Several hours in the air this weekend offered me a perfect opportunity to reflect on this year’s classics ... Here’s a run-down of this spring’s Pavé Awards, with videos to tell the stories my words could not. Enjoy! ... Rider of the Spring: ... How could we not give the Rider of the Spring award to Fabian Cancellara? Spartacus put on a display seldom seen, beating the best of the best to become only the second rider to win the E3 Prijs, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix in
Several times over the past few days I have received comments about my Preview of this year's Paris-Roubaix. The thing is, I haven't posted it yet! I was quite confused until I realized that after last year's race, I had some fun imagining what a 2010 Roubaix Preview might look like. Apparently it's one of the first hits when one Googles "Paris-Roubaix 2010 Preview"--hence the comments. ... So to tide you over for my official 2010 Paris-Roubaix Preview (to be published later today or
Lion of Flanders X 3 (1949-1951) ... Fiorenzo Magni upsetting the Belgian's at the Ronde ... From: Cycling's Golden Age ... Will it be third time lucky for Belgium hopefuls, Tom Boonen & Stijn Devolder? Time is counting down to tomorrow's monumental 94th Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Belgian fans would love to see a fellow countryman win it. They hold the record with 66 wins ... Tom Boonen is in tremendous form with a second in the Milan Sanremo & the E3 Prijs. Is it time for Torpedo Tom to make a
E3 and Ghent Preview – Breaking Down the Teams ... Until the Ghent-Wevelgem joined it on the same weekend, the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen was the traditional dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders ... With over 200 kilometers of hills and cobbles—including many of the climbs to be used in the following Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, riders and teams felt it offered the best preparation and reconnaissance ... Now though, Ghent-Wevelgem takes the Sunday slot previously occupied by the
I think the only person happier than I was about Matti Breschel winning today’s Dwars Door Vlaanderen was Matti Breschel ... Don’t get worng: Pavé isn’t designed to be a prognostication site; I predict winners simply for entertainment purposes ... Being correct just adds to the fun; I won’t gloat—for too long, at least ... I caught the last 30 kilometers of the race during my lunch break with a friend who’s becoming a bit of a racing enthusiast ... Today was his first opportunity to
Belgium Hero ... Eric Vanderaerden won twice at the 1986 & 1991 Dwars ... The Belgium door opens for cobble chaos called the Flemish Cycling Week with Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Prijs, Ghent-Wevelgem & Three days of De Panne. And following all that is The Ronde, Paris-Roubaix, the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege ... Certainly a long awaited and most exciting time for classic cycling fans. I'm one. And I will be following intently on the
Saturday’s Milan-San Remo went-off without a hitch--despite the weather’s best attempts to ruin the day ... After 298 kilometers of racing in cold, rainy conditions, it was a Spaniard who ended-up with the victory ... Funny how two men from warmer, sunnier climates have taken wins in two of the season’s grimiest races thus far ... Here’s what we learned: ... 1. I remember watching the 1999 World Championship Road Race in Verona, Italy with friends on a television in my apartment in
With perhaps the most star-studded list of participants we’ve seen this year, the Tirreno-Adriatico stage racebegins tomorrow in Livonro, Italian with 148 Tuscan kilometers ... Tirreno’s become the preferred build-up race for sprinters and classic stars, with several of the most recent winners of Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix having used Italy’s “race between two seas” to race themselves into top shape ... This year’s route offers few real
We’ve got a lot to get to today—let’s dive right in! First, a brief recap of the weekend’s events: ... 1. While I didn’t come right out and say he would win, give me some credit for indicating that Frantisek Rabon was someone to watch for. Yes, there were bigger names behind him, but at this point in the season, Rabon had to be considered a threat. Aside from Rabon, Bradley Wiggins seems to be building quite nicely for April and May. I’m eager to see how well he fares at