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Sky: Living up to expectations

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mattfatcyclist

mattfatcyclist

Jun 13, 2010
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Looks like team sky are living up to the expectations of there coaches this year. Hope this trend keeps up, it's great having another team in the mix, not just banking it all on one race.:)
 
Christian

Christian

Mar 13, 2009
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Polish said:
Yes indeed, they seem to have "stepped up their game"...

So as TeamSkyFans likes to say,
"I'm off to the clinic..."
Click to expand...

Post of the week ... and it's only Monday ;)
 
ingsve

ingsve

Mar 12, 2009
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Well, if you actually look at the numbers they're having a very similar year so far to last year. At this same point last year they already had 6 win including a semiclassic and now they have 5 wins and a semiclassic. The biggest difference is that in the stage races they have ridden so far this year they have 10 top 10 places on GC while they only had 15 top 10 GCs all season long last year.

I think one of the things that is different is that more people are paying attention to lesser races this year because of the CQ game so various wins etc are noticed more than they were last year.
 
B

bobbins

Jun 16, 2009
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Keeping Dave B away from the team looks like a solid plan, realising that Bosen Hagen isn't a sprinter might be another.

Their last season ended after the Tour prologue so lets just hope that they don't implode before this season ends.
 
erader

erader

Dec 29, 2009
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as long as they don't expect wigans to win the tour i'd say their expectations are achievable.

erader
 
Jamsque

Jamsque

Mar 11, 2009
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It's much too early to evaluate Sky. Yes, they are doing well so far, but as others have pointed out they did well at the start of last season too and ultimately fell short in the big races. I think they can do better this year but I don't expect them to maintain their current winning ways all the way through the season.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I think Insgve hit the nail on the head. Win wise, they are pretty much exactly where they were last year, 2 wins in australia, a semi classic, and a couple of others (only oman and qatar were dissapointing) but the biggest difference so far this year is GC placings. They have nearly equalled last seasons top 10 stat and its only March.
 
M

maltiv

Oct 23, 2009
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bobbins said:
Keeping Dave B away from the team looks like a solid plan, realising that Bosen Hagen isn't a sprinter might be another.

Their last season ended after the Tour prologue so lets just hope that they don't implode before this season ends.
Click to expand...
Probably won't happen, he was doing work on his upper body this winter to improve his sprint which sounds ridiculous to me, but I guess they're trying to get him ready for his promising future as a leadout man for Cavendish...
 
K

kurtinsc

Nov 17, 2009
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maltiv said:
Probably won't happen, he was doing work on his upper body this winter to improve his sprint which sounds ridiculous to me, but I guess they're trying to get him ready for his promising future as a leadout man for Cavendish...
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Why are people down on EBH as a sprinter?

Not that I don't think he has potential to possibly fill some other roles... but he has some solid sprint results against good fields.
 
B

bobbins

Jun 16, 2009
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kurtinsc said:
Why are people down on EBH as a sprinter?

Not that I don't think he has potential to possibly fill some other roles... but he has some solid sprint results against good fields.
Click to expand...

Because he isn't a sprinter. He is fastish and pretty strong but seems to be thick and can't read a sprint, ergo, he isn't a sprinter.

Cavs management firm are well entrenched in Team Sky so expect him to be there in a year or two.
 
Dekker_Tifosi

Dekker_Tifosi

Mar 13, 2009
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You're not making a good point here. ;)

What does that have to do with anything? Just because I think Freire is over the top when it comes to normal mass sprints (not after 300 or 250km or hard hills), means I hate him now?
Are you serious? :D

You're out of shape Jamsque. Clearly not as sharp as last season.
 
El Pistolero

El Pistolero

Jul 16, 2010
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Dekker_Tifosi said:
All the big races have still to be run..

Last year they started awesomely as well and won Omloop het Nieuwsblad, but where was Sky later in the year in the big tours and big classics?

Just saying.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's like Rabo. They had a really good season so far, but if they don't win Milan-San Remo their season will at that point of the season be less good than last year.

And I'm not saying this to bait you or anything, just to further prove your point :p

Though it would be a close call if Lulu manages to win Paris-Nice. He's the guy I'm rooting for anyway(besides VDB, but I don't think he can win)

Rabo is becoming quite the Spanish team if you ask me :p (just a joke by the way)
 
TERMINATOR

TERMINATOR

Oct 8, 2010
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mattfatcyclist said:
Looks like team sky are living up to the expectations of there coaches this year. Hope this trend keeps up, it's great having another team in the mix, not just banking it all on one race.:)
Click to expand...

You're joking, right? This is the same first-out-of-the-gate start that Sky did last year only to fade bad during the real races.

Real pro teams know that these little pre-season carnivals are pre-season stuff. Sky will falter badly once again during the Giro and Tour because:

1.) They don't have a GC rider.
2.) Their belief in Bradley Wiggins is nationalistically based and therefore has nothing to do with reality. Anybody with a half a brain knows Wiggins will never crack the top-5 during the Tour and that he was likely blood doping during his 4th place finish with Garmin.
3.) Sky is winning now because - much like amateur racers - front load their training programs, failing to realize the season is long and the real bike racers are still coming out of hibernation.

Winning silly races like they have been doing in the pre-season is a hallmark of a team that has poor management and has no idea how to prepare for races in May and July.
 
The Hitch

The Hitch

Jun 14, 2010
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Last year Team Sky won

the first race they participated in Cancer Councill classic
The first tt they participated in - Tour of Quatar
the first classic they participated in - Het Volk
The first gt stage they participated in - Giro stage 1.

So it was all looking good for them until May.

Unfortunately when you go round saying that every other road cycle race on the planet is at most a warm up for the Tour, and fail there, the other achievments dont look too great.
 
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