Cafe Roubaix

Liège–Bastogne–Liège 1980: Hinault, învingător printre fulgi de zăpadă

Mulţi oameni au spus în 1980 că vremea din Liège–Bastogne–Liège a fost cea mai dură din istoria clasicei, comparabilă cu cea de la ediţia din 2010 a Milano-San Remo. 174 de rutieri s-au prezentat la start, însă după ceva mai mult de o oră, peste jumătate dintre concurenţi au abandonat, din cauza unei teribile furtuni de zăpadă care a lovit Ardenii în acel an, pe 20 aprilie, la jumătatea primăverii.

Unul dintre cele mai puternice caractere pe care le-a avut ciclismul vreodată, Bernard Hinault a decis să continue, în ciuda temperaturii extrem de scăzute. Francezul câştigase o dată cursa, în 1977, atunci când îi învinsese pe André Dierickx şi Dietrich Thurau, la doar doi ani după ce îşi făcuse debutul ca profesionist. Acum, cel poreclit “Le Blaireau” spera să obţină o a doua victorie, care l-ar fi transformat în cel mai de succes ciclist din Hexagon în “La Doyenne”.

Cursa a fost animată pe Côte de Stockeu, cu aproape 100 de kilometri înainte de final, atunci când germanul Rudy Pevenage şi belgianul Ludo Peeters s-au desprins de pluton şi au reuşit să dezvolte un avans ceva mai mare de două minute. Această acţiune a avut darul de a-l înfuria pe pe Hinault – rutier obişnuit să se afle mereu în faţă şi să dicteze ritmul – care a accelerat imediat şi a plecat în urmărirea celor doi.

Alături de ciclistul echipei Renault-Elf-Gitane au venit italianul Silvano Contini şi belgianul Henk Lubberding, însă contribuţia acestora a fost aproape inexistentă, deoarece Hinault a vrut să stea doar el la trenă. Roadele muncii sale s-au văzut după numai 20 de kilometri, când joncţiunea s-a produs. Acest lucru nu l-a oprit pe francezul în vârstă de 25 de ani, care a continuat să meargă în ritmul său, neperturbat de frigul tăios şi de zăpada aşternută pe drumuri.

Orgolios, Bernard Hinault nu s-a gândit nicio clipă la abandon, deşi până la sosire mai erau 80 de kilometri. Parcă imun la durere şi la condiţiile meteo, Hinault s-a desprins de ceilalţi oameni, care nu l-au mai văzut de la un moment dat. Astfel, ciclistul din Hexagon a ajuns primul la final, unde a fost întâmpinat de colegii săi de echipă, ce se aflau la Liège de câteva ore, după ce abandonaseră în prima parte a cursei.

Avansul învingătorului faţă de următorii clasaţi, olandezul Hennie Kuiper (campionul olimpic din 1972) şi belgianul Ronny Claes (aflat la cel mai valoros rezultat din carieră într-un Monument), a fost unul uriaş, 9 minute şi 24 de secunde. În afară de aceştia, doar 18 dintre cei 174 de rutieri plecaţi la drum în dimineaţa zilei de 20 aprilie 1980 au încheiat clasica.

Condiţiile dificile de atunci s-au reflectat şi în media orară, cea mai scăzută din 1971 până în zilele noastre, 34,72 kilometri la oră. Peste toate aceste date, rămâne însă performanţa uluitoare a lui Bernard Hinault, care a intrat în istorie cu una dintre cele mai impresionante evoluţii avute vreodată de un ciclist într-o cursă de o zi, deşi nu fără urmări, în condiţiile în care şi-a pierdut sensibilitatea la două degete ale mâinii drepte, urmare a vremii teribile pe care a înfruntat-o.

