Competitions 2025 SCS Road Cycling Championships
- Thread starter Ironhawk
- Start date
Race 7: Paris-Roubaix
Favourites for this race are:
A Bettiol
M Pedersen
J Philipsen
D Van Baarle
M Van Der Poel
My Selections:
M Van Der Poel
C Laporte
N Politt
Expecting everyone to select MVDP, but the others in that group are not completely without a shot. Outside of that, it's hard to pick any with certainty.
It seems the race organisers this year have made a late decision to try to slow the riders down on the approach to the forest by adding a "chicane" (a couple of tight bends) for rider safety. I think it's going to cause chaos and make things much worse - if you are not right near the front, you are going to be caught up behind other riders slowing down through the chicane and could be way behind through the forest, everyone will be pushing hard to get to the front at this point, which doesn't seem ideal for rider safety. I don't expect it to be a good decision for the quality of the race, but I could be wrong. It definitely was a highlight of the race in years past, not sure it will be as much this year.
I'll update results for the most recent three stages of the carnage race (Itzulia) shortly. I know I won't be the highest point scorer for this event with just one rider left for the final stage.
Favourites for this race are:
A Bettiol
M Pedersen
J Philipsen
D Van Baarle
M Van Der Poel
My Selections:
M Van Der Poel
C Laporte
N Politt
Expecting everyone to select MVDP, but the others in that group are not completely without a shot. Outside of that, it's hard to pick any with certainty.
It seems the race organisers this year have made a late decision to try to slow the riders down on the approach to the forest by adding a "chicane" (a couple of tight bends) for rider safety. I think it's going to cause chaos and make things much worse - if you are not right near the front, you are going to be caught up behind other riders slowing down through the chicane and could be way behind through the forest, everyone will be pushing hard to get to the front at this point, which doesn't seem ideal for rider safety. I don't expect it to be a good decision for the quality of the race, but I could be wrong. It definitely was a highlight of the race in years past, not sure it will be as much this year.
I'll update results for the most recent three stages of the carnage race (Itzulia) shortly. I know I won't be the highest point scorer for this event with just one rider left for the final stage.
Itzulia Basque Country Stage 3 Results:
Woosie the only one to score points in a bunch sprint day.
Itzulia Basque Country Stage 4 Results:
Nobody scored points, everyone lost at least one rider in a day everyone will only remember for the crash that took out most of the favourites. The top 10 results are slightly different colours to usual, with a lot of Pro Teams riders making up more than half of the top 10 with the neutralisation.
Itzulia Basque Country Stage 5 Results:
Not as chaotic today, but still half of us lost a rider with Landa crashing out. Well done to those who have somehow avoided the carnage so far and still have 3 riders for the final stage. It's not looking like it will be a high scoring event. I fixed the colours for Rodriguez as well, this was a copy/paste error from the last event, as I didn't realise there had been two different C Rodriguez selected (Cristian from Arkea, Carlos from Ineos).
Woosie the only one to score points in a bunch sprint day.
Itzulia Basque Country Stage 4 Results:
Nobody scored points, everyone lost at least one rider in a day everyone will only remember for the crash that took out most of the favourites. The top 10 results are slightly different colours to usual, with a lot of Pro Teams riders making up more than half of the top 10 with the neutralisation.
Itzulia Basque Country Stage 5 Results:
Not as chaotic today, but still half of us lost a rider with Landa crashing out. Well done to those who have somehow avoided the carnage so far and still have 3 riders for the final stage. It's not looking like it will be a high scoring event. I fixed the colours for Rodriguez as well, this was a copy/paste error from the last event, as I didn't realise there had been two different C Rodriguez selected (Cristian from Arkea, Carlos from Ineos).
Itzulia Basque Country Stage 6 Results:
Rodriguez and Ayuso broke away on one of the later climbs, Rodriguez won the stage, but Ayuso had done enough to win the race.
Itzulia Basque Country Final Results:
I didn't expect Rodriguez to be the winning move in this race with the quality of the field at the start line, but that's cycling for you. Woosie did enough for the win with some minor placings from Hayter, however Kiewa did brilliantly to finish second with just two starting riders. I'm expecting this may be the first race dropped for a lot of the field once that occurs, although there was a race last year where nobody scored any points - who knows.
Current Standings:
No major changes in the standings from that event except for tightening up some mid field battles, however Woosie did enough to move up from 8th to equal 7th.
Just a reminder that Paris-Roubaix is being held tonight, still a couple of regulars to enter, but as always, anyone can enter at any time. This is normally one of the more interesting one day races to watch, the cobble sections really shake things up (bad pun, I know, but they do). Hopefully it is another good race this year.
Rodriguez and Ayuso broke away on one of the later climbs, Rodriguez won the stage, but Ayuso had done enough to win the race.
Itzulia Basque Country Final Results:
I didn't expect Rodriguez to be the winning move in this race with the quality of the field at the start line, but that's cycling for you. Woosie did enough for the win with some minor placings from Hayter, however Kiewa did brilliantly to finish second with just two starting riders. I'm expecting this may be the first race dropped for a lot of the field once that occurs, although there was a race last year where nobody scored any points - who knows.
Current Standings:
No major changes in the standings from that event except for tightening up some mid field battles, however Woosie did enough to move up from 8th to equal 7th.
Just a reminder that Paris-Roubaix is being held tonight, still a couple of regulars to enter, but as always, anyone can enter at any time. This is normally one of the more interesting one day races to watch, the cobble sections really shake things up (bad pun, I know, but they do). Hopefully it is another good race this year.
Paris-Roubaix selections:
Ironhawk - Van Der Poel, Laporte, Politt
tso - Pedersen, Tarling, Rex
Kiewa - Pedersen, Kung, Laporte
Bonaparte - Van Der Poel, Pidcock, Rex
chels - Van Der Poel, Mozzato, Rex
Old Big 'Ead - Van Der Poel, Politt, Degenkolb
Dravid - Van Der Poel, Kung, Milan
Woosie - Van Der Poel, Kung, Kielich
Good luck.
Ironhawk - Van Der Poel, Laporte, Politt
tso - Pedersen, Tarling, Rex
Kiewa - Pedersen, Kung, Laporte
Bonaparte - Van Der Poel, Pidcock, Rex
chels - Van Der Poel, Mozzato, Rex
Old Big 'Ead - Van Der Poel, Politt, Degenkolb
Dravid - Van Der Poel, Kung, Milan
Woosie - Van Der Poel, Kung, Kielich
Good luck.
I know Van Der Poel was a class above the others this year, winning by 3 minutes solo, but there's definitely a bit of a luck factor involved in this race, as well as requiring skill. As an example Laporte puncturing right at the start of the first cobbled section, that pretty much ended his race as soon as the main action started. He was definitely not alone, as there were plenty of crashes and punctures, this year seemed lighter on than many other years though. Usually it's brutal.
I'll hopefully get an update out tonight, if not it will be tomorrow night. There's a couple of weeks now until the next race that we will be picking, so enjoy the short break.
I'll hopefully get an update out tonight, if not it will be tomorrow night. There's a couple of weeks now until the next race that we will be picking, so enjoy the short break.
Had a much busier week than anticipated...
Paris-Roubaix Results:
Plenty of solid scores, but Old Big 'Ead and myself managed to select two of the top 4 and top score for this event. An 11th placing for Degenkolb just sees OBE miss out on a solo top spot. Nobody managed three scoring riders.
Current Standings:
Multiple changes to the leaderboard - OBE and myself move ahead of Bonaparte, Woosie moves ahead of tso.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege will be held next weekend, closely followed by the Tour de Romandie a couple of days later. I'll open selections for these races mid-late next week.
Paris-Roubaix Results:
Plenty of solid scores, but Old Big 'Ead and myself managed to select two of the top 4 and top score for this event. An 11th placing for Degenkolb just sees OBE miss out on a solo top spot. Nobody managed three scoring riders.
Current Standings:
Multiple changes to the leaderboard - OBE and myself move ahead of Bonaparte, Woosie moves ahead of tso.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege will be held next weekend, closely followed by the Tour de Romandie a couple of days later. I'll open selections for these races mid-late next week.
New achievements awarded:
Volta a Catalunya Winner Achievement.
Unlocked by selecting the winner of Volta a Catalunya amongst your four selections.
Awarded to: Bonaparte, chels, Dravid, Ironhawk, Kiewa, Old Big 'Ead, tso, Woosie
This race is held in the Catalonia region of Spain, and although something from Barcelona would be the obvious choice for this region for the achievement image, I decided instead to include an image of the Amphitheatre of Tarraco in Tarragona instead, which is another major tourist destination in the area.
Ronde van Vlaanderen Winner Achievement.
Unlocked by selecting the winner of Ronde van Vlaanderen amongst your three selections.
Awarded to: Bonaparte, chels, Dravid, Ironhawk, Kiewa, Old Big 'Ead, tso, Woosie
I am a huge fan of The Simpsons (older episodes anyway, before it went downhill), so for the Tour of Flanders, it was obvious that this one had to be Ned Flanders, the neighbour of the Simpson family in the show.
Paris-Roubaix Winner Achievement.
Unlocked by selecting the winner of Paris-Roubaix amongst your three selections.
Awarded to: Bonaparte, chels, Dravid, Ironhawk, Old Big 'Ead, Woosie
For the most famous one day event, I had to have a photo of the most famous section of cobbles from this event - the Trouee d'Arenberg, or Arenberg Forest section. Generally a brutal section with a lot of crashes and punctures, this year was relatively calm for those at the front of the race at least. Maybe not so for some further back, such as this article on Aussie Cyrus Monk, who was five minutes slower through this section due to copping two punctures.
Volta a Catalunya Winner Achievement.
Unlocked by selecting the winner of Volta a Catalunya amongst your four selections.
Awarded to: Bonaparte, chels, Dravid, Ironhawk, Kiewa, Old Big 'Ead, tso, Woosie
This race is held in the Catalonia region of Spain, and although something from Barcelona would be the obvious choice for this region for the achievement image, I decided instead to include an image of the Amphitheatre of Tarraco in Tarragona instead, which is another major tourist destination in the area.
Ronde van Vlaanderen Winner Achievement.
Unlocked by selecting the winner of Ronde van Vlaanderen amongst your three selections.
Awarded to: Bonaparte, chels, Dravid, Ironhawk, Kiewa, Old Big 'Ead, tso, Woosie
I am a huge fan of The Simpsons (older episodes anyway, before it went downhill), so for the Tour of Flanders, it was obvious that this one had to be Ned Flanders, the neighbour of the Simpson family in the show.
Paris-Roubaix Winner Achievement.
Unlocked by selecting the winner of Paris-Roubaix amongst your three selections.
Awarded to: Bonaparte, chels, Dravid, Ironhawk, Old Big 'Ead, Woosie
For the most famous one day event, I had to have a photo of the most famous section of cobbles from this event - the Trouee d'Arenberg, or Arenberg Forest section. Generally a brutal section with a lot of crashes and punctures, this year was relatively calm for those at the front of the race at least. Maybe not so for some further back, such as this article on Aussie Cyrus Monk, who was five minutes slower through this section due to copping two punctures.