LA fleche wallone thread

[King Of The Wolds]

What is this? A bunch of 2nd and 3rd tier riders duking it out. Don't even wanna watch the replay.. Makes me long for the good old days of superstar puncheurs

On to Sunday

This was a hard man's race. Top tier hard men.

 

[Andre]

The race was good, action from a far, atypical for Fleche. This Stevie Williams is a promissing guy, he could win again I think.
As for the puncheurs field, it's rather poor these days. Valverde, Purito, Dan Martin all retired, Alaphilipe not a shade of himself, Roglic constantly skipping this race. I remeber the times when Pogacar was an outsider, and hell even he wasn't there.

Gilbert was good at it too

 

[dazaau]

That looked horrendous. Great TV. Congrats to Williams. That has to be hard for Woods to watch given how much he has wanted this race and his teammate has just got it. But he may well have died in the gutter like so many others today.

 

[Brullnux]

What is this? A bunch of 2nd and 3rd tier riders duking it out. Don't even wanna watch the replay.. Makes me long for the good old days of superstar puncheurs

On to Sunday

Its kind of just what happens when the weather is so bad, top ten is a bit weird.

Also, I wonder how bad this generation of puncheurs 'really' is, or if we're just distorted by the presence of Remco Roglic and Pogacar to not consider the second tier riders who might really be pretty good.

 

[Sciatic]

I've seen so many riders in recent years not even wearing a light base layer under the jerseys, even in spring in races with changing weather. obvs you'll freezy if you don't cover fast when things get colder

One would think that with all the emphasis on bike tech, dietary analysis, training details that they would pay a little more attention to suitable clothing. I guess some riders are trying to make sure they won’t overheat with too much clothing, but today seemed like it would have been an easy call to make?
It brings to mind the Florence-Fiesole Worlds where the British team full of marginal-gains devotees from Team Sky all wore short sleeve jerseys on the terrible weather day and almost the entire team had pulled out before the real racing was underway.

 

[Sciatic]

Gilbert was good at it too

I think I remember reading at the time that this race was a bit too steep for a more classic puncheur like Gilbert against the mountain/GC type puncheurs of that era like Purito and Valverde. Except in 2011 of course

 

[Didinho]

What was the final ascent time of the Mur?

 

[Nick2413]

6 of the top 11 and 9 of the top 18 were all French riders. Checked some years back and it’s normally less than half that.

 

[Scarponi]

I think I remember reading at the time that this race was a bit too steep for a more classic puncheur like Gilbert against the mountain/GC type puncheurs of that era like Purito and Valverde. Except in 2011 of course

Evans really should have won this 2-3 times in that era

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Ok just watched entire Eurosport Premium DK broadcast.

Indeed bulls eye just for my taste. What a race!

 

[Sciatic]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780609824650076474

View: https://x.com/jiimmywhelan/status/1780609824650076474?s=46&t=gilcCUZqZuJoirVJ-hR54g

 

[QueenStagiaire]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780609824650076474

View: https://x.com/jiimmywhelan/status/1780609824650076474?s=46&t=gilcCUZqZuJoirVJ-hR54g

I‘m sure he didn‘t mean hyperthermia.

 

[RedheadDane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780609824650076474

View: https://x.com/jiimmywhelan/status/1780609824650076474?s=46&t=gilcCUZqZuJoirVJ-hR54g

According to PCS, his next race is Tour of Turkey.

Put him on the plane, so he can get to somewhere hot.

 

[Blanco]

Evans really should have won this 2-3 times in that era

I can't remember Evans as some kind of a super-puncheur. He had his win, and I think it is more than enough.
If someone should have won it more times, it's Purito Rodriguez.

 

[Red Rick]

Gilbert was good at it too

Gilbert did one good Mur in his life

 

[Red Rick]

I can't remember Evans as some kind of a super-puncheur. He had his win, and I think it is more than enough.
If someone should have won it more times, it's Purito Rodriguez.

Not that sure, mostly because the Mur was actually too easy for Purito

 

[Blanco]

Not that sure, mostly because the Mur was actually too easy for Purito

He would prefer a little longer maybe, but this was definitely within his reach. Valdepenas de Jaen has similar numbers, and he did quite good there.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

there aren't that many pure puncheurs left imo. Most of the favorites now are GC riders in the ardennes.

Vd Poel is maybe the closest thing to a hill puncheur now in pure acceleration, but the Ardennes climbs are too long for him comparably

 

[Red Rick]

He would prefer a little longer maybe, but this was definitely within his reach. Valdepenas de Jaen has similar numbers, and he did quite good there.