Flèche Wallonne Stats

Historical stats

– The first winner of the race – created in 1936 – was Belgium’s Philemon Demeersman

– Moreno Argentin, Marcel Kint, Eddy Merckx and Davide Rebellin share the record for the most wins, 3

– Belgium leads the nations standings, with 38 victories, followed by Italy (18) and France (8)

– Cadel Evans is the last rainbow jersey wearer to take the victory at Flèche Wallonne (2010)

– Lance Armstrong (U.S.A.) and Cadel Evans (Australia) are the only riders from outisde of Europe to win the race

– Bastogne, Binche, Charleroi, Esneux, Huy, Liège, Mons, Spa, Tournai and Verviers have hosted the start of the race, while Charleroi, Huy, Liège, Marcinelle, Mons, Spa and Verviers got to host the finish at some point

– Longest edition took place in bith 1937 and 1938 – 280 kilometers

– In 1961, Willy Vannitsen won the shortest edition – 193 kilometers

– Last Tour de France champion to nab the victory in the Belgian Classic was Bernard Hinault, in 1983

– Two years later, the organisers came up with the idea of the race finishing on the Mur de Huy

– Largest winning margin was recorded in 1950, when Fausto Coppi finished 5:05 ahead of Raymond Impanis

– Last lone breakaway to succeed came in 2003, when Spain’s Igor Astarloa took the victory thanks to an attack launched before the last hill

– Youngest ever winner is Eddy Merckx (21 years and 320 days in 1967), while the oldest one is Pino Cerami (38 years and 21 years in 1960)

– Rik Van Steenbergen holds the record for the biggest time span between the first and the last win: 9 years (1949-1958)

Race stats

– 25 teams (17 World Tour and 8 Pro Continental) will line-up for the 79th edition (Waremme – Huy, 205,5 km)

– Three of these teams haven’t scored a win this season: LottoNL-Jumbo, Roompot and UnitedHealthcare

– Four former winners are at the start of the 2015 race: Philippe Gilbert, Daniel Moreno, Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde

– The cyclists who will ride the 2015 edition have won a combined total of 9 Monuments, 6 world titles (RR+ITT), 7 Grand Tours and almost 90 Grand Tour stages

– France is the country with the most riders in the race – 36 – followed by Belgium (25) and the Italy (24)

– Matej Mohoric (20 years) is the youngest rider who will line-up in Maastricht, while Rinaldo Nocentini is the oldest one (37 years)

Lucky Room 11

As a pro, Yvo Molenaers won the Tour of Luxembourg, as well as stages in Paris-Nice and the Tour de Suisse. Then, after retiring, Molenaers (who is also Valerio Piva’s father-in-law) opened the Hotel Malpertuus, in the Belgian town of Riemst, not far of Liège. With time, one of the hotel’s rooms – Room 11, to be precisely – became a talisman for the riders, many of the ones who have slept there going on to take a big win soon afterwards.

Thanks to Emile Molenaers, Yvo’s son, I got to make a list of the cyclists who stayed in the famous Room 11 and their victories.

Amstel Gold Race Stats

Historical stats

– The first edition took place in 1966 and was won  by the French rider Jean Stablinski

– Jan Raas has the most triumphs, 5, between 1977 and 1982

– Together with Michael Boogerd, Jan Raas shares the record for the most podiums, 7

– The nations standings is led by the Netherlands, who nabbed 17 victories so far

– Bernard Hinault is the last rainbow jersey wearer to win Amstel Gold Race, in 1981

– Since Bjarne Riis, in 1997, no other Tour de France champion has finished first in the Dutch Classic

– Only cyclists from outside of Europe to take the victory are Phil Anderson (Australia) and Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazahstan)

– Largest winning margin was recorded in 1976, when Freddy Maertens finished 4 minutes and 29 seconds ahead of Jan Raas

– The inaugural edition was the longest one – 302 kilometers; 1976, 1977 and 1978 are the years in which the shortest edition was recorded, just 230 kilometers

– Davide Rebellin has the most starts: 17 (including the one in 2015)

– Gerrie Knetemann is the youngest ever winner (23 days and 44 days in 1974), while Joop Zoetemelk is the oldest (40 years and 153 days in 1987)

– Same Gerrie Knetemann holds the record for the biggest time span between the first and the last win: 11 years (1974-1985)

– Last cyclist to win here after taking the victory in a cobbled Monuments was Jan Raas (1982)

– Maarten den Bakker is the rider with the most races completed, 15

– Cauberg – the iconic climb of Amstel Gold Race – is 900 meters long and has a 7% average gradient

– Since 2013, the finish – which comes 1800 after the Cauberg, at Berg en Terblijt – mirrors the one of the 2012 World Championships

Race stats

– 25 teams (17 World Tour and 8 Pro Continental) will take part in the 50th edition (258 kilometers) of the race

– Five of these teams haven’t scored a win this season: Bardiani, Cult Energy, LottoNL-Jumbo, Nippo-Vini Fantini and Roompot

– There are seven former winners at the start: Damiano Cunego, Enrico Gasparotto, Philippe Gilbert, Roman Kreuziger, Davide Rebellin, Frank Schleck and Stefan Schumacher

– The cyclists who will ride the 2015 edition have won a combined total of 15 Monuments, 6 world titles (RR+ITT), 5 Grand Tours and more than 90 Grand Tour stages

– Italy is the country with the most riders in the race – 34 – followed by Belgium (30) and the Netherlands (28)

– Matej Mohoric (20 years) is the young cyclist who will line-up in Maastricht, while Davide Rebellin is the oldest one (43 years)

Conclusions after the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix

With Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen absent, a new rivalry seemed to emerge in the Spring Classics, one which has John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff as protagonists. The German rider showed his potential since making his debut in the Monuments, netting a 5th place in Milan-Sanremo and a 19th place in Paris-Roubaix. A couple of years later, he took the wins in both, helped not only by a very strong team, but also by a great tactic, a courageous one that led to him attacking and taking his faith in his own hands. As for Kristoff, he too has two wins in the Monuments and the past month showed that he’s one of the strongest cyclists around and has the potential, just like Degenkolb, to be one of the dominant riders of the following years in the first three Monuments of the Spring.

“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” – is an idiom that seems to apply to two of the most strongest Classics rider in the peloton, Greg Van Avermaet and Sep Vanmarcke. At the beginning of every season, both are among the favorites to land a big win, but this doesn’t come, so Van Avermaet and Vanmarcke are left thinking of what went wrong. With Tom Boonen close to retiring from the peloton, his countrymen are seen by many as the riders who should replace the Belgian legend, but the task is tougher than expected. This is why, at the moment, is back at the old drawing board for Greg Van Avermaet and Sep Vanmarcke, whose winter will again revolve around the cobbled races. For them to succeed, it will be important not to put too much pressure on them, because this, combined with the failures they endured in the past two years, could finally get to them and create a mental block which will be very difficult to overcome.

For Peter Sagan, 2015 marked another disappointing Spring campaign, as he failed to win the Monument he desires so much. Sagan has had a below par display in all the important races – Milan-Sanremo, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – his best result being a 4th place he got in De Ronde, but even that came after a poor finale. What was even more striking than seeing the Slovak without any energy left in the key moments of the races was that he lacked the killer instinct that became his trademark in the previous seasons. At 25, Sagan is still young, but has many things to improve, from his physical attributes to the tactics he should deploy in the big races, because he is still far from fulfilling his potential. Until then, he needs an excellent Tour de France – with stage wins and another green jersey – in order to save this season.

A couple of weeks ago, Patrick Lefevere asked for patience, saying that his team should be judged only after April 12th. Now the time has come and all that Etixx-Quick Step has after these past two months is the victory of Mark Cavendish in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, a race many have already forgot. In the Monuments, the Belgian outfit scored two second places – with Niki Terpstra and Zdenek Stybar – but the general impression is that it missed on the wins because of its poor and sometimes awkward tactics, especially as it had the most powerful squad. Failing to win the Ronde will be a cause for inquest in the Etixx-Quick Step team and people shouldn’t be surprised if decisions will be taken concerning some of the riders in the near future.

Paris-Roubaix was Bradley Wiggins’ swan song, but it just wasn’t made to be for the time trial world champion, who had hoped to go out with a bang in his final race for Sky. The “Hell of the North” has a special place in his heart since he was a child, so his wish was to win it and get a place among the honor book, but all that the 34-year-old Brit could do was to attack with 30 kilometers remaining, a move that didn’t have a future, as the others bridged up to him. Then, in the later part of the race, Wiggins ran out of steam – which was kind of surprising considering the way he prepared to peak for this Classic – and he eventually had to settle with 18th place, half a minute behind the winner.

Many were intrigued by the fact that the “sprinters” are laying their mark on the Classics, but they’re wrong, because both John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff have done more than just sit in the pack and wait for the finish. The German and the Norwegian came at the forefront, attacked and shaped the race according to their view and plans. This is what the other contenders didn’t do. Every time they had the opportunity, they looked like they were scared of this and even after accelerating and getting a gap, they slowed down and allowed the others to come back and neutralize the race. Actually, there’s a feeling that there are just a few hard men left in the peloton for the Classics, and two of them are Kristoff and Degenkolb. This should give food for thought to the others.

