2015 Ardennes: 79th La Fleche Wallonne - Mur de Huy - 205.5k

[hrotha]

To be honest I liked Flèche way more when every other race didn't have its own impossibly steep sprint finish.

 

[HelloDolly]

The inclusion of the penultimate climb has made it harder and IMO better ....Now its not just a sprint for the explosive climbers.. You have to have more overall stamina....Hence Kwaitkowski going backwards

Was that Betencur who put in an attack on the penultimate climb for AG2R ....Kirby didn't bother to name most riders at any stage of the race

Put in another few climbs and mayb Zubeldia could win it

 

[manafana]

Re:

Kwiatkowski just isn't as strong this time. People overestimated him because he Gerran'd Amstel, the reality is that he is weaker than last year.

my thoughts on kwia defo stronger last year in one days

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: 2015 Ardennes: 79th La Fleche Wallonne - Mur de Huy - 20

Although the new course didn't change the fact that a large group came to the muur, I think this one climb made the race far more interesting (and way more better than this years AGR)

 

[Bushman]

Re:

Alaphilippe > Kwaitkowski for the very steep stuff.

Lol, what a great conclusion.

 

[Bushman]

Re:

Kwiatkowski just isn't as strong this time. People overestimated him because he Gerran'd Amstel, the reality is that he is weaker than last year.

That is the feeling I have had since Pais Vasco too. Funny how he lacks a little bit compared to last year but this year he took his first win in the Ardennes. Shows cycling is not just about strenght.

 

[Bushman]

Re:

The inclusion of the penultimate climb has made it harder and IMO better ....Now its not just a sprint for the explosive climbers.. You have to have more overall stamina....Hence Kwaitkowski going backwards

Was that Betencur who put in an attack on the penultimate climb for AG2R ....Kirby didn't bother to name most riders at any stage of the race

Put in another few climbs and mayb Zubeldia could win it

Kwiatkowski does have the stamina, just not the climbing legs.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Welcome to the new Sprint Classics -
Milan San Remo ,FW, AGR, Flanders, Roubaix
The best of the classics so far was Flanders followed by Roubaix. At least there were plenty of attacks and with the winning moves also coming thru attacks though won by sprinters
The sprint of La Doyenne awaits!!!
The GTs and the 1 week races are much better

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Re: 2015 Ardennes: 79th La Fleche Wallonne - Mur de Huy - 20

Although the new course didn't change the fact that a large group came to the muur, I think this one climb made the race far more interesting (and way more better than this years AGR)

For sure. Now that the course has been run, teams will understand that it has a role to play in the finale: fewer domestiques will make it over, but leaders will need one or two teammates to lead a chase on that fast descent. Also, no more (and no need for) sprint trains leading out riders into good positions before the turn onto the hill.

I don't think a winner will ever come from the new hill, but it will put the leaders on the Muur into a situation like today, where they are leading themselves out from the very bottom.

 

[Bushman]

Re:

Welcome to the new Sprint Classics -
Milan San Remo ,FW, AGR, Flanders, Roubaix
The best of the classics so far was Flanders followed by Roubaix. At least there were plenty of attacks and with the winning moves also coming thru attacks though won by sprinters
The sprint of La Doyenne awaits!!!
The GTs and the 1 week races are much better

Roubaix and Flanders sprint classics... Come on

It should be: let's welcome the new generation of cycling fans, the ones that will complain unless we see winning moves from 60 k out or riders laying on the fields left and right because of strong wind, the ones that call the average cycling race "boring" and who expects spectacular racing every single day.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re: Re:

The inclusion of the penultimate climb has made it harder and IMO better ....Now its not just a sprint for the explosive climbers.. You have to have more overall stamina....Hence Kwaitkowski going backwards

Was that Betencur who put in an attack on the penultimate climb for AG2R ....Kirby didn't bother to name most riders at any stage of the race

Put in another few climbs and mayb Zubeldia could win it

Kwiatkowski does have the stamina, just not the climbing legs.

Stamin = climbing legs at end of a race ....what other stamina is there for a rider in a climbing race ???

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

It should be: let's welcome the new generation of cycling fans, the ones that will complain unless we see winning moves from 60 k out or riders laying on the fields left and right because of strong wind, the ones that call the average cycling race "boring" and who expects spectacular racing every single day.

I'd say the new generation of fans is completely fine with absolute borefests. But apparently it's unreasonable to think that a professional sport, which is entertainment for an audience, should be entertaining for longer than 5 minutes.

