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94th Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen - 1.HC
Belgium, April 12, 2006
Main page Map Start List Results
Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from Anthony Tan
Live report
Live coverage starts: 14:30 CEST
Estimated finish: 16:00 CEST
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14:30 CEST
Well, we've anchored the Hindenburg
V to a barge on the Schelde, and been towed up to Antwerp in time for the
94th Scheldeprijs, Flanders' oldest race. Today we have 200 km of flat racing
around the northeastern part of Belgium, consisting of a long 150 km loop and
three laps of a 17 km circuit around Schoten. It's a classic sprinters course,
and the likes of Tom Boonen and Robbie McEwen will be aiming to put their name
on the winners list again.
The weather today: moderately windy but
dry, with a maximum of around 12 degrees Celsius.
14:36 CEST 138km/62km to go
At the moment, we
have a group of 23 riders with a massive 5'40 on the peloton with 64 km to go.
The group contains Tom Boonen, Wouter Weylandt and Wilfried Cretskens (Quick.Step)
and Baden Cooke (Unibet.com), Graeme Brown (Rabobank), Enrico Gasparotto (Liquigas),
Evert Verbist, Niko Eeckhout, Kurt Hovelynck, Frederik Willems, Jens Renders
(all Chocolade Jacques), among others.
Peter Van Petegem is not here
though - he crashed earlier in the race and was taken to hospital.
14:38 CEST 139km/61km to go
The big group is
just rolling along at the moment, extending their gap to 6'20.
Bram
De Groot (Rabobank) has crashed out of the lead group, one less teammate for
Brown.
14:40 CEST 140km/60km to go
The leaders hit the
1700m cobbles of the Broekstraat, which aren't too bad to ride on. Jeremy Hunt
(Unibet) gets to the front.
14:41 CEST
Gert Steegmans is also in the front
group - the only rider from Davitamon. He sits at the back, taking it easy.
Kevin Hulsmans now does a turn on the second half of the cobbles. Looks like
most of Quick.Step has made it into this lead group.
14:43 CEST 142km/58km to go
Boonen is doing his
share of work, no complaints, as they ride along the Albertkanaal. The gap to
the peloton is now over seven minutes, and it's clear that the winner will come
from this group.
14:47 CEST 145km/55km to go
The full composition
of the group: Tom Boonen, Wouter Weylandt, Kevin Hulsmans, Steven de Jongh,
Geert Verheyen, Servais Knaven, Wilfried Cretskens (Quick.Step), Luis Pasamontes,
Jeremy Hunt and Baden Cooke (Unibet.com), Graeme Brown, Jan Boven, Mathew Hayman
(Rabobank), Enrico Gasparotto (Liquigas), Evert Verbist, Niko Eeckhout, Kurt
Hovelynck, Frederik Willems, Jens Renders (all Chocolade Jacques), Gert Steegmans
(Davitamon-Lotto), David Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet), Massimiliano Mori, Stephan
Cohnen (Naturino), René Weissinger, Aart Vierhouten (Skil Shimano).
As you can see, Quick.Step has the numbers... The only rider who missed the
break was Sebastian Rosseler. If they don't win this race, there will be questions
asked. But it's not over yet.
14:52 CEST 149km/51km to go
The lead group passes
the line for the first time with three laps to go, with Quick.Step leading them
through. A massive crowd has turned out to watch this finish.
14:53 CEST 149km/51km to go
Jan Boven (Rabobank)
has stopped in the feed zone, looking a little stressed. Possibly cramps, as
he doesn't look like he crashed.
14:54 CEST
We spoke to Rabobank's Graeme Brown
before the start today, and the Australian sprinter wasn't sure what to expect.
CN: You've been riding well over the last few weeks, so are you looking
for a big ride today?
GB: Yeah, I hope so - that's
definitely the goal. It's the kind of race that suits me, I guess; but there's
quite a few good riders (half-laughs) that could make it a bit hard.
CN: What your team is planning on today?
GB:
Well, up until the last lap, it will be a bunch sprint for me, but we've got
different cards to play and we'll just see how it pans out on the last lap.
14:57 CEST 152km/48km to go
Renders asks his
team director for a bidon, and gets one. Weylandt also signals for the Quick.Step
car. Chocolade Jacques has lost a man in Frederik Willems, reducing it to four
riders. Normally that would seem to be a lot in a 22 man break, but not when
there are seven Quick.Steps including Tom Boonen.
