Tour de Romandie, April 29th - May 4th

[houtdffan]

Surely it's not that difficult to understand. He was not good enough, he knew he wasn't good enough. So instead of finishing 9th at 1m10 on the day, he helped out Lecerf and finished 11th at 1m29. He wasn't going to win GC, so he had nothing to lose (he doesn't care whether he finished 5th or 7th in GC). Just try and win the TT now.

Think he would have finished better than that. I was thinking third with CROD

 

[Samu Cuenca]

seems like it was Almeida who was foolish in that regard--if he refused to work and they slowed then Vine would come back to them, allowing them to do the 1-2 attacks toward the finish. I don't know if that would have changed the result but wouldn't that have been the proper strategy?

Not for Almeida.

 

[Cycling111]

Where did the great 'talent' Pablo Torres finish today?

He's very young. Not everyone makes their first year their best. For example, Vingegaard, where was he at 19?

Let's not be unfair to that age riders.

 

[Tim Cahill]

seems like it was Almeida who was foolish in that regard--if he refused to work and they slowed then Vine would come back to them, allowing them to do the 1-2 attacks toward the finish. I don't know if that would have changed the result but wouldn't that have been the proper strategy?

Yes in normal circs that's the right strategy, though I was coming at it from the angle that Almeida would want to win GC himself rather than let his teammate attempt to take the glory. It's happened a few times to him in big races but he seems to be more ruthless this year.

 

[saunaking]

Surely it's not that difficult to understand. He was not good enough, he knew he wasn't good enough. So instead of finishing 9th at 1m10 on the day, he helped out Lecerf and finished 11th at 1m29. He wasn't going to win GC, so he had nothing to lose (he doesn't care whether he finished 5th or 7th in GC). Just try and win the TT now.

Logical.


For once

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Where did the great 'talent' Pablo Torres finish today?

Are you implying he isn't a talent? He finished ahead of Thomas, Gaudu, Dunbar, Vlasov... He's 19.

 

[kingjr]

Think he would have finished better than that. I was thinking third with CROD

I've seen nothing to indicate that. I agree with Logic that 9th place 1:10-20 back would have been the likely outcome.

 

[saunaking]

better to finish 11th on the stage vs 3rd and have an outside shot at the TT?

Hahahhaah. He was NEVER going with Vine

 

[Rou]

He's very young. Not everyone makes their first year their best. For example, Vingegaard, where was he at 19?

Let's not be unfair to that age riders.

My point is he signed one of the longest contracts in cycling. He is extremely overrated. I have not seen anything from him to suggest he deserves that contract.

 

[TastyGroceries]

What are the chances of Martinez staying on the podium? He did rather well on a similar but slightly shorter TT last year in Romandie, finishing 44 seconds behind the winner McNulty. Of course Almeida will pass him on GC, I would expect Fortunato to do much worse than Martinez here. I guess I'm at 60% that Vine will find 32s on Martinez tomorrow. I don't believe at all that Carlos Rodriguez (or LeCerf) will be 54s faster than Martinez. So the question is, whether Evenepoel will be thermonuclear and be 2 minutes faster than Martinez? That's pretty unlikely I believe.

Edit: The gap is only 1:41 between Evenepoel and Martinez, my bad

 

[houtdffan]

Hahahhaah. He was NEVER going with Vine

let's see. he lost 45 seconds immediately nursing Lecerf. Then he loses only 45 more seconds the rest of the climb while towing Lecerf

yeah, he could have easily been a minute faster

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

For once

Pray tell.

 

[Berniece]

Surely it's not that difficult to understand. He was not good enough, he knew he wasn't good enough. So instead of finishing 9th at 1m10 on the day, he helped out Lecerf and finished 11th at 1m29. He wasn't going to win GC, so he had nothing to lose (he doesn't care whether he finished 5th or 7th in GC). Just try and win the TT now.

Which is exactly what they said beforehand. See how it goes and try to win a stage

 

[saunaking]

My point is he signed one of the longest contracts in cycling. He is extremely overrated. I have not seen anything from him to suggest he deserves that contract.

I've barley heard of him. He's definitely not extremely overrated.

 

[EddyMazzoleni]

seems like it was Almeida who was foolish in that regard--if he refused to work and they slowed then Vine would come back to them, allowing them to do the 1-2 attacks toward the finish. I don't know if that would have changed the result but wouldn't that have been the proper strategy?

From a team prospective yes, since Fortunato is really bad against the clock, and bringing him back has no consequence for GC, however, from a personal perspective, Almeida probably thought that distancing Vine increased his chance of winning GC significantly.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I love Remco fans. Their optimism has no limits.

 

[saunaking]

Pray tell.

I'm just having some fun. Playing with your balls as your pal Remco might say

All good, i generally like your takes

 

[YavorD]

What are the chances of Martinez staying on the podium? He did rather well on a similar but slightly shorter TT last year in Romandie, finishing 44 seconds behind the winner McNulty. Of course Almeida will pass him on GC, I would expect Fortunato to do much worse than Martinez here. I guess I'm at 60% that Vine will find 32s on Martinez tomorrow. I don't believe at all that Carlos Rodriguez (or LeCerf) will be 54s faster than Martinez. So the question is, whether Evenepoel will be thermonuclear and be 2 minutes faster than Martinez? That's pretty unlikely I believe.

Lenny is decent TT rider.
2 minutes is a lot over 17 km, I think.

 

[Berniece]

I love Remco fans. Their optimism has no limits.

By being realistic?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

What are the chances of Martinez staying on the podium? He did rather well on a similar but slightly shorter TT last year in Romandie, finishing 44 seconds behind the winner McNulty. Of course Almeida will pass him on GC, I would expect Fortunato to do much worse than Martinez here. I guess I'm at 60% that Vine will find 32s on Martinez tomorrow. I don't believe at all that Carlos Rodriguez (or LeCerf) will be 54s faster than Martinez. So the question is, whether Evenepoel will be thermonuclear and be 2 minutes faster than Martinez? That's pretty unlikely I believe.

Edit: The gap is only 1:41 between Evenepoel and Martinez, my bad

If Martinez does an acceptable TT he will be on the podium.

 

[Netserk]

seems like it was Almeida who was foolish in that regard--if he refused to work and they slowed then Vine would come back to them, allowing them to do the 1-2 attacks toward the finish. I don't know if that would have changed the result but wouldn't that have been the proper strategy?

That would jeopardise Almeida's chance to win the overall GC. He should rather have told Martinez that he wouldn't sprint for the stage win if they both pulled through, guaranteeing him the GC immediately.

 

[tobydawq]

What i love about Vine is he gives no F#$&s about results. Does what he's told, takes his paycheque and goes home. The way he played chicken with Fortunado was spectacular when he was still totally within a shout of the final overall GC

What is there to love about that?

Biggest tool in cycling.

 

[kingjr]

I love Remco fans. Their optimism has no limits.

Who are you referring to?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

My point is he signed one of the longest contracts in cycling. He is extremely overrated. I have not seen anything from him to suggest he deserves that contract.

Maybe UAE saw something in him and wanted to scoop him up before someone else got the chance, for many, many years! How his career pans out of course is anyone's guess.

 

[Rou]

Is it really that hard to say that Remco did his best today? He dropped so early that I expected 3 mins loss but he still managed his effort like he always does. Suggesting he could have been with Vine is delusional.