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It's the spring classic, this year with projected rain and freezing temperatures. I'm hoping this is the year where Mads Pedersen gets his monument, the rain and cold will surely help if it comes.
I won't be able to watch this most of the day, but the last 40 are some of the most exciting of the year. U usually hit max pulse during the Poggio and also right before the sprint.
yes, I hope Pedersen has a chance and wins. Will weather benefit him? I think so.
All in all I hope there's no injuries, but it will be hard in such conditions and full speed regardless of weather.
UAE train for the last 40km to give Tadej the chance of getting 10" at the top of the Poggio.
Maybe Mohoric has rain danced XD
9C at the start, so it's "good cycling weather" as we say in Belgium. light drizzle, it's Flandrien time!
bit of rain at the start, but seems like there won't be terrible weather throughout the race. still a very long one tho
any predictions? I think Van Der Poel has a slight benefit over Pogacar... my bet:
or Pedersen instead of Pidcock? close one...
I think Pedersen is very strong, and he has done goog MSR before. On the other hand I have doubts about Van der Poel, I known that he is able to win without racing, but I didn't see him good in previous races.
About Pogacar I'm divided, he tried the las two years the same (hard pace by Wellens), but he wasn't able to drop the contenders, Poggio is not hard enough. But, I do remember how he was able to win in Flandes, where I thought thar it would be too difficult for him to drop Van der Poel. I think that he has to arrive to the poggio with some seconds because he is not the best descender (not bad, but not the best).
Ganna is very strong, and not only on flats but also on climbs. He has climbed the Poggio with Pogacar before. I believe that he has his chances.
And you can never rule out Matthews in this race. Mohoric is also there. Magnus Cort can be an outsider to, but I don't see him winning this race.
There are other names too, which may have a chance if the first on Poggio slown down and produce a bigger group.
Let's see.
Pedersen did very strong climbing in paris nice. He paced the GC group up a climb on one of the stages.
Oh what I would give for a Magnus Cort victory in MSR... that would be glorious!
What a beautiful edition
one to remember
The big question for today:
Will Pogacar try something climbing the Cipressa?
I cuold see it if they climb it so fast that only a few riders arrive to the las km
If he does, VDP will be there too. When they arrive at the finish together it'll be hard for Pogi to get the win
You nailed it!
I'm a fortune teller!
Surprisingly they are not letting the break open a big gap. I has been a bit more than 5 minutes, but now I almost 3, with more than 200k to go.
You guys broke tiz, :(
Just back from a ride, what did I miss?
Don't know, Tiz is showing errors.
I'm glad I live in Belgium, then
Me in the US:
you could maybe try VTM Go, it's free and only have to log in, but I don't know if it's geoblocked or not... here's a link and fingers crossed (stream in Dutch/Flemish if that's not a problem)
Multiple attacks reported
8 attackers in what will probably a long day for them. rain also started again
Pogi, Ganna and VDP are gone! away they go!
@EvilCartyen yes finally the season begins ;)
It doesn't look like it will be raining. With the strength Mads showed in Paris Nice I still think there's a fair chance that he will get the win this year.
Cipressa started! and the attackers just got caught
POGGIO! VDP and Pogi are gone
When at half Poggio Pogacar couldn't go solo, I pictured MVP winning, if not for a surprise attack from Ganna.
Now I see very difficult for Pogacar winning MSR or Paris Roubaix, he needs harder races.
Ganna gonna do more great things this season. Tirreno was strong already, but now at MSR... damn! Kinda hoping Pogacar will do Roubaix, because I think it'll be more his kind of thing. Can be a very hard if they play it well with the team. I think they shouldn't've burned all their matches on the Cipressa. Especially when you saw how easy it looked for MVDP
Yeah, Ganna is definitely strong. He can be a surprise in the cobbles.
However, I don't see any stronger than Van der Poel now. I thought that he was not on a very good shape on Tirreno, but watching him yesterday the only option I see is a team ride like Ineos did when Van Baarle won in 2022.
Pogacar could be there too, but I don't see him beating VDP.