Scheldeprijs 200km 1.HC :: 8th April 2015

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

What happened to Sagan? Didn't see him in the front group or involved in the crash, was he just staying back out of trouble (hence taking pulls on the front in the last 10k)?

After being on the front, he swung off with about 3/4kms to go.

Ah right, sensible move.

 

[hfer07]

any new report on injuries?
God- that crash looked so NASTY

 

[Catwhoorg]

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

 

[Netserk]

The Great Alexander Kristoff _O_

Someone should give acf a medal for starting that meme.

 

[TMP402]

Re:

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

I know it wouldn't help reduce the possibility of crashing, but how about 5 man teams as another twist...

 

[Kwibus]

Re: Re:

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

I know it wouldn't help reduce the possibility of crashing, but how about 5 man teams as another twist...

That would instantly make the race more interesting.

 

[RedheadDane]

While I'll never be part of the this race needs to die! crowd I'll admit it's not the most exciting race out there, what with the most dramatic moment (until the sprint/crash) being that gate-thingy falling down.
Krisoff! Oh boy! Looks like the only way to beat him is a quick elbow in the side.
That's not allowed and I'm not suggesting violence!

 

[nayr497]

It looked like a few guys just pedaled away after getting sorted from the crash. Is there no reason to cross the line? Team UCI points?

 

[Unsytherhino]

Re:

It looked like a few guys just pedaled away after getting sorted from the crash. Is there no reason to cross the line? Team UCI points?

Not if they're going to finish outside of the top 25, it's a 1.HC race not in the WT. Besides, after being caught up in a pile-up, a few points probably aren't they're #1 priority.

 

[Jagartrott]

Re:

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

A straight road, no furniture, 2 lanes.
It's the riders that caused the crash, not the race in this instance.

Edit: Some here say Sep was involved in that crash, but I don't think so. That was another Jumbo.
The Astana rider seemed to go down first. Guarnieri?

 

[DBotero]

Viviani was taken to hospital for X-Rays

 

[nayr497]

I saw two Jumbo racers at the crash, both on their feet. One was beaten up, bloodied, and with torn kit. The other looked to be Sep. He didn't look to be beaten up. Not sure if he went down or was just checking on his teammate.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I saw two Jumbo racers at the crash, both on their feet. One was beaten up, bloodied, and with torn kit. The other looked to be Sep. He didn't look to be beaten up. Not sure if he went down or was just checking on his teammate.

That's what it looked like to me. He seemed to have been held up by the crash but it didn't look as though he had hit the ground himself.

 

[Domulec]

It was Van Asbroeck who went down hard, Vanmarcke didn't crash. Gutted for Van Asbroeck though, he was just getting back on form after some problems resulting from another crash and now this.

 

[Carols]

This race is a farce......meanwhile Kristoff has incredible form right now!!!

 

[PeterB]

Re: Re:

A straight road, no furniture, 2 lanes.
It's the riders that caused the crash, not the race in this instance.

It's probably combination of both - the race simply attracts too many over-eager sprinters and their helpers, so the probability that someone of them makes a mistake is higher.

The Astana rider seemed to go down first. Guarnieri?

I thought the Astana rider who lost balance was Guardini. As I said, one of those over-eager sprinters, as this race is one of the biggest in which he has a chance to win.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: Re:

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

I know it wouldn't help reduce the possibility of crashing, but how about 5 man teams as another twist...

Excellent idea.

It would reduce the possibility of crashing because there's more space on the road. Remember the crashes all over the Danish stages of the Giro a couple of years ago? The ones that don't happen on the same roads in the Danmark Rundt? Turns out roads that are fine for 16-17 teams of 8 and roads aren't always fine for 22 teams of 9 fighting over the same space.

It would probably improve the race as riders might feel their attack has a chance of sticking with fewer chasers, but even if it didn't it will greatly improve the race's reputation for arbitrarily injuring people.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Re: Re:

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

I know it wouldn't help reduce the possibility of crashing, but how about 5 man teams as another twist...

Excellent idea.

It would reduce the possibility of crashing because there's more space on the road. Remember the crashes all over the Danish stages of the Giro a couple of years ago? The ones that don't happen on the same roads in the Danmark Rundt? Turns out roads that are fine for 16-17 teams of 8 and roads aren't always fine for 22 teams of 9 fighting over the same space.

It would probably improve the race as riders might feel their attack has a chance of sticking with fewer chasers, but even if it didn't it will greatly improve the race's reputation for arbitrarily injuring people.

From the startlist on Steephill, I counted roughly 198 riders on the startline. Thats 24 teams of 8 riders and Lotto Jumbo with 6. Too many riders for my liking. If Lotto Jumbo had the full 8 riders that would be 200 riders on the start which will never end well. 5 or 6 man teams would mean that if the gap between the peloton and the break grows to a big gap, 3 or 4 teams with not as much cohesion might not bring the riders up in front back.

