An extra clamp on the seatpost is in place to prevent slipping.
Photo credit © James Huang
The Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR wheels Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) has been using at Ronde van Vlaanderen and Scheldeprijs features tall flanges and bladed carbon spokes that extend from one rim wall to the other but the M40 wheels he'll supposedly use on Sunday features more conventional looking alloy hub shells and stainless steel spokes.
Photo credit © James Huang
Blacked-out Veloflex tires were mounted on Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR rims for Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) for Ronde van Vlaanderen and Scheldeprijs but he'll switch to massive 27mm-wide FMBs for Paris-Roubaix.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) is hoping to claim Paris-Roubaix victory on Sunday on this specially modified Cervelo R3.
Photo credit © James Huang
Photo credit © James Huang
Cervelo has opted for a 1 3/8" lower steerer diameter instead of the more common 1 1/2", saying it yields a better ride while still offering improved steering precision.
Photo credit © James Huang
According to Garmin-Cervelo team mechanics, Mavic's prototype M40s are remarkably tough and not only work best with fat tires (cyclo-cross!), there's a greater risk of rim damage if they're used on ultra-bad roads with narrower rubber.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) will reportedly ride these Mavic M40 wheels for Paris-Roubaix, complete with massive 27mm-wide FMB tubulars.
Photo credit © James Huang
Mechanics have made these little number holders for years but Rotor now offers them as a standard item to consumers.
Photo credit © James Huang
Garmin-Cervelo bikes for Paris-Roubaix ultimately aren't all that different from standard machines save for the few millimeters of additional clearance - note the extreme position of the brake pad in the adjustment slots.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) will use Shimano's latest carbon-bodied Dura-Ace SPD-SL pedals for Paris-Roubaix.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd's (Garmin-Cervelo) Paris-Roubaix machine is fitted with the black version of SRAM's Red group.
Photo credit © James Huang
A fi'zi:k Arione CX saddle is mounted atop 3T's anti-rotation Palladio Pro seatpost.
Photo credit © James Huang
fi'zi:k-sponsored pros have a number of options when it comes to saddle. Here, Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) has opted for an Arione CX with a Twin Flex carbon shell mated to k:ium rails.
Photo credit © James Huang
The impossibly svelte-looking seat cluster of Thor Hushovd's (Garmin-Cervelo) Paris-Roubaix machine.
Photo credit © James Huang
As with previous R3 incarnations, this latest version features a seat tube that transitions in shape from round up top to rectangular down below.
Photo credit © James Huang
3T's unique Palladio seatpost head is apparently a bear to adjust but once the position is set, it's virtually impossible for it to break free when ridden.
Photo credit © James Huang
The tapered head tube of Thor Hushovd's (Garmin-Cervelo) Cervelo R3 Paris-Roubaix houses a slightly modified fork.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd's (Garmin-Cervelo) Black Red front derailleur features a steel cage.
Photo credit © James Huang
The chain stays on Cervelo's new R3 are especially massive. For reference, the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR rims in the image are 52mm deep.
Photo credit © James Huang
Cervelo's BBright bottom bracket design is essentially an extra-wide version of BB30 with the non-driveside bearing pushed 11mm further out to allow for stiffer frames and additional axle support.
Photo credit © James Huang
Team mechanics are taking few chances with the weather, too, fitting even the brakes with sealed Gore Ride-On cables and housing.
Photo credit © James Huang
Mavic's aggressive Exalith sidewalls require special extra-hard pads (standard compounds would get shredded).
Photo credit © James Huang
Gore Ride-On sealed cables will be very popular on Sunday in efforts to guarantee proper shift performance - even though the forecast is currently calling for warm, sunny, and dry conditions.
Photo credit © James Huang
The chain stays on the Cervelo R3 start out very big and tall at the bottom bracket shell but taper to a very slender shape back by the dropouts.
Photo credit © James Huang
Garmin-Cervelo riders will switch from their usual carbon fiber Arundel Mandible cages to the company's stainless steel model instead.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) had an 11-26T SRAM PG-1070 cassette mounted up for Scheldeprijs but will switch to an 11-23T for Paris-Roubaix.
Photo credit © James Huang
Like most Paris-Roubaix contenders, Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) will run tightlly spaced 44/53T chainrings for the cobbled classics. Some mechanics insist that such a setup doesn't require a chain catcher but the team will run them just in case anyway.
Photo credit © James Huang
A Rotor chain watcher provides a little extra insurance on the cobbles.
Photo credit © James Huang
Garmin-Cervelo team mechanics insist that while they have a bunch of classics-style box-section aluminum tubular wheels at the ready, the majority of riders will only be using them as spares come Sunday.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) is taking the conservative route, opting for an aluminum handlebar and stem.
Photo credit © James Huang
Naturally, Garmin-Cervelo team bikes are all outfitted with Garmin's Edge 500 computer.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd's (Garmin-Cervelo) bike is fitted with Rotor's 3D+ crankset with a solid outer ring for extra stiffness. Note the round shape, too, instead of Rotor's more recognizable elliptical Q-Rings.
Photo credit © James Huang
Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) has been using Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR wheels in Ronde van Vlaanderen and Scheldeprijs instead of the carbon-rimmed M40s as Mavic has been suggesting in its teaser video but will supposedly make the switch for Paris-Roubaix. According to Garmin-Cervelo team mechanics, the Exalith sidewalls on the SLRs simply offer much better braking performance so they're a safer choice if there's a chance of rain and the M40 profile is actually so wide that there's an increased risk of rim damage if you don't run super-fat rubber.
Photo credit © James Huang
The special fork uses extra rake to balance out the rear end but the broader crown also provides heaps of extra tire clearance.
Photo credit © James Huang
Cervelo says the latest R3 frame geometry was designed so that all of its sponsored riders could still achieve the position they wanted. Here, Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) slams his stem right on top of the upper headset cone but he still doesn't have to resort to a -17
Photo credit © James Huang
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Pro bike: Thor Hushovd's Garmin-Cervélo Cervélo R3 Paris-Roubaix
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Roubaix at 4,000 FPS
Gorgeous slow-motion video captures the essence of the race.
By Joe Lindsey
I said last week that, for me anyway, Paris-Roubaix is one of the races that a cycling fan should watch live sometime in his or her lifetime.
Like any sports event, watching live and on TV offer two dramatically different experiences. On TV, you catch (almost) every attack, and the flow of a race’s storyline is far more comprehensible.
Journalists who cover bike racing sometimes get derided for going to the press room to watch and then rushing to the finish line only for quotes, but the reason so many of them do has far less to do with laziness and far more to do with the above paragraph; in cycling, the press box IS the press room TV.
But watching on TV you’re also at a certain remove. There is no feeling quite like standing on the side of the road for a race like Roubaix.
Lined up with the fans, you watch as mechanics mark strategic spots to stand with spare wheels. You marvel at the sheer chaos of the cobbles – stones laid three centuries ago that have sunk and shifted to form an almost impossible path of jagged edges and ruts.
The helicopters’ buzz grows louder, the cloud of dust on the horizon inexorably zigs and zags a path in your direction. From maybe a kilometer away, across the freshly plowed fields of northern France, you spot spare bikes bristling from a team car’s roof rack.
The noise grows to a deafening roar, the cars and motorcycles leading the race sweep through with increasing urgency, horns blaring. Helicopters pounding overhead. Fans screaming in anticipation.
And then, wrapped almost in a cocoon of silent focus, comes the lead rider. His bike bounces, his arms shake like he’s controlling a jackhammer. His face is fixed on a spot in front of his wheel and he appears to neither see nor hear anything around him. There is only him, the bike, and the road.
I’ve never seen anything – not even Jorgen Leth’s remarkable 1976 documentary A Sunday in Hell – that captures that moment and those sensations on celluloid.
This video was shot on a high-speed Weisscam HS-2 that is capable of a ridiculous 4,000 frames-per-second exposure, which essentially offers still-photo clarity and resolution in video form. It’s the closest approximation to being at the race I’ve ever seen. If you’re a fan of racing, of Roubaix, you owe it to yourself to spend 2:36 watching this:
And then you’ll probably book plane tickets for next year’s race. A hat tip to the blog Inner Ring for posting this via a reader’s tip.
Source: http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2011/04/12/roubaix-at-4000-fps/
By Joe Lindsey
I said last week that, for me anyway, Paris-Roubaix is one of the races that a cycling fan should watch live sometime in his or her lifetime.
Like any sports event, watching live and on TV offer two dramatically different experiences. On TV, you catch (almost) every attack, and the flow of a race’s storyline is far more comprehensible.
Journalists who cover bike racing sometimes get derided for going to the press room to watch and then rushing to the finish line only for quotes, but the reason so many of them do has far less to do with laziness and far more to do with the above paragraph; in cycling, the press box IS the press room TV.
But watching on TV you’re also at a certain remove. There is no feeling quite like standing on the side of the road for a race like Roubaix.
Lined up with the fans, you watch as mechanics mark strategic spots to stand with spare wheels. You marvel at the sheer chaos of the cobbles – stones laid three centuries ago that have sunk and shifted to form an almost impossible path of jagged edges and ruts.
A euro coin shows the size of some hard cobble edges.
The helicopters’ buzz grows louder, the cloud of dust on the horizon inexorably zigs and zags a path in your direction. From maybe a kilometer away, across the freshly plowed fields of northern France, you spot spare bikes bristling from a team car’s roof rack.
The noise grows to a deafening roar, the cars and motorcycles leading the race sweep through with increasing urgency, horns blaring. Helicopters pounding overhead. Fans screaming in anticipation.
And then, wrapped almost in a cocoon of silent focus, comes the lead rider. His bike bounces, his arms shake like he’s controlling a jackhammer. His face is fixed on a spot in front of his wheel and he appears to neither see nor hear anything around him. There is only him, the bike, and the road.
I’ve never seen anything – not even Jorgen Leth’s remarkable 1976 documentary A Sunday in Hell – that captures that moment and those sensations on celluloid.
This video was shot on a high-speed Weisscam HS-2 that is capable of a ridiculous 4,000 frames-per-second exposure, which essentially offers still-photo clarity and resolution in video form. It’s the closest approximation to being at the race I’ve ever seen. If you’re a fan of racing, of Roubaix, you owe it to yourself to spend 2:36 watching this:
And then you’ll probably book plane tickets for next year’s race. A hat tip to the blog Inner Ring for posting this via a reader’s tip.
Source: http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2011/04/12/roubaix-at-4000-fps/
Monday, April 11, 2011
Garmin Demonstrates Team Power
The contrast between Fabian Cancellara’s 2010 and 2011 Classics campaign comes down to the team.
By Joe Lindsey
As far as trash talk goes, it’s pretty hard to beat “Scoreboard, baby.”
And after a week of taking some public criticism for its tactics at the Tour of Flanders, the Garmin-Cervelo team responded handily by winning the 2011 Paris-Roubaix in a show of total strength.
Their principal victim was none other than Leopard-Trek’s Fabian Cancellara, who at the finish sounded by turns frustrated and philosophical about the way his Classics season has gone so far.
Much was made of Cancellara pulling alongside the Garmin team car after the pivotal Mons-en-Pevele sector and appearing to protest the American team’s tactics.
It was a crucial moment in the race. A medium-sized break was up the road, but Cancellara’s move on the five-star Pevele sector succeeded in cracking the chase down to a highly select trio of himself and former Roubaix podium finishers Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) and BMC Racing’s Alessandro Ballan.
The break was dangling at just 35 seconds, disintegrating under the force of the chase and the pounding of the cobbles. But when Cancellara flicked his elbow to signal Hushovd to take a pull, the big Norwegian stayed glued to the defending champ’s wheel.
Thus Cancellara’s displeasure, conveyed clearly through his expansive gestures. “I do think Ballan and Hushovd rode against me,” he said later, although he was also gracious and genuine in congratulating eventual winner Johan Van Summeren at the finish.
But even if Hushovd wanted to chase (a replay of the moment shows him briefly banging on his handlebars in seeming frustration), it would have been a terrible idea.
He had Van Summeren up the road in the break and another teammate – Sep VanMarcke – trying to close the gap behind. Hushovd had already tried two accelerations and failed to shake Cancellara.
While Thor is world champion and a perennial top finisher at Roubaix, a chase would have accomplished little other than bringing the most dangerous man in the race right to the front.
And whatever you thought of the break’s chances, at that point it still included a former winner (FDJ’s Frederic Guesdon) and several dangerous riders with a history of decent Roubaix results like RadioShack’s Gregory Rast.
Of particular focus for Garmin, however, was Van Summeren, who was nobody’s favorite or even fashionable dark horse entering the event, but who had finished 8th in 2008 and 5th in 2009.
(As an aside, for all that the criticism again focused on Garmin, BMC was in an identical position: top Roubaix contender in the Cancellara move – Ballan has two podium finishes here and is a former world champion – and a serious teammate up front; Quinziato was ninth at Roubaix in 2009. They made the exact same decision as Garmin – so if you criticize Garmin for it, include BMC in your ire.)
Before coming to Garmin last season, “Summie” rode for leader Leif Hoste at Silence-Lotto. Nicknamed the Camel, Van Summeren is neither a climber nor a sprinter, but a rouleur – he can lay down the power for long periods of time, a strength he used for years riding tempo on the front of stage races for sprinters like Robbie McEwen or overall contenders such as Cadel Evans.
Van Summeren is a blue-collar bike racer whose usefulness to his team and willingness to ride himself into the ground for them means that his Roubaix win is not only the biggest win of his career, or the biggest win in Garmin’s history as a team, but also just his third individual victory ever, and first since the 2007 Tour of Poland.
This long discussion of palmares serves a point: No one else might’ve given Van Summeren a shot, but Garmin’s directors, including Classics advisor (and former Roubaix winner) Peter Van Petegem and GM Jonathan Vaughters, clearly did.
And they made absolutely the right calls, from the decision to have Hushovd sit on to Van Petegem’s call to bet it all on Van Summeren to Vaughters’ insistence on waiting for the Carrefour de l’Arbre section for the crucial move.
Every single one of those calls had to go right to beat Cancellara, who rallied to chase down the remnants of the break and win the sprint for second, and whose 19 second deficit to Van Summeren showed that had Summie gone on, say, the Camphin sector just before Carrefour, he might not have had enough gas in his tank, or air in his tire, to stay clear of the hard-charging Swiss.
But go right they did. And key to that was Hushovd’s willingness to sit on. Although this was his race target for the whole year, Hushovd was gracious at the finish, declaring that he was happy as long as the team won.
Cancellara might well have been the strongest rider on Sunday, but he was beat by a team effort, and partly because he himself did not have much team support.
It’s fashionable to bash on Leopard-Trek because it was the top-ranked team even before the start of the season. That’s not my point here.
But it’s instructive to note that at the 2010 Tour of Flanders, Cancellara had seven Saxo Bank teammates to set the pace on the Oude Kwaremont, and a valuable foil in Matti Breschel. This year, he was all alone.
At Roubaix, he had his own teammate in the obligatory early break – Kasper Klostergaard – and Dominic Klemme was along to help. This year, Cancellara’s last teammate disappeared with more than 60km yet to race.
Roubaix is a race of luck and circumstance, as Quick Step’s horrendous day – a mechanical that cost Tom Boonen three minutes in the crucial Arenberg forest; crashes for Boonen and Chavanel and countless flats – showed.
But no fewer than six of Cancellara’s teammates failed to finish, and the next-closest Leopard rider was Klemme, in 94th, helpless to assist his leader.
Leopard-Trek has nothing to be disappointed in, at either Flanders or Roubaix – they were simply beat in both races by combinations of tactics and luck, and that’s bike racing.
And while Cancellara might be frustrated by other teams’ tactics, putting a teammate in the early break and marking the prohibitive favorites are ancient tactics in the sport – Leopard knew and expected they would be employed, and simply did not effectively counter.
But neither does Garmin have anything to apologize for or justify in the way it won Roubaix. In fact, that it was Van Summeren instead of one of the team’s stars underlines what I wrote months ago – that team-building takes time and careful, hard work.
Garmin is just now benefiting from that patient work. And even the most powerful individual rider in the world needs a team.
Roubaix Winners
I’m not doing losers here because, at Roubaix, it’s pretty hard to tell who really lost and who’s just unfortunate. Much as Filippo Pozzato is a whipping boy for the press, is it really his fault his team car had a flat when he had a mechanical himself? So, three clear victors on the day other than Garmin:
-Rabobank: Maarten Tjallingi was the last survivor of the original 8-man break that went clear after 100km. Add in 158.9 more kilometers and Tjallingi somehow survived to take third. And Lars Boom not only put on a clinic of riding skills but also showed that his transition from cyclocross to road has some serious promise.
When they get Breschel back to full health, they’ll be formidable next season.
-HTC: The winningest team in the world isn’t often overlooked but at Roubaix it had no clear favorites or leaders. Instead, it played an aggressive role, with Lars Bak jumping in the second break and holding on for fifth and young neo-pro Jonathan Degenkolb a promising 19th after sitting right on Hushovd and Cancellara’s wheel in some of the heaviest moments.
-FMB and Dugast: Left for dead by enthusiast cyclists years ago, tubulars are on the rebound, spurred by both modern carbon wheel designs and the resurgence of handcrafted art by the likes of Dugast and FMB.
Neither company sponsors a pro team but at Roubaix their tires are everywhere. Simply put, nothing beats the ride and feel of a high-quality tubular. And, as Van Summeren showed, it’s also possible to ride 5km on a softening tire – a clincher would’ve cost him the race.
Final thought: Here’s Van Summeren’s Garmin Connect log for the race. It doesn’t include power, but two figures stand out. 1) Who knew there was 4,600 feet of climbing in Roubaix? and 2) Summie burned almost 10,000 calories.
Source: http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2011/04/11/garmin-demonstrates-team-power/
By Joe Lindsey
As far as trash talk goes, it’s pretty hard to beat “Scoreboard, baby.”
And after a week of taking some public criticism for its tactics at the Tour of Flanders, the Garmin-Cervelo team responded handily by winning the 2011 Paris-Roubaix in a show of total strength.
Their principal victim was none other than Leopard-Trek’s Fabian Cancellara, who at the finish sounded by turns frustrated and philosophical about the way his Classics season has gone so far.
Much was made of Cancellara pulling alongside the Garmin team car after the pivotal Mons-en-Pevele sector and appearing to protest the American team’s tactics.
Cancellara has a word with Hushovd's directors.
It was a crucial moment in the race. A medium-sized break was up the road, but Cancellara’s move on the five-star Pevele sector succeeded in cracking the chase down to a highly select trio of himself and former Roubaix podium finishers Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) and BMC Racing’s Alessandro Ballan.
The break was dangling at just 35 seconds, disintegrating under the force of the chase and the pounding of the cobbles. But when Cancellara flicked his elbow to signal Hushovd to take a pull, the big Norwegian stayed glued to the defending champ’s wheel.
Thus Cancellara’s displeasure, conveyed clearly through his expansive gestures. “I do think Ballan and Hushovd rode against me,” he said later, although he was also gracious and genuine in congratulating eventual winner Johan Van Summeren at the finish.
But even if Hushovd wanted to chase (a replay of the moment shows him briefly banging on his handlebars in seeming frustration), it would have been a terrible idea.
He had Van Summeren up the road in the break and another teammate – Sep VanMarcke – trying to close the gap behind. Hushovd had already tried two accelerations and failed to shake Cancellara.
While Thor is world champion and a perennial top finisher at Roubaix, a chase would have accomplished little other than bringing the most dangerous man in the race right to the front.
And whatever you thought of the break’s chances, at that point it still included a former winner (FDJ’s Frederic Guesdon) and several dangerous riders with a history of decent Roubaix results like RadioShack’s Gregory Rast.
Of particular focus for Garmin, however, was Van Summeren, who was nobody’s favorite or even fashionable dark horse entering the event, but who had finished 8th in 2008 and 5th in 2009.
(As an aside, for all that the criticism again focused on Garmin, BMC was in an identical position: top Roubaix contender in the Cancellara move – Ballan has two podium finishes here and is a former world champion – and a serious teammate up front; Quinziato was ninth at Roubaix in 2009. They made the exact same decision as Garmin – so if you criticize Garmin for it, include BMC in your ire.)
Before coming to Garmin last season, “Summie” rode for leader Leif Hoste at Silence-Lotto. Nicknamed the Camel, Van Summeren is neither a climber nor a sprinter, but a rouleur – he can lay down the power for long periods of time, a strength he used for years riding tempo on the front of stage races for sprinters like Robbie McEwen or overall contenders such as Cadel Evans.
Van Summeren is a blue-collar bike racer whose usefulness to his team and willingness to ride himself into the ground for them means that his Roubaix win is not only the biggest win of his career, or the biggest win in Garmin’s history as a team, but also just his third individual victory ever, and first since the 2007 Tour of Poland.
This long discussion of palmares serves a point: No one else might’ve given Van Summeren a shot, but Garmin’s directors, including Classics advisor (and former Roubaix winner) Peter Van Petegem and GM Jonathan Vaughters, clearly did.
And they made absolutely the right calls, from the decision to have Hushovd sit on to Van Petegem’s call to bet it all on Van Summeren to Vaughters’ insistence on waiting for the Carrefour de l’Arbre section for the crucial move.
Every single one of those calls had to go right to beat Cancellara, who rallied to chase down the remnants of the break and win the sprint for second, and whose 19 second deficit to Van Summeren showed that had Summie gone on, say, the Camphin sector just before Carrefour, he might not have had enough gas in his tank, or air in his tire, to stay clear of the hard-charging Swiss.
But go right they did. And key to that was Hushovd’s willingness to sit on. Although this was his race target for the whole year, Hushovd was gracious at the finish, declaring that he was happy as long as the team won.
Cancellara might well have been the strongest rider on Sunday, but he was beat by a team effort, and partly because he himself did not have much team support.
It’s fashionable to bash on Leopard-Trek because it was the top-ranked team even before the start of the season. That’s not my point here.
But it’s instructive to note that at the 2010 Tour of Flanders, Cancellara had seven Saxo Bank teammates to set the pace on the Oude Kwaremont, and a valuable foil in Matti Breschel. This year, he was all alone.
At Roubaix, he had his own teammate in the obligatory early break – Kasper Klostergaard – and Dominic Klemme was along to help. This year, Cancellara’s last teammate disappeared with more than 60km yet to race.
Roubaix is a race of luck and circumstance, as Quick Step’s horrendous day – a mechanical that cost Tom Boonen three minutes in the crucial Arenberg forest; crashes for Boonen and Chavanel and countless flats – showed.
But no fewer than six of Cancellara’s teammates failed to finish, and the next-closest Leopard rider was Klemme, in 94th, helpless to assist his leader.
Leopard-Trek has nothing to be disappointed in, at either Flanders or Roubaix – they were simply beat in both races by combinations of tactics and luck, and that’s bike racing.
And while Cancellara might be frustrated by other teams’ tactics, putting a teammate in the early break and marking the prohibitive favorites are ancient tactics in the sport – Leopard knew and expected they would be employed, and simply did not effectively counter.
But neither does Garmin have anything to apologize for or justify in the way it won Roubaix. In fact, that it was Van Summeren instead of one of the team’s stars underlines what I wrote months ago – that team-building takes time and careful, hard work.
Garmin is just now benefiting from that patient work. And even the most powerful individual rider in the world needs a team.
Roubaix Winners
I’m not doing losers here because, at Roubaix, it’s pretty hard to tell who really lost and who’s just unfortunate. Much as Filippo Pozzato is a whipping boy for the press, is it really his fault his team car had a flat when he had a mechanical himself? So, three clear victors on the day other than Garmin:
-Rabobank: Maarten Tjallingi was the last survivor of the original 8-man break that went clear after 100km. Add in 158.9 more kilometers and Tjallingi somehow survived to take third. And Lars Boom not only put on a clinic of riding skills but also showed that his transition from cyclocross to road has some serious promise.
When they get Breschel back to full health, they’ll be formidable next season.
-HTC: The winningest team in the world isn’t often overlooked but at Roubaix it had no clear favorites or leaders. Instead, it played an aggressive role, with Lars Bak jumping in the second break and holding on for fifth and young neo-pro Jonathan Degenkolb a promising 19th after sitting right on Hushovd and Cancellara’s wheel in some of the heaviest moments.
-FMB and Dugast: Left for dead by enthusiast cyclists years ago, tubulars are on the rebound, spurred by both modern carbon wheel designs and the resurgence of handcrafted art by the likes of Dugast and FMB.
Neither company sponsors a pro team but at Roubaix their tires are everywhere. Simply put, nothing beats the ride and feel of a high-quality tubular. And, as Van Summeren showed, it’s also possible to ride 5km on a softening tire – a clincher would’ve cost him the race.
Final thought: Here’s Van Summeren’s Garmin Connect log for the race. It doesn’t include power, but two figures stand out. 1) Who knew there was 4,600 feet of climbing in Roubaix? and 2) Summie burned almost 10,000 calories.
Source: http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2011/04/11/garmin-demonstrates-team-power/
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Johan Van Summeren wins 2011 Paris-Roubaix
By Andrew Hood
Published Apr 10th 2011 10:42 AM UTC — Updated Apr 10th 2011 2:30 PM UTC
View Race Results »
ROUBAIX, France (VN) – Johan Van Summeren delivered the biggest win in his career and the most important since Garmin-Cervélo’s inception with a dramatic solo victory in the 104th running of Paris-Roubaix in sweltering, summer-like conditions.
Fabian Cancellara (Leopard-Trek) made a brave, late-race attack with less than 5km to go to claim a bittersweet second place in the 258km suffer-fest over the cobblestones of northern France, but Van Summeren rode away from the remnants of a breakaway that fended off the heavy favorites and drove home an emotional 19-second victory both for him and his team. Cancellara bridged up to a chase group and then won the sprint for second. Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) rounded out the podium with third in a wild day that saw pre-race favorite Tom Boonen (Quick Step) crash out and when Garmin-Cervélo used all of its firepower to fend off the ever-powerful Cancellara.
Van Summeren bridged out to an early, 10-man breakaway after clearing the Arenberg forest. When Garmin-Cervélo team captain Thor Hushovd was still one minute behind at the decisive Carrefour de l’Arbe cobbles with 17km to go, he got the green light to play his card. The tall, lanky Belgian nursed a slow leak on his back tire in the closing kilometers to ride alone into the Roubaix velodrome to the cheers of a standing-room-only crowd.
“I was riding for Thor (Hushovd) today. The plan was to be up the road to help Thor, but when he still had not reached us at the Carrefour de l’Arbe, that’s when I decided to play my card,” Van Summeren said. “When I bridged out to that group, I could immediately sense that I was the strongest. The tactic was to wait for Thor, but I also knew I could be strong today. I will remember this race for the rest of my life, but it won’t change me that much. I know what I can do and cannot do. This is a big win for me and for my team.”
Cancellara looked to have the win in his legs, but got stymied when he tried to power away with 50km to go. Hushovd, Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC) hitched a ride. Garmin-Cervélo put Van Summeren and Gabriel Rasch into a big group that held a 1:20 lead going into 30km to go. A frustrated Cancellara knew it would be difficult to do it all by himself, especially with Hushovd refusing to pull through with Van Summeren up the road.
“I don’t know if I was the strongest today, but I know I had good legs,” said Cancellara, who was third at Tour of Flanders last weekend. “Garmin rode a good race. They were the strongest team today. Sometimes you cannot win every time. I know I gave my maximum today.”
