Congrats to Gerrans on MSR.... BUT

[PCutter]

Wow. We're going to revolutionise cycling. We'll just test the riders, decide who's the strongest and give them the champagne. No need to actually hold the race any more!

As rhubroma points out, Cancellara plays his tactics, which includes putting riders into the red (and hopefully killing their sprint) through sheer TT power, holding Cancellara's wheel at the end of 300k isn't easy.

And as for sitting in for 8km - I would love to see how riders would swap turns on the downhill of Poggio at 80kmh??? LOL.

 

[hfer07]

Was Nuyens as strong as Chavanel and Cancellara in the Ronde last year? No.

Cancellara was the strongest man today, not Gerrans. Gerrans was, however, strong enough to stay with Cancellara, but if he and Nibali were doing the turns then Paolini would have had a much better chance of pulling them back. Gerrans won today because he did the right thing tactically - when faced with a superior opponent, make them do the work so they aren't as superior when it comes to the end. Cancellara's only chance of winning was to hold off the whole bunch on his own and hope against hope that he had more left in him for the sprint than Gerrans and Nibali. Gerrans' chance of winning was hoping that Cancellara could hold off the whole bunch of his own and know that he had more left in him for the sprint than Cancellara.

Being the strongest in cycling isn't always enough; you must also be the smartest. Being the strongest can sometimes mean you don't need to be smart, and being the smartest can sometimes mean you don't have to be as strong. Evans was the strongest on the Mur de Huy in 2008, but Kirchen won the race. Why? Evans mistimed it. Cancellara was the strongest in Roubaix last year, but van Summeren won the race. Why? Because Garmin's tactic was to make Cancellara do all the work and put somebody strong in the break.

Sometimes the decisive factor is the strength. Sometimes the decisive factor is the smarts. Sometimes the decisive factor is just a big slice of luck. To win a race like this, you need to have a bit of all three.

I agree with most of your post-however,It's an undeniable fact that Gerro had to be "strong enough to follow Nibali & Cance" afterwards-which was exactly what Nuyens did last year in Ronde both were the better sprinters among their competitors

 

[greenedge]

I'm not sure if they had radios or not during MSR. My guess is that either way, Gerrans had to have known that Goss was no longer in the front group going down the Poggio.
What would Gerran's excuse for not taking more than a 1 or 2 pulls be?
Yes he won, and I am a fan of his. But in my eyes, one might be thinking while sitting on for over 8 km that maybe there has to be SOME honor and he might just act like he couldn't take Fabian in the sprint and concede the win to someone who has been pulling him along for so long and arguably deserved it more?

I think he just stuck to his plan ( Goss was probably held up behind the crash ). Cancellara should have used Bennati better to snap the elastic and he should have tried to get away from Gerrans ( like last year in the RvV )- who has shown this year he has great form.

Gerrans wanted a win- now GE have won 3 important races.
TDU group strength, T-A TTT they dominated and M-SR a monument was one of their main goals for the year. Why would Gerrans cede victory to a rider who has already got one of the biggest pal mares in cycling and will have chances to win P-R/ RvV as the favourite. He was also quite strong/ had cards to play- he closed each gap that Cancellara got on the corners and had to chase down a little gap on the flats.

It's not always the strength of a rider, the winner can be someone who was less strong but profits from the big rider. Though if someone else had won over Cancellara like this i might have been more sympathetic as i admired Cancellaras' effort and i chose him to win.

 

[rhubroma]

Maybe Cancellara was the strongest, but to win you also need to be smart. Cancellara, probably in a Leopard tradition, decided to ride for second place and Gerrans took full advantage of that.

It doesn't really matter if you end 2nd or 10th. In both cases you lost. Cancellara was using a losing tactic and should have done something to change that. Which would have been sitting up. If he really was that strong he could have done a leadout for Bennati. With a proper leadout Bennati would probably have finished second too, but at least the odds are better there.

That's a valid point, though only if the team didn't split their roles: Bennati for the sprint and Cancellara for whatever he can invent.

In the greater dynamics of the team, I'm sure Cancellara, in a classic, is only a lead-out man for the Italian, if he hasn't the legs to attempt a radical move.

Given his peformance today, to say nothing of his recent time-trial victory at Tirreno-Adriatico, his tactic in riding for himself was justified.

 

[blaxland]

Congrats to Gerrans on MSR...BUT.............Cry,Cry,Cry.....So many excuses.

 

[greenedge]

The fact that they stayed away was largely to Fabian's efforts. He got 2 instead of 10. Pretty great finish.

True but remember it was Nibali who attacked on the Poggio and forced the split.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Having Cancellara in front of you not even looking back and you just cruising behind him? Why would you take over when your biggest competitor is killing himself? The question shouldn't be why Gerrans didn't take more pulls, but why Cancellara didn't ask/force him to.

Canc was in a delicate position. Do the work and be doomed by the sprint, or involve Gerrans and likely be caught by chasers. Spartacus really deserved to win but such is cycling.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

True but remember it was Nibali who attacked on the Poggio and forced the split.

Without canc those 2 never would have made it.

