Cookster15
Moderator
- May 14, 2011
- 6,144
- 6,655
- 23,180
- Aug 31, 2012
- 7,550
- 3
- 0
Sagan's victory today certainly needs an asterisk next to it, due to Valverde's unfortunate crash
- Nov 16, 2013
- 26,643
- 27,721
- 28,180
Re: Re:
You're really serious?! Have you ever seen anybody unclip before in a finale of a big race in a sprint situation and still win? He really lost a lot of speed that he had to regain again, which obviously cost him a lot more than if he didn't waste a second by trying to get his foot back in. It may not seem like such big a deal when seeing it play out, but it definitely was.
The fact that he still managed to win was nothing short of miraculous in my opinion. Both from a technical and a physical viewpoint.
Valv.Piti said:
You're really serious?! Have you ever seen anybody unclip before in a finale of a big race in a sprint situation and still win? He really lost a lot of speed that he had to regain again, which obviously cost him a lot more than if he didn't waste a second by trying to get his foot back in. It may not seem like such big a deal when seeing it play out, but it definitely was.
The fact that he still managed to win was nothing short of miraculous in my opinion. Both from a technical and a physical viewpoint.
- Aug 3, 2015
- 22,739
- 10,681
- 28,180
It was extremely impressive the way he managed to clip in immdediately, but psychically I wasn't too impressed conisdering how close Matthews got in the end. I think that stuff is what we have come to expect from Sagan since he is so great.
I know how it feels to be a Contador-fan now I guess. You tend to believe your guy had won, you know.
I know how it feels to be a Contador-fan now I guess. You tend to believe your guy had won, you know.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 1,953
- 1
- 10,485
Re:
Do I think Valverde would have won the stage? Yes
Is he the best puncheur in the world? Yes
Was it a shame for the race when he crashed out? Yes
I don't normally object to fanboying, but to start undermining Sagan's incredible victory because you are clearly still bitter about Valverde's crash is ridiculous. Appreciate when an incredibly talented rider rides in an incredibly talented manner, as we did today.
Valv.Piti said:
Do I think Valverde would have won the stage? Yes
Is he the best puncheur in the world? Yes
Was it a shame for the race when he crashed out? Yes
I don't normally object to fanboying, but to start undermining Sagan's incredible victory because you are clearly still bitter about Valverde's crash is ridiculous. Appreciate when an incredibly talented rider rides in an incredibly talented manner, as we did today.
- Jul 16, 2011
- 1,561
- 10
- 10,510
Re:
And a second asterisk for the unclipping. When I watched the finish for the first time, I only noticed that Sagan seemed to hesitate. Being able to recover momentum after unclipping shows real strength.
True, the finish was ideal for Alex and certainly reminded me of their duel in the Vuelta a couple of years back.
SeriousSam said:
And a second asterisk for the unclipping. When I watched the finish for the first time, I only noticed that Sagan seemed to hesitate. Being able to recover momentum after unclipping shows real strength.
True, the finish was ideal for Alex and certainly reminded me of their duel in the Vuelta a couple of years back.
- Aug 3, 2015
- 22,739
- 10,681
- 28,180
You expect great things from incredible riders like Sagan, so its not like Im sitting here stunned over his performance or anything. I think a few posters mentioned what I more or less said earlier:
Its obviously all hypothetical. Still, a good win.Irondan said:
- Nov 16, 2013
- 26,643
- 27,721
- 28,180
Well, obviously we disagree on that point (with whether or not Sagan's performance was out of this world).
But I would also argue that we can perhaps flip it and be impressed by Matthews' strength instead of disappointed by Sagan's (which is unfair to be IMO). He (Matthews) looked to be suffering quite early but came really fast in the end. Greg looked surprisingly weak though what with him being outsprinted by Martin, so it's a bit difficult to measure, really.
