Milano - Sanremo: March 23rd, 2019

[DNP-Old]

I know it was only his debut, but what did Groenewegens performance mean for the future? I thought he looked terrible today. The weather was pretty much ideal, the Cipressa wasn’t much of a warzone, but he was already in heavy troubles at that point.

 

[Screecher]

Re:

I know it was only his debut, but what did Groenewegens performance mean for the future? I thought he looked terrible today. The weather was pretty much ideal, the Cipressa wasn’t much of a warzone, but he was already in heavy troubles at that point.

This race is too hard for him. He's really fast but unfortunately not as versatile as some other sprinters.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I know it was only his debut, but what did Groenewegens performance mean for the future? I thought he looked terrible today. The weather was pretty much ideal, the Cipressa wasn’t much of a warzone, but he was already in heavy troubles at that point.

He is too chunky for this race.

 

[Anderis]

Maybe he will do better in the future. They used to be saying that such classics were too hard for a guy like Ewan as well.

 

[Leinster]

Re: Re:

Alaphilippe's average watts for the race was 170.

And people call this a hard race...

iF YouRe NoT doInG 6 wATtS/kG iT's NOt a HarD rAce, DistAnCE dOesN'T maTtER

No. Why would it matter that it's 300 kilometers when the race is shorter in time than the other long races and the workload is just infinitely smaller?

And he wasn't even doing 3...

What race on the calendar is longer that 6:40 in the saddle? Flanders and Liege were 6:20 last year, and Roubaix and Lombardia were under 6.

Besides which nobody calls MSR a hard race to ride. "It's the easiest monument to ride, and the hardest to win."

 

[tobydawq]

Yeah, that was perhaps not a very smart thing to write. Perhaps a couple of Worlds have been longer (2013 springs to mind) but that wasn't exactly what I wrote. So sorry for that exaggeration but I still don't think it matters that much. I think that if the race had been 200 kilometres it would have developed exactly the same.

 

[Velolover2]

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

No love for Bonifazio?

I think there's just too far between Cipressa and Poggio on too peloton-friendly roads to attack with a serious belief of lasting to the line.

Though, it would be refreshing if some teams used it as a strategic device to send some riders up the road.

 

[Escarabajo]

Nice edition. It should always be like this. More deserving winners that combines different skills sets.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Gotta love Nibali and Dumoulin being in that final selection. I can't figure out why a Froome never tries this stuff

 

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

No love for Bonifazio?

I think there's just too far between Cipressa and Poggio on too peloton-friendly roads to attack with a serious belief of lasting to the line.

Though, it would be refreshing if some teams used it as a strategic device to send some riders up the road.

Ah yeah, his ride was gutsy but we all knew that he wouldn't make it alone.

I guess the lack of action is a part of the charm of the race. It's a long big build-up to the battle between the attackers on Poggio and the sprinters. I'm glad they moved the finish line to Via Roma, it makes it more open.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

I know it was only his debut, but what did Groenewegens performance mean for the future? I thought he looked terrible today. The weather was pretty much ideal, the Cipressa wasn’t much of a warzone, but he was already in heavy troubles at that point.

He is too chunky for this race.

This!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Haha DNP-Old, your views are starkly contradicting Groenewegen's own views.

He says it wasn't so bad, he survived the Cipressa and said with a bit more strength and experience he has faith in surviving the Poggio in the future as well.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Gotta love Nibali and Dumoulin being in that final selection. I can't figure out why a Froome never tries this stuff

Can't ride without a train, feels lonely and lost.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

Yeah, that was perhaps not a very smart thing to write. Perhaps a couple of Worlds have been longer (2013 springs to mind) but that wasn't exactly what I wrote. So sorry for that exaggeration but I still don't think it matters that much. I think that if the race had been 200 kilometres it would have developed exactly the same.

A few have said (Kelly among them) that there is a difference with races that are longer than 250kms, that you just see some riders who can't do it after that.

