Rate the WCRR

[Cookster15]

Okay I'll admit jawlew got it right (in hindsight) - given his season and form to date Gerrans should have been working for Matthews not himself. But not the first time the Aussie's got their leader priorities wrong if I recall Gerrans was given leadership ahead of Cadel in 2009 Mendrisio? And as others have said still not sure having Gerrans pull for Matthews would have won them the race anyhow - Sagan made more time on the descent than he did on the initial attack on the cobbled climb.

Funny those who don't think Sagan was an attacker? An attack on a cobbled climb followed by a legend descent does not constitute an attack? I really don't care if it was breakaway or not it was still a well timed move and to have the poise to descend like Sagan did after the initial attack deserved the win on its own. This guy is a real bike racer.

For the record I gave the race an 8.

 

[DonEsteban]

Poor course, terrible TV coverage.

Racing itself 9/10.

Several nice attacks, including the great winner move.

Show of power on the uphill,
tuck on the downhill,
crazy cornering,
suffering in the final km,
giving it all and holding on for the win,
the disbelieving shake of the head before the line,
exuberant joy from the win,
high-fives afterwards,
even the scene with the girlfriend.
Deserving winner, especially after all the near misses this and previous years.
Great story, great show, can't ask for much more.

It would have been 10/10 if he was in that strong break, the break stayed away and he finished it off in this style from the break.

Regarding the Miss World refugee speach, some context:
1) he is very well aware that he is a role model in Slovakia
2) Slovakia has played a fairly negative role in the refugee crisis (both quite xenophobic population, and the top politicians refusing in EU meetings to accept any refugee quotas, in order to gain points with that population)

I think he tried in his own way to sligtly improve the image of Slovakia, and to nudge the society a bit in the right direction ... whatever.

 

[SKSemtex]

It is funny how people who has never met the Sagan in person and know *** about him dare to be expert on his character and even his childhood. I better take the words of Peter Bondra, the etalon of humble and hardworking sportsman in Slovakia and probably in Washington too, that he is proud to be in Richmond with him.

In some part of the world (at least in LS and Echoes one) the cycling is dying in some part was just re-born. The day he won it was also the final day of his "Sagan Children Tour" attended by more than 2000 children. (in the country that has probably less than 200 active cyclists)
Slovakia has changed completely in terms of cycling. Cycling becomes the number one sport and number of recreational cyclists has been increased probably 50 times since 2012 ( including me doing cc. 30-50 km daily )

I wish that also other countries have such a cycling “Satan”. It could be good for the nation health.

I think that people in sales department in Cannondale and Specialized know the very truth about the Sagan and “cycling dying”.

 

[Kwibus]

Mother of god. Echoes ridiculing himself once again

It was a good race and I really enjoyed watching it. Gave it an 8. Course should've been better indeed. They could've cut atleast 3-5km out of the boring part out to make attacking more sensible.

The really strong group that got away in the final 3 laps didn't work together really well. That was a strong group, if they really ride then they can come far. It's like Kwiat said, none of them ever went 100%. Well maybe Mollema.
Such a group just usually has 75% of riders that are thinking about their team leader instead of their own chances...

 

[DBotero]

5.The riders gave their best to save this,but the route didn't allowed more.The dual leadership didn't worked for the Aussies.Big fail for Norway,EBH was in amazing shape would have won a medal *** *** strategy.

 

[Gigs_98]

I gave it a 9. Great attack in the third last lap with Kwiat, Moreno, Viviani, Boonen, Amador and I probably even forgot some. More action in the penultimate and at the end Sagan winning by an attack on 23rd street. That was simply perfect. I'm only a little bit sad about Haller, because he could have gotten at least a top 10.

 

[Echoes]

Re:

Regarding the Miss World refugee speach, some context:
1) he is very well aware that he is a role model in Slovakia
2) Slovakia has played a fairly negative role in the refugee crisis (both quite xenophobic population, and the top politicians refusing in EU meetings to accept any refugee quotas, in order to gain points with that population)

I think he tried in his own way to sligtly improve the image of Slovakia, and to nudge the society a bit in the right direction ... whatever.

