Tour of Flanders: Hoste chumped Hincapie...

[truth]

Hoste attacks without team orders with 37k to go leaving George to sit in and fight it out for 3rd. I hope Johan rips Hoste a new one. No way was he strong enough to take Boonen in the sprint...it was pathetic. George steals the sprint for 3rd with ease...did he have enough to finally nab Boonen at the line? He sure seemed to think so in the post race interview.

[Artie Fufkin]

Here's Dirk Demol's take, it look's like it was more tactics gone bad than Hoste trying to steal the race from George. If you end up in a break you have to go with it, that's how Hincapie won a stage in the Tour :


From the Paceline.com -
"George was clearly frustrated at the end of the race, it's true," Demol said. "He had the best legs he's ever had here, and then two riders escape and one is his teammate. Many people have asked, why Leif? He couldn’t win a sprint against Boonen. Well, I can tell you."

"When Leif attacked with 32 km left it was not supposed to have been a race-deciding effort. We were trying to break up the Quick Step grip on the front of the race. We figured a big effort could get the numbers down to maybe two of them and two of us and then we'd see how it went. Leif was surprised to see that he had only Boonen with him, and radioed back to me to see what he should do."

"I told Leif that he could cooperate but that Boonen had to take the longest pulls. I also told him that if George could bridge up, then Leif could not pull any more and he'd have to wait for George. Leif was completely happy with this plan, as was Johan (Bruyneel) when I spoke with him later. I radioed George and told him to try and drop the riders he was with and then Leif will be waiting for you. George agreed and put in a big effort on the Muur, but couldn’t shake the guys he was with, and that's why Leif and Boonen went to the line 1-2."


Edit: On a sidenote from the race, Michael Barry had a face first crash and jacked himself up pretty bad and is out for a while, bummer.

[CantDog]

From cycling news Q&A with Boonen:


Q:Why did Leif Hoste keep working in the escape, knowing that you're faster in the sprint?

TB:What else could he do? If he didn't, he would finish fifth or sixth. Hincapie would also not have won from me, so that's no excuse either. We both had reasons to continue our escape, like we also both had reasons to stop it.

Qidn't you think about getting rid of Hoste on the hills?

TB:Not really, the pace was set very high. We were riding at speeds of 50-60 km/h. Also, you don't let yourself get surprised, because you know the attacker is going to stay in front if he gets away. Being that close to the finish, you can't count on teammates bringing everyone back.


I dont think that with the shape Boonen is in now, that George could take a sprint from him. We'll see this weekend(Boonen has said he will work for Potazzo at tomorrows classic)

[truth]

Dunno about that story. In the post race interview George said the Hoste move was not planned, he just went. Would have been better for George to have made the move at the top of that climb and then have Hoste try and make the jump on the next climb. Seems like a serious lack of respect for George as the team leader which is to be expected now that Lance is gone. Regardless, it's cool to have two Disco boys on the podium.

[Cornholio]

The story says the move wasn't planned, too.

Clearly George was frusterated, but in a group with Bettinni, Hincapie, Boonen, Van Petegem, and Cancellara there's no way Hoste thought he was going to be alone with Boonen.

I'm pretty sure his goal was to shake up QuickStep and end up with 5 or so guys including both himself and George. Still, I'd like to have been a fly on the Disco bus after that race.

Anyway, I don't think anyone was going to beat Boonen in a sprint, so it was a 2-3 for disco instead of a 2-5 or something.

[tywhy]

I noticed Hincapie didn't looked that psyched in the pics of him finishing, and of course on the podium in 3rd.

Paris-Roubaix this weekend should be interesting...I can only imagine how fired up Hincapie is after the Flanders outcome...on top of how bad he's wanted to win this race for a long time now.

I bet he spanks Boonen for the win.

[JoshP]

I was surprised that Dirk let Hoste do any work at all. I really thought he should have sucked Boonens wheel to the end. If they stayed out, great, Leif is guaranteed second place. If they were caught, then he is there for Georgie in the end. Win-Win. Still, Hincapie tore the legs off the group he was in, and third place is awesome.

I am really excited to see how Paris-Roubaix goes this weekend. I think this is the strongest team George has ever had, and from recent interviews, I think he is the most confident he has ever been in his career.

[truth]

Cyclism Sunday's = awesome


PR should be a classic. Hoepfully Disco can work the kinks out and have a few more riders in the lead group at the end of the race.

It's going to be very tough to beat Boonen in sprint, that said, GH is the only Disco boy that could do it. Hopefully Hoste works for George and they have a better plan. I think Disco has to attack early and often to put some fade in Boonen's legs. Hopefully there won't be any rain and the peloton will avoid any carnage.

[Platinum Pete]

I'm stuck in Milwaukee - anybody know how to find the Paris-Roubaix on Direct TV?

[truth]

I'm stuck in Milwaukee - anybody know how to find the Paris-Roubaix on Direct TV?

OLN on Sunday.

[ShawnB]

The story says the move wasn't planned, too.

Clearly George was frusterated, but in a group with Bettinni, Hincapie, Boonen, Van Petegem, and Cancellara there's no way Hoste thought he was going to be alone with Boonen.

I'm pretty sure his goal was to shake up QuickStep and end up with 5 or so guys including both himself and George. Still, I'd like to have been a fly on the Disco bus after that race.

Anyway, I don't think anyone was going to beat Boonen in a sprint, so it was a 2-3 for disco instead of a 2-5 or something.

Cornholio's analysis seems about right, except I'd add that Hoste probably instinctively assumed that he'd be aiding George by burning down Boonen's legs for a few dozen K, then get reeled in and finish in the back of the lead group. Obviously, this would let Georgie rest (comparitively) and get all the others doing the chase work, while Boonen was killing it trying to stay away.

I'm not saying the move was planned, either, but y'know, tactically this doesn't seem so complex: breaks off the front with that level of selection don't usually hold, and I'm guessing Hoste just assumed the chase group would naturally organize and pull Boonen and him back. I think he was sacrificing himself for George...until they got to 10k to go and he realized no-one was coming. Sux for George, but the odds were actually in his favor due to Hoste's move. Things just didn't turn out as they tend to, is all.

Brilliant riding regardless, and I'm glad to see George has a full tank for tomorrow. I wouldn't bet on him getting the win, though, tywhy; that's like the U.S. hyping Bode for the downhill win--um..could happen, but realistically it's like a 1-in-10 shot, taking into account all the vagaries of the sport... Fingers crossed, tho. (they don't have a square-headed icon wearing white shades like George, so this'll have to do)

[tywhy]

Not even close to hyping Bode for a downhill win...it would be if it was a on course that Bode's been very passionate about winning for a really long time, and if he was coming into it in possibly the best form of his career. We'll see what happens tomorrow I guess.

[ShawnB]

Ok man, I gotcha.

I shoulda said Daron. And I shoulda said the Hahnenkamm.
Then the comparison would've been more apt.

Anyway, I'm not looking to argue. I'm just saying that if ANY course can take out a ranked favorite without warning and without mercy, it's Paris-Roubaix. George will hopefully be very lucky tomorrow, and hopefully will be at the complete top of his game, and I'm just noting that only if those two things cosmically align can we hope for a Hincapie victory.

Still, let's hope. Can't wait.

Peace,
-Shawn