Rick Scott's Weekly Rap: A Quick Step through Hell
15 April 2009By Rick Scott
The heart of the Classics has arrived starting on Belgian and Northern French cobble stones. Picture the most difficult 2-3-kilometer climb you ride. Now picture it even steeper. Instead of asphalt, pave the road with jagged cobble stones. Then add dirt, mud, cold, wind and rain. It’s enough to make grown men cry…literally.
The Beat
The Rock’em Sock’em Robot series of Classics over the treacherous cobble stones lived up to their precarious and unpredictable nature as only the strongest, hardiest riders thundered over the tough stuff in the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix. These are truly hardman’s races and even though the usual atrocious cold, wet and rainy weather conditions spared the riders on all but Gent-Wevelgem, it seemed that all the pre-race favorites crashed at least once during the week. The triple-pronged Quick Step attack proved too much to contain in Flanders where Stijn Devolder simply rode away from the bunch, which was too busy marking his teammate, Tom Boonen. It was Devolder’s second consecutive win in his native country’s biggest race making him the true “Lion of Flanders.”The hilly cobble stone roads leveled off for Gent-Wevelgem, which favors the fast men. Traditional Belgium Spring Classics weather – cold, wind and rain – mercilessly assaulted the peloton. Although Columbia-Highroad’s Mark Cavendish was the heavy favorite, a late two-man escape concluded with a victory salute from a different young Columbia-Highroad rising star: Edvald Boasson Hagen. It was the 21-year-old’s biggest win in his promising career.
The Queen of the Classic, Paris-Roubaix closed this special week in which Lady Luck played the usual role of spoiler. For the third time and second-in-a-row, Boonen, an Amgen Tour of California stage winner, was the last man standing and the first to enter the famed velodrome that hosts the finish. While the Belgian pin-up star was truly a worthy winner, crashes and untimely flat tires ruined the chances of others, including multi-Amgen Tour of California stage winner George Hincapie (Columbia-Highroad). After the race, the 35-year-old American vowed not to “go out like that” in the sunset of his stellar career, which includes riding 15 editions of the race aptly called “The Hell of the North.” Look for Big George to be back next year to fight for that elusive Classics victory.
The final race on the cobbles, Scheldeprijs Vlaaderen is also tailored to the sprinters. Boonen won there twice as has Cavendish. With Cav chill-axing on holiday, Boonen was favored to take the upper hand. Unfortunately Tomeke went down in a mass pile-up during the final sprint (thankfully he avoided injury). Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes) won for the first time on Belgian roads, which is remarkable for the Italian sprinter who has won some of the biggest races in cycling. Congrats to last year’s Amgen Tour of California stage and Herbalife Sprint Points winner Dominique Rollin, who landed on the third step of the podium, his best result yet since joining the powerhouse Cervelo TestTeam this season.
While the robust were slugging it out over the cobble stones, the featherweights were lighting up the Spanish mountains at the Tour of the Basque. The star-studded field included such studs as Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam), Olympic road race gold medalist Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel Euskadi), Giro d’Italia winner Damiano Cunego, Amgen Tour of California final stage winner Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank), Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and triple Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador (Astana). Contador won the stage race after winning a decisive mountain stage and besting the rest by a sizeable margin in the final stage individual time trial. It was the Spaniard’s second consecutive Basque tour win.
Up next is the week of Ardennes Classics commencing with this Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race followed by the mid-week treat Fleche-Wallonne and capped by the fourth cycling monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege. This series of races appeals to the one-day specialists who climb and gives us yet another glimpse of the Grand Tour contenders as they prepare for the upcoming Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
The Flow
Sprint legend Erik Zabel was hired by Columbia-Highroad to mentor Cavendish specifically for Milan-San Remo, which the young Brit won, but he also has been working with Boasson Hagen and Tony Martin. With Boasson Hagen popping the cork at Gent-Wevelgem, anxious to see what major event Martin will win this season under Zabel’s sage guidance…Which team do you think had the best week? Quick Step won both Classics, but Columbia-Highroad scored three consecutive wins on three consecutive days, including a semi-classic (Gent-Wevelgem) and back-to-back stage victories at the Tour of the Basque courtesy of Michael Albasini and Marco Pinotti…
Talk about being Red in the face. Days after Team Saxo Bank’s high-profile mid-season switch from Shimano to SRAM Red components, the team’s powerful Fabian Cancellara, a two-time Amgen Tour of California prologue winner, snapped his chain at a crucial moment in Flanders where team support vehicles are not allowed to drive, which meant the end of the Olympic time trial gold medalist’s day. Perhaps they need to design a Spartacus strength chain…
Big ups to Amgen Tour of California host city Davis for being selected as the new location for the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. Yet another reason to visit the Golden State tour next year…
USA Cycling has partnered with the two American-based ProTour teams – Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-Highroad – on its mission to develop future American professional cyclists. The 10-year-old USA Cycling National Development Team provides support and opportunities for young Americans to race in Europe. The program has benefited and graduated such Garmin-Slipstream riders as Amgen Tour of California runner-up David Zabriskie, Christian Vande Velde, Tyler Farrar, Danny Pate, Will Frischkorn, Steven Cozza and Timmy Duggan…
Speaking of USA Cycling, kudos to Jim “Not Dennis” Miller on his appointment as USA Cycling’s Director of Athletics. Miller coached Kristin Armstrong to a gold medal ride in the Olympic time trial in Beijing last summer. He obviously reads this column because he asked me to send him some love. There you go, brother…
Last weekend, I made my annual Easter weekend pilgrimage up many of the King of the Mountains climbs that the Amgen Tour of California traversed in this year’s final stage in Escondido, including the majestic Palomar Mountain. The sun was shining brilliantly as I rolled for over four hours and 8400 feet of vertical pedaling. Despite the rains that have fallen in the nearly two months since the peloton traveled over these roads, you could still read the scrawl chalked in the asphalt cheering on “Levistrong”…
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