 

[BigMac]

Re: Re:

It should be: let's welcome the new generation of cycling fans, the ones that will complain unless we see winning moves from 60 k out or riders laying on the fields left and right because of strong wind, the ones that call the average cycling race "boring" and who expects spectacular racing every single day.

I'd say the new generation of fans is completely fine with absolute borefests. But apparently it's unreasonable to think that a professional sport, which is entertainment for an audience, should be entertaining for longer than 5 minutes.

And this proves the point. Perhaps you will come to peace with the sport the moment you stop seeing professional cycling exclusively as entertainment for the you and masses, and riders as some sort of circus performers, at whom you can be mad for not doing that particular trick which pleases you.

 

[Carols]

Re: 2015 Ardennes: 79th La Fleche Wallonne - Mur de Huy - 20

I just got home. Da*n I missed Bala Win!!! He really is one of the best cyclists around.....now to find out how it happened .

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

The new hill was definitely an improvement. The ascent of Huy was a bit underwhelming, but Wellens attack alone provided more racing than the last three editions of FW put together. Now they just need to add 50km's and move the finish to somewhere else than on top of the Mur d'Huy, so this stops being a silly uphill sprint gimmick and can become a real classic again. Okay unfortunately that might not be realistic, but this new hill is definitely a step in the right direction.

Wellens looked really strong today though, I wonder what he can do in Liège. Hopefully he will have some companions in the attack this Sunday.

 

[happytramp]

Re: Re:

It should be: let's welcome the new generation of cycling fans, the ones that will complain unless we see winning moves from 60 k out or riders laying on the fields left and right because of strong wind, the ones that call the average cycling race "boring" and who expects spectacular racing every single day.

I'd say the new generation of fans is completely fine with absolute borefests. But apparently it's unreasonable to think that a professional sport, which is entertainment for an audience, should be entertaining for longer than 5 minutes.

That might be the radios and micro managing of riders more than anything else I'd say. But they should probably consider not finishing on the Huy at some point to see how it goes.

 

[Mr.White]

Tim Wellens is going to finish top 5 in LBL. He is getting stronger and stronger

 

[Marco Pantani]

What happened to Gilbert, Arredondo and Martin?

 

[Flamin]

Great ride from Wellens, so much style, but this new hill, my god..They should keep their hands off the classics races. Cycling is about tradition. I don't care even if all the big riders started to attack on Cherève or whatever this silly hill is called. Flèche = big showdown on the Mur with a complete peloton at the foot.

 

[The Hitch]

I haven't watched many of the classics this year so am not one of the ones complaining, but if you go back even a few years to 2011, 2010, 2009 many of the races really were entertaining.

That's why some people complain now when every race is a dead sprint.

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

And this proves the point. Perhaps you will come to peace with the sport the moment you stop seeing professional cycling exclusively as entertainment for the you and masses, and riders as some sort of circus performers, at whom you can be mad for not doing that particular trick which pleases you.

Sorry, but the show business aspect of professional cycling can't be dismissed so easily. There's lots of money involved and it all revolves around the idea of appealing to the audience. If it isn't entertaining, why would people watch it? Fact is, professional cycling has to make itself entertaining or it's doomed. The UCI needs to understand that, and they need to implement rule changes that keep the sport viable as a spectacle.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

What happened to Gilbert, Arredondo and Martin?

crashed

 

[mariposa]

Great win for Valverde. He was clearly the strongest today. Nice to see some people giving him credit on these forums at last as well.
I do wonder why some people even watch the racing as they never seem to enjoy anything!

 

[Marco Pantani]

Re: Re:

What happened to Gilbert, Arredondo and Martin?

crashed

Seriously injured and out for sunday?

 

[rainman]

Re: Re:

[quote="Bushman

It should be: let's welcome the new generation of cycling fans, the ones that will complain unless we see winning moves from 60 k out or riders laying on the fields left and right because of strong wind, the ones that call the average cycling race "boring" and who expects spectacular racing every single day.[/quote]

But its the older generation surely. We were used to classics being hard fought for the last 100 k's. Before team radio and when riders often had little tactical nous, just a strong desire to kill the opposition.
To have a virtually intact peloton just a few k's from the finish would have been strange indeed, a riders strike would have been suspected and roundly condemned.
Anyway I'm not knocking todays race, it was pretty good for a FW apart from the crazy number of crashes.