Flamin said:
Can't compare E3 with de Ronde, obviously. Then I can say he won Omloop twice, which has a lot of flat cobbles. His best performance was in de Ronde prior to 2016? Examples please? I give you Roubaix 2012 where he rode a strong race as a dom.
Boonen wasn't even great in de Ronde in one of his super years (2012), neither was he in 2014 yet pretty damn fine in Roubaix. Of course not at his very best in the last one, but still one of the best in the world. EBH... How was he not in top form? He never did better than this.
Sagan? On flat cobbles and roads? Based on what? Nobody was riding behind Terpstra in 2014. Sep also would have won that. Degenkolb, maybe, though he didn't have to work his *** off to get a 10" gap and cooperation behind was not optimal. Greg? Also, based on what?
Sagan based on when he outrode Cancellara on the flat, you know, just a week before. Terpstra has won or been good in many 15-20km time trials. GVA has won Paris-Tours solo, with Stannard chasing.
I know you can't compare E3 with Ronde, but it's the closest. I know Stannard is much better on flat, but you underestimate his abilities in the hills too. His performance in Ronde in 2016 was better than any he had in Paris-Roubaix. Stannard was the only other rider in the front group in top form. EBH did nothing until that race. He has had better classics seasons than 2016 (not including Paris-Roubaix, before it) with podiums and top tens in other classics in every year preceding that since 2012.
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