The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are races for experienced cyclists, and we can see that looking over the riders who finished on the podium. Still, there are some young ones who have impressed and delivered some outstanding results, despite not being their team’s prime picks for these Classics. Who are they? Tiesj Benoot, Alexis Gougeard, Yves Lampaert, Florian Senechal, Jens Debusschere and Luke Rowe, all cyclists that made themselves noticed during the past two week-ends and found the consistency that has helped them elevate in the eyes of the teams and other riders, making the 2015 Spring campaign a turning point in their career. All these are reasons to watch them in the future, as they are coming strong from behind and could play a major role from now on in De Ronde and Roubaix.

Paris-Roubaix 1983: victorie incredibilă pentru Hennie Kuiper

Un olandez, Jan Raas, era deţinătorul trofeului în Paris-Roubaix acum 32 de ani, însă ciclistul echipei TI-Raleigh a fost nevoit să abandoneze înainte de jumătatea cursei, din cauza unor probleme de sănătate, dar şi a formei fizice sub aşteptări la acea vreme. A fost cel mai interesant eveniment din prima parte, una lipsită de acţiune, exceptând evadarea formată devreme, în care se aflau nu mai puţin de 20 de rutieri.

Apoi, înainte de intrarea în Pădurea Arenberg, Francesco Moser a atacat şi doar trei oameni (între care şi Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle) au putut să îl urmeze pe triplul câştigător din Paris-Roubaix. Imediat, în urma acestuia s-a dat alarma şi un grup format din Hennie Kuiper, Marc Madiot, Paul Sherwen şi Stephen Roche a plecat după italian. Ultimii doi au căzut, în timp ce Kuiper şi Madiot au evitat în ultima clipă capcanele, au tras tare şi au făcut joncţiunea.

Parcă supărat pe venirea acestora, Moser a continuat să impună un ritm înfiorător, pentru a îi obosi pe ceilalţi. Rutierul echipei GIS a fost foarte aproape să scape de un adversar, când Kuiper a căzut pe o porţiune cu piatră cubică. Fără să fie afectat de acest incident, olandezul s-a ridicat, a accelerat uimitor şi i-a ajuns pe cei din faţă, pentru ca apoi să mai cadă o dată. Nici acest incident nu l-a descurajat pe campionul mondial din 1975, care a avut nevoie de doar doi kilometri pentru a-l ajunge pe un Moser de-a dreptul uluit.

Apoi, cu aproximativ 20 de kilometri înainte de sosire, Kuiper a decis să atace pe o porţiune cu pavate şi nimeni nu s-a luat după el. De fapt, oamenii din urma lui sperau ca Francesco Moser – cunoscut pentru aptitudinile sale de contratimpist – să fie din nou cel care să îi aducă lângă ciclistul grupării Aernoudt Meubelen, însă peninsularul nu mai avea forţe după imensul efort depus până atunci.

Până ca adversarii să se dumirească, Kuiper a dezvoltat un avans de aproape două minute şi se pregătea să devină doar al patrulea batav din istorie învingător în Paris-Roubaix, după Peter Post (1964), Jan Janssen (1967) şi Jan Raas (1982). Soarta, însă, a vrut ca acesta să aibă parte de o cursă pe care să o ţină minte pentru totdeauna. Astfel, cu numai şase kilometri rămaşi până la velodrom, când Kuiper se afla din nou pe piatră cubică, la Hem, a decis să meargă pe marginea drumului, pentru a evita un eventual pericol.

A fost o idee neinspirată, deoarece campionul olimpic din 1972 a spart după ce a trecut pe o porţiune neasfaltată. Disperarea l-a cuprins pe Kuiper, dar şi pe mecanicul acestuia, venit în grabă să repare problema, fără succes. Secundele treceau, iar salvarea a venit, până la urmă, de la managerul echipei, care i-a adus rutierului său o altă bicicletă, l-a împins aproape o sută de metri, până s-a terminat sectorul de pavate, iar acesta a putut continua cursa.

