Paris-Roubaix 2021
 

I had forgotten that this Spring Classic had been postponed and after 18 months, is set to hit the cobbles this weekend. With the debut of the Femmes on Saturday and the men on Sunday. The weather is finally predicted to be wet. Which, I understand, is a condition that no one lining up will have ever raced it that way. It’s been bone dry and dusty for too many years.

I would love to get some discussion and predictions going!

wet pave? some people are going to get hurt.

I'll be rooting for Sagan, but just don't think he can hang with the likes of van Aert and van der Poel. If wet, obviously bike handling skills will be more prominent. I'd think van der Poel would be the favorite then. Maybe, just maybe Sagan in adverse conditions if he stays upright.

Having said that, it'll probably be someone like Stybar, Asgreen or Lampaert.

Anyone know how to watch it in the US? NBC doesn't seem to have it on their program list.

NBCSN has an abbreviated version tape delayed for Sunday night. Peacock Premium has it live.

Awesome, thank you. Looks like I'll sign up for another month of Peacock.

Betting lines for Sunday (for discussion purposes only!):

Van Aert 7/2
Van Der Poel 11/2
Pedersen 14/1
Sagan 16/1
Senechal 16/1
Asgreen 18/1
Stuyven 18/1
Pidcock 20/1
Stybar 22/1
Alaphilippe 25/1
Politt 25/1

going to be a crashfest/mechanicalfest/puncturefest/raceradiofailurefest/traincrossingfest. can't wait.
all that said, tend to agree with one4smoke in thinking it'll be one of the dcq boys
since they seem to have the most depth potentially in case of said above fests.
asgreen is my pick with senechal my second pick. don't sleep on the wily ole gilbert tho.
also wanna see how ska, dvb and mohoric fare.

i don't know if I can get that nbc station but I assume Lance will have a Move podcast about it and I'll look on you tube for clips.

Would it be insensitive to suggest that some fans watch P-R for the same reason many other fans watch NASCAR? ;)

Whatever it takes to get more races back on NBCSN! 🤣

van Aert comes from the same CX background as MvdP, so both of them have a leg up . In this respect, they overshadow Sagan. Not so long ago, Sagan's bike handling was a significant advantage over the rest of the road peloton. But WvA and MvdP overshadow him in bike handling also. Just watch any of their epic CX battles in horrible conditions.

Plus, he doesn't have their power.

Edit: If MvdP is still concerned about his back, that's a disadvantage for his bike handling.

Great women’s race so far. The pave is looking super sketchy. A bunch of moments when lead riders are high on the crown only to find themselves suddenly on their hip. Corners that have to be taken with zero speed. Tomorrow won’t disappoint.

Pidcock FTW!

Exciting women's race today.

Saw this in CyclingNews. Progress comes, but it comes slowly.

Despite the differential, seeing that £91,000 for the Top 20 men is pretty bonkers compared to other pro sports. Can you imagine if the PGA was only coughing up $100k per Major? I realize that it’s not ideal for the riders, but the fact that the field isn’t made up of 200 millionaires is one of the things I love about the sport.

Looked into the race early in the day thanks to cyclingnews text feed, saw a short video clip from a fan of Lizzie Deignan attacking off the front. Get home to see she carried that the whole way !!?? Great Britain's first P-R win.

Not even close to a favorite, but really superb bike handling! Won by attacking early - I think this will also happen to the men's race, so I'm thinking an over looked rider will win. Everyone will mark the dangerous CX duo to their detriment.

The Pavé for sure looked sketchy, if there's more rain before or during the men's race it's gonna be fierce. I was cringing at segments that I would avoid on my gravel bike - mud road with a sharp crown, ugh.

I wonder how hard our illustrious CX riders Wout and Mathieu will ride? Will they risk skunking their CX or MTB season for a chance at glory in these cobbles? I feel MvdP may just go for it; I'm thinking Wout (who was out early from Appendicitis) won't take the risks and will focus on next year. MvdP had that nasty Olympic fail after a memorable Tour (and memorable celebrations I think) - that's a hard ask to crash hard then perform at a guaranteed crash fest this late in the season.

I'm thinking Seneschal ( he lives close by?) with my outside pick of Conner Swift. Don't forget Swift won Tro-Bro with its similar technicalities. I'm wondering if Sep Vanmarcke will have that illusive win here? Has Israel Startup won anything on the WT level this year?

Deignan showed the way. She escaped before the very first cobbles. getting through the cobbles solo was faster than dealing with them in a pack.

But the women's race was only 116 km. For the men, it's more than twice as long, so making an early solo attack stick will be much tougher.

But no question, the way to get through muddy cobbles fastest is to be alone.

Tactics should be really interesting tomorrow.

Wow!
 

What an incredible race!! Very exciting finish!

First for me getting to watch a classic. Really enjoyed both the women's and the men's race.
But Phil Liggett and Bob Roll drive me nuts. My favorite comment? And I am going by memory of his comment today.
Phil: That is nice of the Israel (Start up nation) car to give a drink to a Canadian rider...I suppose they are on the same team.🤔

Some did.

It was exciting to watch. Both the Women and Men races were great. Well worth the wait.

Well, personally I prefer crazy Uncle Phil and Wacky Uncle Bob.

The two commentators on the Women’s race (who also covered La Vuelta) are annoying, they blather on and on, they have a fetish for anything British, and their voices are just grating.

I miss the days of Liggett and Sherwen, but I’ll take Liggett-Roll over the other two. :thumb:

Dutch women have not had a good year. Lizzie was awesome.

Did you see her bloodied hands at the end of the race?

She is got brass ones.

I read that Trek Segafredo will match the total for the men’s winner. Way to go Trek showing support for your female riders. :thumb: