Weekend Wrap

Pipped
Honestly, it could have easily been the most overused headline since Britney Shears, as Filippo Pozzato (inset, photo: AFP) claimed the victory in the Omloop Het Volk. It was almost a carbon copy of his victory in Milan-San Remo; biding his time and then powering past the would be victors. With the way he was able to get up and over the cobbles, Pippo has to be considered a major factor in the Northern Classics from here on out.

Two things leapt out at me during the finale. It was interesting to see the two former Quick-Step lieutenants in Pippo and Nick Nuyens in the final kilometers with their former leader, Tom Boonen, and why and how in the wide, wide, world of sports do riders who "make" the race often end up losing it. Stuart O'Grady (CSC) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) looked as if their efforts would be rewarded, but neither wanted to relinquish their wheel to the other. Instead, both lost out with Flecha at least salvaging a podium spot.

Revenge
Because of the way Het Volk and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne are scheduled, the latter is often deemed "The Revenge," for those riders and teams that missed out on the selection the day before. K-B-K ended up being just that for Tom Boonen( inset, photo: Luc Claessen/www.ctm-images.com/), whose Quick-Step team devoured the early breaks and set him up for an easy sprint victory. How easy you may ask? The Tornado's new lead-out man in Geert Steegmans had to free wheel in order to slow down enough, otherwise he might have won it himself.

One outstanding result on the day was the ninth placed showing by Tyler Farrar (Cofidis). Tabbed by some to be the next George Hincapie, the Washington state born Farrar broke his clavicle early last season, his first with the French outfit. Subsequently, he had an up and down year. You may remember Farrar when he was with Health Net-Maxxis, winning the US Pro Criterium in Downers Grove, IL in 2005.

NAHBS
Because we're a blog and not part of the press, we've often got to rely on other bicycle news outfits for our material. In the case of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, it might be well worth our time to somehow cover these shows firsthand. The offering below from Independent Fabrication simply blew me away.

What did I say earlier in regard to these handmade beauties, something about function meeting form, and form paralleling art ? The picture says it all!

Photo: James Huang/Cyclingnews