Q: Are We Not Men?

A: We Are Devo.

(Stijn) Devo(lder) made a field full of studly one-day bike racers look like mere mortals today. Of course, he benefitted from some nice strategic work by Quick Step too. Devo just kept attacking and attacking. And everyone else in a field of chasers stacked full of contenders looked around to see who would reel him in. It wasn't going to be Tom Boonen. And by the time Flecha put his head down to give it a go, it was too late. Nuyens would eventually catch Flecha to take 2nd place. But neither of them could catch the Belgian Champion. Defending Flanders champ, Allesandro Ballan, was 4th and Gorgeous George Hincapie took 5th place, heading into his main target of the season--Paris - Roubaix. Boonen finished 17th. He looked strong but did not chase hard at the end, since he had a teammate in the lead up ahead. So his form still remains a bit of a mystery. Usual rundown from CN, VN, and Pez.

Over in the FGBC Pool, it was all Team Creedence Tapes today. I didn't think Andy's feat in Milan - San Remo of having the top 4 riders would be repeated. But not only was it matched today. A new high score was set. Devolder, Nuyens, Flecha, Ballan go 1-2-3-4, with Gilbert bringing in another 80 points for 15th place and 5 points for Tyler Farrar's 54th place finish. That all adds up to whopping 1260 point day. So just as Andy predicted yesterday, when we were chatting at Olympia, we have a change on the leader board. Vee Vant Ze Money didn't do too shabby though. They pick up 735 points and now sit 345 points off the pace. Arlene's team, Is This Your Homework, Larry?, had a solid day with 750 points, which was good enough for 2nd place on the day. They also jump ahead of the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and now sit in 3rd place overall.

Highlights available here (Devo's final attack) and here (the Muur) and here (final km).

The top 30:

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 - s.t.
4 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - Fondital - 0.21
5 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road - s.t.
6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas - s.t.
7 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC - s.t.
8 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
9 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - Fondital - s.t.
10 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
11 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team High Road - s.t.
12 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 - s.t.
13 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana - s.t.
14 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram - s.t.
15 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux - s.t.
16 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana - s.t.
17 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - s.t.
18 Sebastiaan Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank - s.t.
19 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
20 Andreas Klier (Ger) Team High Road - s.t.
21 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
22 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R - La Mondiale - s.t.
23 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - s.t.
24 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step - s.t.
25 Janek Tombak (Est) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - 0.25
26 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française des Jeux - 0.43
27 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole - 3.18
28 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
29 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank - s.t.
30 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.


Today's Results:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 1260
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 750
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 735
New Shit (Matt) - 455
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 365
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 360
White Russians (Victor) - 360
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 350
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 315
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 310
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 235
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 230
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 205
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 75
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 60
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 60
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 50
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 0


Overall Standings:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 4710
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 4365
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 2910
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 2645
New Shit (Matt) - 2145
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 1595
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 1570
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 1160
White Russians (Victor) - 1130
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 1030
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 995
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 900
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 890
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 865
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 790
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 760
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 670
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 385

Next week is Paris - Roubaix. And before we get there, it's Gent - Wevelgem on Wednesday. It just keeps getting better and better.

OTT: Devotchka, You Love Me