Nuyens appreciation thread

[Tuarts]

It doesn't really matter how well they raced during they race as long as they made it into that final 12 man group which was the final winning move and Nuyens came out best. All who got there deserved to and were all exhausted, there was no cheap win. That's cycling so well done to him.

 

[Andre.J]

Nuyens deserves his victory. Of course he does. He came in before everyone else. At the pace the race was going just being there in the end was amazing. He knows this race as he was second twice. The year Ballan beat him, that was a big mistake by Nuyens. Don't be surprised if he's in the thick of it again next year.

BTW: did anybody see the handshaking at the end between Fabian and Chavanel?

Andre

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

It doesn't really matter how well they raced during they race as long as they made it into that final 12 man group which was the final winning move and Nuyens came out best. All who got there deserved to and were all exhausted, there was no cheap win. That's cycling so well done to him.

well said.

 

[The Hitch]

The best comment was made by someone on the rider of the day thread when they pointed out he couldnt do much because he didnt have a good team unlike CHavannel, Boonen, flecha Ballan, Pozzato etc. He did what he had to and most importantly managed to keep up with Cancellara on that attack when no one else could. (well Chav but he was merely glued to Canc's wheel). What Boonen and Gilbert (best classics rider around) and everyone else in that group of 10 couldnt do, he did. And it one him the race.

Chapeau.

That siad he rides for Riis doesnt he.

So where is all the " he rides for x and we didnt think he could win but won, so must be a doper" abuse that Roessler and Kwiatkowski were subjected to on the three days of de panne thread?

 

[roundabout]

Nuyens won it Pozzato style.

I am very impressed.

 

[Oldman]

Well actually there is a lot of interpretation in your post regarding Nuyens thinking so there is no "simple fact" at all. Maybe he was conserving his limited resources for the finale. Maybe he was happy to be in the second group with some super motivated others. Who knows? Believe it or not patience is actually a tactic. But I'm certainly not claiming it was deliberate or otherwise based upon the flimsiest of evidence.

He had a brilliant finish and didn't look to have saved much. Mentally you can be ready to count yourself out and minutes later be in his position. I think he played the tactics correctly in retrospect but only he knows how much concious conservation was behind it. Nice win and he should take it to the bank.

 

[Ney the Viking]

He had a brilliant finish and didn't look to have saved much. Mentally you can be ready to count yourself out and minutes later be in his position. I think he played the tactics correctly in retrospect but only he knows how much concious conservation was behind it. Nice win and he should take it to the bank.

He was quoted in the danish media to have said he didnt feel good until the Muur, and was a bit irritated that he got dropped in the first climbs and due to crashes in the peleton. As I read it, he just tried to hang on until the Muur and it was only after that climb that he thought there was a chance and therefore tried to deliver as much as he could. So saving as much as he could, while trying to stay in position (and failing and getting a bit luck) and after the muur choosing the right attack to follow.

 

[roundabout]

One of the most underwhelming victories in Flanders in many years. We should really appreciate all the wheelsucking, nay tactics involved.

 

[ergmonkey]

Nuyens is still the same rider he was at Rabobank, Cofidis and Quick Step.

Maybe, though I think he's made a small but significant step up--even if it's largely a question of mentality.

But, even so, that's the "same rider" who won Het Volk (plus 2nd in 2008), K-B-K, Paris-Brussels, GP Wallonie (twice), Etoile de Besseges (gc and stage), and two podiums in Brabantse Pijl.

His Flanders history prior to 2011 includes:

1998: 2nd (juniors)
2001: 3rd (U23)
2002: 1st (U23)
2008: 2nd

All in all, he's got a very solid Belgian/Classics racing background, and he's now got a surprisingly thorough Belgian palmares, as well (wins in de Ronde, Het Volk, K-B-K, and Dwars Door Vlaanderen). Throw in two podiums at Brabantse Pijl, and he's basically just missing Gent-Wevelgem, Scheldeprijs, and E3--barring the Ardennes, of course.

So, I've got no issue with the notion of "Nuyens appreciation" nor the legitimacy of his win yesterday.

 

[greenedge]

He had cooke working well for him. But yeah great race by him

 

[Scatto]

Nuyens won it Pozzato style.

I am very impressed.

Some irony here.

But if he didn't plan on saving energy, it could still be said that the others had been spending too much. They couldn't follow or counter FC in the last few kilometers, so that's what happened. It's a good asset not to do what you can't.

Phil should have waited for Ballan after the Muur though.

 

[Ney the Viking]

I didn't know where to put this, but I guess this thread is the best place.

In a short interview in a Danish newspaper Nick has said that he can't quite put a finger on what is special about SBS but that the team spirit is definitly different that what he had tried before.

He then proceded to give an example; Before the Koppenberg he was dropped in a group with Devolder, and he noticed that Devolder had to pull himself even though he had two team mates. And then out of nowhere two of his Saxo teammates came up and without asking or saying anything just started to pull, and when they reached the Koppenberg they were just 50m's shy of the front group. He then reflected that on all other teams he had been with, his situation had been like Devolder, and he was really happy with the fact that his teammates just were for him when he needed it, and small details like that has been paramount as to why this season has been better than previous ones. And he concluded that if it wasnt for the great team spirit, he would have been left to struggle alone like Devolder.

Just thought it was an interesting tidbit.

 

[theyoungest]

Nuyens just needs to be the sole leader in a team. At Rabobank he was in a team with Flecha and Langeveld, they'd be crazy to start pulling for Nuyens. Guys like Larsson and Cooke know they can't win a classic so they'll happily sacrifice their chances.

 

[will10]

I think that says more about Devolder's attitude/"tactics" than about Nuyens. He is a one-man team at Vacansoleil, just as he was at QS.

 

[Anonymous]

After the whining I have heard from Cancellaseattubemotor this year after he wasn't good enough to win, I am glad Nuyens took the win, and took it the way he did. I hope every race Canc rides, someone sucks his wheel and sprints past him FTW. Every one. I'd root for Pozzato against that smarmy little pr!ck Fabio.

 

[peloton]

After the whining I have heard from Cancellaseattubemotor this year after he wasn't good enough to win, I am glad Nuyens took the win, and took it the way he did. I hope every race Canc rides, someone sucks his wheel and sprints past him FTW. Every one. I'd root for Pozzato against that smarmy little pr!ck Fabio.

+1

The whining is very annoying, and really unnecessary.