A fost ultimul obstacol aflat în calea lui Hennie Kuiper, iar batavul a ajuns singur pe velodromul din Roubaix, unde a avut timp suficient pentru a-şi savura succesul, venit la a 11-a participare în “Infernul Nordului”. În urma lui, la un minut şi 15 secunde diferenţă, au sosit Moser şi Duclos-Lassalle, cu francezul pe locul al doilea, după ce l-a învins la sprint pe italian, care s-a clasat pentru ultima oară în carieră pe podiumul cursei sale favorite.

Who is Tiesj Benoot?

When the Tour of Flanders was over, not all the journalists who were attending the race rushed to take an interview to Alexander Kristoff, the winner of the 99th edition. The Belgians, left without a top contender for this year’s race after Tom Boonen’s injury, were more interested in getting a reaction from Tiesj Benoot. And why not, considering that Lotto-Soudal’s rider (just 21 years and 25 days at the start of the race) wrote a little piece of history, by becoming the best placed neo-pro in the last 41 years of Flanders, as well as the youngest rider since 1973 to finish in the top 10 of De Ronde.

As it often happened with many cyclists, Benoot didn’t discover the sport immediately, his first passion being football, which he played for five years, until he was 11. A goalkeeper (same position as Greg Van Avermaet, to whom he compares when it comes down to the skills he has), was at some point scouted by KAA Ghent, but the Belgian team eventually decided to back off, once the young Tiesj switched his focus to cycling, although his parents didn’t agree with this.

When he was just 15, he scored his first important result – 3rd at the Provincial Championship Oost-Vlaanderen, in the Novices race – but had to wait until 2012 before nabbing the first victory in the Junior ranks, which came in stage two of the International Junioren Radrundfahrt Oberösterreich, ahead of Matej Mohoric, as well as finishing second in the GC. Just a couple of months later, he took another win, this time in the prestigious Keizer der Juniores, and the feeder team of Lotto-Belisol noticed his potential and signed him for the 2013 season.

Under Kurt Van de Wouwer’s tutelage, he took three wins, the biggest of these being the overall classification at the Tour de Moselle, but most important, he made some significant improvements and emerged as one of the most versatile young riders in the U23 races, smooth on the cobbles and with a great punch on the short climbs. If there’s any need for some proof, then it’s enough to look at the outstanding results he has had in 2014: 3rd in the Tour of Flanders, 3rd in the Ronde de l’Isard d’Ariège GC, 4th at the World Championships, 5th in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and 5th in Flèche Ardennaise.

But Tiesj Benoot didn’t stop here and went on to mix it with the pros, finishing 8th in Binche-Chimay-Binche and 16th in Paris-Tours, where he pulled for Jens Debusschere. These placings came while racing as a stagiaire for Lotto-Belisol, and the team was so impressed by his display that it came up with a two-year contract. Benoot – who studies economic at the Ghent University, but is allowed to skip classes – needed only a couple of weeks once the new season kicked-off in order to underline his potential, with the one-day races providing him the opportunity to shine: 4th in Le Samyn, 3rd in Handzame Classic, and 6th in both Ronde Van Zeeland and Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Then, last Sunday, in the Tour of Flanders, he launched a late and surprising attack, with about 2,5 km to go, that netted him 5th place, just 36 seconds behind the winner, after a 264 km-long battle of attrition. The Belgian press was extatic after this result and dubbed him “the new Museeuw”. But they’re wrong, because he’s the first Tiesj Benoot and has every chance of becoming a cycling legend in the following decade, as almost every one-day race is within his reach.

Vuelta al Pais Vasco Stats

Historical stats

– The first edition took place in 1924 and Francis Pélissier was the winner of what has known by the name of Gran Premio Excelsior

– The race was mentioned in Ernest Hemingway’s acclaimed novel “The Sun Also Rises”

– At first, the leader’s jersey was red, it then changed to blue, and finally to yellow

– Jose Antonio Gonzalez Linares is the rider with the most GC victories, 4, between 1972 and 1978

– Spain leads the nations standings, with 23 triumphs, followed by Italy (7) and Switzerland (5)

– Sean Kelly and Domingo Perurena share the record for the most stage wins, 11

– Laurent Jalabert has the most days spent in the leader’s jersey, 12

– Only riders from outside of Europe to take the overall are Chris Horner (U.S.A.) and Nairo Quintana (Colombia)

