who are the most overrated riders in the peloton in your opinion?

[UlleGigo]

Can't believe there has been no mention of Popo.

 

[SiAp1984]

I wonder how to define "overrated". For example, someone mentioned Fabian Wegmann. As far as I know, he has never been expected above the "decent one-day-racer and domestique"-level. And Gerdemann - well, he used to be seen as the next Jan Ullrich, but that was a looong time ago. Same (and even worse) happened to Marcus Fothen and nobody would mention him here.

But if "overrated" means, that the winning potential credited to a rider exceeds his true potential by far, than I cannot understand why Andy Schleck so often is mentioned here. He can win the Tour without a doubt. I can't see AC being a better climber anymore. Of course, he is a better ITT-rider. But as we have seen in last year's Tour, this years's Giro and the Spanish championships, AC seems unable to reach his unnatural ITT strength of 2009 again. So Andy has a real chance to win this years Tour on the road.

If "overrated" includes a certain kind of "hype", than my choice would be Tejay van Garderen. Can't see him winning big races.

 

[Midnightfright]

thats not what some people cough D_T cough say



boonen isn't overrated. the expectations for him are just too high. a year without a monument for boonen is considered a disappointment.

I would of said if anything Nibali seems to be one of the most underestimated riders for me. Just shows how opinions differ.

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

I wonder how to define "overrated". For example, someone mentioned Fabian Wegmann. As far as I know, he has never been expected above the "decent one-day-racer and domestique"-level. And Gerdemann - well, he used to be seen as the next Jan Ullrich, but that was a looong time ago. Same (and even worse) happened to Marcus Fothen and nobody would mention him here.

But if "overrated" means, that the winning potential credited to a rider exceeds his true potential by far, than I cannot understand why Andy Schleck so often is mentioned here. He can win the Tour without a doubt. I can't see AC being a better climber anymore. Of course, he is a better ITT-rider. But as we have seen in last year's Tour, this years's Giro and the Spanish championships, AC seems unable to reach his unnatural ITT strength of 2009 again. So Andy has a real chance to win this years Tour on the road.

If "overrated" includes a certain kind of "hype", than my choice would be Tejay van Garderen. Can't see him winning big races.

A lot of guys on this forum just know about 20 pros, that's why they are always mentioned in every kind of thread/poll.

Fothen is a really good example. When U23 and at the start of his pro career he was a GT hope. But after that bitter Maillot Blanc defeat against Cunego his career seems to fade away step by step. With last winter as being the absolute low. At NSP he gained some confidence back at smaller races. Maybe he will become a decent pro again. But the GT contender he was supposed to be is beyond his reach now.

And yes, there are some coincidences with other U23 dominators of the last decade. Popovych and Evgeny Petrov, they destroyed everything in their U23 time. Still they had nice careers topped with GT stage wins. Others like Dmytro Grabovsky, Antonio Quadranti, Luigi Sestili, Graziano Gasparre, Dainius Kairelis etc. never managed to arrive even there. Some of them are completely forgotten nowadays.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I totally can't understand your logic
Hushovd won 8 stages in Tour, 3 stages in Vuelta and 1 stage at Giro
Boonen won 6 stages in Tour, 2 stages in Vuelta
Hushovd had 2 green jersey, Boonen had 1

They both won WC

Wow, lol. Yeah... And besides those results you just mentioned, Boonen has enough big wins to fill 2 carreers and still not be overrated. While Hushovd is still considered a force to be reckoned with while he has never done anything to deserve it. How long has he been on the short list for winning Roubaix? How many did he actually win? Not to mention how he rode it this year. Where he did exacty didley squat except for suck wheel and the moment Cancelara went after his teammate, he didn't even move a muscle. The entire team works for this ****** but when the going gets tough, he really shows his class: none.

Edit: besides, i don't understand why we are having this conversation. I never meant to compare both riders. You started comparing them. It's a bit of a shame come to think of it. Hushovds carreer doesn't even warrant a comparison, so i don't see your logic behind questioning mine for finding him overrated and not Boonen.

