Roubaix Reflections

Now that the dust has settled… I am looking back at Paris-Roubaix with a few thoughts. Much has been written about this “epic” version of Roubaix that provided some memorable images and discussion to go on for ages.

Cancellara, D’oh
All of the pre-race hype centered on Boonen and possibly George Hincapie getting the win. It just seemed like a lock that the two would end up dueling for the top spot in some way. But Cancellara has been placing well in the last few years, he was the forgotten contender by everyone except former T-Mobile team manager Walter Goodefroot and of course Bjarne Riis. Cancellara used his time trialing skills to ride everyone off of his wheels.

Younger winners
It used to be that Paris-Roubaix was a victory that had to be earned. Riders like Franco Ballerini, Andrea Tafi, Gilbert Duclos Lasalle and many others had to pay their dues before they finally came into Roubaix to win. With this thought the sentimental crowd must have been wagering on a Hincapie victory.

With Boonen last year and Cancellara this year, the trend seems to be going down to younger, but experienced riders. We could possibly be seeing these two trade off wins in the next few years.

George’s Stem
Paris Roubaix test equipment like no other race and it calls for one-off equipment to help deal with the cobbles. Hincapie’s Trek Madone was using Trek forks that came off of a lower end hybrid bike. They provide more rake and were made out of a heavier gauge aluminum. Unfortunately these forks will go under some severe scrutiny. But if you look at some pictures from Hincapie’s broken bike, it just does not look like the forks malfunctioned at all. The aluminum steerer tube would not shatter and break off at the top. If there was a weakness in the metal, the forks would most likely fail at the top of the crown. The steerer at the top has force of Hincapie’s upper body forcing down on the stem and handlebars along with the severe vibration acting on the entire bike. My guess would be that the fork did not break at all, but the clamp on the stem gave out. Perhaps the choice of deep section carbon wheels may have added to the vibration that helped to loosen the bolts on the stem causing the stem to loosen off spectacularly. Tough way to go out, hope George heals up quick.

update– The Paceline has a story on the accident. “The last crash apparently a result of the first incident happened when his aluminum steer tube broke at the intersection with the stem.” The Paceline

OLN, No Raisin News?
OLN’s update of American cyclists made no mention of Saul Raisin’s unfortunate crash and his current coma state. Maybe they did not want to associate Subway sandwiches with crash victim’s in a coma? –update: Ok, they did mention Saul Raisin, as per the comments below.

Train Train Go Away
OK, so the race was running 45 minutes ahead of schedule, but when has a bike race not deviated in time one way or the other. Luckily Fabian Cancellara passed through the train tracks just as the lights started flashing, it would have been an awkward site for Cancellara to have to stop with a head full of steam ready to take the win, only to wait for a train to pass by. Anyway, the French could possibly take some of the angry student protesters and put them to work (without fear of being fired of course) at making sure no trains pass through during an important race. Plus, they should try to avoid any train tracks especially in the last 20km.