Strongest ever GT team?

[lenric]

Giro's 2016 Lotto. So *** strong with its pulling that I even feel compelled to wheelsuck them.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

Astana 09 stood out for me too. I recall after Arcalis when Contador, Lance, Kloden and Leip were all in the top 6. Crazy strong team.

And why does anyone think that was? All these teams were tainted except Mercx who was a lot less tainted

Yeah, Merckx was so much less tainted.

Any Saunier Duval team.

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

Are you talking about team results or pure team strength. Result wise, by far would have to be those Le Vie Claire teams of the mid 80s. Heck, you know a team is strong when the only entertaining part of the final results are watching a pair of teammates attacking each other for the TDF. (Oh wait, Hinault was just helping out Lemond, I forgot). Nowadays, it seems teams will have 3 riders ride the best results possible when team duties are done (This is for the Team Classification results), then have everyone lay off to conserve energy.

Its outside of the box, and it was back when the races concentrated on local nationalities, but the Early 90s Amaya Seguros teams would usually field 4-6 riders in the Top 15 of the Vuelta with climbers like Jesus Montoya, Fabio Parra, Cubino, Melchor Mauri, and I believe for a year or 2 Mikel Zarrabeitia.

For the Giro in the time period, if I recall right didnt Carrera have a team for the Giro including Roche, Claudio Chiapucci (Sp) and Pantani

Those 3 didn't ride the Giro together. 1993 Chiapucci-Roche and 1994 Chiapucci-Pantani. 1987 Carrera was probably better. Close to La Vie Claire 1986.

 

[42x16ss]

Again, why not wodering about the strongest ever classic team?

Because judging by your previous reactions it will probably be the wrong classics thread.

 

[Billie]

Saeco at the 2004 Giro d'Italia. Cunego and Simoni with Mazzoleni, Szmyd, Tonti Bertagnolli, Stangelj Spezialetti and Fornaciari as domestiques.

 

[yetanothergreenworld]

A shout-out should also go to the 1984 Renault-Elf squad. Their final placings on GC weren't as strong as La Vie Claire '86, but between them they came away from the Tour with

1st place and 5 stage wins (Fignon)
3rd place and Best Young Rider (Lemond)
The Team Time Trial
Four individual stage wins not by Fignon (Madiot, Jules, Poisson, Menthéour)
19 stages in yellow (between Fignon and Barteau)

And, of course, #2 on the GC (Hinault) had been the team's leader just the year before.

 

[jens_attacks]

astana giro 2015 must be up there!

 

[SergeDeM]

ONCE at the Vuelta in the 90s anyone? I think they dominated that in 95 according to the internets.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

astana giro 2015 must be up there!

I think it's overrated. Contador just had a horrible team which made Astana look very good but I doubt they could have let the race explode whenever they wanted in a race like the tdf.

 

[HelloDolly]

How cn anyone say SKY 2016 Tour team is strongest when they haven't even ridden yet ...wait until they turn up and see..everything can look strong on paper

 

[rafaelalencar]

BMC 2011...
Just kidding! Lol!
Since I started watching, Sky 2012.

 

[TheGreenMonkey]

Astana 2009 would have been insanely strong if it was a team, as it was Contador was so betrayed that Schleck probably had more support in the form of his brother than Contador did. However it had riders who could control/pace the peloton on the flat, riders to pace on hills or early mountains of stages before the action really start, climbers to blow the race apart and the best GC rider of the race.

Liquigas Giro 2010 dominated the race although objectively they probably were not super strong. Basso, Nibali, Szymd, Kiserlovski, Angoli and the rest all worked very well together.

 

[Moviestar]

Not the strongest team on individual level, but as a collective very strong. The Caisse d'Epargne Vuelta 2009 team: Garcia-Acosta, Erviti, Fran Perez, Zandio, Lopez, Kiriyienka, Moreno, Rodriguez, Valverde.

 

[Escarabajo]

La Vie Claire 1986

Renault 1984. Maybe my memory is failing me but if I remember correctly they won half the stages in that Tour.

