97th Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2011

[beer_thirty]

Yup. Tour of Flanders is probably the only gap in his palmares.

Bettini and Gilbert remind me of one another in terms of their riding/attacking style. Neither great against the clock, but both explosive uphill, very race savvy and aggressive, willing to animate a finale. Always liked Bettini.

And to Carl0880's point, it is really surprising when you go look back at his history; you just always assume he was top dog from the get go and forget how much he achieved in a relatively short period of time. Gotta love the Italian in him; was never afraid to show emotion in his big wins.

 

[beer_thirty]

Yeah, you'll see 20000 Gilbert fans there.

I'm hoping Phil shows them who's boss à la Vandenbroucke on La Redoute to totally demoralize them.

I believe that would be MOST unwise of Phil! Hope all the screaming fans don't cause him to lose his mind..

 

[Bavarianrider]

***** P. Gilbert
**** A. Vinokourov J. Rodriguez S. Sanchez
*** A. Contador, T. Martin. A. Schleck F. Schleck
** V. Nibali, I. Anton A. Kolobnev
* Leuekmans, R. Gesink

 

[lancaster]

I bet Phil wrote that himself.

that's amazing.you don't often see (maybe just don't notice) fan names on the road.

it would be a great interview question to ask him about it.

 

[Flamin]

Both editions Vino won, he wasn't the strongest in the race. Sunday, he won't be either. In 2010 Gilbert, Evans and Valverde were the strongest. In 2005 Boogerd would have iced him amongst others. Mano-a-mano.

And now please stop referring to the one on one misunderstanding. Juvenile stuff.

What makes you think they were stronger than Vino?

 

[The Hitch]

What makes you think they were stronger than Vino?

Agreed.

If Evans Valverde and Gilbert were the strongest, how comes a group of 2 weaker cyclists - Vino and kolobnev managed to hold those 3 off?

 

[theyoungest]

***** P. Gilbert
**** A. Vinokourov J. Rodriguez S. Sanchez
*** A. Contador, T. Martin. A. Schleck F. Schleck
** V. Nibali, I. Anton A. Kolobnev
* Leuekmans, R. Gesink

You rate Tony Martin equally to Andy and Fränk? Really?

 

[Bavarianrider]

You rate Tony Martin equally to Andy and Fränk? Really?

Yes, this isn't the Mont Ventoux or the Mur. Tony will suprsie a lot of people tomorrow. Wait and see!

 

[El Pistolero]

Yes, this isn't the Mont Ventoux or the Mur. Tony will suprsie a lot of people tomorrow. Wait and see!

Yeah, it's 30 times harder.

 

[hrotha]

Yes, this isn't the Mont Ventoux or the Mur. Tony will suprsie a lot of people tomorrow. Wait and see!

That's the thing, if he's going to surprise that means he's not a favourite, and that's what those asterisks are for.

 

[Kvinto]

***** Gilbert
**** Vinokourov, A.Schleck
*** S.Sanchez, Anton, Joaq.Rodriguez
** F.Schleck, Kolobnev
* Nibali, Gesink, Gerrans, Hesjedal, Hoogerland, VanAvermaet...

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Yes, this isn't the Mont Ventoux or the Mur. Tony will suprsie a lot of people tomorrow. Wait and see!

tony will do jack ****

 

[theyoungest]

Yes, this isn't the Mont Ventoux or the Mur. Tony will suprsie a lot of people tomorrow. Wait and see!

Enlighten me, what has Tony ever done in a one day race to compare him to Andy and Fränk?

 

[boomcie]

What makes you think they were stronger than Vino?

Gut feeling. Watching a lot of races. Can't prove it though.

Agreed.

If Evans Valverde and Gilbert were the strongest, how comes a group of 2 weaker cyclists - Vino and kolobnev managed to hold those 3 off?

Hitch, I've been on here for a while now and I understand you know a thing or two about cycling, which makes what I'm going to say useless, because you already know it. But alright, here we go.

Sometimes when two riders escape they come to an understanding almost immediately (especially when they believe in their chances against one another or if one of them doesn't mind riding for second). These riders don't hesitate, they have no doubts and they go full gas. In the final of the big classics usually a group of the strongest riders emerges (behind the escapees, if there are any). These riders are regularly distrustful of one another and the understanding between them is often suboptimal. Let's also not discount the teammates of those people in the breakaway (e.g. Contador 2010 LBL, Thor Hushovd PR 2011...), they will do everything to interfere with the pursuit.
That's one of the main reasons why the strongest riders don't always win the race.

