Fleche Wallonne 2017 - Spoilers

2

Comments

  • bluemoon17
    bluemoon17 Posts: 718
    Dan Martin leaving it too late again.
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    Brilliant from valverde... again. Sensational season he's having. But this race needs some refreshing.
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    Shame Gilbert's out. Probably would have been the same result, but I reckon Gilbert could have run him closer
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    Graeme_S wrote:
    Even had time to give his moustache an extra twirl before the line :D

    hqdefault.jpg
  • wombly_knees
    wombly_knees Posts: 657
    Also, how many times has Albasini finished top 10 in this race? That without ever really threatening to win the race.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Bluemoon17 wrote:
    Dan Martin leaving it too late again.
    He seems to lack the capacity to learn
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Everyone follows Valverde's winning formula to the letter and the gets beaten comfortably by Valverde
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    I always think of Dan Martin as a rider who looks absolutely unbeatable one day in every 700 or so and is virtually anonymous the rest of the time.

    A lot of it does seem to be down to positioning and timing.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,547
    Bluemoon17 wrote:
    Dan Martin leaving it too late again.

    He was poorly positioned. If his team had managed to get him to the front with the other favourites at the foot of the Mur it would've been a closer run finish.
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    David Gaudu FDJ was 9th and he's only 20 yrs old. Next up for him is Tour de Romandie.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    andyp wrote:
    Bluemoon17 wrote:
    Dan Martin leaving it too late again.

    He was poorly positioned. If his team had managed to get him to the front with the other favourites at the foot of the Mur it would've been a closer run finish.
    The problem is, look back at threads for past Fleches and the same thing gets written every year.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    RonB wrote:
    David Gaudu FDJ was 9th and he's only 20 yrs old. Next up for him is Tour de Romandie.

    was that him or Mollard that set it off? Valverde did go round pretty lively . FdJ suddenly seem to have a climbing team again with the obvious revival of Pinot and Reichenbach , Mollard, Gaudu Morabito plus 'help'
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    RonB wrote:
    David Gaudu FDJ was 9th and he's only 20 yrs old. Next up for him is Tour de Romandie.

    was that him or Mollard that set it off? Valverde did go round pretty lively . FdJ suddenly seem to have a climbing team again with the obvious revival of Pinot and Reichenbach , Mollard, Gaudu Morabito plus 'help'

    C9zCd-_XkAAyqZQ.jpg

    Just checked via the Steephill/ LeTourDeFrance repeat of the last km and it was Gaudu who had a go at around 250m from the finish.

    In other news, Michael Valgren has posted a team interview on Twitter. While unsurprisingly he will miss LBL he has no broken bones and looks forward to resuming training and racing soon.
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    Gaudu's got that self belief that perhaps it has taken some time for Bardet and Pinot to find but Alaphillipe and Barguil haven't struggled with so much
  • The_Boy
    The_Boy Posts: 3,099
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Gaudu's got that self belief that perhaps it has taken some time for Bardet and Pinot to find but Alaphillipe and Barguil haven't struggled with so much

    Couldn't watch the race today and only just catching up now, but watching the last ascent of Huy just now and Barguil was exactly the name that came to mind (specifically his first Vuelta stage wins) when Gaudu was hanging about at the front with the big boys as if it was exactly where he meant to be.
    Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,598
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hkq6uwXOH8

    i think that was the most boring thing i've ever seen. it was like watching a club run
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    gsk82 wrote:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hkq6uwXOH8

    i think that was the most boring thing i've ever seen. it was like watching a club run

    Cheers.

