Spring Classics

I love the Spring Cobbled Classics.  They are freakin' hard races.  Bikes break.  People break.  Guys with meat on their bones win, not those skinny mountain climbers you see in the Tour.  I think Frank Schleck's arms would break in half if he raced Flanders.

These are one day races.  Everything is left on the road.  No day-to-day tallies.   No calculated time gaps.  No politics.  No racers sitting on the ground protesting an unsafe course.  Cobblestones and road bikes:  No wimps allowed.

Watching the final kilometers of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix is every bit exciting as a decisive mountain-top finish stage in the Tour de France.  For me, it's even better.

The two best races are coming up soon.  Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) is on April 4th.  Paris-Roubaix is one week later, April 11th.  These races illustrate pretty much everything I love about bike racing.  Watch them.