Gilbert's TdF Disappointing?

[Cyclingscoops]

Disclaimer to start with – hindsight is a wonderful thing while living in the now is an awful lot more complicated and challenging. The below is as a result of having the luxury to look back at the tour stage by stage in an effort to combat the post tour blues...

With that out the way let’s start with a little foresight. Going into the TdF Gilbert was in the form of his life, untouchable on a hilltop finish and pushing the boundaries of his own abilities. Arguably the parcours of this tour provided him with a wonderful opportunity for stage wins - stages 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 16, & 17 were all possibles.

Being conservative given you are against the top teams and riders in the world, the elements, lady luck, breakaways, crashes and the importance of recovery perhaps you would hope for 3 stages out of these possibles. In reality Gilbert took stage 1 and came third in the green jersey competition, admittedly spending 7 days in green along the way, a day in yellow (or at least a fetching yellow skin suit for the TTT!) and 3 days in polka dot, much of which was curtesy of winning the opening stage.

Before going any further I appreciate that wearing the yellow, green, polka dot jerseys and taking a stage win in no way represents failure. However, in looking back I couldn’t help but wonder what might have been.

For example stage 4’s run in saw the birthday boy bridging to a team mate in the finale rather than letting other riders do the work and having more left for the sprint to the line – Evans took the win. Stage 5 witnessed Cavendish coming from way back to win an uphill sprint with (even for him) one of his best performances, in a finish that he barely had the right to contest. Stage 8 saw Gilbert just failing to capture the lone survivor of the breakaway despite powering away from the lead group – perhaps a win in one of those 3 examples would be a reasonable expectation.

Stages 9, 16 and 17 were all taken by breakaway riders. Gilbert was never going to be allowed to get in a break, if HTC and Movistar could help it, as a result of his position in the green jersey competition – so he then became a victim of having chased points in previous stages. Granted getting in a break on those stages would not have been easy and competing against an immense Hushovd even less so. With the benefit of hindsight would he have been better served in not chasing points, spending less time in green and possibly picking up another stage via a breakaway?

Notably Hushovd was very astute in being careful not to pursue points at the intermediate sprint points when in breakaways so that he never quite became a threat in the hunt for green. This in turn gave him the freedom to get in the breaks in the first place netting him a further breakaway stage win down the road.

So in summary he held 3 jerseys and took a stage but I can’t help feeling that so much more was achievable given form and the route had he and the team played things differently. Perhaps the “disappointment” is more an indication of what a phenomenal season he’s had and quite how far outstanding performances this year have raised my expectations more than anything else...

 

[Ragerod]

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve but this is definitely the wrong view to take. Gilbert had an extremely successful tour winning a stage and spending multiple days in multiple jerseys.

In hindsight both Gilbert and Rojas were wrong to chase the green jersey because they didn't win, it would've given them the freedom to get into breakaways but that doesn't guarantee stage wins.

It could have been better but it wasn't disappointing.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Disappointing not really. He won a stage and wore the green jersey half the time. He was fun to watch. He could have won more stages and the green jersey had he used his brain more.

 

[Anonymous]

no....................

 

[hrotha]

Several stages suited Gilbert, but while he's the best at them uphill sprints, his recovery is not world class. In stage races, after several hard days of racing, he's still the big favourite in those finishes but he can be beaten, and he often is. He had never won a Tour stage before. He did it this year, while wearing the Belgian champion jersey, and he wore the yellow and green jerseys. I'd say he fulfilled the expectations. I'd give his Tour a 7/10.

 

[ManInFull]

Several stages suited Gilbert, but while he's the best at them uphill sprints, his recovery is not world class. In stage races, after several hard days of racing, he's still the big favourite in those finishes but he can be beaten, and he often is. He had never won a Tour stage before. He did it this year, while wearing the Belgian champion jersey, and he wore the yellow and green jerseys. I'd say he fulfilled the expectations. I'd give his Tour a 7/10.

Yes, a very nice tour for him. Winning the first stage and wearing yellow was a great way for him to start his tour. Let's see if he can have an impressive 2012 season.

 

[Swabian Lass]

I think Gilbert had a good Tour, a lot of riders would give their eye teeth to achieve what he achieved. I never expected much more from him tbh. His recovery is not the best, and therefore I don't think he'll ever be at his best in GTs.

I can't say that I'm sorry really. I don't really want him to be seduced by Tour success, I want him to continue cleaning up in the Classics. They're not the poor cousins of the GTs although too many people seem to feel that these days.

 

[boomcie]

He also kinda outclassed the whole peloton in the stages that Rui Costa and L.L. Sanchez won.

