Soudal - Quick Step Thread

[Mayomaniac]

That is not so easy. Dylan van Baarle was available, maybe they could have offered him a better contract? They also still have Asgreen.

Nah, no way lowball Lefevre would have offered van Baarle that much money.

 

[Akuryo]

I don't think the riders are the problem right now. Sure, there's no Boonen anymore who always was one of the 3 strongest riders anyway. But they have guys like Asgreen, Lampaert, Senechal, Ballerini, ...

The main thing in my opinion is coming down to tactics. They're so used to have a guy like Boonen where you don't need tactics. Just get your superstar into a decent position inside the final 60 kilometers and you're good. Now with their good but not insanely crazy riders they would have to ride smart. And apart from the races with Bramati in the car I don't see any coherent tactical plan at Quickstep in recent years. Peeters, Steels and Van Bondt are atrocious to watch in that aspect.

But you can be sure Lefevere won't fire his buddies Steels and Peeters who have been with him for decades (since 1995 and 96 when they were still riders for Mapei). So nothing will change...

 

[Berniece]

I don't think the riders are the problem right now. Sure, there's no Boonen anymore who always was one of the 3 strongest riders anyway. But they have guys like Asgreen, Lampaert, Senechal, Ballerini, ...

The main thing in my opinion is coming down to tactics. They're so used to have a guy like Boonen where you don't need tactics. Just get your superstar into a decent position inside the final 60 kilometers and you're good. Now with their good but not insanely crazy riders they would have to ride smart. And apart from the races with Bramati in the car I don't see any coherent tactical plan at Quickstep in recent years. Peeters, Steels and Van Bondt are atrocious to watch in that aspect.

But you can be sure Lefevere won't fire his buddies Steels and Peeters who have been with him for decades (since 1995 and 96 when they were still riders for Mapei). So nothing will change...

Boonen stopped cycling in 2017. Quickstep have been starting getting issues the past 2 years. I do agree that it might come down to their state of mind or tactics. Like Lefevere said, when Vanhooydonck is able to ride away, why shouldn’t one of his riders be there too.

 

[houtdffan]

As we saw last year, Remco is their best 1 day racer now. When he rides, wins in classics will follow. However, he is only scheduled to ride LBL this year

 

[tobydawq]

Let's not forget that Alaphilippe also exists.

 

[janraaskalt]

Let's not forget that Alaphilippe also exists.

Likely for the last year riding for Quickstep?

 

[Berniece]

Likely for the last year riding for Quickstep?

Depends on if he rides results this year or not

 

[AlfaLum]

If Evenepoel didn't exist who do you recon Soudal - Quick Step would have gotten to keep their classics squad as Nr. 1

I think Pedersen would indeed have been the best addition since he is the type that has a fast finish and thus you can play around tactically.

That is how Quickstep used to ride in my opinion. Get guys in the break, don’t work too hard in it unless it is the right group composition. And then if that never happens you always have a fast guy at the end of the race.

If not Pedersen than surely guys like Kung and Mohoric would have brought more firepower to the squad as well.

 

[Netserk]

I don't think the riders are the problem right now. Sure, there's no Boonen anymore who always was one of the 3 strongest riders anyway. But they have guys like Asgreen, Lampaert, Senechal, Ballerini, ...

The main thing in my opinion is coming down to tactics. They're so used to have a guy like Boonen where you don't need tactics. Just get your superstar into a decent position inside the final 60 kilometers and you're good. Now with their good but not insanely crazy riders they would have to ride smart. And apart from the races with Bramati in the car I don't see any coherent tactical plan at Quickstep in recent years. Peeters, Steels and Van Bondt are atrocious to watch in that aspect.

But you can be sure Lefevere won't fire his buddies Steels and Peeters who have been with him for decades (since 1995 and 96 when they were still riders for Mapei). So nothing will change...

Omloop was comical. They used their strongest rider on the day (Casper Pedersen) to chase the Jumbo group, and he was also pulling on the Muur instead of Lampaert, who was crap. You’d think that they would have an idea of how strong their riders were on the day, or that they would tell the DS after Molenberg if they didn’t have it.

 

[RedheadDane]

I think Pedersen would indeed have been the best addition since he is the type that has a fast finish and thus you can play around tactically.

They did sign Pedersen. He already won a race for them.

 

[theyoungest]

Boonen stopped cycling in 2017. Quickstep have been starting getting issues the past 2 years. I do agree that it might come down to their state of mind or tactics. Like Lefevere said, when Vanhooydonck is able to ride away, why shouldn’t one of his riders be there too.

I think Lefevere should ask himself the question why Van Hooydonck isn't on his team. Jumbo picked him up after CCC folded, he could have done the same. I'm sure Nathan would have loved to come.

Having both a classics team and a GT team is tough to manage. Jumbo have been doing it for years now so they've become quite good at it. It's no coincidence that the decline of Lefevere's cobbles squad coincided with the rise of Evenepoel. No wonder he's desperate for Alaphilippe to deliver.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Could PL be the problem? Like football, it always seems to be the manager not the players that gets the chop for bad performances, but every now and again, the manager starts to run out of luck/influence so has to go. When riders start to dwindle in their performances, they know it's time to think of retirement. Some tend to hang around for far too long, just because. Maybe it's time for the big mouth himself to think of moving on. Maybe they're relying on Remco too much and the rest of the squad is getting neglected.

 

[SafeBet]

Their problem is not tactics. Their tactics since Boonen left was always to destroy the race from afar with 3-4 riders and then use their numbers to win. Now they simply don't have the legs to do that because other teams are way stronger.

 

[tobydawq]

They did sign Pedersen. He already won a race for them.

Mads Pedersen's full name was even mentioned in the post this referred to, leaving no room for ambiguity...

 

[RedheadDane]

Mads Pedersen's full name was even mentioned in the post this referred to, leaving no room for ambiguity...

No. The "quote-chain" started with this post.

If Evenepoel didn't exist who do you recon Soudal - Quick Step would have gotten to keep their classics squad as Nr. 1

 

[tobydawq]

No. The "quote-chain" started with this post.

Yes, and one of the replies to that was "Mads Pedersen", and the post you quoted said "I think Pedersen would indeed have been the best addition", making an obvious oblique reference to the poster who replied Mads Pedersen. There's really no reason to always correct people for being unspecific when there is no reason for them to be more specific (or when they in fact are not).

 

[SafeBet]

Yes, and one of the replies to that was "Mads Pedersen", and the post you quoted said "I think Pedersen would indeed have been the best addition", making an obvious oblique reference to the poster who replied Mads Pedersen. There's really no reason to always correct people for being unspecific when there is no reason for them to be more specific (or when they in fact are not).

And is there a reason to indulge in such discussions with our favorite redhead on the forum?

 

[Netserk]

And is there a reason to indulge in such discussions with our favorite redhead on the forum?

We should instead call her names and cut the discussion short.

 

[Red Rick]

Their problem is not tactics. Their tactics since Boonen left was always to destroy the race from afar with 3-4 riders and then use their numbers to win. Now they simply don't have the legs to do that because other teams are way stronger.

I think it's kinda that the classics landscape has evolved and they basically used to be the only team with a legit team specifically designed for the cobbled classics. Like remember the teams Cancellara and Sagan would ride around with?

Their replacements for guys like Niki Terpstra just haven't been the same level, and I think de Ronde especially leans more towards a hilly classic these days where having depth in 2nd tier Roubaix contenders is pretty overrated anyway.

I don't think peak Boonen would be close in Vlaanderen in the current meta.

 

[RedheadDane]

Yes, and one of the replies to that was "Mads Pedersen", and the post you quoted said "I think Pedersen would indeed have been the best addition", making an obvious oblique reference to the poster who replied Mads Pedersen. There's really no reason to always correct people for being unspecific when there is no reason for them to be more specific (or when they in fact are not).

I will admit, I only went back along the little arrows (the "quote-chain"), and between the post mentioning M. Pedersen, and the one I initially quoted, there were several posts, and a page-change.
I did indeed suspect that they were talking about - in the context of this thread - "Fake Pedersen".

 

[Akuryo]

Their problem is not tactics. Their tactics since Boonen left was always to destroy the race from afar with 3-4 riders and then use their numbers to win. Now they simply don't have the legs to do that because other teams are way stronger.

So it IS coming down to tactics, since they can't adapt to the fact that they no longer have a monster trio like Boonen, Terpstra and Stybar where tactics literally didn't matter. Like you said, just let those guys destroy the race. Asgreen, Lampaert or Senechal are decent riders that CAN do well with the right setup. So you can either point to Lefevere for not signing a replacement of the same caliber or you blame Steels and Peeters for not doing anything with the decent riders they have...

 

[Panda Claws]

I think it's kinda that the classics landscape has evolved and they basically used to be the only team with a legit team specifically designed for the cobbled classics. Like remember the teams Cancellara and Sagan would ride around with?

Their replacements for guys like Niki Terpstra just haven't been the same level, and I think de Ronde especially leans more towards a hilly classic these days where having depth in 2nd tier Roubaix contenders is pretty overrated anyway.

I don't think peak Boonen would be close in Vlaanderen in the current meta.

Quite the statement about Boonen.

He might have trainen differently to compensate as the dude was massively talented.

I don't doubt he was better suited to the old parcours but just a little bit of underselling is going on here.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Oh la la, Soudal QS‘s performance today at GP Samyn was unbelieveably bad - I think there is no other word than „horrible“… I at first couldn‘t believe it…

No rider in the Top 50. Van Tricht their best at 3 minutes and something; rank 51.

Next best Steimle, more than six minutes down on the winner.

There‘s something wrong with their Flandrien Classics squad, apparently. Races like Samyn or Nokere are the races where van Tricht, Steimle and others of their Classics 1b team have to perform, and have to place Top10 - zo represent the team and to earn a new contract.

Now Lefevere got disappointed by his 1a men last weekend, and even worse disappointed by his 1b men today.

If it goes on like that, Evenepoel again must save their spring in Liege.

 

[Salvarani]

Peak Boonen would not be close? Like he would not even be considered a favorite you must mean with saying that? That has to be one of the wildest takes I have seen.

If he rode today, he would just have more rivals. The landscape in cycling is just way broader these days. There are a lot more teams targeting these races and have riders in their team built for them. Like did Movistar even have a team for these races back in the day? Did they even start?

I believe he would still very much be a big factor in these races, maybe not as dominant, but definitely a big favorite for them.

A guy like Kristoff is pretty good still, right? In the current "meta".

Peak Boonen would still have won a lot, if he were around these days.

I know you must be joking.

 

[RedheadDane]

Oh la la, Soudal QS‘s performance today at GP Samyn was unbelieveably bad - I think there is no other word than „horrible“… I at first couldn‘t believe it…

Well, Asgreen crashed in the finale.