Tag: 2015

Amstel Gold Race 2015 Preview

The Classics calendar leaves the rough cobblestones of Flanders and northern France behind for the short, steep bergs of the Netherlands Sunday at the Amstel Gold Race. The uphill chargers will face off on a bumpy parcours in the Limburg province, the first of three puncheur-friendly WorldTour races often called the “Ardennes Classics” (though the Amstel Gold Race doesn’t actually go through the Ardennes forest.

The Route

Even at a long 251 kilometers in full, with 34 classified climbs from start to finish, the Amstel Gold Race is a roller-coaster ride throughout. The trip from Maastricht to Berg en Terblijt is one of constant ups and downs, with plenty of road furniture along the way to boot.

On paper, the route and profile look perfect for aggressive racing, and recent editions have seen successful long-range attackers. But historically, this race has quite often been all about the very last uphill test, the Cauberg. It’s a little over a kilometer long at just under a 5% average gradient, but with some seriously steep stuff in the middle. From the top of the final ascent (the peloton will visit the iconic climb multiple times on the day) of the Cauberg, it’s still almost two kilometers to the line, a relatively recent route alteration that requires those who get away on the last slope to maintain their gap over a flat stretch before the finish.

The Contenders

Whether this race is won with a long-range attack, a charge up the Cauberg, or a finishing sprint in the final drag, explosiveness is the critical trait for any would-be contender in the Amstel Gold Race: explosiveness to get clear in a breakaway attempt, to launch up the last climb, or to win a bunch kick in the finishing straight. The Amstel Gold Race is a puncheur’s playground.

Philippe Gilbert is the peloton’s most successful active Amstel Gold Racer, and generally, the sport’s dominant figure on the Cauberg climb. He’s won this race three times, and won his rainbow jersey atop the Cauberg in 2012. This race suits him down to the ground, and his 3rd place in the recent Brabantse Pijl suggests he’s in good shape. Still, he’s not the Philippe Gilbert he once was, and all eyes will be on him in the last few kilometers. He won’t be able to slip away. As strong as he is here, this startlist is packed with hungry uphill specialists, it won’t be easy for him to get clear even on his favored terrain, and a few of the other likely contenders could probably beat him in a sprint if he can’t drop them. He’s the oddsmakers’ favorite for obvious reasons, but winning a force Amstel will be a real challenge. Regardless, having Samuel Sanchez, Greg Van Avermaet, and Ben Hermans around to launch attacks does give BMC plenty of cards to play.

Alejandro Valverde has never won here, but his uphill burst is one of the best in cycling, and his ability to win a sprint even in a flat finish makes him particularly dangerous. In blazing form after a three-stage-win Catalunya, Valverde has a terrific chance of winning this race.

Michal Kwiatkowski, 5th last year, also has a strong uphill burst and an excellent finishing kick. One advantage he may have even over the versatile Alejandro Valverde in this finale is a talent for late solo moves. He earned his Worlds title with a brilliant late attack in Ponferrada, and with the finish line still over a kilometer from the top of the Cauberg, his time trialing skills will come in very handy.

Simon Gerrans is perfectly suited to this parcours, but he is probably still a bit lacking in the form department after an early season injury. Orica-GreenEdge will likely put their faith in Michael Matthews instead, who just landed his second straight 2nd-place result in Brabantse Pijl. If the punchier riders can’t get separation, Matthews has a great chance of winning this race in a sprint.

Joaquim Rodríguez has the punch to thrive on the Cauberg, and showed incredible form in Pais Vasco. The flat stretch that follows from the top of the final climb is not great for his skillset but he may be strong enough to open up a winning gap on the uphill drag. Teammate Daniel Moreno also has plenty of punch, and a decent sprint as well.

Sergio Henao is another talented climber with a fair bit of punch, and he showed strong form in the Basque Country. Daniel Martin would probably fare better with a purely uphill finish too, but he does have a nice finishing kick if he manages to get into a small group in the finale—Tom-Jelte Slagter is another option for Cannondale.

With an impressive trio of Jelle Vandendert (twice 2nd here), Tony Gallopin, and Tim Wellens, Lotto Soudal will almost certainly be in the mix for the win. Wellens is a great candidate to go from afar. Giant-Alpecin’s Tom Dumoulin is another great long-range candidate. His elite soloing ability combined with an ever-improving finishing kick make him a terrific outsider for victory.

