Tilles Park is shaping up to be an unpleasant day of racing tomorrow. Forty degrees, 50% chance of rain with a 14mph wind. Spectacular! Throw in some cobbles and we could be in Roubaix.
Speaking of Roubaix, it is time to make some picks. If you were a betting man, Boonen would be a safe bet. He looked the strongest in Flanders despite not winning and he has been top ten the last four years. Backstedt, Cancellara, Flecha, Hammond, Hincapie and Wesemann are all on the start list that have more than one top 10 in the last five years. But, I cannot pick any of them. My non-top 10 restriction may not limit me too much for this race. Until this morning, I was very pleased to find that Devolder was eligible for my picking system after his performance in Flanders. Then I discovered that both Vladimir Gusev and Leif Hoste have not been top 10 thanks to both being DQ'd because of the train crossing incident in '06 . That shocked me. And the good news is that they are the team leaders and will not be forced to work for anyone.
Top pick: Leif Hoste
2nd pick: Stijn Devolder
3rd pick: Vladimir Gusev. He is my third pick only because he has been coming back from an injury and then crashed in Flanders so he may not be on top form Thanks to Austin for reminding me that Gusev's Astana team is barred from ASO events. Before thinking that Gusev was available for selection, I had my eye on a guy that always seems willing to work hard. That attitude should suit him well in a tough, hard race. My new third pick is Pavel Brutt
Curiosity pick: Herve Duclos-Lasalle. Let's see if his Dad's two-time winning genes were passed on to Herve.
Speaking of Roubaix, it is time to make some picks. If you were a betting man, Boonen would be a safe bet. He looked the strongest in Flanders despite not winning and he has been top ten the last four years. Backstedt, Cancellara, Flecha, Hammond, Hincapie and Wesemann are all on the start list that have more than one top 10 in the last five years. But, I cannot pick any of them. My non-top 10 restriction may not limit me too much for this race. Until this morning, I was very pleased to find that Devolder was eligible for my picking system after his performance in Flanders. Then I discovered that both Vladimir Gusev and Leif Hoste have not been top 10 thanks to both being DQ'd because of the train crossing incident in '06 . That shocked me. And the good news is that they are the team leaders and will not be forced to work for anyone.
Top pick: Leif Hoste
2nd pick: Stijn Devolder
3rd pick: Vladimir Gusev. He is my third pick only because he has been coming back from an injury and then crashed in Flanders so he may not be on top form Thanks to Austin for reminding me that Gusev's Astana team is barred from ASO events. Before thinking that Gusev was available for selection, I had my eye on a guy that always seems willing to work hard. That attitude should suit him well in a tough, hard race. My new third pick is Pavel Brutt
Curiosity pick: Herve Duclos-Lasalle. Let's see if his Dad's two-time winning genes were passed on to Herve.
2 Comments:
Gusev rides for Astana. Astana was not invited. Thus, you need a new third pick.
Good grief. I got so excited at seeing Gusev's name that I forgot all about the whole ASO/UCI/Astana BS.
Time to revert back to one of my preliminary guesses. Change to post being made
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