The Jelle Vanendert is epic thread!

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Belgium have a star in the making.

 

[gilbertador]

Very good rider, that was a great victory today

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It's very strange, because we knew years ago Vanendert was a supertalent (clinic related posts in this topic are highly laughable for people who know Vanenderts past). But then he fell back a few years with a lot of injuries. When he resurfaced as Gilbert's sidekick, i thought he probably would never live up to the old expectations but did very well as a superdomestique nevertheless. Never expected he would push through after all. Very nice. Seems to be a more "natural" climber than JVDB as well.

 

[roundabout]

Uh, he climbed about on par with this guy 5 years ago.

http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider.asp?riderid=4897

Look at the difference now.

 

[hrotha]

It's very strange, because we knew years ago Vanendert was a supertalent

...for the hilly classics, I'd wager, looking at his results.

 

[taiwan]

Sort of a big deal when you can just ride away from Samu Sanchez, Andy Schleck and everyone else. He could be a key signing for this new Lotto team 'developing Belgian talent', if that's the direction that team's taking.

 

[roundabout]

He did pretty well in the Giro ciclistico internazionale Valle d'Aosta/Mont Blanc (phew).

http://www.girovalledaosta.it/2006\alt20061.jpg

3rd on this stage

http://www.girovalledaosta.it/2006\alt20062.jpg

3rd on this stage as well

But lost the lead on this stage

http://www.girovalledaosta.it/2006\alt20063.jpg

 

[will10]

It was a good win but he didn't kick everyone as some as suggesting - yes he followed the best in the group of 12-15, but when he attacked no-one reacted, as he was down on GC. And he had a nice headstart before Sanchez attacked. Kudos though

 

[jens_attacks]

amazing ride again,he will top ten in overall gc too i'm sure.

 

[taiwan]

It was a good win but he didn't kick everyone as some as suggesting - yes he followed the best in the group of 12-15, but when he attacked no-one reacted, as he was down on GC. And he had a nice headstart before Sanchez attacked. Kudos though

True if he was a GC threat he would have been chased down, but he wasn't swept up by any of the subsequent accelerations, so he did ride away. He was the quickest up the climb.

 

[jsem94]

Chapeau to Vanendert. He really deserved this one. I think he'll win the polka-dots as Samu is more concerned about GC.

 

[Simurgh]

Started to notice in Pais Vasco, that he got himself a top 10 or two, and made me wonder, whether it was a sign of things to come, and indeed, a great ride today after a 10th in Amstel. Top 10 iin Liege is looking likely, isn't it? I hope that he can continue to hold this form. Last time I remember him being this good was Tour 2011, even though he had a good spring in 2014.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Too bad his team didn't realize it. Making him sacrifice himself for Wellens who went backwards in the final 200m

 

[tobydawq]

Yeah, but drafting on the Mur de Huy really can't gain you much. I think it's unlikely he would have gotten first or second if he and Wellens had switched roles. He even didn't have to think about the fight for position at all on the climb.

 

[Zama_Olyas]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing regarding him sacrificing himself for Wellens.

 

[Breh]

Nah, he's happy with the way he rode the Mur. He'd ride it the same way if he were the protected rider.
According to himself.

 

[El Pistolero]

I didn't even know I made this thread lol. Definitely didn't deliver on my expectations in the end. He's a true Ardennes classic specialist these days as he's pretty invisible everywhere else.

 

[Bardamu]

He has been consistently quite good in the Ardennes, but indeed nowhere else. His stage win in the Tour de France seven years ago was his last (!) victory.

 

[Jagartrott]

He's one of those cyclists that always look like he's hardly breaking sweat on the bike. Even when he's cracking, he looks smooth.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

He has been consistently quite good in the Ardennes, but indeed nowhere else. His stage win in the Tour de France seven years ago was his last (!) victory.

And his first.

 

[Zama_Olyas]

He will podium lba(l).

 

[Zama_Olyas]

Great effort...

 

[zenoiz]

Epic effort indeed... looks like he was channeling his inner VdB on St. Nicholas. In the post-race interviews he said the Ans finish doesn't suit him, he was betting all or nothing and wasn't particularly interested in 2nd place. Not sure next year's finish will suit him better, but it will be interesting to find out, assuming he can regain his current form and precision-peak again.