Teams & Riders The 2021 sprinters thread

[SafeBet]

How many of the remaining 5 stages are sprints? 4?

Possibly 4, although a couple might not end in a full bunch sprint.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

If I’m forgetting any let me know!

Arvid de Kleijn won the first sprint at this exact race, I believe that's all.

Also, Philipsens win wasn't WT.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Arvid de Kleijn won the first sprint at this exact race, I believe that's all.

Also, Philipsens win wasn't WT.

El Crashico isn’t WT?

 

[happytramp]

El Crashico isn’t WT?

Nope. 1.Pro on the UCI European tour.... Not sure why the commentators on eurosport insist on calling it the 'unofficial sprinter's world championship'.... Maybe it used to be seen that way.

 

[happytramp]

Possibly 4, although a couple might not end in a full bunch sprint.

Cav about to storm up the leader board.

 

[RedheadDane]

Cav about to storm up the leader board.

Cav stormed up the leader board.

So... should Moscon be added? If we go by Number of People Finishing in the Same Time alone, I'd say yes.

 

[Pinot's goat]

Cav stormed up the leader board.

So... should Moscon be added? If we go by Number of People Finishing in the Same Time alone, I'd say yes.

It wasn't a sprint by Moscon so no it should not be added.

 

[RedheadDane]

It wasn't a sprint by Moscon so no it should not be added.

Well, way to confuse people by giving everyone the same time!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

There have been quite a few sprints since the last update... and I’ve forgotten most of them.

Cavendish and Philipsen got two more each in Turkey?
Was Latour’s Asturias win a sprint?
Sanchez in Rwanda?
one each for Sagan and Colbrelli in Romandie?
Demare got one at some Spanish race.
What else is the dark cloud of senility obscuring?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

As of 2 May

Rider Wins (WT)
Bennett 5(5)
Cavendish 4(0)
Ballerini 3(1)
Merlier 3(0)
Philipsen 3(0)
Demare 3(0)
Sagan 2(2)
Ewan 1(1)
Bol 1(1)
Van Aert 1(1)
Colbrelli 1(1)
Philipsen 1(0)
Pedersen 1(0)
Paret-Peintre 1(0)
Dupont 1(0)
Bauhaus 1(0)
Nizzolo 1(0)
Mareczko 1(0)
Viviani 1(0)
Hayter 1(0)
De Kleijn 1(0)
Sanchez 1(0)
Raim 1(0)
Stosz 1(0)
Please point out errors and omissions!

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Démare won two bunch sprints in Valencia, actually. Latours win was a MTF so obviously doesn't count. Moreover, Belgrade-Banjaluka was also 2.1 and should count if Rwanda does: the first stage ended with a successful solo attack, then Patryk Stosz won a full bunch sprint, Daniel Auer won the 'queen' stage from a 35-man peloton and Mihkel Raïm took the final stage in yet another bunch sprint.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Démare won two bunch sprints in Valencia, actually. Latours win was a MTF so obviously doesn't count. Moreover, Belgrade-Banjaluka was also 2.1 and should count if Rwanda does: the first stage ended with a successful solo attack, then Patryk Stosz won a full bunch sprint, Daniel Auer won the 'queen' stage from a 35-man peloton and Mihkel Raïm took the final stage in yet another bunch sprint.

Thanks! Do you think Auer’s win should count? It sounds like it’s pretty borderline?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Thanks! Do you think Auer’s win should count? It sounds like it’s pretty borderline?

Based on peloton size, yes, as for example Paret-Peintre's win was from a slightly smaller peloton. If we're doing stricter rules for the smallest races, then no.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

The team league is very lopsided. DQS 13... Alpecin 6... then the rest at 3 or less.

Round of applause for Alpecin-Fenix, btw. Currently the number 2 sprinters team in the world, by a margin.

 

[Leinster]

Does Bennett get extra points for winning on the hoods when everyone else is in the drops?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Does Bennett get extra points for winning on the hoods when everyone else is in the drops?

Yeah but he got deducted points for breaking his all World Tour wins streak after eight in a row, so it balances out.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

As of 7 May

Rider Wins (WT)
Bennett 7(5)
Cavendish 4(0)
Ballerini 3(1)
Merlier 3(0)
Philipsen 3(0)
Demare 3(0)
Sagan 2(2)
Ewan 1(1)
Bol 1(1)
Van Aert 1(1)
Colbrelli 1(1)
Philipsen 1(0)
Pedersen 1(0)
Paret-Peintre 1(0)
Dupont 1(0)
Bauhaus 1(0)
Nizzolo 1(0)
Mareczko 1(0)
Viviani 1(0)
Hayter 1(0)
De Kleijn 1(0)
Sanchez 1(0)
Raim 1(0)
Stosz 1(0)

So we reach the end of the early part of the season. The Spring classics are over, the Giro warm up races are done. The first GT starts tomorrow. And how have our fast men fared?

