{"id":4066,"date":"2014-04-25T05:42:47","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T05:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankpunk.com\/?p=4066"},"modified":"2014-05-01T08:35:10","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T08:35:10","slug":"the-conspiracy-why-paris-roubaix-14-ended-in-anti-climax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/04\/25\/the-conspiracy-why-paris-roubaix-14-ended-in-anti-climax\/","title":{"rendered":"The Conspiracy: why Paris-Roubaix ’14 ended in anti-climax"},"content":{"rendered":"

25km to go. Niki Terpstra is up the road. behind him, a supremely powerful collection of riders that represent much of the cream of one-day specialists and the fast flat men of professional cycling are poised to pounce, ready, we all imagined, to batter each other into the ground. would it be Cancellara who would put the hammer down, to speed in that inimitable manner of his imperiously to the line?<\/p>\n

or would we be treated to be the wondrous sight of this posse roaring into the Roubaix Velodrome en masse, gobbling up Terpstra meters from the line, all fighting elbow to arse for the victory?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

it looked for all the world that it had to be one of these options. until the point at which Terpstra got away and we realised he was going to stay away, it had been one of the most riveting, full-blooded editions of P-R in living memory.<\/p>\n

but then…. well, the raging phalanx went limp. flaccid. deflated. however you want to describe it, what we all witnessed was a massive anti-climax.<\/p>\n

How? Why? WTF?<\/p>\n

We all know the how: everyone just stopped riding.<\/p>\n

And the why?<\/p>\n

well, imagine, if you can for a brief moment, that you are Cancellara. or Wiggins. or anyone else who might have had the power to break that group. would you want to be the man responsible for dragging Boonen to the velodrome, overtaking Terpstra in the process, and handing the Belgian Golden Boy his record-making 5th Roubaix cobblestone?<\/p>\n

no chance. Cancellara may respect Boonen, he may even like him, but he, like the others in\u00a0 that group, most would have felt that a Terpstra one-off was better for all but Our Tom. it’s not bitterness nor evidence of any kind of rancour, it’s just highly competitive men taking care of business.<\/p>\n

with Stybar also in the mix for OPQS, the Belgian team would in all probability have won anyway, whatever the permutation of riders that could\/would have been there at the end.<\/p>\n

Boonen was not happy, saying he had the legs to win, but he could hardly criticise his competitors for not riding when his teammate had just won the biggest one-day race of the season. if you know how much Boonen wants five wins here, to eclipse his biggest critic, Roger de Vlaeminck (who also has four wins), then you’d know just how miffed he was.<\/p>\n

but they could not, would not drag him to the line.<\/p>\n

and that, I reckon, is why the finale of Paris-Roubaix went so terribly flat. popped cork, indeed.<\/p>\n

\"four,
four, not five… not yet<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

