No Muur of Geraardsbergen in RVV!

[Johnsqual]

My GF just sent me a link saying the Muur has been scrapped
from the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. What a moronic thing to do.

Oudenaarde has lobbied for a while for the Ronde to end there and has
got its way, meaning the 38 year tradition of the Muur/Bosberg
has been killed off :cry:

Johnny

 

[Johnsqual]

PS here's the story, in Dutch only I'm afraid, but you can see a map
of the new route

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/postin ... y&t=166159

 

[Elev12k]

It is a major item on the news now. Among less important things like non deciding of Euro leaders in Poland.

 

[Johnsqual]

Basically the same thing on a bigger scale: some gits in grey suits shafting
over something good for the sake of their careers

 

[garethrl]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-rou ... s-unveiled

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/belgian ... f-flanders

I'm struggling to see the positives in this. The last climb is 13km before the end which is the same as the Bosberg is now, and the finale from then on is completely flat so all the organisers have done is take out one of the most iconic locations in the sport. The crowds start gathering at the very top of the Kapelmuur around 7am to get the best spots!

Even in recent years when the winning move happens early, the climb of the Muur is the statement of the race - you still have to get over the damn thing with a healthy lead, and the climb is utterly brutal after about 250km of racing. You only have to think back to this year when Cancellara arrived in Geraardsbergen with what seemed to be enough of a lead for the defending champion to win, and then he died over that one awful km leading to one of the most exciting finales any of the classics has offered in a decade.

The race is definitely diminished without the Muur. It may be different come next April, but it's hard to get enthusiastic about this new course.

 

[Johnsqual]

Indeed, Gareth, this is what annoys me so much about this.
The decision seems purely the result of political bullying by
the town of Oudenaarde - 'we're bigger and more important than
the rest so we can screw up this classic race if we want to'.

For me, the Muur-Bosberg route was also good because of the longish
slight downhill which made for a fast finish after the final two climbs.

What a bummer...

 

[Panza]

They argue that they do it for , or because of the spectators but I think that is BS. The spectators they talk about are non-paying anyway so i bet the organizers couldn't care less.
The race won't be the same and it's status will be diminished.

This status of Paris-Roubaix will increase because of this and it will be the the ultimate classic race. Before it could maybe be said that the two races were almost even in status, now Paris-Roubaix will be the no-contest winner.