51st Amstel Gold Race, 249km - 17/04/16

[BigMac]

Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

**** moron

Is that for real?

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

fukcing moron

No worries, finishing 8th will be enough for a new contract with LottoNL if he wants one.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

**** moron

Is that for real?

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/156583/kelderman-meekomen-over-de-cauberg-en-dan-sprinten-naar-een-mooi-resultaat.html

Title says

Kelderman: "following over the cauberg and then sprinting for a nice result". He says the final lap is really bad because the bemeler is basically false flat and usually has a headwind.

Kelderman is such a tool though. He'll be so happy with his 12th place

Dumoulin wants to bring the finish back to maastricht. Wants someone without cycling knowledge to design a parcours so that DS's have no *** clue how to ride it

 

[BigMac]

Re: Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

**** moron

Is that for real?

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/156583/kelderman-meekomen-over-de-cauberg-en-dan-sprinten-naar-een-mooi-resultaat.html

Title says

Kelderman: "following over the cauberg and then sprinting for a nice result"

Kelderman is such a tool

Dumoulin wants to bring the finish back to maastricht. Wants someone without cycling knowledge to design a parcours so that DS's have no **** clue how to ride it

That's really embarassing. I mean, one thing is to do that on the road and pretend he was too tired to attack from far out, the other is to go in the race already thinking in doing nothing but follow wheels to minor spot.

 

[Bushman]

I'm honestly surprised about the Vakoc hype right now. Only because he won brabantse out of a 5 men group which probably wont be the case in Amstel? So if he wants to win there he has to do a solo from the final Cauberg and I really don't see him dropping everyone there, since his rivals will be way stronger than last Wednesday.

I agree, I don't think he's explosive enough for this.

I believe he is perfectly suited to these kind of climbs. Mur de Huy is too steep and LBL is probably too tough climbing wise, whereas the terrain in Amstel suits him perfectly I think. I could definitely see him in an elite group of 5-10 riders after Cauberg but he isnt the top favourite of course.

 

[Kwibus]

Re: Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

**** moron

Is that for real?

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/156583/kelderman-meekomen-over-de-cauberg-en-dan-sprinten-naar-een-mooi-resultaat.html

Title says

Kelderman: "following over the cauberg and then sprinting for a nice result". He says the final lap is really bad because the bemeler is basically false flat and usually has a headwind.

Kelderman is such a tool though. He'll be so happy with his 12th place

Dumoulin wants to bring the finish back to maastricht. Wants someone without cycling knowledge to design a parcours so that DS's have no **** clue how to ride it

Ofcourse that part of Dumoulin is more a joke. He said they needed to change the course as right now the riders are suffering big time all the time, while the people that watch the race are bored to death.
He's right about that, but when asked what he would change he pretty much said he doesn't really know. Well for starters change the finish back to Maastricht, but that's also more a reference to the fact that Maastricht is his hometown. Then he came up with the last quote.

So what he says is that he doesn't know the solution either, but that right now it is crap.

 

[classicomano]

Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

**** moron

Who doesnt want to aspire to be the next Mollema? Its just tradition for RaboJumbo.

 

[Tank Engine]

I'm hoping for Erviti to go with the early break and a reasonably early attack from the likes of Tommy D/Astana/Clarke etc., but it will probably end up with a small group sprint. Bling is the favourite.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

Kelderman has no shot at winning. He's already said that he's going to wait for the last cauberg and hope to sprint to a nice minor place

**** moron

Who doesnt want to aspire to be the next Mollema? Its just tradition for RaboJumbo.

They're lucky a brand like Jumbo probably only cares about the July fans.

 

[Pentacycle]

I'm honestly surprised about the Vakoc hype right now. Only because he won brabantse out of a 5 men group which probably wont be the case in Amstel? So if he wants to win there he has to do a solo from the final Cauberg and I really don't see him dropping everyone there, since his rivals will be way stronger than last Wednesday.

I agree, I don't think he's explosive enough for this.

I believe he is perfectly suited to these kind of climbs. Mur de Huy is too steep and LBL is probably too tough climbing wise, whereas the terrain in Amstel suits him perfectly I think. I could definitely see him in an elite group of 5-10 riders after Cauberg but he isnt the top favourite of course.

Exactly, in small groups he's always dangerous and he has the same aura around him as Sagan. Like a rugby player on his bike, suited to many terrains and packs a mighty sprint. The big difference between the Peters is their levels of bike handling and of saving energy during the race, so Vakoc making the final tomorrow will depend on how much he has improved that.

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

I'll be working as an election helper/vote counter, so I won't be able to watch the race, but at least it's just Amstel (For the same reason I missed Aru's first stage win at the 2014 Giro )

Oh man that sucks, They always pick the same guys here. There too?