– No world champion has ever won the Vuelta al Pais Vasco

– Biggest winning margin between the first and second was recorded in 1924, when Francis finished 14:54 ahead of his brother, Henri

– 1989 saw the smallest gap, just one second between Stephen Roche and Federico Etxabe

– The first Tour de France champion to win the Vuelta al Pais Vasco was Jacques Anquetil, in 1969; the last one was Alberto Contador, in 2009

– Youngest ever winner is Jose Luis Laguia (22 years in 1982); oldest winner is Chris Horner (38 years in 2010)

2015 stats

– 19 teams (17 World Tour, 2 Pro Continental) will make-up the startlist of the 55th edition

– 4 of these teams haven’t scored a victory in 2015: Caja Rural, Cofidis, FDJ and LottoNL-Jumbo

– Two former winners will line-up in Bilbao (from where the race will depart): Nairo Quintana and Samuel Sanchez

– The peloton of the 2015 race has won a combined total of 7 Monuments, 2 Grand Tours, 6 World Titles and more than 60 Grand Tour stages

– Spain has the most cyclists at the start, 26, five more than France

– Matej Mohoric, the former Junior and U23 World Champion, is the youngest rider in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (20 years), oldest one is Sky’s Xabier Zandio (38 years)

– The climb to the Santuario de Arrate will be a stage finish for the seventh year in a row

Turul Flandrei 1919: o cursă de poveste

În urmă cu aproape un secol, pe când avea 28 de ani, Henri Van Lerberghe s-a prezentat la startul celei de-a treia ediţii a Turului Flandrei fără bicicletă, motiv pentru care a fost nevoit să împrumute una de la cumnatul unui alt ciclist, Jules Messelis. În 1919, primul an în care Turul Flandrei s-a desfăşurat în sensul invers acelor de ceasornic, belgianul nu era un rutier important, în palmaresul său mai figurând doar o victorie, la ediţia din 1913 a Turului Franţei, când a terminat primul la Bayonne, după o etapă în lungime de 379 de kilometri.

Cu toate acestea, Van Lerberghe a venit plin de încredere în Flandra, spunându-le celorlalţi concurenţi că îi va chinui teribil în cursă, afirmaţie care a fost primită cu amuzament. Pentru a le demonstra tuturor că nu glumeşte, el a atacat cu 120 de kilometri înainte de final, când caravana trecea prin Ichtegem, localitatea în care era născut Jules Vanhevel, unul dintre favoriţii la victorie. Fără să îl ia în serios, cicliştii din pluton l-au lăsat să se desprindă, convinşi fiind că nu va rezista prea mult, mai ales că vântul lateral bătea cu putere.

Spre surprinderea tuturor, Henri Van Lerbeghe a dezvoltat un avans impresionant, de peste jumătate de oră, moment în care ceilalţi rutieri au început să se organizeze pentru a-l prinde. În acest timp, în faţă, belgianul din Lichtervelde a trecut prin câteva aventuri unice, care i-au creat un loc special în istoria Turului Flandrei. Mai întâi, el l-a întâlnit pe un ajutor al lui Marcel Buysse, care îl aştepta pe acesta cu mâncare. După mai multe minute de discuţii, l-a asigurat că Buysse a abandonat şi l-a convins să îi dea săculeţul cu mâncare ce îi era destinat câştigătorului din urmă cu cinci ani, atunci când Van Lerbeghe a terminat pe poziţia a doua.

Apoi, cu forţe proaspete după ce a luat masa, ciclistul originar din Lichtervelde a continuat cursa, iar la un moment dat a ajuns la o cale ferată, blocată de un marfar ce era staţionat de ceva vreme acolo. Fără să stea prea mult pe gânduri, şi-a luat bicicleta în spate, a urcat într-unul dintre vagoane şi a coborât pe partea cealaltă, spre uluirea fanilor aflaţi pe marginea drumului.

Practic, după ce a trecut şi de acest obstacol, cel poreclit “Ritte” era virtual câştigător. Ştiind şi el acest lucru, a hotărât să intre într-un bar amplasat cu puţin înainte de velodromul plin de oameni care aşteptau noul învingător. Fără să îi pese de acest lucru, Henri Van Lerbeghe a comandat o bere blondă şi a început să îşi savureze succesul. Fermecat de gustul excelent, venit la fix după peste 200 de kilometri de cursă, “Ritte” a mai cerut un rând, iar apoi încă unul. După a treia bere a apărut antrenorul său, care îl căuta disperat, pentru a-l convinge să termine cursa.

