Worst team

luckao

Alright, I've seen a few comments elsewhere about how little some teams have done. Which team do people think has been an unmitigated failure?

Obvious candidates:

Quick Step - Try as he might, Chavanel hasn't been able to redeem them.

Katusha - Are they any good when Rodriguez isn't around?

Astana - Got a bit of exposure with Iglinkskiy's breaks. What else?

Rabobank - Haven't really done much since it became apparent Gesink wouldn't be contention.

Cofidis - Typical.

Saur-Sojasun - Not much expected. Still, they're not helped by FDJ having cultivated a reputation as being the team to get riders into breaks.

Radioshack - Already conserving themselves for next year's ToC.

Any of those? Any other nominees?

sing_for_absolution

Cofidis have had a good Tour with Taaramae. He's a decent GC prospect in a few years.

finchy

Radioshack - bar Janez Brajkovic, you just have to wonder what exactly is the point of them turning up.

luckao

sing_for_absolution wrote:

Cofidis have had a good Tour with Taaramae. He's a decent GC prospect in a few years.

I knew I'd overlook something obvious. Anyway, RadioShack for me.

sing_for_absolution

Luckao wrote:

sing_for_absolution wrote:

Cofidis have had a good Tour with Taaramae. He's a decent GC prospect in a few years.

I knew I'd overlook something obvious. Anyway, RadioShack for me.

Yeah must agree. They've had bad luck with the crashes and riders pulling out, but even so, would've expected the rest to be more active in breaks. Levi's had a stinker and the rest? They obviously miss a big GC contender *ahem*

mididoctors

RABO had a stage win


more than most

Echo et les Boniments

sing_for_absolution wrote:

Cofidis have had a good Tour with Taaramae. He's a decent GC prospect in a few years.

Actually he could get the white jersey back tomorrow...

RichN95.

Katusha. The only notable thing they did was fail a drug test.

Cleat Eastwood

disappointed in liquigas and lampre.....no panache.

Snorebens

RichN95 wrote:

Katusha. The only notable thing they did was fail a drug test.

+ 1. That's literally all I recall. Not one do or die attempt...
Liquigas make me think of what Sky might have been.

B3rnieMac

I'm not being funny, but I have no idea what the saur jersey looks like, any time Ive been watching I haven't seen one.

rick_chasey

Rabo - biggest budget team, one lowly stage win overshadowed by a car crash and a frenchman taking yellow.

Quick-Step - appauling.

Katusha - similar.

Liquigas - Well - I was proved right about Basso... :P

cogidubnus

Saxo bank. Contador has been pretty much on his own every day.

Otherwise Radioshack or katusha bobbins both of them

LangerDan

Luckao wrote:

Alright, I've seen a few comments elsewhere about how little some teams have done. Which team do people think has been an unmitigated failure?

Obvious candidates:

Saur-Sojasun - Not much expected. Still, they're not helped by FDJ having cultivated a reputation as being the team to get riders into breaks.

Wouldn't regard it as an unmitigated failure. They've been in probably a half-dozen or more of the day-long breaks over the race. Coppel has had a good Tour - 14th o/a not too bad plus he's third in the white jersey competition behind Rolland and Taaramae. The problem is the relatively anonymous kit and the fact that they not particularly outstanding at anything. Can't help but feel that Skil Shimano would have been a livlier choice of low-budget Pro-Conti team.


I'd be inclinded to put Vacansoleil on the list. Most of their coverage has been to do with Johnny H's crash and Feillu's random sprinting & post-stage histrionics which you have to conclude weren't part of the actual race plan.

Crankbrother

I know it's fashionable among the cool kids (pronounced Sheep) on here to have a go at Radioshack but you can't have a go at them for apalling bad luck ... Kloden and Horner would likely have stuck around with Basso, Cunego and Voeckler, just off the pace of the big boys ...

Levi, however, it's over for him ...

sherer

Cogidubnus wrote:

Saxo bank. Contador has been pretty much on his own every day.

Otherwise Radioshack or katusha bobbins both of them

Have to agree there Contador has had to do it all on his own this year, with a bad knee as well. Can't help but wonder how he would have done if he had 8 other men with him to help him out.

Sanchez has been his best team mate so far

finchy

Crankbrother wrote:

I know it's fashionable among the cool kids (pronounced Sheep) on here to have a go at Radioshack but you can't have a go at them for apalling bad luck ... Kloden and Horner would likely have stuck around with Basso, Cunego and Voeckler, just off the pace of the big boys ...

Levi, however, it's over for him ...

Yeah, but if Bruyneel had handled the Contador/Armstrong situation better in 2009 they might have had Contador on the team.

Bronzie

Lampre for me.

