2018 spring classics

[Valv.Piti]

I think Roubaix and Flanders are equally prestigious.

Also, maybe G-W is marginally more prestigious than E-3, but that race is basically RvV - everybody is lining up each and every year and is often one of the absolute best classics each year.

 

[Blanco]

I don't get the FW thing either. It was set in stone that it would be an uphill sprint, and that's exactly what happened. Valverde didn't win, that's the only surprise.

Why does this make it a bad race? Do you think it would have been a more entertaining race if Schachmann would have won by 500m, with the peloton all looking at each other while Landa toiled by himself and the gap went out to two minutes?

It was a superb edition of Fleche, imo. Lots of action and tension throughout the last hour of the race, but without sacrificing the entertainment of the final sprint up the Mur as well.

This.

Also about Liege, everybody was whining for years about that boring uphill sprints, how large group was on St.Nicholas, how there were no attacks at RaF, how we didn't have a solo winner in years. And now when we had all this, it's dull again Maybe if Nibali had won like Jungels did, "we" would've been much more satisfied with the race.

 

[SKSemtex]

I don't get the FW thing either. It was set in stone that it would be an uphill sprint, and that's exactly what happened. Valverde didn't win, that's the only surprise.

Why does this make it a bad race? Do you think it would have been a more entertaining race if Schachmann would have won by 500m, with the peloton all looking at each other while Landa toiled by himself and the gap went out to two minutes?

It was a superb edition of Fleche, imo. Lots of action and tension throughout the last hour of the race, but without sacrificing the entertainment of the final sprint up the Mur as well.

This.

Also about Liege, everybody was whining for years about that boring uphill sprints, how large group was on St.Nicholas, how there were no attacks at RaF, how we didn't have a solo winner in years. And now when we had all this, it's dull again Maybe if Nibali had won like Jungels did, "we" would've been much more satisfied with the race.

This.

For me it was great season. I have a huge respect to riders that either steel win to favourites or change the race upside down.
Strade - Bonoot, VanAert what a performance
MSR- Nibali shocking winning attack
E3 nonstop action
GW Sagan beating four Steppers
RVV rather disappointed - but good for future as, as the race showed us that attacking from far can pay off.
PR - again attack from far + very good for future as Sagan got another monkey from his shoulder - he can attack whenever he wants without any fear of results
Amstel - from zero to hero - we had one hour of action - really great for Ardennes.
FW - who can dislike it except Bala fans
Nibali again showed us that winning is not the most important thing.
Alap beating Valverde in his race was also great.
LBL - another steel.

Team could learn a lot from this spring even for GT. Sky is beatable. Just len ten work and atack from far . Use the moment when they are weak and attack. Team by team.

For me this was the best season from 2011. Less mano a mano fight among top favourites but very unpredictable racing.
When I look at January prediction we can say that only Sagan met some expectations this year.

I do not get such a hype of last year against this one.
RVV the same, but PR worse.
Ardennes better this year

 

[RedheadDane]

Hmm... I know he wasn't really close, but I think it was probably a good thing Mads P. didn't win RvV.
Danish media would have exploded if that had happened!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

Yeah, I think Terpstra was the dominant cobbled classics rider by quite a margin. Just looked so strong - the way he attacked that elite group for third at PR highlights something new he developed this year: a searing attack.

In the past he could obviously get away, and at times stay away - but it was more opportunistic/ exploiting QS numbers. But this year I think he truly arrived as champion of the cobbles in his own right.

The Ardennes have been such a let down in recent times, but this year was pretty cool. I enjoyed them more than the cobbled races.

Yeah the other riders in the group (Van Avermaet, Vanmarcke, Stuyven) all confirmed when Terpstra took the lead on cobbles everything went a few kph faster and they were hanging on for dear life.

 

[The Hegelian]

Didn't know they said that, but it sure looked that way. That's serious quality that he's putting into difficulty and dropping. I think his Flanders win was underrated too - sure he benefited from QS numbers, but it was a powerhouse ride deserving of a monument in its own right.

 

[Squire]

The Ardennes had an intriguing storyline: How to beat Valverde? MSR obviously had a great story, with Nibali winning.

The cobbles lacked stories this year.

There was no big storyline or rivalry leading into the cobbled races, like the Boonen/Cancellara rivalry, or GVA's quest for the big win. The Gilbert attempt on five monuments never really got out of the startblocks, either. Nobody really stood out, it was all one grey mass of pretty equal riders. And the rider who ended up being the strongest, was also the most uninspiring, and won mostly because of having a superior team. Paris-Roubaix was okay, but you had the feeling of nothing happening, then suddenly Sagan got a gap, then it was over.

It wasn't a great cobbles season when the most memorable thing is Dillier hanging on for 2nd in PR.