doff of the cap

Chapeau to TeamSky’s Ian Stannard, whorevelled in the bad conditionsand attacked repeatedly on thePoggio. The British NationalChampion is one of the pelo-ton’s most dogged riders andafter a valiant effort, Essex’sfinest was only bested in thefinal sprint.

milan-sanremo review

Snow-go on the Turchino

Before the start of Milan-Sanremo there had beenpredictions of the sort of wet conditions not seensince 1991, when Claudio Chiappucci launched abrave win on the cloud-covered Turchino in theslipstream of the veteran passistaGuido Bontempi.Instead, we had to look back to 3rd April 1910 tofind a race conducted in such terrible weather.That year, 63 men started and 20cm of snow on theTurchino ensured only four made it to Sanremo.French rider Eugène Christophe sheltered in ahostel after collapsing with a stomach cramp besidethe road: “I saw four racers go by, or at least fourpiles of mud,” he said. “I decided to press on. Theinnkeeper didn’t want to let me go. I had to trickhim by saying I could meet someone who wouldget me to Sanremo by train.”Christophe went on towin, with the biggest margin in the history of therace. In 2013, the organisers were never intention-ally going to put the riders through such hardship,hence their decision to cut the Turchino and LeManie. Still, the ice-covered helmets and shockedexpressions as they boarded the buses for theneutralised section testified to the severity of theconditions. It could be argued that the race wasdiminished by thedistortions imposedby the weather butthat would be harshon Gerald Ciolek;the German riderdid the sprinter’sjob, followed theright wheel until inrange and his winput MTN-Qhubekaon the map.

from the team car

Servais Knaven on the ClassicsWinner of Paris-Roubaix in 2001, Servais Knaven is in his third seasonas Sports Director at Team Sky. Ahead of Flanders and Roubaix, Raphacaught up with Servais to get the view from the team car.

What does it take to win a Classic?Everything has to be perfect. In a race like Roubaix you have 10 ormore riders who could win: Boonen, Cancellara, Sagan. It’s not justabout who’s fastest. Have a good look around to see the other riders,read the race. Roubaix is so hard to predict. Last year, Tom Boonenrode away with 50km left and everyone said: “What’s he doing?”There are so many cobbled sections, anything can happen.What makes a good Classics rider?The ability to save energy. Go for it at the right moments but havepatience. Roubaix takes a different ride to Flanders. You need to besteady, unlike Flanders which requires peaks in effort. You get thesame riders at the front of the race, it’s a good race for ‘diesels’. Andof course, never give up. For 20km you can be the best in the group,then 5km later you can be standing still.Is there a particular technique to riding cobbles?It’s hard… it wears down your whole body. You must be reallysteady, hold your ass really tight on the saddle and be one with thebike so it goes where you want it to go.Presumably it’s a tough day for Sports Directors, too?This will be my first year driving the team car. At Roubaix two yearsago there was so much dust you couldn't see the cars in front. That'swhy we have two in the car, myself and Kurt Asle Arvesen. It’s a hardday’s work.

The full version of this interview will be available online from Friday22nd March. To read it, along with Ian Stannard’s Classics ambitionsfor 2013, visit: rapha.cc.

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24SATURDAY SUNDAY

—Milan–SanremoMONDAY—Volta a Catalunya S1

TUESDAY—Volta a Catalunya S2

WEDNESDAY—Volta a Catalunya S3—Dwars door Vlaanderen

THURSDAY—Volta a Catalunya S4

FRIDAY—Volta a Catalunya S5—E3 Harelbeke

SATURDAY—Volta a Catalunya S6—Critérium International

SUNDAY—Volta a Catalunya S7—Gent-Wevelgem—Critérium International

a weekly double-shot of road racing

# prost y le

Wednesday 20th March 2013

rapha.ccissue 01

bigringriding award

THIS WEEK’S GONG FORSERVICES TO THE BIG RINGGOES TO MR. CAVENDISH.AFTER A SURPRISE ATTACKBY THE WEATHER CAUGHTEVERYONE UNPREPAREDAT SANREMO, CAV MANNEDUP AND RODE IN SHORTS,SHOWING BELGIUM’SHARDMEN HOW IT’S DONE.

