Rivals of Quick Step, whose Belgian star Tom Boonen was victorious last year, expect them to lead from the front along the road to “hell” in today’s grueling Paris-Roubaix one-day classic race.
Even without the forecast of rain, the “Hell of the North,” one of the year’s most prestigious races, would be challenging enough as the 259km race includes a bone-shaking 52.6km of cobblestones.
This being the 107th edition organizers have had to tweak certain stages of the race because of the state of the cobbles, with this year’s even missing out the 1.6km-long Wallers-Helesmes cobbled section, which is in less than raceable condition.
PHOTO: AFP
Another section that links Auchy-les-Orchies to Bersee, which has been shortened the past two years, goes back to its original length of 2.5km thanks to work that has been carried out to improve the cobbles by local communes.
Boonen triumphed 12 months ago, edging out Fabian Cancellara in just 1 minute, 18 seconds shy of six hours — less than half the 12 hour, 15 minute winning time of Henri Pelissier, who struggled to victory in 1919 over a course ravaged by the carnage of the just-ended Great War.
The grueling nature of the race prompted one-time editor of French sports daily L’Equipe, Jacques Goddet, to dub the course “the last great madness of cycling.”
And with the heavens expected to open on cue that will bring to mind two-time Irish champion Sean Kelly’s observation that “a Paris-Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris-Roubaix. Throw in a little snow as well, it’s not serious.”
Dirk Demol, who bagged a surprise 1988 win, says Quick Step — who he recently left to join the technical staff at Astana — “are going to dictate the pace again.”
“They have got a number of wins under their belt, their morale is good and that will make the difference come Sunday,” Demol said. “We will have to put them on the defensive. Otherwise we will be riding behind them and that quickly makes things difficult. You can never say so with certainty, but I am pretty sure it’ll be a Quick Step rider who wins.”
But for another former champion, Marc Madiot, sporting director of Francaise des Jeux, “there’s nothing to say that they [Quick Step] will be as strong as in the Tour of Flanders. Sure, they are hard to beat, but not invincible.”
But with nine wins since 1995 Patrick Lefevere’s men are certainly the team to beat, with Boonen and Tour of Flanders double champion Stijn Devolder having carried off six wins between them in the cobbled classics of Paris-Roubaix and Flanders.
But Dominique Arnould, team manager of Bouygues Telecom, notes that, favorites or not, there is always the chance that some external factor may come into play.
“There’s that luck factor which could keep out many teams. And then, if Boonen and Chavanel find themselves alongside one another, who will give his wheel to the other in the event of a puncture?”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS