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Big Doopie
BANNED
a rollicking start.
jacobsen = 4 wins
remco = 3 wins
cavendish = 2 wins
and ala and asgreen...and MASNADA (!!) have yet to open their accounts.
jacobsen = 4 wins
remco = 3 wins
cavendish = 2 wins
and ala and asgreen...and MASNADA (!!) have yet to open their accounts.
Masnada's account has been opened long ago my friend.
But then he went bankrupt the following day.
But the Potential Italian Simon Spilak doesn't have as many as Remco.
Big Doopie
BANNED
There can never be too many Spilaks.
Don't see it mentioned anywhere yet.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has to do without Tim Declercq during the spring races. The 32-year-old West Fleming is struggling with an inflammation of the pericardium and has to rest for a few weeks. "But it has no negative effects in the long term", Declercq reassures on social media.
Tim Declercq has to contend with pericarditis, an inflammation of the pericardium. This inflammation can be caused by a virus, flu or bacteria. After the Saudi Tour at the beginning of this month, Declercq still tested positive for the corona virus.
"I started the season well, I felt completely ready, but a few hours after the first stage in Algarve I felt really bad", writes Declercq on Instagram. “We didn't immediately know what it was, but later I was diagnosed with pericarditis.”
There will be no major consequences for Declercq's health or career. “The symptoms are gone now and it has no long-term negative effects. But we follow the doctor's advice. In the following weeks, the bike has to be put aside for a few weeks. I will be cheering on my teammates from The Wolfpack with a (figuratively) bleeding heart for missing out on my beloved classics. We are trying to come back stronger than ever.”
Source: Het Nieuwsblad (translated)
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has to do without Tim Declercq during the spring races. The 32-year-old West Fleming is struggling with an inflammation of the pericardium and has to rest for a few weeks. "But it has no negative effects in the long term", Declercq reassures on social media.
Tim Declercq has to contend with pericarditis, an inflammation of the pericardium. This inflammation can be caused by a virus, flu or bacteria. After the Saudi Tour at the beginning of this month, Declercq still tested positive for the corona virus.
"I started the season well, I felt completely ready, but a few hours after the first stage in Algarve I felt really bad", writes Declercq on Instagram. “We didn't immediately know what it was, but later I was diagnosed with pericarditis.”
There will be no major consequences for Declercq's health or career. “The symptoms are gone now and it has no long-term negative effects. But we follow the doctor's advice. In the following weeks, the bike has to be put aside for a few weeks. I will be cheering on my teammates from The Wolfpack with a (figuratively) bleeding heart for missing out on my beloved classics. We are trying to come back stronger than ever.”
Source: Het Nieuwsblad (translated)
Steppers highest finisher was Asgreen at 32nd yesterday.
Jakobsen and Cav are the riders holding the team up at the moment. Have they taken their eye off the ball with their classics team? They have no doubt missed the Tractor, but he's not getting any younger. The next couple of weeks could be very interesting for them!
Jakobsen and Cav are the riders holding the team up at the moment. Have they taken their eye off the ball with their classics team? They have no doubt missed the Tractor, but he's not getting any younger. The next couple of weeks could be very interesting for them!
Lots of teams are doing rather bad atm, just look at Astana (Nibali is actually their best rider atm and Lutsenko just suffered a broken collarbone in a training camp crash), EF or Bora before Higuita's recent win. People are getting sick left and right atm.
Astana is in dire circumstances. Luts is out for the spring. Moscon is just not good. Vincenzo was sick. Lopez might be their saviour but won't race until Trentino. What other good riders do they have? De la cruz for some low level gc action maybe. Battistella also sick
Quickstep still great at sprints and they have Fausto and Remco. But their classics team is just not the same level. Stybar no good after his arrhythmia. Lampert went down a level. Seneschal is useless. Asgreen is the only good one but he is not quite at 2021 level and doesn't have the team support.
Ballerini and Van leberge aren't as good as last season.
Quickstep in e3 2021 was one of the strongest team performances I have ever seen in a spring classic. The way all 7 of them hit the front coming into Taaienberg was just incredible.
They are a shadow of the last few years right now.
It's bad yes but they have had a lot of bad luck the past few weeks/races, especially Sénéchal.