 

[taiwan]

IMO Canc is just a rider who doesn't particularly like to use tactics. He plays a straight bat, and is one of the very few, if not the only one who can do that and still win, because of his unique physical qualities.

However recently (in last year's MSR and World Championship) I think he's been attempting more sprints, and quite possibly he thought it was worth trying to take Gerrans, who is a good sprinter only in terms of climbers/puncheurs.

 

[thehog]

IMO Canc is just a rider who doesn't particularly like to use tactics. He plays a straight bat, and is one of the very few, if not the only one who can do that and still win, because of his unique physical qualities.

However recently (in last year's MSR and World Championship) I think he's been attempting more sprints, and quite possibly he thought it was worth trying to take Gerrans, who is a good sprinter only in terms of climbers/puncheurs.

It makes me appreciate Armstrong the I watch Canc ride. Armstrong attacked ones and it made a difference. Clinic issues aside Canc needs to pay a visit to Lance's house and do session on the blackboard. He then needs to take the Lance playbook home and study it before Flanders.

 

[Master50]

It is so wonderful to see how the finale unfolded. How tactics work and they way each played their card.
I think Fabian made the smartest move he could. First he played his big card and he saved it for his best moment. If any thing this is Cancellara's best move ant it has won some big prizes using his attack when few can follow and go as fast as the peloton by yourself. What would we be saying about it if he sat up as soon as he realized he caught a sprinter? He knew he was committed and it was the only chance he was gong to get. Given his talents I think he took his best chance.

 

[auscyclefan94]

At 300 ks things are different.

Trust me, Nibali spent everything on the Poggio. It was his only chance at victory. He's too slow in the sprint anyway, to have had any chance no matter what.

Okay, then why did he attack on the Poggio if he thought he could win with that attack. Your legs don't change that dramatically to be able to make a massive attack and then be completely stuffed a couple of minutes later even though you haven't done that much more work. He could have at least tried. I guess we have seen the end of the race a bit differently.

 

[Ferminal]

Okay, then why did he attack on the Poggio if he thought he could win with that attack. Your legs don't change that dramatically to be able to make a massive attack and then be completely stuffed a couple of minutes later even though you haven't done that much more work. He could have at least tried. I guess we have seen the end of the race a bit differently.

He shouldn't have attacked.

(But again, it's nice that he did, as it made the race more exciting).

 

[movingtarget]

Cancellara is one of the best descenders in the world. On such a tight descent, why would would you and how could you get past him. Gerrans admitted as much. Cancellara has to win from the front even though he does not have a bad sprint. I did not hear Cancellara complaining, it's the nature of bike racing. Gerrans rode a perfect race even though he admitted Cancellara was stonger. Maybe he should apologise and hand the trophy over ?

 

[Choocher]

I'm not sure if they had radios or not during MSR. My guess is that either way, Gerrans had to have known that Goss was no longer in the front group going down the Poggio. That means that Goss and Nibali sat on Fabian's wheel for essentially all of over 8 km-then Gerrans jumped for the win.

Yes he reacted to Nibali's attack, but at least Nibali had Sagan sitting in who could take the sprint, which he did for 3rd.

What would Gerran's excuse for not taking more than a 1 or 2 pulls be?

Sitting in almost the entire time not doubt left more in the tank for his sprint. It would have probably been different if he worked with Fabian.

Yes he won, and I am a fan of his. But in my eyes, one might be thinking while sitting on for over 8 km that maybe there has to be SOME honor and he might just act like he couldn't take Fabian in the sprint and concede the win to someone who has been pulling him along for so long and arguably deserved it more?

I disagree. As soon as Cancellara got away with Gerrans and Nibali he was tactically trapped. I'm sure he understood this and thought that he might be able to outsprint him anyway. The way it turned out was the most likely scenario, given that the group of 3 stayed away and all 3 of them played what cards they had. Gerrans played his cards better than Cancellara. Cancellara wasn't good enough to get away on his own, and that's what he needs to do. Look at P-R last year for an example (though you are probably already aware of that).

 

[Choocher]

Okay, then why did he attack on the Poggio if he thought he could win with that attack. Your legs don't change that dramatically to be able to make a massive attack and then be completely stuffed a couple of minutes later even though you haven't done that much more work. He could have at least tried. I guess we have seen the end of the race a bit differently.

Pressure from the Italian public. He just won T-A, and the tifosi wants to see their boy light it up on the Poggio. After 295km your legs can just die after an attack I would assume. But even if they didn't, given the company he was in, there wasn't any way he would get more than 3rd anyway. I don't see much to argue here really.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

One option AC had was to sit up and force Gerro to come through for one turn.
Gerro surely would have to without Goss in chase group.
Then AC could have attacked Gerro, vulnerable having done a little on the front, but before the chasers got too close.
This could have worked but of course may have cost too much v the chasers.

Anyway fair play to Gerro.

Go Gerro
Go Aussies

 

[Tigerion]

People saying that FC has no tactics are being overly harsh on him. He picked the break to go with and committed himself to it.
When they hit the flat he tried to force gerrans and Nibs to take a turn and when gerrans took his turn realised that he wasn't going to have the speed to hold off the group. Looking at it he decided to TT his way home and try and gap them both rather than force them to take turns and get caught.

