The Caleb Ewan vs. Fernando Gaviria Thread

[42x16ss]

It looks like the riders on the left hand side were coming into the sprint a touch faster, shown by how Gaviria was able to move up and hit full speed sooner. Ewan did well not to lose any more ground once he kicked.

Good vision from Gaviria, nice sprint.

 

[armchairclimber]

Great contest. Watching that overhead it's clear that they are very closely matched on pace.

 

[pink_jersey]

Gaviria should be banned for two years for what he did yesterday. Starting his sprint with 300 - 350m to go and doing it on the hoods....He's too damn strong..He controlled the sprint perfectly. Hope he wins MSR.

 

[Ruudz0r]

We are about to get another round in Poland! Gogo Gaviria!

 

[Vroome.exe]

Well Gav won with ease but after all Ewan was chasing other riders in the last km. Tomorrow another sprint?

 

[gospina]

Gav almost lost that one by sitting up at the end. Tomorrow is another sprint stage. Should be fun

 

[gospina]

Gaviria edging out Viviani and Caleb on the line again. Another for Gaviria. Caleb hung to his wheel for most of the sprint, Viviani from the other side, making up most of the space at the end. Close to photo finish for all three, lounge to the line

 

[yaco]

Another case of OBE having no riders in the last km to support Ewan, while Etix had three riders.

 

[El Pistolero]

I hope QS is wise and keep Gaviria, Kittel isn't worth the money he costs.

 

[gospina]

Re:

I hope QS is wise and keep Gaviria, Kittel isn't worth the money he costs.

When Gaviria joined OQS, it was mainly because he wanted to be with Uran and with his idol Cavendish. Having Contreras there was a bonus. Immediately after joining, Uran left and Cavendish left. OQS wanted to put Gaviria in his first major tour this year (which they then said was California? WTF?) but he got hurt. It's everyone's guess what happens next, but if they want to keep Gaviria they need to put him in GTs or risk losing him. This translates to either Vuelta this year or Giro next year. Kittel will remain as TDF rider for at least one more year. Gaviria is just 21 so there is no rush but make no mistake, he idolizes Cavendish and Cavendish just passing Hinault in wins and approaching Merckx forces Gaviria to start thinking about being on the big stage with Cav before Cav retires. if OQS doesn't give him a chance, he will go somewhere else just to say he raced against the great Cavendish and beat him in a GT before his career ended.

 

[gospina]

Sprinters are now divided as:
Tier 1: Cavendish, Kittel, Griepel, Sagan
Tier 2: Ewan, Viviani, Gaviria, maybe Theons, Coquard, Kristoff.

Gaviria has proven that he at least should get a chance vs tier 1 guys. He's beaten most of them in lesser races but not major ones.

I don't know what happened to Tyler Farrar

 

[Red Rick]

Switch Sagan and Gaviria. However, that's as far as sprinting goes

 

[Valv.Piti]

Gaviria quickly becoming one of my favourite riders. I absolutely love his racing mentality and his instinct, he has basically animated every one day race in the autumn. To me he is the biggest talent since Sagan. I know, maybe a bit premature and his results so far aren't close to Sagan at that age, but thats mainly due to the track. A force to be reckoned with already in 2017 in the classics - maybe not Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, yet. but I could already see him win races such as E3, G-W etc. next season. Etixx has really hit the jackpot.

A true bike racer and multitalent. Rare you find so versatile track riders. I also love the fact that he has embraced Belgium so much already (he already lives there, right?), really not your typical Colombian. Its like comparing Sagan to Guardini - no contest between Gaviria and Ewan when the former wins pure sprints ahead of Ewan.

 

[Mr.White]

He looks like a new Oscar Freire, and seems even more talented and versatile

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Gaviria quickly becoming one of my favourite riders. I absolutely love his racing mentality and his instinct, he has basically animated every one day race in the autumn. To me he is the biggest talent since Sagan. I know, maybe a bit premature and his results so far aren't close to Sagan at that age, but thats mainly due to the track. A force to be reckoned with already in 2017 in the classics - maybe not Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, yet. but I could already see him win races such as E3, G-W etc. next season. Etixx has really hit the jackpot.

