Re: Re:
Zinoviev Letter said:
Anderis said:
So Scott Thwaites drops to conti level. Damn. Just 2 years ago he was seen as one of the more promising riders for cobbled classics. What went wrong?
He broke his back in multiple places early last year.
I spoke to one of his training partners last week who says he is fully recovered from the injuries and is putting out the best numbers he has ever produced. He had initial indications that he would be renewed at DD only to find late September (when most teams had full Classics squads) that he had been released. Having been the DD teams leading rider at Strade, Omloop, KBK, E3, G_W, Flanders and Roubaix in 2017 and their 4th highest points scorer across the season. He started the 2018 season solidly at Omloop (13th) before missing the remaining Classics season. He returned after 4 months and rode for GB at the Euro Champs. At the sharp end most of the day and only one of 2 British to finish. Notwithstanding his time out he contributed more points individually than Cavendish, Eisel, Renshaw and Cummings combined. He also scored ONE point less than Meintjes who rode a full season including 2 Grand Tours. He scored more points than 16 DD riders including most of the Africans. However, given this is an African team coupled with Doug Ryder's record of signing names, historically often under performing ones, and probably a couple of bike sponsor national calls, this left him out in the cold. With Pro Conti level being a no go zone for British riders, (just 1 contract across 24 teams of around 430 riders) sadly he has had to drop to Conti level.
Bizarrely, British Cycling have renewed his place on their 8 man Olympic Program and taken him on GB training camps for the Worlds, yet he cannot get a ride in either of the top 2 divisions (around 950 riders). Around 150 riders will turn up at the Semi and Classics in a few weeks and looking at his record on PCS he would probably finish in the top 5-25 % of many of those fields, yet he cannot get a start. He would offer more than a number of the guys assembled to support the likes of Terpstra, GVA and MVdP in the Classics.
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