What tactic does Cancellara use now?

[Froome19]

I also think he had another opportunity to ditch Gerrans and Nibali and he didn't take it. When Gerrans came to the front for a pull, Cancellara didn't leave him there for long as I thought he wasn't happy with the speed. He coud have left him to fry a little longer then attacked. I don't believe Nibali or Gerrans would have been able to follow.

Aaah... because he thought he would be caught by the peloton, if he did?

 

[thehog]

So did he 'suck wheel' to get up the climb and let gerrans do all the work then??
I wanted Cancellara to win but his finishing tactics could have been played smarter.

I'm with you. It just seemed stupid that once he went to the front he stayed there. It was always obvious that Gerrans was going to out sprint him. Perhaps he should have slowed then went again creating a break against Nibs and G. I guess on the decent it best to be in front. He needs another card to play thats all. The peloton have worked him out.

Canc is becoming the Hincapie of tactics.

 

[thehog]

+1 I think you've got it Scott SoCal. I love Cancellara but as we know he has a "gladiator's" ego.

I also think he had another opportunity to ditch Gerrans and Nibali and he didn't take it. When Gerrans came to the front for a pull, Cancellara didn't leave him there for long as I thought he wasn't happy with the speed. He coud have left him to fry a little longer then attacked. I don't believe Nibali or Gerrans would have been able to follow.

He should have played the chasing peloton against Nibs and Gerrans. Those two would have had to do something if the chasers got closer. Instaead he rode Gerrans to the line and let him win..... daft. Just plain daft.

 

[Froome19]

I'm with you. It just seemed stupid that once he went to the front he stayed there. It was always obvious that Gerrans was going to out sprint him. .

Not to him, as mentioned previously he thought he could drop them and solo to the win.

 

[Anonymous]

+1 I think you've got it Scott SoCal. I love Cancellara but as we know he has a "gladiator's" ego.

I also think he had another opportunity to ditch Gerrans and Nibali and he didn't take it. When Gerrans came to the front for a pull, Cancellara didn't leave him there for long as I thought he wasn't happy with the speed. He coud have left him to fry a little longer then attacked. I don't believe Nibali or Gerrans would have been able to follow.

Yes, perhaps. I would love to know the actual speed they were going there. It's sooo hard to attack at 53/54kph. I can't imagine it after 300k.

 

[Anonymous]

He should have played the chasing peloton against Nibs and Gerrans. Those two would have had to do something if the chasers got closer. Instaead he rode Gerrans to the line and let him win..... daft. Just plain daft.

Not at 7 seconds and closing.

Realize too... those guys a cross-eyed at that point. Seeing stars and stuff.

 

[blaxland]

He should have played the chasing peloton against Nibs and Gerrans. Those two would have had to do something if the chasers got closer. Instaead he rode Gerrans to the line and let him win..... daft. Just plain daft.

Spot on theHog,Gerrans shouldnt be critisized for his win.I mean he atleast swapped turns with Cancellara...Whingers will be whingers

 

[thehog]

Not to him, as mentioned previously he thought he could drop them and solo to the win.

Wow thats a new tactic. I can drop guys in my draft. Thats plain stupid. If Andy Shleck can hold on for a TTT on the back of Canc's wheel then Nibs and Gerrans can hang on.

Problem being he doesn't respect his opposition. He thinks he's the strongest and even when he gets 2nd or 3rd for the millionth time he'll tell every one why he was better.

10 years from now his name will be 2nd in the record books not 1st and no one will remember him telling the world he was stronger.

As it stands Boonen still has more Classic wins the Canc and it will probably stay like that for the foreseeable future.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow thats a new tactic. I can drop guys in my draft. Thats plain stupid. If Andy Shleck can hold on for a TTT on the back of Canc's wheel then Nibs and Gerrans can hang on.

Problem being he doesn't respect his opposition. He thinks he's the strongest and even when he gets 2nd or 3rd for the millionth time he'll tell every one why he was better.

10 years from now his name will be 2nd in the record books not 1st and no one will remember him telling the world he was stronger.

As it stands Boonen still has more Classic wins the Canc and it will probably stay like that for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps he's talking about dropping them on the descent. Which nearly happened. 4 or 5 bike lentgths and Canc wins.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Your tactical choices are dictated by your abilities.

Cancellara can throw in a brutal attack and he can hold off the field on his own. On the other hand, he's not going to beat a sprinter or for that matter a hilly sprinter in many sprints. And the fact is that a number of his main Classics rivals are sprinters or semi-sprinters. So his tactic is to attack and try to hold his rivals off, or pull the strength out of them if they grab his wheel. That's not stupid at all.

Today, he managed to wipe Nibali out just by pulling so hard on the front. If Gerrans had been only slightly weaker, then even hanging on might have taken too much out of him for him to win the sprint.

There's no more point in slagging Cancellara off for riding to optimise his abilities than there is in slagging Gerrans off for holding on for dear life and then winning the sprint. Both were riding as their respective abilities dictate.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow thats a new tactic. I can drop guys in my draft. Thats plain stupid. If Andy Shleck can hold on for a TTT on the back of Canc's wheel then Nibs and Gerrans can hang on.