A true bike racer and multitalent. Rare you find so versatile track riders. I also love the fact that he has embraced Belgium so much already (he already lives there, right?), really not your typical Colombian. Its like comparing Sagan to Guardini - no contest between Gaviria and Ewan when the former wins pure sprints ahead of Ewan.

True.

This thread used to have a point when it was first created. The discussion is over. Gaviria!

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

Gaviria quickly becoming one of my favourite riders. I absolutely love his racing mentality and his instinct, he has basically animated every one day race in the autumn. To me he is the biggest talent since Sagan. I know, maybe a bit premature and his results so far aren't close to Sagan at that age, but thats mainly due to the track. A force to be reckoned with already in 2017 in the classics - maybe not Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, yet. but I could already see him win races such as E3, G-W etc. next season. Etixx has really hit the jackpot.

A true bike racer and multitalent. Rare you find so versatile track riders. I also love the fact that he has embraced Belgium so much already (he already lives there, right?), really not your typical Colombian. Its like comparing Sagan to Guardini - no contest between Gaviria and Ewan when the former wins pure sprints ahead of Ewan.

True.

This thread used to have a point when it was first created. The discussion is over. Gaviria!

I disagree. They have a pretty similar road palmares and although I also think gaviria is more talanted we have to wait. The two are still extremely young so everything can happen. Ewan might improve a lot and become a top tier sprinter and gaviria could have an injury of which he never 100% recovers. This isn't like the EBH vs sagan thread where both are already in the best age for a cyclist and where one simply has a significally better palmares.

 

[gospina]

What we learned this year: If you see Gaviria on the hoods, you might as well give up. Redefining what sprinting means. This is the 4th time I've seen him do a attack that is "too early" or "too far out" for the win. Will he seal Colombia's best cycling year ever by winning a flat world championship? I have read some really interesting points on him. One was from Belgium, where the article has Lefevere stating that he was "offered Sagan" A year ago. His statement was (not a direct quote): "Why would I sign Sagan when I have Gaviria who is cheaper, not a pre-madonna, not mandating to bring other riders with him and will be more talented by the end of his career". The other, from Spain, commentators at Paris-Tours stating that the reason Cavendish left Ettix-Quickstep was the realization that Gaviria was going to be the main guy, then Kittel and he was being demoted to 3rd sprinter. They are really good friends, with Gaviria still idolizing Cav to this day (Cav seems happy for Gav every time he wins), but the commentators stated that Cav knew his opportunities at Ettix will be a lot less than at other teams. I know he is 22 and its way TOO early, but having Cavendish, one of the best sprinters in history and Sagan, probably the most idolized rider that can do it all, seen as second choice to Gaviria (regardless whether the comparisons are fair/unfair or correct/incorrect) is a testament to his caliber.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Gaviria quickly becoming one of my favourite riders. I absolutely love his racing mentality and his instinct, he has basically animated every one day race in the autumn. To me he is the biggest talent since Sagan. I know, maybe a bit premature and his results so far aren't close to Sagan at that age, but thats mainly due to the track. A force to be reckoned with already in 2017 in the classics - maybe not Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, yet. but I could already see him win races such as E3, G-W etc. next season. Etixx has really hit the jackpot.

A true bike racer and multitalent. Rare you find so versatile track riders. I also love the fact that he has embraced Belgium so much already (he already lives there, right?), really not your typical Colombian. Its like comparing Sagan to Guardini - no contest between Gaviria and Ewan when the former wins pure sprints ahead of Ewan.