The victory was huge for Garmin-Cervélo, by far the most important for since the team’s inception. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters expressed satisfaction to deliver the huge victory.
“By far and away, this is our most important victory. We’ve been knocking at the door of a big win like this years, and I am especially happy that a guy like Van Summeren wins,” Vaughters said. “He’s a guy who busts his butt 99 percent of the time for other guys all year long. He’s a rider who deserves to win Roubaix.”
The day’s main breakaway didn’t gel until very late when a group of eight riders eventually grouped together ahead of the day’s first cobblestone sector at Troisville. In the group were: Martin Elmiger (Ag2r), Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Mitchell Docker (Skil-Shimano), Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack) and Simon Seubert (Team Netapp). Others bridging out to join the group were Tjallingii, David Boucher (Omega-Pharma Lotto) and Canadian David Veilleux (Europcar).
Crashes came early and often in the nervous peloton, with two heading home early in a spill heading to the Troisville cobble. Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) and Renaud Dion (Bretagne-Schuller) hit the deck and hit the showers early. Flats came often and early, with Cancellara, Haussler, Goss and Hincapie taking early punctures as the pace ramped up over the early sectors. With about 133km to go, Andre Greipel (Pharma-Lotto) blasted out of the bunch and gave chase to link up with the leaders. Following his wheel were Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano) and Gorazd Stangeli (Astana).
Haussler managed to claw his way back onto the back of the bunch just as the leaders barreled across the rough, bumpy sector.
In the dry and heat, the Arenberg was perhaps less treacherous than in past editions, but at Roubaix, the unexpected can happen at any turn. Boonen punctured his real tire in the early part of the trench. Incredibly, there were no teammates to give him a wheel. It appeared that Sylvain Chavanel did stop, but Boonen waved him on after already waiting for more than a minute for a team car to finally arrive. The race powered forward, putting Boonen at a distinct disadvantage at a crucial part of the race. Two Quick Steps finally regrouped to help tow Boonen ever closer to the fast-disappearing main pack. Boonen was at a one-minute handicap after coming through sector 15 at Bousignies.
It was double disaster for Quick Step when Flanders runner up Chavanel punctured after coming out of the Arenberg, and he eventually latched on to the Boonen chase group. Troubles continued just when things looked like they might be turning around. The chase group had some fresh legs with Vacansoleil’s Bjorn Leukemans joined up and they were chipping away at the gap to the lead group. Things went pear-shaped again when Boonen hit the deck on sector 14 at Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes with about 69km to go. Five riders went down, including Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Boonen, who landed hard after he flipped over a Rabobank rider who had fallen in front of him. Banged and battered, Boonen was slow to get back on the bike and all but waved the white flag. He went to the team car and told HS Wilfried Peters that he wanted to stop, but the team would not stand for its star rider pulling out early if his body could still handle the pounding. Boonen pushed on, but his chances of winning were more cooked than his legs would be on the velodrome.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Chavanel crashed even harder after sweeping through a round-about with about 65km to go. With that, Quick Step’s Roubaix was all but over.
The chasers bridged out to the leaders to form a group of 21 at the nose of the action to bump and bounce across sector 11 at d’Auchy-lez-Orchies with 54.5km to go defending a slender, 1:10 lead.
“Spartacus” came to life on the five-star Mons-en-Pèvele cobbles at sector 10 with 49km to go. The big Swiss time machine surged to the nose of the front pack and dropped the hammer over the rough, decisive cobbles open to a deceptively brisk crosswind. The acceleration broke the back of the front group, which quickly splintered as it soon became a fight for every man for himself. Cancellara found company, with Flecha, Hushovd and Ballan digging deep to mark the wheel at the critical first salvo of the race. The main pack came out in dribs and drabs, with small groups of four or five riders desperately trying to stay in the game. How fast was Cancellara’s punch? The leading 21 hit the cobbles with a lead of 1:35. Three thousand meters later of bumpy cobbles, the gap had shrunk to 1:10.
Cancellara and his quartet hit sector 8 at Ennevelin at 1:20 down on the lead group, now shedding riders and down to 16. Cancellara surged away again, with only Hushovd glued to his wheel. Ballan managed to close the gap, but Flecha last the wheel. Now a trio, the gap to the leaders was shaved down to 30 seconds with 35km. The podium was taking shape. Behind, Garmin’s Vanmarcke shadowed a six-man bridge effort. With 30km to go, Cancellara saw through the wheel-sucking strategy of his rivals and sat up with 30km to go, signaling to his team car that he wasn’t going to do all the work. That opened the door for Flecha and Vanmarcke to join the Cancellara trio to form a chase group of 10 riders.
Up ahead, there was a similar detente. Van Summeren, perhaps the strongest of the leading group, had his hands tied with Hushovd chasing from behind. Hitting sector 6 at Wannehain, the gap was hovering around 1:10. The leaders still had a chance if someone rolled the dice.
Van Summeren held off his pursuers and rode into the famed Roubaix velodrome with ample time to relish his victory.
As the reality of winning one of cycling’s five “monuments” began to sink in, the lanky Flemish rider was stunned for the second time by an unexpected proposal from his girlfriend.
“She wants to marry me,” said the Belgian, who in keeping with tradition was awarded one of the race’s famous cobblestones as part of his 30,000 euro victory prize.
“Some people give a ring, I give a rock!”
Published Apr 10th 2011 10:42 AM UTC — Updated Apr 10th 2011 2:30 PM UTC
View Race Results »
ROUBAIX, France (VN) – Johan Van Summeren delivered the biggest win in his career and the most important since Garmin-Cervélo’s inception with a dramatic solo victory in the 104th running of Paris-Roubaix in sweltering, summer-like conditions.