15:02 CEST 155km/45km to go
The leaders are now
well into their first of three laps, and are working reasonably hard. The peloton
is at 9'39 and will probably get pulled out of the race before the last lap.
Here it comes through the start/finish, not riding that hard. Seb Rosseler looks
a bit lost without all his teammates.
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15:04 CEST
Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) is also
in the front group. We cornered him this morning in Antwerp.
CN:
Most times this race ends in a bunch sprint, so is that what your team is either
planning or hoping for?
BC: Yeah - we've got Jeremy
Hunt and myself here today, so we're hoping for a bunch sprint. We'll probably
put guys in the breakaways to cover those, but we're hoping for a bunch sprint.
CN: Lately, you haven't had the chance to use your sprint, so have you
been working on it during training?
BC: No, I
haven't worked on it - I've just been working on getting strong for the classics
and haven't trained my sprint all year, so it's probably not the sharpest it's
ever been. But after this period when I have some time off, that's when I'll
sharpen up for the racing at the end of the month.
15:08 CEST 159km/41km to go
The leaders complete
the Broekstraat cobbles with Pasamontes doing some work for Hunt and Cooke.
Now they're alongside the Albertkanaal again, punching along against the headwind.
The cooperation is quite good.
Belgian television has confirmed that
Van Petegem has broken his collarbone and will be operated on today.
15:13 CEST 162km/38km to go
There are quite a
few sprinters in this front group, but none of them will be particularly keen
to go head to head with Tom Boonen. Besides Tom, we have Weylandt and De Jongh
(from his own team), Hunt and Cooke (Unibet), Brown (Rabobank), Vierhouten (Skil),
Gasparotto (Liquigas), Eeckhout (Chocolade Jacques) and Steegmans (Davitamon).
The leaders turn off from the canal and are in the streets of Schoten.
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15:15 CEST
David O'Loughlin (Navigators) spoke
to us today at the start in Antwerp as well.
CN: What's the
team plan today?
D'OL: A couple of us are going
to try and get away early and get in the early move, and if it comes to the
final, we'll help Hilton Clarke and Oleg Grishkine in the sprint.
CN: This race often does come down to a bunch sprint, so is that what
your team is counting on?
D'OL: Oh, we've got
good guys here for a breakaway; we've got Sergey Lagutin, [Valery] Kobzarenko
and we've got good sprinters as well, so we can play both cards.
15:17 CEST 165km/35km to go
Hunt stops for a
rear flat, and gets a pretty decent change and is on his way again. The leaders
are at the finish line with two laps to travel. The fireworks might start on
the next lap. Who will Quick.Step work for today? Probably Boonen, but if another
of their riders has a chance, then Boonen would be happy as well.
15:19 CEST
Hunt gets a little 'attention' on
his brakes as he chases back onto the group. He's there now, eating, drinking
and making merrie.
15:20 CEST
The leaders again: Tom Boonen, Wouter
Weylandt, Kevin Hulsmans, Steven de Jongh, Geert Verheyen, Servais Knaven, Wilfried
Cretskens (Quick.Step), Luis Pasamontes, Jeremy Hunt and Baden Cooke (Unibet.com),
Graeme Brown, Mathew Hayman (Rabobank), Enrico Gasparotto (Liquigas), Evert
Verbist, Niko Eeckhout, Kurt Hovelynck, Jens Renders (all Chocolade Jacques),
Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto), David Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet), Massimiliano
Mori, Stephan Cohnen (Naturino), René Weissinger, Aart Vierhouten (Skil Shimano).
15:22 CEST 169km/31km to go
Boonen gets some
assistance from a teammate to take a nature break. It's a relaxed sort of pace
at the moment, but the start of the race was very hard, and no-one would have
had a chance to relieve themselves. The break got away in the first 20 km.
15:24 CEST 170km/30km to go
Somewhat surprisingly,
everyone is still working in the group, instead of letting Quick.Step do the
whole lot. The slight problem with that tactic is that you allow one team to
dictate the pace to suit their plans. It's likely that on the last lap, Quick.Step
will up the tempo to prevent attacks.
