Rate the 2015 Ronde van Vlaanderen

[Jancouver]

5/10

Dull edition IMO. With about 8-9km to go, I had hopes GVA and Sagan would catch them but when I saw all the motorbikes in front of the leading duo, it was clear they will never catch them as they were rightfully taking advantage of that.

Otherwise:

1. Kristoff: the strongest guy won
2. Terpstra: No chances against Kristoff but made the winning break and deserved 2nd
3. GVA: Perhaps the strongest of the top 4 but missed the winning move
4. Sagan: I think he did not get slower but GVA and Kristoff definitely got faster. Still 3-6 years younger than the top 3.
5. Benoot: Nice result
6-13 Meh
14 Thomas + SKY = wrong tactics. This is not a MTF tour stage
15. Greipel Wow Very nice showing and wondering if he would be able to follow the winning break if he did not burn too many matches with his pointless attacks.

 

[Jancouver]

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

guys i hope you realize that the epic gent wevelgem occurs only once in 40-50 years. stop comparing race to it plz

Yes, you can't compare a normal race to that epic one, but IMO Omloop, E3 and maybe even Dwars door Vlaanderen were all better than the Ronde.

 

[Miburo]

gave it a 4, so boring, last 30km didn't make up for it. Besides the last 30km weren't that awesome.

You remember the last 20km in RVV 2011? That was godlike, this was nothing compared to it.

 

[Red Rick]

Here's the Ronde van Vlaanderen since the new parcours for you


Bunch of favourites waiting for the last Kwaremont ascent, the group of favourites either splits or it doesn't
Then nothing happens until the last Paterberg ascent, everyone sprints up the Paterberg, now there's a small group or Cancellara got away. Group rides to the finish, group sprints

Meanwhile some other contenders may try to get away before the last Kwaremont ascent, whilst the group of favourites burn all domestiques while not working together between the last two hills

This is gonna happen every time in the coming years until they change it.

 

[TommyPlus]

4 purely for the lolz at the tactics from Sky, BMC and Etixx.
Sky just being Sky as usual.
BMC with 3 in the race deciding selection then just letting people ride away and leaving all the chasing to Lotto and Rowe.
Etixx for once again managing to balls up everything magnificently. Pretty much every thing Etixx told Terpstra to do was wrong. Attacked and took strong man away, okay this makes some sense. Must have a feel for how Kristoff is going so carries on working hoping to drop him on the Paterberg. Almost got dropped himself on the Kwatemont. He should have stopped working then and allow Stybar a chance. Stybar should also have attacked Thomas on the Kwaremont when they get clear.
So onto the flat with two groups of two in front of the peloton. Terpstra stops working and risks coming 4th if the second group of two catch him. Also a mistake as Stybar's group was dead by then. So if all this happens you must surely attack the sprinter. Attack he did but unfortunately with 150m to go. A heroic effort beautifully mixed with a shambolic organisation.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

5. The right winner. Paterberg was great. But it lacked the magic of previous editions. Maybe it's the course, or it was just the absence of the 2 kings.

 

[Carols]

Wow I haven't seen the last 90km of the race as it was a holiday and real life intervened. Reading the comments I guess I'll FF to around 40km to start watching the recording....

 

[rghysens]

Here's the Ronde van Vlaanderen since the new parcours for you


Bunch of favourites waiting for the last Kwaremont ascent, the group of favourites either splits or it doesn't
Then nothing happens until the last Paterberg ascent, everyone sprints up the Paterberg, now there's a small group or Cancellara got away. Group rides to the finish, group sprints

Meanwhile some other contenders may try to get away before the last Kwaremont ascent, whilst the group of favourites burn all domestiques while not working together between the last two hills

This is gonna happen every time in the coming years until they change it.

Basically this.
The sequence Oude Kwaremont - Paterberg - Koppenberg - Mariaborrestraat - Taaienberg is so good the organisers should make it the centerpiece of their race, by designing a final that becomes easier and easier towards the finish, thus enticing attacks from Paterberg to Taaienberg. Now its followed by almost 20km with some bigger roads, the long drag up the Kruisberg and the final time Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, which make that everyone waits until then. RVV has basically become like LBL were formerly deciding climbs like Stockeu or La Redoute have become redundant since the inclusion of Saint Nicolas and Roche aux Faucons.

 

[nayr497]

I'm easy to please. A big bike race on a sunny Sunday in April...what is not to like?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Here's the Ronde van Vlaanderen since the new parcours for you


Bunch of favourites waiting for the last Kwaremont ascent, the group of favourites either splits or it doesn't
Then nothing happens until the last Paterberg ascent, everyone sprints up the Paterberg, now there's a small group or Cancellara got away. Group rides to the finish, group sprints

Meanwhile some other contenders may try to get away before the last Kwaremont ascent, whilst the group of favourites burn all domestiques while not working together between the last two hills

This is gonna happen every time in the coming years until they change it.

Basically this.
The sequence Oude Kwaremont - Paterberg - Koppenberg - Mariaborrestraat - Taaienberg is so good the organisers should make it the centerpiece of their race, by designing a final that becomes easier and easier towards the finish, thus enticing attacks from Paterberg to Taaienberg. Now its followed by almost 20km with some bigger roads, the long drag up the Kruisberg and the final time Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, which make that everyone waits until then. RVV has basically become like LBL were formerly deciding climbs like Stockeu or La Redoute have become redundant since the inclusion of Saint Nicolas and Roche aux Faucons.

I really can't see how anyone made either of those comments after yesterday's race, when the key attack took place before the final Kwaremont-Paterberg double.

