Pro Cycling Discussion 2017

I found last year more exciting but still enjoyed watching this year :) Shame Boonen wasn't further forward.

Pleased to see Stybar denied :D
 
Lots of QS hate going on! They are a fab team and deserve to take some wins but they lack a 10/10 star rider like Sagan or GVA.

They have a line up of a squad of 9/10 guys, but thats not good enough when you end up in a selection with a 10/10 guy.

Some of the other teams who turn up and just roll in the peloton and dont want to race need a kick up the bum.

Rewatching it, I think Stybar should either have gassed it when he was at the top of the bank and GVA was at the bottom and done the last lap all or nothing for the win (everyone would have sat on GVA at this point to try and roll him).

When the other two from the chasing break caught the front three Stybar got too nervous, Moscon looked tired and although he tried to get the jump on the rest of the group he wasn't strong enough. Stybar should have let GVA lead out as they went quite early, then would have had more of a chance to come round him.
 
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Agree with that, once GvA came up the banking and sat on, Stybar was done. He should have made the jump when he had the height on the bend but easy to say with hindsight. The right man won anyway I think, he was strongest by far.
 
Berger said:
Lots of QS hate going on! They are a fab team and deserve to take some wins but they lack a 10/10 star rider like Sagan or GVA.
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QS are a great team and I don't think anyone would begrudge Phillipe Gilbert's solo win the other day as it was epic. We get the tactics of why they don't work with the front group and it's a valid tactic but I personally would rather the wheel sucker didn't win the race.
 
QS tactics and execution has been the subject of hilarity and hate for a good few seasons now and it is all rightfully so. It's embarrassing.
Used to be a fan of Stybar and Terpstra of recent seasons but cannot stand them now nor the way QS race in general. They would rather pissfart about than head down race which as you see from GvA and Sagan is how races are won and heroes are made.... Gilbert exception from the Ronde excluded. It's like anti-racing.

See my prediction of Boonen not winning anything in spring on a disc equipped bike was accurate..... Mostly because he's not winning but also because these disc bikes have been silently chucked in the back of the lorry and aren't even being raced, hmmm ;)

Bring on stage racing and Dan Martin who is a class act unlike this ridiculous QS classics "super team".
 
The huge flaw I currently see with QS's tactics this spring have been burying themselves early in the race to form a solid break, yet the rider who ends in the break never seems strong or confident enough to finish it. The other teams have spotted this as it's become so predictable.

They've got the firepower to ride more like Sky do in some GT stages - let someone else do all the hard work forming a break, control the chase, then injecting so much tempo they distance the peloton when closing down the break opening up loads of opportunity. With the likes of Boonen, Gilbert, Terpstra and Stybar there they have guys who can finish from a tough selection mid/late in the race, rather than forming a strong break early. They seem to nail themselves and have nothing left for later because they've done the lions share of the work while the other teams sit in. :rolleyes:
 
More love for Moscon required I think - that's some ride from a 22 year old. I had him as my ew outside for Flanders which was a week early.

I just can't warm to GVA but you can't deny his results over the last 14 months.
 
QuickStep might do better if they didn't announce weeks in advance who their designated leader was, put a guy in the break that can't sprint and then expect other teams to pull their leader back to the front. :o

I also think the UCI points system is spoiling races. You end up too often with teams more interested in placing lots of riders in the top 10 than actually winning the race.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
What does the points system do for a team, i.e. why do they value points?
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As touch said, each rider gets UCI points depending on position in a race throughout the season. With the new rules suggested, the two teams with the least amount of points could lose their world tour licence and get relegated to the continental teams at the end of the season and two continental teams get promoted, although that's been delayed for another year if I'm not mistaken.

That's why teams will have a mad scramble to sign riders that are out of contract but have amassed decent amount points as they carry the points with them. That's also why new teams like Bahrain Merida and UAE Abu Dhabi got a World tour licence straight away along with the ability to show proof of a certain level of financing.
 
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I was just about to say... GvA at this point probably has double the WT points to that of the entire sketchy Bahrain and UAE teams combined :D
 
Was in Paris at the weekend, could I find a pub to watch this, no. Managed to avoid the result all Sunday and Monday even when it was replaying in the airport lounge, go to buy some bits on Tuesday and see Well done Greg on Evans website!!!?!:! Few expletives. Took the shine off it, just rewatched the highlights but wasn't interested that much. Good sprint finish though, but rest of the race wasn't a patch on last years. Amstel snooze fest this weekend.
 
I thought Sky made a pigs ear of yesterdays Fleche Wallonne - Henao was very poor in his position up the final climb - totally boxed in and never made a effort to get out of it. Props to Valverde winning his 5th (4 in a row) and Martin for 2nd. GReat effort from Jungles but just not enough to hold on.

Also - not long now!!

 
Amstel was good. As it has been for a couple years on the trot now.... No idea why it's reputation for being pants sticks around. I guess it needs ot be spectacular for 10 years on the trot before the cycling media confirms it as "OK"....

FW annoyed me as a scumbag won it. Top work by Jungels I really like that dude and good to see Dan Martin is zippy on the inclines as he's amazing rider to watch and always lights the race up. So seeing his legs going well is great for us spectators potentially!

I agree Solid. LBL needs to be horrible weather as we have not had any of that this year to spice things up in the classics.

Seen one of the Yates has dropped from the Giro in favour of the Tour. Bit of a shame as seeing both the Yates and a bigger GB representation would have been great in the Giro for a change.
 
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