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

[OldCranky]

Success for Valverde always sticks in my craw a little but he's a superbly talented cyclist and deserved winner. Was never anybody else's race from the moment the break was made.

 

[Andy262]

Well done Bala. Might have had a 100-1 winner without that *%#^* murito though.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Dumo's should've continued his attack..

What attack? He spent about 2 minutes to close a 3 second gap, was clearly on the limit.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Re: Re:

****.

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

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.

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?

 

[Amazinmets87]

Bala baby!

And talk about sour grapes. Haters gonna hate i suppose

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

Dumo's should've continued his attack..

I don't think he had the legs to get around. Woods and/or Bardet should have tried to squeeze between Valverde and the barrier. They were never going to win a straight sprint

 

[markene2]

Grande Bala!!! Fully deserved

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

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.

 

[burning]

Re: Re:

And the most stunning thing was that Valverde played it really well.

stunning

'do nothing till sprint'

Obviously

Literally no one else except Valgren did anything in note before last climb, and Valverde controlled the race well in the final few km's, he definitely deserves this win.

 

[luckyboy]

ugh

 

[BlackWhiteEagle]

Yates brothers really disappointing.

 

[Forever The Best]

Re: Re:

And the most stunning thing was that Valverde played it really well.

stunning

'do nothing till sprint'

Obviously

This is stunning compared to the epic failure of 2013. But you are right, he wasn't tested.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

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.

 

[46&twoWheels]

I still think Valgren has a chance

 

[franic]

He was deserving it the most. The guy was on the pdium with Astarloa and PvP in 2003!!!

 

[Flamin]

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.

 

[hfer07]

the Don lost for words and in tears....
damn it

 

[Hayabusa]

Re: Re:

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:

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

great bala!!

 

[franic]

Re: Re:

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

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Valverde has this in the bag.

Indeed.

 

[jmdirt]

10+ years ago I said that AV would win a rainbow kit...finally.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

deleted

Might have been in doubt if Bardet hadn't dropped Alaphilippe. Or at least tried something before the sprint.

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. 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.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re: Re:

deleted

Might have been in doubt if Bardet hadn't dropped Alaphilippe. Or at least tried something before the sprint.

Tactical fail by France.

The Quick-Step guy, the so-called pre-race favorite doomed us.

 

[Red Rick]

Haven't been this tilted since Wimbledon 2009