Ewan's next two years are crucial to his long term development as a rider at the WT level - As it stands he is showing signs ( still 22 ) that he reach the top echelon of sprinters - The knock on Ewan pre joining the WT was a perceived lack of endurance, though I can see this is being addressed - His biggest issue is a lack of flexibility in his riding - As it stands Ewan is Kittel like when it comes to smallish inclines,is about the worst TT'er in the peleton, can provide little to no support in races - For example, Greipel offers good support in classic type races, Kittel can drive a TTT - Ewan is spending time practising riding on cobbles and he has shown aptitude for this type of event - Unless Ewan is in the top 5 sprinters in two years time, he will then need to find another skill set to help the team and to be of value to the team - Otherwise he will be looking for another team - OBE has a history of being ruthless when it comes to re-contracting riders - As it stands, Ewan is a million miles behind Gaviria.

True.

This thread used to have a point when it was first created. The discussion is over. Gaviria!

I disagree. They have a pretty similar road palmares and although I also think gaviria is more talanted we have to wait. The two are still extremely young so everything can happen. Ewan might improve a lot and become a top tier sprinter and gaviria could have an injury of which he never 100% recovers. This isn't like the EBH vs sagan thread where both are already in the best age for a cyclist and where one simply has a significally better palmares.

 

[Vroome.exe]

Re:

What we learned this year: If you see Gaviria on the hoods, you might as well give up. Redefining what sprinting means. This is the 4th time I've seen him do a attack that is "too early" or "too far out" for the win. Will he seal Colombia's best cycling year ever by winning a flat world championship? I have read some really interesting points on him. One was from Belgium, where the article has Lefevere stating that he was "offered Sagan" A year ago. His statement was (not a direct quote): "Why would I sign Sagan when I have Gaviria who is cheaper, not a pre-madonna, not mandating to bring other riders with him and will be more talented by the end of his career". The other, from Spain, commentators at Paris-Tours stating that the reason Cavendish left Ettix-Quickstep was the realization that Gaviria was going to be the main guy, then Kittel and he was being demoted to 3rd sprinter. They are really good friends, with Gaviria still idolizing Cav to this day (Cav seems happy for Gav every time he wins), but the commentators stated that Cav knew his opportunities at Ettix will be a lot less than at other teams. I know he is 22 and its way TOO early, but having Cavendish, one of the best sprinters in history and Sagan, probably the most idolized rider that can do it all, seen as second choice to Gaviria (regardless whether the comparisons are fair/unfair or correct/incorrect) is a testament to his caliber.

That's a bit silly statement by Lefevere to say that Gaviria will be more talented than Sagan, isn't it? And Etixx only contacted Kittel when Cav left so I don't think he left because of lack of opportunities, Etixx just didn't want him with that salary.

 

[EroicaStradeBianche]

Gaviria is really impressive for his age. Rest to see what margin of improvement has he left.
Many south americans have boomed very early but then remained in the "norm" (Uran, Betancur, Henao).
Chaves exploded in 2015/16 (25/26 years which is the normality for a cyclist). Quintana is the exception but how stronger can he still get? On the other side there are riders who had emerged later, Purito and Cadel Evans won barely nothing before turning 30. Greipel also bloomed lately. It's always difficult to judge very young riders you can only see how are improving throughout the years. I remember Moreno Moser winning a lot of races at 21-23 years (even important ones like tour of poland and strade bianche).

 

[Escarabajo]

Human development should not change that much in 20-30 years. Riders should explode very early in their life like in the past. Chaves exploded later because of a bad accident that he had. That's all.

 

[tristecsinamigos]

Gaviria is really impressive for his age. Rest to see what margin of improvement has he left.
Many south americans have boomed very early but then remained in the "norm" (Uran, Betancur, Henao).
Chaves exploded in 2015/16 (25/26 years which is the normality for a cyclist). Quintana is the exception but how stronger can he still get? On the other side there are riders who had emerged later, Purito and Cadel Evans won barely nothing before turning 30. Greipel also bloomed lately. It's always difficult to judge very young riders you can only see how are improving throughout the years. I remember Moreno Moser winning a lot of races at 21-23 years (even important ones like tour of poland and strade bianche).

But Urán and Henao are under 30, they could "re-boom"...

