Tour of Qatar STAGE 2 **(Spoiler)***

13

Comments

  • curium
    curium Posts: 815
    maltiv wrote:
    Sky did an absolute horrible job today, and should be embarrassed. The whole team failed completely, no support for Edvald, no one got into the right group...just horrible. A pain to watch.
    Judging from Wiggins' twitter-stream it was a good day and everything went to plan :shock:
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,711
    edited February 2010
    Clearly, Team Shy were soft pedalling today and it was embarrassing. :P
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • maltiv
    maltiv Posts: 34
    iainf72 wrote:
    Has EBH actually proven himself in cross wind type conditions. Take a look at his performances in 09, and specifically in the northern classics. Good ride in GW but the rest of them weren't particularly spectacular.
    Looking at results alone is really a weak way to measure a riders strength. EBH was a domestique in all the classics (yes, even G-W), and he did amazing work for George Hincapie etc.
  • eh
    eh Posts: 4,854
    I'm not that interested EBH he clearly did an OK ride, it is Wiggins thats bizarre. He showed at the TDF that he can be poor at positioning and while maybe today he was told to take it easy, it is still a risky strategy hanging around at the back in any race. Far better in my book to stay near the front, make the split, then if you can't be bothered sit up and roll in.

    All rather embarrassing when Stannard is your top placed rider.
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    eh wrote:
    I'm not that interested EBH he clearly did an OK ride, it is Wiggins thats bizarre. He showed at the TDF that he can be poor at positioning and while maybe today he was told to take it easy, it is still a risky strategy hanging around at the back in any race. Far better in my book to stay near the front, make the split, then if you can't be bothered sit up and roll in.

    All rather embarrassing when Stannard is your top placed rider.

    Poor Stannard!
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • markwalker
    markwalker Posts: 953
    teagar wrote:
    Nice to see Boonen and Gilbert getting stuck in when it gets windy. You can take the Belgians out of Belgium....

    but thy wont go back again?
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    eh wrote:
    I'm not that interested EBH he clearly did an OK ride, it is Wiggins thats bizarre. He showed at the TDF that he can be poor at positioning and while maybe today he was told to take it easy, it is still a risky strategy hanging around at the back in any race. Far better in my book to stay near the front, make the split, then if you can't be bothered sit up and roll in.

    All rather embarrassing when Stannard is your top placed rider.

    Agreed. You wont find Contador and other respectable GT contenders taking part in a race for 'training', not worrying where you place. Contador likes to attack, try hard and give the fans enjoyment...but then that is just his character.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    maltiv wrote:
    Looking at results alone is really a weak way to measure a riders strength. EBH was a domestique in all the classics (yes, even G-W), and he did amazing work for George Hincapie etc.

    You either get to the end of the race in with the leaders or you don't. Doing amazing work doesn't mean you're somehow some sort of super god in certain types of racing.

    Edwald is a good rider - Talented for sure but saying he's some sort of god in windy conditions is a bit much. As the man himself said

    "You really learn how to race in the crosswinds here in Qatar. It's good experience for me and fortunately there are still a lot of days left, so we can try to go for stage races. It will be a little easier without a jersey to protect."
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • The Prodigy
    The Prodigy Posts: 832
    Slight over reaction to todays stage on this thread!!!

    Amongst all the rubbish about how crap Sky are, how EBH can't ride in the wind..... poor old Geert Steurs gets a cracking little win and gets sod all coverage.

    All those complaining about the hot air coming from team Sky, you love it!
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,711
    The Prodigy wrote:
    Slight over reaction to todays stage on this thread!!!

    Amongst all the rubbish about how crap Sky are, how EBH can't ride in the wind..... poor old Geert Steurs gets a cracking little win and gets sod all coverage.

    True, but no different to the over reaction when Sky won that 50 odd km Cancer Classic.
    That was rubbish too, about how great Sky are.

    Far too early to tell, one way or another.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,869
    The Prodigy wrote:
    .... poor old Geert Steurs gets a cracking little win and gets sod all coverage.

    !

    your right there they held on well

    i would be interested in how they got such a big gap... did sky work hard in the wind early on to hold a gap hoping that the other sprinters would aid but got mugged in the cross winds with nothing in their legs to respond with?
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • The Prodigy
    The Prodigy Posts: 832
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    The Prodigy wrote:
    Slight over reaction to todays stage on this thread!!!

    Amongst all the rubbish about how crap Sky are, how EBH can't ride in the wind..... poor old Geert Steurs gets a cracking little win and gets sod all coverage.

    True, but no different to the over reaction when Sky won that 50 odd km Cancer Classic.
    That was rubbish too, about how great Sky are.

    Far too early to tell, one way or another.

    Course it is, we won't be talking about the Tour of Qatar when we discuss the season past in October will we.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    The emphasis on Sky is interesting, it's certainly bringing a new element to this forum and cycling in general, at least from a British perspective. You can see how the Yanks were very excited about every race US Postal took part in and similar things are happening today.
  • DaveyL
    DaveyL Posts: 5,167
    I suspect it will die down a bit once the novelty wears off.
    Le Blaireau (1)
  • The Prodigy
    The Prodigy Posts: 832
    It is interesting for sure. The over reactions to everything connected to them, the way they conduct business, race, train,promote themselves and then the results good or bad are way over the top. Certainly creating plenty of debate. A fantastic addition to the sport.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    The Prodigy wrote:
    Slight over reaction to todays stage on this thread!!!

