Paris-Roubaix Predictions

Seems about time to get the crystal ball out for this.

My pick would have to be Cancellara going by his recent form, he's gotten away from Boonen on cobbles twice now in the run up to Paris-Roubaix.

IM0

I predict..it will be unpredictable , just so much **** can go wrong, however I predict it will be a classic race :pac:

Bikerbhoy

me@ucd wrote: »

I predict..it will be unpredictable , just so much **** can go wrong, however I predict it will be a classic race :pac:

Agree..... can be a little like the '' Grand National '' of cycle racing

ednwireland

Flecha

CheGuedara

Will be VERY in interesting and nearly impossible to call -

Would have hinted for Pozzato but he'll only be coming back off whatever illness kept him from the tour of Flanders. Wild card bet for Matti Breschel (maybe he'll get out some of the fury about being given the wrong bike this wkend)

Can see Flecha & Sky going for a big win and this would fit the bill very nicely though

crashoveroid

Cancellara would be my bet based on the current form but luck has such an important role to play in this race.

ednwireland

Boonen: Paris Roubaix will be a war

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boonen-paris-roubaix-will-be-a-war

so thats quickstep and saxobank nullify each other and someone else wins ?

iregk

Given how Flanders went one crash could easily scupper anyone. All things considered I think Fabulous Cancellara would be odds on favourite. He is on great form at the moment.

emtroche

Barring punctures or crashes it has to be Cancellara.

If thats what he done to Boonen on a hill, whats he gonna do to him on a flat road?!

IM0

emtroche wrote: »

If thats what he done to Boonen on a hill, whats he gonna do to him on a flat road?!

Not as much as you might think, its FAR harder to gap someone on the flat than on a hill. Theres no momentum on a hill, especially the 20% kind. All boonen has to do is follow his wheel..though if you look at how the E3 - Prijs turned out maybe not

emtroche

me@ucd wrote: »

its FAR harder to gap someone on the flat than on a hill.

Depends on the individual.

IM0

emtroche wrote: »

Depends on the individual.

but you were talking about Boonen and FC

Junior

With it being flat it's going to be easier for Boonen to keep his team around him, he somewhat reminds me of Kelly in the fact he doesn't seem to have a functioning team around him and has to mark most of the contenders himself.

The only way to get away is put the hammer down on the cobbles and it's not just a matter of power here, it's positioning, handling ability and knowing the chances you can take, was it last year when everyone around Boonen fell and he just kept the hammer in. He's done Cancellara in the past as well in a sprint here with Ballan one year, the three of them made it to the velodrome together, so it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other like ..

This could be a pure gallop and if it comes down to a sprint, well then you'd have to fancy someone from HTC Colombia to be there or there abouts but neither Cav or Greipel are riding it at the minute..

If Boonen and Cancellara are marked out of it, then you could be looking at angry Matti Breschel trying to get away or maybe Devolder or Chavanel from Quickstep..

It's hard to say without seeing the full line ups ..

Starting list is here

IM0

Junior wrote: »

Starting list is here

cool site, beats trawling/waiting for cycling news to put them up. all in one easy place

Funkyzeit

I think Boonen will have revenge - With way more cobbles (IMO Boonen better on cobbles) and less hills I think it'd be harder for Cancellara to get away from him - the onus will be on him to attack (surely Boonen would outsprint him if it got to the Velodrome)

niceonetom

I hope it rains.

fondriest

niceonetom wrote: »

I hope it rains.

Now you're talking if it rains anyone could win.

bcmf

Boonen,Gilbert or Matii.
To see Boonen forcing the errors on the pave last year is the secret.

ColSheehan

I'll go with my Predictions from Flanders. Cancellara, Boonen or Flecha. I think all of them could stand a huge chance of winning.

I also think one of the Rabobank guys or Vacansoleil guys may prove a surprise Lars Boom/Langeveld for Rabobank or Leukemans/Traksel/Westra for Vacansoleil.

Or I could be very wrong and none of these guys will win :eek:

Junior

I can't see flecha winning it, he's got the ability but I'm not sure on his tactical nous and his power. Boom abandoned on Sunday, so I don't know what state he's in. Pozzato is riding tomorrow and we'll know then of he's riding sunday

TinyExplosions

Purely to jinx him, Hincapie... he's looking not too bad at the moment, and I'd love to see him win a classic...

Honestly though, I can't see anyone beating Spartacus unless he has a mechanical

Slideshowbob

I can see Cancellara being marked out of it, so he may get frustrated like the Worlds Road Race last year and throw in the towel.

