2018 Innsbruck World Championship Men's Road Race - 259km

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DFA123 said:
Alexandre B. said:
****.

****. ****. ****.

Miserable old man, shatterer of dreams.
Might have been in doubt if Bardet hadn't dropped Alaphilippe. Or at least tried something before the sprint. :eek:

Tactical fail by France.

Yeah, totally. Before the race they should have gone with the plan "Alaphillipe, ride hard on the climb" instead of the "Get tired and dropped" plan...

What were they thinking?
 
Re: Re:

Red Rick said:
Forever The Best said:
And the most stunning thing was that Valverde played it really well.
stunning

'do nothing till sprint'

Obviously
Absolute bs. He was part of the most dangerous move on the climb. Worked hard on the descent and the flat to make sure Alaphilippe had no chance of getting back on. Allowing him to lead the final 2km, confident that he could lead the sprint out and still win.

It was tactically perfect.
 
I'm pretty indifferent about Valverde, but based on his incredible career, he earned it the most out of those 4 to become world champion. So I'm happy about the outcome.

Overall this was a more than enjoyable race.
 
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gregrowlerson said:
Hayabusa said:
I don't usually like Dumoulin but if he stops Valverde from winning this then I'll be a fan for life.

A classic forum post! :lol:

Congratulations to Bala, well deserved. You can see how much it means to him.

Dumoulin has missed his big chance with me. The lack of support from me next year will surely result in him missing all of his objectives... :lol:
 
Re: Re:

DFA123 said:
Red Rick said:
Forever The Best said:
And the most stunning thing was that Valverde played it really well.
stunning

'do nothing till sprint'

Obviously
Absolute bs. He was part of the most dangerous move on the climb. Worked hard on the descent and the flat to make sure Alaphilippe had no chance of getting back on. Allowing him to lead the final 2km, confident that he could lead the sprint out and still win.

It was tactically perfect.
99.9% agree. Maybe Bardet could have gone harder if he knew Alaphilippe wasn’t in shape
 
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More Strides than Rides said:
DFA123 said:
Alexandre B. said:
Might have been in doubt if Bardet hadn't dropped Alaphilippe. Or at least tried something before the sprint. :eek:

Tactical fail by France.

Yeah, totally. Before the race they should have gone with the plan "Alaphillipe, ride hard on the climb" instead of the "Get tired and dropped" plan...

What were they thinking?
Well done for spectacularly missing the point. :eek: If you have two strong riders in a group of four at the most crucial part of the race, it's a monumentally stupid tactic to have the stronger climb attack so hard that it drops the best sprinter.