Van Summeren had plenty of time to savor the moment in the Roubaix velodrome. Photo: Graham Watson
Fabian Cancellara (Leopard-Trek) made a brave, late-race attack with less than 5km to go to claim a bittersweet second place in the 258km suffer-fest over the cobblestones of northern France, but Van Summeren rode away from the remnants of a breakaway that fended off the heavy favorites and drove home an emotional 19-second victory both for him and his team. Cancellara bridged up to a chase group and then won the sprint for second. Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) rounded out the podium with third in a wild day that saw pre-race favorite Tom Boonen (Quick Step) crash out and when Garmin-Cervélo used all of its firepower to fend off the ever-powerful Cancellara.
Van Summeren bridged out to an early, 10-man breakaway after clearing the Arenberg forest. When Garmin-Cervélo team captain Thor Hushovd was still one minute behind at the decisive Carrefour de l’Arbe cobbles with 17km to go, he got the green light to play his card. The tall, lanky Belgian nursed a slow leak on his back tire in the closing kilometers to ride alone into the Roubaix velodrome to the cheers of a standing-room-only crowd.
“I was riding for Thor (Hushovd) today. The plan was to be up the road to help Thor, but when he still had not reached us at the Carrefour de l’Arbe, that’s when I decided to play my card,” Van Summeren said. “When I bridged out to that group, I could immediately sense that I was the strongest. The tactic was to wait for Thor, but I also knew I could be strong today. I will remember this race for the rest of my life, but it won’t change me that much. I know what I can do and cannot do. This is a big win for me and for my team.”
Cancellara looked to have the win in his legs, but got stymied when he tried to power away with 50km to go. Hushovd, Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC) hitched a ride. Garmin-Cervélo put Van Summeren and Gabriel Rasch into a big group that held a 1:20 lead going into 30km to go. A frustrated Cancellara knew it would be difficult to do it all by himself, especially with Hushovd refusing to pull through with Van Summeren up the road.
“I don’t know if I was the strongest today, but I know I had good legs,” said Cancellara, who was third at Tour of Flanders last weekend. “Garmin rode a good race. They were the strongest team today. Sometimes you cannot win every time. I know I gave my maximum today.”
The victory was huge for Garmin-Cervélo, by far the most important for since the team’s inception. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters expressed satisfaction to deliver the huge victory.
“By far and away, this is our most important victory. We’ve been knocking at the door of a big win like this years, and I am especially happy that a guy like Van Summeren wins,” Vaughters said. “He’s a guy who busts his butt 99 percent of the time for other guys all year long. He’s a rider who deserves to win Roubaix.”
Early break summer heat
There were no leg warmers in Compiegne for the start of the 109th edition of the Hell of the North. Mild, spring sun warmed the legs of the protagonists at the start, with the temperature eventually pushing into the 80s that would later cost everyone to try to hydrated. Several break attempts failed in the opening hour of racing as the pace was kept high. Ben King and Bradley Wiggins were part of early breakaway attempts that were foiled.The day’s main breakaway didn’t gel until very late when a group of eight riders eventually grouped together ahead of the day’s first cobblestone sector at Troisville. In the group were: Martin Elmiger (Ag2r), Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Mitchell Docker (Skil-Shimano), Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack) and Simon Seubert (Team Netapp). Others bridging out to join the group were Tjallingii, David Boucher (Omega-Pharma Lotto) and Canadian David Veilleux (Europcar).
Crashes came early and often in the nervous peloton, with two heading home early in a spill heading to the Troisville cobble. Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) and Renaud Dion (Bretagne-Schuller) hit the deck and hit the showers early. Flats came often and early, with Cancellara, Haussler, Goss and Hincapie taking early punctures as the pace ramped up over the early sectors. With about 133km to go, Andre Greipel (Pharma-Lotto) blasted out of the bunch and gave chase to link up with the leaders. Following his wheel were Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano) and Gorazd Stangeli (Astana).
Boonen, Chavanel double disaster
The leaders hit the “trench” nursing a 2:10 lead. In the all-out run into the Arenberg, disaster struck for Garmin-Cervélo when Heinrich Haussler and Roger Hammond both hit the deck with less than 10km to go to the decisive cobbles.Haussler managed to claw his way back onto the back of the bunch just as the leaders barreled across the rough, bumpy sector.
In the dry and heat, the Arenberg was perhaps less treacherous than in past editions, but at Roubaix, the unexpected can happen at any turn. Boonen punctured his real tire in the early part of the trench. Incredibly, there were no teammates to give him a wheel. It appeared that Sylvain Chavanel did stop, but Boonen waved him on after already waiting for more than a minute for a team car to finally arrive. The race powered forward, putting Boonen at a distinct disadvantage at a crucial part of the race. Two Quick Steps finally regrouped to help tow Boonen ever closer to the fast-disappearing main pack. Boonen was at a one-minute handicap after coming through sector 15 at Bousignies.
Paris-Roubaix 2011: If it's not cold and muddy, it's usually hot and dusty. | AFP photo
It was double disaster for Quick Step when Flanders runner up Chavanel punctured after coming out of the Arenberg, and he eventually latched on to the Boonen chase group. Troubles continued just when things looked like they might be turning around. The chase group had some fresh legs with Vacansoleil’s Bjorn Leukemans joined up and they were chipping away at the gap to the lead group. Things went pear-shaped again when Boonen hit the deck on sector 14 at Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes with about 69km to go. Five riders went down, including Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Boonen, who landed hard after he flipped over a Rabobank rider who had fallen in front of him. Banged and battered, Boonen was slow to get back on the bike and all but waved the white flag. He went to the team car and told HS Wilfried Peters that he wanted to stop, but the team would not stand for its star rider pulling out early if his body could still handle the pounding. Boonen pushed on, but his chances of winning were more cooked than his legs would be on the velodrome.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Chavanel crashed even harder after sweeping through a round-about with about 65km to go. With that, Quick Step’s Roubaix was all but over.