    Looking at that, Valverde had it in the bag if he was run closer by a better positioned Dan Martin.
    _
  • dolan_driver
    dolan_driver Posts: 831
    You have to feel sorry for the race organisers. Sad that their race is being dominated by a rider with his history. :cry:

    DD.
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,473
    Is there any other rider who has Valverde's punch at his power to weight? Gilbert comes to mind, but even he is about 6-8kg heavier. Froome looks insane when he goes super spin mode, but he doesn't do one day races and I'm not sure he wouldn't require a much longer climb to truly get away.
    Valverde seems rather unique in his ability to punch it on a short steep climb (he has other qualities as well, but speaking just about this ability here).
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    M.R.M. wrote:
    Is there any other rider who has Valverde's punch at his power to weight? Gilbert comes to mind, but even he is about 6-8kg heavier. Froome looks insane when he goes super spin mode, but he doesn't do one day races and I'm not sure he wouldn't require a much longer climb to truly get away.
    Valverde seems rather unique in his ability to punch it on a short steep climb (he has other qualities as well, but speaking just about this ability here).
    It's a shame Alaphilippe is injured, he would challenge. I'd like to see what Bardet could do. Froome would be interesting if you got a team to really string it out from 2-3km out.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,473
    Yeah I agree. Alaphilippe is probably closest when ignoring prime Gilbert (who is heavier, but has more power).

    Does Bardet really have a great acceleration? He isn't quite the super light diesel like Quintana, but I don't think I've ever seen him drop elite competition purely off of acceleration. Something like Alexis Vuillermoz here.
    Albeit, Vuillermoz even went at 800m to go. No idea if he could pull it off against Valverde at 200m to go on a steeper hill.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    M.R.M. wrote:
    No idea if he could pull it off against Valverde at 200m to go on a steeper hill.
    If you're leaving it that late, you're dead already.

    The problem is riders are riding to Valverde's template. Something needs to be different. Put some GC big beasts in and get them to attack early - that'll knock Valverde off his rails.

    Ultimately though, this is a mid week prelude to LBL. So the main players are happy to wait and just get the best result they can for minimal effort.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,887
    RichN95 wrote:
    andyp wrote:
    Bluemoon17 wrote:
    Dan Martin leaving it too late again.

    He was poorly positioned. If his team had managed to get him to the front with the other favourites at the foot of the Mur it would've been a closer run finish.
    The problem is, look back at threads for past Fleches and the same thing gets written every year.

    And to continue the annual discussion, he still has an enviable Palmares.
  • specialgueststar
    specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
    Valverde has won all three Spanish stage races so far this year including giving it to Contador and Froome at Catalunya. Like him or loathe him he is a phenomenon His acceleration on that final climb was a world class punch
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    J rod was that guy. lighter and with better 1 minute power but not the same peak. no one could stay with him up a 1 Minute climb... trouble is the Mur de Huy is longer...
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    gsk82 wrote:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hkq6uwXOH8

    i think that was the most boring thing i've ever seen. it was like watching a club run

    Steep ≠ exciting.
    _
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    edited April 2017
    SpecialGuestStar wrote:
    Valverde has won all three Spanish stage races so far this year including giving it to Contador and Froome at Catalunya. Like him or loathe him he is a phenomenon His acceleration on that final climb was a world class punch
    Valverde's wins in the previous four seasons:

    Up to LBL: 28
    After LBL: 5 (excluding Spanish champs)

    Basically he's the only major stage racer who focuses on the hilly classics, so he's always ahead of the curve in terms of form. From next month they all catch up.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    M.R.M. wrote:
    Is there any other rider who has Valverde's punch at his power to weight? Gilbert comes to mind, but even he is about 6-8kg heavier. Froome looks insane when he goes super spin mode, but he doesn't do one day races and I'm not sure he wouldn't require a much longer climb to truly get away.
    Valverde seems rather unique in his ability to punch it on a short steep climb (he has other qualities as well, but speaking just about this ability here).
    Watch the 2015 Tour for the answer.
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    gsk82 wrote:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hkq6uwXOH8

    i think that was the most boring thing i've ever seen. it was like watching a club run

    Steep ≠ exciting.

    As we find out every year at the Vuelta.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    I don't know if it's nostalgia but I always thought of this being a great race when I first started following cycling properly at the end of the 80s. Was it always second rate or is it a result of the top riders specialising?

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