2011 a review of the year and crystal ball discussion 2012

[Captain_Cavman]

Stage racer of the year.

Voeckler. Honourable mentions for Joachim Rodriguez and Evans.

One day rider of the year.

I honestly can't think of an alternative possibility to Gilbert.

Rider of the year.

Gilbert. Sagan, Goss and Cavendish get a mention in passing.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year.


Stage 17 of the Vuelta.

Rider who improved the most.


Cobo, Froome, just about every climber at Europcar. Not sure I like where this answer's going.

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.


Cobo and Froome again. Read the Vuelta stage 14 report again, "Wiggins puts time into all his GC rivals." Well Cobo was 20 seconds up the road, so wasn't considered a GC threat even at that stage of the race.

On the downside, Cancellara, who looked so fantastic early season, denied two monuments due to clever tactical riding to stop him, and then only just. Then it all seemed to tail off, not even second at the World TTs.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.


I've no idea but I'd like to see EBH finally begin to reap the reward for the massive talent everyone claims he has.

Team of the year.

SKY, mentions for HTC and Radioshack.

Who career should end now but will race 2012.


Contador (for two years)

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.


BMC obviously, Quickstep too.

Most important moment season 2011.


HTC 's demise. A mention for the way teams ganged up on Cancellara to prevent him riding off with a couple of classics.

Also for me the interview where Andy Schleck complained about how unfair it would be for the TdF winner to be decided by an ability to descend. Hopefully an emperor's new clothes moment for a sport which had become obsessed with MTFs. ([/QUOTE]

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Stage racer of the year.
Evans. Honourable mention for Bertie and Wiggins.

One day rider of the year.
Gilbert. Honourable mention for Cancellara

Rider of the year.
Gilbert. Honourable mention for Cavendish and Evans.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year.
Andy's stage. Honourable mention for Nieve's stage and the Froome/Cobo stage.

Rider who improved the most.
Froome. Honourable mention for Wiggins (certainly compared to his 2010 form) and Sagan.

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.
Anton. Dishonourable mention to Cancellara after the cobbled classics and Nicholas Roche.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.Toughie. An a British cycling fan though, I look forward to the continued improvement of Dowsett, Swift and Froome.

Team of the year.
Again, tough. One of the good things about the season was that there wasn't an awful lot to choose between the top teams. Pushed, I'd have to say HTC, with honourable mentions to OPL and Sky.

Who career should end now but will race 2012.
Freire. Nobody else fits that description.

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.
I see Sky making more strides. BMC too.

Most important moment season 2011.
HTC's demise, Bertie's case postponement and Evans TdF ITT.

 

[boomcie]

A thread to review the year and look forward to 2012.

Stage racer of the year.

Evans. He won the biggest one and two of the more important smaller ones. That's it.

One day rider of the year.

Gilbert. Lol.

Rider of the year.

Gilbert. Tondo and Weylandt probably deserve a mention here as well, because they brought some perspective into the cycling world.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year.

Stage 17@Vuelta.

Rider who improved the most.

Froome.

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.

Cobo.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.

Sep Vanmarcke. That's just me hoping. A little chauvinistic, I know.

Team of the year.

OPL

Who career should end now but will race 2012.

Vino. If he'll race.

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.

OPQ

What are you looking for the most in 2012.

Great races. That's all.

Most important moment season 2011.

Weylandt & Tondo.

And anything re 2011 and 2012.

It's going to be a hard season for Gilbert. He's got a lot to defend.

 

[hatcher]

Stage racer of the year.
Evans. Winning Romandie, Tirreno, and Tour de France is pretty good. 2nd at Dauphine for good measure.

One day rider of the year. Tough one. Gilbert maybe.

Rider of the year. Gilbert edges Evans, simply because Contador wasn't Contador during the Tour.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Pena Cabarga for personal viewing pleasure. Galibier was pretty awesome too.

Rider who improved the most. Gotta be Froome. Bauke Mollema also, if slightly less dramatically.

