Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (2.1) February 3-7

[Vroome.exe]

Vandenbag probably thought Terpstra was ahead and chased him.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Ion makes more sense than Castro if they have to do both races. I don't see what would be wrong with him as a pick for the RR as well as he would be an ideal domestique for the type of course. Luísle would leave them with a pretty ageing squad as well, I don't see that he offers an appreciable upgrade over Ion on the course at this point in his career.

I see Sanchez as a way better TTer and he is not a Movistar rider which is also a pro.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Holy mother of god. Vandenbergh won a race? Now I have seen it all.

Yes and with a plastic bag stuck in his derailleur but so nice to see him win

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re: Re:

Ion makes more sense than Castro if they have to do both races. I don't see what would be wrong with him as a pick for the RR as well as he would be an ideal domestique for the type of course. Luísle would leave them with a pretty ageing squad as well, I don't see that he offers an appreciable upgrade over Ion on the course at this point in his career.

I see Sanchez as a way better TTer and he is not a Movistar rider which is also a pro.

Ion vs. LuLu in time trials is 9-9 career-long; excluding TTTs it's 8-7 in favour of Ion.

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

Holy mother of god. Vandenbergh won a race? Now I have seen it all.

no kidding!

I did not see this coming, ever!

Good for him!

 

[PeterB]

Joking aside, I feel very happy for Stijn. This is the only way he can win a race and obviously with team duties does not get this opportunity very often. And of course, the bag-gate.

Actually, getting angry about the bag entangled in your chain stay might gave him an extra boost, which is all he needed to win.

pics from https://twitter.com/faustocoppi60

On the other hand, another tactical fail from LottoNL, no? I did not see them pullling at all. I know they had young team in this race but leaving all work to Cofidis just did not work.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Ion makes more sense than Castro if they have to do both races. I don't see what would be wrong with him as a pick for the RR as well as he would be an ideal domestique for the type of course. Luísle would leave them with a pretty ageing squad as well, I don't see that he offers an appreciable upgrade over Ion on the course at this point in his career.

I see Sanchez as a way better TTer and he is not a Movistar rider which is also a pro.

Ion vs. LuLu in time trials is 9-9 career-long; excluding TTTs it's 8-7 in favour of Ion.

In a very long ITT I would put my money on Sanchez. See for example the Giro this year.

 

[IndianCyclist]

This might turn out to be the best season for Vanderbergh. Sometimes what is needed is confidence from a win

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

This might turn out to be the best season for Vanderbergh. Sometimes what is needed is confidence from a win

Let's hope so, he deserves some great results

 

[jens_attacks]

too bad he's not a selfish baztard, a killer. with the right attitude, he would fight for the classics and not slave.
anyway, epic win.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

too bad he's not a selfish baztard, a killer. with the right attitude, he would fight for the classics and not slave.
anyway, epic win.

He fought for the win in 2014 RVV. Was 4th in the sprint, despite letting GVA pull all the way and refusing to take any turns when Cancellara and Vanmarcke joined the duo. Too bad he rides for the wrong team, I'd say

 

[pablohidalgo7]

Re:

On the other hand, another tactical fail from LottoNL, no? I did not see them pullling at all. I know they had young team in this race but leaving all work to Cofidis just did not work.

All the team crashed in the downhill of the third category climb, groenewegen was ok and he continued alone, he cameback to the peloton and then won the sprint for the second place, verey impresive by Groenewegen.

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Apart from that, why should they have to work? They had their stage win already in the bag; it was now up to Cofidis to prove something.

 

[PeterB]

Re:

Apart from that, why should they have to work? They had their stage win already in the bag; it was now up to Cofidis to prove something.

Oh wow, sorry about the crash.

And why should they otherwise work? Well, they are not exactly a team which could say "let's ignore this opportunity, we will win next time as we please". They should simply try to utilise favourable circumstances while they can. But I can understand that argument, just not with this team.

 

[TMP402]

Re:

Holy mother of god. Vandenbergh won a race? Now I have seen it all.

First win for van den Bergh since he won a stage and the overall of the now-discontinued Tour of Ireland as a neo-pro in 2007.

 

[skidmark]

Yeah Stijn! I love it. This is one of the great things about watching cycling year-round, to cheer on some meaningless stage in a 2.1 race in February because a guy who is so strong but can never win finally has the right configuration to pull it off. I am no Vandenbergh 'fan' (like, I don't cheer for him every race or anything) but he's clearly a fantastic workhorse who is just lacking the skills like attacking punch or sprint speed to close the deal, so it's lovely to see him get it. Did you see how happy Boonen was? I'm sure the whole team is.

 

[Vesica]

^^ Completely agree with Skidmark's post. Well said.

 

[BalearicBeats]

Yeah Stijn! I love it. This is one of the great things about watching cycling year-round, to cheer on some meaningless stage in a 2.1 race in February because a guy who is so strong but can never win finally has the right configuration to pull it off. I am no Vandenbergh 'fan' (like, I don't cheer for him every race or anything) but he's clearly a fantastic workhorse who is just lacking the skills like attacking punch or sprint speed to close the deal, so it's lovely to see him get it. Did you see how happy Boonen was? I'm sure the whole team is.

He's certainly a rider that deserved another victory! Was riding well all week too, even in the hilly stages for his build!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Great win for Stijn.

 

[carton]

Re:

Thanks HelloDolly. The funniest, for the lack of a better word, thing about cycling is how you end up looking like you're defending someone by pointing out they're not really that good. I actually thought Sky had done a lot better than it has.

And kudos to stretch and Wout, well deserved victories for both.