What’s So Great About the Tour de France?

Posted on July 16, 2010 by

The next time someone asks you what’s so great about the Tour de France, send them here.


I can’t wait for Part II.


Which is your favorite?

Posted in Races | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What Made This Year’s Tour de France Exciting?

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

Pavé would like to thank Handspun, Clément, and Laekhouse for supporting our coverage of the 2011 Tour de France.

Fotoreporter Sirotti

Wow, what an amazing Tour de France this one was! From where we sat, it was one of the most engaging Tours we’ve seen in a long time. What made it a particularly memorable one? We share some of our impressions below.

1. Unpredictability

We raise our thumbs for this Tour’s unpredictability –  coming in, we shared the view of many that the GC fight would be a two-man battle between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck, much like how it was last year. We even ruminated on who, among what we thought was the field of lesser contenders, would complete the podium. And boy, were we surprised.

In the other leaders’ jerseys, the fights also carried a lot of volatility. Cavendish’s 20-point penalty on Stage 18 made the battle for Green significantly less predictable. Stage 19 promised a short and furiously fast stage, and we wish that we had had access to more coverage of the autobus fight, as we’re sure JJ Rojas of Movistar fought valiantly to make the time cut he knew Cav would miss. In the polka-dot fight, Jelle Vanendert’s performance in the second week put other pretenders on the defensive, and they rose to the challenge. Sammy Sanchez is truly a deserving winner in the finale with his show of strength on Luz Ardiden. And not to forget the White jersey battle between Europcar, Cofidis, and Sky, working hard for Pierre Rolland, Rein Taaramae, and Rigoberto Uran in the closing days of the Tour.

In the intermediate, we were impressed by Hushovd and Voeckler defending the Maillot Jaune despite everyone expecting them to lose it at any moment. They both rode above themselves in order to keep the honor for another day – Hushovd clinging with the leaders on power climbs, and Voeckler refusing to be shaken off in the mountains until it became clear that his ride was going to keep him high on the final GC. Furthermore, after Hushovd lost the jersey, he continued his impressive performance with a stage win from a long solo breakaway in a very charismatic fashion – truly honoring his World Champion’s stripes.

2. Positive racing

Speaking of the GC unpredictability, Contador’s surprising time losses – and his resurgence – changed the calculus of the GC contenders completely. Last year, the tour became a 2-way race early, with Frank Schleck and Cadel Evans exiting early due to crashes and injuries. In this edition, the top contenders managed their risk by making opportunities and forcing others to fight – indeed, that we saw a rider like Tommy Voeckler go from being an “escape specialist” to actually being a top contender highlights this.  Cadel Evans also did the unthinkable: he attacked many times and managed to drop one Schleck or the other or both, and Alberto Contador.

It’s hard to mention positive racing without giving the Tour’s first week a hearty nod. Stages with exciting power-climb finishes offered an opportunity for classics stars like Phillipe Gilbert to shine, as well as an opportunity for a GC contenders to race hard early in the race without too much fear of exhaustion; they also offered more drawn-out excitement than the drag race of a conventional sprint finish, early-Tour form-checks, and all in all explosive, full-stop throw-down bragging-rights racing. You can’t help but believe that Evans got a big boost of confidence with his Stage 4 win over a bikethrowing, fistpumping (but mistakenly celebrating) Alberto Contador. Evans’ first Tour de France stage win came on a classics-style finish, years after people first started shaking their heads and suggesting he stick to one-day races instead of Grand Tours.

3. Heroes getting their due

While we were thrilled that Evans and Voeckler received the accolade they deserved, we were even happier for Pierre Rolland of Europcar winning the White Jersey fight. Perhaps he was the revelation of this year’s Tour. After a few glimpses of brilliance in Critérium International and several editions of le Dauphiné Libéré, he fought day after day after day for team leader Tommy Voeckler, staying with the favorites even in the highest Alpine finishes. When given the opportunity, he took it with confidence and won the prestigious Alpe d’Huez stage and clinched the White jersey after a good time trial.

