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Good day for team sky?

Feb 17, 2011
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Undoubtedly good day for opl and rabo, although rabo may have a few regrets, think sky will be very pleased. Third for gerrans when not really fancied and swift with another victory.
 
Mar 17, 2009
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Raceoftruth said:
Undoubtedly good day for opl and rabo, although rabo may have a few regrets, think sky will be very pleased. Third for gerrans when not really fancied and swift with another victory.
Agreed Sky had a good result with Gerrans's Amstel podium & Swift winning the last stage of Castilla Y Leon but Rabobank? 6th in your home race is not really anything they would be happy with.
 
ultimobici said:
Agreed Sky had a good result with Gerrans's Amstel podium & Swift winning the last stage of Castilla Y Leon but Rabobank? 6th in your home race is not really anything they would be happy with.

Gerrans was amazing. The only time I saw him was on the podium. Has anyone check he actually rode the race? Are we sure he didn't drive his car to the 10km to go mark and start riding from there?
 
Mar 13, 2009
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thehog said:
Gerrans was amazing. The only time I saw him was on the podium. Has anyone check he actually rode the race? Are we sure he didn't drive his car to the 10km to go mark and start riding from there?

The quality of staying hidden is an artform in itself.
 
thehog said:
Gerrans was amazing. The only time I saw him was on the podium. Has anyone check he actually rode the race? Are we sure he didn't drive his car to the 10km to go mark and start riding from there?

He was silent but deadly. Sat quietly in the back of the lead group and marked time. So not surprised he had a sprint left in him. He looked like he had enough to go a bit earlier actually. It was a solid finish.
 
movingtarget said:
Gerrans does well on these types of courses. He is not a great climber but a very good one as we have seen on the stages he has won in the Giro and TDF. I think Sky will be very happy to get someone on the podium.

These points make Gerrans an even bigger target for GreenEdge than he was before. He should be right below Goss on their shopping list.
 
Nov 30, 2010
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ingsve said:
These points make Gerrans an even bigger target for GreenEdge than he was before. He should be right below Goss on their shopping list.

If I was Sky, I'd let him go as things stand. He's shown he can hang on to the coat tails of the best just once in 16 months of drawing a wage.

Obviously if he does as well in the next two races, the picture would be different.
 
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Captain_Cavman said:
If I was Sky, I'd let him go as things stand. He's shown he can hang on to the coat tails of the best just once in 16 months of drawing a wage.

Obviously if he does as well in the next two races, the picture would be different.

I think Gerrans had a lot of things happening last year, illness, injury and focussing on other things than cycling. This year he is meant to be 100% so see how he goes. Certainly his 2010 was very forgettable.
 
Mar 17, 2009
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Captain_Cavman said:
If I was Sky, I'd let him go as things stand. He's shown he can hang on to the coat tails of the best just once in 16 months of drawing a wage.

Obviously if he does as well in the next two races, the picture would be different.
By that measure you'd cull half the team or any other team for that matter. Not every rider is paid solely to win.

One of the things that was skewed grotesquely by the FICP points system of the 90's was the worth of a domestique. There were riders whose worth was not in the victories they won but the work that they contributed to the team's victories. While I think Bob Roll has become a wannabe Phil/Paul he was a selfless workhorse at 7-11. For that matter Gerrans has a DS who was a similarly selfless rider in his day, Sean Yates.

Cycling is simultaneously a team sport and an individual sport. Without a team working for him a team-leader is soon isolated or fatigued. Ask Cancellara what a weak team is like after having a super strong on at one's disposal.
 
Nov 30, 2010
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ultimobici said:
By that measure you'd cull half the team or any other team for that matter. Not every rider is paid solely to win...

I was making the assumption that Gerrans was employed as leader for the Ardennes classics and as a GT stage hunter and was commanding a salary befitting that status.

And I suppose I was also making the assumption that interest from GreenEdge would inflate his value still further.

If however, my assumptions are wrong and Gerrans is but a humble domestique and is paid as such, I withdraw my recommendation entirely.

I enjoy the team tactics side of things too. I probably wouldn't bother watching if they weren't a part of the sport.

TeamSkyFans said:
I think Gerrans had a lot of things happening last year, illness, injury and focussing on other things than cycling. This year he is meant to be 100% so see how he goes. Certainly his 2010 was very forgettable.

What were the things other than cycling he was focussing on?
 
Apr 10, 2011
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Now, Sky Amstel line up was weak-ish but Gerrans made the podium, now having Uran capable of Top 5 in Fleche and Lofkvist Top 15, should Gerrans be made leader, or Uran ? Looking very well for Fleche notheless.
 
Nov 30, 2010
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Gloin22 said:
Now, Sky Amstel line up was weak-ish but Gerrans made the podium, now having Uran capable of Top 5 in Flecha and Lofkvist Top 15, should Gerrans be made leader, or Uran ? Looking very well for Fleche notheless.

Wonder how Flecha feels about that?