Edvald Boasson Hagen, future role?

[Erik_R]

Seeing how Eddy rode this years TdF im wondering if he possibly could be a future GC rider? He has shown decent climbing skills, he's got good ITT skills and seems to be recovering petty good between stages.

Wiggins was, like, past 30 before he became a GC rider?

 

[mscaviy2601]

I'm not so sure. I'd love to see it, he's one of my favourite riders but I just don't see him getting to the top of a mountain in the company of Schleck, Contador, Froome, Wiggins etc on a day to day basis.

Geraint Thomas on the other hand....

 

[Squire]

I hate how Sky are using him now. He needs to specialize. The way it is now, he a jack of all trades, master of none. He cannot win bunch sprints, cannot climb with the best, is not the best time trialist and lacks the stamina for the classics.

He's a brilliant stage hunter though, but with his talent, he should be aiming much higher. What he should aim for? I have no idea.

 

[180mmCrank]

Fun to speculate but no I don't think so. Different kind of athlete.

Incidentally he seems a little frustrated today ... Even though he had a hand in Cav's win I think he wanted more for himself. This wouldn't surprise me he is a very competitive athlete ... He will need to get more opportunities from SKY if he is to stay ... He will not be happy just being a Domestique

T

 

[Pricey_sky]

He has been a fantastic domestique in the tour. Didn't think I would see Eddy pace the peleton over several Cat 1 and HC climbs but he has done a fantastic job.

That said its a completely different between leading the pack up a mountain under a steady pace and then trying to put GC rivals under big pressure by riding at a higher tempo.

 

[Swede1]

No I don't think he will be. Although of course if he really tried he could probably do it, because he seems to already climb better than wiggo did at his age and is good at tt.

I think he should focus on classics and stages. He can sprint well enough to at least win stages that someone like Degenkolb would, hilly so that cav/greipel aren't there. Also he can win classics that are not completely cobbled and not too hilly. He can win the in between stuff. And of course he is a good breakaway rider.

 

[ParfaitAmour]

IMO he needs to concentrate on the classics.

 

[William H]

IMO he needs to concentrate on the classics.

Which ones though? Seems to me he might be better of looking at hills more than cobbles.

 

[T-Rav.]

He's pretty good at a lot of things but not a stud at any one of them. I can't see him sprinting, climbing, or doing the ITT a whole lot better without sacrificing his abilities in some other area, and I don't know that it would help him truly contend in the GC.

I do agree that he is capable of more than just getting the occasional stage win. Hilly classics seem like they would be a good fit for him right now.

 

[maltiv]

Well one thing's for sure: if the cobbled classics don't work out for him next year either he might as well give up on them. Focus on short stage races and hilly classics instead.

Considering how he climbed yesterday I'm sure he could manage a top 15 or top 10 (if lucky) in a GT, but I'd rather see him start winning big races than to be a guy who fights for a top 10.

 

[Andre.J]

It all depends on what kind of medication is available in the next few years. .

 

[Pricey_sky]

It all depends on what kind of medication is available in the next few years. .

Clinic

 

[kjetilraknerud]

Seeing how he's climbing at the moment, I'd say he should have another go at the Ardennes. And with his TT he could win Paris-Nice and the Tour of Romandie. In GTs however, he should focus on stage hunting. I have no doubt he could be top 10 in a GT if he focused on it, but I think classics, smaller stage races and stage hunting is a far more productive focus for him.

 

[Sørensen]

Think he could win a GT in the future. But wont happen unless he leaves Team Sky, he's clearly wasting his talent there.

Would love to see him at Saxo Bank, Bjarne would be perfect for him and he would feel a lot more appreciated, fellow scandinavians and all...

 

[the asian]

Wont win a GT. He should concentrate on the one week stage races. That is where he's best.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Wiggins was, like, past 30 before he became a GC rider?

Yeah but he was a track rider; EBH was always on the road, so EBH can oly grow a little bit more as he grows older, but he can't randomly climb much better like Wiggins did.

He might be okay for hilly one week races, but I don't think he climbs well enough to compeete in any race with serious climbing.

 

[element]

His climbing is very good, but I can't see him being up there with the top 10-15 climbers when the pace is on, so I find it hard to see how he can win any races with major climbing. He can however potentially time trial and sprint with the absolute best, so I still think he's prefectly suited to Flanders and Roubaix. He just needs to sort out his problem over fuelling, and I don't see why he can't win those races. It'll be interesting to see whether a change in coach will help him out.

 

[El Pistolero]

I lost all respect for Bo Hagen when he tried to act like the boss in the peloton. Now he's a clown figure for me.

By the way, cobbles aren't the problem for Bo Hagen. Distance is... His best result is 25th at Milan-San Remo. Gilbert as a 22 year old was 6th already... You either have the talent for it or you don't.

 

[MrRoboto]

He needs to survive a dangerous illness first.

 

[Pentacycle]

I lost all respect for Bo Hagen when he tried to act like the boss in the peloton. Now he's a clown figure for me.

By the way, cobbles aren't the problem for Bo Hagen. Distance is... His best result is 25th at Milan-San Remo. Gilbert as a 22 year old was 6th already... You either have the talent for it or you don't.

At 25 Boom was also still struggling in the classics, so Eddy could still show in the future he can handle a decent classic. In P-R this year however, Boom was a factor while Hagen blew with 30 kms to go, to finish together with Andrey ****ing Amador . So far Wiggins has been wrong about Eddy 'future of the sport'/'boss' Hagen.

His other issue is that he has no punch whatsoever. In OHN he was in Boonen's wheel(or just behind Sep), but Tommeke totally blew him away. That wasn't riding as if he's future classics winner. And GT-wise he's got nothing to win, he's got about 6-8 kgs of overweight to be a factor in those.

 

[the asian]

I lost all respect for Bo Hagen when he tried to act like the boss in the peloton. Now he's a clown figure for me.

By the way, cobbles aren't the problem for Bo Hagen. Distance is... His best result is 25th at Milan-San Remo. Gilbert as a 22 year old was 6th already... You either have the talent for it or you don't.

Agree. That's why he should concentrate on one week stage races, where the stages are shorter. He could also be a stage hunter in Grand Tours.

 

[Pharazon]

i think Sky's plans for him this tour were messed up when Svitzov crashed... he had to fill his role probably more than any other rider