Lampre’s Rui Costa and Diego Ulissi, Wanty-Groupe Gobert’s Enrico Gasparotto, Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali, Tinkoff-Saxo’s Roman Kreuziger, Trek’s dangerous trio of Bauke Mollema, Julián Arredondo, and Fabio Felline, CCC’s Davide Rebellin, and AG2R’s Carlos Betancur and Jan Bakelants are others hoping to get into the mix.

VeloHuman Top 10 Favorites

Winner: Michal Kwiatkowski
Podium: Alejandro Valverde, Philippe Gilbert
Other Top Contenders: Michael Matthews, Joaquim Rodriguez, Jelle Vanendert, Tim Wellens, Daniel Moreno, Sergio Henao, Tom Dumoulin

Be sure to follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for more analysis.

-Dane Cash

Photo by By Jakub Cerveny (CC).

April 18, 2015
Orica-GreenEdge “Really Happy” with Progression of Keukeleire after Top 10s in Harelbeke and Roubaix

Ever since 2010, when he won the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, Nokere-Koerse, and Memorial Samyn races all in one brilliant March, Jens Keukeleire has (deservedly) received mentions as an outsider and potential Top 10 candidate in many prognosticators’ Classics previews. The cobbled, one-day races have never been the strongest area for Orica-GreenEdge, but in Keukeleire, they have been developing a rider with a potential to contend in those races, though at least through 2014, his performances at the very biggest cobblestone-oriented events had not yielded top results.

That changed this spring. Keukeleire nabbed his first Top 10 in a WorldTour one-day race at E3 Harelbeke in March, signaling strong form and a potential for more success in the races to come, and then he delivered on that promise in last Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, making it into the velodrome with the winning group to ultimately finish the Hell of the North in 6th place. It wasn’t a victory, and it wasn’t a podium, but it was Keukeleire’s strongest performance at the WorldTour level yet, and it was the team’s best ever placing in either of the Monument-level cobbled races. For the Australian outfit, that was plenty reason to celebrate. When Keukeleire found his way to the team bus after the finish in Roubaix, it was hugs all around from the team staff.

“If you look at the race I did, I had a lot of bad luck, and to be honest, a couple of times I thought, ‘This is over, my race is over here.’ But I know from previous editions that you can never give up here, always keep fighting, and you never know where you end up, and look I’m still Top 10 so I’m really happy,” Keukeleire said after the race.

Getting to this point was a matter of constant development, from a starting point with a fair bit of youth and inexperience.

“I’ve just been noticing that every year we’re getting stronger and stronger in these Classics,” Keukeleire said. “Four years ago, with the start of the team, we were really young. A team which lacked a little bit in experience, but every year we’re getting more and more experience, and stronger as well, and you can notice it in the races, not only here but in the other races as well, we know better how to ride, which moments we have to be in the front, and I think that’s only positive for the future.”

Keukeleire’s positive outlook is shared by the team management. Orica-GreenEdge general manager Shayne Bannan had plenty of good things to say about the Top 10 performance by his team’s rising Classics contender.

“We’re really happy with Jens’s progression,” Bannan told VeloHuman. “To finish 6th in Paris-Roubaix, at his age, we know he’s developing into a potential Roubaix winner. Maybe two or three years away, but what he showed today was something pretty special, for him as an individual and for us as a team. Our best result prior to today was Langeveld in 7th two or three years ago. So to come here and finish 6th, but a 6th that was only a few lengths away from getting a podium, it’s something really special, so we’re proud of him.”

Keukeleire isn’t the only up-and-coming talent on the Australian team’s roster. The team has a stable of riders aged twenty-six and younger that are already capable of contending on a variety of terrains, whether that’s the cobbles, the short, steep climbs of the Ardennes, or the Alpine ascents of the Grand Tours.

“It’s critical to have a mixture of young talent and a mixture of very good experience. The combination is a quite lethal combination if done correctly. We’re excited by the young talent we’ve got coming through, including the Yateses [Simon and Adam], Esteban [Chaves], Magnus Cort, [Michael] Matthews, and so on and so on. So we’re really looking to the next couple of years. Looking forward first of all to the Ardennes, and the Giro and the Tour, but we’re excited about the next couple of years,” Bannan said.

