Lappartient's is a virtue? Pro Cycling 2018

[Kevin S]

Sep Vanmarcke has never won a World Tour race. Blimey.

[Kevin S]

Alright, so a five-up it is. Should be fun...

[ursus arctos]

This is very track-like

[longeared]

And Vanmarcke still hasn't won a World Tour race. Steppers again. They're calling him "Lampie" on Sporza.

[Kevin S]

Dwars door Vlaanderen... tends to be won by an ambush

Yup. Easy for Yves in the end, no-one else had anything left in the tank.

[Kevin S]

Quick Step are bossing the classics this year. But will they take the monuments?

Edit - and are we really getting Nibali and Valverde in the Ronde?

[ursus arctos]

That was Quick Step's 20th win of the season.

[Kevin S]

Boo.
https://twitter.com/robhatchtv/statu...952258048?s=19

https://twitter.com/robhatchtv/status/979276509952258048?s=19

[ursus arctos]

Van der Breggen about to win the women's Ronde from a solo break.

[ursus arctos]

And Terpstra makes it a Dutch Double in quite similar fashion (though with a smaller margin).

Brilliant ride from Mats Pedersen who was in the initial break and held on for second.

[ursus arctos]

Very scenic coastal stage of Pais Vasco now underway

[Me Old Flower]

In more Tour de Yorkshire news, Team WIGGINS's Tom Pidcock is currently at the Piece Hall in Halifax for a filmed recce of Stage 4, dressed in his GB kit.

[Me Old Flower]

Scheldeprijs has had some drama so far. Some riders appear to have crashed into a stationary car (cameras only caught the aftermath), followed by some risky level crossing barrier dodging.

[Levin]

Can anyone think of a famous Hungarian cyclist? None spring to mind but Hungary is a traditionally very sporty nation aren't they? Did big cycling never penetrate that far east?

[longeared]

Only one who springs to mind is Laszlo Bodrogi, a decent time triallist in the mid 2000s who later took up French nationality.



They've not got anyone in the World Tour. Their highest placed rider on the UCI rankings is a lad called Barnabas Peak, who competes through the UCI's World Cycling Centre. He had a few low level results as an 18 year old last season so might be worth keeping half an eye on.

[ursus arctos]

Fabio Jakobsen wins Scheldeprijs

That's 24 wins for Quick-Step before Roubaix.

[ad hoc]

I just passed a guy wearing a Hungary national team cycling jersey coincidentally.

Every year we have a 3 day race based in my home town, which seems to attract teams and riders from neighbouring countries - here, Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia a few from Poland and maybe others from other former bits of the USSR. With the exception of Poland very few of these countries seem to produce top riders

[ad hoc]

Ignore me - just remembered Sagan of course

[Felicity, I guess so]

I used to have a bodrogi Hungarian champ Mapei jersey

[ursus arctos]

Lots of crashes early on in Paris-Roubaix, a bit surprising given the beautiful day, though the mud-covered cobbles may well be more treacherous than they look.

Kung and Cort Nielsen have already abandoned

[longeared]

Haven't tried watching it yet (it's the worst race of the year for finding a decent stream) but sounds quite eventful from the Twitters. Think there was some morning rain which muddied the cobbles up a bit. Geraint Thomas has also abandoned after being caught up in a crash.

[ursus arctos]

DM for you

The French production team do a remarkable job with the pictures from this race, especially given the complete absence of compelling scenery.

[longeared]

Seen it, thanks. Watching the race now as they approach the Arenberg, there's a bloke dressed as a banana while a Bahrain rider takes a corner too wide and causes a crash in the bunch.

[Ray de Galles]

Reports of a rider needing a defilibrator & CPR after a crash and being airlifted to hospital, didn’t catch who.

Edit - it was Michael Goolaerts of Verandas Willems-Crelan.

[Kevin S]

Nice to see Soler putting himself out there today.