I'm sure this was mentioned earlier but my favourite moment of the race was Greipel outclimbing Nibali.
Great footage
Great footage
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King Boonen said:Just guessing to be honest but they never seem to work together. It's well known GVA and Gilbert aren't very friendly but I think some of it might stem from the fact they only sign big name riders who want to win for themselves. They never seem to work together well in one day races and all seem to be left to their own devices.
King Boonen said:samhocking said:Sky's was a standard tactic for a race that will normally end in a sprint finish that doesn't allow much, if any leadout organisation? Thomas isn't going to just half attack is he when his moment came, just in case he accidentally wins the race instead of Swift? You attack to win, if it pulls off, great, if not, you kept a team mate out the wind to use his energy as part of another plan for winning later on in the race. Just like other teams, their very aggressive strategy didn't work, but then neither did many teams with only a 500m sprint strategy too.
This is clearly different to what you posted before:
samhocking said:Exactly, Thomas was controlling the race from the front perfectly for Swift for all the momenta Swift could have been shelled having to chase his rivals. Thomas clearly wasn't riding for himself as some here think. A fine display of teamwork from Sky. Clearly not the end result for Sky, C'est la vie!
Thomas was clearly riding for himself, as he himself says. The fact that it happens to aid Swift is obvious, but he was riding for himself.
rhubroma said:The problem, though, is that MSR is not a normal sprint finish, given that after nearly 300k nobody is fresh and certainly nobody can rely on a train to set up thier best sprinter.
It is, in this sense, the best type of sprint finish, for it is just a slug fest between anyone who has any speed left in their legs. The question thus is did Sky's tactic work best in favor of their ultimate goal?
If you can't arrive alone (which, today, in MSR is almost impossible to do), then it is better to work for the guy that has the best chance in the finish we got.
Pozzato said that there was a strong headwind on the Poggio, so nobody dared to attack, he also was caught behind the Gilbert-crash.Arredondo said:What a great perfomance from Bonifazio! 21 years old and already 5th!
Cancellara just a **** race. Didn't do anything on the Poggio. Valverde also the old Valverde in the big races.
Mayomaniac said:Pozzato said that there was a strong headwind on the Poggio, so nobody dared to attack, he also was caught behind the Gilbert-crash.Arredondo said:What a great perfomance from Bonifazio! 21 years old and already 5th!
Cancellara just a **** race. Didn't do anything on the Poggio. Valverde also the old Valverde in the big races.
rhubroma said:King Boonen said:samhocking said:Sky's was a standard tactic for a race that will normally end in a sprint finish that doesn't allow much, if any leadout organisation? Thomas isn't going to just half attack is he when his moment came, just in case he accidentally wins the race instead of Swift? You attack to win, if it pulls off, great, if not, you kept a team mate out the wind to use his energy as part of another plan for winning later on in the race. Just like other teams, their very aggressive strategy didn't work, but then neither did many teams with only a 500m sprint strategy too.
This is clearly different to what you posted before:
samhocking said:Exactly, Thomas was controlling the race from the front perfectly for Swift for all the momenta Swift could have been shelled having to chase his rivals. Thomas clearly wasn't riding for himself as some here think. A fine display of teamwork from Sky. Clearly not the end result for Sky, C'est la vie!
Thomas was clearly riding for himself, as he himself says. The fact that it happens to aid Swift is obvious, but he was riding for himself.
The problem, though, is that MSR is not a normal sprint finish, given that after nearly 300k nobody is fresh and certainly nobody can rely on a train to set up thier best sprinter.
It is, in this sense, the best type of sprint finish, for it is just a slug fest between anyone who has any speed left in their legs. The question thus is did Sky's tactic work best in favor of their ultimate goal?
If you can't arrive alone (which, today, in MSR is almost impossible to do), then it is better to work for the guy that has the best chance in the finish we got.
rhubroma said:Sagan, once again, was the biggest disapointment of the day. Why he didn't push over the Poggio when there was a bit of a gap is beside me, especially with his descending skills! Then what was he thinking when he was off the front but not on a commited attack!! I mean at that point in the race, either you attack seriously (in his case, at that point, no - as he should have put the hammer down over the Poggio) or you stay on a wheel and you never, never, never, go off the front to take useless wind!!! Just unbelievable. For this reason, he probably was too far back (again) when he started his sprint.
In MSR every second of wasted energy, or half-ass commitment, in the last 5 k means you seriously compromise your chances for victory, if not throw them completely away. Sagan only confirmed this today.
PremierAndrew said:Cavendish dropped his chain on the Cipressa. Not sure he would have won but I was surprised to see him not make it into the selection of riders in the bunch at the end.
Mayomaniac said:Pozzato said that there was a strong headwind on the Poggio, so nobody dared to attack
willbick said:PremierAndrew said:Cavendish dropped his chain on the Cipressa. Not sure he would have won but I was surprised to see him not make it into the selection of riders in the bunch at the end.
again??!!!!
luckyboy said:Maybe he remembered that Tour stage last year when he attacked (with GVA?) on the downhill and then got caught on the line by Trentin
IndianCyclist said:Luca Paolini leading from the start of Poggio till the end. His effort was superb but i think he could have easily been overtaken by some of the stronger riders if they were willing to do so.
I think if the idea is to drop sprinters like Kristoff, a team has to force on both the Cipressa and the Poggio otherwise it becomes groupo compacto before the end provided they also have an uphilll sprinter with them. This is for Orica with Matthews, Sky with Swift, Tinkoff with Sagan, Giant with Degenkolb. I think Degenkolb was lucky. If Kristoff hadn't made a slight mistake understandable under the circumstances, there was no way he was going to come first
For the explosive attackers, the only choice is to attack anywhere from the start of Poggio till 500m from the end but it should be a full hearted attack. This is for Astana, Movistar, BMC, Trek and the rest without major sprinters. This time nobody tried seriously.
Chainstay99 said:eljimberino said:Sags is tactically inept.
Peter Second
The new Rojas?Chainstay99 said:eljimberino said:Sags is tactically inept.
Peter Second