!
Ultimii 10-15 kilometri au adus un festival al erorilor. Nu doar rutierii lui Etixx-Quick Step au gresit, ci si directorul sportiv, nu e normal sa nu il ataci mai devreme pe Stannard, iar cand o faci sa il trimiti pe Boonen. Chiar daca Boonen a luat decizia de unul singur, tot a fost o greseala uriasa pentru un ciclist de statura lui.