Van Summeren leads the charge
As the favorites came out of the Arenberg, Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Cervélo) looked around and saw no one taking the initiative, so he decided to grab the race by the scruff of the neck. The big, lanky Belgian quickly found company, and seven riders linked up and quickly bridged out to the leading 10. With Quick Step’s race unraveling behind the main bunch, the heavy hitters were playing the waiting game about a minute back of the newly expanded lead group of 16. Four riders chugged out of the main group: John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad), Thomas Leezer (Rabobank), Gregor Rast (RadioShack) and Gabriel Rasch (Garmin-Cervélo). With 60km to go, the leaders held a 28sec gap on the four chasers, with the main group, down to about 80 riders, lurking at 58 seconds back. Another pre-race favorite, Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) went down with three others with 57km to go. Despite the summer-like conditions, the Hell of the North was living up to its reputation.The chasers bridged out to the leaders to form a group of 21 at the nose of the action to bump and bounce across sector 11 at d’Auchy-lez-Orchies with 54.5km to go defending a slender, 1:10 lead.
Cancellara drops the hammer
Cancellara had company, but got very little help.
“Spartacus” came to life on the five-star Mons-en-Pèvele cobbles at sector 10 with 49km to go. The big Swiss time machine surged to the nose of the front pack and dropped the hammer over the rough, decisive cobbles open to a deceptively brisk crosswind. The acceleration broke the back of the front group, which quickly splintered as it soon became a fight for every man for himself. Cancellara found company, with Flecha, Hushovd and Ballan digging deep to mark the wheel at the critical first salvo of the race. The main pack came out in dribs and drabs, with small groups of four or five riders desperately trying to stay in the game. How fast was Cancellara’s punch? The leading 21 hit the cobbles with a lead of 1:35. Three thousand meters later of bumpy cobbles, the gap had shrunk to 1:10.
Cancellara and his quartet hit sector 8 at Ennevelin at 1:20 down on the lead group, now shedding riders and down to 16. Cancellara surged away again, with only Hushovd glued to his wheel. Ballan managed to close the gap, but Flecha last the wheel. Now a trio, the gap to the leaders was shaved down to 30 seconds with 35km. The podium was taking shape. Behind, Garmin’s Vanmarcke shadowed a six-man bridge effort. With 30km to go, Cancellara saw through the wheel-sucking strategy of his rivals and sat up with 30km to go, signaling to his team car that he wasn’t going to do all the work. That opened the door for Flecha and Vanmarcke to join the Cancellara trio to form a chase group of 10 riders.
Up ahead, there was a similar detente. Van Summeren, perhaps the strongest of the leading group, had his hands tied with Hushovd chasing from behind. Hitting sector 6 at Wannehain, the gap was hovering around 1:10. The leaders still had a chance if someone rolled the dice.
Van Summeren makes his play
The Carrefour de l’Arbre saw the day’s final real battle shots of the day. Van Summeren finally surged free of a four-man group that had pulled clear of the leading pack. Gregory Rast (RadioShack) tried to mark his wheel, but Van Summeren could smell the finish line and hit the gap with 15km to go holding a promising one-minute lead on the heavy favorites. Behind, Cancellara and Hushovd came to life on the Carrefour, riding away from their chase group, but the move came too late.Van Summeren held off his pursuers and rode into the famed Roubaix velodrome with ample time to relish his victory.
As the reality of winning one of cycling’s five “monuments” began to sink in, the lanky Flemish rider was stunned for the second time by an unexpected proposal from his girlfriend.
“She wants to marry me,” said the Belgian, who in keeping with tradition was awarded one of the race’s famous cobblestones as part of his 30,000 euro victory prize.
“Some people give a ring, I give a rock!”
2011 Paris-Roubaix2011 Paris-Roubaix
- 1. Johan Van Summeren (B), Garmin-Cervélo, 6:07:28
- 2. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Leopard-Trek, at 0:19
- 3. Maarten Tjallingii (Nl), Rabobank, at 0:19
- 4. Grégory Rast (Swi), Team RadioShack, at 0:19
- 5. Lars Ytting Bak (Dk), HTC-Highroad, at 0:21
- 6. Alessandro Ballan (I), BMC Racing Team, at 0:36
- 7. Bernhard Eisel (A), HTC-Highroad, at 0:47
- 8. Thor Hushovd (N), Garmin-Cervélo, At 0:47
- 9. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Sp), Team Sky, at 0:47
- 10. Mathew Hayman (Aus), Team Sky, at 0:47
Full results
- 2011 Paris-Roubaix
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- Cancellara makes one final attack. It was good enough to move him into second place. Photo: Graham Watson
- 2011 Paris-Roubaix
- Van Summeren had plenty of time to savor the moment in the Roubaix velodrome. Photo: Graham Watson
- 2011 Paris-Roubaix
- 2011 Paris-Roubaix
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- Cancellara makes one final attack. It was good enough to move him into second place. Photo: Graham Watson
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- 2011 Paris-Roubaix
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- Van Summeren had plenty of time to savor the moment in the Roubaix velodrome. Photo: Graham Watson
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- 2011 Paris-Roubaix
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