E3 Saxo Classic 2026, March 27

[Unchained]

so that is two wins he would not get under normal circumstances.

He got 2 pro wins. this year.. He is 25 same as designated star, Girmay, Vernon is paid a fraction of Girmay's money and has same results is the point, not saying the guy is a climber, a threat of any kind, just saying for the money, Girmay is underwhelming and Vernon is a good value for his salary.
I can't stand anything to do with NSN and I hope they are out of business as soon as possible. I am also over the moon happy that Premier Tech went elsewhere and is immediately getting positive exposure with new team... I hope NSN team bus gets chronic traffic tickets wherever they go. If Girmay never wins another race I am good with that. I am cheering for Riccitello because he cut free from the team, routing for Gee for his prudent decisions..

 

[yaco]

He got 2 pro wins. this year.. He is 25 same as designated star, Girmay, Vernon is paid a fraction of Girmay's money and has same results is the point, not saying the guy is a climber, a threat of any kind, just saying for the money, Girmay is underwhelming and Vernon is a good value for his salary.
I can't stand anything to do with NSN and I hope they are out of business as soon as possible. I am also over the moon happy that Premier Tech went elsewhere and is immediately getting positive exposure with new team... I hope NSN team bus gets chronic traffic tickets wherever they go. If Girmay never wins another race I am good with that. I am cheering for Riccitello because he cut free from the team, routing for Gee for his prudent decisions..

There is no doubt that Grmay is overpaid but if Grmay is in those 2 races he probably wins.

 

[pastronef]

so that is two wins he would not get under normal circumstances.

did he ride the modified stages and arrived before all the other starters that had to ride the whole stage? lucky boy! is that even allowed!?

 

[Unchained]

There is no doubt that Grmay is overpaid but if Grmay is in those 2 races he probably wins.

Everything you are saying is 100% correct, if you step back, maybe step back again.. No sprinter on NSN is beating Johnny Milan, a healthy Tim Melier, a recently " rocketing " Dylan Groenewegen or a monster motivated Matt Brennan.. Few other guys with inferior sprint speed but better positioning are beating anything NSN is offering 9 out of ten times.
You also should expand on your data set to include foreseeable and unforeseeable circumstances. Already races have been modified for weather conditions, recent race dangerously interrupted by a climate protester, who's idea of aggressive action was to sit in the road. If you are logically predicting anything, many more races will be shortened, cancelled, modified by ever evolving circumstances. And as far as crowd control and safety, remote finishes are either easier or harder to control, law enforcement just says, sure we will have a mountain finish, but no people because we can't cover every level of crazy.. I would expect more races that on paper were for climbers instead going to sprinters after modifications are made. Not saying it's the year of the sprinter just yet..

 

[awavey]

Wow content deleted sure is getting cited alot 🤣

Look the chances of winning are 0 if you dont make the catch, the chance of winning is still greater than 0 if you do.

If you are so worried about losing out in the sprint, how can you then be happy to finish 3rd anyway ? You still lost out in the sprint.

 

[jono]

Wow content deleted sure is getting cited alot 🤣

Look the chances of winning are 0 if you dont make the catch, the chance of winning is still greater than 0 if you do.

If you are so worried about losing out in the sprint, how can you then be happy to finish 3rd anyway ? You still lost out in the sprint.

This is vague enough that I'm not sure which rider you're referring to.

But if it's Abrahamsen, who seems to be catching the most grief over this, he had little to no chance in a sprint. His best chance for a win is to count on someone stitching things up at 800m to go and then launching with 400 or 500 himself.

It's not an unreasonable bet for him to wait for one of the riders with the most to gain from things going to a sprint (Vermeersch and Hagenes) to close things up.

I also see people saying he was on the front when the group sat up, but Vermeersch stops pedalling several seconds before that.

Vermeersch was most upset at the end because he had the most to gain from others doing the last little bit of work at the end.


As I always come back to: the favorite losing in itself is not a useful goal for most riders, even if it is the most entertaining result for viewers. You have to maximize the probability of a good result for yourself, and that good result isn't always the top step of the podium.

 

[Unchained]

None of us need tell or interpret the storied finalists, winner , podium all involved have given written and videos about what happened.. From what I have read and watched no hard feelings, everyone has moved on.
All riders wanted to win but lacked confidence and experience to do all things necessary in super short distance.. Close gap, not lead it out, pick right wheel but not to early for sprint.. The winner just kept pedalling, the non winners over thought the moves and it cost them a semi classic. Don't think anyone is mad, maybe a bit embarrassed.
Gotta say no matter what race or thread you are posting in, the normal, UAE, #1, we make no mistakes narrative has suddenly changed.

 

[awavey]

This is vague enough that I'm not sure which rider you're referring to.

But if it's Abrahamsen, who seems to be catching the most grief over this, he had little to no chance in a sprint. His best chance for a win is to count on someone stitching things up at 800m to go and then launching with 400 or 500 himself.

It's not an unreasonable bet for him to wait for one of the riders with the most to gain from things going to a sprint (Vermeersch and Hagenes) to close things up.

I also see people saying he was on the front when the group sat up, but Vermeersch stops pedalling several seconds before that.

Vermeersch was most upset at the end because he had the most to gain from others doing the last little bit of work at the end.


As I always come back to: the favorite losing in itself is not a useful goal for most riders, even if it is the most entertaining result for viewers. You have to maximize the probability of a good result for yourself, and that good result isn't always the top step of the podium.

its partially deliberately vague because I blame all of them in that chase group really, but I was specifically highlighting Vermeersch as he specifically said in his post race interview he didnt want to waste his last bit of energy to make the last little gap, implication being he didnt want to lose out on the sprint against the whole group of them

well ok fine, so he saved his energy, and still didnt really beat them much in the sprint either, because Hagenes beat him, so he lost the chance at victory, and he lost first of the runners up too, so he got the worst of both worlds out of that.

and if the point is to maximise the probability of a good result yourself, why even work with a group to chase down the breakaway rider like that if you arent going to gamble that last little bit.

thats my point you have 0% chance of winning or a better result for yourself if you dont take the chance of losing it all.

thats what MvdP did, he took a chance when it was presented to him, knowing full well he could completely end up with nothing, in fact most cycle racing experts would have said he was guaranteed to end up with nothing, and yet there he was the winner, because he took a risk, and wasnt going to be the one going to sleep that night wondering if only Id done this instead.