This year, circumstances and a generous wife allowed me to watch all the televised Spring Classics (and semi-classics for that matter).
That alone should make what I’ve seen over the past two months something unforgettable, because it’s a view into a world that until a few years ago, Aussie cycling fans could only read about (ok, or catch delayed highlights of a considerable time later).
Not now though, thanks to SBS’s ever-increasing cycling coverage and Eurosport Australia, which is simply brilliant for the number of races it shows.
But while enjoying the racing is one thing, it’ss hard to decide whether this year’s Spring Classics have been a hit or a miss.
We’ve had some dominating performances by some of cycling’s biggest names.
We’ve had some surprise wins by some of the sports emerging names.
But we’ve seen plenty of other big names simply fail to stand up when it counts.
Who will forget Fabian Cancellara obliterating Peter Sagan on the Paterberg during the climax of a brutal Tour of Flanders?
But it was a shame that there wasn’t a Tom Boonen or Alessandro Ballan there to push him all the way to the finish.
Wasn’t it also a shame that we again were deprived of a classic Flanders moment on the Muur van Geraardsbergen.
Watching Cancellara time trial home on a flat road was just anti-climactic, even if his performance was scarily dominant.
It was amazing to watch Peter Sagan threaten to become a 21st century Eddie Merckcx, as he won E3 Harelbeke and Brabantse Pijl and place second at Flanders and Gent Wevelgem.
He didn’t race Paris Roubaix, so we expected fireworks at Amstel Gold and Fleche-Wallonne, but all we got was a 36th and a (respectable) 12th respectively.
Remember though, the bottom-pinching Slovak is not supposed to do respectable. That’s not his thing, so watch out next year.
Nothing was more surprising than seeing Roman Kreuziger (Amstel) Daniel Martin (Liege) and Daniel Mereno (Fleche) win the Ardennes races. For the sheer atmosphere though, it would have been great to see a Belgian triumph.
But alas, Philippe Gilbert and his compatriots were not up to it.
It was a similar story on the pave, with Tom Boonen missing in action due to a series of crashes.
In fact, it hasn’t been a good classics for Belgium at all.
Gilbert’s second in Brabantse Pijl was as good as it got in terms of height on the podium, as Belgium failed to register a ‘home’ win for the first time since 1918.
Jürgen Roelandts rode a wonderful race to finish behind daylight and Cancellara at Flanders, while BMC’s Greg van Avermaet (third Gent Wevelgem and fourth Paris-Roubaix) also did well.
Then there was Sep Vanmarcke, who pushed Cancellara right to the finish line in Roubaix. As exciting as that was, imagine if that was a Boonen or Thor Hushovd-type on that final lap around the velodrome.
The fans would’ve been going nuts and we would’ve been talking about a race for the ages, instead of a race where David almost slew Goliath.
There were the disappointing performances by Team Sky, saved only by Sergio Henau’s surprising second at Fleche Wallonne.
Chris Froome, Edvald Boasson-Hagen, Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Bernhard Eisel and Matthew Hayman all should’ve done better.
Henau also did well at Amstel Gold (6th) and Liege (16th), but not as well as compatriot Carlos Betancur (Ag2R) who was thirrd at Fleche Wallonne and looked a chance to win Liege Bastogne Liege until he faded into fourth.
Again, there’s nothing like seeing new riders emerge to take on the establishment. Cue Spaniard Daniel Moreno, who won Fleche-Wallonne, but in a Classic, I want to see the big name locals right up there.
Six of the first eight riders in Fleche Wallonne were Spanish speakers, but none of them was Alberto Contador. He finished 33rd, while the best placed Belgian was Gilbert in 15th.
There wasn’t really even an ‘Aussie’ rider to get excited about as Orica GreenEDGE were solid in the Classics but that was all.
Simon Gerrans was very good at Amstel (third) and good at Liege (10th) but he was never really in contention for the win.
Sebastian Langeveld was the other notable exception with three top ten finishes, fifth (E3 Harelbeke), seventh (Paris-Roubaix) and 10th (Flanders).
Peter Weening also scored a top 10 (eighth at Amstel), but putting health issues aside, GreenEDGE management would perhaps have expected a little more from their team than they got.
You couldn’t say the same about Katusha though, with Moreno (first Fleche) and Joaquim Rodriguez (second Liege) forming a deadly Classics duo.
They could have some fun in the Giro, which is basically where all eyes turn to next.
Vincenzo Nibali’s form at the Giro del Trentino makes him a clear favourite but with Bradley Wiggins, defending champion Ryder Hesjedal, Cadel Evans and many more big names lining up, the fight for pink can’t come soon enough.
Buster
Guest
True John. Maybe there would be a couple of Columbians available to help in the hills? And do we really know the capabilities of some of the young OGE riders, like the Meyer brothers or Turbo Durbo? Until now they haven't been riding in support of a GC man, so really there would need to be a strategy change. Are we expecting too much of OGE? It is only their second year and they are still finding their feet. Results to date are certainly better than some of the Euro teams with years of experience. The loss of Matt White was a major blow I would think and who knows what the budget can afford for next year, with the departure of Stuey and maybe other older guys? Very interesting times to come I would say. It will certainly be fascinating to see what will happen in the Grand Tours this year and who will step up. Looking forward to it.
John thompson-mills
Guest
UCI has definitely lost more skin over katusha, as they have been great this season. Expect Rodriguez to really push nibali at the giro as well. That should be an exceptional race. I really like the attitude europcar bring to the peloton, typically inspired by tommy v. Shame he was injured for the ardennes races but I reckon they will do something really special in July.
John thompson-mills
Guest
Porte to OGE would be great but i feel he would need a fair bit of recruiting to come with him. the way i see it the team isnt really built for grand tours which at porte's age is what he will be targeting. Who are the riders currently at OGE that could deliver him to the high peaks? For mine they would need at least four other riders.
Buster
Guest
Who wouldn't wish that the long awaited OGE GC rider turns out to be Richie Porte? He has the talent, is the right age, and has the experience of some big events in both support and (limited) leadership roles. But he is always talking up Team Sky and their way of doing things - and he seems very happy there. The other thing against a move is that Porte never seems to be a part of any Australian team, when OGE riders are always favoured, perhaps due to the Bannan connection.
Bones506
Roar Guru
I think Sky's chances in the Classics are over rated. They are a Grand Tour Team and are not very good at the classics. Rumours begin to swirl about Porte heading to OGE. Thoughts?
Lee Rodgers
Expert
Yes, what a couple of months that was, phew, still breathless. Interesting how many top guys underperformed, and also interesting to read the rumors as to why that might be on the forums here and there. There are some wild ones doing the rounds, to say the least. Asides from that, do you think, John, that we can finally out to rest the rumors that Spartacus is done? Whatever happens from here on in, I think his critics have been answered, very firmly! Looks like Katusha showed that they deserve, at least in terms of results gained, to be in the Pro Tour, Wonder how much their successes rankled the UCI? Had they had their way, these guys would have been nowhere near these races. I do hope the relative quiet of the French is just a blip, their revival over the past 2 seasons has been good for the sport. I guess we shall see come July, which will also be reckoning time for Conty and Froome - a rivalry for the ages? Doesn't quite feel like that, does it...