2022 PostNord Danmark Rundt, August 16-20

[Danskebjerge]

I hope they are skipping this format for 2023. Overall, it was not very exciting. You knew what was going to happen.

Having 5 loops is destroying that importance of the earlier climbs.
Having a long circuit is making all the riders wait for the last Kiddesvej.
Having the time trial early on makes the later stages more locked.
Having 3 stages for the sprinters is boring. You need at least 2 stages (excluding the time trial) where GC action is possible.

Interesting points. Still, I'll prefer what we saw this year to what happened last year, at least in terms of the GC.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Try to block the road? What does that mean? You aren’t succeeding with an attack on that circuit against Jumbo so your only option is to save everything for the sprint.

Block the road means Ineos hindering the chase behind. We don’t know an attack wouldn’t work, which you are claiming.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Best rider won

 

[Netserk]

Try to block the road? What does that mean? You aren’t succeeding with an attack on that circuit against Jumbo so your only option is to save everything for the sprint.

To start with, Jumbo needed the bonus seconds in play, Ineos didn't. So it was better to send the riders up the road than to chase. The sooner, the better, as it also credibly signals to other teams that it is worth attacking.

 

[hayneplane]

You waste energy for nothing. No way was that circuit hard enough to split the race up.

Was that not the same circuit that Remco tore the field apart to win by 1 and a half minutes and see only 6 riders even arrive within 3 minutes 20 seconds. Deeper field this year to be fair but aggressive racing was certainly possible.

 

[Valv.Piti]

You waste energy for nothing. No way was that circuit hard enough to split the race up.

Lolz, of course it was, but it isn't when Ineos rode like that for some very strange reason. Despite them racing well in some races, they still defaulted to their one trick pony-strategy, but when you don't have the best rider for one kick up that climb, it just doesnt make sense.

 

[Velolover2]

Mathias Bregnhøj said it best in an interview. From Feltet:

Today's fighter hopes for an even tougher PostNord Tour of Denmark in the future and sends a call to the organizers.

"In the future, they must do a slightly more challenging Tour of Denmark, where there are more stages that lead to a real cycling race than the time trial and the Vejle stage, and stop with the dirt roads," concludes the Riwal rider.

It's not just the hills before the circuit. Since most of the Danes are hilly/classics riders, I'd make sense to add a little climb in most of the local laps.

Sprinters can still win a stage with a little climb and you only need one pure flat stage if any.

The organizers had an oral agreement with Vejle municipality about the finish in Kiddesvej until 2022.

Maybe it's time to spice it up with Gl. Kongevej + Chr. Wintersvej as a harder instead? A more climber-friendly finish. No it's not gonna finish directly at the top of the climb but neither does the Kiddesvej final.

 

[Netserk]

Mathias Bregnhøj said it best in an interview. From Feltet:

Today's fighter hopes for an even tougher PostNord Tour of Denmark in the future and sends a call to the organizers.

"In the future, they must do a slightly more challenging Tour of Denmark, where there are more stages that lead to a real cycling race than the time trial and the Vejle stage, and stop with the dirt roads," concludes the Riwal rider.

It's not just the hills before the circuit. Since most of the Danes are hilly/classics riders, I'd make sense to add a little climb in most of the local laps.

Sprinters can still win a stage with a little climb and you only need one pure flat stage if any.

The organizers had an oral agreement with Vejle municipality about the finish in Kiddesvej until 2022.

Maybe it's time to spice it up with Gl. Kongevej + Chr. Wintersvej as a harder instead? A more climber-friendly finish. No it's not gonna finish directly at the top of the climb but neither does the Kiddesvej final.

Denmark is flat. It is what it is. And it's not the windiest time of the year either.

 

[tobydawq]

Denmark is flat. It is what it is. And it's not the windiest time of the year either.

Move it all to Bornholm.

 

[Velolover2]

Denmark is flat. It is what it is. And it's not the windiest time of the year either.

You can still easily make a challenging circuit. Problem is that the steepest climbs (these are all +10%) all have some sort of problem.


Agertoften (Kolding) -> Road blocked
Hjarupvej (Aabenraa) -> Road blocked
Frydendal (Aalborg) -> Blind road
Kastaniealle (Frederiksværk) -> Too narrow
Grævlingehøj (Frederiksværk) -> Blind road
Galgebakken (Svendborg) -> Located too far away from a potential finish
Bøgebakken (Kalundborg) -> Located too far away from a potential finish

 

[JRanton]

Lolz, of course it was, but it isn't when Ineos rode like that for some very strange reason. Despite them racing well in some races, they still defaulted to their one trick pony-strategy, but when you don't have the best rider for one kick up that climb, it just doesnt make sense.

Lolz. No it wasn’t. Thomas himself was able to control the field for pretty much the entire last 30km. Jumbo had four riders to ride for Laporte. You aren’t going anywhere if you attack.

 

[tobydawq]

Lolz. No it wasn’t. Thomas himself was able to control the field for pretty much the entire last 30km. Jumbo had four riders to ride for Laporte. You aren’t going anywhere if you attack.

Thomas was dropping down in the bunch on Kiddesvej on most of the laps (I was standing there).

 

[JRanton]

Thomas was dropping down in the bunch on Kiddesvej on most of the laps (I was standing there).

And he was still able to come back and ride tempo. If it was so easy to make a gap by attacking why didn’t anyone else attack as it’s not like Ineos were the only team in contention for GC?

There were 27 riders within a minute of GC.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

And he was still able to come back and ride tempo. If it was so easy to make a gap by attacking why didn’t anyone else attack as it’s not like Ineos were the only team in contention for GC?

There were 27 riders within a minute of GC.

Because it was the Ineos train that it is high enough to make sure no one attacks but that not many can drop. It’s like you haven’t watched Sky/Ineos do that so many times over the last 10 years.

 

[RedheadDane]

Fun fact: This was the first time since 2012 without a single Danish stage win. I guess Danish cycling has had success enough this year that we'll manage without a stage win in our home race.

 

[tobydawq]

Fun fact: This was the first time since 2012 without a single Danish stage win. I guess Danish cycling has had success enough this year that we'll manage without a stage win in hour home race.

I can't manage.

 

[RedheadDane]

I can't manage.

Aren't you a bit greedy?

 

[JRanton]

Because it was the Ineos train that it is high enough to make sure no one attacks but that not many can drop. It’s like you haven’t watched Sky/Ineos do that so many times over the last 10 years.

And anyone who has watched cycling in the last few years will know that the Jumbo train is now much more impressive than the Sky/Ineos one ever was. Let’s just stop pretending that attacks from Ineos would have been successful on that stage. That is the reason why Ineos didn’t attack. There was no chance of success with that strategy. At least by waiting for the finish there was a small chance and Sheffield didn’t perform badly in the sprint.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

And anyone who has watched cycling in the last few years will know that the Jumbo train is now much more impressive than the Sky/Ineos one ever was. Let’s just stop pretending that attacks from Ineos would have been successful on that stage. That is the reason why Ineos didn’t attack. There was no chance of success with that strategy. At least by waiting for the finish there was a small chance and Sheffield didn’t perform badly in the sprint.

How? Again, it’s worked before like last year with Evenepoel, so your point about an attack is moot, and the Sky train was better at discouraging attacks. You have to attack, Laporte will beat you in a sprint.

 

[jeemswilson]

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