Road Bike Racing - Paris-Nice

Talk!

I thought Zulle retired.

Not a bad result for Zulle at all!

My question is what are his objectives? Is he Phonak's man for the smaller stage races, considering his great successes as a stage-racer in his prime? Why the early-season form? UCI points?

Any thoughts?

Here's a good look at the stage profiles, courtesy of cyclingnews.com:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/mar04/parisnice04/?id=stages

I remember Zulle saying last year that he wasn't doing any more grand tours. This was after he bailed from the Vuelta. This will likely be his last season. He's more interested in smaller stage races, like Romandie, and he wants to win the Tour of Switzerland again.

He's in pretty good form, getting fifth place!

Plus he's another seasoned vet to give Tyler more tips. I imagine they'll talk quite a lot in the coming months. How about Eric Dekker? Turned in a pretty good time
also for someone not known for time-trialing. Sure is strange not seeing the aero lids.

Plus he's another seasoned vet to give Tyler more tips. I imagine they'll talk quite a lot in the coming months. How about Eric Dekker? Turned in a pretty good time
also for someone not known for time-trialing. Sure is strange not seeing the aero lids.

Anybody notice that Rabobank actually had TT helmets? They must've found or made some certified ones awfully quickly.

They weren't sure if Tyler was going to do Paris-Nice. I'm not sure he's the head guy for Phonak.

And who knew that Rebellin could TT?

Enough about the people who didnt win, lets take a look at CSC. They are incredibly talented and always have a tremendous amount of depth. Some might argue they dont have a overall GC contender but they seem to always have 2 or 3 in the top 10. Jakcse (sp?) seems to be in great shape and he should be an overall contender. I honestly dont know that much about him but I have heard his name many times so will Vino be able to 3 peat? He didnt look that strong in the TT. We'll see. I dont see Hamilton doing anything spectacular at PN. This being his debut and now he is entirely focused on the tour whereas at CSC he seemed to be a little more into the other classics and 1 week tours.

I think Jaksche is a very good pick to win this race. And it is possible that a rejuvenated Julich could finish on the podium. Bjarne has really impressed me with the results his teams have had since he took over DS responsibilities. I think he is a factor.

This years Paris-Nice is different from other years in that it doesn't have any mountain top finishes or climbing time trials, so a good all around rider may well take the event. Frank VDB is another possibility.

Anybody notice that Rabobank actually had TT helmets? They must've found or made some certified ones awfully quickly.
they're the louis garneau prologue helmets, the only certified aero helmets. louis garneau is going to make a killing... :)

Jaksche,Vino,Tyler,Rebellin...who's your pick
I say Jaksche...I agree that Riis seems to have a way of getting guys to believe they can win

they're the louis garneau prologue helmets, the only certified aero helmets. louis garneau is going to make a killing... :)

Well, Limar has one as well. It's CPSC certified, so I'm assuming it's ok to wear as well. What threw me off was the lack of vents on Dekker's helmet. Check it out: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/mar04/parisnice/index.php?id=stage1/LCDEKKER as opposed to Levi's: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/mar04/parisnice/index.php?id=stage1/LCLEIPHEIMER

He probably just had them covered up, though, as the shape of the helmet is the same otherwise.

I think Jaksche is a very good pick to win this race. And it is possible that a rejuvenated Julich could finish on the podium. Bjarne has really impressed me with the results his teams have had since he took over DS responsibilities. I think he is a factor.

This years Paris-Nice is different from other years in that it doesn't have any mountain top finishes or climbing time trials, so a good all around rider may well take the event. Frank VDB is another possibility.

I like the plastic cover many are putting over their road helmets to make them more "aero". You can see it on the photo. Posties had them.

i don't think dekker is wearing th elouis garneaur, while leipheimer obviously is...

Jakcse (sp?) seems to be in great shape and he should be an overall contender. I honestly dont know that much about him but I have heard his name many times

Here is a brief overview Jorg Jaksche's career Tri:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/mar04/parisnice04/?id=features/interviews/jorg_jaksche04

I agree that he should be an overall contender. Along with Rebellin, Vinokourov and Vandenbroucke, Jaksche has had good results here before and, as you pointed out, CSC looks very strong.

Sorry if this has already been covered, but does anybody know of any english speaking on-line feeds fro PN? None of my regular cycling haunts seem to be offering live coverage. And yes, I know it's on OLN, but my request to corporate for the DirectTV feed in my office hasn't been approved yet .

Live Coverage:

www.cyclingnews.com
www.eurosport.com

Ohhh...it's under the LIVE COVERAGE ON NOW link....not sure how I missed it the first time through. Thanks KR.

The online coverage provided by Eurosport is stellar. Check it out.

I would be surprised to see Tyler in serious GC contention. He has stated that PN is strictly to get some race-hardening as part of his training leading up to TDF. Of course, he may launch an attack and even win a stage if he feels up to it and it fits into his program.

It is difficult to tell whether Tyler is strong enough to beat Lance in the TDF, but I would love to finally be able to see what he can do in top form and injury free.

I like the plastic cover many are putting over their road helmets to make them more "aero". You can see it on the photo. Posties had them.

It's a high tech elastic composite called Saran Wrap

i don't think dekker is wearing th elouis garneaur, while leipheimer obviously is...

Well, it's an aero helmet, so unless he stuffed some styrofoam in a fairing, it's the louis garneau.

Wow... today's stage coverage only got the last half-hour because the pace was like 45km/h!

I couldn't figure out why they started coverage with only 20k to go.