If this is correct, then it's worse than anything I could have imagined and QED actually. A international elitist who is everywhere at home, traveling from airports to airports, from France to the US than to Australia, ... Obviously looking down on his own fellow Slovakian people and dismissing them as a "xenophobic population", showing the middle finger to his own fellow countrymen. It's obvious that the Slovakian population (like all the peoples in Europe) cannot bear such a huge influx of migrants that would turn the whole local economy upside down, a massive flux that was caused by Western leaders and all their imperialistic wars in the Middle East. He's a role model in Slovakia, yes, at America's service. Previous generation cyclists would never have done that because they were rooted in their own local traditions, they were common people. How can a guy like that be an expert in geopolitics? If he could only do his job seriously and train hard ALL YEAR LONG, that's all you may ask to a professional cycling rider. The rest is not his business...

 

[hrotha]

Congratulations, I didn't think it was possible to spin that rather bland, unspecific good-will speech into something so negative.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

I'm surprised that people rate it this positively. I turned in at something like 12km to go and there was like a 70 men peloton with some small fry chanceless attacks on big flat roads. Then in the last 4km or something there was one bump and some more annoying false flat and a punchy guy attacked on the bump like 2 or 3 kilometer out or something and he took it home.

I mean, the parcours was horrible, the race was super easy with a huge group entering the final few km and an attack on a bump a few km out won the race. Normally people complain when a race that's supposed to be hard ends with 70 people sprinting up the final bump right?!

It felt like I could've turned in at the final 4km and not miss anything.......

Were there any serious attacks in the previous laps that actually looked like they might stay away?

 

[jaylew]

Re:

I'm surprised that people rate it this positively. I turned in at something like 12km to go and there was like a 70 men peloton with some small fry chanceless attacks on big flat roads. Then in the last 4km or something there was one bump and some more annoying false flat and a punchy guy attacked on the bump like 2 or 3 kilometer out or something and he took it home.

I mean, the parcours was horrible, the race was super easy with a huge group entering the final few km and an attack on a bump a few km out won the race. Normally people complain when a race that's supposed to be hard ends with 70 people sprinting up the final bump right?!

It felt like I could've turned in at the final 4km and not miss anything.......

Were there any serious attacks in the previous laps that actually looked like they might stay away?

How can you surprised when you only watched the last 12k? Yes, there were other attacks, including a scary one with Kwia,Valverde, Boonen, and many, many others. Just because the attacks didn't stick doesn't mean nothing happened until then. Seriously, you should watch the whole race before you criticize it. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite entertaining, especially given the parcours.

 

[DonEsteban]

@Echoes: as usual, you have no clue and projecting your hatred instead of getting the facts straight.

Slovakia refused to accept even few hundred (out of what, hundred thousand+ ?) refugees. The whole mess in not their fault, and in the long run the influx is unsustainable. However, there are things that need to be done right now, and accepting about 1% of the refugees would have not overburdened it, but have been a sign that it belongs in Europe. Instead, its stance has really been that of petulant child - give me funds, don't expect any help from me.

The xenophobic word and characterisation are my words (not his), and, sadly, are quite true - I see it around me every day. And I am not international elitist everywhere at home and earning big bucks, nor do I support the geopolitical missteps of the western powers (but I have seen a bit beyond my back garden...).

The explanation I gave is my understanding of his speech, what he really meant only he knows ...
"Obviously looking down... " ... obviously, you know him so well.

Why are asking him to train hard ALL YEAR LONG? Are you a training expert with particular knowledge of his body needs in paricular?
I think he is quire successfull even without your help .... and you would probably handle pretty badly if he was even more successfull...

I don't know, to me it seems that Sagan rubs the wrong way the people with protestant/puritan approach to life - work, suffer, the only time for joy is on the other world after you die and gain salvation ... yes, to that Sagan is really the embodiment of Satan.
His whole demeanor is screaming "I am having FUN!", and, most annoyingly, he still has plenty of success ...!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I had about zero conviction that riders where going to stay away. A bit like PR 2014.

Cut the team size to max 5...

Which is also the rating.

 

[fauniera]

Re: Re:

[...]a massive flux that was caused by Western leaders and all their imperialistic wars in the Middle East. [...]

How can a guy like that be an expert in geopolitics? If he could only do his job seriously and train hard ALL YEAR LONG, that's all you may ask to a professional cycling rider. The rest is not his business...

The Western leaders would certainly be happy if everyone would think like that, no? An army of slaves, being content with working (or being unemployed), never doubting the leaders and never ever speaking up. Makes it much easier to lead imperialistic wars.