Petacchi came close on 2 occassions and the Little Prince who promised so much in Tour Suisse hasn't been able to match the big hitters. Disapointing.

Ron Stuart

Snorebens wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

Katusha. The only notable thing they did was fail a drug test.

+ 1. That's literally all I recall. Not one do or die attempt...
Liquigas make me think of what Sky might have been.

+2.

peterst6906

Crankbrother wrote:

I know it's fashionable among the cool kids (pronounced Sheep) on here to have a go at Radioshack but you can't have a go at them for apalling bad luck ... Kloden and Horner would likely have stuck around with Basso, Cunego and Voeckler, just off the pace of the big boys ...

Levi, however, it's over for him ...

+1

Though I don't particularly follow Radioshack, dropping down to 5 riders has hit them hard.

For me the most disappointing, particularly given how visible they've been in other races leading up the the tour, has been Rabobank.

For such a visible orange kit, they've been almost invisible all tour.

blazing_saddles

peterst6906 wrote:

Crankbrother wrote:

I know it's fashionable among the cool kids (pronounced Sheep) on here to have a go at Radioshack but you can't have a go at them for apalling bad luck ... Kloden and Horner would likely have stuck around with Basso, Cunego and Voeckler, just off the pace of the big boys ...

Levi, however, it's over for him ...

+1

Though I don't particularly follow Radioshack, dropping down to 5 riders has hit them hard.

For me the most disappointing, particularly given how visible they've been in other races leading up the the tour, has been Rabobank.

For such a visible orange kit, they've been almost invisible all tour.

I don't see how Rabobank differ from Radio Shack.
Gesink crashed and injured his back-game over for him.
He still held the white jersey for a number of days.
Laurent Ten Dam totally smashed his face up.
Lars Boom and JM Garate abandoned.
Yet, the got a stage win with LL Sanchez, Baulke Mollema finished second into Pinerolo.

Of course for Radio Shack, it becomes a case of what they might have done, so their disaster of a tour doesn't really count.

Pross

Take out Sanchez and Euskatel were anonymous.

takethehighroad

Euskaltel were built around Sanchez.

Take out Evans, Contador, the Schlecks, Cunego, Basso...

RichN95.

Pross wrote:

Take out Sanchez and Euskatel were anonymous.

Perez was in the breaks an awful lot.

Pross

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

Euskaltel were built around Sanchez.

Take out Evans, Contador, the Schlecks, Cunego, Basso...

The big difference is that BMC and Leopard regularly had the teams working before the final stages, Euskatel were usually at the back. Lampre did some half hearted work early on coming into the bunch sprints .

cogidubnus

Pross wrote:

Take out Sanchez and Euskatel were anonymous.

So anonymous that they were in lots of breaks won a stage and the polka dot jersey. I would be gutted if I was them...

Take out any team leader and most of the teams would have failed by your reckoning

Cumulonimbus

RichN95 wrote:

Pross wrote:

Take out Sanchez and Euskatel were anonymous.

Perez was in the breaks an awful lot.

L'equipe has Perez as being in front the second most in the tour. Delage (FDJ) was first and Roy(FDJ) 3rd.

Pross

Cogidubnus wrote:

Pross wrote:

Take out Sanchez and Euskatel were anonymous.

So anonymous that they were in lots of breaks won a stage and the polka dot jersey. I would be gutted if I was them...

Take out any team leader and most of the teams would have failed by your reckoning

see post above yours - the team did nothing to support Sanchez, I think he'd have been on the podium with a better team although I have to admit I forgot about Perez as Giuttierez and Roy are the two names I remember getting in a lot of breaks.

petejuk

Katusha have been the most disappointing. All the other teams mentioned so far have had a fair share of bad luck with crashes etc. As I recall, Katusha have been largely unaffected and still managed to produce a weak performance. Shame, I had them pegged as a team that would mix it up this year.

ms_tree

Luckao wrote:

Quick Step - Try as he might, Chavanel hasn't been able to redeem them.
To give Sylv his due he was injured in that crash on stage 1 - hurt his shoulder I think - and it took him most of the rest of the tour to recover. He did go out in a couple of breaks tho'.

surista

I really have to wonder about Radioshack's management. I mean, other than having LA for one year - and they had to know it would probably only be one year, two at most - what was their long-term plan? Kloden? Levi? I mean, they're solid riders, and could probably support a strong GC candidate, but they're also rather close to 40....I don't think anyone outside Team Radioshack would mistake them for legitimate GC contenders.

At the start of the tour this year I thought the team looked a bit lost with no clear goals. They need to regroup next year and figure out what they want to do. Radioshack isn't going to continue sinking money into the project if it doesn't give them any visibility.