Another emotional moment was when Johnny Hoogerland, having received serious injuries in Stage 9, soldiered on to be crowned King of the Mountains for the day. Overcome with emotion, he cried on-stage and vowed to fight on to defend his jersey. 

4. Breakthrough teams

Garmin-Cervelo deserves credit for finally having its breakthrough season. A win in Paris-Roubaix, a win in the TTT, and stage wins by Tyler Farrar and Thor Hushovd proved that they made the right investments. The question is then whether they will be able to retain their star riders.

Despite losing Bradley Wiggins to injury, Team Sky can still call this TdF a successful one, with Edvald Boasson-Hagen’s two stage wins and Rigoberto Uran’s few days’ stint in white. They can take particular cheer from Boasson-Hagen’s performance – he threw down capably in both sprint finishes (including 2nd on the Champs Elysees) and day-long breakaways. In the early Alpine stages, Sky also showed that they can put up a decent defense of a leader’s jersey (Uran’s position in the Young Rider’s competition), even if in the end it didn’t work out for the best.

Meanwhile, Thomas Voeckler’s Europcar impressed by rising to the challenge of defending their leader’s Yellow Jersey. Europcar came perilously close to not existing, as its former incarnation Bbox Bouygues Telecom struggled to find sponsorship while riders fled a sinking ship. Thomas Voeckler famously stayed on, and Europcar signed as a sponsor. They must be pleased with the return on their investment after this year’s Tour – the team stayed at the front of the field during Voeckler’s reign in yellow, keeping breakaways in check and Voeckler out of trouble. In the end, they delivered Voeckler to a 4th place on the GC and Pierre Rolland to the Young Rider’s competition. An Impressive performance by a team that almost wasn’t.

Another team to mention is Team BMC. As a young team, they do not yet have the long history of more established rivals. But with Cadel Evans’ win, they showed that their focused investment was the right one. 

What did you think? What made this year’s Tour exciting for you?

Posted in Featured, Races | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

What if Nys Really Sold Gieten?

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

This is where it all looked good and most people thought that it was a done deal, as Vantornout was leading by a few bike-lengths. But note, that Nys had already started sprinting. – Balint

By now most cross fans have seen and/or read about the final lap in Gieten on Sunday and several of the theories surrounding the bizarre final few hundred meters that saw Sven Nys nearly steal victory. Regardless of what you have heard, there are a few things that definitely occurred. Towards the end of the final lap, Klass Vantornout attacks Nys and Kevin Pauwels, ultimately gaping Pawuels. A few moments later, Nys bobbles in the mud, allowing Vantornout to hit the finishing straight with a gap.

From there things get interesting and the conspiracy theories begin to rage. Nys appears to realize he’s gaped and sits up, then he changes his mind and/or sees Vantornout slowing and decides to sprint. Vantornout holds on to win by a tire width. The picture above shows a slightly different scenario where Nys realizes he’s gaped  begins to wind up his sprint, but takes too long and narrowly misses out on victory. Regardless of what you saw, the fact remains that something goofy appeared to happen.

While we won’t divulge into any specific conspiracy theory, the real question is why would Nys purposely lose this race? If, in fact, he negotiated a deal with Vantornout and/or Pauwels what would Nys have to gain from the situation (beyond monetary compensation)? The answer is quite simple: nothing. However, if you look at it from the perspective of what Nys had to lose, you come to the same conclusion: nothing. Could a deal have been struck between the two men? Possibly. What would the outcome have looked like if Nys won? Here’s what each scenario would have looked like:

Klass Vantornout Wins

Klass Vantornout’s victory on Sunday marks his second win of the season and his biggest victory since he won this race in 2008. After pushing Sven Nys to the limit last weekend in Gavere, Vantornout was finally able to beat the nearly unstoppable Belgian National Champion. The victory also marks a major step forward for the Sunweb-Revor team, which has only won two races this year (Vantornout’s in Kemriscross and Kevin Pauwels in Tabor). The team has come under heavy criticism as of late and the dynamic duo of Vantornout and Pauwels has failed to play out like in previous years.

