57th De Brabantse Pijl, 12th April (1.HC, 197km)

[yaco]

Re:

It was absolutely astonishing.

Coquard attacks. Gasparotto, strong Colbrelli's teammate, tries to shut it down with Matthews glued to his wheel.
Coquard is caught by Gasparotto, with Matthews in his wheel.
Matthews does nothing.

My post from yesterday summed it up - Matthews struggled at the end of the race in 2016 and it was the same in 2017 - Couldn't hold the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc went they attacked on the second last climb - The surprising thing is Sunweb did nothing to bring the break back - Strange riding.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

People keep comparing cobbled classics to ardennaises which is useless. The quality gap between top riders and regular riders is way bigger in the cobbled classics. On the hills there is maybe 2% different between the top riders and the number 90. So logically you are not going to create much difference with attacks from afar. So yeah, the races will be 'boring' if you expect 90km finales or even 30km finales.
A small group might or might not get away 10/5km from the line and that's about as exciting as it will get. As long as you manage your expectations it won't be 'boring' to you

Yeah, because Bert-Jan Lindeman is such a beast in hilly races.

The fact he and others were still there in the finale says a lot about the level of racing here.

None of the favorites put in a serious attack, so obviously they aren't going to create much differences. Too many cyclists in these kind of races that are too afraid to attack.

Once again, Colbrelli was a favourite. So was Vakoc. And Lindeman was the only really weak rider in the top 8. It's not like this race the best on the calendar, it's just the transition from cobbles to ardennes nowadays. It's a nice race though.

Joining a breakaway is not the same as attacking.

You're right, Wellens and Vakoc did attack and that was about it. Way too late as well.

I saw pretty much nothing from the likes of Gilbert, Matthews, Gerrans, Gasparotto, etc.

When one of the favorites joins the breakaway, it's some sort of attack, it puts the pressure to other favorites. Just look at Gilbert on the Muur, it was attack

 

[SafeBet]

So happy for Sonny
Entertaining race overall.

 

[Orbit501]

Re:

Matthews was super strong today but the others decided to do a negative race, not working with him.

:lol:

So glad Colbrelli won. Thoroughly deserved win ! Worked hard to keep the plan on track and executed to perfection. Chapeau to Grega Bole too for burying himself near the end for the cause.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re:

I was right about Matthews - He did his best to hold on to the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc when they attacked on the second last climb, but couldn't hold on - He's better suited in Amstel Gold.

How is he ever going to win though? I can't imagine anyone will be willing to just drag him to the finish line to be beaten by him in the sprint unless they are total morons.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

love the lollipops pic
lol

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

I was right about Matthews - He did his best to hold on to the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc when they attacked on the second last climb, but couldn't hold on - He's better suited in Amstel Gold.

How is he ever going to win though? I can't imagine anyone will be willing to just drag him to the finish line to be beaten by him in the sprint unless they are total morons.

Having a well oiled team helps - Matthews did go with Valverde when Gilbert attacked on the Cauberg in 2015, but then Valverde refused to work which brought the break back - Matthews has ability to win an AG but needs luck on his side.

 

[vladimir]

Re: Re:

It was absolutely astonishing.

Coquard attacks. Gasparotto, strong Colbrelli's teammate, tries to shut it down with Matthews glued to his wheel.
Coquard is caught by Gasparotto, with Matthews in his wheel.
Matthews does nothing.

My post from yesterday summed it up - Matthews struggled at the end of the race in 2016 and it was the same in 2017 - Couldn't hold the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc went they attacked on the second last climb - The surprising thing is Sunweb did nothing to bring the break back - Strange riding.

Well, Sunweb tried but all their guys except Matthews were burned out with 60 kms to go. Their second best finisher was Fröhlinger 7 minutes behind the winner. So Matthews was basically alone on the final two laps.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

It was absolutely astonishing.

Coquard attacks. Gasparotto, strong Colbrelli's teammate, tries to shut it down with Matthews glued to his wheel.
Coquard is caught by Gasparotto, with Matthews in his wheel.
Matthews does nothing.

My post from yesterday summed it up - Matthews struggled at the end of the race in 2016 and it was the same in 2017 - Couldn't hold the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc went they attacked on the second last climb - The surprising thing is Sunweb did nothing to bring the break back - Strange riding.

