8 Riders to watch for Paris Roubaix

Fabian Cancellara- the name on everyone's lips this week?   Fabian Cancellara is definitely the favorite after his commanding victory in The Tour of Flanders last week.  He also won last years race as well as Paris Roubaix in 2006 and 2010.  The only possible problem?  His team wasn't there to help him at the end of the race.  With strong teams from BMC and Omega, Fabian could find himself isolated at the end of the race. 

Tom Boonen- Always a favorite for Roubaix, Boonen has won the race 4 times and is going for a record 5 wins.  Unfortunately, he has had some personal issues he's been dealing with and he's crashed a couple of times this spring.  Last week in Flanders he struggled.  His Omega Pharma Quick Step team are always strong for this race. 
  
Sep Vanmarcke- The young Belgian has had some great results in the classics.  Last week he finished 3rd at the Tour of Flanders and the year before he finished 2nd in the Paris Roubaix.  He's young and would love to win his first cobbled trophy.   He's in excellent form this year! 
 
Greg Van Avermaet- Last week he finished 2nd at the Tour of Flanders after being off the front for a large part of the race.  His BMC team is strong for a race like Roubaix. 

Taylor Phinney- The young American had a great week last week.  He was away in a long break for much of the race.  In a strong team like BMC, he might be able to sneak away while the others watch Greg Van Avermaet.  He's won the U23 version of Roubaix 2 times!  

Peter Sagan-  Peter has struggled in major races this year.  His Cannondale team is often not present in the final moments of a race and the Slovak rider has been either tired or has started his sprint late.  Sagan's first ride at Roubaix was 2011 and he hasn't rode as well in this race as he has in others.  

Alexander Kristoff- After winning Milan San Remo three weeks ago, Kristoff's confidence seems to have grown.  He's been finishing well in other races and he seems to be in very good shape.  It's hard to imagine him winning the race this year but he could finish on the podium.  

Zdeněk Štybar- Last year Stybar crashed into a spectator's camera when he was in a good position to win Roubaix last year.  He lost precious momentum after the crash and eventually finished 6th in the race.  He's also the 2014 World Champion in Cyclocross.  He definitely has the bike handling skills for this race.

Others to watch- Evald Boasson Hagen is Norway's other favorite for the race.  He's expected to lead the Sky team. 
Niki Terpstra- Another strong rider from Omega, he could sneak away with a victory if the team plays it's cards right.
Johan Van Summeren- After a horrific crash last week, it would be hard to expect great things from Van Summeren, but he's won Roubaix before and is allegedly riding the race. 
Thor Hushovd- Thor has had some great results in Roubaix but his form has been lacking due to illness.
Bradley Wiggins- Never count a motivated Tour de France winner out of a race when they target it.
Sebastian Langeveld- Another strong rider for the Garmin team.  He's on great form this year.

I have been watching Paris Roubaix since 1985 when Marc Madiot won the race.  I thought it was weird that people would ride on cobbles.  I still think Roubaix is weird and I also love watching it.  
by Doug Duguay 

March Trivia Contest: Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Photo (above): 2011 top three (l-r): Yauheni Hutarovich, Chris Sutton and André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto). Photo: © www.ispaphoto.com

March roared in like a lion just in time for season opener for “The Classics Season” with the Belgian Cobbled Duo of Het Nieuwsblad (formerly Het Volk) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. KBK is of special interest to American cycling fans as it is one of the few Classics won by an American--George Hincapie--in 2005. In an exciting field sprint, Tyler Farrar came close this year. It is, remarkably one of the few races never won by the great Eddy Merckx!

This month we focus on a slightly more obscure Belgian Classic, founded in 1945, but one that since 2005 has been designated UCI 1.1 and is thus hotly contested by all the World’s Best Teams: the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. (Photo left courtesy of Flickr.com.)

Q1. Like all of the Belgian Classics, knowledge of home roads in paramount in these winding, twisting, cobbled, windy, and often treacherous roads. Thus, the home nation has won the most editions. However, in the last decade, Belgians have triumphed ONLY THREE TIMES and WITH ONLY TWO RIDERS. Name them!


Q2. As mentioned, in the introduction, Belgians tend to dominate their home Classics. In KBK, so much so that in the first THIRTY-FIVE years of this event (1945 to 1979) only ONE Non-Belgian triumphed here! Can you name him and the year of his victory?


Q3. Who was the first back-to-back winner of KBK and when did he achieve this? HINT: He is one of the few riders in cycling history to have triumphed in ALL FIVE of the Monuments!

WAS I RIGHT? Answers below.

A1. Nick Nuyens (2006) and Tom Boonen (2007 and 2009). With Two wins, Boonen is part of a group of twelve quite elite riders to have triumphed here twice, and no rider has ever won three KBKs.

Photo, left: Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur - Sojasun) try to hold off the peloton in the final kilometres. Photo: © Bettini

A2. Piet Rentmeester, of Holland, and the famous Gitane team in 1962.

A3. Roger De Vlaeminck, with the legendary Flandria Team in 1970 and 1971.

Dave Campbell's Trivia For April - Tour of Flanders

Same rules as last month. First person to email all three correct answers to trivia at bicyclinghub.com wins a $20 BicyclingHub.com Gift Coupon.

April 2010

The Belgians Mania for Cycling is at a Fevered Pitch…

Euro Bike Race Fanatics are Salivating for Pave…

THE COBBLED CLASSICS RIDERS ARE IN TOP FORM…

IT’S GOTTA BE FLANDERS!!!

Q1. Belgians have won 66 of the 93 editions of the Ronde. Belgium has two regions…Walloonia (French-speaking home of later April classics Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Fleche-Wallone) and Flanders (where Sunday’s event takes place and the people speak Flemish). Of all these victories, ONLY ONE WAS BY A WALOON. Who and when?

Q2. Belgium has not only HISTORICALLY ruled the Ronde but recently too and with two men and they are teammates! Strongman Stijn Devolder has won the most recent two editions and Tom Boonen won back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. Prior to these two Quick Step riders who was the last “repeater” at this tough race full of cobbled bergs? HINT: Local knowledge is EVERYTHING at the Ronde so of course he is Belgian!!!

Q3. Italy, although historically not very successful in Flanders, has notched six wins in the last two decades with a slew of great Classics riders (Bugno, Tafi, Bartoli, Ballan, Bortolami, & Argentin) Besides the home standing and long dominant Belgians only three wins since 1990 have gone to nationalities other than these two, they are: A German, A Dane, and a Frenchman. Can you name them?

Tom Boonen Caught With Cocaine Again

BRUSSELS (AP)—Tom Boonen’s Quick Step team says the Belgian cyclist has tested positive for cocaine for a second time.

Quick Step spokesman Alessandro Tegner said his team was informed Saturday about the result of the test, reportedly taken 12 days after Boonen won the Paris-Roubaix classic for the third time on April 12.

Last year, Boonen tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition test and missed the Tour de France. A Belgian court dropped criminal charges in February against Boonen, who apologized to his fans but never confirmed or denied he had taken the drug.

Penalties for possession in Belgium can vary from three months to five years in jail, along with fines of up to $155,000.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=ap-boonen-doping&prov=ap&type=lgns