Orica GreenEdge report card 2012

[Richeypen]

Wilba60, how would you rate Cavs season out of interest?

 

[swuzzlebubble]

Similar to Cadel Evans?? Isn't Caleb Ewan just a pure sprinter?

He beat Alex Morgan in the national jnr TT champs this year.

http://www.cycling.org.au/?ID=46944

 

[Marcuccio]

That is a really interesting statement. Alba has had a really good year and has been strong throughout, although he had one of the shorter seasons of all the OGE riders. I think Goss, Clarke and Davis have been more consistent though over a longer season.

Goss has actually been the most consistent sprinter over the whole season, rarely finishing outside the top 6 or so. As pointed out here though he is judged pretty harshly for not having more wins. If you compare him with Albasini who is a one day rider and loves a breakaway or a GC rider like Nibali, haven't they had very similar seasons??

How do you mean interesting?
If you compare the previous season of Alba to this season, and likewise for Goss, I think you'd find Alba faired better. He seemed less of a bit part player this year, and stepped it up.

In the defence of Goss, he was far from unsatisfactory, but I reckon even by his own admissions, he came up short, and face it, a new team, mostly new team mates, and a slightly different role within the team was always going to move him out of his comfort zone.

TBH - he was probably on par with what I expected this year.

Rating a team in it's debut season is always going to be a hard task, cos there's a lot to look at from the DS, the over all team structure / management, and the riders themselves.
I'd probably give them a B- mostly on the fact that they probably exceeded the expectations of a lot of people out there, both fans and opposition teams a like.

It's how they move on from the Matt White debacle that's really gonna test their mettle. I hope it doesn't derail them.

 

[luckyboy]

Davis, Impey and Goss way overrated.

Gerrans, Albasini and Durbridge (for his age) were the most impressive. Don't remember much of the rest of the team.

 

[Wilba60]

Wilba60, how would you rate Cavs season out of interest?

In my opinion he deserves an A. The best sprinter in the world tour and proves it time and time again. This year he did it in a team that gave him moderate support, which probably aligns with the better season in 2011 in a team that gave him maximum support. He is tough too, I don't see anyone who matches him for getting up off the bitumen in really, really fast crashes and popping up in the next day or two and still winning or being in the finish.

Not sure why I don't give him an A+ as he was the best sprinter, maybe because Greipel and Goss did edge him out at times and he wasn't as dominant as in previous years. As others in this thread have noted in their comments, he is on very big money, he does have high expectations but he surely has to still rate an A

 

[Wilba60]

Similar to Cadel Evans?? Isn't Caleb Ewan just a pure sprinter?

As swuzzlebubble notes he is an excellent time trialler as well. The reason for my comment was an interview I heard earlier in the year. Ewan had been the outstanding sprinter against some very, very good sprinters in the Bay Classic which is held annually before the Tour Down Under. GreenEdge were up for early wins and did everything they could to keep him from winning but he found a way to beat them. I can't recall who was interviewed but it was a famous Australian cyclist, someone like Phil Anderson or Patrick Jonker and they mentioned that not only could he sprint but he could climb "all day". He is very small and compact, therefore the comparison to Cadel Evans. It will be quite a few years till we see him climb consistently but he is a name to watch.

 

[Wilba60]

Davis, Impey and Goss way overrated.

Take away the big mountain stages in the Vuelta and check out the rest of the results for Allan Davis, including 6th place in the World Championships.....within the OGE team he has been the most consistent rider and rarely puts in a bad ride. Unfortunate to not be able to turn many of those top 10 finishes into wins.

Remember the title of this thread is OGE report card, not a world cycling report card.


