This is my favourite race of the three "ardennes" classics but the finish is just a bit too far from the Cauberg now.
Don't agree. Makes it much more interesting as far as I'm concerned. Finish at the top of the Cauberg made it just a Fleche-like hillpsrint
No I absolutely agree that it shouldn't be right at the top of the Cauberg but at the moment it's just a bit too long. There were 30 or so riders in that sprint - too many for my liking.
Tim Liew @timliew · 6m6 minutes ago Thatcham, England
Random stat: today the first time since LBL 2013 that any Ardennes classic has finished with someone other than Dani Moreno in 9th #AGR
I don't even care if that's true or false.
Stat-tastic
Believe that a farther shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells
That was very impressive. Looked like he was out of it at 2k, but had enough confidence to wait for a tow back. Impressively invisible before the final sprint.
Won a few now with a finish 1km or so after a hill, either by dropping the climbers on the slope or having enough left to take on the sprinters.
Woo Kwiatek win is always worth celebrating but not a way of winning worth writing home about. My men in 1st, 2nd and 7th. Thank goodness that aussie sprinter didnt win. This race is pretty weak as it is so finishing it not at the top of the Cauberg is awful. 20 up bunch sprint after 6.5 hrs = failed race or poor parcours.
Woo Kwiatek win is always worth celebrating but not a way of winning worth writing home about. My men in 1st, 2nd and 7th. Thank goodness that aussie sprinter didnt win. This race is pretty weak as it is so finishing it not at the top of the Cauberg is awful. 20 up bunch sprint after 6.5 hrs = failed race or poor parcours.
Agreed, the last 20k isn't tough enough. The way the race zig zags around the countryside they could quite easily reconfigure the course so that the don't use that last finishing circuit. The organisers just seem desperate to use the Cauberg as many times as possible.
Amstel Gold Race 2015 Results
POL 1 KWIATKOWSKI, Michal (ETIXX - QUICK STEP) 6:31:49
ESP 2 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR)
AUS 3 MATTHEWS, Michael (ORICA GreenEDGE)
POR 4 FARIA DA COSTA, Rui Alberto (LAMPRE - MERIDA)
BEL 5 VAN AVERMAET, Greg (BMC RACING)
FRA 6 GALLOPIN, Tony (LOTTO SOUDAL)
FRA 7 ALAPHILIPPE, Julian (ETIXX - QUICK STEP)
ITA 8 GASPAROTTO, Enrico (WANTY - GROUPE GOBERT)
POL 9 PATERSKI, Maciej (CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE)
BEL 10 GILBERT, Philippe (BMC RACING)
Overall, another gawd awful edition.
Huge group left at the foot of the Cauberg.
Ridiculously strong BMC manage to mirror the Etix cobbles calamity.
250 odd kms to end in a group sprint.
To cap it all off, Eurosport leave before any of the official results.
A poor man's sport in their eyes.
Is a reduced group sprint in itself a bad thing? Plenty of things happening in the last hour. It wasn't epic, but at least some proper attacks from some decent names (Nibali, Kelderman, Tony) with 40 km to go, unlike Flanders and Roubaix
BMC rode very differently from Etix. If Van Avermaet would have been allowed to ride with Fuglsang, BMC could have won
Overall, another gawd awful edition.
Huge group left at the foot of the Cauberg.
Ridiculously strong BMC manage to mirror the Etix cobbles calamity.
250 odd kms to end in a group sprint.
To cap it all off, Eurosport leave before any of the official results.
A poor man's sport in their eyes.
Is a reduced group sprint in itself a bad thing? Plenty of things happening in the last hour. It wasn't epic, but at least some proper attacks from some decent names (Nibali, Kelderman, Tony) with 40 km to go, unlike Flanders and Roubaix
BMC rode very differently from Etix. If Van Avermaet would have been allowed to ride with Fuglsang, BMC could have won
Pretty standard for those sort of attacks with the standard non cooperation result.
GVA not being allowed to work with Fuglsang is another example of the prescribed nature of the race, if not the week.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
Must be a great feeling to line up for a race and see that Big Tony is on your side.
Mark Cavendish @MarkCavendish
· 2h 2 hours ago
Wow!! @michalkwiatek!!! Sheer class in #AmstelGoldRace! The overhead shot of him finding space in the group in the last 500m is impressive.
Believe that a farther shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells
To cap it all off, Eurosport leave before any of the official results.
A poor man's sport in their eyes.
Granted the coverage and commentary are sometimes a little off, but just look at all the racing they're showing over the next week (Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne, Tour of Turkey, Tour of Croatia and Liege Bastogne Liege). It's far from a poor man's sport.
Just finished watching. I thought there was plenty going on in the last 50k to provide entertainment. I was wishing Martin had worked a bit more with nibs - just because I like watching him tear it up. But he had beed doing a load of work on the fron for a long time before that break went.
I like Kwia, so very pleased with the result.
Dan Lloyd is almost good enough to counteract f*cking Kirby
Nothing wrong will falling asleep during a bike race!
