Challenge Mallorca 2023 (January 25-29)

[SafeBet]

Hilly route, strongest team f*cks up, Rui Costa wins?

 

[DNP-Old]

Hilly route, strongest team f*cks up, Rui Costa wins?

Ben Healy is the Irish version of Thomas De Gendt, when he has his day he can do some weird stuff.

 

[BR2]

Okay, that was really a tactical fail overall from the SOQ boys.

 

[DNP-Old]

Costa is a damn idiot.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Healy took the podium, think it was the right thing to do in the end really

 

[RedheadDane]

Costa is a damn idiot.

Well, he just did what he had to do to win.

 

[Salvarani]

Hilly route, strongest team f*cks up, Rui Costa wins?

You called it!

 

[Didinho]

The wrong guy in front for QS. Thought they would bridge in the end.
Congrats Costa

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Costa is a damn idiot.

A winning idiot lol

 

[DNP-Old]

Well, he just did what he had to do to win.

Brilliant, almost managed to fumble a definitive win but is saved because Healy throws everything out of the window and decides to empty the tank for podium. What a masterclass from Costa, tactical genius.

 

[Bolder]

QS was kind of stuffed there. They had to trust Vervaeke, who bottled the finish a bit by letting Costa come around him. It looked like they could have bridged but I suspect Alaf was soft pedaling a bit here and there to keep the gap.

Costa, good for him, he raced like he had something to prove, which I suppose he did after being dumped by UAE.

Side note: Is there any place in the world with better roads for cycling than western Mallorca?

 

[armchairclimber]

"Is there any place in the world with better roads for cycling than western Mallorca?"

Yorkshire.

 

[RedheadDane]

Brilliant, almost managed to fumble a definitive win but is saved because Healy throws everything out of the window and decides to empty the tank for podium. What a masterclass from Costa, tactical genius.

Your post was after he'd already won, so I thought you meant he was an idiot (a-hole) for not pulling and then going around to win.

 

[Potomac]

I don't understand the critique of Costa in the posts above. Quick step had the numbers and yet he won.
Congratulations are in order.

Healey taking third after being in the break, well done.

 

[jfazendeiro]

Brilliant, almost managed to fumble a definitive win but is saved because Healy throws everything out of the window and decides to empty the tank for podium. What a masterclass from Costa, tactical genius.

If he had taken the lead of the group, he wouldn't have won.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Brilliant, almost managed to fumble a definitive win but is saved because Healy throws everything out of the window and decides to empty the tank for podium. What a masterclass from Costa, tactical genius.

Considering how close Vervaeke was to winning the sprint, I doubt Costa would have won if he had led all the way to the finish.

 

[DNP-Old]

Considering how close Vervaeke was to winning the sprint, I doubt Costa would have won if he had led all the way to the finish.

Yet, at the same time, it would have been a completely different sprint, a sprint on explosiveness, which he always wins against Vervaeke, if he did normal turns. He got bailed out by Healy, a factor not in his control nor something he ever counted on, I am quite sure of.

 

[KZD]

Costa truly is an old fox. Quick Step tactically clueless.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Yet, at the same time, it would have been a completely different sprint, a sprint on explosiveness, which he always wins against Vervaeke, if he did normal turns. He got bailed out by Healy, a factor not in his control nor something he ever counted on, I am quite sure of.

We'll obviously never know, but Costa didn't look like he had plenty of power left by the end, which I assume is the explanation for how he rode the final kilometres.


Brian Holm on Danish ES had a good chuckle thinking about what PL's reaction would be to his team's performance.

 

[Roku]

Rui Costa last win was Portuguese NC, back in 2020. That year he also won a stage of Saudi Tour. On 2017, he scored wins in San Juan and UAE Tour.

His last victory, outside of NC, on european soil, traces back to 2015, a stage win in Dauphine.

 

[Salvarani]

We'll obviously never know, but Costa didn't look like he had plenty of power left by the end, which I assume is the explanation for how he rode the final kilometres.


Brian Holm on Danish ES had a good chuckle thinking about what PL's reaction would be to his team's performance.

The team performed great in this race though... they were by far the strongest and had strength in numbers.

Yes, mistakes were made tactically but those can be corrected. Was the radio even working? Either way, nothing that causes any concerns in a training race.

Probably more worried about Van Wilder. Was it a bad crash? Will he be out again for a few weeks/months?

 

[Earns1985]

Wow.. 49 riders DNF, most likely because of the bad weather. Do we know about riders, who had been seriously injured? Would be a shame in their first race of the season..

 

[Berflamand]

The team performed great in this race though... they were by far the strongest and had strength in numbers.

Yes, mistakes were made tactically but those can be corrected. Was the radio even working? Either way, nothing that causes any concerns in a training race.

Probably more worried about Van Wilder. Was it a bad crash? Will he be out again for a few weeks/months?

No, only some minor bruises/abrasions apparently. He'll be able to race again in the coming days.

 

[Samamba]

Wow.. 49 riders DNF, most likely because of the bad weather.

That's pretty normal for a one day race.

 

[Samamba]

The team performed great in this race though... they were by far the strongest and had strength in numbers.

They attacked in the descent, and I read somewhere the reason why there was a split was because of a crash. Doubt it has anything to with "strength".