15:27 CEST 173km/27km to go
The pace lifts a
bit thanks to a turn by Steegmans, then Eeckhout comes through as they navigate
the back streets of the suburb of Schoten.
The peloton is continually
losing time to the 22 man break, and it's now languishing at 13'31. Even if
they don't get pulled out at the end of this lap, then quite a few riders will
still step off and watch the finish.
15:30 CEST 175km/25km to go
It is quite a pleasant
circuit through the trees and grand houses in this part of Antwerp. The riders
should be quite familiar with it by now.
The Broekstraat once again,
with Cretskens on the front. Then Steegmans attacks!! Well, why not?
15:32 CEST 176km/24km to go
Steegmans looks quite
good as he gets 5 seconds. Now the reactions start. Hovelynck is the first to
catch him. Then the rest of the group.
Meanwhile, the peloton passes
the line at 14'10 and is pulled out of the race.
15:33 CEST 177km/23km to go
Matt Hayman is another
rider in the break, which is alongside the Albertkanaal being paced by a few
tourists who haven't ridden the last 175 km.
"We've got to try and
be in any breaks and then see what the tactics are from [Davitamon] Lotto and
Quick.Step, how much faith [Davitamon-Lotto] has got in McEwen, whether he says
he's good or not," said Hayman. "Quick.Step last year, they let it [the break]
go - I don't think it'll happen again this year; if we get towards the end [in
one bunch], then everything's for Graeme [Brown], but before that, I'll try
and be in the offensive."
15:34 CEST 177km/23km to go
A Naturino rider
attacks next, Stefan Cohnen (Naturino). No reaction.
15:36 CEST 178km/22km to go
Cohnen pedals a big
gear against this stiff headwind, and opens up a 16 second gap to the uninterested
lead group.
15:37 CEST 179km/21km to go
Cohnen doesn't have
anyone to help, and with four Quick.Steps on the front it doesn't look good.
He has 23 seconds, and they can get that back very quickly. But leaving him
in front is a good idea - one less rider to worry about.
15:38 CEST 180km/20km to go
But full credit to
Cohnen for taking the initiative. Otherwise it's all going to play into Quick.Step's
hands for a group sprint. The Dutchman has half a minute.
15:40 CEST 181km/19km to go
Verheyen, Cretskens,
Knaven and Hulsmans lead the peloton, while De Jongh and Weylandt stay back
with Boonen. The gap is growing and it's now 36 seconds. That's impressive from
Cohnen, as the pace isn't that slow.
15:43 CEST 183km/17km to go
Cohnen reaches the
final kilometre and rides alone, cheered on by everyone lining the road. The
21 rider bunch strings out now in pursuit. Let's see how long he can hang on.
He crosses the line with one 17 km lap to go.
Cohnen take the first
left hander past the finish, as the blue and white train comes through at 27
seconds. Boonen is in about seventh wheel behind all of his teammates. Now the
pace will be on.
15:45 CEST 185km/15km to go
Cretskens continues
to lead as Boonen tightens his straps. Eeckhout is glued to the world champion's
wheel. Probably a good one today.
Cohnen has 24 seconds and is working
rather hard to keep them.
15:47 CEST 186km/14km to go
Cohnen pedals a huge
gear, often getting out of the saddle to get a bit more power and ease the pressure.
Cretskens keeps the gap at 26 seconds.
Brown is on Eeckhout's wheel.
Steegmans sits right at the back with Weissinger.
15:48 CEST 187km/13km to go
Quick.Step definitely
doesn't want to catch Cohnen too early, because that opens them up for counter
attacks. For some reason, riders seem afraid to attack when there's already
someone out there. Probably because they have to close the gap all by themselves
in order to be in a winning position.
15:49 CEST 187km/13km to go
Verheyen now takes
over, lifting the pace and knocking a few seconds off the Dutchman's lead. It's
21 seconds now.
15:50 CEST 188km/12km to go
Cretskens gets back
on the front of the bunch, putting his head down and allowing Cohnen a few more
seconds but then pegs them back. 19 seconds.
15:51 CEST 189km/11km to go
Cohnen checks behind
him and sees a mass of blue and white chasing him. Boonen is in seventh wheel
still, while Cooke and Hunt have moved up to position themselves for what could
well be a group sprint. Let's see if Steegmans can do something soon.
