Sunday is Paris Roubaix which sound like no big deal to a non cycling sports fan but for a cycling fan this is the equivalent of the Super Bowl or a Heavy Weight World Championship bout. It is arguably the hardest one day endurance event race that is done.
I could try to write about it but there is no way I can do it justice. You can go here to read about this year's race. In a nutshell it is a 259 km (168mi) race over roads that date back to the roman empire. In fact 50+ km of this years race will be over stone cobbles. All this on skinny tired road bikes. It is an all out battle of strength and determination and only the guys that can go really fast under very adverse conditions while also making good tactical decisions stand a chance of doing well. This year should be extra exciting because the forecast for the area is cold and rain with possibly even some snow!
Showtime is 4pm Eastern time on Versus if you get it. If you don't find a friend who does and bring over a six pack of Belgian beer and some sausages. This will be the race to watch this year.
7 comments:
Looks pretty Manly I will try to watch. Mike D.
I can't imagine doing 50k on cobblestone - I rode about 50 feet on cobblestone once and it felt freaky weird.
Riding P-R compared to normal cycling is like climbing up a 3,000 foot dripping frozen waterfall while hanging from ice axes versus walking to the mailbox and getting a ride back down the driveway in a heated minivan. Section 10's 3km (Mons-En-Pevele) will break everyone's legs except the winner's. Will Hincapie win? Probably not. Will it snow? Probably. Would it be fun to watch with Spencer--oh, yeah! Have a great weekend, buddy!
love,
-Matt
...spencer...unless you know about an updated schedule that i don't, because of the bloody usa vs france davis cup match, the VS network is showing the race next sunday...stupid but true...
...it's available somewhere on paid internet but personally my computer video quality is not something i wanna look at for hours...
...& what a shame cuz it is THE race for the hardest of the hard men...judi, the cobbles are like the worst you could imagine...look at pezcycling.com or belgiumkneewarmers.com & scout around for photos...i won't even try to describe...
...it's hugely disappointing to not see it on the tube the same day it's happening...
Hey BGW. KD and I were watching a copy of Flanders last night. Keith at Bicycle Planet was good enough to make a copy for me from his Tivo. And Randy was good enoguh to bring it up to me.
So in the commercials, VS. was advertising that the show time for Roubaix is on the 20th. I went to VS. website and confirmed that indeed it is on next weekend. Dammit! I hate waiting.
...hey there, spencer...when ya peruse that sunday VS schedule it sure seems like there is room to fit the race in there somewhere...the davis cup match isn't a final, i don't believe...
...& to really 'andy rooney' it...
..."so just what IS up w/ VS showing some of the best bicycle races in the world in the MIDDLE of beautiful sunny sunday afternoons, ANYWAY...don't they know cyclists wanna be out riding their bikes on THOSE kinda days...couldn't they show them at a BETTER time...you KNOW those people spend a lotta time eating all those calories so it seems like THAT would be a good time to air them...well, i'm andy rooney & after consulting w/ my friend bikesgonewild, thats the way I see it"...
BGW: yeah! what's up with that?
Sorelegs: beef or pork? Stella Artois anyone. See you Sunday.
T
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