Unfortunately for Sven Nys, his Superprestige winning streak came to an end on Sunday in Gieten. The Belgian champ seemed to be in complete control of the race despite being the middle of a Sunweb-Revor sandwich. Had Nys not faltered in the mud, or had the finish line been a few more meters down the road, he most certainly would have one. After all, he showed everyone in Gavere that he can out-sprint Vantornout. More importantly though, Nys’ gap on Albert grew to eleven points, nearly locking up the overall for Nys.

Sven Nys Wins

Sven Nys is the man to beat after another impressive sprint victory in Gieten on Sunday. For the second straight week Nys out sprinted Klass Vantornout in a spectacular finish that saw the duo drop Vantornout’s teammate Kevin Pauwels in the final few hundred meters. The Sunweb-Revor duo once again failed to get rid of Nys, who has won every Superprestige race this season. As a result, Nys stretches his lead to 12 points over Niels Albert, nearly locking up the overall.

The heavy criticism of the Sunweb-Revor team will continue this week as the team has only picked up two victories this season (Vantornout’s in Kemriscross and Pauwels in Tabor) and has failed to deploy the team tactics that have made them so successful in the past. If Albert can’t beat Nys and Pauwels and Vantornout can’t beat him, the real question is who can?

There you have it. Either one of those endings makes for a great story. However, Vantornout winning changes almost everything for him and his team. Win or lose, Nys remains in control of the Superprestige series. What really happened? We may never know. Nys may have started his sprint too late, or maybe he struck a deal in a race who’s outcome didn’t really matter for a favor down the road. For now, congratulations to Vantornout on a hard fought victory.

One last note: at this level of the sport it is not uncommon for riders to simply give up in the sprint. Time and time again, you’ll see riders sprint for a few meters and realize they just don’t have it. So to see Nys give up is not surprising. To see him resprint, well that’s the whole reason for this article.

Posted in Races | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Welcome to Pavé!

Posted on July 3, 2010 by

Thanks for visiting us in our new home.  While we might need a few days to work out some kinks, we hope you like the new confines.  Please update your bookmarks, feeds, and readers.


As always, please feel free to share your comments, suggestions, and feedback–we appreciate the advice as we try to make the new site as perfect as possible.


Enjoy!



Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Weekly Cyclocross Report – Power Rankings and Preview

Posted on November 13, 2009 by

Better late than never, right? Erik’s been in California for the week, learning the tricks of the trade at Specialized’s Corporate Headquarters. Luckily, we were able to tear him away long enough to get the latest installment of his Power Rankings–albeit a bit late. We hope you enjoy; and please, share your comments below!

Now that we’re past the midway point of the season in the United States, we’re starting to see several riders who are clearly better than the rest. The only issue that remains is completing the top-10 beyond the top-5. I hoped last weekend would give me a clearer view since there was only one UCI race in the US. However, most of the top guys decided to take the weekend off to rest before embarking on the final month of races leading up to Nationals. In Europe, the top-10 remained primarily the same as we’re seeing more consistent riding from the top names in the sport. On both continents the top-5 appears to be set for a while, as the lead groups don’t seem to be changing. We are seeing some interesting changes within the lead groups though. This weekend, Jeremy Powers and Jamey Driscoll picked-up solid wins, while Niels Albert returned to the top step of the podium slightly ahead of Zdenek Stybar, who continues to ride extremely well. Behind, there’s still a struggle to stay in the top-10, as consistent results are hard to find.

In Europe, the cream of the crop traveled to France to contest another round of the World Cup. Once again, Niels Albert took the win, but this time he had company in the form of Zdenek Stybar. Sven Nys—whose latest excuse is an increase in training—came home in 3rd. It was no surprise to see Francis Mourey in 5th place (he’s finished in that same spot at all the World Cups this year). Christian Heule returned to the top-10 and Martin Zlamalik continued his recent string of success. Obviously, the big story was Stybar, who actually attacked Albert and nearly pulled-off the upset. It is becoming increasingly clear that Sven Nys isn’t riding like he used to, more importantly, Albert isn’t as dominant as he was in the early part of the season. Thus, it’s becoming crowded at the front of races in Europe right now, which means races are less predictable and the playing field is becoming more even. It’s shaping-up to be a very exciting season.