It is possible that he could have tried to sandbag a bit longer at the end but maybe he though the risk of getting caught was too high and that Gerrans was on the rivet and wouldn't be able to come over the top of him

 

[Parrulo]

i don't think nibali thought canc would be straight on his wheel and put the hammer down to the line. imo liqui tactics were for nibali to attack create a small group with a small chance to stay away to the line to force the other teams to up the pace and catch that group tiring the pure sprinters on poggio and and giving sagan a greater chance. had canc not followed nibali like last year when he and gilbert only upped the pace to catch nibali at the top of the poggio and we could be praising liqui tactics atm.

all a bunch of "what if's" tho

 

[Ferminal]

i don't think nibali thought canc would be straight on his wheel and put the hammer down to the line. imo liqui tactics were for nibali to attack create a small group with a small chance to stay away to the line to force the other teams to up the pace and catch that group tiring the pure sprinters on poggio and and giving sagan a greater chance. had canc not followed nibali like last year when he and gilbert only upped the pace to catch nibali at the top of the poggio and we could be praising liqui tactics atm.

all a bunch of "what if's" tho

The only way Nibali wins M-SR is to be solo over the top and then hold it to the line. He doesn't outsprint anyone, least of all Gerrans. But it was probably too late, as Cancellara was already making his move across by the time he would have realised what he'd done. Sagan was probably a bit too passive on the climb (or he wasn't strong enough).

 

[RedZone]

Threads like this make me wonder if people actually watched the race, or understand cycling, or sports in general.

The whole Gerrans wheelsucking thing is a joke, if you watched the race you would see that he was BARELY holding Cancellara's wheel for close to 5 out of the last 8km. He did a short turn when Canc asked him to, but Canc obviously decided it wasnt fast enough so went back to the front. Gerrans did what he needed to do to win. Followed the winning move, held Cancellaras wheel after 300 clicks and did enough in the sprint to win.

Those saying Cancellaras tactics stink are pretty stupid too. He got into the winning move by catching gerro and nibali, then used his TT abilities to hold off the entire bunch single handedly. He almost rode Gerro off his wheel, and if he does that he wins the race. Even after he didnt get rid of gerrans its not like he got blown out in the sprint. I thought he actually put in a decent final dig. He came second for ****s sake, if he tries to attack with 2km to go like some people are saying he probably doesnt even get a top 10.

Isnt the whole reason sports are entertaining is that the best and the strongest doesnt always win? It is for me.

 

[thehog]

Threads like this make me wonder if people actually watched the race, or understand cycling, or sports in general.

The whole Gerrans wheelsucking thing is a joke, if you watched the race you would see that he was BARELY holding Cancellara's wheel for close to 5 out of the last 8km. He did a short turn when Canc asked him to, but Canc obviously decided it wasnt fast enough so went back to the front. Gerrans did what he needed to do to win. Followed the winning move, held Cancellaras wheel after 300 clicks and did enough in the sprint to win.

Those saying Cancellaras tactics stink are pretty stupid too. He got into the winning move by catching gerro and nibali, then used his TT abilities to hold off the entire bunch single handedly. He almost rode Gerro off his wheel, and if he does that he wins the race. Even after he didnt get rid of gerrans its not like he got blown out in the sprint. I thought he actually put in a decent final dig. He came second for ****s sake, if he tries to attack with 2km to go like some people are saying he probably doesnt even get a top 10.

Isnt the whole reason sports are entertaining is that the best and the strongest doesnt always win? It is for me.

But that's how he won MSR last time. By attacking out of the grop with 1500m to go.

 

[RedZone]

But that's how he won MSR last time. By attacking out of the grop with 1500m to go.

Certainly true, but the likelihood it works again is pretty slim, certainly slimmer than the likelihood he wins from that group of 3. What he tried to do was descend faster than gerrans could hold, it almost worked. If he takes only nibali with him he wins. Once hes in the move he did exactly what he should have done and came a respectable second. I still think Cancellara rode a pretty flawless race.

 

[D Avoid]

Gerrans ran a brilliant race and the only thing that would have me thinking otherwise is if he had to many or even any hugs, same as it ever was on the Podgy and nobody could do a Kelly such was the speed of the descent, everyone else lost it. Racing in hindsight is an easier sport than any reality we watched today, good on him and bad luck on those who would also have made the final move!!

 

[Maxiton]

As I was watching the race live today, I thought Cancellara might have tried slowing just enough to force the others to work. Watching it again, it's quite clear they'd have been caught had he done that.

The strongest rider riding well, in good form and doing everything right, still can't win them all. Being strongest and riding as well as possible tactically weren't enough today. Circumstances, or luck, played a huge, you could almost say decisive, role; except that in the end what was truly decisive was Gerrans, who had the tactical nous, and the strength, to turn that luck to his advantage, thereby earning the win.

Today we saw a finish where the top step was imbued with a little extra magic and fully deserved, where second meant something more than just first loser, and where third had deeper meaning as well, if only for being in proximity to the first two. This really was sport in its pure form, and a great finish.