Evans's change of approach

[auscyclefan94]

Why does this thread have more than 170 posts and I have barely posted on this thread?

It would be nice if posters try to be more friendly towards others and when reffering to riders because believe it or not they are people. Some people are just being stupid with what they are saying. Yes this is coming from me .

I am not going to post on this because; firstly It always starts disputes and secondly I have debated and have answers for most of those claims.

Can someone tell me wy this thread was made when I made one not long ago?

I also think the mods need to shut this thread down as half the posts are way off topic and it has become a slugging match.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

actually there have been some decent posts, dunno what the phinney discussion was about, that was a tedious page tho, I agree.

Kurt, although I disagree with him, brought up some decent points which I respect.

And I also respect that you acf, have come to accept that evans sucks in the mountains (For jest purposes only.. )

 

[auscyclefan94]

actually there have been some decent posts, dunno what the phinney discussion was about, that was a tedious page tho, I agree.

Kurt, although I disagree with him, brought up some decent points which I respect.

And I also respect that you acf, have come to accept that evans sucks in the mountains (For jest purposes only.. )

*Repeat after me: Don't take the bait, Don't take the bait!*

 

[Roland Rat]

I actually really like Evans the past 2 years, not only as a cylist but also as person he showed more humor and he seems like a real nice person, also not so annoying on twitter than all these young dudes.. Hope that this change of approach does not mean he doesn't attack anymore in any race, and then fails at the Tour... That would mean waisting a season.

Agree entirely. I warmed to Cuddles last spring and in the Giro. IMO he should forget the TdF GC, it's gone, never gonna happen, and continue what he started in the '09 Worlds. There's no reason why he couldn't win Liege, or even RVV in that form, and go for some stages in the Giro and TdF. Better than following wheels to get 2nd-5th in the TdF. Again.

But then we're only internet mongers so don't know anything about the sport.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Agree entirely. I warmed to Cuddles last spring and in the Giro. IMO he should forget the TdF GC, it's gone, never gonna happen, and continue what he started in the '09 Worlds. There's no reason why he couldn't win Liege, or even RVV in that form, and go for some stages in the Giro and TdF. Better than following wheels to get 2nd-5th in the TdF. Again.

this. Cuddles would be a much more successful cyclist if he took this route.

 

[will10]

Agree entirely. I warmed to Cuddles last spring and in the Giro. IMO he should forget the TdF GC, it's gone, never gonna happen, and continue what he started in the '09 Worlds. There's no reason why he couldn't win Liege, or even RVV in that form, and go for some stages in the Giro and TdF. Better than following wheels to get 2nd-5th in the TdF. Again.

But then we're only internet mongers so don't know anything about the sport.

lmao
Someone got a little carried away

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

he probably wouldn't win RVV but he is the type of rider, if he applied his attention in that area could do a good ride.

 

[kurtinsc]

Agree entirely. I warmed to Cuddles last spring and in the Giro. IMO he should forget the TdF GC, it's gone, never gonna happen, and continue what he started in the '09 Worlds. There's no reason why he couldn't win Liege, or even RVV in that form, and go for some stages in the Giro and TdF. Better than following wheels to get 2nd-5th in the TdF. Again.

But then we're only internet mongers so don't know anything about the sport.

I don't disagree that Evans would have more success focusing on classics then GT's. I just think he's a better climber on big mountains then some give him credit for. He's not Schleck or Contador... but other then Schleck and Contador nobody else is with the possible exception of Basso. Downgrading his climbing because of that is like downgrading every sprinter who's not at Cavendish level or downgrading every cobbled rider who's not Boonen or Spartacus or downgrading every time trialist who's not Spartacus or Tony Martin.

His "stay with the leaders until I'm dead" approach is certainly better geared toward one day racing I think.

 

[theyoungest]

he probably wouldn't win RVV but he is the type of rider, if he applied his attention in that area could do a good ride.

Just look at Lance Armstrong last year. He did quite well, just training for the cobbled stage in the Tour. I certainly don't think Evans would do any worse. The field in the Tour of Flanders usually isn't overly strong.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Of course he didn't dominate climbing races. He can't climb. But in Paris-Roubaix and Olympia's Tour, he was far and away the strongest. He's a totally different rider than Dekker, you of all people should know that.

I stand by my word that he didn't dominate the season in the way Popo and Dekker did. That's just hilarious.

 

[theyoungest]

I stand by my word that he didn't dominate the season in the way Popo and Dekker did. That's just hilarious.

