5th?

[jaylew]

No, this is not a Rojas thread.

Who do you think is the best of the 2nd tier sprinters? Kittel, Greipel, and Cav are the big 3. I initially had Sagan in this as well but didn't really want to see him skewing the poll as he's a bit of a special case.

We're talking straight sprinting ability. Their cobble/TT/climbing ability shouldn't factor.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Well, if it's a race with no hills or tough wind then Bos, he beat all top sprinters last 2 years in straight, fair, sprints, and not only once. Cavendish, Kittel and Greipel..

But when the going gets tough, Bos gets going.

 

[Peter von]

I voted Degenkolb, i think a guy like Demare might overtake him soon. I realize that Degenkolb likely has the best train, but having a good train is only possible if the riders believe in their sprinter, so i won't hold the quality of train against him.

 

[Afrank]

Probably Bos on top speed, but as a sprint is not all about top speed I'd say either Demare or Degenkolb (will vote Degenkolb, but its pretty close). Kristoff and Bouhanni not far behind them.

BTW, thanks Jaylew, that was nice of you to create the first thread without a poll for me to test out my new mod power on.

 

[BigMac]

Nacer Bouhanni, quite certainly. And he can only get better.

 

[PeterB]

It's a pity there are not many races where all of them would sprint against each other. Then we could tell with more certainty. Otherwise it is just a guess. For me it is Modolo, who I think will soon start knocking on the doors of the top tier (but not only him, mind you).
BTW nice selection - I would perhaps replace Guardini or Goss with Viviani and this would really be the complete list of 2nd level sprinters.

 

[jaylew]

Yes, forgot Viviani. Definitely should have had him in there.

 

[theyoungest]

Bos is probably the fastest of them all but as he says himself, he's a good sprinter but he's not a great cyclist. Everything has to go well for him to be in the front, let alone win a sprint.

All these guys are quite different, in overall capability I'd say Démare.

 

[De Snelle Duif]

I wish I could say Colbrelli as I'd really like him to win some stuff. He still has some time to develop I guess.

 

[CycloAndy]

Great thread!

Not much between them but like the others said, in terms of speed, Bos would win but Bouhanni has more skill. Viviani, Demare and Coquard aren't far behind and Coquard will probably be the best second tier or could even become a top-tier sprinter in a year or two.

Degenkolb and Modolo would probably be the best on hillier stages (although that type of stage brings Sagan into the equation aswell) but probably wouldnt win many purely flat stages as the others. Matthews and Kristoff wouldnt be far behind on hillier stages either.

 

[jaylew]

I honestly can't really put a finger on why I think Bouhanni is the best. It just seems to me like he's more in the mix when going up against the big 3 and he doesn't seem to have as many sprints where he's just nowhere to be found. I feel like he and Coquard have the most potential. I've kinda given up on Guardini (and had given up on Modolo but he finally seems to be coming along).

 

[biokemguy]

Farrar must be well past his prime of best of the rest.

He doesn't even get mentioned and he's got a stage in
each GT.

 

[VeloHuman]

Viviani, Bouhanni, Kristoff, and Matthews could all take this year to prove themselves better than Degenkolb, though he's really the only one on this list with the resume at the moment.

 

[jaylew]

Farrar must be well past his prime of best of the rest.

He doesn't even get mentioned and he's got a stage in
each GT.

He really seems to be past it. If we going on resume, there'd be several other guys on this list - Benna, Hushovd, Petacchi...when it gets down to it, I just wouldn't pick Farrar against any of the above guys at this point in time.

In the sense of accomplishments, palmares didn't enter that much into it for me. The way I looked at it was, "who would I be most likely to pick today in race that that was destined to end in a sprint?"

Speaking of second tier sprinters, Galimzyanov's suspension ends really soon. Anyone know if a team is looking to sign him? Does he even ride any more or did he retire?

 

[Roude Leiw]

I am surprised by the large margin Degenkolb is leading. I do not consider him a sprinter in the sense of the Big 3 and on a flat race he will probably loose to most of those in the list. He really shines in tough hilly races where the others get lost and he dominates the 50+ groups sprints.

