Rabobus

[TheEnoculator]

Who has been the most successful sport director in a race in the last couple of years? Could it be van Houwelingen?

People who have underperformed in 2012 so far are Breschel, Renshaw, Boom, Bos.

Gesink is coming back from a broken leg, so I am not rating him yet. But then again, what is his goal for this season. Be ready for the TdF or be competitive at the TdF. Or is is goal later in the season i.e. the Vuelta and the Worlds?

Matthews has secured three podium spots and he is still young, so I'd like to wait and see how he progresses next year. Where did he ride recently, in Pais Vasco? I think the team worked 2 times to get to a sprint and he didn't deliver, not even close to a podium. Bad luck? Bad positioning? No proper lead out/last pilot to launch him?

We haven't seen much from LtD yet, Sanchez secured 2 wins so far but it's meager (especially after passing up the almost certain win in Castilia y Leon), Paul Martens in the Amstel was disappointing and his legs (according to twitter?) aren't good... What is Sanchez actually targeting? Anything in particular, being a good helper in the TdF and hope for a stage win?

I'd like to see RAB - for a long time I have wished that - to be a little less calculated and a 'little' more passionate about their riding. When you see someone like Lieuwe Westra rip it up, Wout Poels to try and contest a sprint, Voeckler to attack every inch of the way, etc; they get results and they make for exciting cycling.

I think the expectations on Renshaw were way too high. He was working for years as a lead-out man, which is completely different breed of rider. You don't just transform into a successful sprinter overnight. He has a lot to learn in terms of timing and he will need years to start winning consistently. When Rabo signed him, they shouldn't have expected him to pile up wins for them right away.

Breschel had a real crappy year last year. He hardly raced, so I wouldn't expect him to just pick up where he left off. Losing almost an entire year can take a lot of racing rhythm out of you..

Boom is improving gradually. He just finished 6th in P-R, that's much better than last year.

Bos is underperforming, I agree. I think losing Friere now puts pressure on him as the #1 sprinter.

 

[greenedge]

Odd that in the CN article they list LLS as a rider for the flats. I know he stage hunts/ Time-Trials well but he does go well on hilly stages/ can climb.

 

[The Hitch]

As if it makes any sense to argue with Ryo.
Allthough I think ignoring is better.

Nope, im just getting revenge for 14 months ago.

You're resorting to DAOTEC-like methods of argument

The Hitch never forgets

though ironically i forgot the wording

 

[42x16ss]

Odd that in the CN article they list LLS as a rider for the flats. I know he stage hunts/ Time-Trials well but he does go well on hilly stages/ can climb.

True, you don't win CSS and top 10 at TdF and Vuelta (10th is still top 10 ) if you can't climb.