Thomas The Jelte Slatger

[RiccoDinko]

Awesome move to Garmin for Slatger, he can finally spread his wings and fly.

 

[ILovecycling]

Awesome move to Garmin for Slatger, he can finally spread his wings and fly.

Yeah,good rider for the Ardennes,hope he can find the endurance.
Is MSR on his schedule?

 

[classicomano]

Yeah,good rider for the Ardennes,hope he can find the endurance.
Is MSR on his schedule?

Yeah, pretty busy schedule the following weeks

Milan San Remo > Criterium International > Pais Vasco > Brabantse Pijl > Amstel Gold Race > Fleche Wallonne > LBL > Giro.

 

[ILovecycling]

Yeah, pretty busy schedule the following weeks

Milan San Remo > Criterium International > Pais Vasco > Brabantse Pijl > Amstel Gold Race > Fleche Wallonne > LBL > Giro.

Nice schedule except the Giro.I dont like schedule with Ardennes and Giro after it,not good for riders imo.

 

[jaylew]

I wasn't sure at first but I think it's a good move. Less talent there so he looks to have a bit more freedom. Maybe Brabantse Pijl would be a good one day for him at this point?

 

[Kwibus]

I wasn't sure at first but I think it's a good move. Less talent there so he looks to have a bit more freedom. Maybe Brabantse Pijl would be a good one day for him at this point?

Actually I think he would've had as much freedom at Belkin. He would've probably been teamleader together with Kelderman here as well.

At Garmin he will have to work for Martin and Hesjedal in the big races. So not much different at Belkin.

Good for Garmin they got him though. He can win races so it's actually pretty silly Belkin didn't try harder to keep him.

 

[jaylew]

I don't know, you might be right. Just seems like there is a bunch of young-ish talent at Belkin. Hard to believe Gesink is just 27!

Didn't he leave because he felt like they were using strong-arm tactics to re-sign him?

 

[classicomano]

I don't know, you might be right. Just seems like there is a bunch of young-ish talent at Belkin. Hard to believe Gesink is just 27!

Didn't he leave because he felt like they were using strong-arm tactics to re-sign him?

Yeah they were putting some pressure on him to sign a new contract, and when he didnt they kept him out of the TDF squad wich ****ed him off and he was gone.

 

[jaylew]

I'm sure he'll be back at some point.

 

[Kwibus]

Yeah they were putting some pressure on him to sign a new contract, and when he didnt they kept him out of the TDF squad wich ****ed him off and he was gone.

Actually TJ says he has no problems with Belkin and in hindsight he actually understands their reasoning, allthough at the time he wasn't too happy with it ofcourse.
Vaughters allready told him he totally understands the way Belkin acted and that he would do the same. So it's not the reason he left.

The reason he didn't want to sign a new contract was that he was allready thinking about leaving Belkin.

 

[movingtarget]

Actually I think he would've had as much freedom at Belkin. He would've probably been teamleader together with Kelderman here as well.

At Garmin he will have to work for Martin and Hesjedal in the big races. So not much different at Belkin.

Good for Garmin they got him though. He can win races so it's actually pretty silly Belkin didn't try harder to keep him.

Yeah pretty similar position in either team. He might get the nod at Fleche instead of Martin. I think the finish will suit him better than Martin. Martin will be leader obviously at LBL and probably Amstel as well. Slaghter will continue to get chances to win stages as well I think.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I actually think the new AGR is better for Slagter than for Martin, since it doesn't finish on the cauberg anymore but after. Martin is good in an uphill sprint but a flattish one, not really

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I actually think the new AGR is better for Slagter than for Martin, since it doesn't finish on the cauberg anymore but after. Martin is good in an uphill sprint but a flattish one, not really

Not so sure, Martin has a nice little kick on the flats. Plus I think hes tacticall pretty smart. Martin beating Fuglsang (who has a weak sprint) in the chaos stage last year as an example.

Slagter should go for FW and BP imo.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

21th in AGR, 5th in FW and 6th in LBL.

He did pretty well. Actually to see him leading the peloton over the Saint Nicolas after Caruso/Pozzovivo was pretty good.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

21th in AGR, 5th in FW and 6th in LBL.

He did pretty well. Actually to see him leading the peloton over the Saint Nicolas after Caruso/Pozzovivo was pretty good.

He did indeed.

 

[theyoungest]

Not sure what went wrong in the contract negotiations with Belkin, but he's just what that team lacks. A lot of pretty decent riders, but no real finisseurs.

He's already the best Dutch rider for the hilly classics, and he'll only improve.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Not sure what went wrong in the contract negotiations with Belkin, but he's just what that team lacks. A lot of pretty decent riders, but no real finisseurs.

He's already the best Dutch rider for the hilly classics, and he'll only improve.

Yeah, and a good sprint as well to finish it off. Too bad he has to deal with Kwiatkowski in the next years, and possible Sagan as well if he decides to go for the Ardennes...

 

[theyoungest]

Yeah, and a good sprint as well to finish it off. Too bad he has to deal with Kwiatkowski in the next years, and possible Sagan as well if he decides to go for the Ardennes...

I think he has more punch than Kwiatkowski, not yet the endurance though. The Ardennes are too hard for Sagan, look at Quebec last year where Gesink of all people sprinted him off his wheel.

 

[Pentacycle]

I think he has more punch than Kwiatkowski, not yet the endurance though. The Ardennes are too hard for Sagan, look at Quebec last year where Gesink of all people sprinted him off his wheel.

Those Canadian races are an unreliable indicator for the Ardennes anyways.

Sagan has never focused on the Ardennes, I hope he does next year. 2015 could be all about the 89-90 generation with TJS, Betancur, Kwiatkowski and Sagan.

 

[theyoungest]

Those Canadian races are an unreliable indicator for the Ardennes anyways.

Sagan has never focused on the Ardennes, I hope he does next year. 2015 could be all about the 89-90 generation with TJS, Betancur, Kwiatkowski and Sagan.

Indeed. The Ardennes are harder.

But if you look at the guys who won there, Gilbert and Gerrans for instance, there must at least be some similarity. Gesink is the odd one out, but yeah... even he made the podium in Amstel once.

 

[Pentacycle]

Indeed. The Ardennes are harder.

But if you look at the guys who won there, Gilbert and Gerrans for instance, there must at least be some similarity. Gesink is the odd one out, but yeah... even he made the podium in Amstel once.

Didn't Sagan win GP Montréal last year? Quebec he made a mistake in the final.

In peak form he can, IMO, win Amstel and finish top 5 in FW+LBL. It's not as if he's never shown anything on climbs up to 3 kms.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Gerrans did win Quebec, in the same year Slagter was 4th. So it's not that strange to say Quebec/Montreal is a good way to see who can do well in the Ardennes..