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The Best sprints/Sprinters discussion/history lessons

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murali

murali

Nov 26, 2012
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I was searching this forum to find more about sprinters, and was unsuccessful to find anything much about sprinters or sprints. So, I thought of opening this thread.

Queries:

1) Who are the best sprinters historically?
2) Which were the best sprints that you have seen (with links if possible)
3) Who are the best sprinters currently racing?
4) Sprint tactics - what was done, what is done, copycat sprints



Note: I have watched only one sprinter win a lot of races(which were mostly only TdF). I hope that I could learn a lot more about the art of sprinting here. End Note.
 
Afrank

Afrank

Aug 16, 2011
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murali said:
1) Who are the best sprinters historically?
Click to expand...

Cav, Cipollini, Zabel, Abdoujaparov, Maertens, Mcewen, Petacchi. Are probably some others.

2) Which were the best sprints that you have seen (with links if possible)
Click to expand...

Are probably many, but this was the first one that came to mind for me. Cav on stage 18 of last years Tour. Just a fantastic sprint.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HfJKTV8yhg

3) Who are the best sprinters currently racing?
Click to expand...

The top tier are Cav, Greipel, Kittel, Sagan.

4) Sprint tactics - what was done, what is done, copycat sprints
Click to expand...

Most used tactic is the leadout. A team takes control of the front and tries to keep as high a pace as possible to stretch things out and prevent any late attacks. Then the final man in the train (the leadout man) starts their sprint before everyone else and delivers their sprinter (who is on their wheel) to the line ahead of all the other sprinters. And hopefully that sprinter has the speed to stay ahead.

Other sprinters that don't have a train must take advantage of other sprinters teams. Try to get on their sprinters wheels and when they go try to come around them before the line.
 
murali

murali

Nov 26, 2012
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Is there anyone who had won a lot of stages/races without a dedicated sprint train?
 
UpTheRoad

UpTheRoad

Jul 27, 2009
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murali said:
Is there anyone who had won a lot of stages/races without a dedicated sprint train?
Click to expand...

Don't recall fully, but I think Abdoujaparov was on his own a bunch. He couldn't ride a straight line, though, so nobody in their right mind would follow him and he was probably even to those ahead of him. :D

IIRC, McEwen was really good at sprinting without a strong leadout train.
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
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Olaf Ludwig doesn't get mentioned enough, but 6 points jerseys and 8 sprint/activity jerseys at the Friedensfahrt with 38 stage wins over a ten year reign of terror is a pretty strong record. And of course after being allowed to turn pro after the Wende he promptly went and won a TdF points jersey too. Most of this was without what we now think of as sprint trains, mostly due to the smaller team size at the Friedensfahrt.
 
E

Echoes

Oct 8, 2009
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1) Who are the best sprinters historically?

Patrick Sercu.

2) Which were the best sprints that you have seen (with links if possible)

Lille Cyclocross 2011: http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/archief/MG_sportnieuws/MG_wielrennen/1.957293

3) Who are the best sprinters currently racing?

Gregory Baugé, Stefan Bötticher, Denis Dmitriev

4) Sprint tactics - what was done, what is done, copycat sprints

I don't know

5) Is there anyone who had won a lot of stages/races without a dedicated sprint train?

Almost no sprinters before the 1990's ever needed any sprint train !

Philippe Bordas in Forcenés said (translated by myself; very hard one, lol):

"Freddy Maertens only took Demeyer's wheel, Cipollini procured several identical cupboards who ground down the atmosphere for himself. Taller, larger and more "rouleur" than him - Maciste from the Italian countryside -, who better than a locomotive followed by wagons, form a delirious agregate of linked motors. When the squadrist get going nobody dare overtake them. When Cipollini get out of it nobody dare defy him. The sprinters without squadrons, the balkanized mercenaries are pirating between axles, like hobos.
[...] Cipollini destroys the sprint that Maertens denied. [...] Darrigade forced luck, Cipollini suppressed uncertainty. He institutes kinematics. He sprints backwards. The first is not the one who accelerates the more but the one who slows down the least.