Did I say so? I said he had the capability to dominate U23 races. That's not the same as dominating the entire season. He dominated the races that suited him.

 

[Lanark]

Just look at Lance Armstrong last year. He did quite well, just training for the cobbled stage in the Tour. I certainly don't think Evans would do any worse. The field in the Tour of Flanders usually isn't overly strong.

Or just look at Boogerd, he finished in the top-10 in his first Ronde. Guys like Gilbert and Bettini are pretty good in Vlaanderen as well, to say the least. I think a lot of guys focussing on the hilly classics could do very well in Vlaanderen (outside maybe the ultra lightweight guys like Rodriguez), it's just that they're don't want to peak before LBL (and therefore lack experience).

 

[biopass]

^^that

also you are basing your entire opinion on contador on something that happened in le tour( or that didn't happen at all in the case of sanchez dropping him) do you watch cycling all season long? cus if you do you clearly saw a different contador then i did all season long last year.

btw this isn't the clinic so no need to mention clentuberol in every single 1 of your posts

I dont know how the universe looks like inside your head. But i do know the clendoper had lost his rocket like acceleration in the steepest mountains where he usually wins his victorys. And dont say he was peaking for the third time in July. The guy only raced 48 days whole season, and thats including the tour.

 

[movingtarget]

Contador was a young buck finding his way in the grand tours at that point. He's improved in everyway since then while Evans, it could be argued has stagnated in terms of his Tour performances. Additionally, his performances versus the clock have deteriorated over the past couple of years while Contaor's has improved for the most part, with the exception of his perfomance in the final ITT at last year's Tour. I really don't see Evans having a chance. The young guns are nipping at his heels or have already passed him. The best he can hope for is breaking the top 5.

Evan's rode his two best Tours in 2007 and 2008. As far as last year goes we will never know how he would have gone without the broken elbow. The problem is, most Evan's fans like myself have memories of how narrowly he lost in those two years. He certainly has to find his TT legs again but Moreau said a few years ago that thought that age was not effecting his climbing but he found the time trial much harder as he got older. Like Armstrong always said, "everything has to go right to win the Tour" and since 2008 it has not happened that way for Evans. I would like to see him erase the memories of the 2009 TDF and finish at least in the top 5. I think he can do it.

 

[The Hitch]

Agree entirely. I warmed to Cuddles last spring and in the Giro. IMO he should forget the TdF GC, it's gone, never gonna happen, and continue what he started in the '09 Worlds. There's no reason why he couldn't win Liege, or even RVV in that form, and go for some stages in the Giro and TdF. Better than following wheels to get 2nd-5th in the TdF. Again.

But then we're only internet mongers so don't know anything about the sport.

this. Cuddles would be a much more successful cyclist if he took this route.

NOOOO!

Cuddles is a great GT rider. hes had bad luck and hes screwed himself a few times but im sure hes still one of the best out there. To say

Yeah, Sanchez never dropped Contador.

Contador was peaking for the third time already that season while Samu did nothing before july like usual.
Oh forgive me, he won a stage at the Basque country where he couldn't even beat Chris Horner for the overall. And he got dropped by Contador in P-N in pretty much every stage.

The stage Samu dropped Contador was Morzine.

Now the way this thread has been going, you or someone else will no doubt give me some crap about how it doesnt count because a) Contador won overall, b) Samu had a motor in his bike, c) he let it happen d) he could have won if he wanted to e) he had accelerated too much earlier, f) he doesnt care about Sanchez g) Samu was doped h) he was faking it i) he wanted to make future stages more interesting for tv viewers j) he doesnt like Morzine, k) he had peaked 3 times already l) 10 seconds doesnt matter m) he was off form, n) Samu was invisable o) He let Sanchez go cos their friends p) He let Sanchez go cos their enemies q) He let Sanchez go cos their spanish r) He let Sanchez go cos Sanchez knew about the steak to be delivered s) He wanted Andrew to win a stage t) He had a puncture u) Andrew had put beer in his water v) Andrew put clenbueterol in his water w) Lance had put clenbuterol in his water x) Lance had put chlorophyl in his water y) the steak he ate that day had no clen in it or z) He didnt know the stage was about to finish.

I dont care. It doesnt matter. Samu dropped him on that one stage.

End of

 

[El Pistolero]

NOOOO!

Cuddles is a great GT rider. hes had bad luck and hes screwed himself a few times but im sure hes still one of the best out there. To say



The stage Samu dropped Contador was Morzine.

Now the way this thread has been going, you or someone else will no doubt give me some crap about how it doesnt count because a) Contador won overall, b) Samu had a motor in his bike, c) he let it happen d) he could have won if he wanted to e) he had accelerated too much earlier, f) he doesnt care about Sanchez g) Samu was doped h) he was faking it i) he wanted to make future stages more interesting for tv viewers j) he doesnt like Morzine, k) he had peaked 3 times already l) 10 seconds doesnt matter m) he was off form, n) Samu was invisable o) He let Sanchez go cos their friends p) He let Sanchez go cos their enemies q) He let Sanchez go cos their spanish r) He let Sanchez go cos Sanchez knew about the steak to be delivered s) He wanted Andrew to win a stage t) He had a puncture u) Andrew had put beer in his water v) Andrew put clenbueterol in his water w) Lance had put clenbuterol in his water x) Lance had put chlorophyl in his water y) the steak he ate that day had no clen in it or z) He didnt know the stage was about to finish.

I dont care. It doesnt matter. Samu dropped him on that one st
End of

Samu didn't drop Contador, Contador let Samu ride away because he saw no danger in someone like that. He was soft peddling up the mountains looking at Schleck the whole time. The fact they could only take 10 seconds is quite sad if you ask me. Shows how big the gap is between the first tier climbers and the second tier climbers.

 

[El Pistolero]

Just look at Lance Armstrong last year. He did quite well, just training for the cobbled stage in the Tour. I certainly don't think Evans would do any worse. The field in the Tour of Flanders usually isn't overly strong.

Tom Boonen: 5 monuments, 1 classic, 9 semi-classics(!), 1 Worlds champion, green jersey Tour
Fabian Cancellara: 4 monuments, 1 semi-classic, 4 tt worlds, olympic gold
Philippe Gilbert: 2 monuments, 3 classics, 2 semi-classics
Heinrich Haussler: talented young lad. Second at San Remo and Flanders.
Matti Breschel(probably not this year): talented young lad, second at the worlds.
Thor Hushovd(not that he can ever win it despite it having a not so strong field ): green jersey in the Tour, world champion.
Bjorn Leukemans: good in the cobbled races.
Tyler Farrar: second best sprinter
Filippo Pozzato: 1 monument, good placings in P-R and Flanders.
Juan Antonio Flecha: no big wins, but he's a big name on the cobbles.
Stijn Devolder: 2 monuments
Allesandro Ballan: 1 monument, world champion. Seems to have lost his edge though, we'll see how he does this year.

.....

Cadel Evans would get owned like you've never seen before.

 

[theyoungest]

Tom Boonen: 5 monuments, 1 classic, 9 semi-classics(!), 1 Worlds champion, green jersey Tour
Fabian Cancellara: 4 monuments, 3 tt worlds, olympic gold
Philippe Gilbert: 2 monuments, 3 classics
Heinrich Haussler: talented young lad. Second at San Remo and Flanders.
Matti Breschel(probably not this year): talented young lad, second at the worlds.
Thor Hushovd(not that he can ever win it despite it having a not so strong field ): green jersey in the Tour, world champion.
Bjorn Leukemans: good in the cobbled races.
Tyler Farrar: second best sprinter
Filippo Pozzato: 1 monument, good placings in P-R and Flanders.
Juan Antonio Flecha: no big wins, but he's a big name on the cobbles.
Stijn Devolder: 2 monuments
Allesandro Ballan: 1 monument, world champion. Seems to have lost his edge though, we'll see how he does this year.

.....

So? You think Cadel Evans has no chance against this field? Or, say, Valverde? Or any good hilly classics rider who decides to peak for Flanders and isn't a complete feather weight? (cf. Lanark's post at 12.24)

Conversely, I think Tom Boonen, Thor Hushovd, and Tyler Farrar would have no chance in hell of winning LBL. And wasn't it you who was so adamant about Cancellara not being able to win it either?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Maybe Baby Schleck, Samu Sanchez, Jurgen and Gesink.

One could argue that Basso is among the favourites to the overall victory. But since he is making an agressive approach to the Tour, ill bet my money he will crack in the final week and do a "cuddles".

basso has incredible recuperation inlike evans. let's not forget evans was always a mountainbiker and they lack recuperation over 3 weeks evans has relaly increased it by him but it's never on par with guys like sammy sanchez, basso, or contador. that's why his final itt is always relatively weak

 

[jaylew]

lmao
Someone got a little carried away

That's your first thought, sure. But when I actually give it some thought I think it's a race he could excel at if he decided to change his focus, not that he's likely to.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Just look at Lance Armstrong last year. He did quite well, just training for the cobbled stage in the Tour. I certainly don't think Evans would do any worse. The field in the Tour of Flanders usually isn't overly strong.

