Tour of Flanders 2012

[Daccordi Rider]

This weekend. My favourite classic. Can Fab blow them away again on the climbs, will someone sneak off into the distance whilst the favourites mark each other, will Tom outsprint them all?

Can't wait.

[roller]

two thumbs up

[RICHARDH]

Will Boonen and Cancellara cancel each other out ? Not sure if Greenedge have a rider for this one. Sagan is being pumped up but i reckon he doesn't have the form beat Tom or Fabian.

[ChainBreak]

It's gonna be a good one

[igstar]

I wouldn't write off the world number one cyclist - Gerrans... I was so impressed with his last victory and how he handled Cancellara

[MichaelB]

Looking fwd to the race, hoping to watch it either here in Korea at a mates place, or the recorded version at home

[RICHARDH]

I wouldn't write off the world number one cyclist - Gerrans... I was so impressed with his last victory and how he handled Cancellara

Ohhh i would, especially as he isn't starting the race . Greenedge will be holding him and Albasini back till Amstel, Fleche Wallone and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

[reeves]

Cancellara has gone down very hard and is out:(

Collar bone!!!

[toolonglegs]

[RICHARDH]

Is Sagan still dropped? looks like this is falling into Boonen's hands. Gilbert is looking pretty good.

[HAKS]

Langeveld (GreenEdge) gone in a nasty accident with a spectator

[briztoon]

Langeveld (GreenEdge) gone in a nasty accident with a spectator

Waiting to here how he is.

[toolonglegs]

Tom

[norbs]

Tom

When those 3 got away, it was a pretty good chance Boonen would be able to out sprint Ballan and Poz.

[jules21]

geez pippo was very close to dropping tommeke there. no cakewalk for the big guy but once it flattened out, he was always in the box seat.

i had a laugh at some of the commentary
"tom's won it twice, but the fans refuse to refer to him as the lion of flanders"
"that's cos he lives in sunny monaco, instead of training in the cold and sleet of flanders"
"i think he enjoys the monaco lifestyle as much as the weather"

[PawPaw]

bummer about Cancellara, my hero. triple break of the clavicle. out of the classics for the rest of 2012.

[Daccordi Rider]

I bet Pozzato and Ballan wish the Muur was there as much as I do. A longer climb there may have done Tom in but he was always going to get the sprint.

The new route lacked the excitement of the old one I reckon.

[igstar]

Great to see GreenEdge register another major victory - their season has really been stellar so far... Too bad the men didn't do as well this time.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/11505/Judith-Arndt-wins-her-second-Womens-Ronde-van-Vlaanderen.aspx

[toolonglegs]

I agree the new route didn't seem as exciting, visually at least.

[JV911]

Langeveld (GreenEdge) gone in a nasty accident with a spectator

Waiting to here how he is.

collar bone

[gururug]

How can a front wheel pop off so easy?

[Aushiker]

Andrew

[cf73]

I was gutted to see Cancellara go down and out, my favourite rider.

I didnt think that this years race was anywhere near as good to watch, is last years route the 'normal' route? I know they changed it this year but has it always been the same before this year? I hope the organisers do not have the same route as this year again.

Question...what are peoples opinion on the Langeveld incident?? Just a racing incident? I think it was rider error...at that speed why was he going down that way? The spectator had no where to go.

[Chuck]

^why did the spectator move?^

What about the driving from some of the team cars trying to get past the peloton

I was disappointed that Pippo didn't counter after Ballan's attacks. He's ridden with and against Boonen enough to know how a sprint would end.

[jules21]

^why did the spectator move?^

he panicked after the peloton starting encroaching on his left, then found SL coming on his right. he shouldn't have been standing there at all, but SL was ambitious in moving onto the footpath(?)

I was disappointed that Pippo didn't counter after Ballan's attacks. He's ridden with and against Boonen enough to know how a sprint would end.

the agreement between them was apparently that pippo wouldn't cover a ballan attack - if he got away, he could have the win, and that pippo was hoping that if boonen covered all ballan's attacks, he wouldn't have the legs in the sprint. didn't work obviously.