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Nick Nuyens maybe. Big bounce back year.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year. Thibaut Pinot. Can't wait to see what he can do next year. From a Brit-centric view, looking forward to Peter Kennaugh to make another big step forward.

Team of the year. Sky seemed to show themselves in just about every race on the calendar. Giro being the notable exception.

Who career should end now but will race 2012. Riders should carry on until they no longer enjoy it. I think Oscar Freire will struggle to get any further big wins, but he shouldn't retire.

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012. BMC got the big names. OPQS will win a lot.

Most important moment season 2011. The end of HTC. Like them or not, they were a huge part of pro racing.

 

[miguelvazpinto]

Stage racer of the year. Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggins

One day rider of the year. Philippe Gilbert

Rider of the year. Philippe Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Stage 18 of the TdF. Andy's win.

Rider who improved the most. Marcel Kittel, Matt Goss and Chris Froome

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Bradley Wiggins

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year. Tejay Van Garderen and Taylor Phinney

Team of the year. Sky

Who career should end now but will race 2012. Oscar Freire and Chris Horner

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012. BMC and Sky

What are you looking for the most in 2012. GreenEdge

Most important moment season 2011. Evans winning the Tour. Cobo winning La Vuelta, against all odds.

 

[Tank Engine]

Stage racer of the year. Bertie

One day rider of the year. Difficult one Some Belgian geezer probably.

Rider of the year. As above. I seem to remember he's called Phil.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Alpe d'Huez

Rider who improved the most. Danny Boy, Froome. Kittel as best newcomer. Sagan certainly improved, even from an initially high level

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Wiggins, Cobo (maybe surprising is not the right word in either case, but Cobo's form reversal was 180 degrees)

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.
Geraint to break through in the cobbled classics (I hope)


Team of the year. Team GB

Who career should end now but will race 2012. Levi

Which team do you think will improve the most in 2012. BMC

What are you looking for the most in 2012. Geraint in Flanders and Paris-Roubaix

Most important moment season 2011. Weylandt and Tondo. On a positive note. Cadel finally winning the Tour.

 

[Tank Engine]

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Lulu Sanchez

In what way was Lulu's form a reversal of his 2010 form?

Edit: Fair enough, his 2010 form was pretty solid.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Stage racer of the year.
Cadel Evans - Tirreno + Romandie + Tour + 2nd in Dauphine does it for me.

One day rider of the year.
No discussion, Philippe Gilbert

Rider of the year.
Philippe Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year.
Galibier AND Alpe d'Huez stages.

Rider who improved the most.
Chris 'vroem vroem' Froome

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.
Cobo, what a come back at the highest level!

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.
Guillaume van Keirsbulck is going to explode onto the scene next year

Team of the year.
Not 1 team. I'd say Radioshack for the small stage-races, Omega Pharma for the classics (or rather, for Gilbert), HTC for the many sprint wins, and Sky for the allround performances

Who career should end now but will race 2012.
Stijn Devolder

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.
GreenEdge

What are you looking for the most in 2012.
The return of Robert Gesink after injury

Most important moment season 2011.
Cadel Evans starting the chase in the Galibier stage. Most crucial moment in the most important race of the season..

And anything re 2011 and 2012.
I hope Thomas Dekker finds a good team for 2012 and returns to a good level.

 

[taiwan]

Stage racer of the year.
Evans no doubt.

One day rider of the year.
Phil, duh.

Rider of the year.
Phil, duh.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year.
Giro queen stage won by Nieve. Didn't see all the Tour live.

Rider who improved the most.
Martin.

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.
Nuyens. Or Van Avermaet actually.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.
I hope Sagan starts winning major day races, I don't see why he can't. Any others I'm keeping under wraps for my fantasy teams.

Team of the year.
R.I.P. HTC.

Who career should end now but will race 2012.
IDK,for the clinic anyway.

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.
BMC.

What are you looking for the most in 2012.
IDK, will be good to see some of the talent tied up in HTC on different teams competing against each other.