But I would also argue that we can perhaps flip it and be impressed by Matthews' strength instead of disappointed by Sagan's (which is unfair to be IMO). He (Matthews) looked to be suffering quite early but came really fast in the end. Greg looked surprisingly weak though what with him being outsprinted by Martin, so it's a bit difficult to measure, really.
- Nov 16, 2013
- 26,643
- 27,721
- 28,180
Wanna hear something funny? Greg says that Sagan's unclipping cost him the victory...
"It was too far to keep sprinting flat out. In a straight duel, it was hard to beat him. I chose to get back on his wheel but I failed to hold onto it. It's a pity that he lost his pedal. Otherwise, I maybe could've gotten in his slipstream and - who knows - maybe even pass him. He was the strongest rider out there. Everything had to go perfectly. I'm pleased with how I did it," Van Avermaet said.
One of the dumber things I've heard in a while. Or Sagan is just superior tactically, deliberately unclipping so as making it disadvantageous to enter his slipstream... Next level tactics!
"It was too far to keep sprinting flat out. In a straight duel, it was hard to beat him. I chose to get back on his wheel but I failed to hold onto it. It's a pity that he lost his pedal. Otherwise, I maybe could've gotten in his slipstream and - who knows - maybe even pass him. He was the strongest rider out there. Everything had to go perfectly. I'm pleased with how I did it," Van Avermaet said.
One of the dumber things I've heard in a while. Or Sagan is just superior tactically, deliberately unclipping so as making it disadvantageous to enter his slipstream... Next level tactics!
Re:
Going by this logic Martin has reason to feel aggrieved by Sagan's unclip as he would have clearly passed GvA.
Matthews even more so as he would have passed them all and won.
Belongs in that "Things cyclist say" thread that appeared some time ago.
tobydawq said:
Going by this logic Martin has reason to feel aggrieved by Sagan's unclip as he would have clearly passed GvA.
Matthews even more so as he would have passed them all and won.
Belongs in that "Things cyclist say" thread that appeared some time ago.
Re: Re:
I have just joined after 3 years of enjoyably reading this forum to say I am equally amazed.
I had a tenner on DM today (unfortunately not e/w) due to the ludicrous price he was available at - 50/1 on Paddy Power (an Irish owned company).
Its not just this forum or the bookies, look above at the poll, no mention of DM.
Equally other sites reviewed the stage selected the contenders and again no mention. Inrng had 11 riders tipped, not one was DM. Now this maybe all well in hindsight but todays result was predictabl, it was most likely that DM would be in the running.
Just think of the reasoning, there was internet wide consensus that Valverde would win it, but somehow the internet consensus didn't seem to take into account who has been his shadow for most of this seasons wins - DM. If Valverde wasn't in the race then surely it doesn't take a huge leap to assume that in his abscene the guy who has come second to him on this terrain would perform. In addition DM had form in last years Cherbourg stage and multiple high placings in the Flèche - today was a gentler Flèche route. It genuinely is weird how overlooked he is.
Anyway aside from that thanks to all regular contributors for my schooling in cycling tactics and strategies that I've learnt about over the past three years on here.
Eagle said:
I have just joined after 3 years of enjoyably reading this forum to say I am equally amazed.
I had a tenner on DM today (unfortunately not e/w) due to the ludicrous price he was available at - 50/1 on Paddy Power (an Irish owned company).
Its not just this forum or the bookies, look above at the poll, no mention of DM.
Equally other sites reviewed the stage selected the contenders and again no mention. Inrng had 11 riders tipped, not one was DM. Now this maybe all well in hindsight but todays result was predictabl, it was most likely that DM would be in the running.
Just think of the reasoning, there was internet wide consensus that Valverde would win it, but somehow the internet consensus didn't seem to take into account who has been his shadow for most of this seasons wins - DM. If Valverde wasn't in the race then surely it doesn't take a huge leap to assume that in his abscene the guy who has come second to him on this terrain would perform. In addition DM had form in last years Cherbourg stage and multiple high placings in the Flèche - today was a gentler Flèche route. It genuinely is weird how overlooked he is.
