VeloVeritas

Unlucky Team Liquigas at Paris-Roubaix (0)

Lady Luck certainly wasn’t on Team Liquigas’ side at last Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, as things went from bad (even before the race) to worse!

Still, Manuel Quinziato, Murillo Fischer, Filippo Pozzato and the guys in green gave it their all at the world’s toughest race.

So, here is a list of 10 things you may not have seen from Paris-Roubaix coverage elsewhere…

Cannondale’s Synapse makes a successful debut at the Classics (0)

Cannondale’s Synapse was the frame of choice for many of the riders of Team Liquigas at last weekend’s Tour of Flanders, including Filippo Pozzato and eventual podium-finisher, Luca Paolini.

The frame offers a number of features which make it well suited for the cobbled classics, the most physically demanding races of the calendar, both for the riders and their equipment.

Paris – Roubaix – Day 4, Race Day (0)

It’s more like July in San Trop than spring in Northern France.

We’re in Wallers to take-in cobble sectors 19 and 17, both of which are on the outskirts of the village but at different ends, we had thought about watching at sector 18, Arenberg, but half of France has the same idea, it’s heaving, and we have to get up to the finish “soon-as” after we’ve cobble-watched.

Paris – Roubaix – Day 3, Bike Skek & Teams Presentation (0)

The Saturday gig was to do a piece on the velos, so it was down to the start at Compiegne, and collect our creds.

ASO didn’t let us down; “I have credentials for you, but not your driver!”. I won’t bore you, but it was several hours and more of that patience-stuff later before we got the vital bits of string and plastic.

Paris – Roubaix – Day 2, Course Recce (0)

Friday’s gig was to do a course recce.

There are 28 sectors and you can’t skek them all, so we decided to do the track at Roubaix, the final four sectors, a new sector which has just been added and the two legendary sectors – Carrefour de L’Arbre & Arenberg.

Paris – Roubaix – Day 1: Getting There (0)

My lift was late; the architect at the site meet was a pain, then the car broke down. It was therefore a stressed Ed who lurched onto the 12.30pm London express at Waverley on Thursday afternoon to rendez-vous with VeloVeritas Editor, Mertin.

The train wasn’t too bad, we picked the right carriage – a couple of coaches down, two gentlemen were making a fist of an attempt on the record for how much Castlemaine 4X can be consumed between the two capital cities. First lad: “Here, Bob… watch it – ah think that boy’s the polis.”