trevim said:
JRanton said:
trevim said:
Just looked at the results, is Quickstep really that weak?
What do you mean? They're really strong but just don't quite have a guy who can follow the very best. Trentin and Stybar just missed Kwiatkowski and Sagan's move on Friday and Stybar again today just missed the Sagan, Cancellara and Vanmarcke move.
I didn't watch the race but I would expect Quickstep to place more than 1 rider in the top 10 of any flandrien race, specially when you look at Boonen, Stybar, Terpstra and Vandenbergh on the start list. Hats off to Gaviria though, monster talent.
What's bad for Etixx today in terms of De Ronde but good in terms of the future is the fact that this wasn't the 94th installment in Etixx-Quick Step's tactical horror show, but proof that their riders aren't currently good enough. Boonen getting dropped with 100km to go, Maes wasting himself dragging him back but falling agonisingly short, Trentin's failure to make a real gap, Vandenbergh's forlorn attack, Stybar's lack of contact with the Sagan-Cancellara-Vanmarcke group, Terpstra's inability to drag the leaders back. Those descriptions aren't entirely fair (Trentin's only real co-worker was Benoot and they had 55km to go, Rowe and van Avermaet have equal responsibiity with Stybar) but it's clear that there's a major problem. If Stybar had got in the front group, for instance, we'd be discussing a very different race, but he's simply not strong enough. This problem was visible on Friday, when Boonen and Trentin (EQS' strongest two finishers) were left taking some pretty huge turns on the front. Who are their leaders going to be? If they're bluffing, it's one hell of a bluff (especially given Terpstra's win in Le Samyn showed he has some class.) If they're leaving Boonen and Trentin on the front, they must have no hope in them at all, and they've shown nothing to alter that view; Stybar's well off form, Vandenbergh's a liability more than anything else given Pantani's corpse would beat him in a two-up sprint, and Terpstra's...not really a potential Ronde winner. EQS is like a racehorse that's unseated its rider and still goes charging along the course. It does bode well for the future, though; once Gaviria's more experienced, he seems the perfect fit for finishing off the race, especially if they get some fresh blood in to rejuvenate the squad. EQS were working for a leader who doesn't exist, but Gaviria should really grow into the role and take some results. Given their tactical ineptitude, I think EQS' only chance of winning a monument is to forgo the chess playing of attacks and breakaways, and rely on brute strength to build a sprint train (and perhaps add in the refinement of a Devolderesque joker, once the sprinter gets intimidating enough). Still, I don't think the novelty of a Colombian track specialist winning cobbled classics would be enough to distract the Belgian press from Lefevre's failure to create a new Boonen.
God, I hope the Demoitie story 's not true. It's unbearable to even think about; every sympathy to his family, friends, etc.
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