I don't think it was a great race yesterday, but it wasn't the race described in these posts,

 

[DBotero]

7/10 The strongest man won,Kristoff was unstoppable.Amazing work by Greipel and Rowe.Disappointed by Vanmarcke,didn't expect him to crack.Subpar performance from G.given the hype,but he seems burned out already.

 

[Kwibus]

8/10 was a good race the last 40km.

The guys that attacked before kwaremont won and people still say everyone waits for the kwaremont. Oh well.

Still like the old course more, ofcourse.

 

[Netserk]

Couldn't see it yesterday, managed to avoid all spoilers, downloaded the full 4h (ES) coverage and watched it today.

Underwhelming. This new route sucks. Absolutely nothing happened before GVA started some half action on Taaienberg. Then Terpstra and Kristoff got away without any reaction from anyone else. G tried on Kwaremont while Stybar was policeman. I did like the final, but the race was completely dead before the final. Koppenberg was painful to watch. At least Kristoff won like a boss.

Last year was better (but not that much), '13 was dull as well. All years before that was better (that I saw). I guess I'll have to give this one 2 or 3.

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Couldn't see it yesterday, managed to avoid all spoilers, downloaded the full 4h (ES) coverage and watched it today.

Underwhelming. This new route sucks. Absolutely nothing happened before GVA started some half action on Taaienberg. Then Terpstra and Kristoff got away without any reaction from anyone else. G tried on Kwaremont while Stybar was policeman. I did like the final, but the race was completely dead before the final. Koppenberg was painful to watch. At least Kristoff won like a boss.

Last year was better (but not that much), '13 was dull as well. All years before that was better (that I saw). I guess I'll have to give this one 2 or 3.

Was 2012 that much better?

 

[Netserk]

iirc it had action all the time from the penultimate kwaremont (if not before that as well).

edit: it was before that. I forgot how late the penultimate kwaremont was. There were lots of (meaningful) splits and action.

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

iirc it had action all the time from the penultimate kwaremont (if not before that as well).

I remember there was a part in the race where a big group with Gilbert attacked, and after second time Kwaremont an elite group with Boonen/Pozzato. So indeed there was quite some action.

 

[Escarabajo]

I never watch these races before the last 50 km. The only one being PR. I love cycling but I have other things to do.

Why rate the first 200+ kms. Lol!

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I never watch these races before the last 50 km. The only one being PR. I love cycling but I have other things to do.

Why rate the first 200+ kms. Lol!

Because the first 200km is what makes the race. If it's ridden hard or there are strong crosswinds, then small groups and breakaways are much more likely to form, riders have to exhaust their anaerobic power earlier and the finish becomes more unpredictable.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

I never watch these races before the last 50 km. The only one being PR. I love cycling but I have other things to do.

Why rate the first 200+ kms. Lol!

Because the first 200km is what makes the race. If it's ridden hard or there are strong crosswinds, then small groups and breakaways are much more likely to form, riders have to exhaust their anaerobic power earlier and the finish becomes more unpredictable.

Almost never I miss anything. Seriously. Most races are design that way anyway. It is for TV. PR is the only one that I catch early.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I never watch these races before the last 50 km. The only one being PR. I love cycling but I have other things to do.

Why rate the first 200+ kms. Lol!

Because the first 200km is what makes the race. If it's ridden hard or there are strong crosswinds, then small groups and breakaways are much more likely to form, riders have to exhaust their anaerobic power earlier and the finish becomes more unpredictable.

Almost never I miss anything. Seriously. Most races are design that way anyway. It is for TV. PR is the only one that I catch early.

For sure, nothing decisive usually happens, and it's not really necessary to watch it to enjoy the race. But, I think it is fair enough to rate the first 200km when deciding how good a race is - because it is that extra distance and the potential for being such hard races that sets the monuments apart from everything else.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

I never watch these races before the last 50 km. The only one being PR. I love cycling but I have other things to do.

Why rate the first 200+ kms. Lol!

Because the first 200km is what makes the race. If it's ridden hard or there are strong crosswinds, then small groups and breakaways are much more likely to form, riders have to exhaust their anaerobic power earlier and the finish becomes more unpredictable.

Almost never I miss anything. Seriously. Most races are design that way anyway. It is for TV. PR is the only one that I catch early.

For sure, nothing decisive usually happens, and it's not really necessary to watch it to enjoy the race. But, I think it is fair enough to rate the first 200km when deciding how good a race is - because it is that extra distance and the potential for being such hard races that sets the monuments apart from everything else.

Fair enough!

 

[Flamin]

If two strong teams like Sky and Quick Step want to control the race until the last 30k, it will happen. New route or old route, it doesn't matter. But the new route definitely has the potential. Just look at last year, where Quick Step wanted to make the race hard, and we had great racing from 50k out.

But the road from the Paterberg to Oudenaarde. My god, incredibly boring also the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg are great climbs imo (especially Kwaremont), but they are used in EVERY freakin race, it simply loses every sort of magic in de Ronde. They could be mythical climbs, but now the only thing I can think is 'oh look, this climb again, for the 10th time in the last 2 weeks'.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

guys i hope you realize that the epic gent wevelgem occurs only once in 40-50 years. stop comparing race to it plz

Especially since it can be compared to last year, which was one of the greatest rvvs ever.

 

[Pulp]

Re:

also the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg are great climbs imo (especially Kwaremont), but they are used in EVERY freakin race, it simply loses every sort of magic in de Ronde. They could be mythical climbs, but now the only thing I can think is 'oh look, this climb again, for the 10th time in the last 2 weeks'.

Very good point.