It's possible that a >200km race with the same finish would end the same. Maybe the Giro should have a stage to San Remo some day to find out. But I would never want MSR to NOT be as long as it is.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

I feel quite the opposite. Today convinced me it's not all that balanced even without Le Manie.

One team decided to ride really hard on the Poggio today, the Poggio group did not cooperate at all, it had been an easy day all day, and the bunch kick finished almost half a minute down.

If one strong team commits to the Poggio, a bunch sprint can't win. That is perhaps the biggest tactical change together with guys like Sagan, Matthews and Degenkolb not waiting for a sprint anymore.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Gotta love Nibali and Dumoulin being in that final selection. I can't figure out why a Froome never tries this stuff

Not sure if serious.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

No love for Bonifazio?

I think there's just too far between Cipressa and Poggio on too peloton-friendly roads to attack with a serious belief of lasting to the line.

Though, it would be refreshing if some teams used it as a strategic device to send some riders up the road.

Nothing will ever happen on the Cipressa again.

If you want more action in Sanremo, you need to add the Pompeiana, but that completely turns it into a hilly classic.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Re: Re:

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

No love for Bonifazio?

I think there's just too far between Cipressa and Poggio on too peloton-friendly roads to attack with a serious belief of lasting to the line.

Though, it would be refreshing if some teams used it as a strategic device to send some riders up the road.

Ah yeah, his ride was gutsy but we all knew that he wouldn't make it alone.

I guess the lack of action is a part of the charm of the race. It's a long big build-up to the battle between the attackers on Poggio and the sprinters. I'm glad they moved the finish line to Via Roma, it makes it more open.

On the one hand we complain that nobody attacks before the Poggio; on the other hand we ridicule someone like Bonifazio because he attacks before the Poggio. Not very consequent.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Haha DNP-Old, your views are starkly contradicting Groenewegen's own views.

He says it wasn't so bad, he survived the Cipressa and said with a bit more strength and experience he has faith in surviving the Poggio in the future as well.

It wasn't all that bad, but he was dropped from a +100 peloton on Cipressa. Thats really not great despite him being on obvious great form. He would have to shred some kilos to at least stand a chance, especially with the way the race is trending...

Red Rick: Le Manie would just be so much better, Pompeina wouldn't really be balanced.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Bonny's attack on the descent was the highlight of the race! Does anyone know if he trains in the area often? He looked so confident.
I couldn't understand the move at the time and still don't but it sure was cool.

 

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

Good edition after all. The balance is still perfect but you could add Le Maine for a bit more pre-action without destroying the sprinters' (bar Groenewegen and Kittel) chances..

The slow pace on Cipressa made Poggio much more explosive. But I'm astonished that no one had the guts to go long range.

I feel quite the opposite. Today convinced me it's not all that balanced even without Le Manie.

One team decided to ride really hard on the Poggio today, the Poggio group did not cooperate at all, it had been an easy day all day, and the bunch kick finished almost half a minute down.

If one strong team commits to the Poggio, a bunch sprint can't win. That is perhaps the biggest tactical change together with guys like Sagan, Matthews and Degenkolb not waiting for a sprint anymore.

You might be right. And if most teams have a puncheur up front from a Poggio attack.. nobody will be doing any chasing.

It will still be more of a tactical game that we know from the classics than a mass sprint. But only 7 km of serious action.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re:

Haha DNP-Old, your views are starkly contradicting Groenewegen's own views.

He says it wasn't so bad, he survived the Cipressa and said with a bit more strength and experience he has faith in surviving the Poggio in the future as well.

I read that too and I was just baffled. To me, nothing today indicated that he will ever do something noteworthy here unless he loses a pound or two. Up until the Poggio this might have been the sprinter friendliest edition in years and he had to be brought back by Van der Hoorn to even be in the peloton with the main guys going into the Poggio. I’m not as optimistic as him.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Wait, was Pompeiana used in 2014..? And Kristoff won? For some reason I also thought it was a tougher climb.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Wait, was Pompeiana used in 2014..? And Kristoff won? For some reason I also thought it was a tougher climb.

No it has never been used.