What tactic does Cancellara use now?

[thehog]

Everyone has woken up when he attacks. They will just sit & wait. He's become a one trick pony with no other options. He really needs to find another way to win that doesn't involve trying to ride off the front and soloing to a win.

He's beginning to look stupid.

 

[mr. tibbs]

At a pre-race press conference, he should tell the other riders that he's a rocket ship and they can't win.

Maybe that will work.

 

[El Pistolero]

I've already said this in April last year.

 

[hrotha]

He doesn't need to solo. In case you didn't notice, he's pretty fast.

How is he a one-trick pony when he's the best on the flat, in the TTs and on the descents, and pretty good at sprinting and climbing hills?

 

[DominicDecoco]

You can't win everytime. He's the strongest rider out there and I'm sure he'll get results in April. He just needs his team around him.

Oh, wait.. There lies the problem..

 

[Gloin22]

Tbh I think on cobbles he will be able to get rid of his opponents, you can do much on descent and flat but where it will come to cobbles I think he'll do it.

 

[LugHugger]

I'm not so sure he looks stupid. Today is a very different race to The Ronde and Roubaix. Let's see how the races and results look on the 8th April.

 

[Caruut]

Everyone has woken up when he attacks. They will just sit & wait. He's become a one trick pony with no other options. He really needs to find another way to win that doesn't involve trying to ride off the front and soloing to a win.

He's beginning to look stupid.

It's always a risk doing what he does. It kind of depends on what he feels is success for himself personally. Would he rather work his a*** off to get a second, or sit up when someone follows his move and make another? In a race like today, it's not like there was ever anywhere to make another move.

 

[hrotha]

It's always a risk doing what he does. It kind of depends on what he feels is success for himself personally. Would he rather work his a*** off to get a second, or sit up when someone follows his move and make another? In a race like today, it's not like there was ever anywhere to make another move.

While I agree, I wonder if that attitude of his is not shortsighted. Sure, in the short term, it produces the best result for him (2nd, with a shot at being 1st). In the long term, however, it tells everyone in the peloton that they can wheelsuck Cancellara and he'll just tow them to the finish line, which will definitely hurt his chances in the future.

 

[Leonardus]

Most likely the strongest today but he should really use his brains a bit more. Again very impressive in the final but he is indeed becoming a one trick pony. Shame, he can do so much better. Hope he will be a bit smarter in Flanders.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Powering away may be his one trick, but he is very good at it. It is also the most versatile trick a rider can posses, that's why he does so well in a variety of classics.

Much more difficult to tuck and sit in behind Canc when he's going away on the cobbles.

 

[Ferminal]

It's our loss if he does anything different.

If he sits up/doesn't attack, well he couldn't drop a smaller group post-Poggio last year, so why would it be different this time around. Alternatively he can sit on and sprint for 3rd or 4th, he maybe even becomes Bennati's teammate. People would rather he complains about those following him, like P-R last year?

 

[Lanark]

Not the smartest race, but he really didn't have much options. There is so little time with such little gaps in the finale of MSR, you have to make a decission, and stick with it. Forcing Gerrans to do more work would probably just have lead to them slowing down enough for the second group to catch up.

Calling him a one-trick pony is just baffling.

 

[Marco Pantani]

He will win a lot in the coming weeks, because

-he's stronger than last year
-he'll have better support
-dropping guys on the cobbles is much easier, coming really down to who is the strongest (remember him dropping boonen at vlaanderen)
-in every of the following monuments, it's more likely that the strongest rider will succeed, unlike at a parcours like MSR

 

[Caruut]

While I agree, I wonder if that attitude of his is not shortsighted. Sure, in the short term, it produces the best result for him (2nd, with a shot at being 1st). In the long term, however, it tells everyone in the peloton that they can wheelsuck Cancellara and he'll just tow them to the finish line, which will definitely hurt his chances in the future.

True, but wheelsucking Cancellara is no mean feat. When he puts in these attacks, he just has to hope no-one goes with him. The fact is, he's such a dangerous rider that if someone can cover the move, they probably will, whether they think he'll tow them to victory or not. He has to try and ride hard enough that they don't.

Maybe sometimes he ought to wait and put in a second attack somewhere, but in MSR, where else can he pull that second move? He made his move, and from there, that was his only realistic chance of getting the win. Looking at it realistically, one poor corner, one let-up or just not timing his sprint so well by Gerrans would have handed him the win.

When he wins, he wins so well, and his rate of winning is still incredible for any rider, let alone one who does it the way he does. I hope people understand that without the so-called "let-down" wins like Gerrans' today, what Canc does would not be so impressive.

 

[DominicDecoco]

He will win a lot in the coming weeks, because

-he'll have better support

Does he though?

 

[Marco Pantani]

Does he though?

Bennati, Rast, Roulston, Popovych.....should be stronger than Leopards squad last year.

 

[thehog]

I think he needs a team that forces the attacks early. Make the group chase and get tired. Have someone up the road if at all possible. I think of he waited to the top of the Poggio he could have put in one of his massive attacks then defended down with a gap. He went too soon. He should have left Gerrens and Nibs go then chased them down.

He needs the RS riders pinging off the front from early on the Poggio but he'd never let them do it because they might get away and win.

I really don't know what else he can do. When he won P-R and Flanders it was a new trick now everyone knows exactly what he is going to do. He's lost the surprise element to his race. His only other option is to get into a break 70km out and bang it that way.

 

[El Pistolero]

Bennati, Rast, Roulston, Popovych.....should be stronger than Leopards squad last year.

Didn't most of them already ride for Leopard last year? What has Popovych ever done in the cobbled classics by the way?

 

[Marco Pantani]

I think of he waited to the top of the Poggio he could have put in one of his massive attacks then defended down with a gap. He went too soon. He should have left Gerrens and Nibs go then chased them down.

Yeah, i think the same, question is, if the gap would have been big enough, without him pushing on himself.
Extremely hard, to make the right choices in such a finale.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Bennati, Rast, Roulston, Popovych.....should be stronger than Leopards squad last year.

Bennati looking good. The rest? Meh.. And why do you mention Popo?

 

[jens_attacks]

it will be again a very weak team.cancellara will be on his own again

 

[Marco Pantani]

Didn't most of them already ride for Leopard last year? What has Popovych ever done in the cobbled classics by the way?

Only Leopard rider was Bennati, who wasn't focused on the classics last year too much. It's told to be different this year and Bennati did well so far imo.
Rast and Roulston are new additions, each of them, top ten finishers at Roubaix, not that bad i think.

Popovych is also understood to focus more on the cobbles this year, because of the massive depth of GT riders on the team.

 

[El Pistolero]

Only Leopard rider was Bennati, who wasn't focused on the classics last year too much. It's told to be different this year and Bennati did well so far imo.
Rast and Roulston are new additions, each of them, top ten finishers at Roubaix, not that bad i think.

Popovych is also understood to focus more on the cobbles this year, because of the massive depth of GT riders on the team.

That doesn't mean he'll be good though. And where was Bennati today?

 

[Marco Pantani]

That doesn't mean he'll be good though. And where was Bennati today?

So you agree on Rast and Roulston?
Bennati was next to Cancellara, when they hit the poggio.