Anyone want to join the Gilbert appreciation club with me?

[MrSlant]

Massive chapeau to Philippe Gilbert today, what a race, surely a new definition of panache to win the tour of Flanders in such style.

I can't really find anyone in RL apart from DS1 to discuss it with and he was out all day and had to make do with a live re-enactment from me when he got home. That race was insane and brilliant and everything cycling has to offer.

The falls, the equipment fails, the fact that even I didn't want Sagan to lose it by coming off his bike. Talk to me cycling people!

Yes, I like Kwiato, but he misjudged it and went too early. Gilbert was just too strong & played it to perfection.

DH just showed me a video of Gilbert's dad getting really excited at the end of the race. I don't have a link, but you should be able to find it fairly easily. It's funny.

That was beautiful. I particularly liked the overhead shot of the final sprint. Kwaito timed it well when PG was looking forward and on any other day he would probably have won.

I'm still wrecked from a 400km 24 hour ride on Friday into Saturday. The Easter Arrow/Fleche. It's a team event so four of us rode across Ireland from 8am Friday to 8am Saturday.

It was nice to watch someone else suffer and their race was only 260km! I'm looking forward to a week of racing with Fleche Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Saturday. I wouldn't bet against another win from PG.

Thank goodness I found you all. I had forgotten where to find the peloton. Are we doing velogames for the Giro?

I'm looking forward to velogames and the MN peloton. Not watched much cycling yet because of a lack of Eurosport, but hopefully the Tour de Yorkshire will be technical hitch free and I'll be able to watch at least the highlights.

Yay, the peloton is growing in number, we were more of a breakaway for a while there.

Really looking forward to the TdY and watching them cycle round 'home' the DS1 has a weekend series of racing and for the road race apparently the motorbikes with them will be 'still hot from the Tour de Yorkshire' which for some reason has really excited us both!

Awful, awful news about Scarponi this morning. Somehow in my head the elite riders only go out training in a special bubble of safety but they are just the same as all of us, popping out from the house on their bikes for a ride and all the awful risks there can be. His poor family.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/cycling/2909746-RIP-Michele-Scarponi?

For anyone who missed this

We have all come together for a sprint finish MrS. Agree tragic news about Michele Scarponi, have put a link above as I didn't want to bring down the thread.

I've posted on there. Keep this for light and happy and we have Liege-Bastogne-Liege to look forward to tomorrow.