Let's see if he can have an impressive 2011 season.

lol

 

[El Pistolero]

Several stages suited Gilbert, but while he's the best at them uphill sprints, his recovery is not world class. In stage races, after several hard days of racing, he's still the big favourite in those finishes but he can be beaten, and he often is. He had never won a Tour stage before. He did it this year, while wearing the Belgian champion jersey, and he wore the yellow and green jerseys. I'd say he fulfilled the expectations. I'd give his Tour a 7/10.

To be fair, he won a stage and was the best at 2 other stages(Super-Besse and the stage Luis Leon the wheelsucker Sanchez won)

At stage 13 he was also the best of the non breakaway guys. And in stage 16 and 17 he didn't even try for the victory anymore because the breakaway was going to win it. He couldn't follow Contador's acceleration at stage 16 though.

He could have won a lot of stages if he didn't went for green and if the breakaway didn't survive on some of his stages. The only stage where he disappointed was Mur de Bretagne. I wouldn't call that getting beaten often unless you count the breakaway guys beating him.

 

[AussieGoddess]

he did an interview on the second rest day (here) where he said he prepared for the tour only as he would a classic ... he was going for the win on the first day and to wear yellow.

Once he decided to go for green, he was never going to be allowed in the break, so those later stages were out of reach.

Therefore the only stages for him were really stages 1 4 + 5 .... of which he won 1 and finished pretty well in the other 2.

I do get where you are coming from - 1 win from that many real chances isnt as good a win ratio as we have seen this season from him. But still I think he had a pretty sold tour.

 

[hrotha]

I wouldn't call that getting beaten often unless you count the breakaway guys beating him.

I wasn't talking just about the Tour, I was talking about stage races in general, like Tirreno this year and the Vuelta last year. "Often" here doesn't mean "more often than not", just "often enough for it not to be that uncommon".

 

[El Pistolero]

I wasn't talking just about the Tour, I was talking about stage races in general, like Tirreno this year and the Vuelta last year. "Often" here doesn't mean "more often than not", just "often enough for it not to be that uncommon".

But at the Tirreno people still thought that those hills were too steep for him. Of course Gilbert shot that theory at la Fleche Wallone, but back then it was not surprising to see Gilbert get beaten on these super steep hills regardless of it being a stage race or a one day race. Let's not forget that he did win the queen stage of that Tirreno-Adriatico in a rather impressive fashion. I also found him rather impressive at the Vuelta, he won a stage at the beginning and the end of the Vuelta. He also tried some useless attacks and intermediate sprints for the green jersey(or blue, can't remember). He always skipped Emilia for example because he thought the race was too hard for him. But I think he'll give it a shot this year(and skip Piemonte)

Now at Paris-Nice however he has always sucked.

 

[movingtarget]

Wearing, yellow and green and winning a stage was not a disappointment. It's not as if he is going to dominate the TDF like he did the Spring classics even though he probably had a few stages targetted but then so did a lot of others. Hushovd had a better race but then he is more of an opportunist than Gilbert who prefers to destroy the others on the final climb. The stage that Evans won looked like a good one for Gilbert but I think he just didn't have the legs that day. Contador and Evans were too good for him.

 

[Cyclingscoops]

Thanks for all the opinion. As I said at the start, having further discussions about the race helps to fill the TdF sized void that I’m feeling, at least until San Sebastian this weekend. Given a complete lack of interest amongst friends and work colleagues I’m relying on you to give me my fix!

Appreciate that the consensus is that disappointment is a harsh assessment, especially given he has never won a TdF stage before and he’s primarily a classics rider with questionable recovery for the GT’s. I just remember looking at the first 10 days in particular thinking how many opportunities there were for a puncheur this year.

Certainly I considered recovery being a big issue after the first week, though his performance in stage 8, where he flew away from the lead group in the finale, seems to suggest he was doing fine up to that point and possibly well beyond. The problem there was one or a combination of Costa’s great performance, the break being given too much rope or Gilbert jumping a little late.

In terms of race control to give him a few more opportunities, I do wonder quite how much he was handicapped by, what seemed (my knowledge of the wider peloton is still somewhat limited so correct me if I’m wrong) like a relatively weak team in terms of controlling breaks on the stages that suited him. Having said that hilly stages are always going to be a challenge to control anyway for any team and of course the team had a GC focus to support Van den Broeck too, so was presumably selected with this in mind more than anything else.

 

[greenedge]

He did go quite well though. He won a stage. Frank or Contador didn't and yet they had a good TDF. Roy didn't either ( but he won a prize ). Gilbert was on great form. I think after he was a green jersey threat HTC and Movistar limited him. I liked stage 1 victory, stage 8 chase and stage 10 where he forced a selection on a cat 2 climb ( just like Contador ) in the green jersey as well and roared away. One of my favourite moments of the TDF .