Valdepenas peaks out a lot steeper and earlier in the climb, plus the overall stave goes through tricky medium mountains instead of big wide flat roads.

 

[pastronef]

What was the final ascent time of the Mur?

3:11

 

[Anderis]

I‘m sure he didn‘t mean hyperthermia.

Maybe he looked at how cold it was and he overdressed.

 

[Volderke]

Admit - dropped in by 9.7K togo, and have no time for recatch
But still havent sunk in why so many riders could not cope with the cold and wind!?
...
...
Just trying to find an explanation.

The start was sunny and dry, but most teams didn't check the weather, clearly: the last couple of days we're having strong winds + cold rain / hail showers that suddenly start, only last 5-10 minutes but can get you totally wet.

That's what happened: big peloton, UAE drilling it, so everyone in position.
Next, you have a sudden rain / hail shower on a climb and everyone is reluctant to go back to the car / lose positions and try to put on a rain jacket (which is a risky thing when racing hard, especially with the wind).

So in a matter of minutes, most got soaking wet and cold, and it was already too late by that point to put on something warm as the base layers were freezing cold and wet.

 

[shadowrider]

I think I remember reading at the time that this race was a bit too steep for a more classic puncheur like Gilbert against the mountain/GC type puncheurs of that era like Purito and Valverde. Except in 2011 of course

Indeed. Gilbert was a puncher and uphillsprinter. He was able to win on not too steep, but moderately long slopes. Or on short "walls". But a "wall" combined with a 1 km slope was normally to hard for him. With the exception of 2011 in which he already used the training and nutrition methods that Visma (Jumbo) and Emirates now do.

 

[shadowrider]

I have to admit that I was a bit irritated while following the Flèche. We know that riders are increasingly better prepared through training camps in the sunny South. But less prepared for severe weather conditions (snow/rain combined with low temperatures and sometimes wind). The riders are also thinner on average than before. But today there is fantastic, high-performance rain/cold clothing (weighting a few ounces extra). Then you see many riders start poorly dressed, or put on appropriate clothing too late when the weather becomes even worse during the race. Some rode in shorts. A few even with short sleeves (f.i. Van Sevenant). The same Van Sevenant, obliged to start in the Amstel, who had to come back early from a southern altitude training. Alone driving his car coming from Andorra. Tired and stiff, still performing very well in the Amstel (fourth, only beaten in the sprint). He should never had to start in the Flèche under those circumstances, but he should have recoverd and later start in Liège. He, of all people, rode in short sleeves and then had to give up, just like many colleagues.

When we see that even the well-dressed winner crosses the line with a contorted face, we can imagine how the other less well-dressed riders fared. Compromising their chances for a place of honor in Liège and even the next weeks.

 

[Escarabajo]

I have to admit that I was a bit irritated while following the Flèche. We know that riders are increasingly better prepared through training camps in the sunny South. But less prepared for severe weather conditions (snow/rain combined with low temperatures and sometimes wind). The riders are also thinner on average than before. But today there is fantastic, high-performance rain/cold clothing (weighting a few ounces extra). Then you see many riders start poorly dressed, or put on appropriate clothing too late when the weather becomes even worse during the race. Some rode in shorts. A few even with short sleeves (f.i. Van Sevenant). The same Van Sevenant, obliged to start in the Amstel, who had to come back early from a southern altitude training. Alone driving his car coming from Andorra. Tired and stiff, still performing very well in the Amstel (fourth, only beaten in the sprint). He should never had to start in the Flèche under those circumstances, but he should have recoverd and later start in Liège. He, of all people, rode in short sleeves and then had to give up, just like many colleagues.

When we see that even the well-dressed winner crosses the line with a contorted face, we can imagine how the other less well-dressed riders fared. Compromising their chances for a place of honor in Liège and even the next weeks.

I hate to say this but some riders are stupid. I see it on almost every race before summer. I just don't get it. Maybe there is some testosterone or macho hormones taking place. I do ride my bike a lot and I see it around me even on club rides. Listen I am a chicken when it comes to weather, but some people just think that they are penguins and when they least expect it cold legs and cold hands controls their bodies. We have had to take a few idiots back to their house because they were shivering. Just because the sun is up does not mean squat. On top of that you have cold rain, please!!!
Maybe I am wrong and I understand some bodies cope with cold weather more than others but I have seen this behavior a lot around me to understand that many riders are Unprepared.

BTW, the coldest day registered for the year for Races was at the Tour of the Alps (5°C average). I saw that on their broadcast. Maybe rain made the difference, but still. Some good takes on cold weather gear by the king knucklehead himself below:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKz1VBQ2vZU