Whats gone wrong with the lead out trains ?

moray_gub

This years Tour has been a disaster for the so called lead out train, the trains has been deraillled all over the shop. Quick ,T-Mobile,Gerolsteiner,Lampre, have all been shambolic at times .In fact the best bit of riding i have seen was Julian Deans bringing Thor to the front today catapulting him on to the stage win. The trains werent too effective in this years Giro at times either maybe the true lead out train of Cipo and the Fassa train of a few years ago are a thing of the past .

chhers
MG

RichN95.

I think it's probably because there are too many teams trying to get sprinters in the mix - ten teams by my reckoning. It makes it better to watch though.

sing_for_absolution

Cleaner riders too perhaps? Just a suggestion.

But as previously written, lots of teams with sprinters are up there, so we're getting more unpredictable and interesting sprints.

GroupOfOne

Everyone's asking what's gone wrong with the lead out teams, but for the last couple of years there hasn't been a strong lead out team. In fact Fassa in 2003 (when Petacchi won four stages) was probably the last year we had a dominant lead out train.

McEwen's never had one, and for all QS pretence at being one they're never that organised, and as last year showed they have mixed success.

So I think it's more a gradual disappearance of the lead out train, as there is no longer a dominant sprinter/personality like Cipo or Petacchi. Oh and of course remember the lead out train was a phenomenon pretty much patented by Saeco, so they haven't always existed.

oldwelshman

sing_for_absolution wrote:

Cleaner riders too perhaps? Just a suggestion.

But as previously written, lots of teams with sprinters are up there, so we're getting more unpredictable and interesting sprints.

What on earth has cleaner riders got to do with a lead out train?
If theye were all on drugs or all clean, same result surely?
With so many teams you cannot possibly have every team with a lead out train, not enough room on the road!!
The lead out train is ofetn just used to maintain steady pace to prevent breaks, I am sure the sprinters do not actually need a lead out to finnish.
Look at Robbie McKewan's finish this week.
Look at Tom Boonen where his lead out man actually beat him

timoid.

The only ones really able to do it are Millram and they can't be arsed as they don't trust Zabel to win and think they'll be helping the likes of Boonen or McEwen instead.

The rest of the teams don't know what they're doing and don't have a leader of the calibre of Petacchi or Cipo to direct them. The exception is McEwen, who uses a leadout man rather than a train, unless there is a free Milram ride going.

Eurostar

Milram claim that Zabel doesn't need a train! Cortinovis on cyclingnews - "The train is not there these days because with Zabel's characteristics there is not a need for one," explained the tall, 29 year-old Italian. "He is able to arrange his sprint with his experience and he prefers to stay on the wheels of the favourites."

There seems to be some potential for brown envelopes here - the Milram train should hire itself out to the highest bidder. Oh for the good old days when we had bribery scandals instead of doping scandals. Anyone know whether bribery still goes on?

cooper.michael1

All Milrams team are Petacchi's mates, some of them from back in the Fassa Bortolo days. The contract included them to follow Alle-Jet. I just dont think they have the belief in zabel or the will to really be bothered with it.

At the Giro the bossed pretty much every stage, they havent gone that far down hill in a month.

...the sprints would be better with alle-Jet there

RichN95.

The trains that work in the Giro and the Vuelta often seem to go to pieces at the Tour, where everyone's there. Even Fassa Petacchi struggled. The only ones I can remember being able to function fully were Cippo's Saeco and Van Poppel's Superconfex (back in the 80s)