Teams & Riders Peter Sagan discussion thread.

[Mavic]

I flippin' love Sagan. He's definitely a rider that I'll get out of bed for to watch him race. I don't know what conclusions can be drawn from his performance of today, but I have a feeling he'll be ready when the races that really matter come around, or at least I really hope so. Aside from that, he hasn't been really good in E3 for a couple of editions now, so I wouldn't think too much of it.

 

[Koronin]

I have a hard time seeing Sagan faking a mechanical. That just doesn't fit him.

 

[tomorrow]

Re:

I have a hard time seeing Sagan faking a mechanical. That just doesn't fit him.

Indeed, actualy in post race interview, he admitted he's not fully fit from the illness yet, but blamed the shifter for him droping from the chasing group. Also, as I stated in the race thread, he clearly wasn't "dead" based on how he looked. You can always see on sagan, if he's on the edge or not, mainly his sweaty face tilted to one side, so I would believe what he said. Still, without the mechanical, he wouldn't have won, because stybar, GVA and WVA seemed to be in much better shape in the end.

 

[Jancouver]

The first part of the E3 BinckBank Classic unfolded the way we had expected and planned. There was a small breakaway that didn't pose any threat and we knew I had to be in the front, ready for the attacks. The entire team did an excellent job controlling the race. However, I could feel that my form still hadn't reached its full potential and that I hadn't fully recovered. Then, after the final feedzone, I felt that something had hit my rear derailleur. I'm not sure what it was but it wasn't working correctly. I rode for about 10km with that issue and by the time the mechanic fixed it, it was too late to close the gap to the front group.

 

[krakenKE]

He said in the post race interview for Slovak TV that he had the highest gear and could not change it.

 

[Red Rick]

Should be fine by Vlaanderen, no?

 

[THEORYY]

Faking mechanical? So, basically you are saying that Sagan was dropped on climb (1km/5,6%) and couldnt even keep up with Naesen and the others. :lol:

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He still looks too heavy imho, but i think he wanted to dig deep in GW, to get ready for RVV. I think he'll be ready, but might still suffer if some others go all out on the climbs.

PS: which benefit would there be in lying about his mechanical in E3? If anything, it'd be in his best interest that others believe he's worse than he is.

 

[tobydawq]

No beard and no long hair going into Flanders.

Probably his most "normal" look since the good old Liquigas days.

Please unleash the beast tomorrow!

 

[Screecher]

Re:

No beard and no long hair going into Flanders.

Probably his most "normal" look since the good old Liquigas days.

Please unleash the beast tomorrow!

Those couple grams he lost could help his climbing

 

[Pantani_lives]

He will be aerodynamic, just glide through the air.

 

[Koronin]

He'll be more aerodynamic. Not sure the few grams weight wise will make any difference.

 

[Keram]

Something is wrong with him. That Kwaremont and Paterberg was really heartbreaking This spring seems lost. They need to find out if this is virus or he is affected on cobbled climbs by his TDF fall.

 

[Screecher]

Something is wrong with him. That Kwaremont and Paterberg was really heartbreaking This spring seems lost. They need to find out if this is virus or he is affected on cobbled climbs by his TDF fall.

Going to Argentina right after Australia, not riding races like omloop, kuurne and strade didn't help. Catching a stomach virus before Tirreno didn't help. Not having teammates you can count on didn't help. Those are some of the possible reasons why. We can however only speculate.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

It wouldn’t have made any difference given his shape but his team seriously underperformed. Only Oss and Poestlberger were left from very, very early. Then even they were gone by 40km to go (which can be excused in Poestlbergers case as he burned his matches in the Lampaert move). Very sub par stuff given that they are not a weak team on paper.

 

[krakenKE]

Re:

It wouldn’t have made any difference given his shape but his team seriously underperformed. Only Oss and Poestlberger were left from very, very early. Then even they were gone by 40km to go (which can be excused in Poestlbergers case as he burned his matches in the Lampaert move). Very sub par stuff given that they are not a weak team on paper.

Totally agree with this. Looks like the whole team not just Sagan is underperforming and off shape.

 

[tobydawq]

Schachmann should have been here.

 

[Salvarani]

Not too bad today, but not great either. We will see next week if he might have found some better form and shape. Maybe PR is the race that suits him the best nowadays out of the classics anyway... and he will surely be motivated to defend his title.

 

[Jancouver]

Seems like he lost some motivation ... and everything that comes with it.

even his interviews are now too "its just a bike race and I won't bother to sprint for a minor placing".

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Tbh, since he broke up with his wife he seems to have lost his edge. He also doesn't seem to care as much anymore.

Still a 'bad' Sagan finished in the front group. But he wasn't with the 10 strongest. Worrysome. Especially now it seems a new generation is rising.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

Maybe this year he is trying something different or his mindset has changed somehow. If he does well in Ardennes week that'd be cool but he is so heavy maybe the idea is to focus on sprinting and performing extremely well yet again in the tour de france.

 

[Screecher]

Let's wait and see what he can do in Roubaix and Amstel. It might not be a lost cause just yet.

 

[Salvarani]

He cant be that far off though... He finished in the front group, so not a total disaster whatsoever. If this is him 1-2% off, it is still a pretty high level. Cant expect him to be great year after year and win everything all the time. He will bounce back sooner rather than later hopefully. Whether it will be in a week, a month or a year. Who knows.

 

[AQETUYIOI]

Re:

...or he doesn't care about not winning.

 

[krakenKE]

It is not a placing what I worry about but his performance on the climbs. Last year he was the first over the Paterberg from the chasing group after Terpstra and Pedersen with a small gap on the others. This year he barely held on. I am afraid he won't do much next week but will be happy to be proven wrong.