Race was kinda spectacular, full gas for miles and miles… the Italian rode so well. Loved seeing Cadanian Jackson riding so well too! and how emotional Vos was after the finish. Solid racing!

That race was absolutely mental. Aussi commenator: "at the finish line you could throw a blanket over the three sprinting for bronze and silver".

I thought the French team were 1st Class , when Alaphilippe went  with 16km to go, I thought no way he’ll hold them off 
I watched the last 25 km live , went back to watch from 178km with the intention of skipping forward ,but the race was so gripping 

Powless had an amazing race!

Back to back. What an amazing race!

eloy said:

Powless had an amazing race!

Evenepoel did everything he was asked also , answered the pre race criticism , I thought

Also ...Those crowds !

I am guessing it was the team and/or race director, but seeing a talent like Evenepoel crazy town chase everything down and then get dropped with 25km to go, felt wasteful to me.

That said, don't know if it would changed much for Evenpoel to conserve more.

Jasper Stuyven got on the chase group, he had a great race, while finishing 4th feels like the favorite team did not deliver on the promise..., It still amazes me how pro is pro: Belgium was still able to put a rider in an good position to medal.

eloy said:

I am guessing it was the team and/or race director, but seeing a talent like Evenepoel crazy town chase everything down and then get dropped with 25km to go, felt wasteful to me.

That said, don't know if it would changed much for Evenpoel to conserve more.

Jasper Stuyven got on the chase group, he had a great race, while finishing 4th feels like the favorite team did not deliver on the promise..., It still amazes me how pro is pro: Belgium was still able to put a rider in an good position to medal.

Seems as though Wout gave Stuyven green light with 20k to go , Hard to fault Evenepoel or teams tactics except maybe he should of sat on more  in the front , if at the end of the race ,your protected leader didn't have the legs to finish it off  

Gotta hand it to Voeckler, he guided his team well. They decided that the best strategy was to get ahead of the attacks, and attack first, and not race defensively with an eye on WVA (like most other teams). They made it hard, and likely confused other teams, exhausting them into chasing. This certainly helped in WVA's late race deflation. Regarding Remco, I don't think he rode intelligently. He could still have been very present and helpful in the race if he wasn't driving it so much, destroying himself 25k from the line and then being of no help to his team in the final. It also meant that he knocked himself out as a plan B for a late attack to at least get a silver. Overall, though, it was a fantastic race. Unpredictability, and drama throughout.

Powless was amazing.  He was the first guy to respond when Alaphilippe put in his winning attack.  If he  had been slightly better-placed, maybe he would have had a chance to go with.  Not that Neilson would have won.

Still, I found myself thinking "Powless?  that's a surprise...oh, yeah, he won San Sebastian."

So low key.

Isn't Powless a climber really? Incredible ride. I was happy Sonny Colbrelli couldn't get on Alaphilippe's wheel, he's eaten so many riders' lunches this year. If Trentin hadn't crashed, things would have been different.

I cannot remember a more exciting season.

I find the "What went wrong" stuff about WVA & company to be frustrating; this is cycling and nothing is guaranteed. JA had a phenomenal ride during a brutal race.

Jules said:

I find the "What went wrong" stuff about WVA & company to be frustrating; this is cycling and nothing is guaranteed. JA had a phenomenal ride during a brutal race.

Even without Alaphilippe's phenomenal ride, the Belgians were in a tough spot.  The French team was riding well and had options, so did the Dutch, and when JA put in his attack, the Italians had options as well (might have been a different race if Trentin hadn't crashed, same for Pedersen).  And looking at the results, it's hard to see WVA having an easy time winning from the top 13.  He would have easily taken Powless in a 2-up sprint and probably Hoelgaard was well, but after that, everyone else was a pretty tough finisher who could both sprint well and go long if need be.

If anything, WVA just had merely good legs for him.  Maybe he peaked too early, maybe something else, but the victory was not his for the taking.  

WVA has had a season for the ages. And it isn’t even over yet.

What a dick. https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/remco-evenepoel-i-had-the-legs-to-become-world-champion/

Jules said:

What a dick. https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/remco-evenepoel-i-had-the-legs-to-become-world-champion/

He went out of his way to prove his detractors, including Merckx, right.

Remco has much to learn.  

He was asked the question , did he have the legs on a tv show , he said yes , but followed team orders ,
what did he do to prove Merckx right ?

Agree he has much to learn ,and yes let’s remember he’s still a kid 

For a guy who makes his living in a team sport it’s kind of stunning he doesn’t know better. These guys make enough dough, why are they so poorly prepared for press?

@Jules ,I agree with you , somewhat , maybe if these teams didn't treat the riders like cattle ,offering in most cases 2 year deals( i know evenepoel,has along term deal) ,the riders would be a little more invested in the project and not looking after themselves .
I also think that the best riders through history tend to of been "dickheads"
Eddy " humble " Merckx

High performance in almost any discipline requires a degree of absorption that is deeply antisocial.

That said, more than ever the best riders on the road need teams - he's not helping himself at all. As I think about it, perhaps there is some rationale in the teams keeping riders fat dumb & happy - a rider who can't talk to the press is less independent.

Either way, it reminds me of the Twain quote, "if people suspect you're an idiot don't open your mouth and remove the doubt" (I paraphrase)

Mark Taylor said:

He was asked the question , did he have the legs on a tv show , he said yes , but followed team orders ,
what did he do to prove Merckx right ?

Remco's comments, to me at least, suggest he's a selfish rider.  Also not very bright. 

here's a quote:

“After the Smeysberg [the first climb on the Flandrien circuit -ed], I again went to ask Sven and Serge if I could get my chance, and but the response was again no. At that point, it was clear that the leaders were Wout and Jasper. Then I got on with my job without complaining, as I would at Deceuninck-Quick-Step. But I said what I thought to Sven Vanthourenhout; it was a missed opportunity to go seek the world title.”

So, with 180km to go, he puts in a huge attack which does some real damage, and he asks his team bosses to reconsider making him the leader.  Maybe I'm not reading the race as well as he is, but it was with 180km to go, the competition was thinking there's no reason to follow.  Even if he's referring to their second climb of the Smeysberg, there is still 70km remaining and the rest of the race was racing like there was 70km remaining.  Why is he asking then?  Doesn't he see the folly of thinking he's the strongest rider in the race at that moment?      


https://www.velonews.com/news/road/wout-van-aert-claps-back-at-remco-evenepoel-criticism-of-belgian-worlds-tactics/

Your right JP 

Mark Taylor said:

Your right JP 

I don't know about that.  

On the good side, he gives us amateur DS's lots to write about.

You're right about pointing out Merckx's hypocrisy.  The stories about Merckx makes him seem truly awful when he was in as prime as a racer. There's a story that after a stage at the Giro was over, he started yelling at another racer for beating him at an intermediate sprint.  

Jules said:

That said, more than ever the best riders on the road need teams - he's not helping himself at all.

)

I’m being super anecdotal, but I do kind of feel like there’s a shift in the attitudes of the guys who are winning all the things. Wout working for Primoz, Cav gushing over his teammates (apart from that one mechanic), JA doing a lead out in the yellow jersey a few years back, etc. I don’t get the sense that these guys are hated/ feared by their teammates. 

Amphetamines, cocaine etc vs tramadol?

I think the difference is being in a league of their own and knowing it, aka confidence.