It's not that bad, it's just a referendum, so it's not that much work and we'll probably have a pretty low low turnout, but I was really pissed when I got picked durning the 2014 Giro. They try to rotate the guys, I probably could have talked my way out of it, but it's just a referendum. Italian opening times a a bit over the top (from 7am until 11pm).
Back to Amstel, for me it's going to be one of the fast man who can climb, like Matthews, Coquard or Colbrelli.

 

[manafana]

Looking forward this, Orica might well have some in fighting with its two stars. The finish gives everyone chance of getting involved.

 

[Kwibus]

For the breakaway that will form after the hard series that finishes with the Keutenberg to survive their have to be a group of riders that are willing to race.
Last year it was Tony Martin sitting in and Caruso crashed out, else he would have sit on the wheel as well.
Problem is that rarely the main contenders attack early. Always the 2nd ranks and the favourites with the uphill sprint always send their 2nd rank with them to sit on their wheels which instantly kills their chances.

If the favourites went early then I'm sure they stayed away, but they don't have the balls to do that anymore.

On another note. I just heard Mollema on the radio and he actually said that following on the Cauberg to finish 7th or 6th isn't his goal. He actually doesn't see the point of doing that for a 3rd time... so he pretty much said he wants to attack.... oh dear lord!

 

[luckyboy]

Apparently there's a headwind on the Cauberg according to @ammattipyoraily so even less chance of anything happening before the final few hundred metres. Great!

 

[Kwibus]

Also last year Fuglsang had a nice attack on the penultimate climb, but van Avermaet jumped on his wheel to just kill his attack.

This negative style of racing. Attacking to just kill the break is one of the worst developments in the Ardennes. Orica mastered it.

 

[Kwibus]

Apparently there's a headwind on the Cauberg according to @ammattipyoraily so even less chance of anything happening before the final few hundred metres. Great!

The wind is not really hard though. Predictions are between 15-20km/h around the time they finish.
Their actually might be some rain tomorrow afternoon, but not much or none at all.

 

[Sciatic]

IF (yes it' a big if) an early attacker could pull it off, I'd say it would be Gasparrato. He was eager to attack early on Wed (showing his displeasure when a small group refused to work to stay away) and though he let Vakoc get a gap on the last climb (he waited too long and had to go around Alaphillipe) he kept the gap the same the rest of the way up, Despite the fact that Vakoc had stayed in the peloton most of the race and was fresher while Gasparroto made several earlier attacks. He's still a long shot of course!

 

[Sciatic]

Re:

Also last year Fuglsang had a nice attack on the penultimate climb, but van Avermaet jumped on his wheel to just kill his attack.

This negative style of racing. Attacking to just kill the break is one of the worst developments in the Ardennes. Orica mastered it.

Maybe,the small sign of hope for a more exciting race this year is the fact that we've seen a lot more early attacking from favorites in many more races this spring than in past years. On the other hand that was a different group of riders that included Sagan. But I'm glad to let myself be hopeful and be disappointed afterwards if that turns out to be the case.

 

[SafeBet]

IF (yes it' a big if) an early attacker could pull it off, I'd say it would be Gasparrato. He was eager to attack early on Wed (showing his displeasure when a small group refused to work to stay away) and though he let Vakoc get a gap on the last climb (he waited too long and had to go around Alaphillipe) he kept the gap the same the rest of the way up, Despite the fact that Vakoc had stayed in the peloton most of the race and was fresher while Gasparroto made several earlier attacks. He's still a long shot of course!

Gasparotto himself said he didn't have the legs to follow Vakoc. He was one second behind when he overtook Alaphilippe and finished 5-6 seconds behind.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I'm honestly surprised about the Vakoc hype right now. Only because he won brabantse out of a 5 men group which probably wont be the case in Amstel? So if he wants to win there he has to do a solo from the final Cauberg and I really don't see him dropping everyone there, since his rivals will be way stronger than last Wednesday.

I agree, I don't think he's explosive enough for this.

I believe he is perfectly suited to these kind of climbs. Mur de Huy is too steep and LBL is probably too tough climbing wise, whereas the terrain in Amstel suits him perfectly I think. I could definitely see him in an elite group of 5-10 riders after Cauberg but he isnt the top favourite of course.

Exactly, in small groups he's always dangerous and he has the same aura around him as Sagan. Like a rugby player on his bike, suited to many terrains and packs a mighty sprint. The big difference between the Peters is their levels of bike handling and of saving energy during the race, so Vakoc making the final tomorrow will depend on how much he has improved that.

Same aura? what do you mean exactly?

