Le Nord: to hell and back in the north of France

Germinal

This post isn’t so much about cycling but the wider area around this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix race. As you’ll see below, the “Hell of the North” title is not about cobbles but the state of the region.

Apologies if I upset anyone but Roubaix and the surrounding places are grim. Tourist itineraries rarely visit and the French have negative myths about it. Even the cycling is not great, despite the famous race. You’re better heading across the border into Belgium for the bergs. Today the region thrives as transport hub but it is rarely a final destination.

What’s so bad? The effects of wars past are still visible. It can make a fine backdrop for a race but just as the race is famously tough, so the whole region has struggled, faced with vanishing industries and other problems. But the good news is that it’s finally getting back on its feet, at least cosmetically.

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Hot water? Fränk Schleck’s Camelbak

Fränk Schleck Corsica

Fränk Schleck won the Critérium International race, taking the lead after a powerful solo ride up the Col de l’Ospedale and defending his lead the following day in the short 7km time trial. Watching the event on TV I thought his chest looked weird and at the time put it down to hard breathing and his extremely thin state creating an avian-looking thorax. Plus I had my eye on Gent-Wevelgem and live coverage with the Pavé crew, that was a lot more exciting than a time trial.

But now it sees he was using a Camelbak. In case you don’t know, this akin to a small backpack with a hose and when filled with water the rider can drink from it. It’s popular with off road riders. Only the pouch is worn on the back but apparently Schleck wore it on the front, creating a bulge on his chest. As such this narrowed the gap in the area between the chest, arms and legs and made him more efficient.

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Five things I saw in Flanders

Flanders podium

What a race!

Prior to the Tour of Flanders I wrote above five things to look for, in particular Gilbert seemed to run out of luck, puncturing at a bad time and team-wise, BMC were collectively strong but it was Quick Step’s Chavanel-Boonen tandem that seemed the strongest, although that failed to deliver what they wanted. Plus Stijn Devolder once again stood out for his “interesting” positioning, once minute off the back, the next minute barging off the front.

Now after the race, a few things to reflect on after the race…

Team car TV

Saxo car

The in-car TV footage from the Tour of Flanders worked for me. I was sceptical but the production skills made it great.

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Five things to watch in Flanders

If like me you will be watching the Tour of Flanders on TV, here are five things to look for during the race. The early break: which of the big teams manage to place someone in the move that gets away and in particular, is it someone who could help their leader at a later … Read more

The Bosberg

Bosberg

The final climb of the Tour of Flanders, it is neither steep nor especially technical. It averages 5.5% and maxes at 11% and the cobbles are reasonable compared to the prior climbs. The photo above captures the moment when the cobbles start, in front of the sign. It will be tackled for the 38th time this Sunday.

“Bos berg” means “Wood hill” and it’s true that the climb heads up through a forest. Whilst it might not be as fearsome as other climbs, it is nevertheless crucial to the race, coming just 12km from the finish. Don’t think it’s easy because this time everyone’s got almost 250km in the legs. Unless a rider is in a state of grace, every cobble will hurt.

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What next for Contador?

Contador
Going up or down?

There had been fears that the Contador case could drag on and on, with the appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) lasting until September. But the CAS has the means to expedite a case if all parties agree. Whilst due process has to be followed, the calendar can be shortened substantially if each party files documents speedily, as opposed to waiting for deadline for each stage of the process.

Now that the dust has settled on the RFEC verdict and the appeal has been announced, I want to take a look at a few issues related to this.

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The Muur van Geraardsbergen

Kapelmuur start

The penultimate climb of the Tour of Flanders is so good they named it twice. Some call it the Kapelmuur, some call it the Muur van Geraardsbergen but it’s the same thing. In fact there’s also the French name, the Mur de Grammont. Either way it is a decisive climb for the race.

Two names, two climbs
Kapel means chapel, muur means wall so it’s either the “Chapel wall” or the Wall of Geraardsbergen. There is only one route to the top but it has two parts. First the riders cross the Dender river and then head into the city of Geraardsbergen. No metropolis, it is has city status from medieval times.

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Housekeeping – advertising

A quick note to say Strada Wheels are advertising here for April. I’m pleased to welcome them especially since they’ve been helpful on the whole subject of advertising. Jonathan’s kindly given me some useful thoughts and also some tech ideas, software not wheels, too. Also, it’s good to have the advertising but so far no … Read more

News from Spain

Just time to fit in three tales from Spain amidst all the excitement and build up in Flanders.

jaime lissavetzky

Spanish sports minister says no political involvement
It’s one of those head-scratching moments. Faced with accusations that the Spanish federation’s verdict on the Contador case was influenced by political and judicial powers… Spanish sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky has said it wasn’t. Which surely only adds to the political pressure on the case give the minister has now a public position on the matter? Lissavetzky then went on to say UCI President Pat McQuaid opens his mouth too quickly, saying “he is very talkative“.

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