Its strange to think about Movistar finished higher than EQS on their home field. It would be the same as Jungels finishing ahead of Quintana, Valverde and Moreno on a Pyrenean mountain-odyssey.
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Team Wanty-Gobert @TeamWantyGobert 1h1 hour ago
We are so freaking proud of you @dimitriclaeys. You did Antoine proud!
I'm really happy for him and his team, after such an impossibly difficult time for them all.
trevim said:Claeys just got 9th in his first ever monument. Freakin' belgians and their classics
Team Wanty-Gobert @TeamWantyGobert 1h1 hour ago
We are so freaking proud of you @dimitriclaeys. You did Antoine proud!
I'm really happy for him and his team, after such an impossibly difficult time for them all.
After strade I anticipated that sagan attackis so early on purpose, however I never thought he might reach this level. Now I can't wait till roubiax. So muoh excntement those 2 monsters will show us.
These smug comments moaning about people being mean to poor old Sep are ridiculous.
Yes, in hindsight, it turns out he was dying, but there was absolutely no way you knew that at the time, nor was it even a logical assumption.
One of the strongest riders in this terrain, on good form, joined up very quickly with Sagan and Kwiat. Offered almost no assistance to Cancellara and Sagan, and subsequently did a decent sprint, ONE WHOLE WEEK AGO.
But of course you knew the only reason he wasn't helping was because he wasn't able to.
And sure it was decent of him to not come round Cance at the end, but you think he'd have done that if he was able to cling on to Sagan, or if Fabian had been successful in his pursuit? Obviously not.
Yes, in hindsight, it turns out he was dying, but there was absolutely no way you knew that at the time, nor was it even a logical assumption.
One of the strongest riders in this terrain, on good form, joined up very quickly with Sagan and Kwiat. Offered almost no assistance to Cancellara and Sagan, and subsequently did a decent sprint, ONE WHOLE WEEK AGO.
But of course you knew the only reason he wasn't helping was because he wasn't able to.
And sure it was decent of him to not come round Cance at the end, but you think he'd have done that if he was able to cling on to Sagan, or if Fabian had been successful in his pursuit? Obviously not.
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No, but it would be tactical suicide to ride with those guys if you know you're weaker
alspacka said:
No, but it would be tactical suicide to ride with those guys if you know you're weaker
Congrats to Sagan - what a great result for him and to be in the WC's Jersey, it must be super sweet!!
Not relying on his sprint (which would have been superior to the 2 riders behind him) and go on the attack that far out takes a lot of courage and self belief.....plus a large dose of testicular fortitude!!
Was mentioned way up thread, but Sagan doesn't seem to need a team round him to win races.....he is just racing smarter.....more mature.
Nice touch by Vanmarcke to give Fabian the 2nd place after all the work he did - nice show of respect to a great rider in the twilight of their career.
Can't wait for Paris - Roubaix
Not relying on his sprint (which would have been superior to the 2 riders behind him) and go on the attack that far out takes a lot of courage and self belief.....plus a large dose of testicular fortitude!!
Was mentioned way up thread, but Sagan doesn't seem to need a team round him to win races.....he is just racing smarter.....more mature.
Nice touch by Vanmarcke to give Fabian the 2nd place after all the work he did - nice show of respect to a great rider in the twilight of their career.
Can't wait for Paris - Roubaix
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He thought Sagan and Vanmarcke went too early, and that with a teammate with him, he would be able to let them hang out to dry while saving energy himself. He probably overestimated his hand and underestimated what Sagan was capable of.
I think it's the other way round. He thought he did have the strongest hand.saganist said:
He thought Sagan and Vanmarcke went too early, and that with a teammate with him, he would be able to let them hang out to dry while saving energy himself. He probably overestimated his hand and underestimated what Sagan was capable of.
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Totally agree. Sky had several cards to play, but they weren't the strongest. They needed to get one of their strong guys in a meaningful break with some distance left and hope that Cancellara and Sagan would be isolated. Kwiatkowski got in the winning break, but was dropped on the Paterberg. Their other two hopes for top 10 positions (Rowe and Thomas) could just sit on wheels, but couldn't keep with Cance on the Paterberg.
Edit: He got dropped even earlier.
That's not a question of tactics.
Ettix sending Vandenbergh on a long distance break was a sensible move. The only possible mistake they made was not following the Kwiatek break (although that might have been a question of legs). The one guy that seemed to made a tactical mistake was Cancellara. He probably would have been strong enough to go with Sagan. However, that led to a great race between the two strongest guys in the race.