Edit2: @orbis: If people like Evans, Gesink... can be overrated (named a lot in this topic, also by myself), definitaly so can Hushovd. Sure, he's had a nice carreer for a sprinter that's not even fast to begin with, but the guy is 33 and still is being mentioned as a favorite for a couple of big races (like Roubaix). I wonder what exactly, at his age, got him this level of appreciation.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Evans, Schlecks, Gesink

 

[Lanark]

But you're just presenting arguments for which rider is better. This thread is about which riders are overrated. There's a difference. Hushovd can't be seen as overrated. His palmares is rather good. It's not the best, but he has some big wins and solid podiums. For a rider to be overrated, they must fail to live up to the hype by doing little to distinguish themselves. Hushovd doesn't fall into this category. He may not be better than Boonen, but he's not overrated because of it.

Most people here seem to not understand what overrated means, it doesn't mean average, mediocre or bad, it means he is rated higher than he deserves. If someone would say Contador is better than Merckx he would overrate Contador, even though Contador is the best racer of this moment. Although Hushovd has a good palmares, he can still easily be overrated.

To be honest, I don't pay enough attention to people's expectations of riders to really say who is overrated. Some riders get more posts than their results alone warrant (Evans, Gesink), but that doesn't mean they are overrated. There is no law that says you have to talk the most about the best rider, a little less about the second best rider etc. Some riders are overrated by individuals (Bavarianrider and der Tony) but there are usually enough people to put them in place.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Tony Martin's climbing ability.

 

[boomcie]

Evans, Schlecks, Gesink

Tony Martin's climbing ability.

Battle of the fanboys.
Ready for a cat fight.

 

[TeoSheva]

TGOAK
Wiggins
Tony Martin

Wiggins: 3rd P-N, 1st Daufhine
Martin: 1st Algarve, 1st P-N, 2nd Romandie

and they are overrated? only one guy in this forum overrates Martin (0.0001%), all the rest don't!

 

[Midnightfright]

Wiggins: 3rd P-N, 1st Daufhine
Martin: 1st Algarve, 1st P-N, 2nd Romandie

and they are overrated? only one guy in this forum overrates Martin (0.0001%), all the rest don't!

That's very true what u say about Martin although it does stick in the mind. With Wiggins in guessing that's more with the British commentators on the Eurosport as opposed to any posters gere. I actually don't think I've heard anyone really overstate Wiggins abilitys on here and it could be argued hes underestimated he's an elite time-trialist and is a very good 3rd tier climber. He could win a good few 1 week tours in years to come if he put his mind to it.

 

[Spine Concept]

I havent seen much talk this year, but I always felt LL Sanchez was overhyped.

And Mollema,

and Rujano...

And I think Jurgen Van Den Broeck isn't going to be nearly as strong as everyone expects (and neither will Wiggins).

Mollema is part of a running joke on the forum more than anything else. Posts like ''TGBM will win the tour by 8 minutes!'' should not be taken seriously. It's purpose is to be humorous, nothing more, nothing less. He ís a talented rider though, for those who have monitored his results over the course of his career.

 

[Boardslide]

That's very true what u say about Martin although it does stick in the mind. With Wiggins in guessing that's more with the British commentators on the Eurosport as opposed to any posters gere. I actually don't think I've heard anyone really overstate Wiggins abilitys on here and it could be argued hes underestimated he's an elite time-trialist and is a very good 3rd tier climber. He could win a good few 1 week tours in years to come if he put his mind to it.

Wiggins is definitely over rated by the British media and he tends to believe the hype until something goes wrong, then he tends to go to pieces withdraw into himself a blame everything under the sun except his own shortcomings. As you say there's only one person who has over hyped Tony Martin's climbing ability but his reputation as a TT'er is valid. I think Hausler is another who has not lived upto his promise since 2009 but even then he was over rated as both MSR and his TDF win were both opportunistic rides.

 

[Midnightfright]

Wiggins is definitely over rated by the British media and he tends to believe the hype until something goes wrong, then he tends to go to pieces withdraw into himself a blame everything under the sun except his own shortcomings. As you say there's only one person who has over hyped Tony Martin's climbing ability but his reputation as a TT'er is valid. I think Hausler is another who has not lived upto his promise since 2009 but even then he was over rated as both MSR and his TDF win were both opportunistic rides.

Wiggins is a very good rider though. He seems to be built up due to being by far our best stage racer and is capable of putting in good enough performances to deceive the media.the fact hes won 3 ( I think ) Gold Olympic track medals mean the general public will see him as better than what he's capable of as unfortunately the vast majority of the general public will most likely think this makes him the most qualified person to win the tour de france until Chris Hoy decides he wants a shot at it.