Even better idea. Don't organise such a boring race. Brabantse Pijl is alot more interesting, which should be a World Tour event in my eyes.

 

[willbick]

Having races with 200 riders just seems more and more untenable - its just a matter of how many crashes there will be in each race and how bad they are. If they reduced the peloton by half there would be far less crashes but of course this will never happen as it all comes down to money in the end, and though they'd never admit it they know crashes add to the drama and excitement of the product. Any sport with this number of accidents and injuries simply needs overhauling

 

[Catwhoorg]

6 riders for a start list of 150 would be a good start.

 

[TMP402]

I'd have 5-6 man teams, and a maximum of 10-12 teams, and only have teams that bring a viable sprinter. Then I'd cut a few laps off from the distance. The intention would be for a pure sprinters' spring classic. If every rider was working for a sprinter, of whom every one had a genuine chance of winning, it would be a more exciting race than simply a mid-week training ride for half the teams. Reducing the length and the possibility of a breakaway should lead to fresher teams working for a fresher sprinter, and again, more excitement for sprint fans.

Of this year's teams, I would have allowed:
Astana - Guardini
Bora - Bennett
Bretagne - Hutarovich/Feillu
Etixx - Trentin/Renshaw
Giant - Arndt/Sinkeldam
Jumbo - van Asbroeck
Katusha - Kristoff
MTN - Farrar/Bos
Sky - Viviani
Tinkoff - Sagan
Trek - Van Poppel

and I would have thought hard about the sentimental urge to allow Southeast and Petacchi too.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

This race is getting silly.

A crash every year.

Lets have some sort of selection to thin the field just a little

I know it wouldn't help reduce the possibility of crashing, but how about 5 man teams as another twist...

Excellent idea.

It would reduce the possibility of crashing because there's more space on the road. Remember the crashes all over the Danish stages of the Giro a couple of years ago? The ones that don't happen on the same roads in the Danmark Rundt? Turns out roads that are fine for 16-17 teams of 8 and roads aren't always fine for 22 teams of 9 fighting over the same space.

It would probably improve the race as riders might feel their attack has a chance of sticking with fewer chasers, but even if it didn't it will greatly improve the race's reputation for arbitrarily injuring people.

Crashes all over the place at the Danish Giro stages? You mean the one shortly before the finish line in Herning, and the one shortly before the finish line in Horsens? The latter of those being pretty easy to place blame for...

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Re:

I'd have 5-6 man teams, and a maximum of 10-12 teams, and only have teams that bring a viable sprinter. Then I'd cut a few laps off from the distance. The intention would be for a pure sprinters' spring classic. If every rider was working for a sprinter, of whom every one had a genuine chance of winning, it would be a more exciting race than simply a mid-week training ride for half the teams. Reducing the length and the possibility of a breakaway should lead to fresher teams working for a fresher sprinter, and again, more excitement for sprint fans.

Of this year's teams, I would have allowed:
Astana - Guardini
Bora - Bennett
Bretagne - Hutarovich/Feillu
Etixx - Trentin/Renshaw
Giant - Arndt/Sinkeldam
Jumbo - van Asbroeck
Katusha - Kristoff
MTN - Farrar/Bos
Sky - Viviani
Tinkoff - Sagan
Trek - Van Poppel

and I would have thought hard about the sentimental urge to allow Southeast and Petacchi too.

66 riders is not alot. With that you could have a few more Pro Conti teams and and Conti teams from Belgian and the Netherlands that are focusing on the Breakaway. With teams like Vastgoed service Golden Palace or 3M commiting to it with Roompot and a conti level dutch team (maybe a couple of world tour teams in it so they dont have to work at the front), the bigger teams with a sprinter may actually struggle to close down the Break. Even with 18 teams of 6 riders you still have a peloton of 108.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Re: Re:

Excellent idea.

It would reduce the possibility of crashing because there's more space on the road. Remember the crashes all over the Danish stages of the Giro a couple of years ago? The ones that don't happen on the same roads in the Danmark Rundt? Turns out roads that are fine for 16-17 teams of 8 and roads aren't always fine for 22 teams of 9 fighting over the same space.

It would probably improve the race as riders might feel their attack has a chance of sticking with fewer chasers, but even if it didn't it will greatly improve the race's reputation for arbitrarily injuring people.

Crashes all over the place at the Danish Giro stages? You mean the one shortly before the finish line in Herning, and the one shortly before the finish line in Horsens? The latter of those being pretty easy to place blame for...

The crash on the perfectly straight run in at Horsens was clearly caused by a rider. But the one on the final corner of the road stage from and to Herning could have been avoided. It may have been fine for an ITT, but 200 riders pileing through a 90 degree corner at 60kph (wont end well) is not the same as a single rider going through at 40kph.

To add to that, they had a section of dual carriageway with a central resevation in between. They could have used that to finish, as it was wider and more suitable.