2014 Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 1.UWT (262 Km's)

[movingtarget]

like hrotha, I can't understand why anybody would want to root for Gerrans. Sure, he's paid to win and his way of winning is to win ugly (well, it is nowadays. It wasn't back in his Crédit Agricole and Cervélo days, when he was a reasonably interesting stagehunter), and it's served him well.

But I'm not paid to be a fan. I watch the race to be entertained, and Gerrans hasn't done a single thing to entertain since the 2009 Giro. Why would I want to root for him?

I don't support him but I don't care who wins. He beat Valverde which made me laugh. Valverde is more than willing to attack in the shorter stage races but then goes into his shell in the classics. His win at Fleche was perfectly taken but no different to Gerrans win really. Gerrans has turned into more of a classics rider than a stage hunter, he is a decent climber but for GE he gets their wins usually in sprints. I think Clarke seems to be more of a stage hunter now.

 

[theyoungest]

No he isn't and you know it probably.
Still it's always entertaining say that to annoy the fans

Costa never makes a race. Unless he's in a breakaway.

He's very smart, and he's more exciting than Gerrans certainly... but he's still more a tactical racer than an out and out attacker.

 

[hrotha]

Tactical doesn't really mean wait for a sprint, does it? I'm not implying he would tear the race from far out, but it isn't insane to think he could attack on St. Nicolas. He has developed a wheelsucker stereotype surrounding him because of his Worlds performance, but that's not how he is.

What? No.

That was just the quintessential Costa (and Valverde) performance, but he's been like that for most of his career.

 

[Netserk]

Costa's Super Besse win was similar to his Worlds win IIRC.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

bbooooooooorrriiinnngggg..........................................

 

[movingtarget]

What? No.

That was just the quintessential Costa (and Valverde) performance, but he's been like that for most of his career.

Costa has to stop falling off. Happens a lot lately. If it's just bad luck he is having a bad run of it.

 

[BigMac]

What? No.

That was just the quintessential Costa (and Valverde) performance, but he's been like that for most of his career.

Costa follows wheels, but eventually he attacks. Not from far out, but he attacks. He can't rely on the sprint and doesn't take it to the line. It would be insane to think Costa would wait for a sprint here today. He would at least attack on the climb to upper Ans.

 

[trevim]

Costa's Super Besse win was similar to his Worlds win IIRC.

Yeah it was the same exactly. He was in the day's break (check) and then held off a group of favourites (check). He wheelsucked all the way to that win and all the other wins of his career.
Anyway I'm done defending Costa, he wasn't even in the final of the race. It just seems strange to me that he's called out for being a wheelsucker in the modern days when the peloton take 50 riders to the end of a supposed climbers classic.

 

[hrotha]

Costa follows wheels, but eventually he attacks. Not from far out, but he attacks. He can't rely on the sprint and doesn't take it to the line. It would be insane to think Costa would wait for a sprint here today. He would at least attack on the climb to upper Ans.

That has nothing to do with what I said or the bit I was replying to though.

 

[Netserk]

Yeah it was the same exactly. He was in the day's break (check) and then held off a group of chasers (check). He wheelsucked all the way to that win and all the other wins of his career.

Wheelsucks TJVG and then attack in the end and hold off the bunch.

 

[BigMac]

Costa has to stop falling off. Happens a lot lately. If it's just bad luck he is having a bad run of it.

Don't know if it's bad luck. But it isn't directely his fault either. He is always well poisitioned, you should have noticed that by now.

 

[Kokoso]

Kreuziger was really strong, but also really dumb.

Why dumb?
10 chars

 

[trevim]

Why dumb?
10 chars

Pulling 20 riders up the final climb without a team mate there, with Valverde, Gerrans and Kwiat on the wheel rings the bell to me

 

[BigMac]

Wheelsucks TJVG and then attack in the end and hold off the bunch.

The point is that he attacks. Not like Gerrans.

Also TJVG was never going to dispute that win, it was Vino who had the slightest chance of catching Costa, but he was outperformed.

 

[Parrulo]

Wheelsucks TJVG and then attack in the end and hold off the bunch.

Watch again, he didn't wheelsuck TJVG.

 

[roundabout]

Pretty sure that's mathematically impossible.

Badly worded.

But counting CQ results I make it 30 wins and 24 other podium places for Gerrans

 

[trevim]

The point is that he attacks. Not like Gerrans.

Also TJVG was never going to dispute that win, it was Vino who had the slightest chance of catching Costa, but he was outperformed.

Shsh don't say that, that was TVG win that the evil Rui Costa wheelsucked from him

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

From the photo of him getting up and holding his bike on twitter, it looks like Martin's chain snapped.

Just freakish bad luck, not even carelessness.

 

[BigMac]

Shsh don't say that, that was TVG win that the evil Rui Costa wheelsucked from him

Lol. Like an ice cold assassin as a fellow forumite (can't remember who) described him.

Very emotive win that was for Movistar.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I don't support him but I don't care who wins. He beat Valverde which made me laugh. Valverde is more than willing to attack in the shorter stage races but then goes into his shell in the classics. His win at Fleche was perfectly taken but no different to Gerrans win really. Gerrans has turned into more of a classics rider than a stage hunter, he is a decent climber but for GE he gets their wins usually in sprints. I think Clarke seems to be more of a stage hunter now.

And look at how happy people were about Valverde winning Flèche. Also bear in mind Flèche IS a sprint. Always. So people aren't that upset about conservative racing that means we end up with a bunch ready to sprint up the Mur de Huy together.

Gerrans is a negative racer who has never really displayed any kind of personality for people to get behind. Should he change? Hell no. As long as the opposition are playing into his hands of course he shouldn't be wasting his energy doing entertaining things. After all he has two monument wins and quite a few others despite not having done a single memorable thing since San Luca five years ago. But because of that it's not surprising that him winning is extremely unpopular, and races he wins tend to go down as forgettable affairs.

 

[Franklin]

Are all hilly classics suddenly being reduced to bunch sprints? What a farce, like any monument Gerrans wins.

The AGR always was a possibility for sprinters, especially if they don't finish on top of the Cauberg. Just check the winners list.

Raas
Hinault (bunch sprint win)
Ludwig
Zabel

I kinda like the new finish better than the one on top of the Cauberg, as those sprints are always WTF, as when Ludwig took of 20 kmph faster than the non sprinters (slight exageration^^)left in the peloton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42PTJSxliGI

And FW also has a large amount of "bunch sprints", though that's more puncheurs.

 

[Kokoso]

Pulling 20 riders up the final climb without a team mate there, with Valverde, Gerrans and Kwiat on the wheel rings the bell to me

Don't understand you. There were riders in front of him and he wanted to win it. What else should he do?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Pulling 20 riders up the final climb without a team mate there, with Valverde, Gerrans and Kwiat on the wheel rings the bell to me

To be fair, he didn't really have a lot of ways to win. Riding the rest of them off his wheel and catching up with Martin was a veeeeeery long shot, but any other tactic was even more doomed.

 

[BigMac]

Luls, Dan Martin trying to figure out who won the race.

I think his teeth went straight after that crash.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Luls, Dan Martin trying to figure out who won the race.

Complete with broken chain.