Road Bike Racing - Amstel Gold, who's it gona be this year?

You know Dekker is the man. This will be his third win coming up. Allez Dekker, Allez.
Signed, Dekkerfan.

Dekker is great, really classy rider. I'll be happy if he does it again, especially after all his bad luck.
I think Bartoli is going to be up there. Now that Jascke is out, CSC will put more on Bartoli. Plus I want to see him repeat.

Boogerd

Boogard is a whiner and rides like it. He is certainly a favorite but I hope a better man wins

Dekker, Boogerd, Bettini and Di Luca have all been given the nod, if the odds-makers at Mr. Bookmaker are worth their salt. No active rider has been more succesful in this race than Boogerd, so I'll go with him.

Dekkerfan:

Did I miss a Dekker victory this seaon? I only have him down as winning Ronde van Drenthe. You mention a third win - does that mean third World Cup of his career (Amstel & San Sebastian)? He has only won this race once before.

I love the guy as well. I have spent some time in Holland, on more than one occasion, and he is the people's fan. His long breakaways at the Tour de France were finally rewarded with multiple stage victories and his World Cup record speaks for itself.

[QUOTE=KingRene]Dekker, Boogerd, Bettini and Di Luca have all been given the nod, if the odds-makers at Mr. Bookmaker are worth their salt. No active rider has been more succesful in this race than Boogerd, so I'll go with him.

Dekkerfan:

Did I miss a Dekker victory this seaon? I only have him down as winning Ronde van Drenthe. You mention a third win - does that mean third World Cup of his career (Amstel & San Sebastian)? He has only won this race once before.

I love the guy as well. I have spent some time in Holland, on more than one occasion, and he is the people's fan. His long breakaways at the Tour de France were finally rewarded with multiple stage victories and his World Cup record speaks for itself.[/QUOT

Hasn't he won Amstel twice? Sorry, my mistake. I like his style, he doesn't give up, he just keeps on attacking. I forget when, but I once saw him in a race where he got dropped about six times in a row in a breakaway but each time he caught on he attacked right away without even the shortest breather. It was amazing. In the end his teammate got the win and he didn't even try to contest for second or third he was just happy that all his sacrifice and real hard work got his team the win. He is what teammates are all about, selfless.

I forget when, but I once saw him in a race where he got dropped about six times in a row in a breakaway but each time he caught on he attacked right away without even the shortest breather. It was amazing. In the end his teammate got the win and he didn't even try to contest for second or third he was just happy that all his sacrifice and real hard work got his team the win. He is what teammates are all about, selfless.

That sounds like the Tour de France, 2002. Karsten Kroon won the stage.

That sounds like the Tour de France, 2002. Karsten Kroon won the stage.

I think you are right on that. Well, this years Amstel is over and I was wrong. He didn't do it. But, Boogerd (spelling?) was out in front so maybe because of that Erik was told not to attack? Maybe? He did look like he had good legs heading into the last 30 or 40 Ks, so I think that might have been the case.

Well, this years Amstel is over and I was wrong. He didn't do it. But, Boogerd (spelling?) was out in front so maybe because of that Erik was told not to attack? Maybe? He did look like he had good legs heading into the last 30 or 40 Ks, so I think that might have been the case.

That seemed to be the case. Dekker was disrupting the flow of the chase group with repeated accelerations, according to the cyclingnews.com live coverage team. He still rode well, on his own, at the end of the race to pick up seventh place and some UCI points.