Liege Bastogne Liege 2016 ***SPOILERS***

1…45679

Comments

  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    The_Boy wrote:
    Above The Cows wrote:
    The_Boy wrote:
    Mad_Malx wrote:
    The_Boy wrote:
    Well that was a shoot race

    FTFY

    Meh, I quite like attritional races, but the last 7km or so was rubbish. As was the winner.

    Hey what's wrong with Wout?

    Really not a Sky fan, though I likely wouldn't have cheered for any of the front 4.


    You cheeky Boy
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    Just spotted that Steve Cummings finished in that lead group. Good result for him & the team.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    I saw someone on twitter mention that of the final four Poels was the only one to take his gloves off which makes it easier to sprint.

    Never heard that before. I've never had any probs sprinting in gloves.

    Makes you feel faster, definitely. Nothing worse than hot hands on a bike.
    Poels said he took them off so he could shift gears better for the sprint.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,570
    RichN95 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    I saw someone on twitter mention that of the final four Poels was the only one to take his gloves off which makes it easier to sprint.

    Never heard that before. I've never had any probs sprinting in gloves.

    Makes you feel faster, definitely. Nothing worse than hot hands on a bike.
    Poels said he took them off so he could shift gears better for the sprint.

    I thought his front mech was bust. He was spinning his legs and looking down a lot. Hopefully the fan who caught the second glove was able to get in to the road for the first.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Rapha kit, ain't cheap!
    _
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Pouls just lobbed his gloves in the middle of the road. A fan grabbed his left glove, but the right one was rode over by the peloton....
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • Shadowrider
    Shadowrider Posts: 483
    Wow, well done Poels one of my fav riders. PCM staple for me. Wow.

    The clinic is a joke, they are now using the fact sky didn't give him a certain race number from their selection to mean that they didn't think he would win, which obviously means he's doping.

    What is it that these people watch the sport for? If anyone wins they must be doping, unless they've won it before, which of course means they must be doping. IDK.
  • Richmond Racer 2
    Richmond Racer 2 Posts: 4,698
    ^Shadowrider, sorry if this sounds patronising, but you have a choice

    You know if you venture into the Asykum what you're going to meet with
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    Richmond Racer 2 wrote:
    ^Shadowrider, sorry if this sounds patronising, but you have a choice

    You know if you venture into the Asykum what you're going to meet with

    Kermit, Miss Piggy, Beaker, Bert, Gonzo...
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Right - what's the solution to what is a sh!te race?
    _
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    Dunno, watching the highlights soon. Been busy all day.

    Please don't tell me who won, especially of it was Poels.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,535
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Right - what's the solution to what is a sh!te race?

    Run it the other way round.

    Seriously though, it's got a puncheur's finish, and that's fine. But get rid of at least some of the climbs between la Redoute and the finish then. It's a long race, the field is whittled down, nobody who is anybody is going to try and get away early with two savage climbs so close to the end, they know they won't have the legs. If they think they've got the legs then they'll wait anyway.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Right - what's the solution to what is a sh!te race?

    You could try not watching it.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Some classic Wout Poels quotes, translated.

    Cg82GI1WkAAgyq5.jpg:large
    “My whole house is one big man cave. A while ago I was telling that to the team. They said ‘Wout, that can’t be right. A man cave is a space in a house’. Well, surely I’ll decide that? It’s my house. And if my girlfriend ever lives with me, I’ll make it into a romantic cave”
    _
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Are these Ardennes classics too easy these days? It seems to me that even the worst domestique can get to the St. Nicholas with the peloton... so it's all down to the last 10 miles or so... pretty boring, if you ask me
    left the forum March 2023
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    that's the thing, Its about attrition, yet you can still get the majority running with the lead bunch for most of the race. more mid race attacks from people with decent TT engines would probably cause more damage. but everyone factors in the ability to deliver their #1 and #2 riders to the last 10 k so there isn't the capability of doing that...

    its the hardest day on a bike, but its too dull.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,660
    It's 2 things,

    1) the peloton is that much more professional now that the difference between the "worst domestique" and the winner is a lot smaller. In fact there is now no such thing as a "worst domestique" any more.