 

[Parrulo]

But you're just presenting arguments for which rider is better. This thread is about which riders are overrated. There's a difference. Hushovd can't be seen as overrated. His palmares is rather good. It's not the best, but he has some big wins and solid podiums. For a rider to be overrated, they must fail to live up to the hype by doing little to distinguish themselves. Hushovd doesn't fall into this category. He may not be better than Boonen, but he's not overrated because of it.

you should read the post i was quoting so you could understand mine . . .

anyway people have defended my opinion while i was sleeping so good for me

 

[Bondii]

are you seriously comparing hushovd too boonen?

boonen has 3 paris roubaix and 2 rondes. either of those is more important then pretty much any amount of GT stages and green jerseys.

compared to boonen's palmares hushovd's palmares is a joke.

also boonen is almost 3 years younger . . . .

oh and boonen tries to win races not just sucking the hell out of some1 else's wheel and out sprinting him in the last 100 meters. that is enough to make boonen 10 times the rider hushovd is.

I didn't say Hushovd is better rider than Boonen. I'm just saying and i think that if Boonen doesn't overrated( of course he doesn't) than Hushovd neither.
That is an another question riders how to win a race

 

[Parrulo]

I didn't say Hushovd is better rider than Boonen. I'm just saying and i think that if Boonen doesn't overrated( of course he doesn't) than Hushovd neither.
That is an another question riders how to win a race

you clearly don't know what overrated means. read a few posts on the previous pages and you will see it being explained by other posters.

and yes hushovd is overrated. the simple fact that he is considered a favourite for roubaix is enough to make him overrated.

oh btw you only compared their GT achievements which for riders like boonen, canc , and gilbert mean little compared to their classics wins.

 

[Liquigas]

Tony Martin, Hushovd, Luis Leon Sanchez, Richie Porte, Manuel Quinziato, Vladimir Karpets...

 

[just some guy]

Tony Martin, Hushovd, Luis Leon Sanchez, Richie Porte, Manuel Quinziato, Vladimir Karpets...

Really I don´t even think he gets rated let alone overrated

 

[Liquigas]

Really I don´t even think he gets rated let alone overrated

Well, at least on my local spanish tv he gets overrated by one of the commentarists

 

[SiAp1984]

Really I don´t even think he gets rated let alone overrated

I especially enjoyed that one...

 

[kanari]

the simple fact that he is considered a favourite for roubaix is enough to make him overrated.

Maybe Hushovd is overrated, I don't know, don't care. But to say he shouldn't be considered one of the favourites for Paris-Roubaix when he podiumed the previous two years and is wearing rainbow stripes is beyond me. And he wasn't considered THE favourite - that was Canc. He was mentioned by many as one of the favourites and with good reason.

 

[Parrulo]

Maybe Hushovd is overrated, I don't know, don't care. But to say he shouldn't be considered one of the favourites for Paris-Roubaix when he podiumed the previous two years and is wearing rainbow stripes is beyond me. And he wasn't considered THE favourite - that was Canc. He was mentioned by many as one of the favourites and with good reason.

are we talking about the same guy that could have contended the win in 2009 but was so desperate not to lose boonen wheel that misjudged a corner he had done dozens of times in his life either as reckon or in racing? or the same guy who after canc got away sucked boonen's wheel for 35k and then with canc already minutes ahead jumped boonen so he could suck flecha's wheel and outsprint him in the velodrome?

you are right really impressive podium finishs's. you have to look at how the race was to judge some1's performance. if you think about the 2010 race what do you remember? you remember canc and boonen and how boonen distraction before mons on pevele was fatal. no1 remember's hushovd.

and yes he is overrated he doesn't has that special thing that makes the difference btw some1 who gets good results and some1 who wins big. and that is important on the classics.

best hushovd moment tho is when haussler was leading him out in M-SR 2009 and he lost hausslers wheel so haussler just kept going. top sprinter right there. . . .

and no i don't hate thor i just think he is as exciting as watching paint dry

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Hey if we add riders overrated by the TV commentators I have a whole list.

Like for example Koen de Kort, because the commentators always say he is a good time trial specialist. While the last good time trial Koen de Kort did was as an U23 rider

 

[kanari]

Parrulo, even if you are not impressed with the way he podiumed, I still fail to see any good arguments for why he shouldn't be one of the favourites for P-R... It's like saying Andy is not one of the favourites for the tour because I'm unimpressed by the way he got 2nd last year.