Ronde van Vlaanderen 2017 *spoilers*
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He's on the maybe list. I don't think he has any chance, but then I didn't think he had much on Sunday either.
Amstel won't get him a 5th monument podium.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:OnYourRight wrote:
Gilbert is classy alright (spiky hairstyle excepted). But his ride here was flattered by the Sagan crash.Milton50 wrote:Agree that he's always been pure class. Sometimes a change of scenery and a sit down with your new boss works wonders.
Nice to see him win like this for Quick-Step.
So name a climb where Gilbert lost more than 5 seconds to the Sagan GvA/ GvA Dylan van Barrle group?
You've got 8 to chose from.
It's not on the climbs that he would have been losing more time to a strong, committed group, surely? It's out in the open.0 -
KingstonGraham wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:OnYourRight wrote:
Gilbert is classy alright (spiky hairstyle excepted). But his ride here was flattered by the Sagan crash.Milton50 wrote:Agree that he's always been pure class. Sometimes a change of scenery and a sit down with your new boss works wonders.
Nice to see him win like this for Quick-Step.
So name a climb where Gilbert lost more than 5 seconds to the Sagan GvA/ GvA Dylan van Barrle group?
You've got 8 to chose from.
It's not on the climbs that he would have been losing more time to a strong, committed group, surely? It's out in the open.
(my point, if you'd have answered, was that on 5 of the 8 he pulled time out, and the other 3 he didn't lose any time).0 -
Exactly. Despite the Sagan crash that put GvA on the ground, GvA got within 30 seconds of Gilbert while nearly singlehandedly chasing (and then winning his sprint).KingstonGraham wrote:It's not on the climbs that he would have been losing more time to a strong, committed group, surely? It's out in the open.
It’s possible that Gilbert would have held off a Sagan-GvA chase but hardly likely. There was plenty of flat riding into the wind. As I say, the crash made his ride look better.
His ride was hugely impressive regardless. Obviously. And I’d have been cheering him on to the last if Sagan and GvA had been chasing him.0 -
1. Delighted to know that Macaloon is alive! I was genuinely worried...
2. Cracking race, impressive from Pip. He looks great in the natchamps kit and what a way to show it off!
3. Rick called it for Pip as it happened. Hat
4. Why do we have to make this about sodding Sagan? Question, would Boonen have kept Sagan under control if his bike hadn't died.
5. Poor Sep
Though my is testing my patience... If he's not careful I might replace him with Terpstra 
6. Kirby is an idiot.
7. Missed being roadside... making plans for next year now!0 -
OnYourRight wrote:
Exactly. Despite the Sagan crash that put GvA on the ground, GvA got within 30 seconds of Gilbert while nearly singlehandedly chasing (and then winning his sprint).KingstonGraham wrote:It's not on the climbs that he would have been losing more time to a strong, committed group, surely? It's out in the open.
It’s possible that Gilbert would have held off a Sagan-GvA chase but hardly likely. There was plenty of flat riding into the wind. As I say, the crash made his ride look better.
His ride was hugely impressive regardless. Obviously. And I’d have been cheering him on to the last if Sagan and GvA had been chasing him.
That's not strictly true, is it? It would have been closer if one of the two riders working were Sagan, but it would probably have been 2 vs 1, with Gilbert having a minute advantage over 10km. My money would still be on Gilbert.
As it was, Gilbert caused carnage behind him, and won impressively.0 -
Frame by frame suggesting Sagan caught his handlebar on the jacket hanging over the barrier
https://www.facebook.com/PeterSagFan/vi ... 400209654/
Crash of Peter Sagan played frame by frame. His handlebar hits the bue jacket on the barrier ! Damn it !
Dunno.“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
He had the whole road - just like Gilbert did.
Maybe he was annoyed Gilbert had pulled the gap out in the run up to the climb.0 -
“I think Peter Sagan was close to the barrier or the people and maybe he hit somebody on the side of the road and I was just behind so I couldn’t avoid the crash. That was the moment when maybe we could have still done something with Peter and Olivier Naesen. We could have worked together but then you stop, you crash, and you lose another 30 seconds and then the race is over. If you see how close we still came at the finish I think the race was not over until that point.”
“Gilbert was really strong and he went early. We were a bit behind and it was hard to work together with some guys and then I had to wait until I could get away and try and close the gap. Then it was still one minute so it was a bit too far. But maybe if the crash hadn’t have happened it would have been a different story. Chapeau to Philippe.”
-GvA0 -
Chapeau to Philippe.0
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what a grotesque circus, disgusting0
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EnacheV wrote:what a grotesque circus, disgusting
Which team was it had Circus on the back of their shorts?0 -
E Vache has been hobnobbing amongst the Clinicians again0
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Too young to remember Gilbert as a poster boy for anti-doping.
His success was generally seen once upon a time as a sign that cycling was less juiced.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Too young to remember Gilbert as a poster boy for anti-doping.
His success was generally seen once upon a time as a sign that cycling was less juiced.
