Tour Down Under - Stage 1: Mawson Lakes - Angaston, 138km

[Ferminal]

No that he can't win against a decent field.

Everyone is beatable.

He can win against a decent field, but he's not a tier above the rest like Cav is.

Greipel will win far fewer races this year for two reasons:

1) Having to race against Cav and Goss
2) New/not as strong leadout.

 

[Moondance]

Well, well, well.... Excellent win for Goss. Looks like the media will have an entirely new, but equally trite Cav v Goss storyline to act as a sequel to the fantastically lame Cav v Greipel rivalry that we were treated to last year. Aren't we lucky

Also, reading the comments I think people are overreacting just a little to Greipel's 2nd place...

 

[Jamsque]

Confirmation, if any were needed, that Cav is here for a training ride and nothing else. All the talk of Cav v Greipel was just the sports media trying desperately to fill column inches in the early season when their is nothing to talk about.

In fact, HTC's tactics for the TDU haven't changed one bit since last year: send a good sprint train, but race for the number 2 sprinter. Last year it was Greipel, this year it's Goss, and there is every chance that they will walk away with the same final result.

There is a pattern with HTC: They always have 2 sprinters, Cav and someone else, and since HTC is such a strong squad over the course of a season 'someone else' always racks up a bunch of wins and gets people talking about whether or not they could be the number one sprinter on another team. It happened with Gerald Ciolek, and it just happened with Andre Greipel too, although I suspect he will find more success outside HTC than his compatriot.

What bets on Goss leaving HTC to become top sprinter on, say, GreenEdge next year?

 

[Jamsque]

Boring highlights for anyone who cares:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFifvUWSbu0

Interesting things in the sprint: some team-mate absolutely BURYING himself to pull Robbie McEwen up to 4th/5th wheel just before the final 500m, but couldn't deposit him in the train so he caught too much wind.

Easy win for Goss in the end, he started from the front and even though Greipel was right on his wheel he couldn't even pull alongside. Not surprising, the pace was pretty high and Greipel is more of a top-speed guy (a la Pettachi) than a guy with a huge overtaking burst (a la McEwen, Freire, Cavendish).

 

[insideout leadout]

Boring highlights for anyone who cares:
Easy win for Goss in the end, he started from the front and even though Greipel was right on his wheel he couldn't even pull alongside. Not surprising, the pace was pretty high and Greipel is more of a top-speed guy (a la Pettachi) than a guy with a huge overtaking burst (a la McEwen, Freire, Cavendish).

Pure strength by Goss. Hushovd would have liked this type of finish as well. Thanks for posting the video.

 

[euanli]

Hunter was the one who dropped off McEwen

 

[Tuarts]

yeah, the fools! i so knew that was not going to happen. i can say so now

Think about it, Goss was going strong and Cav said nothing about trying to go for overall honours. I hope BroDeal made some money because I'm not a betting man.

 

[theyoungest]

Boring highlights for anyone who cares:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFifvUWSbu0

Interesting things in the sprint: some team-mate absolutely BURYING himself to pull Robbie McEwen up to 4th/5th wheel just before the final 500m, but couldn't deposit him in the train so he caught too much wind.

Easy win for Goss in the end, he started from the front and even though Greipel was right on his wheel he couldn't even pull alongside. Not surprising, the pace was pretty high and Greipel is more of a top-speed guy (a la Pettachi) than a guy with a huge overtaking burst (a la McEwen, Freire, Cavendish).

Say what??

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Greipel had to do it all on his own. No help at all from his team, it seems.
Came back from 15th position or so...

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Well, it's not really that hard to predict Goss to win. The only question mark was whether they would work for him or Cav but when they are working for Goss then he would always be one of the absolute favourites.

hey hey come on, just call me the wizard ok ?

I cant believe kristoff lost the sprint for 87th

Greipel will win tomorrow I suspect.

 

[janraaskalt]

Any info on why Farrar didn't sprint?

 

[mc_mountain]

Cavendish said he hasn't been paid a fee. And he does tend to be pretty honest in what he says.

My understanding (although I can't find the CN article in which it was mentioned) was that HTC's costs in bringing Cav (transport and accomodation) have been paid by the race organisers. No appearance fee as such... Probably similar scenarios for other elite non-aussies, Farrar and Greipel

 

[janraaskalt]

My understanding (although I can't find the CN article in which it was mentioned) was that HTC's costs in bringing Cav (transport and accomodation) have been paid by the race organisers. No appearance fee as such... Probably similar scenarios for other elite non-aussies, Farrar and Greipel

The organisers pay for all riders, according to Geraint Thomas.

