For
professional cyclists April is a pivotal month. Careers can be made and lost in
a single month for those who specialise in the hard one day classics. A Classics
win after a disappointing season can be the galvanising factor that leads onto
Grand Tour stage wins and the rainbow jersey while picking up a national jersey
in between.
Beginning
the odyssey that annually is April, will be a new Ronde van
Vlaanderen. Better known as the tour of Flanders to English speakers,
the Ronde has a new finish which has received mixed reactions from within the
peloton and the greater cycling world. Defending champion Nick Nuyens will miss his
defence due to an injury which has increased the pressure of Fabian Cancellara
to take home another win to go with his 2010 title in which he blitzed his
opposition not only at the Ronde but also at Paris-Roubaix the next weekend.
The efforts of Cancellara in 2010 are still the standard that many expect of
the Swiss. Several podiums last year in the one day classics showed Cancellara
is still a key protagonist but may benefit from a change in approach. Following,
to some, the surprising Milan-San Remo victory of Australian Champion Simon Gerrans
over Cancellara there appears evidence the brutal strength and power of
Cancellara is not always enough when up against a foxy rider such as Gerrans. Some
complaints have surfaced over Gerrans’ tactics during Milan-San Remo suggesting
he wasn’t so deserving of the win. This is not so at all as quite frankly
Gerrans had the defending champion Matt Goss behind him ready to swoop if the
chase was pulled in. Gerrans played his cards perfectly and he also came forward
and had two pulls on the front to help ensure the breakaway would stay away. Cancellara
didn’t have it in him on the day to power away on the flat and Gerrans was the beneficiary
for trying a move and having it come off perfectly. However the uneven surfaces
and cobblestones of the Ronde are a different matter and Cancellara’s tactics
of brute power may not be seen to be so foolish if he rides away for the win.
The riders are central to the endless
analysis and previews of April’s Classics and rightly so. However how these
rider’s are also part of a trade team and several teams are desperate for a
victory. Probably none more so than BMC with their expensively assembled squad but
Leopard-Radioshack will be just as hungry as they chase their first early
season classic. Admittedly Cancellara did win Strade Bianchi recently but it
still only a semi classic. Oliver Zaugg saved the team from embarrassment by
winning its only classic so far last year at the Giro di Lombardia. Cancellara
must surely be looking to stand atop the podium in his Swiss national jersey. Successive
2nd placings at Milan-San Remo are hopefully not an omen for Cancellara
as he comes into arguably two of his favourite races of the year. Cancellara’s
season has in recent years begun to be characterised by early success in the
one day classics and the wearer of the yellow jersey following the prologue of
the Tour de France before rounding out the year with a Worlds Road medal and
the rainbow jersey of the ITT. Partly the immense success of Cancellara across
the sport has created a level of success that is incredibly high but somehow,
has been matched by the Swiss maestro.
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