Pick 'em

It's prognostication time for the best Classic on the race calendar, the Ronde van Vlaanderen. But first, my Milano - San Remo picks turned out fairly well. Haussler was just pipped at the line by an unexpectedly good Cavendish for the win. Bennati took 6th and Visconti finished but 30th but also in the lead group.

Flanders is a much more selective race than San Remo and makes picking guys that have not finished top 10 a little more difficult.

- Thirty-two riders have finished top 10 in the past five years.
- Of those thirty-two, ten have retired, one is on doping suspension and one is injured leaving only twenty active riders that have a top 10 in the past five years.
- Who's the most consistent rider over the past five years? Tom Boonen, right? Wrong. Boonen only has top 10s. Both Alessandro Ballan and George Hincapie have four top 10s

My picks in alphbetical order

Gerald Ciolek - I cant say why other than he is a good young talent
Heinrich Haussler - His form is bound to start falling off soon and he has never done particularly well at Flanders but I will ride his horse one more time
Martijn Maaskant - He seems to be a man of the cobbles and has had good solid finishes in recent weeks. He seems to be building for the two upcoming weekends.

And, finally, a pick that I guarantee will take place. Skil-Shimano will put a man in an early break.