Sunday in Hell. It is said that it got that moniker because of the state in which the WWI battlefield was left for the running of the 1919 edition. Northern France was Hell after the devastation of the western front and the years of war fought in this area. The Hell that is inflected on the riders that bisect this region pales in comparison to the ravages of war, but the backdrop is fitting for such a test of man.
Lady Luck. Is Luck a Lady? There is bad luck and good luck, I would hardly say luck is a lady when it is bad luck. There was a lot of bad luck yesterday in Northern France when the cobbles took their toll on several riders. Luck is a big part of this race, but strength is a given. Strength is the variable that if you don't have it, you have no chance to even deal with luck. Luck only comes after you have played the strength card.
Johan Vansummeren, Who? Until yesterday most people have probably never heard the name. Johan turned pro in 2004 and rode for a small team and was signed by Davitamon-Lotto in 2005. In 2008 he worked for team leader Leif Hoste and managed an eight place in Pais-Roubaix. In 2009 he did more work than humanly possible to help Leif Hoste. I think that he could have podiumed this edition if given the green-light from the team car, if not win. He went to the front of the break-away group and did massive amounts of work, because that was his job. When Hoste fell off, Johan paced him back into contention, blew himself up and still came across the line in the velodrome in 5th. Ever the worker, never the star. Garmin picked him up in 2010 and used him and abused him as the workhorse that he is. Belgian Workhorse.
This year Vansummeren was tasked to work for Thor, Haussler, and Tyler at Roubaix and he worked into the break as any good worker should. He stayed in the break and did his job so that his team did not have to work in the chase. When it was all said and done, he was given the green light from the team car by non other than Peter Van Petegem (Roubaix 2003), brought in by Garmin to run their Classics squad. 15k to go and Johan put the hammer down, breaking free of his companions and going solo to the velodrome.
It is only fitting to have a workhorse win in such a star-like fashion in an industrialized region where hard work is celebrated. Covered in dirt and coal dust as the people from this area are day in and day out is a tribute to the common worker and to the domestique in the peloton. Vansummeren is the cobble that is part of the road of the peloton, unnoticed yet an integral piece, and when hoisted overhead becomes something of legend.
My favorite finish in years... May even restore my faith in cycling/pro racing (ala doping... aren't they all using?). A worker wins, but not outa the blue -- look at the finishes over the last 5 years, and it's not suprising... Again, this is not an idividual finish -- after watching this race unfold over the last 3 hours -- Garmin ruled. They finally played out multiple options to perfection. While I've critizied JV this season -- he had enough wisdom to put Van Petegam in the car to call the shots -- a well respected hardman to rally the team into a working unit. Just what the Doctor ordered.
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