It’s been a few weeks since there was only one UCI race in the US, but the expected showdown of the big boys will have to wait a week. Most of the top US guys are maxed-out on UCI points, so for them it’s all about the National series and championships. Thus, both Tim Johnson and Ryan Trebon took the weekend off. Johnson caught-up on some well-deserved rest, while Trebon stayed home, trying to recover from his accident in Kentucky. Even Jeremy Powers only raced on Saturday (he won). Both races in Massachusetts this past weekend were marred by bad crashes at the start, and several poorly timed mechanicals. Adam Craig continued his recent string of success, making me regret keeping him off last week’s rankings. As far as the rest of the rankings go, you’ll notice that it once again has evolved. The list was designed to identify the top-10 cross racers in the country. So, you’ll notice riders who didn’t race remaining on the list.

Without further ado, here’s this weeks rankings:

North American Rankings:

1. Jamey Driscoll (3) – Driscoll’s consistency finally paid-off with a well-deserved victory on Sunday. It could be argued that if Powers or Johnson were there he probably wouldn’t have won, but Driscoll definitely earned it. The win is a good confidence-booster before this weekend’s USGP race in New Jersey, where he’ll defend his series lead.
2. Jeremy Powers (2) – Powers was clearly the best rider on Saturday, and probably would have won on Sunday if entered. Like his teammate Driscoll, Powers can use his win as a boost for next weekend’s mid-Atlantic showdown.
3. Dan Timmerman (10) – Without a rolled tire on Sunday, Timmerman would most likely have landed on the podium on consecutive days. He ended up 7th after fighting his way back into the top-10. It was another solid performance from the New Yorker as he continues to stretch his NECCS lead.
4. Nicholas Weighall (6) – Weighall followed his superb performance last weekend with a pair of top-5’s in New England. He’s clearly on a roll right now, but we’ll see how he does when the big guns roll into New Jersey this weekend.
5. Derrick St. John (na) – St. John has been in the rankings before. He seems to stick to races in Canada, so perhaps he’s branching out. Regardless, when he shows up he races well and always has a good result.
6. Adam Craig (na) – I left Craig off of last week’s rankings because I thought the Colorado races were a one-time deal. If Craig stays East for a few weekends, he’ll stay on the list, if this was a one shot deal, he’ll drop back off. He’s capable of good cross results, so it’s nice to see him racing.
7. Tim Johnson (1) – Johnson took a well-deserved rest weekend a head of two more rounds of the USGP. He’ll follow that up with two rounds of the NACT, where he’ll defend his jersey.
8. Ryan Trebon (9) – The effects of Trebon’s crash remain to be seen. He’s definitely gunning for the USGP overall, so this weekend’s races are very important. The question remains: can he beat Johnson?
9. Valentin Scherz (7) – Scherz won two non-UCI races this weekend, including another MAC race. This weekend, he should be an interesting wild card and may wind-up in the lead group.
10. Jesse Anthony (4) – The roller coaster ride that plagued Anthony’s early season seems to have returned. He appears to still have some form, but we’ll find out the truth this weekend.

Dropped this week: Geoff Kabush (5) and Dan Summerhill (8).

European Rankings:

