Il Lombardia, 241KM, 13th October (WT)

[Sciatic]

Tibo and Nibali clearly has their eyes on the big prize from the outset.

But Looking at the final results, it’s obvious that many riders found late-season motivation from the chance to move up the leaderboard of the “top tens without a win” completion: 5 riders managed to add to their top ten placings at Lombardi’s today!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

Everyone in the group bar Dan Martin and Pozzovivo deserved to lose for that chase. What the hell were they thinking?

They were dead, simple as that. In these long classics, the strongest usually end up in the front, and the chase usually doesn't catch up because they just don't have the legs. Bahrein also did excellent demotivational work there, that probably helped.

They were not all dead. Majka and Wellens got back to Martin, others then got back to the trio. If you can come back from being dropped, you could have done a turn. They weren’t as strong as Pinot, but that’s not the same as being unable to contribute to a group chase.

Nibali said post race he took a look at their faces, they looked dead alright so he attacked.

That was much later. When Martin was chasing single handedly on the climb, a group were able to follow. When he finally stopped and demanded help they all completely sat up and Pinot/ Nibali took back 10-15 seconds before Wellens finally came to the front and started to do a turn. At which point Uran and others attacked the group. Martin ended up attacking solo because nobody would work with him at all. Then Majka and Wellens were strong enough to come back and then others were strong enough to do so. At which point they all sat on Martin again until he caught Nibali. Maybe everyone was dead when Nibali mugged them for second, but they sure as hell weren’t dead earlier when they were able to by turns sit on, attack or come back to attacks.

It was a typical classics chase, not in the sense that they couldn’t chase but in the sense that they wouldn’t chase once it was a group of favourites. Everyone was too busy trying to scam some other idiot into working.

I’m not saying they’d have caught Pinot, who was clearly the strongest in the race, but it’s a different race if that group work smoothly and get back to Nibali quickly after Pinot drops him.

 

[Jagartrott]

Re: Re:

Everyone in the group bar Dan Martin and Pozzovivo deserved to lose for that chase. What the hell were they thinking?

They were dead, simple as that. In these long classics, the strongest usually end up in the front, and the chase usually doesn't catch up because they just don't have the legs. Bahrein also did excellent demotivational work there, that probably helped.

They were not all dead. Majka and Wellens got back to Martin, others then got back to the trio. If you can come back from being dropped, you could have done a turn. They weren’t as strong as Pinot, but that’s not the same as being unable to contribute to a group chase.

Majka was OK maybe, but Wellens got dropped on the next climb. He's just a very good descender.

 

[Climbing]

Chasing is always like that in classics, that's why if you have the legs you have to attack.
Unless you got teammates to work for you.
Unfortunately most riders and DS are tactically inept.

 

[zapata]

Re: Re:

Who, if any, was the last to win msr and gdl the same season, by the way? I'm assuming merckx or hinault or someone like that. It would have been quite a feat..crossing fingers for next year.

Merckx 1972

Thanks! Man, that victory would really have added to nibali's legend.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Whoever sold the rights to RCS races solely to eurosport, I hate your guts

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000!!!

(I dunno what the word for that number is.)

Googol it

is it a 100 zeroes?

No, it's 95. However, there are also no less than three exclamation marks. If that is to be interpreted as the factorial taken three times, it's quite possibly one of the biggest numbers I have ever seen

Not quite Graham's number, though.

 

[May0maniac]

You have to love the fact that Pinot, Nibali, Roglic (he rode like a mad man) and Bernal all going for broke.
One hell of a Lombardia, what a race!

 

[Anderis]

Woods had a mechanical on the final descent.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Gerrans got a 5th DNF in 5 appearances today.

This was also his last ever race.

 

[Kwibus]

Great race, great pinot, great nibali, great sormano, great etc etc etc.

Helluva race!

 

[Red Rick]

I'm really happy with how Il Lombardia has changed over the years. Before 2015 it had some dreadful and dull routes. Lot of years with Madonna as penultimate climb without Sormano and it was always waiting for the Villa Vergano or that sort of climb depending on the finishing location.

But this is the bomb.

 

[tobydawq]

Wasn't 2014 a one-off horrible snooze-fest?

Also, it helps the race that riders of the calibre of Oliver Zaugg don't win anymore.

 

[Flamin]

Obviously I'm not going to complain when the top favourites attack with 50k to go, but I really didn't see the 'great race' that many on here saw. From the moment Pinot and Nibali rode away, the race was already over and it would be a contest between them. Sure, Roglic and Bernal came back in the descent, but they were dropped uphill so the same was going to happen again on Civiglio. Furthermore, the chasing group's action was lame (from spectator view) though textbook stuff from riders who have been outclassed earlier on the day.

Not that exciting imo.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Wasn't 2014 a one-off horrible snooze-fest?

Also, it helps the race that riders of the calibre of Oliver Zaugg don't win anymore.

