2017 Liège-Bastogne-Liège - April 23rd - 258k

[spiritualride]

Re: Re:

Lets not compare Gerrans with Valverde. Because the double rush acceleration that Valverde showcasted in 2015 and today against Moreno and Martin is unreachable for the australian. Please.

Yet Gerrans has out sprinted Sagan. If Gerrans won like that today the forum would have crashed. The only difference is that Gerrans is nearing retirement and age is affecting him while Valverde around the same age is getting better.

I think if Gerrans had won like that - closing down Martin solo in the last km, literally riding the peloton off his wheel, then flying past him and having plenty of time to ease up and celebrate without needing to sprint - then he would have gained a lot of respect around here.

Exactly, lol.

It's apples and oranges.

Yes different coloured kits. Riding past someone in the last few hundred metres probably does constitute a sprint.

Valverde hit the gas 40 seconds before he had his arms raised.

 

[yaco]

Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

How can you comment in this thread without watching the race - Watch the race and then comment as much as you like - Finally don't take much notice of the comments in this thread as posters are never happy - At the end of the day it was a solid race and no surprise the three favorites came 1,2 and 3 - That says something.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

I remember 2015 being the best edition of the last 4 years at least, but maybe Im totally off there.

Definitely wasn't a great race. Something needs to be done to the parcours I think.. why not go the Amstel-route and incentivise long range action? After that example, I think there are good chances they will change it up.

Surely the incentive is already there. Wait for the finish and Valverde probably wins. There are plenty of opportunities in that last 40km to attack, or even earlier if riders want to make it really chaotic. The Redoute is the perfect climb for a rider or a small group to get a decent gap for a long range attack; even better than the Kruisberg and Keutenberg were in Amstel. Of course, if everyone just soft pedals up until then, then attacks will easily be closed down. But that is the choice of the favourites; the route isn't stop teams from riding harder earlier or risking more from further out - and the incentive is certainly there with Valverde close to unbeatable on the final climb.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I just think not finishing in Ans would benefit the overall racing - I could obviously be wrong!

 

[jaylew]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

I remember 2015 being the best edition of the last 4 years at least, but maybe Im totally off there.

Definitely wasn't a great race. Something needs to be done to the parcours I think.. why not go the Amstel-route and incentivise long range action? After that example, I think there are good chances they will change it up.

I liked 2015 as well. Watching Moreno go up the road and the gap getting bigger and bigger with Purito and co. looking at Valverde had me on the edge of my seat.

 

[rhubroma]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

How can you comment in this thread without watching the race - Watch the race and then comment as much as you like - Finally don't take much notice of the comments in this thread as posters are never happy - At the end of the day it was a solid race and no surprise the three favorites came 1,2 and 3 - That says something.

Could be Scarponi's death no? And anyone is free to post, had they, or not, seen the race.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I just think not finishing in Ans would benefit the overall racing - I could obviously be wrong!

They probably should put the finish somewhere else for a better atmosphere and scenery alone! It seems a bit strange that such a big race, bringing so much publicity for Liege and the region, finishes in such a dump. I'm just far from convinced that this course is terrible in terms of providing racing opportunities. Most of the riders on the other hand...

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I just think not finishing in Ans would benefit the overall racing - I could obviously be wrong!

They probably should put the finish somewhere else for a better atmosphere and scenery alone! It seems a bit strange that such a big race, bringing so much publicity for Liege and the region, finishes in such a dump. I'm just far from convinced that this course is terrible in terms of providing racing opportunities. Most of the riders on the other hand...

I generally find riders and directors pretty stupid tho. Finishing on the Cauberg, the riders knew 3 or 4 riders realistically could win, yet most still seemed content with riding to the bottom of the climb peacefully.

Same exact thing at Huy and Ans, we pretty much know what will happen, yet many of the riders seems to believe they actually have a shot (or are racing for minor placings). So in short - finishing uphill, I think, generally is bad to good racing, at least in the classics.

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

How can you comment in this thread without watching the race - Watch the race and then comment as much as you like - Finally don't take much notice of the comments in this thread as posters are never happy - At the end of the day it was a solid race and no surprise the three favorites came 1,2 and 3 - That says something.

Could be Scarponi's death no? And anyone is free to post, had they, or not, seen the race.

Yes, I just didn't feel like watching a big one day race for over 2 hours after that.

 

[Valv.Piti]

What a clueless post, yaco. He can watch what he wants and comment whereever he wants to, have a little respect, I think it was pretty obvious he was referring to Scarponi's death. Jeez.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It wasn't a bad edition. Plenty of attacks in the last 40km. Just none that held a significant advantage. But that also keeps it interesting.

Last year was worse. Even though I was very happy with Poels winning in the end.

 

[Escarabajo]

Please don't blame the parcours. LBL is fine the way it is. Again, Valverde is very good.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

How can you comment in this thread without watching the race - Watch the race and then comment as much as you like - Finally don't take much notice of the comments in this thread as posters are never happy - At the end of the day it was a solid race and no surprise the three favorites came 1,2 and 3 - That says something.