Lads will sit on him knowing the form he has.

Who would work with him in a break? Who would work with him to chase down a break?

blorg

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Honestly though, I can't see anyone beating Spartacus unless he has a mechanical

Interesting view from Richard Moore

E@gle.

Théo Bos will come out of nowhere on a velodrome and out sprint everyone

sy

Slideshowbob wrote: »

Who would work with him in a break? Who would work with him to chase down a break?

No need to if Matti Breschel is up the road. Saxobank have 2 potential winners in this race. ( as have Quick Step if Devolder is in form) Anybody know if Gilbert is riding?

Raam

McEwen says he is riding a cross frame...

http://twitter.com/mcewenrobbie/statuses/11783447965

me riding Roubaix is a tactical choice of team. my world ranking gives us good car position in convoy, about 6th. Without me there = 21st.

http://twitter.com/mcewenrobbie/statuses/11784114909

honestly though, I'm motivated to ride Roubaix. did it 97 + 98 and wanted to do it one more time so here we go! Riding a cross frame + fat's

pgibbo

I know sweet FA but having watched last weekends race you would imagine it will be hard to see past FC or TB.

Millar looked strong until the hills. Could he cause an upset? Mind you, if it's a close finish I assume he'll be working for Tyler Farrar who won the "nothing" group sprint on Sunday.
Also, Hincapie looked quite strong for a while last weekend. Given that this weekend is a flatter course could he do better than last weekend?

Looking forward to this one. Last weekend really whet my appetite for this one.

biker_joe

Well this is how the bookies see it ...........
Last w/e i threw a fiver on Fab and Tom both at 7/2 to cover my 20e bet on the that donkey Devolder....... @ 33/1

Joe

F Cancellara [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 6/4 [/URL] R Bertogliati [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] S Scheirlinckx [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] T Boonen [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 9/4 [/URL] D Rollin [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] K Van Impe [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] M Breschel [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 7/1 [/URL] K Fernandez [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] M Tjallingii [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] J A Flecha [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 12/1 [/URL] F Guesdon [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] J Casper [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] T Hushovd [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 12/1 [/URL] Seb Chavanel [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] K De Kort [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] F Pozzato [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 16/1 [/URL] Y Hutarovich [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] T Veelers [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] G Hincapie [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 25/1 [/URL] M Lorenzetto [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] K Ista [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] B Eisel [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 25/1 [/URL] D Oss [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] B Cooke [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] T Farrar [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 28/1 [/URL] J Roelandts [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] L Westra [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] B Leukemans [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 33/1 [/URL] G Van Avermaet [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] M Sieberg [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] R Hammond [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 40/1 [/URL] G E Larsson [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] R Sentjens [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] D Millar [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 40/1 [/URL] L Bak [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] P Wrolich [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] A Ballan [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 50/1 [/URL] S Hinault [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] S Rosseler [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] L Hoste [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 50/1 [/URL] G Lequatre [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] Y Offredo [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 300/1 [/URL] S Devolder [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 50/1 [/URL] Y Popovych [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 150/1 [/URL] G Thomas [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 300/1 [/URL] M Burghardt [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 66/1 [/URL] S Chainel [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] T Bos [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 350/1 [/URL] L Paolini [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 66/1 [/URL] J J Rojas [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] G Blot [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] Syl Chavanel [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 66/1 [/URL] L Mondory [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] J Guarnieri [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] P Sagan [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 66/1 [/URL] M Ladagnous [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] A Pichot [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] S O'Grady [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 66/1 [/URL] N Terpstra [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] F Sabatini [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] M Quinziato [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 75/1 [/URL] S Vandenbergh [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] B Traksel [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] M Maaskant [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 80/1 [/URL] D Hondo [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] J Engoulvent [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] S Ivanov [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 80/1 [/URL] W Weylandt [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 200/1 [/URL] C Lemoine [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] L Boom [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 100/1 [/URL] R Sicard [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] R Wagner [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] W Bonnet [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 125/1 [/URL] I Isasi [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] C Sutton [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] S Langeveld [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 125/1 [/URL] S Tuft [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] J Mouris [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 500/1 [/URL] K A Arvesen [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 125/1 [/URL] F Willems [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 250/1 [/URL] J Aramendia [URL="javascript:void(0)"] 75[/URL]

aidandoyle

I think that the first three will be these boys

Breschel, Cancellara, Boonan (who knows which order)

Breschel has been riding great lately and is in the mood to do something, he has been losing races because of bad luck - punctures / bike changes etc... Nothing needs to be said about the other two except that they are in great form.