15:53 CEST 190km/10km to go
Inside the final
10 kilometres and the leader is still Stefan Cohnen (Naturino). The Dutch rider
is nearly at the Broekstraat for the last time, at the moment riding through
the tree lined streets. 14 seconds. He's suffering.
15:54 CEST 192km/8km to go
Cohnen looks back
again, and he has 12 seconds as he hits the Broekstraat. He's going to need
more than that.
15:55 CEST
Now Quick.Step hammers onto the cobbles,
keeping the tempo high to stop the attacks. That could spell the end of Cohnen,
but we'll see. Having him out there is still good for Boonen's team.
15:56 CEST 193km/7km to go
Cohnen reaches the
smooth part in the middle of the cobbles. He's pretty tired, but he still has
12 seconds. Knaven finally comes through and he will be a bit fresher. 11 seconds.
15:56 CEST
Pasamontes opens the attacks from
behind. Now it should really be on. They're going to have to chase him.
15:58 CEST 194km/6km to go
They hit the kanaal
with Pasamontes and Cohnen leading. But Quick.Step are very close behind them
and it's clear that they are controlling the situation well. Cohnen gets the
Spaniard's wheel and almost hopes that the bunch will catch them soon.
15:58 CEST 195km/5km to go
Cohnen does a turn
with Pasamontes, and the pair get a little more of a gap. Quick.Step wants them
out there. Cohnen suffers on a small hill and Pasamontes is alone.
15:59 CEST
Pasamontes looks back and sees that
he has five seconds. Five kilometres to go. He keeps looking back. He's back
in the bunch.
16:00 CEST 196km/4km to go
All together at 4.5
km to go. Two Jacques riders are in last wheel, while Steegmans sits in third
last, looking relaxed. Who will be next to attack?
16:01 CEST 196.5km/3.5km to go
Verheyen is back
on the front with Cretskens as they near the end of the Albertkanaal headwind
section. Steegmans is moving up. Vierhouten at the back.
16:03 CEST 197.5km/2.5km to go
Suddenly, the
pace lifts as they exit the canal. Brown has Boonen's wheel, with Eeckhout behind
him. Steegmans is trying to move up and has Brown's wheel. Cooke is also there
- they're all fighting for Boonen's wheel. There looks to be only one result
in that case.
16:03 CEST 198km/2km to go
Verheyen Cretskens
and do big turns with 2.4 km to go, really hurting themselves to get this train
in order. No-one can seem to challenge them yet. But maybe in the final kilometre.
16:05 CEST 198.5km/1.5km to go
2 km and Verheyen
still hammers on the front. Then Cretskens.
Hayman moves up to shelter
Brown, who has Boonen's wheel.
Mori attacks! Knaven marks him and
the Italian is suddenly and quickly dropped.
16:05 CEST 199km/1km to go
Knaven drives the
tempo up, then Hulsmans, Weylandt, De Jongh and Boonen. Then Vierhouten and
Hayman and Brown. Hunt moves up behind Vierhouten.
Hulsmans does
his turn, then Weylandt.
16:07 CEST 200km/0km to go
Weylandt starts the
sprint from a long way out (and he can certainly do this!), then De Jongh, then
Boonen takes over immediately and wins the Scheldeprijs!! De Jongh and impressive
second. Steegmans third.
16:08 CEST
Well, the pressure was on Quick.Step
today, and they delivered in spades. Seven guys in the break, first and second
at the finish. Very strong stuff. That's a good way for Boonen to finish off
the first part of his season, where he has collected 13 wins. And that was a
hell of a lead out from Weylandt, Hulsmans and Knaven.
16:19 CEST
That's Boonen's second win in the
Scheldeprijs (also in 2004), and a very polished one it was. Quick.Step rode
extremely well to take the race in hand from the start, and none of the other
teams had the strength to challenge.
Boonen himself was surprised
at how good he felt today after Sunday, even after a Duvel last night. And he'll
get a big bolleke (De Koninck) now to wash down the champagne. There's
plenty of people to catch him when he falls off the podium.
Tot volgende
keer: the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday. Now where was that barge...
Results
Provisional 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic 2 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quickstep-Innergetic 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 4 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 5 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 6 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 7 Jens Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 8 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano 9 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 10 René Weissinger (Ger) Skil-Shimano
