Sep Vanmarcke appreciation thread

[sir fly]

Re: Re:

Sep is already doing a recon of the Worlds route. He's riding California so he travelled a bit earlier to check the route and take some vacation. I'm curious about his feelings.

Who's going to be Belgian captain intrigues me more.

Multiple captains I guess.

No doubt.
My point is that he's showing unusual interest for the Worlds given that highest place he can get in the packing order of Belgian team is the third.

 

[trevim]

Re: Re:

Sep is already doing a recon of the Worlds route. He's riding California so he travelled a bit earlier to check the route and take some vacation. I'm curious about his feelings.

Who's going to be Belgian captain intrigues me more.

They should go for GvA, it's statistically unlikely that he keeps losing
Seriously, they should go all Quickstep: have Boonen as the anchor man and then put riders (Gilbert, GvA) in every other move to create selection.

 

[Eclipse]

So after what was 2 or 3 more punctures today... is Sep incredibly unlucky or is there some kind of set up/technical issue this year? It's really quite remarkable how many times it has happened to him this season.

 

[Flamin]

Maybe he's peaking like an angel for the next 2 weeks, but I expected more from him today. Didn't put his nose in the wind all day and then even got dropped first by Terpstra/Boom and then Sagan on Oude Kwaremont.

I can't blame him after what happened last year, but I hate to see this Vanmarcke. Skipping Omloop was already bad enough, now this..

 

[Eclipse]

Agree Flamin, I was disappointed in how quiet he was.

I know he's trying to time his peak better this year but I thought E3 was the race he'd actually show some real strength in

 

[Cance > TheRest]

I hope he will be good for RVV and P-R. It will add more colour to the race to have him on his best form in those races

 

[Flamin]

Re:

Maybe he's peaking like an angel for the next 2 weeks, but I expected more from him today. Didn't put his nose in the wind all day and then even got dropped first by Terpstra/Boom and then Sagan on Oude Kwaremont.

I can't blame him after what happened last year, but I hate to see this Vanmarcke. Skipping Omloop was already bad enough, now this..

It seems like super Sep is indeed peaking like an angel. Very strong performance today and I'm glad the real Sep is back.

 

[Eclipse]

Yep, looked awesome today. Top contender for both RVV and PR (until he gets a mechanical...)

 

[Lequack]

At least he's keeping it interesting instead of it being Sagan vs Cancellara.

 

[trevim]

Re:

Yep, looked awesome today. Top contender for both RVV and PR (until he gets a mechanical...)

He's an amazing rider, I always remember the year when he had knee troubles, failed at the Ronde and then came back firing for Roubaix, following a super-Cancellara, doing a huge amount of work and finally being outsprinted. I was on the edge of seat all the race!

 

[SafeBet]

Best classic campaign of his career? Surely the luckiest thus far.

And apparently he's leaving LottoNL at the end of the season.

 

[Billie]

Re:

Best classic campaign of his career? Surely the luckiest thus far.

And apparently he's leaving LottoNL at the end of the season.

great news for him

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re: Re:

Best classic campaign of his career? Surely the luckiest thus far.

And apparently he's leaving LottoNL at the end of the season.

great news for him

And for the team.

 

[KubaWinter]

So let the guessing start. Where is he going? To the short-on-leaders EQS?

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

So let the guessing start. Where is he going? To the short-on-leaders EQS?

With Terpstra, Stybar and Trentin, EQS has no need for more also-rans.

 

[Carols]

Someday there will be a PR with Seps name on it!

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

Best classic campaign of his career? Surely the luckiest thus far.

And apparently he's leaving LottoNL at the end of the season.

News from the Telegraaf likely based on speculation.

Allthough I think it will happen, but it's not news. More likely made up.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

So let the guessing start. Where is he going? To the short-on-leaders EQS?

With Terpstra, Stybar and Trentin, EQS has no need for more also-rans.

Trentin the tireless domestique, Terpstra the Paris-Roubaix winner and Stybar the man who is almost always is in the final of every race, except for this Paris-Roubaix. Vanmarcke is no also-ran either. Great on the cobbles but lacks the engine to win these races. Hopefully Etixx can work with him to find it. Etixx won't have the strongest rider next year maybe, but they will have these four (if Sep joins) plus Stijn and Martin and Boonen. That's 7 strong riders.

 

[Cannibal72]

Be lunatic for him to go to EQS. They need someone who can deliver in RVV, not yet another rider far more suited to Roubaix: Terpstra and Stybar cam inhabit that role perfectly well, especially when the latter's not ill. If only the other Lotto had enough money to spring for Sep, taking the pressure of Benoot and giving them a bona fide leader for Roubaix (amazing though Roelandts is, he's unlikely to win a monument.)

 

[Samamba]

Re:

If only the other Lotto had enough money to spring for Sep

They actually have. When Soudal took over from Belisol their budget got "upgraded". The team invested it in Wellens & Benoot and some new riders this summer, but they didn't touch the money that "came free" by letting go of Van Den Broeck. Sergeant told me a few months ago that they tried to sign Vanmarcke 2 summers ago and Stuyven last summer. They both eventually decided to stay with their team, but the money Lotto had for trying to sign these guys was never used. Sergeant told me that they were trying to land that one "big fish" and they still will try to do that in the future. However, I don't know if Lotto is still interested in Vanmarcke cause they have a pretty solid team for the cobbles (ofc this year they had a lot of bad luck with Wallaeys, Debusschere, Benoot and some smaller domestics (De Bie sick, Broeckx out)) and I know they already had contacts with Gilbert (so maybe the money goes to him).

Lotto also tried to sign van der Poel btw.

 

[Flamin]

What a chance this was for super Sep, truly gutted about it. Unfortunately it wasn't a perfect race again and he maybe paid for it in the end. A (small) crash, flat tyre and especially when he got dropped with almost his whole team (when Martin, Boonen, Stannard, EBH and 1 or 2 others took off). There were no images of it, but Renaat was behind him on the motorbike and Sep had to pull hard himself to come back.

Who knows this cost him this extra 50m after Carrefour which may have demoralized the chasers a bit. It only took 1 or 2 guys to poker in that case, a moment of hesitation, and he was gone. Now they saw him riding in front of them and this obviously triggers everyone to just take 2 or 3 decent pulls and they'd catch him.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Vanmarcke seems to have much against him.

Unlike normally, the chasers kept working together on the asphalt. Making it too difficult to stay away solo. Normally when the strongest went on cobbles, there were either too few chasers left to close the gap, or they would not work together.

It's really unlucky.

 

[ray j willings]

Vanmarcke ,get set, go

 

[Gigs_98]

Well this was his once in a lifetime chance to win PR. He will never get a better chance to win this race again.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Well this was his once in a lifetime chance to win PR. He will never get a better chance to win this race again.

Unless he starts training harder.