The “very good experience” element comes into play thanks to a number of veteran riders on the squad whose presence is critical to the development of the young stars. Proven Paris-Roubaix Top 10 talent Mathew Hayman, for instance, can offer the sort of guidance that only comes with years of riding on the cobblestones. Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix left Hayman with a mixture of emotions after a crash took him out of contention — “Just a bit gutted for myself, it was a pretty silly crash,” he told VeloHuman — but the 36-year-old Australian acknowledged that Keukeleire’s Top 10 was a big result that might lead to more and more big results to come.

“He had a couple of punctures, thought his race was over at different points, and to have him there at the finish and to know that it’s possible, I’m sure that’s going to give him a big boost of confidence for next year. I’ve been in the same situation, once you’ve been in the top 10, you realize that these things can happen,” Hayman said.

April 18, 2015
The Recon Ride Podcast: Amstel Gold Race + La Flèche Wallonne 2015 Pre-race Show

Episode 9: Amstel Gold Race + La Flèche Wallonne 2015 Pre-race Show
The Recon Ride presents a double helping of pre-race analysis for the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne.

[powerpress]

The peloton heads for the hills to take on the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, the first two races in a trio of springtime one-day WorldTour events for the punchier types, and the Recon Ride is covering the talking points with a double pre-race show.

Photo by Johan Wieland.

April 17, 2015
Paris-Roubaix 2015: Race Day Thoughts from Hayden Roulston, Sebastian Langeveld, and Daniel Oss

VeloHuman spoke with a few of the riders at the Paris-Roubaix startline in Compiègne to get the inside scoop on how the Queen of the Classics might play out.

Hayden Roulston (Trek Factory Racing)

How are the legs?

I’m okay. This is the last race for a lot of people here today so it’s always a full-gas race and it’s always a stressful race but it’s one of the most beautiful races of the year.

Is the team feeling strong coming in?

Yeah obviously we lost Fabian and it’s a big, big loss, you can’t replace him, but you know we’ve got Devolder, Stuyven, we’ve still got some good young riders and you know, we’re here to fight and like every other team here, we’re here with a shot.

Are there any specific sections of cobbles you’ve got your eyes on?

The first section is always a very nervous section. It’s not the hardest section but it’s always a very nervous section. And then you’ve got the section before Arenberg, that’s a very important section, and obviously Arenberg, and then you know later on you’ve got Pévèle and you’ve also got Carrefour de l’Arbre and they’re obviously crunch sections but the race is sort of . . . well before then, normally.

Top rivals you’re watching?

We don’t have our eyes on anyone. Kristoff is definitely on a hot streak but this is the most open race on the calendar in my opinion, especially missing Boonen and Fabian, there’s a lot of guys that could win today.

Sebastian Langeveld (Cannondale-Garmin)

Are you feeling recovered and ready to go?

I’m feeling good. We didn’t do much from Thursday on, just rested and kept the tank full so yeah, ready to go.

What did you learn as a team at Flanders that you might be able to use here?

Mentally, I was a bit different in Flanders than I am now. I was coming back from an injury and now the body feels ready to go again, so I want to go for a result today.

Is there any particular place that you have circled along the route as maybe a good place to go for it?

No, I think it’s hard to pick a spot. I think the last 70 kilometers, it can happen everywhere. . . . And also, like last week it’s going to be an open race, there are a couple of big top favorites but behind them there’s a group of riders who can go alone or in a group to the velodrome. I think it’s going to be a really fast race, where you need to keep your eyes open and not be afraid to go in moves.

Daniel Oss (BMC Racing Team)

Will there be relief getting to the velodrome after all these cobbled races?

Yeah, the race is difficult—but in the final we’ll be there. We have the legs. We have the team, we have a lot of motivation, we really want to arrive in front to play with a win.

You’ve been very aggressive in the Cobbled Classics so far as a team. Sometimes this race is about aggression, other times it’s just about attrition. Do you plan to try to keep launching attacks here or will you maybe try to stay patient?

That’s a big point, because until Flanders, we were really aggressive but in Flanders we waited a little bit and we took the podium. So maybe in this kind of race, it is really important to conserve the energy for the final and go the best in the final sector, in the final kilometers. But the team has to be there in the heavy attack, in the heavy moments, anything can happen.

