Why are Belgians so bad at GTs lately?

[Michele]

You have to add sponsors pressure; they want their best sponsored riders to be at the Tour cause of the return it give them.

 

[The Hitch]

I think tommy is a potential gc guy definitely.

 

[Flamin]

de Gendt is so talented he is destined to do something big in his career. he can specialise and become great in it in almost everything he wants. but since he doesn't like riding in the peloton at all, this pretty much excludes the classics and he therefore will (steadily) grow into a consistent gc rider I guess.

Il giro and la vuelta will be a good learning school for him. top 10 in la vuelta should be doable already, in this year's giro I don't think so. next year he can then shine big time.

 

[hrotha]

I don't think he can become an actual contender. Maybe someone like Boogerd but with a good time trial.

 

[JRanton]

The Belgians should claim Wiggins as one of their own so they have someone to support in the Tour GC.

 

[Caruut]

The Belgians should claim Wiggins as one of their own so they have someone to support in the Tour GC.

I'm happy for them to have him.

 

[The Hitch]

de Gendt is so talented he is destined to do something big in his career. he can specialise and become great in it in almost everything he wants. but since he doesn't like riding in the peloton at all, this pretty much excludes the classics and he therefore will (steadily) grow into a consistent gc rider I guess.

Il giro and la vuelta will be a good learning school for him. top 10 in la vuelta should be doable already, in this year's giro I don't think so. next year he can then shine big time.

Forget top 10.(talking about the vuelta) I think he should podium ( unless its a great field)

This isn't pre school. de gendt is 25. He either steps up or he steps the **** off.

 

[Flamin]

Forget top 10.(talking about the vuelta) I think he should podium ( unless its a great field)

This isn't pre school. de gendt is 25. He either steps up or he steps the **** off.

What's the rush? he has like 10 more years ahead of him and this is only his 2nd grand tour in his career. After le tour last year he said he still has to discover his strengths and limits, so no need to put pressure on him already.

Podium in la Vuelta and even top 5 is way off the mark i'd say. The course doesn't suit him, too many punchy finishes he can lose time on and only 40km of itt.

 

[CobbleStoner]

isn't the real question why are the Dutch good at GT's? it's obvious why Belgians train for the Classics, cyclocross, and 6-days, but the Dutch train like that too, and have even less hills than Belgium, and the same ****ty weather for early season training. kudos to the Dutch masters, Kuiper, Zoetemelk, Post, etc.. and the new crop of stage racers, Gesink, Kelderman, Slagter, Mollema, Kruiswijk

 

[El Pistolero]

And what have Slagter and Princess Zelda actually proven in a GT so far?

 

[Echoes]

The clinic part was true in the early nineties. We were trailing in that domain. Only by 1998 did we start to do like everybody else. For Belgians to perform, they had to move to Italy or Spain (Van Hooydonck explained it very well). Same for the Netherlands. Kind of a post-Intralipid trauma.



Anyway, we all know that classics are all that matters.

I watch my first classics and my first Bore de France at the same age (aged 7).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Originally Posted by CasperVg View Post
Since 1991, only 3 Belgian has been in the Top 10 at the Tour
1993: Bruyneel (7th)
1998: A.Merckx (10th)
2010: JvdB (4th)


Since 1991, only 2 Belgians have been in the Top 10 in the Giro
2002: Rik Verbrugge (9th)
2008: JvdB (6th)

Since 1991, only 3 Belgians have been in the Top 10 in the Vuelta
1995: Bruyneel (3rd)
2011: Monfort (6th) and JvdB (8th)

Why are Belgians so bad at GT's? For a cycling country with quite a bit of history, one would expect more at least a few more top 10 places. You could say it's because of the flat lands around here, but then again the Netherlands are even flatter, yet have much more GT riders and talents.

So, why are Belgians so bad at GTs lately?

hehehe...

 

[rhubroma]

It's because the sport has become more international. Same with the French. Belgian cycling also has a tradition to contend with and no real climbs. The days of Eddie are decidedly over. Unfortunately or not, this is the case. And now they're talking about more curcuits, rather than point to point races. It's only business.

 

[Popchu]

Bump this topic

 

[burning]

Bump this topic

pretty accurate bump there

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

So for the moment we have De Gendt, Monfort and Van den Broeck who have all had top 10's.
Vanendert is still a big questionmark.

And some youngsters with results in U23...

Compared to 10 years ago... well, there was nothing 10 years ago.

 

[quiqui]

As if the Dutch have been that much better in GTs since 1991.

Since 1991, only 3 Dutchmen have been in the Top 10 at the Tour
1992: Breukink (7th)
1998: Boogerd (5th)
2001: Boogerd (10th)
2010: Gesink (5th)

Since 1991, only 1 Dutchman has been in the Top 10 in the Giro
2011: Kruijswijk (8th)

Since 1991, only 4 Dutchmen have been in the Top 10 in the Vuelta
1991: Rooks (9th)
1992: Rooks (10th)
1993: Breukink (7th)
2008: Gesink (7th)
2009: Gesink (6th)
2011: Mollema (4th)

Very poor between 1993 and 2008.

 

[theyoungest]

Very poor between 1993 and 2008.

I think the OP was talking about recent results, not results from the 90s. Belgium, a much bigger cycling nation, did comparatively worse in GTs, the last few years. Although De Gendt has made up for much if not all of that

 

[ElChingon]

I think the OP was talking about recent results, not results from the 90s. Belgium, a much bigger cycling nation, did comparatively worse in GTs, the last few years. Although De Gendt has made up for much if not all of that

Yes he did, lets hope he brings more of this in races to come!

 

[djerkson]

Well, the thing is, take a look at the starting lists of the Vueltas and Giro's in the nineties & you have another reason. When Frank Vdb won his two Vuelta-stages in 1999, there were only 2 other Belgians in the race. It's only since the start of the pro-tour that Belgian teams were competing again in the Vuelta & Giro. Other than that, there were mainly Belgian competitors in 'foreign teams' like Bruyneel (Once) & Vdb (Cofidis).
Since the start of the pro-tour, there were 2 belgian teams every year.

In the nineties we had sprinters like Steels & Nelissen, but no GC-riders. Now, we don't have sprinters (except for Boeckmans), but a lot of young talent for GC. I must say I prefer the latter!

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Lol, you rate Boeckmans higher than Boonen as a sprinter?

 

[djerkson]

Lol, you rate Boeckmans higher than Boonen as a sprinter?

Definitely no, but somehow it didn't feel right to label Boonen as a sprinter. (Besides, I think Boeckmans is a future topsprinter.)

 

[Lexman]

de gendt will also never be a stable gt contender

quite funny, but we'll see already in La Vuelta

 

[El Pistolero]

First he said Thomas De Gendt was not and never would be a GC contender.

Turns out he won the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia and got a podium.

We did a top 10 in the Giro d'Italia 2008, won the white jersey of the Giro d'Italia 2009, were fifth in the Tour de France 2010, won on Plateau de Beille in the Tour de France 2011, had 2 Belgians in the top 10 of the Vuelta d'Espana 2011 and a third place at the Giro d'Italia 2012 and a win on the queen stage with 2 legendary climbs in it.

I think we're doing more than ok.

 

[Praetor]

How many GT's has Belgium won since the 50's? 17. 11 of those were Merckx and of the 6 remaining, 5 were in the seventies, during the same golden Merckx generation.

Conclusion: Belgians have actually never been that good at GT's. Partly because they're not really made for those kinds of races, partly because they don't really care thát much and prefer classics.