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el stovey said:
Gizmoish said:
Cav went too early and didn't have the legs for the full 500m or so following Modolo.
Good win by Kristoff.
I think he had to, looks like he was on his own with no lead out. That'll be him bGood win by Kristoff.
hing at his team again. 
Sagan was good today but it all went his way. Cancellara getting caught behind crash. Then using lots to get back on. And wasn't quite on when Geraint did the damage (Sagan was dropped when G went). Fabian will be annoyed he didn't go for the grudge when the gap was only 13 seconds.
Had he done that he would've have one more climb to attack if he had the legs. There are no doubts in my mind that if he was on the climb with Geraint and Sagan he'd have attacked over the top of G and dropped the lot. He was pinging today riding back up the bunch with ease.
There is no way on this earth Sagan is going to drop cancellara up any climb in a big race (Flanders or today). I think Fabian will win Flanders and Sagan Roubaix perhaps as there are less hills and he is hard to get rid of without the hills as that is his only weakness.
Had he done that he would've have one more climb to attack if he had the legs. There are no doubts in my mind that if he was on the climb with Geraint and Sagan he'd have attacked over the top of G and dropped the lot. He was pinging today riding back up the bunch with ease.
There is no way on this earth Sagan is going to drop cancellara up any climb in a big race (Flanders or today). I think Fabian will win Flanders and Sagan Roubaix perhaps as there are less hills and he is hard to get rid of without the hills as that is his only weakness.
Yes, good race, and although he didn't win, Cancellara is looking in ominous form. G rode a good race, and can be quite confident for the upcoming races, providing he doesn't fall off. OPQS will wonder why they didn't win today, but will likely have a stong team - will Boonen be back on form, and in the right frame of mind. Who will be the Sky leader? G, Stannard after winning Het Nieuwsblad? And will EB-H and Wiggo ride in support?
Sure the crash was the determining factor that split Sagan and Cancellara but Cancellara will always tire if he is jumping from wheel to wheel to make up gaps if he is dropped or separated from a leading group.
Vanmarcke was easily beaten last year, had Sagan been in that position Cancellata would have had a much tougher challenge.
I don't think Wiggo has the mental strength to challenge in the classics, pace changes, mud, cobbles and rain don't seem to be his bag.
Vanmarcke was easily beaten last year, had Sagan been in that position Cancellata would have had a much tougher challenge.
I don't think Wiggo has the mental strength to challenge in the classics, pace changes, mud, cobbles and rain don't seem to be his bag.
Gizmoish said:
I reckon Sky will go into P-R with both G and Wiggins and cards to play. Wiggo will treat it as a 25-km time trial... might even work.
But Cancellara's looking awesome. The way he just cruised back up to the lead group after getting caught was impressive.
Can't see BW being a challenge for paris -Roubaix. Seems to suit the more 'brave' gritty type riders.But Cancellara's looking awesome. The way he just cruised back up to the lead group after getting caught was impressive.
Re. Cancellara - I think this time last year he was in better form. He already had two wins to his name. He is certainly getting better and he looked sharp at E3.
problem with Cancellara is that he is a marked man, others are reluctant to give him a tow/free ride. Just think how many times he ahs had to work extra hard to be in contention!
Dr Imran T said:
Can't see BW being a challenge for paris -Roubaix. Seems to suit the more 'brave' gritty type riders.
Re. Cancellara - I think this time last year he was in better form. He already had two wins to his name. He is certainly getting better and he looked sharp at E3.
problem with Cancellara is that he is a marked man, others are reluctant to give him a tow/free ride. Just think how many times he ahs had to work extra hard to be in contention!
Yes I think he may have been in slightly better form last year, as he won Strade Bianchi in emphatic fashion, that said, it doesn't take long to bolt on some top end, which is seemingly what he lacked when Sagan attacked in that race. He looked pretty strong in E3, in fact, he looked like a brute, shame he was held up really but that is racing.Re. Cancellara - I think this time last year he was in better form. He already had two wins to his name. He is certainly getting better and he looked sharp at E3.
problem with Cancellara is that he is a marked man, others are reluctant to give him a tow/free ride. Just think how many times he ahs had to work extra hard to be in contention!
The thing he relies on means that as long as he isn't held up or crashes he should still be in with a shot. His tactic usually is ride people off his wheel, which works well in Flanders (and probably would have in E3) and works to a slightly lesser extent in PR. I remember them interviewing Geraint Thomas before Flanders last year and he said that he doubted anyone would be able to hold Cancellaras wheel if and when he attacked, and he was not wrong. And to my mind if Sagan was suffering when Thomas attacked up a cobbled climb, he's going to have some difficulty staying with Cancellara when he smashes it up one of the climbs in Flanders, as he did last year.
"Cancellara's record in the past 10 Monuments that he has finished remains pretty extraordinary: 1/1/2/3/2/2/3/1/1/2."
Big hitter.
Alex Langheck said:
No Lake District stage this year - I thought that was pretty good last year, and the North Wales stage isn't what I hoped for. However, I'm sure I'll be tempted out to watch.
Short transfers are good but mean the race will miss large areas of the country. Hopefully they'll vary the regions visited each year.Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff