72nd Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: March 1, 2020

[Vroome.exe]

Which doesn't make any sense, but yeah, that's just Holm.

Great win for Asgreen!

Poor man forgot Gilbert's Ronde. And hundreds of other impressive solos.

 

[RedheadDane]

That's gotta be one of the best "Oh... ***! We have a sudden, unexpected rider shortage." ever.

 

[HelloDolly]

The peloton is slowing down, Sunweb blew up

Sunweb had little help

And then they were the guys that went the wrong way

NTT and Bahrain should have helped

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Poor man forgot Gilbert's Ronde. And hundreds of other impressive solos.

My memory may fail me, but were any of them doing the last 8 K in a headwind, hanging 15 seconds in front of a big chasing peloton?

 

[sir fly]

That's gotta be one of the best "Oh... ***! We have a sudden, unexpected rider shortage." ever.

And you've gotta been spending the afternoon with the family, otherwise, you'd have been posting here in three different race threads and going absolutely out of your mind about Asgreen.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Poor man forgot Gilbert's Ronde. And hundreds of other impressive solos.

You have to be a Quick-Step rider to do that.

 

[RedheadDane]

And you've gotta been spending the afternoon with the family, otherwise, you'd have been posting here in three different race threads and going absolutely out of your mind about Asgreen.

I was indeed, only got back with about 3 ks to go, and went straight into stunned mode.

 

[yaco]

A strange race - You never let a QS rider burst clear with 20kms to go and something is wrong if you can't bring back 9 seconds in 3km - I suspect some riders weren't brave enough.

 

[Mayomaniac]

My memory may fail me, but were any of them doing the last 8 K in a headwind, hanging 15 seconds in front of a big chasing peloton?

Danish Dynamite in the classics once again, in the gts it's gonna be Danish donkeymight once again.
Just kidding, the amount of great one day races that Denmark has atm is outstanding.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

My memory may fail me, but were any of them doing the last 8 K in a headwind, hanging 15 seconds in front of a big chasing peloton?

Stuyven's win in 2016 in this race was also with a solo only a few seconds ahead of the peloton. Don't know how the wind compares, but rest assured lots of similar or comparable efforts have been made. Evenepoel in San Sebastian also comes to mind. De Gendt in TDF... Jacky Durand. Yes, plenty.

But that doesn't make Asgreen's performance any less impressive. For me stuff like this is why i like watching cycling.

 

[jmdirt]

I love it when a break works! Congrats KA!

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

I was pretty shocked he stayed clear. When he started to slow down and look really uncomfortable, I'd have bet a significant chunk of change that he was done.

DQS were definitely running some interference too. I noticed them a couple of times "leading" the bunch.

It really does go to show that you cannot let a big engine go clear anywhere near the end of a race. The chase is never guaranteed to be organized enough to stay within striking distance.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Stuyven's win in 2016 in this race was also with a solo only a few seconds ahead of the peloton. Don't know how the wind compares, but rest assured lots of similar or comparable efforts have been made. Evenepoel in San Sebastian also comes to mind. De Gendt in TDF... Jacky Durand. Yes, plenty.

But that doesn't make Asgreen's performance any less impressive. For me stuff like this is why i like watching cycling.

Evenepoel's CSB-win was very different in nature. Evenepoel was sharing the work load with Skujins (?) on the 6 flat kilometers leading into the final climb (Murgil). That he managed to hold the gap on the Murgil to the group of favourites behind was very impressive, but his descent and run-in to San Sebastian was more a formality, and it is usually very difficult to make up big time for a chase group on this stretch.

De Gendt's TDF stage win ranks higher in my book, because he had been in the break all day and since Pinot/Alaphilippe were flying behind him.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Evenepoel's CSB-win was very different in nature. Evenepoel was sharing the work load with Skujins (?) on the 6 flat kilometers leading into the final climb (Murgil). That he managed to hold the gap on the Murgil to the group of favourites behind was very impressive, but his descent and run-in to San Sebastian was more a formality, and it is usually very difficult to make up big time for a chase group on this stretch.

De Gendt's TDF stage win ranks higher in my book, because he had been in the break all day and since Pinot/Alaphilippe were flying behind him.

If you are looking for exactly the same circumstances, there will always be something different. One break being 5k longer or shorter, more wind or less, tougher terrain, better quality riders chasing vs a bigger group chasing. Having done more work before the attack or not... I think that's not really what's being debated here. The fact is that there are plenty of examples that are very comparable, hence the "never seen anything like it" is either a technicality or it is a gross exaggeration.

De Gendt's attack in TDF was also not the same, it was more hilly but the weather was better. He'd been in the attack all day. He was chased not by a peloton but by another break etc (though the peloton was only seconds behind that break as well). But as far as a solo goes, i'm sure we can agree that it was at least as impressive if not more. Evenepoel in San Sebastian had a mechanical and had to chase nearly 20k from the bottom the penultimate climb. Only 4k after he had rejoined the peloton and brought bottles, he attacked with Skuijns. Only a few kilometers after the attack, Skuijns was more dead weight than an actual help. Maybe there was no wind, but there was a 2k 11% climb. And it was not 6k of flat leading into the final climb but more than 10. They attacked at 20.5k from the finish, the top of the Murgil was at 8k from the finish. So i very much rate that higher as well, because it was a 20k chase, followed by an attack followed by a climb with a solo.

And now we're talking semantics, while nobody is contesting the fact that Asgreen just put out an incredible achievement. We could also look at some of Jungels' wins of the past few years.

 

[Velolover2]

Is Asgreen racing Strade Bianche?

I think he could do well in something slightly hillier than the Flemish races like Strade and Amstel.