That's it in a nutshell. Don't thank me, because you already knew this and kind of wasted my time. It's weekend though, so I don't really mind.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

There's also the matter of timing. Cadel Evans was probably the strongest at La Flèche Wallonne in 2008, but he went too early. The Mur can be unforgiving and Kim Kirchen, who stayed with the pack longer, was able to overpower the Australian in the closing stages.

Cadel learnt from this mistake in 2010, where Contador and Antón were arguably stronger than him, but they went early like he did in 2008, and he bided his time and went at the right time to take the win.

It's no good being the strongest if you aren't smart enough to know how to use it, but it's no good racing smart if you don't have the strength to back up your nous.

 

[Kvinto]

As for Tony Martin:
“In cycling, only the Tour de France counts. I would like to bring in a stage win there and ride into the top ten.” (Tony Martin quote from this article)
The rider who made such a shameful quote can't contend for the real races with LBL being one of them

 

[beer_thirty]

tony will do jack ****

So you ARE rating Martin 4 stars??

 

[roundabout]

As for Tony Martin:
“In cycling, only the Tour de France counts. I would like to bring in a stage win there and ride into the top ten.” (Tony Martin quote from this article)
The rider who made such a shameful quote can't contend for the real races with LBL being one of them

It's in German but he also says that he would like to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege someday.

http://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_68642.htm

 

[Flamin]

Sometimes when two riders escape they come to an understanding almost immediately (especially when they believe in their chances against one another or if one of them doesn't mind riding for second). These riders don't hesitate, they have no doubts and they go full gas. In the final of the big classics usually a group of the strongest riders emerges (behind the escapees, if there are any). These riders are regularly distrustful of one another and the understanding between them is often suboptimal. Let's also not discount the teammates of those people in the breakaway (e.g. Contador 2010 LBL, Thor Hushovd PR 2011...), they will do everything to interfere with the pursuit.
That's one of the main reasons why the strongest riders don't always win the race.

That's it in a nutshell. Don't thank me, because you already knew this and kind of wasted my time. It's weekend though, so I don't really mind.

Yes, that's possible. But still no reason at all to assume they were stronger than Vino. If I remind correctly, Gilbert looked a bit annoyed with Valverde in the chase, while Evans after the race said that Valverde was saving power.

Now, I can think of only one reason why Valverde did that. Although he was the best sprinter of the group and thus had every reason to catch Vino and Kolobnev, he was probably scared of getting dropped by Gilbert at the Saint-Nicolas anyway. Read: he was not THAT strong.

Plus, even Gilbert couldn't close a 100m gap on Vino at the penultimate climb and he barely decreased the gap (let alone Valv and Evans) when he attacked at the Saint-Nicolas.

 

[will10]

It's in German but he also says that he would like to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege someday.

http://www.radsport-news.com/sport/sportnews_68642.htm

So would I, but it's not gonna happen.

 

[roundabout]

Didn't Gilbert pull back something like 20 seconds very quickly?

Although after watching the video again it could have been a timing error as Gilbert pulled back 20 seconds in about a minute.

 

[boomcie]

Yes, that's possible. But still no reason at all to assume they were stronger than Vino. If I remind correctly, Gilbert looked a bit annoyed with Valverde in the chase, while Evans after the race said that Valverde was saving power.

Now, I can think of only one reason why Valverde did that. Although he was the best sprinter of the group and thus had every reason to catch Vino and Kolobnev, he was probably scared of getting dropped by Gilbert at the Saint-Nicolas anyway. Read: he was not THAT strong.

Plus, even Gilbert couldn't close a 100m gap on Vino at the penultimate climb and he barely decreased the gap when he attacked at the Saint-Nicolas.

Let's agree to disagree. My opinion is different from yours, not a shame. No proof possible.

 

[boomcie]

Didn't Gilbert pull back something like 20 seconds very quickly?

He did indeed.

 

[Flamin]

Didn't Gilbert pull back something like 20 seconds very quickly?

Although after watching the video again it could have been a timing error as Gilbert pulled back 20 seconds in about a minute.

Dunno how much exactly, but he did fall back equally as fast anyway...

 

[Michielveedeebee]

So you ARE rating Martin 4 stars??

let me rephrase that for you Tony will do jack sh*t