2014 was the equivalent of a Liège-Bastogne-Liège that begins on Saint-Nicolas.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Obviously I'm not going to complain when the top favourites attack with 50k to go, but I really didn't see the 'great race' that many on here saw. From the moment Pinot and Nibali rode away, the race was already over and it would be a contest between them. Sure, Roglic and Bernal came back in the descent, but they were dropped uphill so the same was going to happen again on Civiglio. Furthermore, the chasing group's action was lame (from spectator view) though textbook stuff from riders who have been outclassed earlier on the day.

Not that exciting imo.

I think it was as good as you get on a 100% asphalt race but I don't think it was close to being as exciting as the cobbled classics usually are.

The follower group was unluckily constellated, though. Astana and Mitchelton-Scott were the only teams with more than one rider but the four riders from those teams were the four weakest riders in the group, so Martínez was never going to get any help.

 

[kingjr]

Re:

it helps the race that riders of the calibre of Oliver Zaugg don't win anymore.

This *100

 

[Red Rick]

If they wait until the Civiglio I think the race ends up having the same result, except that Bernal and Roglic probably finish somewhere else.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Zaugg wasn't weak that day, though. He was one of the strongest, which is what made that result bizarre.

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

If they wait until the Civiglio I think the race ends up having the same result, except that Bernal and Roglic probably finish somewhere else.

Depends how they raced the sormano.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Re:

Zaugg wasn't weak that day, though. He was one of the strongest, which is what made that result bizarre.

Yea, and he was strong in 12 as well. 11 had weird monument winners excluding Gilbert.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Zaugg wasn't weak that day, though. He was one of the strongest, which is what made that result bizarre.

Yea, and he was strong in 12 as well. 11 had weird monument winners excluding Gilbert.

Amen to that.

But still, that win was Zaugg's only single one ever as a professional. Yesterday, I went through the current riders who have only one win to see if anyone was close to having as peculiar a palmares as did Zaugg. Tiesj Benoot won with his Strade Bianche in front of George Bennett and Brice Feillu. However, none of their victories are close to matching Zaugg's.

But I agree, Zaugg didn't gain that win through pure luck. It was well-earned. Still, all the riders who were remotely close to the front today were well-established.

Honestly I don't know if it tells more of a change of the race than it confirms the fact that Zaugg had a freakish day seven years ago.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Update.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Re: Re:

Zaugg wasn't weak that day, though. He was one of the strongest, which is what made that result bizarre.

Yea, and he was strong in 12 as well. 11 had weird monument winners excluding Gilbert.

Yeah. San Remo for Mr. Ate all the pies, Flanders to a major outsider, Roubaix to the BOTD and Lombardia to Zaugg.


Even Gilbert survived the longer climbs of Liege for the only time in his life...well except 2009 when he was in the winning move with Andy Schleck and decided to stop and wait for the chasers because he thought the move was doomed. That was dumb.

Zaugg wasn't weak that day, though. He was one of the strongest, which is what made that result bizarre.

Yea, and he was strong in 12 as well. 11 had weird monument winners excluding Gilbert.

Amen to that.

But still, that win was Zaugg's only single one ever as a professional. Yesterday, I went through the current riders who have only one win to see if anyone was close to having as peculiar a palmares as did Zaugg. Tiesj Benoot won with his Strade Bianche in front of George Bennett and Brice Feillu. However, none of their victories are close to matching Zaugg's.

But I agree, Zaugg didn't gain that win through pure luck. It was well-earned. Still, all the riders who were remotely close to the front today were well-established.

Honestly I don't know if it tells more of a change of the race than it confirms the fact thar Zaugg had a freakish day seven years ago.

I haven't watched that race in forever, but I remember discussing it that week and the prevailing opinion was that h had been the strongest. The only theory anyone could offer was that maybe everyone else was tired.

Update.

I don't get it. Is there supposed to be a picture in your post?

edit: nevermind, i see the avatar now

 

[search]

Re: Re:

Obviously I'm not going to complain when the top favourites attack with 50k to go, but I really didn't see the 'great race' that many on here saw. From the moment Pinot and Nibali rode away, the race was already over and it would be a contest between them. Sure, Roglic and Bernal came back in the descent, but they were dropped uphill so the same was going to happen again on Civiglio. Furthermore, the chasing group's action was lame (from spectator view) though textbook stuff from riders who have been outclassed earlier on the day.

Not that exciting imo.

I think it was as good as you get on a 100% asphalt race but I don't think it was close to being as exciting as the cobbled classics usually are.

The follower group was unluckily constellated, though. Astana and Mitchelton-Scott were the only teams with more than one rider but the four riders from those teams were the four weakest riders in the group, so Martínez was never going to get any help.

well, if Woods had worked for Uran (or the other way around - but I'd think Uran should be the captain for Lombardia), there still would have been quite a good chance to bring it back together

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Update.

Nice .