 

[yaco]

Re:

They worked to ensure a boring sprint finale. They worked because they had the numbers. Sagan had a limited team, much like Costa in 2013, and still won by attacking, proving that gun size matters, not the amount of rounds one has.

Edit: I take that back about Germany, Degenkolb was in the mix of attacks by the end. I am yet to see people having a go at Germany, on the contrary. They should have been up there, deservingly.

Sagan attacked at the time because he had legs and hadn't wasted a penny during the race - Fact is that Germany and Australia did enough work at the front of the peleton, especially seeing they didn't have riders on the break.

I reckon for the next WC they should implement a rule - That all 50 countries have one rider in an EARLY break - Then the rest of the peleton doesn't need to chase - It would make such an interesting race !

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Strange that people say that Sagan attacked with 3 kms to go which was brilliantly planned and executed - Strangest thing he was invisible for nearly all the race. What was he doing for the other 261kms.

Exactly what he was supposed to be doing, keeping his powder dry. After all, it's not as if he had strong team support.

Exactly - But all I read is some teams didn't attack - maybe they were keeping their keg dry like Sagan.

 

[yaco]

Re:

I'm surprised that people rate it this positively. I turned in at something like 12km to go and there was like a 70 men peloton with some small fry chanceless attacks on big flat roads. Then in the last 4km or something there was one bump and some more annoying false flat and a punchy guy attacked on the bump like 2 or 3 kilometer out or something and he took it home.

I mean, the parcours was horrible, the race was super easy with a huge group entering the final few km and an attack on a bump a few km out won the race. Normally people complain when a race that's supposed to be hard ends with 70 people sprinting up the final bump right?!

It felt like I could've turned in at the final 4km and not miss anything.......

Were there any serious attacks in the previous laps that actually looked like they might stay away?

Watched the last 12kms - At least you will fit in with the crowd - I am struggling to accept you can make a detailed post about the race with such lack of information - You do yourself no favours.

 

[yespatterns]

I should have rated this WCRR one higher for the mental breakdowns it's caused.

 

[Andy262]

Suspect we'll be looking back on this as a classic when it comes around to Qatar next year. Was a decent enough race.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

Attacks from far out by big names and a Cancellara-esque show of power from Sagan on the 23rd Street climb. It can only be 10.

Cancellara-esque? With like 3 km to go?

Cancellara has won from short distance attacking many many times.
Anyway, the way Sagan rode away on 23rd street reminded me of the lesson he was taught 2½ years ago on Paterberg by Cancellara

 

[rghysens]

I saw the last 100km or so and it was a very enjoyable race, certainly if you take the rather easy course into account. I've seen many races with a more exciting course turn out way more boring (including all Ardennes classics the last 5 year).
Would give it a 7.5, voted 7

 

[ray j willings]

I found it a bit dull apart from Sagan. The course was end loaded and no real chance to get away anywhere else, it made for a dull racing.
Attacks were neutralized by the course not by the riders.

 

[Kwibus]

Re: Re:

I'm surprised that people rate it this positively. I turned in at something like 12km to go and there was like a 70 men peloton with some small fry chanceless attacks on big flat roads. Then in the last 4km or something there was one bump and some more annoying false flat and a punchy guy attacked on the bump like 2 or 3 kilometer out or something and he took it home.

I mean, the parcours was horrible, the race was super easy with a huge group entering the final few km and an attack on a bump a few km out won the race. Normally people complain when a race that's supposed to be hard ends with 70 people sprinting up the final bump right?!

It felt like I could've turned in at the final 4km and not miss anything.......

Were there any serious attacks in the previous laps that actually looked like they might stay away?

Watched the last 12kms - At least you will fit in with the crowd - I am struggling to accept you can make a detailed post about the race with such lack of information - You do yourself no favours.

Indeed Maaaarrrten. You are being a bit silly here
We had about 70k of quite decent action. That's not too bad. Sure it didn't stick, but there was action.

 

[Kwibus]

Re: Re:

Regarding the Miss World refugee speach, some context:
1) he is very well aware that he is a role model in Slovakia
2) Slovakia has played a fairly negative role in the refugee crisis (both quite xenophobic population, and the top politicians refusing in EU meetings to accept any refugee quotas, in order to gain points with that population)

I think he tried in his own way to sligtly improve the image of Slovakia, and to nudge the society a bit in the right direction ... whatever.

