Tour of California, Stage 5: Seaside - Paso Robles, 223.6 km

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Vermeltfoort 7th, beating Minni Phinney. Nice

 

[insideout leadout]

Boom kissing random girl in audience?

 

[will10]

Nice kick by Sagan, but I really wanted to see a breakaway work. Considering how badly the break fragmented, I wonder if this race would have turned out differently if there weren't radios because the peloton may not have realized that Denifl and Freire were still out there.

It's .HC, I didn't think there were radios?

 

[killswitch]

Boom kissing random girl in audience?

It's his girlfriend.

 

[insideout leadout]

No ****...

 

[jobiwan]

Stupid Denifl flat...

Good for Sagan at least.

 

[insideout leadout]

Hard to define Sagan. But I say still a puncheur with extraordinary sprinting ability.

 

[GoAndyGo]

Hard to define Sagan. But I say still a puncheur with extraordinary sprinting ability.

We will see in July when all the proper sprinters are in one race together. Hard to tell now with the 3 big sprinters in Italy.

 

[killswitch]

We will see in July when all the proper sprinters are in one race together. Hard to tell now with the 3 big sprinters in Italy.

Leaky will make him ride the Vuelta.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Sagan is like Bettini, a puncheur with an extremely good kick.

Bettini won mass sprints you know

 

[saganftw]

We will see in July when all the proper sprinters are in one race together. Hard to tell now with the 3 big sprinters in Italy.

he will ride tour de suisse,maybe tour of poland and maybe vuelta,no tdf for sure this year

 

[El Oso]

Nice kick by Sagan, but I really wanted to see a breakaway work. Considering how badly the break fragmented, I wonder if this race would have turned out differently if there weren't radios because the peloton may not have realized that Denifl and Freire were still out there.

They would have still had the time checks from the moto

 

[Mambo95]

Sagan is like Bettini, a puncheur with an extremely good kick.

Bettini won mass sprints you know

Bettini is who I'd compare him to as well. Sagan will probably become a better bunch sprinter, but will he be be as good a puncheur?

 

[theyoungest]

Bit surprised to see Vermeltfoort in the top-10. His first decent result among the pros (if you don't count his Ronde van Drenthe win as a 19-year-old )

 

[zapata]

Sagan might turn out to be closer to boonen than bettini, I think.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Here's hoping that HTC and Liquigas fail hard

Htc fail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Um, they were second to the other team you wanted to fail.

 

[insideout leadout]

Sagan might turn out to be closer to boonen than bettini, I think.

So he will be more successful at Flanders and PR than at ardenne week?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Um, they were second to the other team you wanted to fail.

I know, here's hoping for a positive test

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I hope HTC and Liquigas burn in hell and that their sprinters crash

Here's hoping that HTC and Liquigas fail hard

Damnit I hate HTC so much.

If Goss wins this Libertine will go ape****

Ah well, one HTC train a day is more than enough for me.
Another gallop. Not bothered who wins.

I'll be sick if an HTC rider wins.

Htc fail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good to see HTC lose the sprint at least.

Thanks for covering me while I was away, guys.

Got to say though, need to work on your vitriol. I think Ruben's the only one who put in something close to the requisite amount of pure, unadulterated hatred and disgust at the racing by HTC, and smug, egregious celebration at them not winning.

 

[Hugh Januss]

I know, here's hoping for a positive test

..............

 

[Tuarts]

If they pull Oscar back, just to let some local joke win on a 2k break away...

How can you call someone who attacked a fast paced bunch at under 2km from the finish a joke? I think it's quite an achievement to see these "joke" teams and riders up there against the multi-million dollar budgets of these ProTeams. Don't you have any respect?

Anyway as for the stage,

Does anyone think that in 2-3 years time Sagan will become a strong Classics rider in the mould of Freire/Gilbert? He can get over hills (and sometimes mountains!) alright and packs a decent sprint.

 

[The Hitch]

How can you call someone who attacked a fast paced bunch at under 2km from the finish a joke? I think it's quite an achievement to see these "joke" teams and riders up there against the multi-million dollar budgets of these ProTeams. Don't you have any respect?

Anyway as for the stage,

Does anyone think that in 2-3 years time Sagan will become a strong Classics rider in the mould of Freire/Gilbert? He can get over hills (and sometimes mountains!) alright and packs a decent sprint.

If Sagan continues to improve he will by the age of 25 become a real life TGBM.

The pelotons only hope is that he goes the way of other slavic riders who were really good while young.

 

[markjohnconley]

Classy win, and nice effort from Howard

 

[cyclingPRpro]

Nice kick by Sagan, but I really wanted to see a breakaway work. Considering how badly the break fragmented, I wonder if this race would have turned out differently if there weren't radios because the peloton may not have realized that Denifl and Freire were still out there.

for clarification... there are no rider - team car radios being used in the ATOC. At all.

 

[greenedge]

Nice effort by Howard and Oscar. Goss cramped and Hushovd abandoned feeling fatigued, maybe next time don't go in a break!!! Sagan and GVA I think have the same qualities and they are both still quite young too.