Până la urmă, Van Lerbeghe a acceptat să urce pe bicicletă şi a ajuns pe velodrom, acolo unde trebuia să facă turul de onoare. A reuşit acest lucru, dar fără să pedaleze, ci mergând alături de bicicletă, după ce şi-a dat seama că are probleme în a-şi menţine echilibrul. În timpul turului, el le-a strigat spectatorilor să plece acasă şi să revină peste câteva ore, deoarece adversarii lui se aflau la mai mult de jumătate de zi în urma sa. Nu a fost chiar aşa, “doar” 14 minute separându-l de al doilea clasat, Lucien Buysse, fratele lui Marcel. Cu toate acestea, a rămas până astăzi cea mai mare diferenţă din istoria clasicei.

Conclusions after E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem

Etixx-Quick Step has a tough life without Tom Boonen, the team resembling to a ship which lost its compass. The squad still has some very strong riders, with the likes of Niki Terpstra and Zdenek Stybar spearheading Etixx for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but something just doesn’t click in the team whenever it comes to the one-day races. Add this to some dodgy decisions from the team car, and you have a big picture where the Belgian team is struggling to find its pace and tactics on the cobbles. Patrick Lefevere said he’s not worried at the moment and asked that the team be judged on April 12th. A fair request, but if his riders fail to put their mark on the Monuments, then 2015 will go down as one of the worst Spring seasons in the history of Etixx and it will take a great display in July for people to forget this.

The horrible weather shaped Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem and made for one of the best Classics ever seen, a race of heroes and truly one for the ages. Only 39 riders managed to get to the end, and as Jean-Pierre Drucker put it, all would deserve a “Gent-Wevelgem Survivor” T-shirt. But not only Gent-Wevelgem put on a great show, with also E3 Harelbeke being a spectacular race, that had attacks, a crazy chase and a surprising outcome. The great racing we’ve had last week-end raises the bar for De Ronde, but also pinpoints to one thing: it’s very likely that the Tour of Flanders, in the absence of both Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen, will have a surprise winner, as was the case in Gent-Wevelgem, where nobody was expecting Luca Paolini to cross the line first.

Speaking of Luca Paolini, the Italian shined on a rainy day and showed in Gent-Wevelgem that age has nothing to do with guts and instinct. With just five kilometers to go, he attacked from the main group and soloed to the finish line, where he became the oldest winner of the race (38 years), thus breaking the record of the legendary Briek Schotte, which was standing from 1955. Just like two years ago, when he took the victory in Giro d’Italia’s stage seven to Marina di Ascea, Paolini put one hand on his hea and and one to his heart, underlining that cycling isn’t only about who was the strongest legs, but also about the ones who give it all and play it perfectly in order to succeed.

For years, Sky has struggled to match its stage racing dominance in the Classics. For a team used to winning big in events like the Tour of France, Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie or Critérium du Dauphiné, the disappointment caused by the one-day races came as a hard pill to swallow. After five seasons with just two victories – both in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – Sky reached a turning point in 2015 and it’s slowly transforming itself in one of the dominant teams for the Classics, thanks to Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas (who’s in the best form of his career). So far, in four cobbled semi-classics, the British outfit took two wins and two podiums, and with Flanders and Roubaix knocking at the door, the morale is high and that big win the team is searching for is not a dream anymore.

Two big favorites for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix came empty handed from E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem: Sep Vanmarcke and Peter Sagan. After the injuries that have hit both Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen, the Belgian was hyped to take over the crown as the best pavé rider, but things didn’t go as planned for him, and Vanmarcke, all of the sudden, doesn’t look so strong as he was at the beginning of the Spring. The pressure also seems to add up, with the spotlight being on him for the Monuments, which means every moves he makes will be countered by others and he’ll have little space for pavé. When it comes to Sagan, the Slovak is a bit of an enigma. He should have won E3 Harelbeke easily, but he failed in a spectacular way, reminiscent of last year’s Strade Bianche. Hard to say if Sagan had a hunger-knock or is overtrained (a very plausible hypothesis), but one thing that’s certain is he’ll enter Flanders as an underdog and with many doubts.