Paris Roubaix!

Barbour

Musseeuw is definitely a power rider...it is an amazing site to watch how he just glides over the pave as if it were freshly paved road. However, he doesn't possess much of a sprint in comparison to the professional peloton. If Hincapie manages to stay with Musseeuw to the velodrome, Hincapie will easily outsprint Musseeuw.

nferyn

[quote author=Barbour link=board=15;threadid=826;start=15#22680 date=1037378066]<br />Musseeuw is definitely a power rider...it is an amazing site to watch how he just glides over the pave as if it were freshly paved road. However, he doesn't possess much of a sprint in comparison to the professional peloton. If Hincapie manages to stay with Musseeuw to the velodrome, Hincapie will easily outsprint Musseeuw.<br />[/quote]<br /><br />I think you're wrong there. In the beginning of his career Musseeuw has won a lot of bunch bunch sprints. The reason he stopped involving himself in those sprints was threefold:<br />1) The old Mapei team had a better sprinter in Cippolini, so the choice for the team was obvious<br />2) Musseeuw lost some of his 'sharpness' when growin older and would probably have had to go for 2nd and 3rd places in buch sprints. Attacking hives him a better chance of winning<br />3) Musseeuw declared on several occasions that he was not feeling comfortable enough anymore to fight for his place in a bunch sprint<br /><br />When push comes to shove though, he can still outsprint most riders in the peloton (have you seen his win in the HEW classic?).<br />I also know that Hincapie is pretty fast, but you shouldn't forget it's Paris-Roubaix. Suppose Hincapie manages to stay with Musseeuw to the velodrome, how much power would he have left for his sprint?<br /><br />In a one-on-one in the Ronde Van Vlaanderen I would give Hincapie a slight advantage over Musseeuw. In Parix-Roubaix never.<br /><br />Niek<br /><br /><br />