1. Niels Albert (1) – The only criticism of Albert lately is that he’s not as dominant as he once was. There are still only two riders capable of beating him and I think that it will happen sooner or later.
2. Zdenek Stybar (2) – Last week I posed the question of whether or not Stybar was really better thnn Sven Nys. Once again, he was. Stybar’s notoriety is increasing and we will see how he handles the pressure. I have high expectations for him come late January.
3. Sven Nys (3) – The Great God of Cyclocross continues to struggle to win the way he once did. He’s producing more excuses and still seems to suffer from a bit of bad luck. If he can find some late season success, perhaps he can pick-up some rainbow stripes and justify his up and down season.
4. Kevin Pauwels (4) – Pauwels is still a bit behind the top-3 in the rankings. He’s clearly better than the rest, but still lacks the ability to attack the lead group. That will come with time though.
5. Francis Mourey (na) – Perhaps the true master of consistency, Mourey has finished 5th in every World Cup race this season. He doesn’t race much outside of the World Cups, but still remains one of the best riders in Europe.
6. Martin Zlamalik (na) – Zlamalik finished 7th this weekend, which in and of itself, is very respectable. Zamalik has been on a roll lately, grabbing various podium spots. This may be a sign of better things to come.
7. Radomir Simunek (9) – Finishing just inside the top-10, Simunek continues to ride very well. The issue is he’s still not capable of staying with the lead group. His consistency keeps him in the rankings.
8. Gerben de Knegt (6) – de Knegt remains in the rankings this week with another solid result at a major race. As with Simunek, de Knegt is always there, just never at the front. Regardless, he’s still a very strong rider.
9. Christian Heule (na) – Heule is back in the ranking after another successful World Cup performance. I had high expectations when he first came back after his US trip. He had dwindled a bit lately though; perhaps he’s just trying to peak a few times this year.
10. Enrico Franzoi (na) – Franzoi’s another rider who would be on this list more often if he raced more. Like Mourey, he seems to be a World Cup-only guy, but when he shows, he often does well.

Dropped this week: Erwin Vervecken (7), Klaas Vantornout (5), Bart Aernouts (8), Dieter Vanthourenhout (10).

Both sides of the Atlantic feature important races this weekend. Sven Nys will try to take full command of the Superprestige as it heads to Gavere, Belgium. There are a bevy of other races in Europe as well, but obviously the Superprestige is the biggest and has the most on the line. On the US side of things, it will be a Cyclocrossword/Kona battle for control of the USGP Leader’s Jersey with back-to-back races in New Jersey.

Again, all apologies for the delay in getting the column to you. I know it’s been two weeks in a row, but hopefully it’s worth the wait.

Please share your comments below! Have a great weekend!

Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Cross Report and Power Ranking