Yesterday Sénéchal crashed hard and went into the ditch, Van Lerberghe crashed as well just a few kilometres further, Ballerini had a flat tire right before the first Kemmel and is still feeling some effects from an earlier illness, Asgreen had to ride on a deflating tire for a long while and broke his chain in the sprint for sixth place and it was Lampaert's first race back after just a few solid training days.
Sénéchal also had bad luck in E3 and Milano-Sanremo.
The only one without an excuse seems to be Stybar, he looks to have declined a lot this year.
I'm not optimistic about their chances at RVV (probably only Asgreen will be able to ride for the win) but if Sénéchal doesn't have bad luck and Lampaert and Ballerini can ride themselves into top form over the next few weeks (and maybe even if they recuperate Declercq), they might still have a stellar team for Paris-Roubaix.
Last season Ballerini was flying, but only until the actual season started with Omloop, after Omloop he was clearly no longer in the same shape. That was pretty random, even more so if you consider the fact that he's obsessed with Paris-Roubaix (it's the one race he dreams of winning), so he should have been peaking later.
Yes, and all 7 from that race are still in the team this year.
(this post isn't a reply to you, I'm just using your post as start point
)I've read several places people saying that Remco (indirectly) is to blame for the lack of results the team have had in cobble classics this year as the team have shifted a bit more focus towards stage races.
I'm not sure about the logic behind this. They still have the same riders that dominated the cobble races last year. I don't think these riders are worse this season because they have changed their training to become helpers for Remco.
Stybar is 36, so that he is worse than before is quite natural. Lampaert is only 30, he shouldn't regress because of age yet. Senechal is probably better than he has shown this year, seems like he's been crashing/ had mechanicals a lot in important race situations.
They should certainly try to get in one more really good classic rider that can take over Stybars role for next season. Otherwise their guys should be more than good enough to be really competitive against Jumbo if they just find their form again.
Yes, and all 7 from that race are still in the team this year.
(this post isn't a reply to you, I'm just using your post as start point
I've read several places people saying that Remco (indirectly) is to blame for the lack of results the team have had in cobble classics this year as the team have shifted a bit more focus towards stage races.
I'm not sure about the logic behind this. They still have the same riders that dominated the cobble races last year. I don't think these riders are worse this season because they have changed their training to become helpers for Remco.
Stybar is 36, so that he is worse than before is quite natural. Lampaert is only 30, he shouldn't regress because of age yet. Senechal is probably better than he has shown this year, seems like he's been crashing/ had mechanicals a lot in important race situations.
They should certainly try to get in one more really good classic rider that can take over Stybars role for next season. Otherwise their guys should be more than good enough to be really competitive against Jumbo if they just find their form again.
"Just" hire Laporte or Van Aert, and balance is restored.
I agree that Stybar is getting older and Lampaert is just in poor form. However the biggest difference for Quickstep in my opinion is that a bigger Alphawolf has arisen this year.
In previous years there were no teams that could really hurt Quickstep as a squad. Quickstep had the team to decide when the first punches were being thrown and as a result they could get there lesser riders over the top with the front group. Now Jumbo is the team that decides when the first punches are thrown. In the run-up to the hills Jumbo is capable of maintaining a higher pace than Quickstep.
So instead of having guys like Senechal, Stybar, Lampaert in the first spots when going up the tougher climbs those guys are now in 10th-20th spot, because guys like Laporte and Benoot have switched places with them. And as a result the Quickstep riders (with the exception of Asgreen, because he is just a level above the others) don't make the cut at the points where it matters most.
In previous years there were no teams that could really hurt Quickstep as a squad. Quickstep had the team to decide when the first punches were being thrown and as a result they could get there lesser riders over the top with the front group. Now Jumbo is the team that decides when the first punches are thrown. In the run-up to the hills Jumbo is capable of maintaining a higher pace than Quickstep.
So instead of having guys like Senechal, Stybar, Lampaert in the first spots when going up the tougher climbs those guys are now in 10th-20th spot, because guys like Laporte and Benoot have switched places with them. And as a result the Quickstep riders (with the exception of Asgreen, because he is just a level above the others) don't make the cut at the points where it matters most.
I think a rider like Søren Kragh Andersen, which is out of contract at the end of the year, would be the perfect rider for the QuickStep classics team to be there with Asgreen after the big selections.
Or Stuyven, which also is out of contract next year.
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