100% a guy like di luca could also easily win tour of flanders. look at how well boogerd did that one year he decided to race he was amonst the best also with sergei ivanov. cobbled racing is incredibly overrated it's mostly about placing.

 

[El Pistolero]

100% a guy like di luca could also easily win tour of flanders. look at how well boogerd did that one year he decided to race he was amonst the best also with sergei ivanov. cobbled racing is incredibly overrated it's mostly about placing.

Boogerd was 9th at Flanders. Nothing special, wasn't close to winning as well. Both Cancellara and Boonen had some injuries in 2007 anyway. And now there's fresh talent in guys like Philippe Gilbert, Breschel, Haussler, etc
Today there are many different nationalities in the race and the competition is way tougher now then back in early 2000s. If you can't see that then well, I won't waste anymore time on you.

 

[El Pistolero]

So? You think Cadel Evans has no chance against this field? Or, say, Valverde? Or any good hilly classics rider who decides to peak for Flanders and isn't a complete feather weight? (cf. Lanark's post at 12.24)

Conversely, I think Tom Boonen, Thor Hushovd, and Tyler Farrar would have no chance in hell of winning LBL. And wasn't it you who was so adamant about Cancellara not being able to win it either?

No, they don't have a chance in hell.

Di Luca is not nearly as good as Bettini was and he couldn't do it.

Come back when Holland has its own monument before you start insulting other monuments.

If Valverde or Di Losar can win so easily in Flanders then let them prove it before making idiotic comments. Gilbert was in top condition in both Flanders and Luik. If they're soo great let them do the same. Else be quiet.

Just because a cobbled specialist can't win in the hilly classics doesn't mean they're less good than the hilly specialists or climbers.

Last time I checked Boonen won a hilly world championship anyway. And no he can't win LBL or even AGR, but he's not totally useless in the hilly department.

Guys like Contador, Schleck bros, Samu Sanchez, Menchov, Cuddles, Basso, etc will never win a cobbled classic even if they tried.
Perhaps Valverde can, but he'll have to prove he can handle the cobbles first before going on to say he can win them...

And the fact that someone like Boogerd can podium LBL says perhaps a little bit more about LBL then it does about Flanders?

LBL must have some bad competition if Chris Horner can become 8th in it this year. (just using your arguments)

 

[Parrulo]

this forum has been a bit agressive/grumoy the past few days

anyway

i do agree with people saying cadel would have a better carrer if he had focused on the classics and doing well in RVV isn't that absurd. i doubt he would win but he could do well. gilbert has been third twice after all.

btw biopass if you think contador no longer has the acceleration he used to have i invite you to re watch this year's L-B-L and see how he bridges up to schleck and gilbert on la redoutte

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Tom Boonen: 5 monuments, 1 classic, 9 semi-classics(!), 1 Worlds champion, green jersey Tour
Fabian Cancellara: 4 monuments, 1 semi-classic, 4 tt worlds, olympic gold
Philippe Gilbert: 2 monuments, 3 classics, 2 semi-classics
Heinrich Haussler: talented young lad. Second at San Remo and Flanders.
Matti Breschel(probably not this year): talented young lad, second at the worlds.
Thor Hushovd(not that he can ever win it despite it having a not so strong field ): green jersey in the Tour, world champion.
Bjorn Leukemans: good in the cobbled races.
Tyler Farrar: second best sprinter
Filippo Pozzato: 1 monument, good placings in P-R and Flanders.
Juan Antonio Flecha: no big wins, but he's a big name on the cobbles.
Stijn Devolder: 2 monuments
Allesandro Ballan: 1 monument, world champion. Seems to have lost his edge though, we'll see how he does this year.

.....

Cadel Evans would get owned like you've never seen before.

Cadel evans, whom hasn't trained for the cobbles maybe. But if cadel (maybe not now, but a few years ago) put his effort into rvv, I'm sure he could be up there with these guys no problem.

RVV is no PR. Evans is pretty good on the short steep stuff, and his build could have worked well on cobbles at RVV (which are no way near as bad as the PR cobbles).

Come back when Holland has its own monument before you start insulting other monuments.

lol where did he insult a monument. You get offended whenever someone suggest they could do well in any Belgian race, whom isn't from Belgium. Get over yourself.