Well, Sunweb tried but all their guys except Matthews were burned out with 60 kms to go. Their second best finisher was Fröhlinger 7 minutes behind the winner. So Matthews was basically alone on the final two laps.

Strange that all the Sunweb riders were all burned out - Never saw them at all controlling the race from the front of the peleton.

 

[Squire]

Re: Re:

It was absolutely astonishing.

Coquard attacks. Gasparotto, strong Colbrelli's teammate, tries to shut it down with Matthews glued to his wheel.
Coquard is caught by Gasparotto, with Matthews in his wheel.
Matthews does nothing.

My post from yesterday summed it up - Matthews struggled at the end of the race in 2016 and it was the same in 2017 - Couldn't hold the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc went they attacked on the second last climb - The surprising thing is Sunweb did nothing to bring the break back - Strange riding.

Well, Sunweb tried but all their guys except Matthews were burned out with 60 kms to go. Their second best finisher was Fröhlinger 7 minutes behind the winner. So Matthews was basically alone on the final two laps.

Strange that all the Sunweb riders were all burned out - Never saw them at all controlling the race from the front of the peleton.

Their lineup for this race wasn't very strong at all. There was only Geschke who you could realistically expect to feature in the finale.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

btw also funny that people call Lindeman weak. He's a real attacker and won a Vuelta mountain stage from a breakaway.

Call him many things, but he is not a weak rider. Ridicolous even.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

btw also funny that people call Lindeman weak. He's a real attacker and won a Vuelta mountain stage from a breakaway.

Call him many things, but he is not a weak rider. Ridicolous even.

You're right, I was being way too harsh. He doesn't have great pedigree in one day races but he is a good rider.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re:

btw also funny that people call Lindeman weak. He's a real attacker and won a Vuelta mountain stage from a breakaway.

Call him many things, but he is not a weak rider. Ridicolous even.

From an incredibly weak break that consisted of cyclists that don't even belong in the WT...

 

[The Barb]

Re: Re:

It was absolutely astonishing.

Coquard attacks. Gasparotto, strong Colbrelli's teammate, tries to shut it down with Matthews glued to his wheel.
Coquard is caught by Gasparotto, with Matthews in his wheel.
Matthews does nothing.

My post from yesterday summed it up - Matthews struggled at the end of the race in 2016 and it was the same in 2017 - Couldn't hold the wheel of Wellens and Vakoc went they attacked on the second last climb - The surprising thing is Sunweb did nothing to bring the break back - Strange riding.

This is just not true. Matthews made no effort at all to go with Vakoc and Wellens. You can't say he couldn't hold their wheels. Please rewatch.

 

[El Pistolero]

Gilbert's post-race comment:

"Certains coureurs ont voulu me laisser faire la course donc je la leur ai fait perdre"

I think everyone knows who he's talking about lol.

 

[barmaher]

Re:

Gilbert's post-race comment:

"Certains coureurs ont voulu me laisser faire la course donc je la leur ai fait perdre"

I think everyone knows who he's talking about lol.

Valverde?

 

[saganist]

https://youtu.be/xaMC666M214?t=5801

"tira tira dai tira tira tira a tutta!"

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Another very fine and entertaining edition of this race.
Congrats to Sonny.

 

[ThePirate81]

Re:

https://youtu.be/xaMC666M214?t=5801

"tira tira dai tira tira tira a tutta!"

Bravo Colbrelli!

 

[tobydawq]

It's very nice that Colbrelli has finally moved up to the WorldTour.

And it's insane how that 1990 generation just continues to pour world class riders into the top tier of the peloton (Colbrelli and Naesen as the most recent additions).

 

[Brullnux]

Colbrelli has been WT standard for a few years now. It's a shame that it has taken this long for him to join a team, especially as this year he has shown remarkable talent on the cobbles considering it was his first year (unless if Bardiani once got a wildcard I missed).

 

[tobydawq]

He has had a little experience on the cobbles. Other than Gent-Wevelgem last year (where he didn't finish) he has ridden the Driedaagse de Panne for several years without significant results.

But yes, it has been a shame to have him as a continental rider for so long and especially for a team that doesn't get that many wildcards to races that suit him. But he has had a very good season so far and will have a good chance this Sunday (last year he was by far the fastest in the sprint for third).

 

[Valv.Piti]

Matthews... ugh.

 

[Oliver]

Great win by Colbrelli. He deserves it!