 

[Sciatic]

IF (yes it' a big if) an early attacker could pull it off, I'd say it would be Gasparrato. He was eager to attack early on Wed (showing his displeasure when a small group refused to work to stay away) and though he let Vakoc get a gap on the last climb (he waited too long and had to go around Alaphillipe) he kept the gap the same the rest of the way up, Despite the fact that Vakoc had stayed in the peloton most of the race and was fresher while Gasparroto made several earlier attacks. He's still a long shot of course!

Gasparotto himself said he didn't have the legs to follow Vakoc. He was one second behind when he overtook Alaphilippe and finished 5-6 seconds behind.

Ok I stand corrected on that, was just going by my view of the video. My point remains that he's a candidate to attack early and perhaps succeed if,but only, if a small group stayed away. But perhaps someone with avatar "safebet" doesn't even consider such long-shot scenarios

 

[blaxland]

Gerrans to follow attacks tonight and if there court before the finish,then Matthews to win bunch sprint from reduced field..

 

[Orbit501]

IF (yes it' a big if) an early attacker could pull it off, I'd say it would be Gasparrato. He was eager to attack early on Wed (showing his displeasure when a small group refused to work to stay away) and though he let Vakoc get a gap on the last climb (he waited too long and had to go around Alaphillipe) he kept the gap the same the rest of the way up, Despite the fact that Vakoc had stayed in the peloton most of the race and was fresher while Gasparroto made several earlier attacks. He's still a long shot of course!

Gasparotto himself said he didn't have the legs to follow Vakoc. He was one second behind when he overtook Alaphilippe and finished 5-6 seconds behind.

What he actually said was that he thought Gallopin was stronger than he was and was following his wheel. He then realised (too late) that Gallopin had let a gap go out to Vakoc and so had to then try to close the gap himself, which he couldn't.


Anyway, makes little odds what was said. Fact is Vakoc was the strongest and no one could hold onto him once he attacked. He also had a very nice lead out by Alaphilippe ( Etix had already said before the race that Vakoc was the leader). I wonder if that will be repaid tomorrow?

 

[Jancouver]

IF (yes it' a big if) an early attacker could pull it off, I'd say it would be Gasparrato. He was eager to attack early on Wed (showing his displeasure when a small group refused to work to stay away) and though he let Vakoc get a gap on the last climb (he waited too long and had to go around Alaphillipe) he kept the gap the same the rest of the way up, Despite the fact that Vakoc had stayed in the peloton most of the race and was fresher while Gasparroto made several earlier attacks. He's still a long shot of course!

Gasparotto himself said he didn't have the legs to follow Vakoc. He was one second behind when he overtook Alaphilippe and finished 5-6 seconds behind.

What he actually said was that he thought Gallopin was stronger than he was and was following his wheel. He then realised (too late) that Gallopin had let a gap go out to Vakoc and so had to then try to close the gap himself, which he couldn't.


Anyway, makes little odds what was said. Fact is Vakoc was the strongest and no one could hold onto him once he attacked. He also had a very nice lead out by Alaphilippe ( Etix had already said before the race that Vakoc was the leader). I wonder if that will be repaid tomorrow?

Thats what Vakoc said. At Amstel, he will be working for Alaphilippe, his roommate buddy to pay him back.

 

[Kokoso]

IF (yes it' a big if) an early attacker could pull it off, I'd say it would be Gasparrato. He was eager to attack early on Wed (showing his displeasure when a small group refused to work to stay away) and though he let Vakoc get a gap on the last climb (he waited too long and had to go around Alaphillipe) he kept the gap the same the rest of the way up, Despite the fact that Vakoc had stayed in the peloton most of the race and was fresher while Gasparroto made several earlier attacks. He's still a long shot of course!

Gasparotto himself said he didn't have the legs to follow Vakoc. He was one second behind when he overtook Alaphilippe and finished 5-6 seconds behind.

What he actually said was that he thought Gallopin was stronger than he was and was following his wheel. He then realised (too late) that Gallopin had let a gap go out to Vakoc and so had to then try to close the gap himself, which he couldn't.


Anyway, makes little odds what was said. Fact is Vakoc was the strongest and no one could hold onto him once he attacked. He also had a very nice lead out by Alaphilippe ( Etix had already said before the race that Vakoc was the leader). I wonder if that will be repaid tomorrow?

Thats what Vakoc said. At Amstel, he will be working for Alaphilippe, his roommate buddy to pay him back.

Things changed and Vakoc is leader today.
@Orbit501 you missed out the last part of sentence - Gaspa said he tried to close gap to Vakoc but couldn't because Vakoc was the strongest. Anyway I think the gap kept growing and growing.