Degenkolb

rick_chasey

Will he ever reach the dizzy heights of 2015 again?

Or has that training accident ruined his career?

philbar72

he's had to modify his grip as the finger(s) were fairly badly damaged. I fear he may not get back to that level again though he showed glimmers of what he was capable of last year. think his peak years were 2012-15 though.

poptart242

I think this season is his last chance at the top level unfortunately. With his mad sprinting style I guess that he'd have needed a pretty secure grip on the bars so that accident is extra bad for him.

I really like him as a rider though, I'd love to see him have a solid classics season and take a couple of the sprints as he used to in La Vuelta.

DeVlaeminck

Difficult to know if the hand injury has affected his ability to race. Shifting can be done with buttons these days, braking with full hydro can be very light, you don't really need a death grip on the bars even when sprinting. I'd have thought if the hand can put up with 5-6 hour races and 20k miles a year on a bike then sprinting wouldn't be a problem. In short I can't see his hand injury affecting his sprint but no doubt someone is going to link to an article in a foreign language sports paper contradicting that

Who knows, a bad crash can just make you that little bit more risk averse so it could be that or it could be other problems, he had tests on his heart and lungs last Summer after suffering a complete loss of power so there is something else going on even if the hand is part of the problem.

joelsim

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Difficult to know if the hand injury has affected his ability to race. Shifting can be done with buttons these days, braking with full hydro can be very light, you don't really need a death grip on the bars even when sprinting. I'd have thought if the hand can put up with 5-6 hour races and 20k miles a year on a bike then sprinting wouldn't be a problem. In short I can see his hand injury affecting his sprint but no doubt someone is going to link to an article in a foreign language sports paper contradicting that

Who knows, a bad crash can just make you that little bit more risk averse so it could be that or it could be other problems, he had tests on his heart and lungs last Summer after suffering a complete loss of power so there is something else going on even if the hand is part of the problem.

Probably not just the hand, I suspect trauma has had an effect on his body in some way, shape or form.

bigmat

Think its mental more than physical. He looked as strong as anyone on the Kemmelberg at Gent Wevelgem, up there with Sagan and Van Avarmaet, but then he didn't have the instinct to follow the right attacks in the run in. I would hope that with a full season under his belt and a bit of luck he could get back to 2015 level.

timoid.

I don't think so. Which is a shame.

I think he may not have got back up to that level, even without a crash. It was an Annus Mirabilis

m.r.m.

I agree. I think the results in that year were better than the rider.

That being said, it is a big shame the accident derailed his career. I hope he gets back to that level, but I think it will take time.

phreak

Bit unfair isn't it? Last year he had three top 10s in classics, which is the best season of his career apart from 2015.

m.r.m.

Well if you win two monuments in a year, 3 top 10's doesn't cut it anymore.

bigmat

Are we talking performance or results here? I think he can get back to his previous performance levels. Whether he can match those results is in the lap of the gods really, same applies to Sagan, Van Avarmaet, Kristoff, Gilbert etc. Valverde is probably the only one you would normally say had a better than evens chance of matching past glories (Fleche and Liege) although with his injuries / age I'm not so sure on him.

phreak

M.R.M. wrote:

Well if you win two monuments in a year, 3 top 10's doesn't cut it anymore.

My point is, if you look at his results, 2015 was the exception more than 2017.

m.r.m.

M.R.M. wrote:

I agree. I think the results in that year were better than the rider.

I agree and wrote the same above.

dish_dash

Won a race today. Stage of the Mallorca Challenge. Maybe things are looking up... Though he's clearly not been the same rider since he was hit by the car. Not sure I would be...

Alex99

Poptart242 wrote:

I think this season is his last chance at the top level unfortunately. With his mad sprinting style I guess that he'd have needed a pretty secure grip on the bars so that accident is extra bad for him.

I really like him as a rider though, I'd love to see him have a solid classics season and take a couple of the sprints as he used to in La Vuelta.

Seeing him crowbar a gap open between Dumoulin and Aru and on stage 19 of the 2015 Vuelta sticks in my mind.

sherer

dish_dash wrote:

Won a race today. Stage of the Mallorca Challenge. Maybe things are looking up... Though he's clearly not been the same rider since he was hit by the car. Not sure I would be...

is that race just a chipper though ?

dish_dash

sherer wrote:

dish_dash wrote:

Won a race today. Stage of the Mallorca Challenge. Maybe things are looking up... Though he's clearly not been the same rider since he was hit by the car. Not sure I would be...

is that race just a chipper though ?

I don't think it even classifies as a chipper. sub-chipper perhaps, don't think he was up against much opposition... but if it gets him back in the winning groove...

poptart242

sherer wrote:

dish_dash wrote:

Won a race today. Stage of the Mallorca Challenge. Maybe things are looking up... Though he's clearly not been the same rider since he was hit by the car. Not sure I would be...

is that race just a chipper though ?

Chipper, but it counts! Oor boy is back, get on the Dege train all the way to Roubaix!

I hope

rick_chasey

Read yesterday he was ill for most of last season.

Basically came back too hard too soon after the crash, got ill, carried on racing, took some time off but not enough to banish the illness in an attempt to be ready for the worlds and actually never fully recovered.

He’s taken off some extra time over this winter and is making bullish noises so we shall see.

philbar72

here's hoping. definitely was one of the best "second tier" sprinters when in his prime...

rick_chasey

Was hoping for a little more from him so far.



Noticed he was in the final group in DDV but he’s not the monster he was pre accident.

Vino'sGhost

i thought he looked pretty strong yesterday. He just needs his weetabix

poptart242

Poptart242 wrote:

sherer wrote:

dish_dash wrote:

Won a race today. Stage of the Mallorca Challenge. Maybe things are looking up... Though he's clearly not been the same rider since he was hit by the car. Not sure I would be...

is that race just a chipper though ?

Chipper, but it counts! Oor boy is back, get on the Dege train all the way to Roubaix!

I hope

Ahem, the Dege train has arrived, that other Roubaix was a smoke screen

rick_chasey

Rick Chasey wrote:

Read yesterday he was ill for most of last season.

Basically came back too hard too soon after the crash, got ill, carried on racing, took some time off but not enough to banish the illness in an attempt to be ready for the worlds and actually never fully recovered.

He’s taken off some extra time over this winter and is making bullish noises so we shall see.

Bullish noises somewhat vindicated.

TheBigBean

philbar72 wrote:

here's hoping. definitely was one of the best "second tier" sprinters when in his prime...

Like Boonen?

salsiccia1

*shots fired*

No_Ta_Doctor

Salsiccia1 wrote:

*shots fired*

Edges backwards towards the door before it gets messy

m.r.m.

Boonen only ever nodded like that over a glass table...