Response to the Mapei as the best team ever article.

[roundabout]

Ah, 1996. They were 2nd and 3rd before the final Tour mountain stage. Didn't their D.S. tell them to attack that day?

 

[Team Ferrari/Fuentes]

yes but look at them,they're still whining even now after ten years that they didn't win le tour.

Yes, that and San Remo, even though Pozzato, Bettini, Cancellara and Freire all went on to win it after leaving Mapei!

 

[Team Ferrari/Fuentes]

Ah, 1996. They were 2nd and 3rd before the final Tour mountain stage. Didn't their D.S. tell them to attack that day?

Yes, they were supposed to attack Indurain but ended up dropped just like the Big Mig.

 

[roundabout]

For all the talk about Squinzi being wrong to complain about his team being 'underpowered' Festina did, er, rip them a new one that day.

 

[Descender]

Reynolds-Banesto-Caisse d'Epargne-Movistar comes second to Mapei with their 6 Tours, 4 Vueltas, 2 LBL etc., clearly better than Telekom-Columbia-HTC.

 

[Anonymous]

do we really want to go back to those days.. good god.

Mapei were the first big superteam. They were also the first team to take training programmes to the next level.

nothing else to say on the matter.

 

[El Pistolero]

do we really want to go back to those days.. good god.

Mapei were the first big superteam. They were also the first team to take training programmes to the next level.

nothing else to say on the matter.

With Ballan, Hushovd, George Hincapie, Gilbert in one team at the Ronde it's going to be mayhem. I'm not saying they will do a 1-2-3 or even win it, but damn it's an immensely strong team.

 

[Matthijs]

With Ballan, Hushovd, George Hincapie, Gilbert in one team at the Ronde it's going to be mayhem. I'm not saying they will do a 1-2-3 or even win it, but damn it's an immensely strong team.

just like garmin destroyed the field last year...
...oh wait Seriously, Hushovd is not on his best on the hills. Ballan in form in time? years ago. Hincapie? old and not so fast any more. Gilbert, well we'll see. But allthough he won most things he really wanted this season, remember he hadn't much chance at the Ronde even in this Gilbert-in-his-best-form-ever-season...
I expect the most from the duo Gilbert, van Avermaat and maybe Ballan. Maybe Hushovd can help them in the tactics: other teams want to avoid a groupsprint with Hushovd, so those 3 can go with the attacks in the last 30k.
I agree they have a good team, but there will be some other good teams with other good cobble riders.


But, on Mapei team: Of course their the best! Look at the names. And to say Kloden dominating the GT's for Telekom Or Boasson Hagens Gent-Wevelgem win. Well, winning gent-wevelgem means a **** season for the good riders for Mapei/Quickstep right now.
The difference between Mapei and other longlasting great teams, is that Mapei always had several topcontenders. It's not like they had Indurain for years and that was it, they had for every type of monument 3-4 potential winners. And most of them actually won it once or more, so I mean potential not in the Cancellara is gonna drop them in Lombardia next year like Zaugg did way

 

[El Pistolero]

just like garmin destroyed the field last year...
...oh wait Seriously, Hushovd is not on his best on the hills. Ballan in form in time? years ago. Hincapie? old and not so fast any more. Gilbert, well we'll see. But allthough he won most things he really wanted this season, remember he hadn't much chance at the Ronde even in this Gilbert-in-his-best-form-ever-season...
I expect the most from the duo Gilbert, van Avermaat and maybe Ballan. Maybe Hushovd can help them in the tactics: other teams want to avoid a groupsprint with Hushovd, so those 3 can go with the attacks in the last 30k.
I agree they have a good team, but there will be some other good teams with other good cobble riders.


But, on Mapei team: Of course their the best! Look at the names. And to say Kloden dominating the GT's for Telekom Or Boasson Hagens Gent-Wevelgem win. Well, winning gent-wevelgem means a **** season for the good riders for Mapei/Quickstep right now.
The difference between Mapei and other longlasting great teams, is that Mapei always had several topcontenders. It's not like they had Indurain for years and that was it, they had for every type of monument 3-4 potential winners. And most of them actually won it once or more, so I mean potential not in the Cancellara is gonna drop them in Lombardia next year like Zaugg did way

Garmin had no proven Monument winners though. And Haussler was still in bad shape due to his crashes and injuries.

And Ballan was the only one able to get close to Phil's attack at the Bosberg. If Phil waited for Ballan and worked together with him there would have been a good chance of both staying away. And now they're on the same team And I even forgot about Van Avermaet.

 

[Mambo95]

You lot can bleat on about Mapei, HTC and others all you want. But if you want the greatest teams over the length of the history (rather than any one year), the likes of Peugeot, Bianchi, Alcyon and others dump all over modern teams from a great height.