Well Deceuninck Quickstep have dominated proceedings so far. 14 sprint wins already. Bennett is the reigning king of the discipline. Cavendish has got his comeback wins. Ballerini had an early season to remember.

The overachievers have been Alpecin Fenix. The clear number 2 team, with each of their two sprinters, Merlier and Philipsen, contributing 3 wins. Not bad for a PCT team that more or less exists to hold MVDP’s beer for him.

Nobody else will be ecstatic with their return. Ewan, the chief rival to Bennett has just one win but his whole season this year is about GTs so he won’t be too worried. Demare had a rough start and isn’t amassing the kind of bulk wins he took last year, but he’s up to three wins now. Sagan may have taken his two wins against very limited fields but he’s back in the business of winning sprints. Viviani likewise, a win is a win.

As for poor Ackermann...

Still though a lot of rider’s seasons will suddenly look very different if they pick up a stage or two of the Giro. And now Groenewegen returns. Let’s see how long it takes for him to get back into the swing of things.

 

[BlueRoads]

As of 7 May

Rider Wins (WT)
Bennett 7(5)
Cavendish 4(0)
Ballerini 3(1)
Merlier 3(0)
Philipsen 3(0)
Demare 3(0)
Sagan 2(2)
Ewan 1(1)
Bol 1(1)
Van Aert 1(1)
Colbrelli 1(1)
Philipsen 1(0)
Pedersen 1(0)
Paret-Peintre 1(0)
Dupont 1(0)
Bauhaus 1(0)
Nizzolo 1(0)
Mareczko 1(0)
Viviani 1(0)
Hayter 1(0)
De Kleijn 1(0)
Sanchez 1(0)
Raim 1(0)
Stosz 1(0)

So we reach the end of the early part of the season. The Spring classics are over, the Giro warm up races are done. The first GT starts tomorrow. And how have our fast men fared?

Well Deceuninck Quickstep have dominated proceedings so far. 14 sprint wins already. Bennett is the reigning king of the discipline. Cavendish has got his comeback wins. Ballerini had an early season to remember.

The overachievers have been Alpecin Fenix. The clear number 2 team, with each of their two sprinters, Merlier and Philipsen, contributing 3 wins. Not bad for a PCT team that more or less exists to hold MVDP’s beer for him.

Nobody else will be ecstatic with their return. Ewan, the chief rival to Bennett has just one win but his whole season this year is about GTs so he won’t be too worried. Demare had a rough start and isn’t amassing the kind of bulk wins he took last year, but he’s up to three wins now. Sagan may have taken his two wins against very limited fields but he’s back in the business of winning sprints. Viviani likewise, a win is a win.

As for poor Ackermann...

These numbers! If you don't look at the quality of the wins Cavendish is the second best sprinter this year!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

These numbers! If you don't look at the quality of the wins Cavendish is the second best sprinter this year!

Yeah, DQS win numbers are just absurd. Top 3 sprinters of the year so far by raw numbers. Bennett is currently batting .70. 7 wins out of 10 bunch sprints. Nobody has won that reliably in years.

 

[tobydawq]

Maybe that is another thing that bugs me about him. Before corona we had the most level sprinting field ever with Bennett, Groenewegen, Ewan, Ackermann, Viviani (okay, in his case, before 2020), Gaviria, Jakobsen and Démare all able to beat each other.

Now, Ewan seems to be the only threat to Bennett and he will only race against him in the Tour.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I saw a stat on twitter that only three riders have WT sprint wins in all of 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Two of the three are obvious: Bennett has 19 WT wins in those 2 and 1/3 seasons. Ewan has 13. The third is less obvious...

 

[Billie]

I saw a stat on twitter that only three riders have WT sprint wins in all of 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Two of the three are obvious: Bennett has 19 WT wins in those 2 and 1/3 seasons. Ewan has 13. The third is less obvious...

Van Aert. It was not that hard given only Bennett, Ewan, Van Aert, Merlier (who didn't race WT until this year) and today Sagan have won WT sprints this year

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Van Aert. It was not that hard given only Bennett, Ewan, Van Aert, Merlier (who didn't race WT until this year) and today Sagan have won WT sprints this year

But even on this forum of bike race nerds I suspect that most people don’t carry that list of five around in their heads!

I was mostly interested in the stat because it shows how much the pool of regular winners in the big races has shrunk. In 2019 the top tier was huge by historical standards. tobydawg listed them a couple of posts ago. A couple of years later its two guys.

 

[RedheadDane]

Van Aert. It was not that hard given only Bennett, Ewan, Van Aert, Merlier (who didn't race WT until this year) and today Sagan have won WT sprints this year

Merlier won a stage in T-A last year. Pretty sure it was a sprint.

 

[Panda Claws]

I made a tierlist of the best sprinters of the year so far.

If you want to give it a go yourself you can do so here: https://tiermaker.com/list/random/sprinters-2021-737007/1363188