Part of the cycling experience. It lulls you to sleep like a lullaby like nothing else, and you naturally wake up at the interesting bits.
Sean Kelly (Bless him) is the best at making me fall to sleep. Every time, especially if I've got up early in the morning to squeeze a ride in so I'm already tired.
Nothing wrong will falling asleep during a bike race!
Part of the cycling experience. It lulls you to sleep like a lullaby like nothing else, and you naturally wake up at the interesting bits.
Yep, lost track of the times I've dozed off to wake for the final 500m. Must be the change in commentary, unfortunately this means I wake every 5 minutes when Carlton is on - usually to see someone making a half hearted dig off the front or almost losing it on a corner.
It's a great feeling seeing a World Champion winning a race of this caliber. Today's win was even more special as Kwiatek is my man and countryman! It was a really good day for Polish cycling, which is currently at its best, with a first and ninth place in the AGR, Domagalski (Raleigh Team) winning in Scotland and Bialoblocki (One Pro Cycling) in Ham Hill RR. :-)
Posts
That's just his honesty shining true, thankfully it was anybody but Piti!!
No I absolutely agree that it shouldn't be right at the top of the Cauberg but at the moment it's just a bit too long. There were 30 or so riders in that sprint - too many for my liking.
That was a proper exciting end to a bike race. I think the left in to the Caulberg is my favourite corner in procycling.
Great move, made sure he was always in someones draft when he launched his sprint.
I never get that excited by the Amstel Gold for some reason, not sure if I'm in the minority. Possibly because I associate it with a horrible beer!
MTB
NEW Cross
Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
Sky internet, just like Sky cycling = slightly disappointing.
I reckon he would.
Anyone with the nickname of Flowerman would wave at everybody.
This is good to know. I can now enjoy my non-Amstel Paasij in the sun happy.
Tim Liew @timliew · 6m6 minutes ago Thatcham, England
Random stat: today the first time since LBL 2013 that any Ardennes classic has finished with someone other than Dani Moreno in 9th #AGR
I don't even care if that's true or false.
Stat-tastic
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells
Matthews went very deep to stay with Phil Gil, Kiwa didn't go super deep.
Bmc terrible lead out.
Better finish location.
Won a few now with a finish 1km or so after a hill, either by dropping the climbers on the slope or having enough left to take on the sprinters.
Agreed, the last 20k isn't tough enough. The way the race zig zags around the countryside they could quite easily reconfigure the course so that the don't use that last finishing circuit. The organisers just seem desperate to use the Cauberg as many times as possible.
POL 1 KWIATKOWSKI, Michal (ETIXX - QUICK STEP) 6:31:49
ESP 2 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR)
AUS 3 MATTHEWS, Michael (ORICA GreenEDGE)
POR 4 FARIA DA COSTA, Rui Alberto (LAMPRE - MERIDA)
BEL 5 VAN AVERMAET, Greg (BMC RACING)
FRA 6 GALLOPIN, Tony (LOTTO SOUDAL)
FRA 7 ALAPHILIPPE, Julian (ETIXX - QUICK STEP)
ITA 8 GASPAROTTO, Enrico (WANTY - GROUPE GOBERT)
POL 9 PATERSKI, Maciej (CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE)
BEL 10 GILBERT, Philippe (BMC RACING)
Overall, another gawd awful edition.
Huge group left at the foot of the Cauberg.
Ridiculously strong BMC manage to mirror the Etix cobbles calamity.
250 odd kms to end in a group sprint.
To cap it all off, Eurosport leave before any of the official results.
A poor man's sport in their eyes.
Seems to be a theme this weekend, a slightly over large lunch and the sun streaming in through the door were too much for me
- @ddraver
BMC rode very differently from Etix. If Van Avermaet would have been allowed to ride with Fuglsang, BMC could have won
Pretty standard for those sort of attacks with the standard non cooperation result.
GVA not being allowed to work with Fuglsang is another example of the prescribed nature of the race, if not the week.
Mark Cavendish @MarkCavendish
· 2h 2 hours ago
Wow!! @michalkwiatek!!! Sheer class in #AmstelGoldRace! The overhead shot of him finding space in the group in the last 500m is impressive.
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells
Granted the coverage and commentary are sometimes a little off, but just look at all the racing they're showing over the next week (Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne, Tour of Turkey, Tour of Croatia and Liege Bastogne Liege). It's far from a poor man's sport.
I like Kwia, so very pleased with the result.
Dan Lloyd is almost good enough to counteract f*cking Kirby
www.philwinterbourne.co.uk
Part of the cycling experience. It lulls you to sleep like a lullaby like nothing else, and you naturally wake up at the interesting bits.
MTB
NEW Cross
Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
Nah, this rule only applies GT stages!
Yep, lost track of the times I've dozed off to wake for the final 500m. Must be the change in commentary, unfortunately this means I wake every 5 minutes when Carlton is on - usually to see someone making a half hearted dig off the front or almost losing it on a corner.