Twelve stages in the Tour of France, 42 at the Tour of Italy, Cipollini wins a Milan-Sanremo, a World Championship. Nobody remembers any of his feats. But his teeth. Cipollini is of the era of helmets, glasses and cruel getup ! He vainquishes in a Spiderman outfit. In a tormented soul tunics, incisors on the outside. [...] He's all showing off, looking his best. He's got bad taste. [...] He's a stage win stealer lacking courage on the approach of the Alps.

[...] Cipollini is the celeripede of the democratized ***** [clinic talk censored] era. He leaves the scepter to a clone: Petacchi - employed by another soap brand. [...]

I even miss Guimard and his broken knees and little Rik III [Van Linden], their electrocuted faces.
Click to expand...
 
K

kingjr

Sep 9, 2012
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1.)
I started watching cycling at 5 years of age in '97 so anything before that I don't know about. My father says Freddy Maertens, so I'll go with that for pre-'97

After that, Petacchi and Cavendish.

2.)

Zabel '97 in Marennes, although he got relegated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRCWIBHoAc4

Petacchis 700m sprint in 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR-KlowHDr0

Cavendish in Paris 2012 having to start his sprint directly after the final bend and still winning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWV41q9L4k

Kittel's win on stage 12 in this years Tour.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOAe1MmYWkU

3.)

Cavendish, Greipel, Kittel.

4.)

Looking at how the fastest guys are so close to each other at the moment it's all about timing the leadout to perfection right now, and it's a tight rope if you get delivered a little bit too early someone will pass you on the final meters (see Greipel in the first bunch sprint in last years Tour), if you wait a little bit too long you risk getting jumped (as Guardini did to Cavendish in last years Giro).
 
K

karlboss

Mar 13, 2009
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Stage 2 2009 tour de france. Perfect leadout from Hincapie and Renshaw. Farrar jumps a little earlier than Cav in his draft, but when Cavendish goes he pulls away from the guy in his draft and keeps pulling away.
 
Maaaaaaaarten

Maaaaaaaarten

Oct 23, 2011
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On account of his palmares Oscar Freire needs a mention too. Three time winner of MSR, shared record holder for most WC's, a points jersey in the TDF. You always wonder with this guy, if he had trained and been all disciplined and systematic etc; would he have been one of the greatest riders in the history of cycling, or would it have killed the magic? :D
 
Billie

Billie

Jun 24, 2013
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Maaaaaaaarten said:
On account of his palmares Oscar Freire needs a mention too. Three time winner of MSR, shared record holder for most WC's, a points jersey in the TDF. You always wonder with this guy, if he had trained and been all disciplined and systematic etc; would he have been one of the greatest riders in the history of cycling, or would it have killed the magic? :D
Click to expand...

Freire's problem was his *** that couldn't handle sitting on a bike
 
burning

burning

Feb 29, 2012
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Maaaaaaaarten said:
On account of his palmares Oscar Freire needs a mention too. Three time winner of MSR, shared record holder for most WC's, a points jersey in the TDF. You always wonder with this guy, if he had trained and been all disciplined and systematic etc; would he have been one of the greatest riders in the history of cycling, or would it have killed the magic? :D
Click to expand...

I doubt that he could have been dominant in bunch sprints as he lucks the necessary top speed and prefers stages with a lot of kilometres. It's possible that his lack of speed could be related with his training regime :D
 
murali

murali

Nov 26, 2012
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Thank you all for your responses. I think I am bombarded witha lot o fnames that i would probably ending up looking up for a long time.


Echoes said:
Almost no sprinters before the 1990's ever needed any sprint train !
Click to expand...


Why was that so? Will someone in that era still be able to win sprints now?
 
Arredondo

Arredondo

Aug 16, 2013
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Marcel Wüst was a king in Spain, that's why he doesn't get a lot of credits outside Spain. He won a Tour stage though, great and fast German.

Jan Svorada was also pretty good, just like Nicola Minali.
 
murali

murali

Nov 26, 2012
3,216
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Steyn78 said:
3. Maertens
4. Van Steenbergen
Click to expand...


Who are these two gentlemen?
Edit: is it Freddy Maertens? Rik Van Steenbergen?

Any idea regarding the riding style and number of podiums in bunch sprints would be helpful.



Another query: Is the recent Renshaw attack rare among sprinters, or is it something that people had done regularly in the past?
 
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