You’ve been riding very well these past few races. How do you feel about your form?

Yeah. I’m really good I think! I’m in the best shape of my career until now, and I’m looking forward to staying in this condition in the next few years.

-Dane Cash

April 12, 2015
Paris-Roubaix 2015 Preview

After weeks of exciting racing in Northern Europe, the grand finale of the Cobbled Classics has arrived. Paris-Roubaix gets underway Sunday morning in the small town of Compiegne, about an hour North of Paris by car, and after roughly six hours of racing, 2015 will crown its third Monument winner.

The Route

The route of Paris-Roubaix 2015 is much like the route of Paris-Roubaix 2014, with the same few sectors of especially vicious cobbles likely to force selection. Its name notwithstanding, Paris-Roubaix starts in the town of Compiègne, about an hour north of Paris. The first 98 km are, comparatively, quite easy, but then the peloton will hit the first of twenty-seven classified cobbled sections.

The Troisvilles sector that kicks things off is not among the hardest but after nearly 100 km of growing tension there will be a mad dash for position and things are likely to get a bit chippy. Other sectors of only moderate difficulty follow, until the first five-star sector, the Arenberg trench, reached at kilometer 158. 2.4 km of very challenging cobbles, plenty of riders see their Roubaix hopes meet an early demise on the rough terrain. The run-up to the Arenberg is typically where the action starts in earnest in Paris-Roubaix, and after that, it doesn’t stop, with several difficult sectors to follow before another particularly challenging sector, Mons-en-Pévèle. 204.5 km into the race, it is a very long stretch of cobblestones at 3 kilometers, and a place likely to see a few long-range attackers attempting to get clear.

After a few more cobbled sectors comes the final five-star challenge, the Carrefour de l’Arbre, 2.1 km of particularly nasty cobbles. As the pack, or what’s left of it, will hit this section with only 17 kilometers remaining in the race, it’s the perfect spot to launch an attack. Those who survive the Carrefour de l’Arbre will only face three more comparatively easy cobbled sections before the race finishes with 800 meters in the Roubaix velodrome.

“Anything can happen” is a mantra often used and reused to describe bike races, but nowhere else does it ring true quite like it does here. Positioning is critical, with the peloton stretching out and tightening up again constantly, and with attacks flying at all times. On this difficult terrain, mechanical problems are always a major concern, and in so many of the difficult sections along the road to Roubaix, help can be a long time coming if a rider needs a new wheel. Talking to VeloHuman at the team presentation, Heinrich Haussler noted: “The whole race, you get a flat tire in the wrong spot, you might as well just jump in the car.”

The Contenders

Few races reward pure strength the way Paris-Roubaix does, with its practically pancake-flat parcours and its bruising cobbled sectors that favor those riders with a bit of weight to keep them from bouncing around on the difficult road surface. Simply put, it’s a race that strongly favors the powerful cobbled specialists, especially those with good bike handling skills.

Etixx-QuickStep is bursting at the seams with Classics specialists, and yet they still have not come away with a top-level win on the cobbles this year. This is their last chance, but they will have a great opportunity to make things right here. Niki Terpstra is the defending champion, and the Dutch 30-year-old has shown strong form throughout the spring races in 2015. His 2nd in the Tour of Flanders proved his excellent fitness right now, and given his elite soloing talent, he makes for a great card to play for EQS here. Zdenek Stybar, though, might be the prime pick for the Belgian superteam. His combination of bike handling skills, endurance, and a nice finishing kick are perfect for this race, and he’s come close here in the past. The tooth problems that plagued him in Flanders have been fixed, and he’s shown great form this season. Stijn Vandenbergh is another very strong option for the team. QuickStep can send one rider after another off the front here and that puts them in prime position to finally come away with a win in the top Classics.

Alexander Kristoff comes in as the big name on everyone’s minds after his stunning Flanders win. Roubaix has not been a great race for him in the past but with the form he has shown lately and his incredible skillset, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be another opportunity for him to win a big event. However, it won’t be easy for Katusha to corral what are likely to be constant attacks from Kristoff’s rivals (even with a very strong Luca Paolini on the team), and favorite status won’t help Kristoff either. Knowing how fast he will be in the velodrome, every other rival in this race will look to leave Kristoff behind at any opportunity, and that will make things pretty difficult for the Norwegian. He’s obviously a very dangerous rider, but pulling off a Flanders-Roubaix double would be an enormous feat.