Anyway aside from that thanks to all regular contributors for my schooling in cycling tactics and strategies that I've learnt about over the past three years on here.
- Aug 18, 2010
- 11,435
- 3,594
- 28,180
Re: Re:
Sky riders are the most talked about on this forum. It's not the same thing.
Eagle said:willbick said:
British riders are the most talked about on this forum
Sky riders are the most talked about on this forum. It's not the same thing.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 1,953
- 1
- 10,485
Re: Re:
You have to minus the 27,638 posts from LaFlorecita :lol:
cantpedal said:Eagle said:willbick said:
British riders are the most talked about on this forum
Did Alberto suddenly changed citizenship? :lol: 45000 posts in his thread alone no one else even close.
You have to minus the 27,638 posts from LaFlorecita :lol:
- Jul 16, 2011
- 1,561
- 10
- 10,510
Re: Re:
It's easy to say with hindsight. I think a lot of posters underestimated the difficulty of the final climb (I did to a slight extent). Riders like Sagan, Matthews and GvA were picked because they are the obvious standout riders in their team for this terrain. In Quick-Step there are several. Gilbert looked to be in good form in the TT and I thought that the final hill was not too difficult for him. Some underestimated the climb to a greater extent and picked Trentin (certainly a reasonable choice).
On finishes like these, it is quite common to have a couple of riders from one team in the top 5, but the mind often works in a way that precludes such a prediction. So Gilbert was my guy from Quick-Step (so maybe overestimating Gilbert than underestimating Martin?)
happytramp said:
It's easy to say with hindsight. I think a lot of posters underestimated the difficulty of the final climb (I did to a slight extent). Riders like Sagan, Matthews and GvA were picked because they are the obvious standout riders in their team for this terrain. In Quick-Step there are several. Gilbert looked to be in good form in the TT and I thought that the final hill was not too difficult for him. Some underestimated the climb to a greater extent and picked Trentin (certainly a reasonable choice).
On finishes like these, it is quite common to have a couple of riders from one team in the top 5, but the mind often works in a way that precludes such a prediction. So Gilbert was my guy from Quick-Step (so maybe overestimating Gilbert than underestimating Martin?)
Re: Re:
Pah. I saw this one guy unclip going over the top of the final climb of the 2015 World Championship, and he didn't break rhythm or anything, just clipped back in and won the rainbow jersey. I bet that guy wouldve won the Longwy stage if he was there.
tobydawq said:
Pah. I saw this one guy unclip going over the top of the final climb of the 2015 World Championship, and he didn't break rhythm or anything, just clipped back in and won the rainbow jersey. I bet that guy wouldve won the Longwy stage if he was there.
- Feb 10, 2015
- 5,930
- 803
- 19,680
- Nov 16, 2013
- 26,643
- 27,721
- 28,180
Re: Re:
Ha! Funny you should mention that. Originally, I had that as a parenthesis as another example but I deleted it and changed the premise to a sprint-like situation because I didn't want people coming up with stupid examples such as Gilbert or Rosa...
Leinster said:
Ha! Funny you should mention that. Originally, I had that as a parenthesis as another example but I deleted it and changed the premise to a sprint-like situation because I didn't want people coming up with stupid examples such as Gilbert or Rosa...
TRENDING THREADS
-
Il Lombardia 2025, monument, October 11- Started by Krzysztof_O
- Replies: 795
-
World Championship 2025: Men’s RR, September 28- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 2K
-
European Championship 2025: Men’s RR, October 5- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 855
-
Teams & Riders The Remco Evenepoel is the next Eddy Merckx thread- Started by DNP-Old
- Replies: 35K
-
Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread- Started by Lequack
- Replies: 40K
-
World Championship 2025: Men’s ITT, September 21- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 942
-
Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread- Started by RedheadDane
- Replies: 13K
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
-
-
Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread- Latest: GenericBoonenFan
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram