Dave Brailsford Destroying EBH?

[goggalor]

Hopefully Cav goes to Sky and EBH back to HTC. That should make things interesting in a myriad of ways.

 

[kurtinsc]

I think this thread would be more interesting if the contributors said which way Boasson Hagen's development OUGHT to be going and HOW this would be acheived.

Should he be training for classics or time trials or what?

I would think they should have looked toward Cancellera as to what he ought to be moving toward.

Not saying he'd ever get there... but the guy seems to have that "type" of talent with perhaps a bit more sprint.

 

[maltiv]

I would think they should have looked toward Cancellera as to what he ought to be moving toward.

Not saying he'd ever get there... but the guy seems to have that "type" of talent with perhaps a bit more sprint.

That's how I always thought he would develop. Results such as winning a time trial in criterium international at the age of 20 should normally lead to a focus on time trials. But he admitted in an interview that he barely did any training on the TT bike last year, and that he won't focus specifically on improving his TT. He was ordered to do more TT training this year due to the TTT in TDF though.

He has still barely done any racing in 2011 though and his oman was very impressive, so we shouldn't jump to quickly to conclusions.

 

[ansimi]

Yes, but in 2008 we said EBH wasted half of the season still getting good results. In 2010 we said EBH wasted half of the season so he was not able to prove himself. In 2011 we say EBH waste half of the season so we should wait 2012 to see what a healthy EBH can do.

The cycling season ends after Tour? I see no reason that he produces little in Worlds.

I thought he rode spectacularly well at the Worlds last year. Norway only had a 3-man team and they won! He did masses of work.

I don't think he should have ever started MSR if he was injured. Not healing properly has ruined the career of many a talented young athlete.

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

Wait why are people upset with Brailsford? I thought EBH was simply injured again? Nagging achilles tendon issue sounds like a pain in the bvtt. Might never fully recover from something like that.

 

[ergmonkey]

If EBH's stock really is falling, then I hope it dips low enough for Quickstep to be able to sign him. Pair him up with Boonen, Steegmans, and Ciolek and you've got a lot of hard man sprinting talent. Let Boonen guide him through a season of cobbled classics, and pretty soon EBH will be proving that his Gent-Wevelgem victory was no fluke.

I think it was a mistake for a guy who admittedly has very little exposure to conventional pro cycling culture to pair up so soon with an outfit like Sky who have a lot of interesting ideas but who are also guilty of neglecting some of the 'intangibles' that come with age and experience. If EBH had just spent the past two seasons working with riders like Gilbert or Boonen then EBH would be much more advanced in his development today.

Either way, the guy's got some big wins in him. It's just a question of how many and how often.