2016 La Flèche Wallonne - April 20th - 196k

[cocteau_ireland]

Yes, Martin went too early. No way would he have been teeing it up for his team-mate;but to be fair no'one's suggested that. Why oh why would one FOLLOW valverde. He's a busted flush when made to commit. He's an epic pain when sucking. Seriously, why on earth commit with valverde on your wheel. Take 10th or 1st. Don't compromise. [This is not a Nike commercial].

 

[jaylew]

Yes, Martin went too early. No way would he have been teeing it up for his team-mate;but to be fair no'one's suggested that. Why oh why would one FOLLOW valverde. He's a busted flush when made to commit. He's an epic pain when sucking. Seriously, why on earth commit with valverde on your wheel. Take 10th or 1st. Don't compromise. [This is not a Nike commercial].

Your comments make no sense. Did you not watch Valverde being "forced to commit" at Liège last year? Not exactly a busted flush. And sucking? There is no real sucking on those gradients. Besides, Valverde led from the front on the Mur just like last year.

Sounds like they did exactly as planned.
Dan:

"We wanted to go for the victory, but second and third on the podium is still a great result for the team. We knew that we can't beat Alejandro on the last 100 meters, so we tried to anticipate with 300 meters to go. We rode aggressively and the tactic was for Julian to stay in the wheel of Valverde, while I tried to go a little bit from afar. I have a very good relationship with Julian and we work very well together. We have to be happy, but we're also a bit sad, because we came here to get the win."

“Even though we both have the ability to win this race, we have to win it differently. It depends on how the climb is ridden. That’s why we made the tactic that Julian would stay on Alejandro’s wheel and try to beat him on the line, while I would go from a little bit further. But obviously, Alejandro knows the climb and he almost read our tactics perfectly. It’s really difficult to beat him."

Julian:

"I felt good throughout the day, rode with confidence and stayed close to Dan during the race. Our tactic was to have Dan start his effort early, because he has the stamina for such an attack, while I waited behind Valverde."

 

[IndianCyclist]

it will only work if a group of 6-12 strong riders attack on the penultimate climb and cooperate. Otherwise a strong Movistar- EQS combo is diificult to beat

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Etixx boys comments are spot on. They knew what they were doing, they did what they were supposed to do, they were stronger than everyone not named Valverde. Etixx have screwed up a lot of important races tactically, but today they did everything right and just had to accept that Valverde was stronger.

 

[gunara]

I wont even bother to watch it on youtube...

If there's one race for the youtube-generation, its F-W

Exactly, the modern F-W is the polar opposite of real racing, it's the epitomy of Youtube-cycling.

Fleche Wallone is great as it is, the all in puncheur-uphill finish championship of the world. All of the best puncheurs, all in peak condition, one wall, let's see who is top dog. It serves a purpose. The hilly riders love it and place a high value on it and we should too.

Even if we could bring back more uncontrolled and less conservative racing generally, something I'd like as much as everyone else, FW should stay as it is. It's the one race that should be like this.

Agree. There is only one big race like this after all, I am more concerned about AGR and LBL, they begin to serve no purpose if you want a season with varied appeals, I pick smaller hilly races if I want more entertainment despite none of their profile and startlist promise more than AGR and LBL do. Meanwhile, FW is FW, a random Vuelta stage is no substitute.

However, yes, yesterday feels more boring than most other editions, if that's still possible. A predictable race with a predictable scenario resulting in predictable winner (a convincing champion, nonetheless) and predictable podiums, what more can you ask.

 

[Red Rick]

Btw, when was the last time they went hard on the penultimate climb of the Mur?

 

[veji11]

Another horrible fleche Wallonne... makes me want to cry to see again a farce like this. Please give us teams of 6 to start off, than give us routes that are more selective in the race and less backloaded in the end.. God after such a fantastic Paris Roubaix and Flanders campaign in general, The Ardennes' week is proving worse than my yearly post tour de France depression...

 

[hrotha]

Flèche Wallonne *might* be alright as it is if we didn't have a zillion other murito finishes elsewhere, which completely sapped the appeal this one had.

 

[WillemS]

Oh, I like watching the final KMs of the Flèche Wallonne; it's great entertainment and gives me a couple of minutes of excitement.

I don't watch it as a race, I didn't even bother watching it live (work and stuff), but there's tension in that 10 minute YouTube video. That's why it's cut out for the Wednesday spot, hardcore fans might reschedule work for a good race, but for the casual European fans, watching a 10-minute finale during the final hours of a workday is perfect. That's why I don't think this race needs much fixing, it's THE WT Murito Race.

The Gold Race, on the other hand, has a Sunday spot and doesn't really fill such a niche as the Flèche, that one should be changed. (I don't care if it's really the course or a self-fulfilling prophecy, without an overhaul the race isn't going to change.)