I didn’t get up at 4am to watch the Tour of Flanders today, but my pre-6am wake-up call was plenty early. I’m going back to bed as soon as I’m done with this post. Someone else can find my share of the Easter Bunny’s chocolate goodies today, I’m beat.

Well, it was an exciting race - pre-race favorite Tom Boonen blew himself up on the 3rd-to-last climb by jumping on the front of the peloton. He then proved to be mortal and never looked like a two-time winner again. Quick-Step didn’t even manage to get a guy in the top ten on the day. After Boonen crapped out (the price of cockiness), Lampre’s Alessandro Ballan took off and didn’t look back. Predictor-Lotto’s Leif Hoste was the only one able to join him and the two were never caught, though many tried. With a few hundred meters to go, we thought Hoste had it - after two second-place finishes, it looked like the bridesmaid was finally going to be the bride. But Ballan didn’t give up in that uphill sprint, and beat Hoste on the line by a half a bike wheel. Great stuff. (Unless you’re Hoste, who looked like he was going to cry.) You can read the whole CN race report here.

So, here are my post-Flanders thoughts…

• This is by no means cycling-specific, but when someone loses something he thought he was going to win, as Hoste did today, get the cameras out of his face. I don’t want to see the poor guy on the verge of tears, needing to be consoled by his DS. It’s the same with any sport - I hate it when the losing team gets cameras shoved in their faces as they’re crying on national television. That’s just cruel. Give the guy some space. He’ll talk to you later. Am I the only one who doesn’t want to see grown men cry?!?
• There were crowds at the sides of the road for Flanders, and these were big crowds. The camera panned up a hill which was facing a breakaway group and the entire hillside was covered with people. The notable difference was that these crowds were respectful of the riders - they stayed off the roads. Too many times in races like the Tour de France the riders are forced to essentially guess where the road is, because the fans only part their proverbial Red Sea at the very last possible moment. At Flanders, the crowds cheered loudly and gave the riders a wide berth. I know it won’t happen, but the fans at France’s big races (and elsewhere) could learn something from their Belgian neighbors.
• I don’t think it’s just me, I think there really are more motorbikes on the roads of the races so far this season than I’ve ever seen before. At one point during Flanders it looked like there were twice as many motorbikes as there were riders in the break. At another point, on one of the climbs, riders were trying to bridge the gap between the peloton and a group that was getting away, and the motorbikes actually impeded the progress of basically everyone in the peloton. And there wasn’t anywhere for them to go, either. Someone needs to get a handle on the number of permits for motorbikes that are handed out at these events, because it’s beginning to look like a motorbike race that cyclists have somehow gotten mixed up in. It’s dangerous for the riders (not to mention the fans alongside the roads) and it changes the race outcomes. Something’s got to be done there.

Now that I’ve got all that off my chest (I swear there was something else, but my over-tired brain can’t recall it), I’m going back to bad. Happy Easter.

Oh! I remembered what the other thing was - until this year, I’d not noticed the Oregon Scientific logo on the Lampre kit, so I don’t know if they’re a new sponsor or if I’ve just not been paying attention, but either way it make me like both Lampre and Oregon Scientific more. It makes Lampre feel a little like a home team, and makes Oregon Scientific look cool for having the wherewithal to support cycling. Very cool.