He maybe did not go as well as he would have liked. To the outside world he did well, maintaining UCI position and winning a stage, whilst making the race exciting.

He has had a great season as well, Classics and Tour of Belgium ( lol )

 

[King Of The Wolds]

For all of the attacking and jersey wearing, there's no disguising the fact that he, and most of us, would have expected more than 1 stage win, given the parcours.

I know Gilbert criticism is tantamount to blasphemy on this board but that was, without question, disappointing.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

His tactics in a couple of places were a bit suspect and he could have maybe raced a bit smarter.

Although very hard for both Rojas, Hushovd and Gilbert to go for Green when the points system was stacked against them and Team Hobbit was never going to let them get into a break.

OPL also suffered from the old problem of having too many irons in too many fires - 3 leaders - Greipel, JVDB and Gilbert.

Good but could have been better.

 

[Swabian Lass]

Could have done better, maybe, but once he was a contender for Green he was always going to be shut down by Hobbits. Another year he might do better to focus on stage wins and forget Green (assuming the current points system remains) and avoid the attentions of the hairy footed, large chinned ones.

 

[Nielsa]

His tactics in a couple of places were a bit suspect and he could have maybe raced a bit smarter.

That's part of the Gilbert charm, though. Doesn't calculate too much, just wants to win on the day, sometimes attacks the peloton 20km from the finish just to see if they can follow him up a hill, nevermind the consequences for the rest of the stage race.

 

[AussieGoddess]

yep - and that was pretty evident the day he attacked the descent (maybe stage 10?)

he basically went because 'it looked like fun' .... he wasnt a chance to get to the break, and could have taken the points easily with the pack as Rojas was there but a fair way back and Cav already dropped.


I agree though - his tactics need to be a bit better if he wants to contend seriously. But for a guy who achieved his tour goals in the first 5 hours of the Tour, I have no real objections

 

[jsem94]

He could've done better, coulda won another stage or two - but the first stage win was excellent, and he fought long and hard for green.

With better tactics he might've won green.

 

[Sem Travões]

Maybe in the stage won by Cadel he could have donne a bit better IMO, but having a bunch of Hobbits always behind you, really a drag.
In any case its been a while since I last scene a rider with the Belgium National Champ jersey in the front so many times, and that is always good.

LE PLAT PAYS QUI EST LE MIEN

Well not quien but great song

 

[icefire]

Honestly, I can't imagine HTC chasing up the Aubisque if he had jumped with Thor that day. He raced hard the day before though the Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden and was around 4 mins back in GC, which shows he could have done a bit better selecting which stages he should have raced hard.

 

[Cyclingscoops]

Honestly, I can't imagine HTC chasing up the Aubisque if he had jumped with Thor that day. He raced hard the day before though the Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden and was around 4 mins back in GC, which shows he could have done a bit better selecting which stages he should have raced hard.

At times he did seem to get caught between seeing what he was capable of in GC (early on), winning stages and fighting for green. I seem to vaguely remember an interview prior to the Tour where he mentioned the possibility of riding outside of his previous limits and contesting areas he wouldn't have previously considered. While that was understandable, given his form this season, it did seem to mean he was never really focused on any one thing.

Some other posters have mentioned he goes with the spur of the moment. This undoubtably made for some entertaining riding, which shouldn't be undervalued for the armchair enthusiast like myself, but perhaps a lack of pre planned moves on key stages cost him.

As I mentioned on my post on page 2 of the thread I'd also be interested to hear what people think about his team. To repeat: "I do wonder quite how much he was handicapped by, what seemed (my knowledge of the wider peloton is still somewhat limited so correct me if I’m wrong) like a relatively weak team in terms of controlling breaks on the stages that suited him. Having said that hilly stages are always going to be a challenge to control anyway for any team and of course the team had a GC focus to support Van den Broeck too, so was presumably selected with this in mind more than anything else?"

*Edit - thanks to AussieGoddess for reminding me they only had 6 riders for much of the tour thanks to all the crashes - bit harsh expecting them to keep evrything in check with 6!

 

[ergmonkey]

In terms of race control to give him a few more opportunities, I do wonder quite how much he was handicapped by, what seemed (my knowledge of the wider peloton is still somewhat limited so correct me if I’m wrong) like a relatively weak team in terms of controlling breaks on the stages that suited him.

Gilbert and his Omega-Pharma team had an excellent Tour. Especially when you consider that they went into it with a very sticky drug scandal apparently brewing and they lost their big GC hope. Nonetheless, they came out of the Tour with stage wins from three different riders, two of whom spent time in classification jerseys. Add in all of Gilbert's "show attacks," and the team enjoyed an enormous amount of success, TV time, and good press in this Tour.