November 24, 2024 Login  


Unanswered Active Topics Forums Search
Forums > Road > Professional Racing
Flanders Picks
Last Post 04/05/2021 07:16 AM by Cosmic Kid. 8 Replies.
Printer Friendly
Sort:
PrevPrev NextNext
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages
79pmooney

Posts:3189

--
04/03/2021 05:48 PM
No thread yet on Flanders picks?  Is the world coming to the end and no one told me?

My crystal ball isn't working too well.  I'm going with either van de Poel or Aerts, probably van de Poel, on the top step, Alaphilippe or other DQ-S and a rider from another team entirely taking the bottom two steps.  I'd love that other rider to be Terpstra but I don't think he is there yet this spring.
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

--
04/03/2021 06:07 PM
Van Aert. He’s on rising form.

Seems finish is an hour earlier than others years. I think they’ve started doing this in Belgium so they can go straight from men’s coverage into women’s race . Good for coverage. Not so good for having to get up at 5 am. Yikes.
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

--
04/04/2021 10:02 AM
Excellent race. Excellent winner in Asgreen.

Van Aert has some thinking to do about what direction to take his career in short term. The various things he is trying to combine may be too much.
79pmooney

Posts:3189

--
04/04/2021 12:21 PM
Well the crystal ball wasn't too far off. Put van de Poel one step too high and it was Asgreen instead of Alaphilippe.

What a race by both Asgreen and van de Poel! Asgreen benefited a lot from the E(|!)QS train but this wasn't an EQS "we do all the work and (place rider here) wins". Long before the finale, there was a certain van Aert probably silently cursing this Asgreen guy for making his life so miserable. I was wondering throughout the race if Asgreen was simply setting up van de Poel for the win by wearing out everyone else, reducing the lead group to himself, van de Poel and perhaps a couple of other, then not having van de Poel acceleration and maybe just making the podium. Yes, he did the long solo a few days ago then attacked for the win but that wasn't Flanders.

Another issue for the peloton - yet another D(E)QS rider the front runners have to mark. Yes, everyone always knew he was very strong. But having both race winning speed and race winning smarts after do those efforts?
Dale

Posts:1767

--
04/04/2021 05:42 PM
Seeing WVA paperboy up the last climb! Flanders is a hard mans race for sure.
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

--
04/04/2021 06:41 PM
Most of the time Matje goes straight from a race back to his favourite passtime, Fortnight.

This one he is will be replaying in his head a few times.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

--
04/04/2021 10:18 PM
Today was another example of MvdP trying to bludgeon everyone into submission....from 50+k out, he attacked nearly every hill, eventually burning up all his marches.

When he feels great, he can’t contain himself....but he needs to learn that skill if he wants to win consistently.

Unbelievable ride by Asgreen. It was clear Allaphillipe was not going to factor when Asgreen went. MvdP and WvA covered the move and JA did not respond. It wasn’t like the two Bahrain riders needed to be marked. And then for Asgreen to ride with those two guys instead of sitting on, i thiught was insane. But man, what a ride. Studly.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

--
04/04/2021 11:24 PM
Hmm that’s not what I saw. To me it looked like van Aert and MVDP would have been happy to wait it out a little longer but JA put in the early digs forcing them to respond. That was the early work designed to set up Asgreen. Asgreen even hinted before start that rotating repeat attacks were the way they we’re going to soften the competition. Once they had a lead group MVDP needed to attack to prevent a numerical advantage situation of DQS and then finally to distance van Aert as the fast finisher. There was just one stronger guy today.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

--
04/05/2021 07:16 AM
Asgreen even hinted before start that rotating repeat attacks were the way they we’re going to soften the competition


Oh, without a doubt. But when Asgreen starts a move that then includes the two overwhelming favorites, and JA is right there, basic strategy would be that JA joins them so they have a tactical advantage. 9/10 races, WvA or MdvP would win from that threesome, otherwise.

And it was very evident just a bit later that JA simply didn’t have the legs yesterday.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Forums > Road > Professional Racing
Active Forums 4.1
NOT LICENSED FOR PRODUCTION USE
www.activemodules.com

Latest Forum Posts
2024 Tour de France Femmes posted in Professional Racing
cruuuuuunch posted in Gear Advice
Zwift posted in Road Cycling
TDF 2024 posted in Professional Racing
Flanders (and Roubaix) posted in Professional Racing
Anyone have fun bike projects going? posted in The Coffee Shop
so quiet posted in The Coffee Shop
No articles match criteria.
  Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy  Copyright 2008-2013 by VeloNation LLC