Sep Vanmarcke appreciation thread

[Bushman]

He is strong as a bull and he certainly doesn't spare himself. I do fear that he will mostly just get good placings until he starts riding more cynically.

Yes, that is true. Not that he is slow in a sprint, but he is a bit slower than some of his main rivals like Cancellara, Stybar and obviously not as fast as the likes of Boonen, Kristoff and Degenkolb, so he will have to ride intelligently as well. I also think he is still a bit too young and naive in his riding style and not cynical enough. I could see him drop everyone on the Paterberg if he has a good day, though. Last year Cancellara was on the limit and he seems to decrease a bit by each year.

 

[Akuryo]

Yes, that is true. Not that he is slow in a sprint, but he is a bit slower than some of his main rivals like Cancellara, Stybar and obviously not as fast as the likes of Boonen, Kristoff and Degenkolb, so he will have to ride intelligently as well. I also think he is still a bit too young and naive in his riding style and not cynical enough. I could see him drop everyone on the Paterberg if he has a good day, though. Last year Cancellara was on the limit and he seems to decrease a bit by each year.

Remember Michael Boogerd? He still raced in that way with 35! He was one of the strongest riders of his generation but his lack of "race smarts" prevented him from becoming a legend of that time. And if guys like Sagan or Vanmarcke ride the same way they do now, they probalby won't win big anytime soon.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

This year, I don't think Cancellara has a single advantage on Vanmarcke in any field in one day races.

 

[bala v]

This year, I don't think Cancellara has a single advantage on Vanmarcke in any field in one day races.

Only experience

 

[DFA123]

Only experience

Canc is a winner - he finds a way even if if the odds are against him. As much as I like him as a rider, Vanmarcke finds a way to lose in the same situations.

 

[trevim]

Canc is a winner - he finds a way even if if the odds are against him. As much as I like him as a rider, Vanmarcke finds a way to lose in the same situations.

Yep pretty much. It's not something measurable but that know how is essential: Cancellara has that X factor even if I think Vanmarcke is the strongest cobbles rider this year. In that regard it looks like Sep will have an uphill battle to out pace Ettix strength in numbers, the class of Fabian and the other peripheral contenders that may take advantage, guys like GvA, Chava, Stannard, Degen, Kristoff or Sagan.
Should be interesting to follow what he does this year, I certainly will root for him and Degenkolb in Roubaix even if I would also love to see Canc and Boonen take one more step in their already legendary careers.

 

[TANK91]

Get ready for the Vanmarcke era it has been comming for ages.

 

[TANK91]

Hopefully Sep postpones it for a year though and Cancellara gets another Roubaix and Flanders, i don't want Boonen getting the most lol.

 

[TANK91]

As if he didn't have that kind of form this year?

Depends which way you look at it, he had the better results in other races and had a more consistent year. But no way was he as strong like 2013 Roubaix. Cancellara last year was not that strong. Last year was the perfect chance. He will dominate though imo especially with Boonen and Cancellara ageing.

 

[Flamin]

Depends which way you look at it, he had the better results in other races and had a more consistent year. But no way was he as strong like 2013 Roubaix. Cancellara last year was not that strong. Last year was the perfect chance. He will dominate though imo especially with Boonen and Cancellara ageing.

Yes he was. He was dishing out the pain on every cobble secteur from 40k out, right into a strong headwind. Canc was maybe a bit weaker compared to 2013, but not so much that all he could do was follow an also-weaker-Vanmarcke.

 

[SafeBet]

Unfortunately he doesn't look as strong as last year.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Unfortunately he doesn't look as strong as last year.

He does too much work too early in races I think, needs to be a bit smarter. The amount of times you see him on the front or second wheel when there is still 40-50k, or leading a small group to bridge across, is ridiculous. Plus all the times that he punctures or has mechanical problems and has to burn matches to get back on, he never has anything left for the last 10k.

The last couple of years he seemed to save himself more for key periods in the race. Now it seems he has started to believe the hype a bit and is trying to do too much, or maybe he's just better marked so everyone waits for him to close gaps and do the work.

 

[Netserk]

Re:

Unfortunately he doesn't look as strong as last year.

I disagree.

Sure I expected better today, but overall I think he is doing at least as good as last year. I do think he will be stronger and do better in Ronde than last year.

 

[SafeBet]

Re: Re:

I disagree.

Sure I expected better today, but overall I think he is doing at least as good as last year. I do think he will be stronger and do better in Ronde than last year.

I hope you're right. I surely worried when he couldn't follow Thomas and Terpstra on the Kemmel. Normally he's the one dishing out the pain in that situation

The last couple of years he seemed to save himself more for key periods in the race. Now it seems he has started to believe the hype a bit and is trying to do too much, or maybe he's just better marked so everyone waits for him to close gaps and do the work.

I think it's pretty clear if he wants to win RVV or PR he needs to ride more conservatively. Good thing is that after E3 and GW the marked man will be another one: G Thomas.

 

[Flamin]

Sep was ill in Tirreno but afterwards he felt good during training again so this shouldn't have bothered him anymore.

In E3 he was strong enough to follow Thomas-Styby-Sagan if he didn't have to ride Oude Kwaremont with 1,5 leg (though for all we know he might have been dropped in the finale like a sack of potatoes like Sagan), but yesterday got me kind of worried though. Beaten man-to-man by 3 or 4 stronger riders.

 

[Jagartrott]

He looked kinda pale yesterday, like he wasn't completely healthy.
We all know he can do much better than what he showed yesterday.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

His performance was definitely not impressive yesterday, but I hope and think he'll be better for De Ronde. Everything he can do to derail the evil Quicksteppers is well appreciated from here.

 

[Flamin]

Sep sounds confident. Says he trained very hard between Tirreno and E3 (and perhaps that's why he was a little bit less fresh last weekend), and that he hopes it pays off on Sunday.

Go Sep!!

 

[Akuryo]

Well, he missed the winning move once again. Was it material or did he just lose contact this time?

 

[Kwibus]

He said he simply failed.

Was too far back when they hit the hilly zone and admitted he had a hard time on the taaienberg and ended up behind the split.
Wynants tried to keep the gap a small as possible so Vanmarcke could make the jump, which he almost made, but the the front group never lost pace so he simply got cooked when it was just 20mtrs left.

 

[SafeBet]

As previuosly stated, and I'm sorry I was right, he's simply not good enough to stay with the very best this year.
Maybe something went wrong with the training. He looked super earlier in the season.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I think he somehow peaked completely wrong. It wouldn't be the first time this happens to guys who are strong at Omloop.

I also think Stannard peaked too early for instance

 

[SafeBet]

A bit strange for a guy who's got years of experience and is normally capable of peaking for his main goals.

 

[sir fly]

Maybe he's overtrained. That would be a rookie mistake.

 

[Flamin]

Unless his form is one straight downhill from Gent-Wevelgem, he still has an outside shot in Roubaix. You don't have to be the strongest there, and the more cobbles the better for Sep. Other teams and riders have to carry the weight of the race, so he could sit back, let others close gaps and try to gamble on the right move to be in.