Franklin said: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
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Franklin said: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
UlleGigo said: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.
JRanton said: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.
la.margna said: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.
Needs more context. Was that preceded by "Everybody expected one of cycling's unconvicted drug cheats to win"?User Guide said:BBC News reort on race "instead Vinokourov,one of cyclings convicted drugs cheats...." weep
Lucky1 said: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.
WindLessBreeze said: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)
yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.User Guide said:BBC News reort on race "instead Vinokourov,one of cyclings convicted drugs cheats...." weep
Richeypen said:In all fairness it didnt look like Germany had a plan A
The Sheep said:yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.
BillytheKid said:"Fixed fortifications (in this case tactics) are a monument to the stupity of man"
Gen. Goerge S. Patton
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.Don't be late Pedro said: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 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.UlleGigo said: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.
Dekker_Tifosi said: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.
The Sheep said:yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.
Lucky1 said: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.
Libertine Seguros said: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.
hrotha said:Needs more context. Was that preceded by "Everybody expected one of cycling's unconvicted drug cheats to win"?
Franklin said: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.
You make a fair point about Germany.Libertine Seguros said: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.
The Sheep said:yeah I was cheering for the brits to have a good games but if thats how they react **** them.