Olympic Road Race Men

[BillytheKid]

I think the Belgians were victim of their own plan, they had two guys in front. Sure couldn't detect a plan for the Germans

"Fixed fortifications (in this case tactics) are a monument to the stupity of man"

Gen. Goerge S. Patton

 

[Lucky1]

I would say calling Goss the third best sprinter in the world IS pretty positive 'hype'.

Australia did the right thing. Played it smart. I think O'Grady put in a great performance and deserved to be left to try for a medal. Bad luck can't be helped.

Where did 'Team GB' finish? I heard they were going to dominate this course with 4 riders.

Yeah - they have one of the top sprinters in the world and got absolutely nothing. Very smart. O'Grady's not getting a medal wasn't bad luck - it was almost certain. Had it not been for Cancellara's crash, the Swiss team probably played the best race - almost their entire team in the key breakaway and possibly the best rider in it before the crash.

 

[personal]

I don't mind Vino but it's a pretty terrible result for the sport...

Good race though and great to see so many people come out to support.

It is much better then GB/Sky winning.
Maybe someday you will learn why.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

GB(/Sky) just proves that always sticking to the plan doesn't work.

The plan was to ride on the front and that attacks would automatically be pulled back when they ride a certain wattage.

However, the group was so strong with so many big names it was impossible. When that 2nd group went up the road they should've had a plan B to attack with someone who doesn't work. But they sticked to their only plan, just like in the Tour, and utterly failed.

 

[User Guide]

BBC News reort on race "instead Vinokourov,one of cyclings convicted drugs cheats...." weep

 

[Sem Travões]

Great Race great win for Vino but the Colombian must have seen some naked spice girl, he totally give the win to Vino in the last meters

Also someone must tell the German coach that its the Olympics games with medals till the third place and diploms till the 8th place. At least they could ahve won Silver, there are somethings that I just don't understand

 

[The Barb]

On the other hand it was a great race. Loads of well behaved and disciplined spectators, no carnival, no nudity and not standing in the way to take pictures.

Surely you're not saying this is a good thing?

 

[WindLessBreeze]

SKY/UK...Lessons to be learned: ToBe/Humble

Do not put all your eggs in the same basket; Do not tell your foes what your strategy is (althought it's clear); Have a Plan B!......................................
Same goes for Germany....Put at least one rider in the breakway.............It's a lottery out there..........Look what happened to Cancellara...But as I said: Latinos can't be taken for granted; They' must reckon with U$..........We are the long shot/ they could have written us off/ As of yet, NOT'/ Çause:
Colombia se respeta, Colombia no coge E$$A! (SKY is the LIMIT)

 

[hrotha]

BBC News reort on race "instead Vinokourov,one of cyclings convicted drugs cheats...." weep

Needs more context. Was that preceded by "Everybody expected one of cycling's unconvicted drug cheats to win"?

 

[Big Doopie]

What a deserved winner!

10 characters.

 

[UlleGigo]

Yeah - they have one of the top sprinters in the world and got absolutely nothing. Very smart. O'Grady's not getting a medal wasn't bad luck - it was almost certain. Had it not been for Cancellara's crash, the Swiss team probably played the best race - almost their entire team in the key breakaway and possibly the best rider in it before the crash.

Completely agree on the Swiss, they played it very well. Canc's crash was terrible luck for them. I was actually hoping he would win.

But O'Grady finished high up in his group and would have been in with a chance of a medal if the breakgroup stayed together. Goss was a chance for a medal too against Cav, Greipel, Boonen and anyone else that could have got involved in the sprint but no more than O'Grady from a much smaller group.

Well managed race from Australia. Just bad luck for me.

 

[Richeypen]

Do not put all your eggs in the same basket; Do not tell your foes what your strategy is (althought it's clear); Have a Plan B!......................................
Same goes for Germany....Put at least one rider in the breakway.............It's a lottery out there..........Look what happened to Cancellara...But as I said: Latinos can't be taken for granted; They' must reckon with U$..........We are the long shot/ they could have written us off/ As of yet, NOT'/ Çause:
Colombia se respeta, Colombia no coge E$$A! (SKY is the LIMIT)

In all fairness it didnt look like Germany had a plan A


Any news on Canc?

 

[The Sheep]

BBC News reort on race "instead Vinokourov,one of cyclings convicted drugs cheats...." weep

yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.

 

[UlleGigo]

In all fairness it didnt look like Germany had a plan A

Definitely. If they were working for Greipel exclusively they should have chased full gas. They were obviously waiting for GB to tire but it didn't happen for them until it was too late to close the gap.

 

[JRanton]

yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.

You think the BBC will be the only non-cycling outlet to report that Vino was a drugs cheat and an unrepentant one at that?

 

[Franklin]

"Fixed fortifications (in this case tactics) are a monument to the stupity of man"

Gen. Goerge S. Patton

I'm not sure I agree here... They had 2 guys left besides Tom... what could they do? it was a gamble either way.

