Re: Re:
The reason why they tend to give much freedom to their riders is that they rearely have one of the top favourites for GC in the stage races. But when they do- the team is consolidated around their leader like any other team would do. When Hesjedal had won the 2012 Giro and he arrived a year later as one of the favourites, they sent a fully dedicated team to him and didn't include Farrar in their Giro roster for the only time in all those years in which he rode for them. When Talansky had won the 2014 Dauphine, again the rest of the team was focused on him in the initial stages of TdF (until he abandoned) and did a hell a lot of work for him on the cobbled stage where Langeveld and Van Summeren could be chasing a stage win for themselves (they were both great that day).
Now with how Uran performed in the last TdF, they have a reason to send a team focused around him again. Of course they might be sending riders to breakaways because that always works (one can drop back to his leader when he is needed and fight for a stage win when he is not), but having a sprinter like Coquard is another thing, because his utility for Uran is doubtful (unless he wants to sacrifice himself for a leader which is not what the Frenchman wants, I guess) and what is certain is that he would be left completely without support until a good GC is out of the picutre.
The reason why Cannondale hardly surrounded Uran in the mountains was because of the poor form of the ones who were supposed to be the key helpers, not the intention to give them freedom to chase other goals.yaco said:
The reason why they tend to give much freedom to their riders is that they rearely have one of the top favourites for GC in the stage races. But when they do- the team is consolidated around their leader like any other team would do. When Hesjedal had won the 2012 Giro and he arrived a year later as one of the favourites, they sent a fully dedicated team to him and didn't include Farrar in their Giro roster for the only time in all those years in which he rode for them. When Talansky had won the 2014 Dauphine, again the rest of the team was focused on him in the initial stages of TdF (until he abandoned) and did a hell a lot of work for him on the cobbled stage where Langeveld and Van Summeren could be chasing a stage win for themselves (they were both great that day).
Now with how Uran performed in the last TdF, they have a reason to send a team focused around him again. Of course they might be sending riders to breakaways because that always works (one can drop back to his leader when he is needed and fight for a stage win when he is not), but having a sprinter like Coquard is another thing, because his utility for Uran is doubtful (unless he wants to sacrifice himself for a leader which is not what the Frenchman wants, I guess) and what is certain is that he would be left completely without support until a good GC is out of the picutre.
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