To be honest, the strongest guy won. Sagan did a lot of pace making in the break, dropped them all on the Parterberg and held off Fabian in on the flats. You can't have a more deserving winner
Also, congratulations to De Baarle, Claeys and Erviti for their great rides
samhocking said:
Totally agree. Sky had several cards to play, but they weren't the strongest. They needed to get one of their strong guys in a meaningful break with some distance left and hope that Cancellara and Sagan would be isolated. Kwiatkowski got in the winning break, but was dropped on the Paterberg. Their other two hopes for top 10 positions (Rowe and Thomas) could just sit on wheels, but couldn't keep with Cance on the Paterberg.
Edit: He got dropped even earlier.
That's not a question of tactics.
Ettix sending Vandenbergh on a long distance break was a sensible move. The only possible mistake they made was not following the Kwiatek break (although that might have been a question of legs). The one guy that seemed to made a tactical mistake was Cancellara. He probably would have been strong enough to go with Sagan. However, that led to a great race between the two strongest guys in the race.
To be honest, the strongest guy won. Sagan did a lot of pace making in the break, dropped them all on the Parterberg and held off Fabian in on the flats. You can't have a more deserving winner
Also, congratulations to De Baarle, Claeys and Erviti for their great rides
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Lol, don't try to cushion your lack of understanding by pretending nobody could have known. It was actually a very logical assumption for people who have seen Sep race many times.
alspacka said:
Lol, don't try to cushion your lack of understanding by pretending nobody could have known. It was actually a very logical assumption for people who have seen Sep race many times.
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I somehow agree. But this shows that he wanted Sagan tired before the final duel. If he felt as strong (or stronger) than Sagan, he could have bridged immediately and torn the race apart.
DFA123 said:
I somehow agree. But this shows that he wanted Sagan tired before the final duel. If he felt as strong (or stronger) than Sagan, he could have bridged immediately and torn the race apart.
as I said earlier Van MArcke was totally cooked :
http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/1.2619352
He's already happy to be on the podium, had cramps and had to dig very deep when he tried to bridge Kwait and Sagan, Sagan accelarated when he saw SVM coming...
http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/1.2619352
He's already happy to be on the podium, had cramps and had to dig very deep when he tried to bridge Kwait and Sagan, Sagan accelarated when he saw SVM coming...
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Just isn't strong enough in the final.
Agree with you on that. Usually he spends too much time out in the wind, but this wasn't the case today i think.Ryo Hazuki said:
Just isn't strong enough in the final.
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Not when you've committed to an escape of 3 and have to create enough of a gap to plausibly stay away from a powerful group including Fabian.
Calling people stupid for suggesting that he should be helped is clearly nonsense. Regardless of the fact it transpired he couldn't.
PremierAndrew said:
Not when you've committed to an escape of 3 and have to create enough of a gap to plausibly stay away from a powerful group including Fabian.
Calling people stupid for suggesting that he should be helped is clearly nonsense. Regardless of the fact it transpired he couldn't.
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Three reasons it was blatantly obvious Sep was cooked.
1) He was gritting his teeth to catch the wheel of Sagan and Kwia; he didn't just effortlessly float across.
2) He was dropped like a rock on the final climb. Guy looked like he was going backwards.
3) He was a liability in the desperate chase at the end. He knew it; Cancellera knew it; and most everyone watching the race knew it. I mean, it took him forever to get to get in front of Cancellera, and once he did, both lost time to Sagan.
alspacka said:
Three reasons it was blatantly obvious Sep was cooked.
1) He was gritting his teeth to catch the wheel of Sagan and Kwia; he didn't just effortlessly float across.
2) He was dropped like a rock on the final climb. Guy looked like he was going backwards.
3) He was a liability in the desperate chase at the end. He knew it; Cancellera knew it; and most everyone watching the race knew it. I mean, it took him forever to get to get in front of Cancellera, and once he did, both lost time to Sagan.
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I'm certain everyone on this forum has seen Sep race many times. Without doubt most thought he should help Sagan and Kwiat try to extend the gap.
Based on absolutely no logic just your ethereal cycling instinct, of course you knew better. As I said. Smug too.
Flamin said:
I'm certain everyone on this forum has seen Sep race many times. Without doubt most thought he should help Sagan and Kwiat try to extend the gap.
Based on absolutely no logic just your ethereal cycling instinct, of course you knew better. As I said. Smug too.
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2) and 3)... hindsight is 20/20. The critical comments about him were posted when he went Kwiat, Sagan and skipped numerous turns at the front
the delgados said:
2) and 3)... hindsight is 20/20. The critical comments about him were posted when he went Kwiat, Sagan and skipped numerous turns at the front
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