That climb on stage 1 was rather steep, Horner most definitely outclimbed Sanchez there. Sanchez said afterwards that he had a bad day, and that he had no idea why. On the Eibar stage, Sanchez (plus Valverde and Gesink) only caught Horner on the descent. Horner outclimbed him there as well.Libertine Seguros said:
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El Pistolero said:
No one is making excuses for Samu to loose time on El Pais. But when it comes to he then suddenly theres alot of excuses for things didnt went according to masterplan. Supposed to have peaked 3 times during 28 days of pre-tour racing, apparently no longer the fastest chap when the its going uphill, other riders not talented enough to be considered as threads to the overall classification.
yada yada yada yada.
biopass said:
Peaked at Algarve, peaked at Paris-Nice, peaked at the Ardennes classics, peaked at the Tour. His words by the way, I think he knows better then you when he peaked and when he didn't.
Barrus
BANNED
Barrus said:
Yeah, sorry lol.
There's really not that much to say, he has a lighter program this year so he's putting all his eggs in one race... The Tour. A race he honestly can't win anymore. He's not going to beat Andy Schleck and if you can't do that than you have no chance in winning the Tour.
The person who beats Andy will win the Tour of 2011. And it won't be Cuddles
What's more important, will BMC actually get a win this year with Evans racing less?
El Pistolero said:
you're becoming more defensive about Contador than me about Evans. Take a deep breath!
auscyclefan94 said:you're becoming more defensive about Contador than me about Evans. Take a deep breath!
I make jokes about him being caught with clen, so nah, I'm okay
But I hope Cuddles doesn't have some bad luck for the third time in a row as I'm curious to see where he actually stands among the other contenders, he's quite a question mark for me. Well, we know he ain't better than Contador or Schlecklett, but how he rates against the others will be interesting to follow for me at the Tour de bore this year.
Evan's probably will ride the Romandie as it is a race he has used in the past as preparation. It is a good race with a time trial and a fair amount of hard climbing.
I think my favourite Evan's moment is when he blew past Contador in the Fleche last year with about 100 metres to go. Contador's double take and desperate grimace was priceless. Evan's is supposed to be meticulous with his preparation and I think the change of plan could be good for him re the races later in the season. At least he is trying something and looking for improvement. It might mean he holds it together better in the third week of the TDF. That seems top be the plan.
I think my favourite Evan's moment is when he blew past Contador in the Fleche last year with about 100 metres to go. Contador's double take and desperate grimace was priceless. Evan's is supposed to be meticulous with his preparation and I think the change of plan could be good for him re the races later in the season. At least he is trying something and looking for improvement. It might mean he holds it together better in the third week of the TDF. That seems top be the plan.
Evans will come to the TDF exhausted with this schedule if he is trying to win every race he enters like we saw in T-A.
Change of approach at what level? in what capacity?
He has certainly changed his approach to the season.
You can change bikes, weight, schedule, teams, team mates, tactics, attitude etc. all of which he has done.
However one can never change one's body type. As good as he looks now, as well as he prepares, as persistent as he will be, he can't change his body type. He does not have the capacity to adjust to or create the necessary surges and changes in tempo in the critical mountain stages to win a grand tour.
he might sit is wait like this past week and worlds and benefit from others miscalculations certain races. but the probability of that over 3 weeks is a goose egg
is there anyone here who thinks he can match the accelerations in the mountains and recover between them fast enough to create his own attacks? It is just not his MO as a rider. Mentally he wants to but....and tries too but...
He has certainly changed his approach to the season.
You can change bikes, weight, schedule, teams, team mates, tactics, attitude etc. all of which he has done.
However one can never change one's body type. As good as he looks now, as well as he prepares, as persistent as he will be, he can't change his body type. He does not have the capacity to adjust to or create the necessary surges and changes in tempo in the critical mountain stages to win a grand tour.
he might sit is wait like this past week and worlds and benefit from others miscalculations certain races. but the probability of that over 3 weeks is a goose egg
is there anyone here who thinks he can match the accelerations in the mountains and recover between them fast enough to create his own attacks? It is just not his MO as a rider. Mentally he wants to but....and tries too but...
maltiv said:
I dunno. The Tour is a long way away. Cadel said that T-A wasn't one of his main goals, so he's got to feel great about winning it (unlike Basso who said T-A was one of his goals and who has to be feeling pretty disappointed now). Cuddles can relax for a bit with the pressure of an early season win removed. My guess is he won't kill himself at Catalunya so he'll be fresh for the Ardennes classics, then rest up a bit before the Tour peak.
Admirable his tenacious spirit might be, Evans has shown the inabliity to dial back his efforts in the races preceding the Tour. Like Valverde and Contador, he competes in every event he enters. He's not there just to roll in just under the time limit unlike a certain rider that I won't name here. This would explain his statements that he's entered the Tour fatigued every year. Not that a reduced number of race days prior to the Tour will make that much of a difference come July, especially with this year's parcours. He'd be smart to get the results that he can leading up to the Tour and then hope for an injury/sickness free 3 weeks of racing for himself so that he can at least give a good showing to make up for the past 2 years of Tour disappointment.
Regardless, at this stage in his career he's not going to start climbing like Pantani, so the best he can realistically hope for is a podium spot unless something catastrophic happens to a certain rider. Without Contador's presence Evans has a better chance of a podium spot. I'd personally prefer an Evans win over that of the supposed favorite for this year's Tour. Anyone but that guy. I think his head would grow to even more astronomical proportions and we as fans would be bombarded with his face and quotes until holding one's lunch would be a perpetual challenge.
Regardless, at this stage in his career he's not going to start climbing like Pantani, so the best he can realistically hope for is a podium spot unless something catastrophic happens to a certain rider. Without Contador's presence Evans has a better chance of a podium spot. I'd personally prefer an Evans win over that of the supposed favorite for this year's Tour. Anyone but that guy. I think his head would grow to even more astronomical proportions and we as fans would be bombarded with his face and quotes until holding one's lunch would be a perpetual challenge.
Wallace said:
It was his first race which he didn't have overly good form and still won. That's pleasing. I am not expecting much from him at Catalunya tbh.
auscyclefan94 said:
Has he said anything about targeting the overall in races like Pais Vasco, Tour de Romandie or Dauphiné?
Walkman said:
You have to be pretty dumb to try and win the Dauphine if you want to win the Tour. Do well in it, yes. Win? No.
Just ask Armstrong, or even Contador.
He has no chance at the Tour anyway, so he might as well win as much as he can. I seriously don't understand why so many cyclists try for the Tour when they know they can't beat AS or AC.
El Pistolero said:
Evans has a chance. AS is the favourite but Evans was, off form for much of the Giro and still took it close to Ivan who is a favourite for the Tour. He hasnt really been on top form for a gt since 2008. If he can go into Tour 100% and As makes a mistake somewhere and Bada bing bada boom, Evans will be there to pounce.
He can take AS in a tt, and Andrew doesnt have enough balls to attack anywhere other than a mtf. The ttt will unfortunately probably be decisive.
Anyway great too see Cuddles getting another win in his great career.
Boeing said:
No one thinks he can match the accelerations by the likes of clenboy and Andy. But unless they do their tango in july, Andy wont set a pace that cracks his own brother. And when Andy wont drop his own brother, a chasing group of outsiders with the likes of Evans, Basso, Sanchez and Gesink will be right behind them.
Walkman said:
Not doing Pais vasco and possibly not romandie...
Be careful Dutch mafia and other nay sayers, Evans will strike you down
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