I voted Demare who I see having more potential than Bouhanni. Was close to voting Coquard, that lad has a lot of potential, but is a bit on his own in most races, fdj definitively is more apt on building a train for the last 2 km

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Probably Demare, Degenkolb and maybe Bouhanni, Kristoff are still a bit ahead, but I wouldn't be suprised if we have to conclude Coquard is the best of them by the end of the season. Coquard is definitely the most talented imo, so I voted for him.

I also think Degenkolb is the best cyclist overall here, but Kristoff has a few nice results in difficult races as well. I think Demare wants to become a classics rider too. But again, I believe Coquard has the potential to be the best overall cyclist too.

 

[Peter von]

I am surprised by the large margin Degenkolb is leading. I do not consider him a sprinter in the sense of the Big 3 and on a flat race he will probably loose to most of those in the list. He really shines in tough hilly races where the others get lost and he dominates the 50+ groups sprints.

I voted Demare who I see having more potential than Bouhanni. Was close to voting Coquard, that lad has a lot of potential, but is a bit on his own in most races, fdj definitively is more apt on building a train for the last 2 km

I voted for Degenkolb for several reasons.
first we have the Vuelta 2012, then we have Paris-Tours and Vattenfall of last year and to remind us that he's still going strong we have Tour Med of this year.

Paris-Tours and Vattenfall are were decided in a sprint so i allowed my self to count them in Degenkolbs favour.
Degenkolbis not as fast as many of the others, but he knows his craft, he is mostly in good positions and he has very good timing of his sprints.

Demare is a very talented rider but i won't count his future results in his favour.

 

[BigMac]

Nacer just won over Degenkolb in P-N.


Nacer it is.

 

[42x16ss]

For me it's Bouhanni, Kristoff then Viviani.

Matthews and Degenkolb, as fast as they are, are more guys with a very strong turn of speed at the finish than pure sprinters - like Sagan or maybe Boonen a few years ago.

Bos and Guardini would be my 1-2 if they learned to get over some lumps in the road...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

See, that's the problem in judging something like this. There are a number of races where the fastest in pure speed of these - Bos, Guardini - simply will not be able to figure. Degenkolb and Démare, as well as Matthews who I'm afraid after his explosion into the pro world a couple of years ago seems to have stagnated and fallen behind the other two I mention, are simply better cyclists, which enables them to use their turn of speed under much more diverse circumstances.

Bouhanni is the middle ground between these. He's not as versatile as Degenkolb, but in a head-to-head sprint I'd back him to win more often than he loses, though there's not much in it.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

yep, but gave a flat fast course with no obstacles and Bos beats Kristoff, Degenkolb and Bouhanni everyday

 

[Libertine Seguros]

yep, but gave a flat fast course with no obstacles and Bos beats Kristoff, Degenkolb and Bouhanni everyday

My first sentence acknowledges that. Unfortunately for Theo the set of circumstances where Bos is able to win are outnumbered by the set of circumstances where Bouhanni is able to win.

 

[Netserk]

How about this scenario: the Tour begins with all of these sprinters selected. One day before the start Cav, Kittel, Greipel and Sagan withdraw for some reason.

Who will now win the green jersey?
Who will have the biggest chance to win the first stage and wear yellow?
Who will win most stages throughout the Tour?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Green jersey: Degenkolb. He'll inherit Kittel's train so be well placed in the pure flat stages to get good placements, will get placements in stages others can't, and Démare and Bouhanni will have to split duties or get in each others' way. Kristoff also has an opportunity at the jersey owing to his unfailing ability to win the sprint of the bunch behind the leaders in every Classic under the sun.

 

[CycloAndy]

Green jersey: Degenkolb. He'll inherit Kittel's train so be well placed in the pure flat stages to get good placements, will get placements in stages others can't, and Démare and Bouhanni will have to split duties or get in each others' way. Kristoff also has an opportunity at the jersey owing to his unfailing ability to win the sprint of the bunch behind the leaders in every Classic under the sun.

This! Even if Bouhanni and Demare didn't split duties.

Too many points for the green jersey are gained through intermediate sprints for a pure sprinter to win. If Cav or Kittel are to win the green jersey this year they will need their teammates (Boonen/Trentin or Degenkolb, respectively) to compete with Sagan for the intermediate sprint points on the harder stages.