Late to the party due to decorating a room while my wife was away. I picked Fem, (On) Brand and Puck and while I can excuse recency bias and sentimentality for giving a podium to Blanka the notion that Fem wouldn’t win and Lucinda come second seems - based on races won- a little hopeful. The elite men is easy - MVDP, Wout and Mikey V. I am a big fan of Joris and his ride to silver last year was a real highlight but Mikey V seems to have stepped up to fill the gap left by Eli. ( MV is a head pick as my heart says Lars )
Loved the Antwerp chapter and how you used getting towed to set the tone with hubris - nice bit of writing there Bill. Left unsaid however was Matthieu not even making the podium (nor Fem for Ethan)? For my $.02 its MVdP, Wout and Lars while for the Women Brand, Fem and Puck (with Brand in my Buffalo Bills role vs Fem’s Chiefs), and if it is not too muddy a top 5 for Vida in U23’s. BTW nice top 25 for Funston @ Hoogerheid.
In my scenario, MvdP is winning or he has to DNF. No middle ground. That’s why I didn’t put him on the podium. It will take catastrophically bad luck for him not to win. I don’t think that will happen but I’m shorting van der Poel for the thrill.
I love the idea of "familiarity breeds contentment." I hope that our North American favorites don't feel any contentment this weekend and push themselves faster and further than ever!
Nothing more energizing than a mis-adventure that is too technical for Google Translate...
Would be fun for Thibau and Vas to hang with the bigs for a while, just to avoid drudgery. Same for the people racing Zoe and Tibor. Fingers crossed for Vida to hang tough, a race I plan to watch!
Well if you had gotten towed in your own home town I suppose that would have been a walk of shame, but since you were somewhere new, it was exhilarating! Im envious of your trip, enjoy and I look forward to your reports.
Bill, Please consider writing a tourist guide book for aging hipsters.
MvdP Rules Nieuwenhuis Nys
Vas Brand Empel
When was the last time you got towed in DC? 😉
LOL. Never in over 20 years. And the signs in DC are much less intelligible. But at least I know the language.
Late to the party due to decorating a room while my wife was away. I picked Fem, (On) Brand and Puck and while I can excuse recency bias and sentimentality for giving a podium to Blanka the notion that Fem wouldn’t win and Lucinda come second seems - based on races won- a little hopeful. The elite men is easy - MVDP, Wout and Mikey V. I am a big fan of Joris and his ride to silver last year was a real highlight but Mikey V seems to have stepped up to fill the gap left by Eli. ( MV is a head pick as my heart says Lars )
Loved the Antwerp chapter and how you used getting towed to set the tone with hubris - nice bit of writing there Bill. Left unsaid however was Matthieu not even making the podium (nor Fem for Ethan)? For my $.02 its MVdP, Wout and Lars while for the Women Brand, Fem and Puck (with Brand in my Buffalo Bills role vs Fem’s Chiefs), and if it is not too muddy a top 5 for Vida in U23’s. BTW nice top 25 for Funston @ Hoogerheid.
In my scenario, MvdP is winning or he has to DNF. No middle ground. That’s why I didn’t put him on the podium. It will take catastrophically bad luck for him not to win. I don’t think that will happen but I’m shorting van der Poel for the thrill.
Thibau winning would be amazing to see, but then there would be no Belgian AND Euro jersey next season
I love the idea of "familiarity breeds contentment." I hope that our North American favorites don't feel any contentment this weekend and push themselves faster and further than ever!
Nothing more energizing than a mis-adventure that is too technical for Google Translate...
Would be fun for Thibau and Vas to hang with the bigs for a while, just to avoid drudgery. Same for the people racing Zoe and Tibor. Fingers crossed for Vida to hang tough, a race I plan to watch!
Men
1. Matheiu
2. Woutie
3. T-Bone
Women
1. Fem
2. Brand
3. Vas
Well if you had gotten towed in your own home town I suppose that would have been a walk of shame, but since you were somewhere new, it was exhilarating! Im envious of your trip, enjoy and I look forward to your reports.