25km to go. Niki Terpstra is up the road. behind him, a supremely powerful collection of riders that represent much of the cream of one-day specialists and the fast flat men of professional cycling are poised to pounce, ready, we all imagined, to batter each other into the ground. would it be Cancellara who would put the hammer down, to speed in that inimitable manner of his imperiously to the line? or would we be treated to be the wondrous sight of this posse roaring into the Roubaix Velodrome en masse, gobbling up Terpstra meters from the line, all fighting elbow to arse for the victory?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":40955418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":[],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Conspiracy: why Paris-Roubaix '14 ended in anti-climax","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[159546164],"tags":[1173184,990449,4853031,125028014,227768,9543826,448682],"class_list":["post-4066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-punkopinion","tag-1173184","tag-boonen","tag-cancellara","tag-crankpunk","tag-finale","tag-lee-rodgers","tag-paris-roubaix"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2OfoS-13A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4029,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/04\/16\/how-boonen-sagan-lost-paris-roubaix\/","url_meta":{"origin":4066,"position":0},"title":"how Boonen & Sagan lost Paris-Roubaix","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"4\u6708 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Crikey, what an edition of Paris-Roubaix that was. If you weren\u2019t up out of your seat several times over the last 60km, you\u2019re either terminally bed-ridden or already devoid of breath. It was that thrilling. We, the weatherbeaten scandal-weary cycling fans, finally got just what we\u2019d been begging for like\u2026","rel":"","context":"boonen","block_context":{"text":"boonen","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/tag\/boonen\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p20901581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p20901581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p20901581.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p20901581.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p20901581.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p20901581.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3939,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/04\/05\/what-we-know-ahead-of-flanders\/","url_meta":{"origin":4066,"position":1},"title":"what we know ahead of Flanders….","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"4\u6708 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"You can talk about Milan-San Remo being a Monument classic but I think you\u2019ll all nod sagely in agreement with me when I say that the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are truly the Big Ones of the Spring. I mean, naturally, no disrespect to San Remo, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"2014 Euro adventure","block_context":{"text":"2014 Euro adventure","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/2014-euro-adventure\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/booncacel-h380-568.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/booncacel-h380-568.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/booncacel-h380-568.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4040,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/04\/21\/chasing-paris-roubaix-a-day-on-the-cobbles\/","url_meta":{"origin":4066,"position":2},"title":"chasing Paris-Roubaix: a day on the cobbles","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"4\u6708 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"this article originally appeared in PezCycling News all images by Lee Rodgers __________________________________ \u00a0 Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. \u201cForward, the Light Brigade! \u201cCharge for the guns!\u201d he said: Into the valley of Death Rode\u2026","rel":"","context":"2014 Euro adventure","block_context":{"text":"2014 Euro adventure","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/2014-euro-adventure\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p2090024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p2090024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p2090024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p2090024.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p2090024.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/p2090024.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1632,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/04\/08\/crankpunk-paris-roubaix-pez\/","url_meta":{"origin":4066,"position":3},"title":"crankpunk, Paris-Roubaix & PEZ","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"4\u6708 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"oof, flowery, this one!","rel":"","context":"crankpunk racing","block_context":{"text":"crankpunk racing","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/crankpunk-racing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/58022_10151520557169291_1573584348_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3960,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/04\/10\/crankpunk-on-the-paris-roubaix-favorites\/","url_meta":{"origin":4066,"position":4},"title":"crankpunk on the Paris-Roubaix favorites","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"4\u6708 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"yes. it is almost here. hot diggity damn. this article originally appeared on The Roar. \u00a0 _____________________________ \u00a0 \u201cHow can somebody be in love with Hell? \u00a0It\u2019s a contradiction. Makes no sense. Most would call it madness\u2026 \u00a0\u201cIn a religious context, Hell is a place of punishment in the afterlife,\u2026","rel":"","context":"boonen","block_context":{"text":"boonen","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/tag\/boonen\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cobbles1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cobbles1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cobbles1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cobbles1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cobbles1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cobbles1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3466,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/30\/can-wiggins-win-paris-roubaix\/","url_meta":{"origin":4066,"position":5},"title":"Can Wiggins win Paris-Roubaix?","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cillian Kelly Milan San Remo: 2nd Tour of Flanders: 7th Paris-Roubaix: 4th Liege-Bastogne-Liege: 3rd Tour of Lombardy: 2nd These are the best results in all five monument classics in the career of a particular cyclist. It's an impressive collection of placings for any rider in any era. This rider,\u2026","rel":"","context":"history of cycling","block_context":{"text":"history of cycling","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/history-of-cycling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/bradley-wiggins_62_1621333a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/bradley-wiggins_62_1621333a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/bradley-wiggins_62_1621333a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Lee Rodgers","author_link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/author\/crankpunk\/"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"punkopinion<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"25km to go. Niki Terpstra is up the road. behind him, a supremely powerful collection of riders that represent much of the cream of one-day specialists and the fast flat men of professional cycling are poised to pounce, ready, we all imagined, to batter each other into the ground. would it be Cancellara who would…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40955418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4066"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17165,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions\/17165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}