Posted on January 22, 2010 by
Erik’s report is a bit late this week–he was in Roubaix doing some advance scouting for his Worlds predictions. He’s back now though, and has provided his weekly dose of commentary. For more, check-out his site, The Run-up.
With a bevy of freshly-crowned National Champions, the cyclocross world returned to a bit of normalcy this past weekend with the penultimate round of the World Cup in Roubaix. The course, which finishes on the famed Roubaix Velodrome, has become famous for its harrowing descents and horrific conditions. Sure enough, the sloppy mud and technical nature of the course led to a natural selection containing all of the big names—except Niels Albert who was clearly suffering from the broken rib he received thanks to a run in with a drunk fan at the Belgian National Championship. Zdenek Stybar was the strongest on the day; he rode clear of the rest of the top-5 with a few laps to go. As a result, he takes sole control of the World Cup and UCI Points overall rankings. Behind him, Klaas Vantornout managed to pick-up second place ahead of a self-proclaimed “not fresh enough” Sven Nys. Last year’s winner, Erwin Vervecken, ended-up 4th, a handful of seconds ahead of Bart Wellens.
The two biggest disappointments of the weekend had to be Francis Mourey and Petr Dlask who finished 21st and 22nd, respectively. As a result, both men are dropped from this week’s Power Rankings. Lars Boom also dropped-out of the Rankings when it was announced that the Dutch National Champion will not be a part of the Dutch Worlds Team due to his desire to focus on the Classics—a bit of a shame if you ask me. From an American standpoint, the biggest disappointment of the weekend came on the women’s side of things when Katie Compton was forced to the sidelines due to persistent leg cramps. As a result she lost her lead in the World Cup and UCI Points overall rankings. And speaking of the Americans, Jonathan Page was the top US rider, finishing 18th. Ryan Trebon made his European debut; he finished a disappointing 39th.
Zdenk Stybar deserves top honors this week, but where does the rest of the field stand? Time to find out:
1. Zdenek Stybar (2) – With only two weeks remaining before the World Championships, Stybar seems to be making all the right moves. After a solid first half of the season, Stybar has come on hard and as a result he currently leads the World Cup and UCI Points overall rankings. With only one World Cup remaining, the pressure is squarely on the Czechs shoulders—not to mention the pressure he’ll face one week later when Worlds are in his backyard.
2. Sven Nys (1) – Nys claimed he lacked the “freshness” to win after a very hectic week. (Sounds like another lame excuse for not winning.) He’s out of contention for pretty much everything except the GVA Trophy. However, all will be forgotten if he picks-up a rainbow jersey in a few weeks.
3. Klaas Vantornout (4) – Vantornout continues to climb the rankings after a very strong late-December and early-January. Right now, I consider him the second-best rider in Belgium—even though he got the better of Nys this week. A trip to Worlds is nearly locked-up for Vantornout; a podium finish is not out of the question.
4. Tom Meeusen (8) – Meesuen won another round of the U23 World Cup this weekend and jumped-up the rankings this week. He’s the best U23 cross rider in the World right now and has proven that he’s one of the top Elite riders as well. The real issue for Meeusen: he’s already being called the next Sven Nys—talk about a tough position to be in.
5. Erwin Vervecken (na) – At the beginning of the year I promised that Vervecken would surprise everyone with one last, great, performance. Honestly, I thought a repeat was in the cards on Sunday in Roubaix. Either way you look at it though, the 38-year-old made his bid for a Worlds spot. He still has some time to pick-up one last “big win,” but to see him race Worlds one last time would cap-off a great farewell season for the superstar.
6. Bart Wellens (na) – Wellens has been very inconsistent since returning to racing after battling a nasty virus. The 4-time World Champion admitted he was unprepared for the Belgian National Championships, where he finished 14th. However, he bounced-back in Roubaix with a superb 5th-place. It’s hard to imagine he’ll be left off the Worlds team, but with his inconsistency it could be a big risk to take.
7. Gerben de Knegt (7) – de Knegt continues to ride very well and hasn’t let his narrow loss to Boom last weekend effect him. He remains the top Dutch rider in the World and his country’s best hope for a medal at Worlds. The 35-year-old is still on my short list of podium contenders; I think he could surprise quite a few people at Worlds.
8. Bart Aernouts (10) – Aernouts finished 7th in Roubaix and as a result, added his name to the Belgian Worlds candidate list. So far, Albert is the only rider guaranteed of a spot since he’s the defending World Champion. And, if you go by my recommendations Aernouts and Pauwels (who once again failed to make the rankings) would get the last two spots (of the 7 allotted for Belgium). It’s amazing to think that some of these riders may not even make the Belgian Worlds team.
9. Niels Albert (na) – Last week Albert got bounced from the rankings; this week’s 8th-place finish hasn’t done much to change my mind. If Albert’s ribs heal a bit more I think he may be able to make a last minute charge for the World Cup and, perhaps, another World Title. Albert’s a true wild-card at this point, but one that cannot be ignored. After all, he still leads the Superprestige series and is within striking distance of the lead in the World Cup, GVA Trophy and UCI Points.
10. Steve Chainel (na) – Chainel’s posted back-to-back top-10 finishes in the last 2 rounds of the World Cup. He had huge support from the hometown crowd in Roubaix and for a few laps it looked like he was going to surprise a number of people. It will be very interesting to see how he does this weekend; he continues to improve every week.
Dropped this week: Francis Mourey (3), Petr Dlask (5), Lars Boom (6) and Dieter Vanthourenhout (9)
With one weekend remaining before the World Championships in Tabor, all eyes will be on Hoogerheide in the Netherlands for the final round of the World Cup. Niels Albert trails Zdenk Stybar by only 16 points. Can the Czech hold on, or does the World Champion have a surprise in store? While it will be our last chance to see where everyone stands before Worlds, this weekend will mark Tim Johnson’s first appearance in Europe. The former Worlds medalist and current US National Champion has taken an unorthodox approach to Worlds (by training in California) and it’s time to see if it will pay-off. As previously mentioned, Katie Compton failed to start last week in Roubaix and has been forced to watch her World Cup title slip away. Can the American bounce back right before Worlds? Or is her season done for good? All in all, a lot of questions will be answered this weekend. But I’m sure a bevy of new ones will arise just in time for the World Championships.
Tagged , | Leave a comment