    Amongst all the rubbish about how crap Sky are, how EBH can't ride in the wind..... poor old Geert Steurs gets a cracking little win and gets sod all coverage.

    All those complaining about the hot air coming from team Sky, you love it!

    Fair enough, it was a good win, although looking at the sprint between the two of them, I think it's fair to assume him and Mol had come an agreement about who took the stage.

    It'll be interesting to see whether 2 minutes is enough for either of them if it breaks up again in the next few stages.

    Kluge is an unknown prospect on the road, but Boonen, Gilbert and Burghardt are still in with a shout I reckon.
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    It's a bit of a shame Cervelo were punished yesterday - they really made the race today, from what I saw at least.
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • Doobz
    Doobz Posts: 2,800
    afx237vi wrote:
    Fair enough, it was a good win, although looking at the sprint between the two of them, I think it's fair to assume him and Mol had come an agreement about who took the stage.

    I doubt there were any gifts.. If you watch the finish again @ about 1-2km from the finish you can see Wouter Mol test his legs and you can see he has nothing left.
    cartoon.jpg
  • Cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus Posts: 1,730
    mididoctors wrote:
    The Prodigy wrote:
    .... poor old Geert Steurs gets a cracking little win and gets sod all coverage.

    !

    your right there they held on well

    i would be interested in how they got such a big gap... did sky work hard in the wind early on to hold a gap hoping that the other sprinters would aid but got mugged in the cross winds with nothing in their legs to respond with?

    Reading the cyclingnews report it all broke up at 36km into the stage. At that point the breakaway had 22 minutes so the peloton must have been going slowly, even considering they normally go slowly once the initial break gets away. Sounds like no one wanted to work in the wind early on and that sky got caught out. Sky did lose their captain early on with Arvesen fracturing a collarbone in the neutralised zone. Bit disappointing to lose such an experienced rider but i suppose someone should have seen it coming. Early days for the team.
  • gattocattivo
    gattocattivo Posts: 500
    teagar wrote:
    It's a bit of a shame Cervelo were punished yesterday - they really made the race today, from what I saw at least.

    Yeah. Also very predictable - this is EXACTLY what they did last year as well, and it was obvious they'd do it again, especially being fired up with a sense of injustice. Any rider with GC ambitions should have just sat on Hammond's wheel and waited for the moment the echelons formed.
  • Abdoujaparov
    Abdoujaparov Posts: 642
    Doobz wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    Fair enough, it was a good win, although looking at the sprint between the two of them, I think it's fair to assume him and Mol had come an agreement about who took the stage.

    I doubt there were any gifts.. If you watch the finish again @ about 1-2km from the finish you can see Wouter Mol test his legs and you can see he has nothing left.

    Surely the golden rule of a two man break is to strike a deal early if one can be struck - i.e. when one rider can take a jersey, the other gets the stage. This provides the best assurance that they'll work like hell for each other and gives them the best chance of success.

    Whether they keep to the deal is another matter, but it would be stupid not to strike one in the first instance.
  • pedro118118
    pedro118118 Posts: 1,102
    It was a shame Sky got caught out, but they weren't the only ones.
    What is more of a shame is that EBH had the leaders jersey, but the team didn't appear motivated to protect it.
    Certainly not the end of the world though.

    Cervelo certainly looked very impressive again.

    Very interesting to see the kind of damage that can be done in the wind - a warning shot for the GC contenders at the Tour this year - be vigilant and don't get shelled out of the front groups and hung out to dry and lose 5 mins?!!!
  • sonny73
    sonny73 Posts: 2,203
    pedro118118 wrote:
    Cervelo certainly looked very impressive again.

    Indeed I thought the same, they looked very strong!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,231
    Why all the criticism of Sky? I only saw the half hour highlights show which was terrible and showed nothing. Could it be that they waited for Arvesen and missed the original split other than Stannard / EBH? No-one was getting across the gaps in those conditions (to be honest other than the first group no-one looked bothered). It makes the achievment of the breakaways all the more impressive to stay out in that wind all day. Hopefully it will be blowing a bit like that in Northern France come July as a good crosswind is about the best thing for making a race unpredictable. Nice to see Hunt doing so well, is gone a long way since he used to enter my races a few years back :lol:
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Last 2k

    http://www.steephill.tv/players/youtube ... vNWk&w=560
    Contador is the Greatest
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    From what I've read, Sky were leading the chase after the split for something like 40km. After pretty much all of them had blown from their efforts and dropped from the group EBH punctured. Unfortunately the coverage on Eurosport apparently missed all the real action.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    There is an interview with Brailsford on the new Real Peloton podcast and Matt Rendell asks about EBH's "problems" with cross winds.

    Interesting listening. DB was being political but admitted it wasn't one of EBH's strengths.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    iainf72 wrote:
    Interesting listening. DB was being political but admitted it wasn't one of EBH's strengths.
    Seems strange when he won Gent-Wevelgem last year in horrible conditions
    http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/200 ... id=results
    It's a Lifestyle! -+-+- Coggan Training Levels
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Bronzie wrote:
    iainf72 wrote:
    Interesting listening. DB was being political but admitted it wasn't one of EBH's strengths.
    Seems strange when he won Gent-Wevelgem last year in horrible conditions
    http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/200 ... id=results

    Yes, but Rendell pointed out he lost the Eneco Tour the year before because of such conditions.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Here's the stage report Rendell mentioned

    http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/200 ... s/eneco085
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.

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