The Belgiums never wanted a bunch finish. Tom should have been in the break, he had nothing to do in a bunch sprint anyway.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

That seems a bit harsh. Everyone knew what they needed to do for Cav. It was not as if it was a surprise. As soon as the first break went GB would needed to chase. Given in the end neither the Germans or the Aussies did any significant chasing even in the dying stages I doubt anything would have been different at the start.

You could fault them for not trying to get someone in the break though but who would you put?

I think the Germans did a decent amount of work, it's just that once Martin dropped out to focus on the TT they were left with just Grabsch and two leadout guys. Grabsch can help, the other two not so much. Germany's entire strategy was gambling on GB and Australia (and maybe USA too) pulling the break back in a way that meant they would only need to expend two riders for it. Austria helped out and so did Denmark.

Australia were the ones that confused me. Yes, they had a guy up the road, but in what world was Stuart O'Grady going to win from that breakaway on his own? He got about as good a placement as you could have expected from him. Australia's best chance for the gold came from helping the Brits and Germans to pull the group back.

Completely agree on the Swiss, they played it very well. Canc's crash was terrible luck for them. I was actually hoping he would win.

But O'Grady finished high up in his group and would have been in with a chance of a medal if the breakgroup stayed together. Goss was a chance for a medal too against Cav, Greipel, Boonen and anyone else that could have got involved in the sprint but no more than O'Grady from a much smaller group.

Well managed race from Australia. Just bad luck for me.

I just think that break was too strong for Australia to reasonably expect O'Grady to have done any better against multiple Swiss/Spanish/Italians than Goss could have done in the sprint.

 

[Frosty]

GB(/Sky) just proves that always sticking to the plan doesn't work.

The plan was to ride on the front and that attacks would automatically be pulled back when they ride a certain wattage.

However, the group was so strong with so many big names it was impossible. When that 2nd group went up the road they should've had a plan B to attack with someone who doesn't work. But they sticked to their only plan, just like in the Tour, and utterly failed.

Yeah but i think all their riders had already been on the front. Not working in a group when its 20-30 and you are more tired than anyone else is not great odds. The break wasnt certain to be brought back but if it was than Cav had a great chance of winning. They fancied those odds were better.

If they were going to have someone sitting on then they should have done it from the start when the first break went. Again though, in a big break such as today the other guys wont have to work as much as in a small break and when a further break occurs later on then everyone will look at you to chase it down.

Also, GB doesnt really have any good hilly classic riders so who would you put up there. Maybe the course could have suited Geraint Thomas in a year or two? Be interesting to see Froome could go in a race like today's too.

 

[UlleGigo]

yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.

You must be new to British reactions to defeat. Buckle up.

 

[la.margna]

Had it not been for Cancellara's crash, the Swiss team probably played the best race - almost their entire team in the key breakaway and possibly the best rider in it before the crash.

Couldn't agree more (obviously as Swiss). And this makes me incredibly sad. Such an opportunity will not come again. Such a strong Swiss team with a Fabs in top form again. And again he crashes. And even worse, seems to be injured seriously again. Cycling can be cruel sometimes. But a fascinating and great sport.

 

[JibberJim]

I am reminded of the Russians scheduling the women's relay last at the Biathlon World Championships in 2011, specifically for the purpose of finishing on a Russian triumph. This was scheduled first like this for a GB gold medal to start the games... and it failed almost as badly as the Russian ploy in Khantiy-Mansiysk.

There weren't many days when you could have the road races though - in fact it was pretty much the only date - marathon finishes in the stadium so can't be first day after the opening ceremony and you can't close the roads on a work day. So whilst I'm sure they were happy to have a favourite in the first medal (was it - or did a Judo one get in first?) but I doubt it was that much of a conspiracy.

 

[User Guide]

Needs more context. Was that preceded by "Everybody expected one of cycling's unconvicted drug cheats to win"?

Talking about cav not winning background of the finish/fans saying fans expecting cav sprinting for win instead won by ......vino one of etc....

 

[BillytheKid]

I'm not sure I agree here... They had 2 guys left besides Tom... what could they do? it was a gamble either way.

The Belgiums never wanted a bunch finish. Tom should have been in the break, he had nothing to do in a bunch sprint anyway.

I was referencing the German and British tatics on the day. The Belgiums were great...some bad luck with Tom...Giilbert lit the fuse for the final.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

I think the Germans did a decent amount of work, it's just that once Martin dropped out to focus on the TT they were left with just Grabsch and two leadout guys. Grabsch can help, the other two not so much. Germany's entire strategy was gambling on GB and Australia (and maybe USA too) pulling the break back in a way that meant they would only need to expend two riders for it. Austria helped out and so did Denmark.

You make a fair point about Germany.

As people have said, teams of no more than 5 seem the way to go for these kinds of events.

 

[Gubby Allen]

yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.

In actual fact as soon both the BBC commentator Hugh Porter and then the Jake Humphrey who they handed back to, both proclaimed Vinokorov "a popular winner"

Not for me he's not, but the style of the win was good. Thought the GB team did really well, all they could & pleased with them. I was though half rooting for Cancellara or Gilbert, pity neither were in shape when Vino jumped, it could've been there's. Spain threw it away too.

Not sure what the tactics of some teams was or it they had any.