Stijn Devolder

[Spanky]

Any chance for tour glory?

 

[Outsprinted]

Any chance for tour glory?

No, he doesn't have the ability to climb with the best, and doesn't have the recovery to be there every day. But maybe a stage win, like stage 15 or 16.

 

[titan_90]

No, he is a classics rider that could do well in some shorter stage races. In a recent interview he admitted this himself.

 

[Andre.J]

Any chance for tour glory?

Devolder was picked to finish tenth last year in the Tour. He had some sickness and had to abandon early. It is said that he tried too hard in the Tour of Swiss leading up to the Tour of France. So this year he took the complete opposite strategy; he rode really slow at the Dauphine. Hopefully the new strategy will work. He has been very inconsistent since the death of his friend earlier this year. He did have a remarkable Tour de Flanders. I hope he does good; I would love to see him place in the top ten, but as far as Belgian riders, Monfort might outdo him again. Next year we'll see what Seeldrayers brings.

Andre

 

[anubisza]

Not any time soon, unless he dramatically changes his training and focus.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I don't think so but a stage win is definately not out of the question.

 

[jaylew]

Devolder was picked to finish tenth last year in the Tour. He had some sickness and had to abandon early. It is said that he tried too hard in the Tour of Swiss leading up to the Tour of France. So this year he took the complete opposite strategy; he rode really slow at the Dauphine. Hopefully the new strategy will work. He has been very inconsistent since the death of his friend earlier this year. He did have a remarkable Tour de Flanders. I hope he does good; I would love to see him place in the top ten, but as far as Belgian riders, Monfort might outdo him again. Next year we'll see what Seeldrayers brings.

Andre

On that note, what do you expect from Van Den Broeck? I know he'll be working for Cadel, but where do you see him in the Belgian GT hierarchy for the future?

 

[BikeCentric]

Stijn could get a stage win but he is not a GC rider for a Grand Tour. He should definitely continue to focus on one-day races because he is simply not built like a GC rider. He's way too big and beefy, very powerfull for short climbs like in Flanders but he'll suffer big time on long climbs.

 

[Andre.J]

On that note, what do you expect from Van Den Broeck? I know he'll be working for Cadel, but where do you see him in the Belgian GT hierarchy for the future?

I like VDB, he showed a lot of promise last year at the Giro finishing tenth. After that he disappeared from the map. I saw him helping Evans at the Dauphine, but when Evans, Contador, and Valverde attacked, he was dropped rather easily. That's a bit of concern. He's still got some learning to do and he's built a lot like Andy Schleck and Gesink. He's 6 feet 1 and weighs 140 pounds so he can really be a good climber. The last 3 or 4 years Belgium has been finally producing some climbers of decent caliber; VDB is certainly one of them.

Andre

 

[Jasper]

I like VDB, he showed a lot of promise last year at the Giro finishing tenth.

7th

(5th even, if you discount Ricco and Sella)


About Devolder: I share the opinion of those that think that he's not able to get a top 10 spot in a grand tour. He has indeed the wrong physique, and as long as he'll focus on the classics as well as the tour, he'll never get as far as he wants. I do think, however, that he could very well aim for those smaller one week tours, like Germany, Swizerland, Romandie or Austria. Maybe even the Dauphiné or Paris-Nice, who knows. He can climb well enough for one week, and with his timetrial he has a strong weapon. But he's not consistent enough to finish a grand tour without one bad day where he loses minutes. Although I must point out that his previous grand tours (Tour 2008 and Vuelta 2007) got ruined by illness or crashes. So far we've never seen him in full force, except maybe for the 2006 Vuelta where he finished 11th. So he might surprise this year, without the stress to perform he gave himself last year. It is remarkable that only a week ago, he was feeling very weak, and didn't give himself any chance on a good Tour. But now, he seems to feel confident again, and wants to peak in the last week, with a good ranking and maybe a stage win if all goes well. I'm curious to see what he can pull off this year. If he can keep healthy and on the bike, he could shine in the last TT, for example.

I think Monfort, Van den Broeck and Seeldraeyers are intrinsically better grand tour riders than Devolder though.

 

[Andre.J]

7th

(5th even, if you discount Ricco and Sella)


About Devolder: I share the opinion of those that think that he's not able to get a top 10 spot in a grand tour. He has indeed the wrong physique, and as long as he'll focus on the classics as well as the tour, he'll never get as far as he wants. I do think, however, that he could very well aim for those smaller one week tours, like Germany, Swizerland, Romandie or Austria. Maybe even the Dauphiné or Paris-Nice, who knows. He can climb well enough for one week, and with his timetrial he has a strong weapon. But he's not consistent enough to finish a grand tour without one bad day where he loses minutes. Although I must point out that his previous grand tours (Tour 2008 and Vuelta 2007) got ruined by illness or crashes. So far we've never seen him in full force, except maybe for the 2006 Vuelta where he finished 11th. So he might surprise this year, without the stress to perform he gave himself last year. It is remarkable that only a week ago, he was feeling very weak, and didn't give himself any chance on a good Tour. But now, he seems to feel confident again, and wants to peak in the last week, with a good ranking and maybe a stage win if all goes well. I'm curious to see what he can pull off this year. If he can keep healthy and on the bike, he could shine in the last TT, for example.

I think Monfort, Van den Broeck and Seeldraeyers are intrinsically better grand tour riders than Devolder though.

Sorry, you're right, he did finish 5th..I do discount Ricco and Sella.