Gent Wevelgem

Since the race finished in a sprint there isn't nearly as much to say about it. Just after winner Oscar Friere crossed the line, they interviewed him in Spanish, then translated what he said into dutch. Based on my fluency (or lack thereof) of both languages, his interview was pretty boring. He basically said his legs were good and the team was strong. Oh, and he said something about being the first spanish rider to win the race. He then listed his next goals as Amstel Gold (saying that"The hard part is to finish in a group; sometimes i did a good sprint but not for the first position"), Tour de France, Olympics and World Championships.

They also interviewed Robbie McEwen about the sprint and he said that the peloton shot to the right, then to the left and boxed him in so he had nowhere to go.

One problem that's been growing in these pro races is the interference of the motorcycles (photos/video/police.) They get too close to the breakaway riders who obviously use them to draft off of to get a gap.

Mark Cavendish had a few angry words to say about the race afterwards. He said it was too dangerous to sprint. People who can't sprint were giving it a go today because it was a headwind into the finish. He thinks they have every right to finish - especially since it's a one-day race - but it made it too dangerous for those who are actual sprinters. He was almost crashed out five times during the finishing section and didn't even get to sprint. He seemed pretty peeved!

One rider absent from the front of the race for most the day was Tommeke Boonen. According to what he has been saying in interviews, he's saving himself for Paris Roubaix this sunday. From the looks of his effort level the two times i saw his face up front, he looks to be enjoying some nice form!

Sorry i don't have any more stories to tell! I expect Paris Roubaix will be a lot more exciting!

On another note, it turns out that Angel Gomez - the Saunier Duval - Scott guy who crashed in RVV got off easy from his nasty crash. He only has a cut in his knee and a broken elbow. He expects to be back racing in a few weeks. In an interview, he said that he had his head down to look at his bike because he was having mechanical problems and never saw the raised platform. The only part of his bike that was able to be salvaged was his water bottle cages!

Here are a couple of articles that were in Monday's paper following Tour of Flanders. Boonen is basically quoted as saying that he was naturally happy about the win of his teammate Stijn Devolder. He felt as if he won a little. He also talked about once Devolder got a gap, he encouraged Devolder to go for it. But as they say in the article, But next week, in the hell of Parijs-Roubaix becomes Boonen Time again.

On the same sports page, Cancellara is quoted as saying, "being the favorite is not easy."

The headline of the Devolder article is one of my all time favorites now, "Mijn Kinderdroom." This means "My childhood dream." Below his photo there is a short article about Tour of Flanders Wins in the National Champion Jersey.

Second runner up for best headline is the one below the Boonen article. "Geantwoord met the pedalen" (answering with the pedals.) Love that!