Teams and tactics: Who's most competent?

[Logic-is-your-friend]

You forget the variation where the guy behind you drpos dead before you.

The only thing they really perfected was blocking the road with the entire team to stop racing even more.

Ah, but there is always a guy behind you. His place will simply be taken by another guy. This is how Jumbo Visma got to copy their tactics: during the Tour of 2019, the Ineos rider did as he was told, rode as hard as he could for as long as he could, stopping right before he dropped dead, telling the guy behind him to do the same... but the guy behind him was a JUMBO rider!!!
This is how Jumbo was able to decipher the tactical masterplan behind Ineos' dominance. They would never have cracked the code otherwise.

 

[Red Rick]

Ah, but there is always a guy behind you. His place will simply be taken by another guy. This is how Jumbo Visma got to copy their tactics: during the Tour of 2019, the Ineos rider did as he was told, rode as hard as he could for as long as he could, stopping right before he dropped dead, telling the guy behind him to do the same... but the guy behind him was a JUMBO rider!!!
This is how Jumbo was able to decipher the tactical masterplan behind Ineos' dominance. They would never have cracked the code otherwise.

They forgot the part where they should just have the strongest rider in the race on the most decisive stage. Really poor tactics.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

The thing I like about Quickstep tactics is that riders who are not necessarily the main protected rider get given a chance (Jungels at LBL, Asgreen at the Ronde) so there are more people to watch out for whereas other teams (the ones with GVA or Sagan in them for example ) have one card to play and are more easily marked.
And then there's the Morkov express for stage races.

 

[IndianCyclist]

DQS for classics. In the GTs, all teams have grand messes

 

[HelloDolly]

When it comes ot tactics I think EF and DMS (sunweb) have shown some great approaches given the relative stregth of their teams down the years

They have made racing fun . Who can forget shock and awe in 2013 Tour
Matthews wining Green at the Tour in 2017 and Wawa stage wins for Sunweb and their stage wins in Tour 2020 last year

Strangest tactics remain Movistar esp when they had 3 of the strongest riders at one stage. I think that was probably a management issue though

 

[hayneplane]

Bora have done some pretty effective jobs at turning only moderately promising parcours into day long hurtfests to drop the purer sprinters and set up stage wins/big green jersey point hauls for Sagan in the Tour.

Sunweb as was did an amazing job at extracting more than could ever have been expected of their stage hunting troupe at last years Tour.