Classics contenders

2

Comments

  • Paulie W
    Paulie W Posts: 1,492
    andyp wrote:
    dish_dash wrote:
    I tend to agree that Boonen gets first dibs. But with Stybar and Keisse OPQS have back up options...
    Keisse? Surely you'd rank Terpstra, Steegmans and Vandenbergh ahead of Keisse in the cobbled classics? Does Keisse even make the team for the Ronde?

    He was in last year's team as I recall
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    andyp wrote:
    dish_dash wrote:
    I tend to agree that Boonen gets first dibs. But with Stybar and Keisse OPQS have back up options...
    Keisse? Surely you'd rank Terpstra, Steegmans and Vandenbergh ahead of Keisse in the cobbled classics? Does Keisse even make the team for the Ronde?

    Yes but the change of route for the Ronde this year whereby it now goes around a 166m track for 6 days has given Keisse the edge over his team mates
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • ozzzyosborn206
    ozzzyosborn206 Posts: 1,340
    I think stybar will be put in a break or will be used to soften up cancellara before boonen hits out, will be interesting to see how it plays out if we have Canc, Boonen and Sagan all pinging. Could get quite tactical, maybe end up Canc and Sagan almost teaming up to take Omega down before battling it out between themselves. So hard to predict. That said I wouldn't be surprised if Sagan aims to win MSR then anything else being a bonus as he probably has more chance at that than he does of Flanders or P-R. Imagine if he did the triple
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    I would agree re Sagan and MSR. I think he just wants to get a monument under his belt and MSR is, dare I say it, a softer target than RVV or P-R
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.
    _
  • MartinGT
    MartinGT Posts: 475
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.

    Amen to that brother.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,548
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.

    Boonen is arguably the best cobbled classics rider of his generation, Cancellara may disagree though, but is not versatile enough to be the best one day racer of his generation.

    Kwiatkowski is very good, but Stybar is a much more punchy rider and has already shown at the Vuelta and the Eneco Tour last year that he has the power to do well in the cobbled classics. I think he'll win a monument sooner rather than later and will be a big star on the road over the next 5 years.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.



    Shiny new things! Shiny new things!
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.

    To quote robert Duvall in True Grit "that's mighty big talk for a one eyed fat man" Last time I saw him go head to head with Fab at P-R and RVV he was bested by the Suisse.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,434
    So.... Sagan not riding PR last year due to his riding position not being suited to the race was a lot of guff then?
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,104
    I rate Boonen but Stybar is a genuine contender. P-R is so unpredictable but I could see them trying to get Stybar in a strong break, not an early suicide mission, even if favourites like Canc are with him, if Boonen is there in a chase group it gives one of them at least an easy ride. My money is that one of them will win it if they don't crash.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    TailWindHome wrote:
    So.... Sagan not riding PR last year due to his riding position not being suited to the race was a lot of guff then?

    I think that could have been picked as a load of guff from the moment it was said. It's up there with an article in CW I saw once where a guy said he would have got his Cat 2 the year before but a bikefit had revealed his saddle was 12mm too low causing him to compress his hamsrings.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    DeVlaeminck wrote:
    I rate Boonen but Stybar is a genuine contender. P-R is so unpredictable but I could see them trying to get Stybar in a strong break, not an early suicide mission, even if favourites like Canc are with him, if Boonen is there in a chase group it gives one of them at least an easy ride. My money is that one of them will win it if they don't crash.

    So the same role as Chavanel the last few years?
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    DeVlaeminck wrote:
    I rate Boonen but Stybar is a genuine contender. P-R is so unpredictable but I could see them trying to get Stybar in a strong break, not an early suicide mission, even if favourites like Canc are with him, if Boonen is there in a chase group it gives one of them at least an easy ride. My money is that one of them will win it if they don't crash.

    So the same role as Chavanel the last few years?

    Yes but I think Stybar is more suited to the brutish P-R course than Chava. I'd ay that Chava would be/was more successful in that role at RVV. Is he at IAM this season?
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    Don't rule Horner out ;)

    I think if Kristoff can get a bit more selfish he could do well. He seems to lack the winner's instinct, but has the talent.
  • ozzzyosborn206
    ozzzyosborn206 Posts: 1,340
    I think sky will win a semi classic with Gee, Stannard or eddy the bos which will start people hyping them up before they don't have the firepower to go with the favourites with they light it up in the bigger races
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.
    Stybar's shown during the Eneco Tour his Paris Roubaix was no fluke.