2012 3º in Stage 1 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic, Geelong (AUS)
2012 2º in Stage 2 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic, Geelong (AUS)
2012 3º in Stage 4 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic, Williamstown (AUS)
2012 1º in General Classification Jayco Bay Cycling Classic (AUS)
2012 6º in Stage 5 Tour of Qatar, Al Khor Corniche (QTR)
2012 8º in Stage 6 Tour of Qatar, Doha Corniche (QTR)
2012 7º in Stage 1 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Calella (ESP)
2012 2º in Stage 6 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Badalona (ESP)
2012 2º in Stage 2 Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz (ESP)
2012 9º in Stage 2 Tour de Romandie, Moutier (SUI)
2012 2º in Stage 1 Bayern Rundfahrt, Penzberg (GER)
2012 7º in Stage 2 Bayern Rundfahrt, Kempten (GER)
2012 5º in Stage 3 Bayern Rundfahrt, Treuchtlingen (GER)
2012 2º in Stage 5 Bayern Rundfahrt, Bamberg (GER)
2012 5º in Stage 3 Tour de Suisse, Aarberg (SUI)
2012 3º in Stage 6 Tour de Suisse, Bischofszell (SUI)
2012 4º in Stage 1 Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos, Ojo Guareña (ESP)
2012 4º in Stage 3 Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos, Lerma (ESP)
2012 2º in Stage 2 Vuelta a España, Viana (ESP)
2012 169º in Stage 3 Vuelta a España, Eibar-Arrate (ESP)
2012 157º in Stage 4 Vuelta a España, Estación de Valdezcaray (ESP)
2012 7º in Stage 5 Vuelta a España, Logroño (ESP)
2012 149º in Stage 6 Vuelta a España, Jaca (ESP)
2012 3º in Stage 7 Vuelta a España, Circuito de Alcañiz (ESP)
2012 160º in Stage 8 Vuelta a España, Collada de la Gallina (ESP)
2012 64º in Stage 9 Vuelta a España, Barcelona (ESP)
2012 15º in Stage 10 Vuelta a España, Sanxenxo (ESP)
2012 132º in Stage 11 Vuelta a España, Pontevedra (ESP)
2012 190º in Stage 12 Vuelta a España, Mirador de Ézaro (ESP)
2012 8º in Stage 13 Vuelta a España, Ferrol (ESP)
2012 111º in Stage 14 Vuelta a España, Puerto de Ancares (ESP)
2012 181º in Stage 15 Vuelta a España, Lagos de Covadonga (ESP)
2012 150º in Stage 16 Vuelta a España, Valgrande-Pajares. Cuitunigru (ESP)
2012 172º in Stage 17 Vuelta a España, Fuente Dé (ESP)
2012 3º in Stage 18 Vuelta a España, Valladolid (ESP)
2012 54º in Stage 19 Vuelta a España, La Lastrilla (ESP)
2012 145º in Stage 20 Vuelta a España, Bola del Mundo (ESP)
2012 4º in Stage 21 Vuelta a España, Madrid (ESP)
2012 167º in General Classification Vuelta a España (ESP)
2012 6º in World Championship, Road, Elite, Valkenburg
2012 8º in Stage 4 Tour of Beijing, Changping Stadium (CHN)

 

[swuzzlebubble]

I'd say Impey did very well.
He did some massive work for others and at times even had to re-load and contest the final himself when the sprinter lost his wheel.

 

[Marcuccio]

Turbo Durbo did awesome in his first season.
You look at his first few OGE interviews as a neo pro and he was quite nervous, and by his own admissions, to stay upright was a victory.

He did more than that!

 

[Wilba60]

Turbo Durbo did awesome in his first season.
You look at his first few OGE interviews as a neo pro and he was quite nervous, and by his own admissions, to stay upright was a victory.

He did more than that!

If you look at rides of the year overall, people will look to the Classics and Grand Tours probably but Durbridge's ride in the 2012 Circuit de la Sarthe must rate as one of THE outstanding rides of the year. His first pro race, he found himself in the lead after Stage 3 and with only two team mates left in the race to support him, he hung on to win. Some pretty handy riders have won this race in the past as well.

 

[Marcuccio]

He does the TTs at our club in Perth when he's home for the break, and mate, you should see him go. He goes harder in to the wind on the back straight than most guys go when they're with the wind.

 

[Wilba60]

Must be great to see him ride in person, even if it is during his "rest" period. Hopefully we will see him take on and win the big TT's next year.

 

[theyoungest]

As swuzzlebubble notes he is an excellent time trialler as well. The reason for my comment was an interview I heard earlier in the year. Ewan had been the outstanding sprinter against some very, very good sprinters in the Bay Classic which is held annually before the Tour Down Under. GreenEdge were up for early wins and did everything they could to keep him from winning but he found a way to beat them. I can't recall who was interviewed but it was a famous Australian cyclist, someone like Phil Anderson or Patrick Jonker and they mentioned that not only could he sprint but he could climb "all day". He is very small and compact, therefore the comparison to Cadel Evans. It will be quite a few years till we see him climb consistently but he is a name to watch.

Okay. So he can climb. But Cadel Evans is the opposite of a sprinter.