 

[proffz]

Gaviria is really impressive for his age. Rest to see what margin of improvement has he left.
Many south americans have boomed very early but then remained in the "norm" (Uran, Betancur, Henao).
Chaves exploded in 2015/16 (25/26 years which is the normality for a cyclist). Quintana is the exception but how stronger can he still get? On the other side there are riders who had emerged later, Purito and Cadel Evans won barely nothing before turning 30. Greipel also bloomed lately. It's always difficult to judge very young riders you can only see how are improving throughout the years. I remember Moreno Moser winning a lot of races at 21-23 years (even important ones like tour of poland and strade bianche).

betancur had problem with attitude, henao has been very unlucky because of health related problems and because he was stopped by uci when he was in very good form, otherwise he could have had some important races more in his palmares; uran had a trajectory ruined by a terrible injury and some bad choices in terms of team.
so if they did not entirely fulfill the expectations is because of very different reason and not because they are south americans.
though, it is true that there have been south american riders, like ruyano, perez cuapio and many other which have been unable to progress mainly because of bad attitude,but that does not seem the case for gaviria.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

What we learned this year: If you see Gaviria on the hoods, you might as well give up. Redefining what sprinting means. This is the 4th time I've seen him do a attack that is "too early" or "too far out" for the win. Will he seal Colombia's best cycling year ever by winning a flat world championship? I have read some really interesting points on him. One was from Belgium, where the article has Lefevere stating that he was "offered Sagan" A year ago. His statement was (not a direct quote): "Why would I sign Sagan when I have Gaviria who is cheaper, not a pre-madonna, not mandating to bring other riders with him and will be more talented by the end of his career". The other, from Spain, commentators at Paris-Tours stating that the reason Cavendish left Ettix-Quickstep was the realization that Gaviria was going to be the main guy, then Kittel and he was being demoted to 3rd sprinter. They are really good friends, with Gaviria still idolizing Cav to this day (Cav seems happy for Gav every time he wins), but the commentators stated that Cav knew his opportunities at Ettix will be a lot less than at other teams. I know he is 22 and its way TOO early, but having Cavendish, one of the best sprinters in history and Sagan, probably the most idolized rider that can do it all, seen as second choice to Gaviria (regardless whether the comparisons are fair/unfair or correct/incorrect) is a testament to his caliber.

Good post, thanks. You are obviously inclined to hype your own riders over others team's (especially if they refused your offer which was the case with Sagan?), but I think Lefevre is very good right here. I don't think Gaviria's talent eclipses Sagan's like he says, but very close. We will see just how good he is on the biggest scene already next year, those who have followed him closely this year know just how exceptional he has the potential to be.

 

[trucido]

Re:

What we learned this year: If you see Gaviria on the hoods, you might as well give up. Redefining what sprinting means. This is the 4th time I've seen him do a attack that is "too early" or "too far out" for the win. Will he seal Colombia's best cycling year ever by winning a flat world championship? I have read some really interesting points on him. One was from Belgium, where the article has Lefevere stating that he was "offered Sagan" A year ago. His statement was (not a direct quote): "Why would I sign Sagan when I have Gaviria who is cheaper, not a pre-madonna, not mandating to bring other riders with him and will be more talented by the end of his career". The other, from Spain, commentators at Paris-Tours stating that the reason Cavendish left Ettix-Quickstep was the realization that Gaviria was going to be the main guy, then Kittel and he was being demoted to 3rd sprinter. They are really good friends, with Gaviria still idolizing Cav to this day (Cav seems happy for Gav every time he wins), but the commentators stated that Cav knew his opportunities at Ettix will be a lot less than at other teams. I know he is 22 and its way TOO early, but having Cavendish, one of the best sprinters in history and Sagan, probably the most idolized rider that can do it all, seen as second choice to Gaviria (regardless whether the comparisons are fair/unfair or correct/incorrect) is a testament to his caliber.

Lefevere also said Sagan was finished in 2014 and he had a much more talented rider in Kwiat (who had just won the WC).

We all know how that's going so far.