Minor Races Thread 2015 - [SPOILERS]

[raindog]

Graceless in defeat....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lefevere-laments-stannards-tactics-in-omloop-het-nieuwsblad

 

[Apollonius]

And how much time did we devote last year to watching Froome tow Contador up mountains? Not quite the same, I know, but when it is three to one, the three call the shots and the one hangs on. What else?
I think it justifies the point I made earlier about Ettix having too many big guns up the front at the time. They didn't sort out their approach. And it was a great feat by Stannard to fight off the Ettix attacks and outsprint Terpstra.

 

[Crackle]

Graceless in defeat....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lefevere-laments-stannards-tactics-in-omloop-het-nieuwsblad

I was just reading that and thinking the same thing but with different words

 

[BalkanExpress]

Graceless in defeat....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lefevere-laments-stannards-tactics-in-omloop-het-nieuwsblad

I think Lefevere has been watching too much of a certain west London based football manager.

Sporza's commentator was making all sorts of strange admiring noise when "super strong Stannard" won, but equally there was a lot of "what on earth were Quickstep doing?"

 

[rich p]

Graceless in defeat....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lefevere-laments-stannards-tactics-in-omloop-het-nieuwsblad

That is poor.

 

[Ladep Rewop]

I agree, he really doesn't come across very well in that interview.

He may have a point about the motorbikes, I don't know, I didn't see the race, and by all accounts it was Vanmarcke's chase that meant Ettix had to ride hard, if he was getting a tow, well that is not right ....... but to criticise Stannard's tactics after he has just won the race is quite comical.Yes maybe he was able to keep his powder dry for the last 30 k but surely that is what road racing is all about, tactics and plans, it was up to Ettix to come up with a plan to win and they couldn't. there is one quote in there where he seems to grudgingly acknowledge that "Stannard did what he had to do" but to follow that by saying he had some moral duty to contribute along with three other riders from the same team is surely just plain sour grapes

Well done Ian Stannard a great win!

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Etixx played a lot of cards today but not very well. Sad to say but Boonen is beginning to look past his sell by date. Terpstra just didn't have the legs, his attack after Stannard caught Boonen was so lacklustre that his own teammate mistook it for just coming through.
But these are just the opening salvoes, what matters is getting it right for the Tour of Flanders, LBL and Paris Roubaix.

 

[rich p]

An irony is that Stybar did nothing at all for 30 km in the chasing group which is why Vanmarcke and Van Avaermart failed to close the gap.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

An irony is that Stybar did nothing at all for 30 km in the chasing group which is why Vanmarcke and Van Avaermart failed to close the gap .

So why do you think Lefevere would want Stybar to help two further rivals to join his boys at the front ? No irony, just simple logic. Perhaps you don't quite understand pro racing as well as you think you do.

 

[rich p]

So why do you think Lefevere would want Stybar to help two further rivals to join his boys at the front ? No irony, just simple logic. Perhaps you don't quite understand pro racing as well as you think you do.

The irony being that obviously Stybar wouldn't be expected to assist the chase, just as obviously, to anyone who understands cycle racing tactics, wouldn't have expected or criticised Stannard for doing likewise. Lefevre's comments are either disingenuous or naive.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

The crucial difference being that Stybar had no vested interest in pulling to get the 2 chasers up to his teammates. After all, if Etixx had wanted their company they could have just eased off on the front. Whereas Stannard certainly did have a vested interest in keeping them at bay, hence Lefevere's argument. Stannard won through wheelsucking, not a classy way for a true champion. But it did the job and that's what he's paid for.

 

[raindog]

Even the French commentators yesterday were saying that there was no way Stannard should share work with three riders from the same team. He was completely outnumbered, and even after "wheelsucking" he managed to out-wit and out-sprint the three of them.
I'll just add that the commentators went bonkers when he finally pulled off the win, and that doesn't happen too often over here, so I'll cherish the memory.

EDIT
I've just made a quick tour of all the bike race news sites I use and I've not found one single mention of wheelsucking. They all write about the heroic aspect of Stannard's win and the fact that he was outnumbered 3 to 1 and still won. (even l'Equipe )

 

[raindog]

2 years running - well done, lad

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Surely a lone Etixx rider faced with 3 opposing team mates in the break would have made the same tactical choice (and LeFevre would then boast about how savvy his rider had been). Stannard would've been daft to impale himself for the bigger glory.

 

[rich p]

Surely a lone Etixx rider faced with 3 opposing team mates in the break would have made the same tactical choice (and LeFevre would then boast about how savvy his rider had been). Stannard would've been daft to impale himself for the bigger glory.

Of course he would. It was up to Ettix to outmanoeuvre Stannard not for him to assist them. No rider would be that stupid and it's disingenuous of Lefevre to suggest otherwise.
It would clearly have been just as stupid for Stybar to have assisted Vanmarcke.
Anyway, I have only seen 2 people who support such a weird view so I wont waste my breath further!