 

[happytramp]

TI-Raleigh in 1980. Yellow Jersey and 11 stage wins.

 

[Tonton]

I'll play the seniority card .

Molteni '71? I was too young (so much for the seniority card ) but the lineup is insane.

USPS, as a cohesive unit (better than the sum of its parts) is a candidate.

GB with Berzin, Ugrumov, the '94 squad is worth a mention.

Sky? Well, they made Wiggins win a TdF. Impressive.

La Vie Claire '86, to me is all of the above. Great lineup, cohesive (to an extend ), so dominating. It was fun to watch, well, not so fun: you knew the outcome (to an extend ).

 

[malakassis]

3 pages and no one crying BANESTO?? i mean early 90s banesto was incredible. 5 tours, 2 giri...still today Unzue is on of the best DS.
the way banesto riders dedicated evrything to their captain was new in cycling. banesto was the draft for ater USPS successes

 

[hrotha]

Banesto was very rarely dominant (unless you're thinking of a particular GT?), and Unzue is a moron. Plus it was mostly Echavarri doing the DS'ing at the time.

 

[HelloDolly]

With Henao back and Landa available and with Froome, Thomas & Poels ...not to mention a very strong climbing Nieve ...I have to say I am getting a bit carried away with how strong SKY are...Maybe too strong...And we haven't even included Kiryenkia, Inxtausti , Roche, Rowe, Konig,Puccio & Stannard

Of course everyone would need to turn up in top form...not sure who they will select

 

[TMP402]

Re:

With Henao back and Landa available and with Froome, Thomas & Poels ...not to mention a very strong climbing Nieve ...I have to say I am getting a bit carried away with how strong SKY are...Maybe too strong...And we haven't even included Kiryenkia, Inxtausti , Roche, Rowe, Konig,Puccio & Stannard

Of course everyone would need to turn up in top form...not sure who they will select

And it's all of limited use if Contador is on Froome's wheel, perhaps unless they actually send people up the road like every other big GT team seems able to.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

3 pages and no one crying BANESTO?? i mean early 90s banesto was incredible. 5 tours, 2 giri...still today Unzue is on of the best DS.
the way banesto riders dedicated evrything to their captain was new in cycling. banesto was the draft for ater USPS successes

Yeah, I'm sure Prudencio Indurain was taken to the Giro and the Tour because he was one of the best domestiques around and not just because he happened to be Big Mig's brother.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Can't think of any that come even remotely close to Molteni 1971

Merckx - greatest rider ever
van Springel - 2nd in the Giro, Tour and Worlds. Monument winner.
Wagtmans - Top 5 in the Tour
Van Schil - repeated podiums in monuments
Stevens - winner of essentially everything on the track. worlds podium and multi stage wins in grand tours, in the few occasions where he wasn't keeping Merckx out of the wind
Basso - one of the greatest sprinters ever. world champion. many GT stage wins
Spruyt - domestique. Tour stage winner
Huismans - Tour top 10, classics winner
Swerts - GT top 10s, worlds medal, classics winner, one of the greatest time trialists ever
Bruyére - monument winner, tour top 5. could've been a huge star in his own right if he wasn't constantly working for merckx

(10 riders per team back then)

Incredible team. Very hard to top that team.

 

[Jan the Man]

2006 T-Mobile could have been very strong-

1. Jan Ullrich
2. Andreas Kloden
3. Matthias Kessler
4. Shirhy Honchar
5. Michael Rogers
6. Eddy Mazzoleni
7. Patrick Sinkewitz
8. Oscar Sevilla
9. Guisseppe Guerini

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

Yeah, I'm sure Prudencio Indurain was taken to the Giro and the Tour because he was one of the best domestiques around and not just because he happened to be Big Mig's brother.

He was an OK domestique who still made the Tour team at Vitalicio.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

once in 1995 were frightening: jalabert, zülle, mauri, bruyneel, breukink, stephens, mariano rojas, herminio diaz zabala, luis diaz otazu.

only luis diaz otazu was terrible and already out of time after the ttt, imagine if they had selection oliverio rincon instead of him...