    2) The general malaise that afflicts all of cycling where riding conservatively for a top 10 place is better than risking all for the win but finishing 100th (or as AGR showed, 20th!)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • deejay
    deejay Posts: 3,138
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Are these Ardennes classics too easy these days? It seems to me that even the worst domestique can get to the St. Nicholas with the peloton... so it's all down to the last 10 miles or so... pretty boring, if you ask me
    The organisers keep putting in more climbs to liven things up but the riders now ride tempo everywhere and even over La Redoute. 25 riders holding hands over St Nicks waiting for a little 600 meter Jostle that completely had the main contenders at a loss and unable to summon enough strength up the ANS road.
    Why I've even seen Rolf Sorensen catch Tony Rominger over a bigger distance up the ANS road than what was needed last Sunday .
    I enjoyed the 2016 Liege Bastogne race as once again there were surprises right to the end.
    Poels’ relatively slow sprint and the fact that Albasini was unable to get near to coming round him demonstrated how exacting the day had been as the utterly miserable conditions had taken their toll.
    Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 1972
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    I just think the terrain is not selective enough... yes, it's a lot of climbing (although 5K over 250 Km is not extreme), but none of the cotes is actually long or steep for very long... they're the kind of climbs you find in the Chilterns and Surrey... the Cotswolds are already harder than the Ardennes... and we have seen that even Yorkshire doesn't make much of a selection these days...
    left the forum March 2023
  • DL1987
    DL1987 Posts: 204
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Right - what's the solution to what is a sh!te race?

    Some of it has to do with fans coming off the Cobbled classics "high" and it not reaching the same excitement levels. Could a calendar change improve things? Run Ardennes week before Flanders/Roubaix period?
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,660
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I just think the terrain is not selective enough... yes, it's a lot of climbing (although 5K over 250 Km is not extreme), but none of the cotes is actually long or steep for very long... they're the kind of climbs you find in the Chilterns and Surrey... the Cotswolds are already harder than the Ardennes... and we have seen that even Yorkshire doesn't make much of a selection these days...


    What does "selective" mean though Ugo? Just making harder does not make it any more likely that we get an interesting race, if anything the opposite has proven to be true
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    ddraver wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I just think the terrain is not selective enough... yes, it's a lot of climbing (although 5K over 250 Km is not extreme), but none of the cotes is actually long or steep for very long... they're the kind of climbs you find in the Chilterns and Surrey... the Cotswolds are already harder than the Ardennes... and we have seen that even Yorkshire doesn't make much of a selection these days...


    What does "selective" mean though Ugo? Just making harder does not make it any more likely that we get an interesting race, if anything the opposite has proven to be true

    What I mean is the Lombardia... Ghisallo is a proper climb and the Muro di Sormano is exactly what it says... a wall... the result is a much more selective race and frankly a better one... it's not just about the metres of climbing... you need the quality too and the Ardennes lack quality
    left the forum March 2023
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,660
    Are you suggesting that we move Liege -Bastogne -Liege to...I dunno...Grenoble-Alpe d'huez-Grenoble?

    Cos I think that's kinda missing the point...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • deejay
    deejay Posts: 3,138
    DL1987 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Right - what's the solution to what is a sh!te race?

    Some of it has to do with fans coming off the Cobbled classics "high" and it not reaching the same excitement levels. Could a calendar change improve things? Run Ardennes week before Flanders/Roubaix period?
    That won't work any different because Roubaix is "Hard Riding" after Arenberg and then every effort they can after Orchies.

    That attitude to racing is needed in the last 80 Km's of Liege Bastogne.
    Too many GC teams and their tactics are ruining the race and the organisers should do something about it.
    I've been an official at Herne Hill track where top riders are just staying in the Bunch chatting and will suddenly come alive and race the last couple of laps.
    Then the Chief Commisaire has then pulled them out if they don't want to race and we listened to the outrage as they whinge about the decision. They didn't promenade again but raced and if they got a lap up, they could then promenade.
    Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 1972
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,660
    The chief commisaire was taking the p1ss...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Crozza
    Crozza Posts: 991
    I believe that horseracing has a system whereby riders can be fined/banned if they do not try sufficiently hard enough in a race. If I wasn't such a Wiggins fanboy (who undoubtedly would have been banned for life for some of his "efforts" under such a regime) I would support the introduction of such rules in cycling

    and handing out whips to the spectators
  • The_Boy
    The_Boy Posts: 3,099
    Crozza wrote:
    I believe that horseracing has a system whereby riders can be fined/banned if they do not try sufficiently hard enough in a race.

    Only if they don't try and win. The rules exist to ensure (so far as possible) a fair betting market and have little to do with tactics.
    Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    ddraver wrote:
    Are you suggesting that we move Liege -Bastogne -Liege to...I dunno...Grenoble-Alpe d'huez-Grenoble?

    Cos I think that's kinda missing the point...

    No, I just think the Ardennes classics have lost a bit of the sparkle, for a number of reasons, but primarily because they are not hard enough for today standards. Not sure there is much one can do, the geography is what it is and you can't invent roads that aren't there.
    left the forum March 2023
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,535
    The last couple of climbs look pretty nasty. So just make it 300km and use the extra for a crit loop round them a few times.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    The last couple of climbs look pretty nasty. So just make it 300km and use the extra for a crit loop round them a few times.

    they are 100-200 vertical meters climbs, more for Sagan than for Quintana
    left the forum March 2023

Categories