If this is correct, then it's worse than anything I could have imagined and QED actually. A international elitist who is everywhere at home, traveling from airports to airports, from France to the US than to Australia, ... Obviously looking down on his own fellow Slovakian people and dismissing them as a "xenophobic population", showing the middle finger to his own fellow countrymen. It's obvious that the Slovakian population (like all the peoples in Europe) cannot bear such a huge influx of migrants that would turn the whole local economy upside down, a massive flux that was caused by Western leaders and all their imperialistic wars in the Middle East. He's a role model in Slovakia, yes, at America's service. Previous generation cyclists would never have done that because they were rooted in their own local traditions, they were common people. How can a guy like that be an expert in geopolitics? If he could only do his job seriously and train hard ALL YEAR LONG, that's all you may ask to a professional cycling rider. The rest is not his business...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CS7j5I6aOc

 

[robin440]

I'm a bit concerned that doha won't be as exiting as this years worlds, at least the road races.

 

[Brullnux]

Epic fail to all those who claimed an attacker won. They surely don't know what a real cycling breakaway is.

Even Michel Wuyts said Satan had sucked wheel all day long. You could never see his ugly face before the final part of the final lap and since the climbs (if you can call these climbs and cobbles; the cobbles are better aligned than on the Citadelle of Namur) are all gathered in the final part, it's taylor-made for an explosive uphill finisher but not a true endurance cycling rider. Mug race with a mug winner in a mug era.

And some would ridicule me because I claimed that the World Championship was not as hard as a major spring classic. For f*ck sake, Satan is unable to train hard enough to get a classic win. Each spring was a fail for him because he can't be bothered to train hard enough in winter. Classics don't pay and Satan only thinks of his wallet. I still remember this pathetic defeat to Kwiatkowski at the Montepaschi because he rather wanted to make the show prior to the event than go on a recognition/train hard.

This route was poor, that's why Satan could win. It's not because the race has a bombastic name and because you have an LGBT-like jersey at stake that it's a hard one.

Satan is a star (in the Hollywoodian sense of the word) in an era when cycling is going awry. The frivolous, bourgeois era of Jawbones glasses, the era of sport betting, the era of mandatory helmets, the era of Olga Tinkov (such employer, such employee after all), the era of Internet forums with their own set of stupid gifs and lame posts) an era in which spectators are groupies/fans. The era of ipods and Internet forums. Cycling is long dead and the Slovakian is the perfect embodiment of a post-cycling era He's just a bourgois, obsessed with money. A Coca-Cola cyclist! True cyclists did a hard sport. A hard sport that made you humble. That's not what the poor Slovakian is. Would you imagine Brik Schotte wheelying after each of his win? What is so great in wheelying? even my grampa who is 85 year old can do a wheelie. It's really like a despicable "look at me, I'm the best, I'm the most handsome" attention-seeking attitude. Would Girardengo ever do a "dunce cap" behind a fellow rider on a podium? Lol even my little cousin who is 10 years old no longer does "dunce cap" because it's so plain stupid. This guy really has a grain. The bit about the "migrant crisis" is just the height of his media-attention personality. And to hell with this distinction: he's great on the bike but "controversial" off it. A true champion is never so arrogant and attention-seeking. He's a wheelsucker on the bike who could only be bothered to train hard when it's financially worth it.

I can only understand Cancellara when he stopped this *** from winning Cogoleto-Sanremo in 2013. Normally I dislike such negative attitude but it was good to teach this *** a lesson. I can understand how Fabian refused to help him win a cobbled stage at Bore de France. It's some kind of a Tommy Lee Jones attitude in the film "Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"...

And if you're wondering why a truly knowledgeable poster like Libertine Seguros is so p*ssed by this outcome, then you might just want to understand what this sport really is. Because Libertine truly knows this sport inside out, knows the spirit of it and certainly does not deserve all this contempt from posters who can't hold a candle to "them" (sic).
I would just have to quote Jean Gabin: "If you are talking about cycling, it's as though I was talking about chicken breeding. You don't have a clue" "Only that is history, you don't learn it on the roadside" (now we should say before the telly instead of on the roadside).

Pretty demonic post