From 'G's brand new web site (as of today, 12PM GMT):
"As I type I am traveling at 917km/h to Adelaide for the Tour Down Under. Well to be precise I’m actually above Kiev on the first leg of the journey, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Fortunately the race organisers pay for the flights and have all the riders plus Directors (equivalent to football manager) in business class. It makes such a difference traveling up here at the front."
http://geraintthomas.com/

 

[auscyclefan94]

hey hey come on, just call me the wizard ok ?

I cant believe kristoff lost the sprint for 87th

Greipel will win tomorrow I suspect.

Kristoff will be right for qatar, he doesn't have the legs yet. Also had a slow flat tyre.

Did you read ACF's post I reacted to? It said "Goss beat Greipel! WTF!" as if Greipel is well-nigh unbeatable. Well, he's not. And most of his wins are against a weaker field, that's just how it is.

Greipel is not some unbeatable sprint beast. He's hardly ever won in a race with a decent field. Cav's "**** small races" comment might not have been very nice, he was sort of right.

Sorry, I hadn't seen the finish and I thought it was a flat finish for the run home. I still believe that greipel and a few others have a bigger top end speed than Goss.

 

[euanli]

Any info on why Farrar didn't sprint?

Same reason cavendish didn't sprint. he isn't looking to peak four times this season. Only three. You'll have to wait until the Classics before you see Farrar in some form of decent condition.

 

[Faserr]

Goss is the favorite for the overall. Renshaw is really the best leadout man in the world and did a great job again.
Also good to see Greipel in shape after switching teams. He doesn't tend to loose his form during the season, so I hope for some strong results. Hopefully he'll be in better position in the sprint tomorrow. 15th place with 300m was a bit too far back and he lost a lot of engery in the wind between 300m and 200m.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Goss is the favorite for the overall. Renshaw is really the best leadout man in the world and did a great job again.
Also good to see Greipel in shape after switching teams. He doesn't tend to loose his form during the season, so I hope for some strong results. Hopefully he'll be in better position in the sprint tomorrow. 15th place with 300m was a bit too far back and he lost a lot of engery in the wind between 300m and 200m.

Agreed, shows the guys strength to come far back and still come a close 2nd.

 

[ingsve]

Say what??

That's on a uphill finish against **** opponents, of course he's going to get a gap.

 

[Jamsque]

Say what??

That's an uphill power sprint. I would never accuse Greipel of being short on power or strength, he has both in abundance.

 

[goggalor]

The organisers pay for all riders, according to Geraint Thomas.

Don't you mean Geraint Thomas MBE?

 

[theyoungest]

That's on a uphill finish against **** opponents, of course he's going to get a gap.

Yeah, Samuel Sanchez (3d on the day) really is **** on that kind of finish... I mean to point out that Greipel is a power sprinter, not the Petacchi type fastman.

 

[ingsve]

Yeah, Samuel Sanchez (3d on the day) really is **** on that kind of finish...

Compared to a top sprinter like Greipel then yes he is ****ty. Sanchez is a good sprinter among the top GC riders but against specialized sprinters they fall way behind.

I mean to point out that Greipel is a power sprinter, not the Petacchi type fastman.

Well, that's exactly what the post you commented on was saying. Both Greipel and Petacchi are power sprinters which is what is meant by "top speed" sprinter. It means that they have the power to stay for a long time on their top speed as opposed to a quick sprinter like McEwen who accelerates very fast but that doesn't last as long so they sprint by timing their quick burst well at the end.

 

[Rocksteady]

Same reason cavendish didn't sprint. he isn't looking to peak four times this season. Only three. You'll have to wait until the Classics before you see Farrar in some form of decent condition.

I also think Dean was out of the sprint due to a flat. If you look at Garmin's team, they didn't have another leadout man, and Farrar is not in good enough shape to contest the sprint alone.(And shouldn't be at this time of year)

Glad to see Hunter/McEwen doing the work from RadioShack. I wouldn't doubt you see some guts from that team this year in an attempt to either A) Get a new sponsor, or B) Get good contracts for next year.

I don't think we will see the Lance approach to racing from Radioshack this year.

 

[kurtinsc]

I also think Dean was out of the sprint due to a flat. If you look at Garmin's team, they didn't have another leadout man, and Farrar is not in good enough shape to contest the sprint alone.(And shouldn't be at this time of year)

Glad to see Hunter/McEwen doing the work from RadioShack. I wouldn't doubt you see some guts from that team this year in an attempt to either A) Get a new sponsor, or B) Get good contracts for next year.

I don't think we will see the Lance approach to racing from Radioshack this year.

I look forward to seeing Hunter setting up McEwen in sprints. I think the Robbie's will pick up a few wins this year.

 

[sublimit]

Agreed, shows the guys strength to come far back and still come a close 2nd.

Greiple always picks off riders in front of him but this time no real chance to get past Goss. Too much horsepower.

Viviani looked very strong and if he times his sprint better maybe a chance.