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Waiting for Godot on the road to Roubaix

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We couldn’t let the passing of the first chapter of Season 2014 go without something of a rant… Waiting for Godot is a famous play by Samuel Beckett; two characters wait in vain for Godot – the play’s much discussed third character who gives the drama it’s name but never appears.

As the others looked at each other and waited for Godot – whether his name in this case was Sep or Bradley or Greg – Boonen drove and drove.

It’s not like a champion of Boonen’s stature to give it the; ‘come through for f##k’s sake boys’ routine but his frustration was palpable.

Waiting for Godot
Tom Boonen shows his frustration with his companions in the break.

As the Greats do he was riding ‘la course en tête’ – at the head of the race – he could see he had a good group, knew that there would be indecision behind, that every pave sector would see the chasing group eroded and timed his move so the wind would shift from head to cross.

He had belief – but the rest were waiting…

That’s why he’s Tom Boonen, Classics King and the rest, well, they’re the rest.

The Media seem grudging in their acknowledgement that QuickStep played it to perfection and much more interested in the Sky duo of Thomas and Wiggins performance.

Wiggo & Thomas smash up Roubaix!’ screams the headline from ‘Sportives and Road Tests Weekly’ aka Cycling Weekly.

And that front page reminds us of how ‘The Comic’ has changed; a postage stamp size reference to the ‘Queen of the Classics’ whilst the main headline shouts about ‘Every bike from £750-£1,300.’

Waiting for Godot
Cycling Weekly ‘bigs up’ the Sky duo.

And let’s just remember that Geraint and Bradley were seventh and ninth – not third and on the podium as have been Barry Hoban and Roger Hammond.

But back to ‘waiting’ for a moment – United Healthcare and Bretagne Seche didn’t wait, they made the early move, stayed away deep into the parcours and ‘honoured the race’ – ‘Respect’ we say.

That word leads us back onto Bradley, why does he have to make fun of the trophy for Scheldeprijs and disparage the GP Denain?

The former dates from 1907 and includes Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck on the role of honour – and Bradley’s never going to win it.

Denain was first run in 1959 when it was won by Irish legend, Shay Elliott; British riders Mike Wright and Paul Sherwen are in there as previous winners as are ‘cult’ riders like Bert Roesems and Jaan Kirsipuu.

Or perhaps it’s me, maybe Bradley’s ‘call the bingo numbers’ rap on the Tour podium was ‘cool’ and not hideously disrespectful as I feel it was – the same way I feel about his remarks regarding the Scheldeprijs and Denain.

Alberto

A thing I always look forward to on the Cycling News site is the Robert Millar blog – this week he points out that ‘Bert is back’ with four stage races and four podiums: second at the Volta ao Algarve, first at Tirreno-Adriatico, second at the Volta a Catalunya, first at the Tour of the Basque Country.

Waiting for Godot
It looks like Bert is back. Image©Fabio Ferrari

Last year the Spaniard wasn’t himself – but it takes a rider a season to find himself after a year out.

Not just physically but more importantly, mentally – the belief has to come back and that’s not related to how many hours you’ve put in on the bike.

Even Merckx was tortured with self doubt – winner of all three Grand Tours or not, Alberto is still just a man, flesh, blood and surrounded by a Media which would like nothing more than to see him – and his boss, Bjarne – fail.

Welcome back, Bert – but watch those steaks, hombre!

Dan Patten

Our Dan has blogged with us for a few years now; first from the flatlands as a Flanders man then last year with the Mountain Khakis team in the USA.

Waiting for Godot
Dan is looking for a team in the flatlands for the rest of this season. Image©Ziane Nicole

But there was a change of management within the American outfit, no place for Dan and the usual scramble for a team for 2014.

He got a ride with a team in the Far East but it was the familiar, sad old story of broken promises and no money.

He’s now back in the flatlands looking for a team – we wish him well in his quest and hope to hear from him, soon.

James Spragg

Waiting for Godot
James Spragg on the cover of ‘the comic’.

Also in the ‘whatever happened to’ file we have James Spragg – another VeloVeritas regular in his Qin, Donckers Coffee and Geofco days.

A Tour of Thailand stage winner in his Marco Polo days he rode well for his teams in the Flatlands and took numerous top ten placings on his own account in tough kermisses.

Last winter saw him riding a bit of cyclo-cross and when I saw the front page of ‘Cycling Weekly’ t’other week, I thought; ‘I recognise that man.’

We emailed him and he told us;

“Yes that’s me!

“I’m currently in Andalucia working with a company called Wheels in Wheels as a guide on training camps!

“It’s a nice way to get back into the swing of things, and I’m also trying to get to the bottom of all the problems I had this winter health wise.”

We wish him well; it seems like yesterday Vik and I watched him ride the Championship of West Flanders in Koolskamp – let’s hope it’s not too long before he’s back in the pro peloton.

Chapter Two and the Ardennes Classics

I’ve just watched Philippe Gilbert underline in the Amstel Gold what he began to say on Wednesday in the Brabantse Pijl; ‘I’m back!’

Waiting for Godot
Phil Gilbert felt he was the strongest at the Amstel Gold Race today. Image©Sporza

And BMC are finally starting to get pay back on all those millions of Euros.

He left Gerrans, Valverde and Kwiatkowski – three of the main favourites for the race – flat footed to win on his own in a replica of his Valkenburg Worlds win.

Can he hold that form though to the Fleche and Liege? – I wouldn’t bet against it.

And the Giro starts next month…

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.