Seven years with Msr Madiot at FdJ. He started there same year as Wiggins0 -
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So if Gilbert does race next weekend, what do QS do? I had kind of assumed that they would work for Boonen. However, Gilbert is obviously the man on form. They could make them joint leaders (but that dilutes resources if they are both there in the finale). If he rides will Gilbert feel like he has to do the honourable thing and work for Boonen (does he need to do the honourable thing?). He's obviously earned the right to race for the victory himself.
He wants to win all 5 monuments - and with age against him he might not hit another streak of form like he has at the moment to add PR to his palmarès
A nice problem for QS to have or a tough call to make.
I. can't. wait!0 -
SPaM02 wrote:So if Gilbert does race next weekend, what do QS do? I had kind of assumed that they would work for Boonen. However, Gilbert is obviously the man on form. They could make them joint leaders (but that dilutes resources if they are both there in the finale). If he rides will Gilbert feel like he has to do the honourable thing and work for Boonen (does he need to do the honourable thing?). He's obviously earned the right to race for the victory himself.
He wants to win all 5 monuments - and with age against him he might not hit another streak of form like he has at the moment to add PR to his palmarès
A nice problem for QS to have or a tough call to make.
I. can't. wait!
As y'day showed (as well as those clips from GW) Boonen is road captain and decides the tactics.
He was the one who hatched the QS plan into the Muur & beyond.
He'd be in charge and ultimately they'd play a similar card. Let Gilbert go up the road and Boonen & Terpstra to follow the wheels.
I mean, QS are RIDICULOUSLY strong in PR on paper. They really don't need Phil, and he'd be a useful foil for Alaphilippe in the fortnight after.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:SPaM02 wrote:So if Gilbert does race next weekend, what do QS do? I had kind of assumed that they would work for Boonen. However, Gilbert is obviously the man on form. They could make them joint leaders (but that dilutes resources if they are both there in the finale). If he rides will Gilbert feel like he has to do the honourable thing and work for Boonen (does he need to do the honourable thing?). He's obviously earned the right to race for the victory himself.
He wants to win all 5 monuments - and with age against him he might not hit another streak of form like he has at the moment to add PR to his palmarès
A nice problem for QS to have or a tough call to make.
I. can't. wait!
As y'day showed (as well as those clips from GW) Boonen is road captain and decides the tactics.
He was the one who hatched the QS plan into the Muur & beyond.
He'd be in charge and ultimately they'd play a similar card. Let Gilbert go up the road and Boonen & Terpstra to follow the wheels.
I mean, QS are RIDICULOUSLY strong in PR on paper. They really don't need Phil, and he'd be a useful foil for Alaphilippe in the fortnight after.
If I was Boonen, looking to go out on a high, I'd think twice about sending Gilbert up the road after yesterday
You're right, they're really spoilt for choice next weekend.
Looking like it's going to be dry, hot and sunny for Sunday0 -
Not a good day for the Lottos eh?
At least Soudal got two in the top 20 (Gallopin 17, Griepel 20) though what happened Benoot?
Lotto-Jumbo - woah... their highest placed rider was Bram at 58. And I don't remember seeing their yellow once during the race..
Even Bahrain's crash fest resulted in a top 10 placing!0 -
Yep, would agree with that. If he rides, and QS find themselves in a position to do it, then I'd be very surprised if they didn't try this. Only in that case it actually would be sacrificial.Rick Chasey wrote:Let Gilbert go up the road and Boonen & Terpstra to follow the wheels.0 -
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Why do you bother watching cycling? Just curious. I mean, you're obviously not 'just' a wind-up merchant like some of the other flumps on here - but you seem genuinely not to believe any performance of note is worth watching because they're 'obviously' juiced? Wouldn't you be better off watching something where your enjoyment wasn't completely overcome by an inability to believe it was legit?EnacheV wrote:what a grotesque circus, disgustingFat chopper. Some racing. Some testing. Some crashing.
Specialising in Git Daaahns and Cafs. Norvern Munkey/Transplanted Laaandoner.0 -
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thegibdog wrote:
Yep, would agree with that. If he rides, and QS find themselves in a position to do it, then I'd be very surprised if they didn't try this. Only in that case it actually would be sacrificial.Rick Chasey wrote:Let Gilbert go up the road and Boonen & Terpstra to follow the wheels.
This time last year we were talking about them Etixxing it up again and they managed to miss out several times with superior numbers in the selections. If Gilbert had been pulled back then Terpstra clearly wasn't going to be any use.0 -
Mad_Malx wrote:thegibdog wrote:
Yep, would agree with that. If he rides, and QS find themselves in a position to do it, then I'd be very surprised if they didn't try this. Only in that case it actually would be sacrificial.Rick Chasey wrote:Let Gilbert go up the road and Boonen & Terpstra to follow the wheels.
This time last year we were talking about them Etixxing it up again and they managed to miss out several times with superior numbers in the selections. If Gilbert had been pulled back then Terpstra clearly wasn't going to be any use.
Can't hold Boonen's mechanical at the door of their tactics.
Terpstra got a podium remember!0 -
I think tactically having a new bike not set up properly was a bit weak.0