Most important moment season 2011.
The point when it was clear Gilbert had the measure of the Schlecks in the LBL finale, and would do the triple (quadruple).

And anything re 2011 and 2012.
BMC looking like a new classics superteam. Where have I heard that before?

 

[Matthijs]

Stage racer of the year. Contador, for his giro win, for his guts to try the dubble, for his guts to attack with 90km to go.

One day rider of the year. Gilbert, no comment

Rider of the year. Gilbert (actually this year the rankings do reflect the best rider)

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Alpe duez, attacks from a GC guy with 90 km to go, this is history!

Rider who improved the most. Cobo and Froome. But also Thomas Degendt. Who would have thought...

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Rebellin, but maybe Wiggins too.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year. Bresschel and Hausler maybe? Sep Vanmarcke?

Team of the year. no team was really better then the others

Who career should end now but will race 2012. Ricco Hoste maybe? Actually, I don't mind if an old chap like Ogrady doesn't have results but just enjoys the training, racing and travelling

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012. Movistar: Valverde

What are you looking for the most in 2012. Valverde vs Gilbert. Wout Poels on smaller uphill races, Gesink/Mollema/Kruiswijk in the GC's. Bruyneel and Breuking quitting the sport Vacansoleil getting some race tactics

Most important moment season 2011. Philbert winning Fleche Wallone, with the climb which is too long for him.

 

[Carols]

A thread to review the year and look forward to 2012.

Stage racer of the year.Alberto Contador

One day rider of the year.Gilbert

Rider of the year.Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Giro Stage 9 - were AC showed them what they were facing!

Rider who improved the most. Wiggins

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.Cobo

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.Froome as he will be allowed to ride to win

Team of the year.Omega-P

Who career should end now but will race 2012.Sastre (or has he retired already? If so Menchov

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.BMC

What are you looking for the most in 2012.A Great season with no fatalities

Most important moment season 2011.Weylent's death
and the 2nd most important will occur on 11/22 - ACs CAS hearing

 

[Carols]

ADDENDUM:
Most Courageous ride of the year: Thomas Voeckler in le Tour

 

[boomcie]

Most important moment season 2011. Philbert winning Fleche Wallone, with the climb which is too long for him.

Too steep is probably more fit when describing the Mur de Huy.

 

[gurumuka]

Stage racer of the year. Evans

One day rider of the year.Gilbert

Rider of the year.Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. TDF stage where Evans pulled into the wind chasing down young Schleck.

Rider who improved the most. Matt Goss

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Cancellara (great early season to nothing at the end)

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year. Tejay Van Garderan

Team of the year. I give it to BMC for getting Evans to the line at the TDF

Who career should end now but will race 2012. Too many to name

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012. BMC (and because of my allegiances GreenEdge)

What are you looking for the most in 2012. First and foremost hard, aggressive racing on safe parcours. Secondly, the controversy at Sky when they announce who they will support at 2012 TdF

Most important moments season 2011. Continuing inability of the UCI to do anything without controversy. UCI give your head a shake - you are going to kill this sport!!!!!!!

 

[Carols]

Stage racer of the year. Like others, I'm holding Evans and Contador pretty high. I'm going to lean to Evans, because he got the big one.

One day rider of the year. Gilbert

Rider of the year. Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Stage 17 of the Vuelta was thrilling. Stage 15 of the Giro (and others) was epic in its scale. But I'm going to say Galibrier because of the few simultaneous story lines: Andy's demonstrative win, Evans tenacity, setting the stage for Contador's attack for the next day. Couldn't have been scripted better

Rider who improved the most. There were a lot of good rides by unknowns, but I don't know if that points to improvement. I don't know, I just understand the question as what growth will be continued in 2012. Wiggans matured a lot since last year. Gilbert earned a dominance that will last. Tony Martin's TT can be up there, too

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising. Cobo. I want to mention Voeckler somewhere, so I'll do it here, even if it wasn't a reversal, per say.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year. Sagan.