I couldn't figure out why they started coverage with only 20k to go.

Yeah... kind of annoying. I wonder if the rebroadcast will start the coverage sooner. It's not like they don't have the footage since in some places, they cover the whole race.

I couldn't figure out why they started coverage with only 20k to go.

They have a set time of when they start coverage. They can't change that, even when the stage goes by a lot faster than expected.

On another note, did anybody else notice the polka dot jersey presenter hanging out on the podium after presenting the jersey? He was basically standing on the top of the podium. It was odd.

Who won stage 2?

cyclingnews.com:

Stage 2 - March 8: Chaville - Montargis, 166.5 km
Results
1 Pedro Horillo (Spa) Quick.Step-Davitamon
2 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
3 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC
4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com
5 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo
6 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner)
7 Gerben Lowik (Ger) Chocolade Jacques
8 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole

General classification after stage 2

1 Jorg Jaksche (Ger) Team CSC 4.05.12
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 0.06
3 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 0.18
4 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Fassa Bortolo 0.22
5 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 0.25

Yeah yeah! Julich---->The other Texan!

According to Cyclingnews.com, Vino lost ~4 minutes today. That will be hard to make up if CSC continues to ride like they are. And both VDB and Jaksche are contesting the intermediate sprints for small time bonuses to hold their positions. Sounds like they are riding very aggressively.

I like Jaksche. He finished 17th in last years TDF and would have finished higher if he hadn't stayed with Beloki for 5 minutes after his crash.

Vino, Tyler, Levi, and other favorites lost 5:15

Now that is "my kind of racing". :D 35 great riders fly up the road and put 5 minutes into the peleton. It looks like a few favorites are screwed now.

Sad to see landis was one of them that got caught behind. I was hoping he would be in overall contention.

Now that is "my kind of racing". :D 35 great riders fly up the road and put 5 minutes into the peleton. It looks like a few favorites are screwed now.


Yeah, CSC certainly put the hurt on everyone else. The ENTIRE team was up front pushing the pace, even the yellow jersey. It was quite a sight to see.

I would be surprised to see Tyler in serious GC contention. He has stated that PN is strictly to get some race-hardening as part of his training leading up to TDF. Of course, he may launch an attack and even win a stage if he feels up to it and it fits into his program.

It is difficult to tell whether Tyler is strong enough to beat Lance in the TDF, but I would love to finally be able to see what he can do in top form and injury free.

I really think that if Tyler was healthy the whole way thru last year in the TDF, he would have definitely been on the podium... probably given Lance a good run... This year is gonna be fun :-)

jeff

I was bummed, I missed this morning's stage.. I truned on my TV at about 7:15am PST, and here they were giving out the stage jerseys... how fast were they ? Or did OLN just start to late in the race... Now I have to, hopefully, catch a replay tonite !

jeff

The coverage was supposed to go from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM EST.
The race was won at about 10:02 AM.
I was happy because I just got to see the finish before I had to run out the door to my scheduled destination. I thought I would have to tape, when I woke up.

Or did OLN just start to late in the race...

Well, yeah, they started too late, but also on time. They scheduled coverage to begin at 6:30 PST with the expectation that the stage would last until about 8:00. Unfortunately, since CSC put the hammer down, they absolutely flew through the stage. Yeah, it sucks for us, but remember that timing errors occured with the Tour a lot last year (and in other races, as well). Sometimes the stages were shorter than expected, sometimes longer. OLN can't control it, so they do the best they can.

OLN probably just goes by the official scheduled arrival times that the ASO (or whoever) releases.

I think CSC is a team to be reckoned with in
almost all the races they enter. I really like the
fact that Riis coaxes the best out of riders who with
other teams are just avg. examples are Jaksche, Jullich
and lets not forget Tyler who on USPS would just be a
highly thought of Domestique (super D??).
I'm really impressed with CSC this year (moreso than
last year and they were good then).
(Is my Boss reading this? I hope so :D )

Marty

Chavanel says, "Ha, Ha, I made the split and you guys didn't!"

Chavanel said that.

From velonews:

"I can only blame myself," said Dekker, who started the day tied for second four seconds back to Team CSC's Jorg Jaksche. "It was stupid, stupid, stupid. I came here to win this race, but now I don't know what to do. I have no excuses, I just missed it. I am the stupidest rider here today."

-------------------------

Dekker said THAT. :D

I don't know if Dekker should be so hard on himself. Rabobank only has one rider(Lotz) who isn't 5 minutes off the pace, and I don't think he is a threat for even top ten. Maybe we should be asking what Breukink was doing in the team car. An uncertain start for him as DS in a stage race.

Reminds me of the way that Riis had Tyler attack for the stage win in TDF last year. If they want, they seem to be a step ahead of the competition. Look at the depth of their placings ...3 riders in the top 10 for the TT and now 3 in the top 5. Not including Basso who should also do well. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a mistake for Tyler to have left come TDF time.

I'll scream if Paul and Bob say the name George Hincapie one more time. "Will Georgie make a move in this break and try for a stage win?" "Does Georgie still have the legs to sprint?"

Paul does seem to think that Georgie is the
second comming of Roger De Vlaeminck.
Phil is even worse.

Heck I'm just happy to see cycling live on tv again.

Marty

I agree with that... I think that they all have some gay love for their boy, Georgie (not that there is anything wrong with that):D

George is a good racer... but not as good as the boys (Phil, Bob, and Paul) seem to think he is

jeff

I like it when long breakaways are successful :).

/Csson

A 210k break. I didn't think they'd hold on.

No change in the overall.