Is Fabian Cancellara past his prime?

[mewmewmew13]

I don't think so!!
Looking straight at him vs a side or angle view...nose looks different depending on view.

Fabs would never do that. C'mon.
sheesh

 

[mewmewmew13]

diff angle

 

[greenedge]

I think he will still be a force. He needs a better team to help him in the classics. All except for M-SR they sucked. Besides who can really challenge him in the classics consistently???

 

[El Pistolero]

I think he will still be a force. He needs a better team to help him in the classics. All except for M-SR they sucked. Besides who can really challenge him in the classics consistently???

Boonen, Gilbert, Hushovd.

 

[DirtyWorks]

If he's going as good as he was in 2010, he needs neither a team nor a DS... Just a good mechanic for the quick bike change Plus, hog will likely bring Demol with him and isn't Andersen staying?

Hog only likes to be in the car when the whole world is watching... and that means handing out the champagne on the last stage of the TdF.

The guy was on fire at the 2011 Paris Roubaix! As someone else said, Spartacus was alone far too early in the race. IMHO, team tactics did him in, not fitness.

I don't see the hog suddenly becoming dedicated to winning the one-day classics. I'm sure he sells dedication to winning one-day races, but there's little evidence of it working out for him. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Cycle Chic]

I don't think so!!
Looking straight at him vs a side or angle view...nose looks different depending on view.

Fabs would never do that. C'mon.
sheesh

2008...

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[mewmewmew13]

LOL!
Fabs vanity thread. Lighting.....
I still don't think he's had a nose fix...its amusing but still don't think so.

He IS flamboyant!

 

[Bennyl]

Part of what I was wondering is how much of his lack if success, if you want to call it that, was partly because hes a marked man in the peloton and is not allowed any freedom. Any thoughts on that?

That is true, however, I think this year he showed (even though he didn't win) that even when he is heavily marked, he is stronger than any other rider in the peleton from a certain distance out.

I think that if he was looked after as the number one rider with a team of riders to support him in his targeted races where they chased down a few attacks for him and he was attentive until his time to go (at maybe 20-30kms out instead of 40-50... far out!) then no one can hang onto his wheel and like Phil in the Ardennes he is untouchable.

He made Thor look like a kid in paris roubaix and the World Champ was very strong last year.

 

[El Pistolero]

That is true, however, I think this year he showed (even though he didn't win) that even when he is heavily marked, he is stronger than any other rider in the peleton from a certain distance out.

I think that if he was looked after as the number one rider with a team of riders to support him in his targeted races where they chased down a few attacks for him and he was attentive until his time to go (at maybe 20-30kms out instead of 40-50... far out!) then no one can hang onto his wheel and like Phil in the Ardennes he is untouchable.

He made Thor look like a kid in paris roubaix and the World Champ was very strong last year.

Thor had no problem following

 

[Bennyl]

must've been watching a different race to me... he just made it accross in the initial attack and then hung on, did no turns (and rightly so with his teammate up the road) and then when Fabian attacked again later he couldn't follow, even though he'd sucked wheels for the day. my memory may be failing me but i don't remember him putting in any attacks that day.

 

[El Pistolero]

must've been watching a different race to me... he just made it accross in the initial attack and then hung on, did no turns (and rightly so with his teammate up the road) and then when Fabian attacked again later he couldn't follow, even though he'd sucked wheels for the day. my memory may be failing me but i don't remember him putting in any attacks that day.

He did attack and he could follow all the way till the end, but was caught by surprise after all cobbled sectors were passed and thus reacted too late to Cancellara's attack.

In the same way Boonen reacted too late to Cancellara's attack in 2010(not saying Boonen would have won, but the duel wouldn't have ended 45km from the finish line )

 

[Bennyl]

He did attack and he could follow all the way till the end, but was caught by surprise after all cobbled sectors were passed and thus reacted too late to Cancellara's attack.

In the same way Boonen reacted too late to Cancellara's attack in 2010(not saying Boonen would have won, but the duel wouldn't have ended 45km from the finish line )

It was a while a go now. One thing I will say is that if it had have been the other way around and Thor had've put in that massive initial attack, Fabian would've sat comfortably on his wheel and then shredded him to bits as soon as he showed the slightest sign of slowing. It was a good spectacle anyway.

I guess its all hypothesising, i just remember thinking after that day that Fabian was the best cobbled classics rider in the peleton by a mile.

 

[Bennyl]

All this talking about this years classics has me looking forward to next year already now...

 

[Anonymous]

All this talking about this years classics has me looking forward to next year already now...

+1

The older I get the more I realize that those two weeks in April are the very best of the year (RVV & Paris-Roubaix).

 

[Nielsa]

+1

The older I get the more I realize that those two weeks in April are the very best of the year (RVV & Paris-Roubaix).

The worst part is going "I remember when rider x won back in year x" and you realize it's been ten, twenty, whatever years.

LOL!
Fabs vanity thread. Lighting.....
I still don't think he's had a nose fix...its amusing but still don't think so.

He IS flamboyant!

It's not ultra unusual these days for men to get minor plastic surgery, or to use botox.

 

[D Avoid]

Ullrich had huge muscles on his leg and was a GC guy. Martin just needs to work on his climbing I think and he will be fine.

But we are almost certain Ullrich was frug ducked!!

With Chance it is more unapparent. Just slightly.

 

[Archibald]

So that's why there were about 10 other riders trying to go for the stage win while Fabian sat up front and tried to tell them not to? Seems to me that if there was an "agreement" that wouldn't have happened no? Sheeeet, 1 + 1= 2....something didn't add up when that happened.

vaughters wasn't part of the agreement (and no doubt wasn't the only one), and he was vocal about it (as was his mouthpiece, hushovd) but it went with a 'majority'. If it was only Riis, then the other DS's would have told their riders to race on, not join in...

I'm not saying I agreed with it, but pinning the tail on cancellara is the wrong donkey.

 

[mewmewmew13]

The worst part is going "I remember when rider x won back in year x" and you realize it's been ten, twenty, whatever years.




It's not ultra unusual these days for men to get minor plastic surgery, or to use botox.[/quote]

I know...it's just that I don't think it fits Spartacus' style. We'll see when he's on cam again.

W/r to you guys talking about the classics, wow I can't wait either! The older I get the more they are the best...always a battle royale with some passionate riding.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

canc did not have a nose job. it's just that the rest of his face has gotten bigger with...ummm....age.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

oh yes, and he's past his prime. it's not that he burned bridges with a great coach, mentor and leader to tie his fate to a juvenile twerp who refuses to submit to any leadership or counsel. you shouldn't pay any attention at all to any recent, possibly ridiculously errant career choices.

he is done. he lost a race. it is impossible to come back from this.

(yes, it's sarcasm. this IS a troll thread, right?)

 

[Eric8-A]

It might have to do something with his unapiness with the management in Leopard.

 

[raddone]

After the WC TT race I'd say probably yes, after the road race probably no.

 

[Parrot23]

WC road race performance by him today was deeply impressive, perhaps the most impressive of any rider in the race.

 

[Arnout]

AND PRE- 2011

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How's the first pic gonna be pre 2011? He's in a Leopard shirt don't forget

I think the thickness of his nose indicates his form. The bigger the nose the better the form. You will notice he is celebrating on this pics and not on the ones with the small nose.

 

[mewmewmew13]

WC road race performance by him today was deeply impressive, perhaps the most impressive of any rider in the race.

I thought so too! He obviously dug deep...he was up there with the top sprinters in the world and hung tough. Very impressed. nothing to feel badly about (except he missed it by so little).