Team of the year. Sky earned it with the Vuelta and a varirety of performers; HTC would have taken it with some more GC representation

Who career should end now but will race 2012. McQuaid for sure.

Menchov: I don't want to see him fade hard in the way of Sastre. He's not there yet, but still over the hill.

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012. BMC, but they may suffer from high expectations.

What are you looking for the most in 2012. Valverde. I look forward to change of le Tour's equation, also.

Most important moment season 2011. Collapse of HTC and the whole transfer game changing the scene for 2012. Another important moment will be for Contador in November.

And anything re 2011 and 2012. It will be something different for sure, between the team changes, aging of the top dogs and maturity of the upstarts, changes to the calendar and routes. It will mostly be refreshing, though.

Right On...+10000

 

[boomcie]

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012. BMC (and because of my allegiances GreenEdge)

It's going to be hard to do better than their awesome 2011 season.

 

[Angliru]

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.
GreenEdge

What are they improving upon, they're a new team?????

 

[Ferminal]

What are they improving upon, they're a new team?????

True, but most of their individuals will have to improve quite a lot if they are to be a strong team.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

True, but most of their individuals will have to improve quite a lot if they are to be a strong team.

Exactly, which is why I nominated them

 

[boomcie]

True, but most of their individuals will have to improve quite a lot if they are to be a strong team.

Sad truth really.

 

[Ruudz0r]

Stage racer of the year. Alberto Contador

One day rider of the year. Gilbert

Rider of the year. Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year. Tour de France stage 19 to the Alpe d'Huez

Rider who improved the most. Froome/van Avermaet/Kittel

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.Froome

Team of the year. Sky

Who career should end now but will race 2012.Garzelli

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.Radioshack Nissan Trek

What are you looking for the most in 2012.TDU till Japan Cup

Most important moment season 2011.Weylandt's death

 

[ak-zaaf]

All biased BS from the top of my head.




Stage racer of the year.
Evans. or Contador. I don't know. Evans.

One day rider of the year.
jajajajajaja

Rider of the year.
Cavendish. Yes, Cavendish.

Individual stage of a stage race of the year.
Alpe d'Huez and Galibier.

Rider who improved the most.
Galimzyanov.

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising.
Cobo.

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year.
Thomas Dekker, Lars Boom, Andy Schleck.

Team of the year.
None.

Who career should end now but will race 2012.
Longo?

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012.
Don't care.

What are you looking for the most in 2012.
Vino and Valverde coming back. TGBM winning Giro, Tour and Worlds.

Most important moment season 2011.
Zomegnan being fired.

 

[El Pistolero]

Stage racer of the year: Contador/Evans

One day rider of the year: Philippe Gilbert

Rider of the year: Philippe Gilbert

Individual stage of a stage race of the year: stage 19 Tour de France

Rider who improved the most: Chris Froome

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising: Cavendish

Which rider you think will show the greatest improvement next year: Peter Sagan

Team of the year: Sky(including British team at the Worlds) and OPL

Who career should end now but will race 2012: Katusha

Which team do you look to the improve the most in 2012: OPQS

What are you looking for the most in 2012: Gilbert winning the Ronde, Olympics, Liége, Lombardia or the Worlds. One of those of course, not necessarily all.

Most important moment season 2011: Cancellara cracking at the Muur

 

[Tank Engine]

Rider who's form reversal was the most surprising: Cavendish

With regards to Cavendish, do you mean going from sucking at the Vuelta to winning the World Championships (quite possibly due to illness, see Goss as well) and then sucking again in the Italian hills (not particularly surprising there though)? Compared to 2010 there's not a huge difference in form.

 

[El Pistolero]

With regards to Cavendish, do you mean going from sucking at the Vuelta to winning the World Championships (quite possibly due to illness, see Goss as well) and then sucking again in the Italian hills (not particularly surprising there though)? Compared to 2010 there's not a huge difference in form.

Goss was ill, Cavendish not. I mean both of what you just said.