2008 Tour of Flanders

92nd Ronde van Vlaanderen - ProT
Belgium, April 6, 2008

Today was one heck of a race. The guys racing had to deal with rain, snow, hail, sleet, mud, slippery cobbles, and numerous crashes. I watched it live this morning and was glued to the computer for hours not wanting to miss a minute of the craziness. Devolder won the race after hours of serious racing. George came in 5th and pretty excitingly, Maaskant came in 12th! That is great for Slipstream and serious prep for P-R next Sunday. Mike and Will were in crashes that wrecked their bikes and eventually 99 guys in total pulled out of the race. Intense. Hopefully Will and Mike are okay and this week should provide some serious recovery and more preps for next weekend.

VN: Michael Barry's Diary: Back in the Battlefields

CN: George Hincapie - Another shot for glory in the Spring Classics for 'Mister No Chain'
VN: Slipstream pins Flanders hopes on Backstedt
Slipstream: Maggy - Flanders preview and close call

VN: The weather forecast: Epic

Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
241 Magnus Backstedt (Swe)
242 Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
243 Huub Duyn (Ned)
244 Tyler Farrar (USA)
245 Michael Friedman (USA)
246 William Frischkorn (USA)
247 Martijn Maaskant (Ned)
248 Danny Pate (USA)

Results
1 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step 6.24.02 (41.246 km/h)
2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 0.15
3 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank
5 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 0.21
12 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
23 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
43 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 9.14
54 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
82 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 17.35
DNF: Frischkorn, Friedman, Duyn, Pate

Slisptream: Johnny Weltz - Flanders First: Maaskant finishes 12th in debut!
Slipstream: Flander's Pics and Quotes

VN: School of hard knocks: Ups and downs mark Slipstream's Ronde debut
VN: Stuart O'Grady's Flanders experience
VN: Favorites have regrets after Flanders
Bicycling: In A Stand-Off, Devolder Shines (w/video highlight)

Graham Watson: Tour of Flanders Photo Gallery

Will's Blog: Flanders
Meatball's Blog: I have been Baptized
VN - Will: Sounds of spring