John Degenkolb is the other “sprinter” near the top of the favorites discussion right now. Runner-up in 2014, he’s one of the few who might be able to beat Kristoff in a sprint, and he mentioned his and his team’s very high levels of confidence multiple times at the team presentation in Compiégne, saying that he has no fear if the race comes down to a sprint battle with Kristoff in the velodrome. He’s obviously strong this year after winning Milano-Sanremo, but his results in the other Cobbled Classics haven’t quite been as expected. Still, he’s already shown how well he can ride in this race, and even though he just won a Monument Classic last month, Kristoff’s recent success has taken all of the spotlight perhaps allowing him to enjoy a bit of under-the-radar status.

Bradley Wiggins rode to 9th here last year with practically no cobbled racing prep, and this year he’s got his sights set completely on a Roubaix win to close out his Team Sky career. In a race where time trialists often thrive, Wiggins has the requisite power for a big result. The question is whether he has the handling skills and the Classics savvy—many ridres spend years gaining experience here, gradually chipping away at results. Wiggins has been incredibly successful in his career when he has put his mind to even a very difficult goal, but this is asking a lot. He also doesn’t have much of a finishing kick, meaning that he’ll basically need to drop all of his rivals. He has a shot, but it won’t be easy. Geraint Thomas, on blazing form this Classics season, has done well here in the past and should do well again. Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe are nice alternatives for Sky.

Sep Vanmarcke was the runner-up in 2013, missing out on the victory because he couldn’t outsprint Fabian Cancellara in the velodrome. To me, he seems much quicker at the line these days, but he’s been lacking something in the Cobbled Classics this year. He can handle the cobbles more adeptly than almost anyone in the sport and that makes him deadly here but, simply put, he’ll need to better here than he was in Flanders.

Greg Van Avermaet has not had the success here that he’s had in other cobbled races but his speedy finishing kick and excellent team (with strong Daniel Oss as a second) makes him dangerous. Peter Sagan only notched his first Top 10 here last year, but his Classics prep this season has left him looking more powerful and perhaps better suited to this race than he was in the past. More under-the-radar than usual after weeks of missing out on big results, he could benefit from a rare lack of eyes pointed in his direction.

Lotto Soudal has a three-pronged attack with Jürgen Roelandts, Tiesj Benoot, and the surprising André Greipel. Similarly, IAM Cycling has the trio of Sylvain Chavanel, Heinrich Haussler, and the surprising Martin Elmiger—Haussler told VH that Elmiger said prior to Flanders that he is in the form of his life, and he proved it at the Ronde. That could come in handy in this race where having multiple strong teammates in crucial. Astana’s Lars Boom has looked strong this year and this race suits his cyclocross background and time trialing prowess. Cannondale’s Sebastian Langeveld, Lampre’s Filippo Pozzato, FDJ’s Arnaud Démare, Trek’s Stijn Devolder, and OGE’s Jens Keukeleire are on the list of outsiders with a shot in Paris-Roubaix.

VeloHuman Top 10 Favorites

Winner: Zdenek Stybar
Podium: Bradley Wiggins, Alexander Kristoff
Other Top Contenders: Niki Terpstra, Sep Vanmarcke, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb, Geraint Thomas, Greg Van Avermaet, Stijn Vandenbergh

Be sure to follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for more analysis (from the roadside) of Paris-Roubaix 2015.

-Dane Cash

Photo by Brendan Ryan.

April 11, 2015
The Recon Ride Podcast: Paris-Roubaix 2015 Pre-race Show

Episode 8: Paris-Roubaix 2015 Pre-race Show
The Recon Ride gears up for Paris-Roubaix, the “Hell of the North,” taking a look at the history of the race, this year’s parcours, and the many riders who could make things interesting on Sunday.
[powerpress]

Dane Cash of VeloHuman and Cosmo Catalano of Cyclocosm cover the many storylines of Paris-Roubaix in the latest episode of the Recon Ride, which also features interview audio from Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, and Tyler Farrar.

Photo by Christian Bille.

April 10, 2015