12k to go and I think Van Baarle has this in the bag…barring any mechanicals.
OMG….horrible crash for Lampaert!!!
Fookin idiot spectators….STAND BACK, FFS!!!
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Ineos finally gets their Roubaix win….really impressive ride by Van Baarle.
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Tough call but I’m putting 50% of the fault on Alex. If spectators are lining the road why are you hugging the edge? Move to the left a foot or two FFS.
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Because it’s the faster line and your on the limit so your looking for all the savings you can find.
It’s like racing a crit and not hitting the apex because a spectator might step out.
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you say that as if with tubular this wouldn’t happen?
This definitely happens in crits without barriers though. I’ve raced where you can’t lean tight to the apex because there are fans standing right on the curb.
I’m with 50/50 at most. That was just an old dude clapping on the side of the road. He wasn’t even moving. There were likely hundreds of people like him out there today.
If you go by the UCI rules that bike path could have been off limits to the riders anyway.
I’ve seen far more egregious moves by spectators.
Just unfortunate. But could have been easily avoided by both parties. Easy to blame either or after the fact.
Blaming the guy just tweeting the video is a bit harsh 
Because then Yves would be riding on the cobbles, when there’s tarmac on the side to ride on. He was on the edge of the tarmac bit closest to the cobbles, not on the gutter.
The rule is for clear differentiated bike paths that are seperate from the normal road, a painted bike lane for example is allowed to be ridden on.
Just because Yves couldve done something different doesn’t mean he was somewhat at fault. He should be able to race his bike without spectators impeding him and getting in the way
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If my assessment is correct (these flats were primarily the result of burping and not punctures) then yes, it would not happen with tubulars.
Look, I am a tubeless guy. I ride them on my road and gravel bikes. I’m a fan……but the increase in flats was painfully obvious this year, which also coincided with more teams running tubeless.
Having watched PR for 30+ years, I can’t ever remember this many flats in a single race.
It wad exceptionally dry and fast though, that will have played a role. Faster means more impact force and thus higher chance of punctures. Also dry often has more sharp edges sticking out that would otherweise be covered a bit.
There hasn’t really been that much change in tyres between last year’s late edition and this years, so don’t really think it’s because of the tyres.
I’m with the 50/50 camp. Really there was no-one to fully blame. The reverse angle below shows that the spectators were standing pretty close behind one of those blocks - which are clearly supposed to prevent the riders from taking the smooth path. And if that group of people aren’t religious cycle fans, can they really be blamed for thinking that the riders are going to be sticking to the cobbles?
It also isn’t really Yves’ fault because he’s just taking the fastest line. And unless someone suggests they barrier every single cobble sector, it’s not really the organisers’ fault either. Maaaaaaybe a moto pilot ahead of the riders should have warned them?
The last point I’d make is that let’s the guy moved his hands back a fraction earlier and Yves missed him by a millimetre and the race carried on as normal. No-one - not us, not Yves, not the commentators - would have even mentioned that spectator or considered it an incident of any sort.
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Respect to the rider but……
Best Crash Ever!!!
It’s not like that at all. The spectator didn’t step out, he was there all along clapping. He just didn’t move out of the way. So Alex either misjudged the guys reach or thought he’d move out of the way at the last second.
Anybody else find it interesting that in both last year’s and this year’s women’s race, the winner was a smaller, lighter framed rider vs a Vos or Kopecky “classics build”? Almost like a Dan Martin or Richie Porte winning. Well-timed moves, tactics and (esp last year) bike handling skills not withstanding.
I’m not sure why everyone remembers tubulars so fondly. The overall number of flats has plummeted.
The above comments stating it is burping might be the case, but is there some proof of it? The biggest risk when riding over angular cobbles is still a pinch flat, especially if you are riding low-pressure tubeless. Sealant won’t do a thing for a clean cut through the sidewall when the rim and rock make a tire sandwich and slam their fist down on it.
Was there any post race commentary from the DSM riders on the performance of their fancy air regulating devices?
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They didn’t run it, backed out last minute
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No, there is no “proof”…at least not as yet. We’ll see what happens post-race. Just to be clear, I didn’t state anything as definitive, it was just my assessment of the situation.
There were clearly more flats this year than ever, more teams rode tubeless than ever…and add in Kristoff’s ride in 2019 where burping was definitely the issue and it seems like a reasonable take.
We’ll see how it plays out…
Check this article out - at least 2 teams had some of their riders riding with inserts - and a few individuals ran tubulars while others on the same team ran non-insert tubeless. - Gallery: 2022 Paris-Roubaix start village tech walk - CyclingTips
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Interesting….appears that what I thought were Aethos frames were indeed Roubaix frames. For some reason I thought Roubaixs had internal cable routing, so when I saw the exposed cables, I assumed they were Aethos frames.