Could be Scarponi's death no? And anyone is free to post, had they, or not, seen the race.

I strongly disagree - I never post in race threads without watching the race - What could I add to the thread ? - It's a problem across many sporting forums.

 

[yaco]

Re:

What a clueless post, yaco. He can watch what he wants and comment whereever he wants to, have a little respect, I think it was pretty obvious he was referring to Scarponi's death. Jeez.

My post is relevant if you want higher quality debate in threads - What can you add if you didn't watch the race.

 

[yaco]

Re:

Please don't blame the parcours. LBL is fine the way it is. Again, Valverde is very good.

It was a solid race - Losing the cobbled climb which split the peleton in 2016, could have made a difference in 2017 - But ultimately the three favorites finished on the podium - That means something.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Please don't blame the parcours. LBL is fine the way it is. Again, Valverde is very good.

It was a solid race - Losing the cobbled climb which split the peleton in 2016, could have made a difference in 2017 - But ultimately the three favorites finished on the podium - That means something.

The hardest classic had 30 riders within half a minute of each other, one slightly significant move was made in the last 20km which never got over 10 seconds, and the deciding moves all happened in the 1'30" of the race

That means something.

 

[Fernandez]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

How can you comment in this thread without watching the race - Watch the race and then comment as much as you like - Finally don't take much notice of the comments in this thread as posters are never happy - At the end of the day it was a solid race and no surprise the three favorites came 1,2 and 3 - That says something.

Loved your post

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

I didn't watch the race (I wasn't in the right mood) but reading th comments it was probably nearly as bad as the last LBL that Valverde won (nothing against him, he played it perfectly, but that was just a horrible race).

How can you comment in this thread without watching the race - Watch the race and then comment as much as you like - Finally don't take much notice of the comments in this thread as posters are never happy - At the end of the day it was a solid race and no surprise the three favorites came 1,2 and 3 - That says something.

Could be Scarponi's death no? And anyone is free to post, had they, or not, seen the race.

I strongly disagree - I never post in race threads without watching the race - What could I add to the thread ? - It's a problem across many sporting forums.

I still haven't watched the race either yet I've posted something in this thread. Mayo's remark was so inoffensive as well, there was no reason to get worked up about it. It was perhaps the most apt remark if you hadn't watched the race.

 

[Tank Engine]

I saw the last 30km. Kreuziger was really strong. Bonus points for Cofidis and Cannondale for an agressive approach and tactical racing. The biggest problem with Sky's tactics was Flowers' positioning. Using the Henaos earlier on was logical. I was watching out for Mike in the last 5km and thought "either he doesn't have the legs, or he is way out of position". From the way he came through the field at the end, the second was true. I don't think it was ridiculous to think he could beat Valverde in the sprint, but given the position of the race after Roche that was the only card that Sky really had left.

The end was inevitable. The headwind did not help, but a rethink of the finish would be a good idea. I'd put the hard stuff at 60-30km to go, followed by more rolling terrain.

 

[Breh]

Route is fine, riders just need to grow some balls.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

Can't wait for Dan Martin to retroactively be awarded these results

Not going to happen but keep dreaming.

 

[rei_da_montanha]

Re:

After this race, i can assume that sagan has everything to win this race

Yeah, Peter Sagan was unstoppable this spring for you assume that.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

After this race, i can assume that sagan has everything to win this race

Yeah just like he had everything to win Milan San Remo, RVV and Paris Roubaix this year

Again the parcours need to change at LBL ....the race needs to be made tougher in the middle and towards the last 15km but not the last 2km also the route needs changing as too well known now

There is alot of moaning on here about the riders having no balls but lots of riders attacked today ...attacked didnt stick which is different to saying they didnt attack ...

The race was boring not necessarily becasue Valverde won but because each attack was not strong enough and had failure written all over it ...and the race was too predictable

a week tomorrow will be the 3rd stage of the Tour of Yorkshire and it will be several times more exciting mostly because the riders and DSs do not have the route and tactics down to a T...of course no one knows who the strongest will be but likely just a few WT riders ..but there will still be open racing

 

[The Hegelian]

I thought it was a decent finale.

There was actually quite a lot of aggression, it was raced hard + the three big faves finished 1-2-3. This will sound ridiculous, but it actually wasn't that predictable until Valverde put the after burners on. Chapeau to him, it was a beautiful ride.

That GVA and Matthews finished in the first group - that says a lot about their quality, versatility and form - and nothing about the parcours.

Okay, and I'll be accused of trolling here but I enjoyed that much more than RVV.

 

[Tonton]

I just got home and watched the last 45 minutes or so on YouTube: not a bad race at all I don't think that anything is wrong with the course actually. A lot of the disappointment that I read is because the result was predictable. I get that. Too bad that Gilbert wasn't there, maybe. But hats off to Bala: the other guys were not strong enough to do him like they do Sagan.

I wish the Alps Pinot had been there . And I'm glad that Formolo didn't win...the DNS stuff? No good.