While nowhere near as dominant a time trialist, he seems not have the same skillset as Cancellara when it comes to the other aspects of racing. Huge engine. A rider who can do well in hilly territory and easier one-week races.

 

[Danskebjerge]

Brian Holm (DQS DS) is live commentating on danish TV, and saying he has never seen anything like it before.

He said it five seconds after Asgreen had crossed the finish line. So to do an in-depth analysis of the correctness of that sentence is sort of ... well, out of context. By the way, he shortly after compared it to Jungels' victory in 2019.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Is Asgreen racing Strade Bianche?

I think he could do well in something slightly hillier than the Flemish races like Strade and Amstel.

While nowhere near as dominant a time trialist, he seems not have the same skillset as Cancellara when it comes to the other aspects of racing. Huge engine. A rider who can do well in hilly territory and easier one-week races.

I find he has things in common with both Jungels as well as van Aert. Hard man, long break, sprinter, time trialer.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

If you are looking for exactly the same circumstances, there will always be something different. One break being 5k longer or shorter, more wind or less, tougher terrain, better quality riders chasing vs a bigger group chasing. Having done more work before the attack or not... I think that's not really what's being debated here. The fact is that there are plenty of examples that are very comparable, hence the "never seen anything like it" is either a technicality or it is a gross exaggeration.

De Gendt's attack in TDF was also not the same, it was more hilly but the weather was better. He'd been in the attack all day. He was chased not by a peloton but by another break etc (though the peloton was only seconds behind that break as well). But as far as a solo goes, i'm sure we can agree that it was at least as impressive if not more. Evenepoel in San Sebastian had a mechanical and had to chase nearly 20k from the bottom the penultimate climb. Only 4k after he had rejoined the peloton and brought bottles, he attacked with Skuijns. Only a few kilometers after the attack, Skuijns was more dead weight than an actual help. Maybe there was no wind, but there was a 2k 11% climb. And it was not 6k of flat leading into the final climb but more than 10. They attacked at 20.5k from the finish, the top of the Murgil was at 8k from the finish. So i very much rate that higher as well, because it was a 20k chase, followed by an attack followed by a climb with a solo.

And now we're talking semantics, while nobody is contesting the fact that Asgreen just put out an incredible achievement. We could also look at some of Jungels' wins of the past few years.

Ofcourse it makes no sense to nitpick circumstances.

However, on flat roads, alone against a large peloton chasing, headwind is the worst possible circumstance, because it benefits the peloton hugely.

That is why I mentioned it.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Is Asgreen racing Strade Bianche?

I think he could do well in something slightly hillier than the Flemish races like Strade and Amstel.

While nowhere near as dominant a time trialist, he seems not have the same skillset as Cancellara when it comes to the other aspects of racing. Huge engine. A rider who can do well in hilly territory and easier one-week races.

I don't think he is scheduled to.

Another question is if the race will at all be held, being in northern Italy, in these virus times.

 

[yaco]

If you are looking for exactly the same circumstances, there will always be something different. One break being 5k longer or shorter, more wind or less, tougher terrain, better quality riders chasing vs a bigger group chasing. Having done more work before the attack or not... I think that's not really what's being debated here. The fact is that there are plenty of examples that are very comparable, hence the "never seen anything like it" is either a technicality or it is a gross exaggeration.

De Gendt's attack in TDF was also not the same, it was more hilly but the weather was better. He'd been in the attack all day. He was chased not by a peloton but by another break etc (though the peloton was only seconds behind that break as well). But as far as a solo goes, i'm sure we can agree that it was at least as impressive if not more. Evenepoel in San Sebastian had a mechanical and had to chase nearly 20k from the bottom the penultimate climb. Only 4k after he had rejoined the peloton and brought bottles, he attacked with Skuijns. Only a few kilometers after the attack, Skuijns was more dead weight than an actual help. Maybe there was no wind, but there was a 2k 11% climb. And it was not 6k of flat leading into the final climb but more than 10. They attacked at 20.5k from the finish, the top of the Murgil was at 8k from the finish. So i very much rate that higher as well, because it was a 20k chase, followed by an attack followed by a climb with a solo.

And now we're talking semantics, while nobody is contesting the fact that Asgreen just put out an incredible achievement. We could also look at some of Jungels' wins of the past few years.

The difference is that De Gendt had been riding at the front of the peleton in support of Ewan in previous stages, so in affect doing the De Clerc role - There is no comparison.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

He said it five seconds after Asgreen had crossed the finish line. So to do an in-depth analysis of the correctness of that sentence is sort of ... well, out of context. By the way, he shortly after compared it to Jungels' victory in 2019.

Where do you see me doing an "in-depth analysis"?

I was merely mentioning, that one of his own DSs said so in the moment, which I found cool

 

[Jagartrott]

So, who were the guys that shot straight on at that roundabout? I think that played a role in Asgreen's win, as the chase seemed disorganised for a while afterwards.

 

[Pantani_lives]

So, who were the guys that shot straight on at that roundabout? I think that played a role in Asgreen's win, as the chase seemed disorganised for a while afterwards.

They have been spotted in Bruges.

 

[tobydawq]

So, who were the guys that shot straight on at that roundabout? I think that played a role in Asgreen's win, as the chase seemed disorganised for a while afterwards.

Tobias Ludvigsson and Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg.

 

[Bolder]

That was an impressive ride by Asgreen. I watched the race with half an eye, and with about 15k to go I thought he was done but as noted the bunch never really got organized. It was probably partly due to half the teams hoping someone else would do the work, and also partly due to DQS tactics in the bunch. At one point they were the third placed team and may have soft-pedaled a bit here and there...nonetheless chapeau bas to Mr. Asgreen...