    Yes, Boonen has been the best one day racer of his generation, but that geneation has stretched from Paris Roubaix 12 years ago.
  • Benjamin Hall
    Benjamin Hall Posts: 608
    I reckon Stybar will end up playing the chava role at flanders.... only he will stay away in small group that will be joined by cancellara in the last 20k. It il come to a sprint and unlike chava he won't get cut off in the sprint by someone like nuyens, he'll win instead.

    PR will be quick step fest. Boonen will win in the end, and we will all be happy again.
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  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    If we're all going nuts about Stybar winning PR, can we at least acknowledge he wasn't even Quick Step's top finisher last year? Hasn't Terpstra got as much right to demand a free role as Styby?

    Also, Vanmarcke and Van Arvement seem to have been forgotten too! Can Gaudin have another good ride? Be nice to see AG2Rs retro kit at the head of a classic.
    I reckon Stybar will end up playing the chava role at flanders.... only he will stay away in small group that will be joined by cancellara in the last 20k. It il come to a sprint and unlike chava he won't get cut off in the sprint by someone like nuyens, he'll win instead.

    I love these. It'd be a great race, but as a prediction it's based on "What I'd like to happen" rather than any rational analysis. May I ask why you reckon all that will happen?
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • EKIMIKE
    EKIMIKE Posts: 2,232
    Looking at his results, Degenkolb has similar potential to Kristoff in my view. Top 10's in RVV and E3... He has the tank for the distances (strong showings in MSR and Paris-Tours too)

    Also, I would truly love to see Hushovd win P-R but it would probably have to be one hell of a boring race.

    There seems to be so many outsiders for RVV and P-R (Pozzato, Langeveld, Van Avermaet, Hushovd, Vanmarcke, Roelandts, Nuyens etc.) but only Boonen, Cancellara and Sagan are true favourite's.

    Sky conspicuous in their absence from this discussion... Oh wait, did I just ruin the thread? :twisted: (EDIT: I should learn to read!)
    Canyon Endurace CF 2014 | Canyon Ultimate CF 2010
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You lot love bigging up the new guys above their station.

    Kiwakowski will be more useful than Stybar to Boonen. But Boonen is the best one day racer of his generation.

    Stybar wins a few cross races and has one reasonable PR before crashing. Big whoop. Give it a few years first.

    To quote robert Duvall in True Grit "that's mighty big talk for a one eyed fat man" Last time I saw him go head to head with Fab at P-R and RVV he was bested by the Suisse.

    You lot forget how often Boonen best Canc in '00s.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    paris-roubaix1.jpg
    _
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    So according to Gilbert he had a perfect winter and will not be far off his 2011 form. He must be feeling very ready if he is setting up expectations early season.

    Gilbert_Philippe_BMC_launch13-2.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,434
    frenchfighter wrote:
    So according to Gilbert he had a perfect winter and will not be far off his 2011 form. He must be feeling very ready if he is setting up expectations early season.

    BMC certainly have the air of a team who have got their sh*t together.
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • markwb79
    markwb79 Posts: 937
    Wiggins?
    Scott Addict 2011
    Giant TCR 2012
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    It's just dawned on me that I'm going to Gent househunting the day of Het Volk and then (touch wood) moving there the day before GW. :mrgreen:
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    It's just dawned on me that I'm going to Gent househunting the day of Het Volk and then (touch wood) moving there the day before GW. :mrgreen:

    Honestly goat no-one had any idea you were moving to Gent :wink:

    Going back to Gilbert with a statement like that he needs to show at the Ardennes. FW (one of my favourite races but I know some forumites don't like it) should test the validity of that statement. It's there for the winning if he is on 2011 form
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    You moving to Gent, DG?

    :)
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    You moving to Gent, DG?

    :)


    Maybe i'll tell you about it sometime :D
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    You moving to Gent, DG?

    :)
    Maybe i'll tell you about it sometime :D
    Please don't. We had someone on here who kept on banging on about moving to Belgium so much that we collectively blanked it from our minds.
    Twitter: @RichN95

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