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weekendweather

LondonStill cold, wet,grey andfrosty. Timefor the turbo.Or a holiday.High of 6C.

a weekly double-shot of road racing Wednesday 20th March 2013

gent–wevelgem preview

Boxing for Bubblegumrace type: One-day Classicdistance: 238km region: Flanders, Belgium

Bike racing can certainlythrow up a lot of surprises, likeGerman Gerald Ciolek outwittingPeter Sagan in Sanremo. Which is why we keepasking the question, what does it take to win aClassic? Good legs alone won’t cut it: racing in-stinct, too, is essential.The 75th edition of Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday isone for the wheelers – think Tom Boonen, OscarFreire, Edvald Boasson Hagen or, further back,Rik Van Looy. Rouleurs, all, riders who get a goodrhythm going when the going gets tough (thinkSugar Ray Robinson in Lycra). However, Gent-Wevelgem, which doesn't actually start in Gentbut 25km away in Deinze (pronounced Danes-er),also includes the notorious Kemmelberg cobbledclimb, guaranteed to disrupt even the most metro-nomic rider. Not only is the Kemmelberg cobbledin parts, it's steep and twisty. The site of a mas-sacre in WWI, it comes 30km from the finish andcan often prove decisive. The previous 200km,with winds off the coast, will wear down thelesser-conditioned riders and so reserving enoughpower to knock over the Kemmelberg and Gent-Wevelgem’s other late hills is key.Boonen has three victories here and with his abilityto power up his native hills could easily add afourth. But Ghent-Bubblegum, as it is affectionatelyknown, can be a sticky affair, particularly if theweather gods are in foul mood – and surely MarkCavendish deserves his team’s support after San-remo. Bernhard Eisel, winner in 2010, is experi-enced enough to win but he will be chaperoningBoasson Hagen to a potential second victory.Peter Sagan (second last year) will no doubt behungry to prove himself. And how about PhilGilbert – he can punch all day long. Or, if youfancy a long-shot, Danilo Napolitano. Never heardof him? Could be a contender.

# prost y le

rapha condor jlt

Storming NormandySix Rapha-Condor-JLT riders are in the middle of atough week in north-western France, taking part inthe Tour of Normandy. Tom Southam, a former pronow working with Rapha-Condor-JLT, gives hisview of the race.The first bike race I ever saw in France I cameacross by complete accident, as my family and Imeandered our way across Brittany on holiday.My father asked a burly gendarme manning thebarriers if it was an important race. “Bah! Oui,c’est une course professionelle!,” he replied. Oncewe arrived at the town centre I was taken aback. It certainly looked like a bike race but I had imag-ined thousands of cheering, flag-waving spectators,TV crews and throngs of journalists. Instead, therewere only a few clumps of townsfolk; most seemedto be wondering, in fact, not who was winning buthow best to cross the road to the boulangerie. It struck me deeply that cycling looked a lot harderlike this. On the TV, riders looked like rock stars:sunglasses, caps, suntans and podium girls. Here,they had the grim-faced look of men who knewthere was a tough job to do and who were justgoing to get on and do it.The Tour of Normandy is hard precisely becausethere are very good, hungry riders taking part andbecause it’s March in Normandy, where theweather is at best unpredictable and at worst wet-ter than the sea. It is hard because there are nodistractions and no comforts; the hotels are rick-ety, rooms cold, food unpalatable. At Normandy, the Rapha-Condor-JLT riders willlearn how to ride a 200km stage in crosswindsand how to deal with the dull ache of battling allday on the flat, minds exhausted by the stress ofbeing swamped by screaming Belgians. They willcome up against teams they have never heard of,like Bretagne Schuller or Concordia Forsikring.The Tour of Normandy is not pretty: it is bike rac-ing at its hardest, most enduring and most grounded.

Tom’s full feature will be available online, atrapha.cc, from Friday 22nd March.

Volta aCatalunya.Screened liveall week atRapha CycleClubs.

San FranciscoGorgeous, andsunny all week,folks. Get outand ride. High of 63F.

OsakaTemperaturedropping.Overcast allweekend.High of 13C.

WevelgemGrey skies butdry on theground.High of 7C.