Problem being he doesn't respect his opposition. He thinks he's the strongest and even when he gets 2nd or 3rd for the millionth time he'll tell every one why he was better.

10 years from now his name will be 2nd in the record books not 1st and no one will remember him telling the world he was stronger.

As it stands Boonen still has more Classic wins the Canc and it will probably stay like that for the foreseeable future.

Problem being he doesn't respect his opposition. He thinks he's the strongest and even when he gets 2nd or 3rd for the millionth time he'll tell every one why he was better.

Couple of things. I'm guessing he respects Boonen, Sagan and a few of the others still there in the finale.

He is often the strongest and is marked accordingly.

He takes his chance... and it doesn't always work. Sure is fun to watch.

 

[Caruut]

Not at 7 seconds and closing.

Realize too... those guys a cross-eyed at that point. Seeing stars and stuff.

Watching it again a couple of times, I think he was certain he was going to get rid of Gerrans on the descent. That was his plan, which nearly worked, and when it didn't, he rode the best he could. At the bottom of that hill with Gerrans still in tow, his best chance is to ride as hard as he can and hope Gerrans just hasn't got the legs after 300km.

 

[Anonymous]

Watching it again a couple of times, I think he was certain he was going to get rid of Gerrans on the descent. That was his plan, which nearly worked, and when it didn't, he rode the best he could. At the bottom of that hill with Gerrans still in tow, his best chance is to ride as hard as he can and hope Gerrans just hasn't got the legs after 300km.

Exactly how I see it. It also explains why he waited until the last kilometer on the Poggio to go. There was no other path to win at that point.

And BTW, it's a great tactic! It just didn't quite work.

 

[movingtarget]

Cancellara won't be changing tactics. Some days it comes off and others it doesn't. If he attacks late everyone is waiting for it, if he attacks early he runs a greater risk of being caught. It almost worked on the descent. Nibali was cooked and Gerrans just hung on for a superb win.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Huge result for Gerrans, Greenedge and Australian cycling. Congratulations Simon.

Sounds like Fabian did everything possible to get the win, and if he'd sat up would never have finished on the podium. Tactics were probably good not bad, and he was just unlucky. Great ride by Nibali too. Very versatile rider, who is shaping up to be a serious threat to Wiggins and Evans for this years TDF.

 

[thehog]

Cancellara won't be changing tactics. Some days it comes off and others it doesn't. If he attacks late everyone is waiting for it, if he attacks early he runs a greater risk of being caught. It almost worked on the descent. Nibali was cooked and Gerrans just hung on for a superb win.

Well these days it's not coming off except in 2nd tier warm up events. It's not working. Period.

 

[The Hitch]

There is nothing cancellara could have done to win today. If he hadn't been the only one working the break wouldn't have won.

Attacking him as stupid is insulting.

oh and gerrans didn't outsmart canc.

 

[movingtarget]

There is nothing cancellara could have done to win today. If he hadn't been the only one working the break wouldn't have won.

Attacking him as stupid is insulting.

oh and gerrans didn't outsmart canc.

No, he outsprinted him.

 

[movingtarget]

Huge result for Gerrans, Greenedge and Australian cycling. Congratulations Simon.

Sounds like Fabian did everything possible to get the win, and if he'd sat up would never have finished on the podium. Tactics were probably good not bad, and he was just unlucky. Great ride by Nibali too. Very versatile rider, who is shaping up to be a serious threat to Wiggins and Evans for this years TDF.

The three of them did what they could and Gerrans was the victor. They reacted at the right time. I don't see see Cancellara as being unlucky. He did everything he could have to win.

 

[El Pistolero]

He'll use the same tactic he always uses, it will still work a few times because he's so incredibly strong, but it will also make him lose races he shouldn't have lost in the first place.

 

[Panda Claws]

So should we all prepare for another speech where he will try to mix his "I am a gladiator" stuff with the "Gilbert is favorite for Flanders" stuff?

 

[Anonymous]

So should we all prepare for another speech where he will try to mix his "I am a gladiator" stuff with the "Gilbert is favorite for Flanders" stuff?

I think so.

It will be interesting for Flanders. New parcours, new tactics.... Personally I can't wait.

My only hope is Cancellara not to be so heavily marked as to produce a bunch more negative racing.

 

[Swede1]

I have a prediction. At flanders Cancellara will be able to win easily. Because with the short cobbled climbs, drafting someone is not very helpful, and its almost every man for himself, strength against strength. The climbs have and will always allow Cancellara to open the necessary gaps to pull away. He just should wait until he is closer to the finish, not 50k away. Roubaix might be harder though, maybe a day for Boonen with his sprint.

 

[jens_attacks]

i think for cance it will be again very difficult to win,drafting or not.
meanwhile under the radar,a monster is taking shape day by day...

 

[Swede1]

i think for cance it will be again very difficult to win,drafting or not.
meanwhile under the radar,a monster is taking shape day by day...

Its true that Canc dropped everyone except chavanel in flanders last year. Im sure chavanel will be strong this year again.