[OAR]

Oh and I am going for Cancellara.

[Mantus]

Chris E, on 15 April 2011 - 01:54 PM, said:

How about we try to get a chat going during the race Sunday? We did that during the Olympic RR in 2008 and it was a blast.

I just went to the chatroom and the login screen would not come up though....

That surely was one blast of a chat. I'm certainly game, if not for the entire transmission at least some of it - I'll probably have guests over at some point.

[Mantus]

Also, I just checked the chat room and it worked perfectly fine for me. Perhaps you just need to update java?

[Chris E]

Yes, that was it when I updated Java the login screen appeared.

What there was about 15 or so of us during the Olympic RR or so right? I was trying to figure out WTH I was doing up in the middle of the night watching a bike race on one window while BSing with all of you on another window lol. I lead a pretty boring life at times.

I don't think we get streams until about 8:00 am Central in the US. You guys want to try to log on sometimes around then?

[OAR]

Chris E, on 15 April 2011 - 08:09 PM, said:

Yes, that was it when I updated Java the login screen appeared.

What there was about 15 or so of us during the Olympic RR or so right? I was trying to figure out WTH I was doing up in the middle of the night watching a bike race on one window while BSing with all of you on another window lol. I lead a pretty boring life at times.

I don't think we get streams until about 8:00 am Central in the US. You guys want to try to log on sometimes around then?

Yeah I will be in if I can get the GD mac to work. I am testing it now.

I will be drinking all night and then some in the AM nothing like a good Amstel AM!

[N.B.O.L.]

I can't believe that there isn't even time delayed coverage of this race in the U.S. It does look like there will be streaming available on the official race site starting at 13:00 local time there, which if my calculations are right means 6:00 am here in the Great State of Oklahoma. I shall not be picking it up from the get go, but will try not to sleep in too long so I can catch part of it at least.

Just finished checking to see if the Chat works for me. While I was there Dan was in. If you are on Facebook, drop by the Easton Cycling page and like his entry in the make a bike from a spoke contest. Photo 61 of the list.

This post has been edited by N.B.O.L.: 17 April 2011 - 01:15 AM

[Chris E]

N.B.O.L., on 17 April 2011 - 01:15 AM, said:

I can't believe that there isn't even time delayed coverage of this race in the U.S. It does look like there will be streaming available on the official race site starting at 13:00 local time there, which if my calculations are right means 6:00 am here in the Great State of Oklahoma. I shall not be picking it up from the get go, but will try not to sleep in too long so I can catch part of it at least.

Just finished checking to see if the Chat works for me. While I was there Dan was in. If you are on Facebook, drop by the Easton Cycling page and like his entry in the make a bike from a spoke contest. Photo 61 of the list.

I will catch Eurosport about 7:30 or so our central time. They should have about 75 km left by then, right when things start getting good. I will log into the chat sometimes around then, maybe around 8.

No facebook for me....I loathe facebook like venereal disease. Facebook is the devil. I cancelled my account after about a month of that crap.

[Chris E]

One thing that struck me as I watched Gilbert this week is that it was the same shyt that Canc did in the E3, ie made a mockery of the field. Gilbert will be super marked. But with the uphill finishes this weekend and at FW it may not make a difference vs RVV or especially PR where there is a chance to suck wheels after you get out of the carnage area.

The problem with Gilbert and Canc is even if they didn't destroy in races leading up to the monuments, their reputation would make them marked anyway I am sure.....even if they dropped after 50 km in those earlier races. I still can't get over Canc just riding people off his wheel for 50 km then winning by a minute. The most dominant thing I have seen in awhile. My first post when I started that thread said it all lol.

[N.B.O.L.]

Chris E, on 17 April 2011 - 02:41 AM, said:

No facebook for me....I loathe facebook like venereal disease. Facebook is the devil. I cancelled my account after about a month of that crap.

I'm not sure I disagree with you. I joined tonight specifically so I could give him a vote. I figure if someone is going to win a great bicycle it might as well be someone who knows where the DP chat room is at. I put in as little information as I could and still get joined.

[Chris E]

OK I'm in the chat

[Mantus]

Re Leukemans: I just realized something. I've always like him, even when he was focusing on the Ardennes. I liked how he always seemed honest; he said something in the vain that he would never be able to compete against guys like Basso, Di Luca, no matter how strong and how much he trained on the hills. The fight was more equal, he suggested, in the cobbles. That stayed with me and I've always kept a look on him.

He reminds me of Steffen Wesemann. Strong on the hills, has a good (but not great) sprint, looks small but isn't, and eventually found his way to the cobbles. Like Wesemann I also expect him to get 'his' monument relatively late. And both are good at both Ardennes and Northern Classics. And for both Amstel Gold Race is the race they simply will never win, however close they may come.

[VdB]

One word to describe Gilbert's race: masterful.

[N.B.O.L.]

VdB, on 17 April 2011 - 02:53 PM, said:

One word to describe Gilbert's race: masterful.

My feed keep freezing during the final.

[N.B.O.L.]

His team did a good job for him. Keep everything in control.

[Strategy]

What a beast Gilbert is. To make the kind of acceleration he does off Rodriguez's attack, after having (helped) pull the favorite group on the last 10km... wow. Also, fantastic effort by his team.

Boo to the other favorites (Rodriguez excepted) in the final selection who didn't even try to attack on the second to last climb. Everyone knew that Gilbert was going to be the strongest on Cauberg - why not at least try something, like Andy did?

I do wish Franck could figure out how to stay on a bike. Don't think it was his fault this time (looked like a Katuysha rider bumped into Cancellara), but it is just so tiresome having to watch him kiss asphalt in big races every year.

Good result from Simon Gerrans.

[Burkni]

Apart from a half-hearted team effort by Katyusha and an honest dig from ASchleck, the peloton might just as well have handed Gilbert the trophy and doused him in Amstel light. All he needed was a couple of teammates (and his own very impressive pulls to give them some respite) and that was it. Frankly I'm not sure what the peloton could have done, although I was torn as to whether Leukemans should help pulling in the finale, as it was completely Lotto's race to lose.
Rabobank have made losing this race a tradition, but have evolved that into an art-form. They had FOUR guys in the finale and I think I saw ine of them give a tentative dig (Gesink was it?)

[Strategy]

I couldn't agree more. Most boring Classic this year yet.

[Burkni]

Not sure whether organizers prefer big groups on the Cauberg, maybe it makes for better spectating but I really, really hope they alter the finale sometime and add a climb after the Keutenberg. The false flat currently between the last two climbs kills all but the strongest of moves.

[Burkni]

Strategy, on 17 April 2011 - 05:59 PM, said:

I couldn't agree more. Most boring Classic this year yet.

There has been about as much activity in the Paris-Roubaix thread as this one the past couple of days

I peered into the bottomless pit that is the CNews forum, some of the residents there are claiming that the race is too hard. Sigh.

[Chris E]

Burkni, on 18 April 2011 - 12:24 PM, said:

There has been about as much activity in the Paris-Roubaix thread as this one the past couple of days

I peered into the bottomless pit that is the CNews forum, some of the residents there are claiming that the race is too hard. Sigh.

The race is negative I think because of what we discussed above. Regardless, I can't imagine why anybody would not try something to get away from Gilbert before the end. Reminds me of GH pulling and content to take turns with Boonen into the Velodrome that year with Flecha. What is the point? Dare to win or lose.