 

[El Pistolero]

You lot can bleat on about Mapei, HTC and others all you want. But if you want the greatest teams over the length of the history (rather than any one year), the likes of Peugeot, Bianchi, Alcyon and others dump all over modern teams from a great height.

Technically speaking Mapei still exists in QS.

 

[Mambo95]

Technically speaking Mapei still exists in QS.

Even if they do (and it's a fair arguement), they still get dumped over by those old teams on palmares. Peugeot was around for nearly 100 years in some form or another - starting in about 1900 and ending with Credit Agricole.

According to cyclingranking.com, who seem to be the only people who have thought about this sort of thing, the top teams of all time are:

1 Peugeot (FRA) 310452
2 Alcyon (FRA) 249769
3 Mercier (FRA) 176963
4 Kas (ESP) 174968
5 Bianchi (ITA) 172730
6 Legnano (ITA) 132308
7 Flandria (BEL) 111262
8 Rabobank (NED) 106992
9 Molteni (ITA) 103340
10 T-Mobile/Telekom (GER) 98805
11 Once (ESP) 94759
12 Lampre (ITA) 91573
13 Faema (ITA) 90376
14 Mapei (ITA) 87439
15 Helyett (FRA) 85924

Source: http://www.cyclingranking.com/Rankings/TeamsOverall.aspx

 

[Matthijs]

Garmin had no proven Monument winners though. And Haussler was still in bad shape due to his crashes and injuries.

And Ballan was the only one able to get close to Phil's attack at the Bosberg. If Phil waited for Ballan and worked together with him there would have been a good chance of both staying away. And now they're on the same team And I even forgot about Van Avermaet.

Ballan, Hushovd, George Hincapie, Gilbert
Ballan won 1 monument years ago (5 next spring). Showed some good signs last year. But then again, Hoste showed some good signs too in Roubaix. They both where topcontenders in the past who can be very good. But some proof of 5 years ago isn't real proof any more. And last year was promising for Ballan, but then again even Hoste was promising and no one here is saying he becoming 2nd again.

Hushovd, no monument
Hincapie, no monument
Gilbert, lot's of monuments, no cobbled though

So they have a win in 2007 and some good placings in recent years in the cobbled races

 

[luckyboy]

I would be surprised if BMC won either Roubaix or De Ronde next year.

 

[just some guy]

I would be surprised if BMC won either Roubaix or De Ronde next year.

I recon they might win Flanders but not Gilbert.

 

[Kvinto]

do we really want to go back to those days.. good god.

Mapei were the first big superteam. They were also the first team to take training programmes to the next level.

nothing else to say on the matter.

Those days won't return, total domination is no longer possible and i wouldn't like the scenario of PR 1996 to happen once more but there is no team similar to Mapei in the current peloton, Quick Step were the followers quite some time but for now it's a pale shadow of Mapei. So if they'll build the new Mapei (with old priorities) i'll welcome this decision.

 

[Kvinto]

I recon they might win Flanders but not Gilbert.

i don't share your scepticism. imo Gilbert had a chance in this years Ronde and will have another one next year.

 

[Team Ferrari/Fuentes]

do we really want to go back to those days.. good god.

Mapei were the first big superteam. They were also the first team to take training programmes to the next level.

nothing else to say on the matter.

They were very organized, had a training complex led by Aldo Sassi and the best riders in the peloton. That's why they won. The best people, the resources and the passion. It's hard to believe that these people (Sassi and Squinzi) had an organized doping program.

 

[Benotti69]

They were very organized, had a training complex led by Aldo Sassi and the best riders in the peloton. That's why they won. The best people, the resources and the passion. It's hard to believe that these people (Sassi and Squinzi) had an organized doping program.

try reading the article;

“The problem is that his(Olano) haematocrit is only 52,” he was told. It wouldn’t be long before Squinzi was banning his riders from consulting external coaches such as Luigi Cecchini and Michele Ferrari. "

 

[jens_attacks]

It's hard to believe that these people (Sassi and Squinzi) had an organized doping program.

let's not go there.

 

[apmfbs]

If I think in the best team ever, I am forced to mention renault 83 ( lemond, fignon, hinault,.....) and la vie claire 86 ( bauer, hianult, hampsten, lemod, bernard,..........)

 

[La Pandera]

do we really want to go back to those days.. good god.

Mapei were the first big superteam. They were also the first team to take training programmes to the next level.

nothing else to say on the matter.

They were definitely not the first big superteam. As a Spanish racing fan I could use the KAS team as an earlier example and I'm quite certain in the long history of the sport there many more before them.

 

[El Pistolero]

Moltini was a super team.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Moltini was a super team.

Molteni that is

 

[El Pistolero]

Molteni that is

Was a typo, "e" and "i" are like right next to each other!