Zipp101

Ballan out as he is under investigation for doping back in 2007 along with teammate Santambrogio.
Let's see what did he win that year........oh yeah Flanders (as well as a few other biggies) :rolleyes:

I hope either Hushovd,Flecha or Hincapie wins!

bcmf

If anyone is 'taping' or 'recording' L'enfer any chance of stickiing onto a disc for me?

Chips Lovell

This is gas.

CBS's John Tesh interviewed Dutchman Theo de Rooij at the finish of the 1985 Paris Roubaix;

De Rooij :"It's a boll**ks, this race! You're working like an animal, you don't have time to p**s, you wet your pants. You're riding in mud like this, you're slipping, it's a pile of s**t."

Tesh : "So, will you ever ride it again?"

De Rooij : "Sure, it's the most beautiful race in the world"

Reminds me of when Hinault won Paris - Roubaix in 1981. After finishing he said the race was bulls**t and said he'd never ride it again.

teufelswerk

Peter Sagan is a definite contender for this from what I've seen of him this season. He finished in the top 3 as a junior if I remember correctly. Anyone any thoughts?

66/1 on paddypowers, worth an each way punt. Plus he was junior world champion XC.

Anyone know what time the coverage starts on eurosport on sunday?

Chips Lovell

My predictions here.

Raam

http://tv.eurosport.co.uk/

Thanks raam. Didn't expect eurosport to have such detailed schedules online as their sky ones rarely seem to have anything to do with what they're actually showing.

sy

el tonto wrote: »

My predictions here.

Nice work el tonto.
Have to agree its a hard one to call between Boonen and Cancellara. This race can be determined by so many variables, mechanicals , crashes, weather even trains! and of course those cobbles. It is like no other race.

I thought Pozzato was very impressive last year and hope he might have recovered from illness (exposing too much flesh for the cameras can't have helped!). He might be a surprise on the day.
Saxobank have a really strong team and they will def use Breschel to soften Boonen up and he may even go all the way. Cancellara was awesome in Flanders but very difficult to produce that kind of form week after week and some people have hinted that he doesn't have the same drive to win Roubaix (Bo*****s)
I know Hincapie is getting a little long in the tooth but I thought he was riding well in Flanders. He loves Roubaix and should finish in top 5 providing his stem doesn't break :eek:

This was the 2006 Roubaix that Cancellara won by riding away from the field. He had first come to my attention when he won the prologue in the 2004 TDF but when he demolished the field in Roubaix that day I was very impressed. 2006 is also the one with the train incident (see above)

Prediction, I would love to see Pozzato or Flecha win but Boonen to win his 4th! and record equalling, Paris Roubaix.

Boonen's Paris Roubaix Results


2002 3rd
2004 9th
2005 1st
2006 2nd
2007 5th
2008 1st
2009 1st

jwshooter

carnage . why is there no one on the islands with a flag on a long poll.

Slideshowbob

wtf - serious drafting going on by cancellara behind that camera motorbike - makes a joke of the race

lyders

Is there anywhere to watch online?

Raam

Manuel Quinziato's preparation for today

http://twitpic.com/1espt9

Slideshowbob

I wonder what showboating Cancellara will do this week, Perhaps change into national costume before he crosses the line? http://history.swissroots.org/uploads/pics/costume.jpg

jwshooter

thats a savage of a man ,pure power.

CheGuedara

+1 on that - incredible stuff

My god, I thought he'd win but there's winning and there's winning. Boonen must be really sick of him stealing all his thunder.

bcmf

http://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelBarryCa#p/a/u/0/CU_LM1znjPI


Michael Barry and Team SKY's recce of the Pave.

Home:Ballyhoura

bcmf wrote: »

If anyone is 'taping' or 'recording' L'enfer any chance of stickiing onto a disc for me?

Do you still need a copy? I have it recorded on DVD and can probably learn how to make a copy for you if you want! Let me know, cheers!

bcmf

Yeah would love it. I will pm you my details

Slideshowbob

Flecha was negative today! No ambition at all - let Cancellara go up road - just rode for a placing

short circuit

I think Flecha & Thor played the smart game here. Even if they had chased down the god of time trials, they would have only managed to drag up Boonen and would have ended up with the minor placings anyway once it came to a spring. This way, they atleast got Boonen to haul their asses till the final 15, when they were able to push off.