World champs road race

Take it as a compliment, last to jack it in 😉

ransos – Member
Rod Ellingworth should look closer to home – the tactic of having them ride at the front in the pouring rain for 100 miles didn’t seem very sensible…

I did wonder that. Was it Cav’s desire to show respect to the race as a former Champ? Is trying to dominate the entire race the only tactic GB have (see also the Olympics)?

We didn’t really have a rider who was suited to this type of course, and i’m no expert but until we’ve got riders capable of winner one day classics we’ll struggle in one day races.

I’d say we do have riders who could do justice to a course like this but they have spent too much of the season doing other things, probably the same for froome tbh

Sky can improve at classics racing but there is a limit to the resources a team has and to more classics may end up with less GT success; a classics campaign is more of a crapshoot compared to a tour….

Bugger excuses
If just one of those riders who finished was anything less than a top team rider then so should the GB boys. They are not saving themselves for anything big.
When you take on a GB jersey you take on a responsibility.
There was nothing stopping them wrapping up warm and touring round an hour later.
That’s earning respect.
I know that’s not the way modern cyclists work but modern cycling isn’t always right.

Watched this last night, gutted for Purito. Respect to Costa though, smart move. At least Valverde didn’t win.

Who cares about team GB, I didn’t miss them.

We didn’t really have a rider who was suited to this type of course, and i’m no expert but until we’ve got riders capable of winner one day classics we’ll struggle in one day races.

Actually, I reckon our best rider for this type of course is Stannard. He came 6th in the Milan-San Remo so clearly can compete at the top level of one day classics. The team should’ve got behind him.

Actually, I reckon our best rider for this type of course is Stannard.

+1

That man is a machine.

I think road cycling is a bit too complex just to say the GB team were rubbish. Well I suppose the result was rubbish and disappointing, but we should try to understand the result and why the riders failed miserably:

1. The Worlds is a big race but not bigger than the TDF and Giro and probably not bigger than the other 1 day monuments such as Flanders and Roubaix. Riders tend to prepare for the Worlds as a real objective when the course suits them. Other than that, most are there to give it a go.

2. The Worlds comes at the end of a long and hard season. Most GB riders had targeted other races and have not shown too much form in the last few weeks, although ironically, the Tour of Britain led many of them to show themselves off in against a lower quality or lower motivated field and perhaps look like they are in better form than they actually are.

3. We have few true 1 day riders who are allowed the time and space to prepare solely to win such events. Thomas, stannard etc are often used as bunch engines for much of the year and not given the freedom of the Boonens to ride for a few chances of winning each year. On this note, it is clear that team Sky are aimed at the TDF and tactically do not seem to be able to make that jump to winning 1 day classics. Perhaps too much emphasis on making bunch engines and not on honing that ‘jump’ which allows real attacking riding (Boasson Hagen has this but only seems to be able to use it in smaller races). Stannard can be very strong – poss PR winner – but does not appear to be able to ride for himself yet, and certainly would not have the climbing ability to keep with Purito on the Worlds course.

4. Our tactics are a little odd at times – in good conditions and on the flat, then why not have the bunch engines out riding for Cav. But on this course and in the rain, then perhaps keeping your powder dry and seeing what happens later would have been better. Try to match moves and have the riders near froome in the last hour.

5. In those conditions, sportive riders can say ‘I finished, look at my medal!’ but pros could threaten the start of next year for nothing. Once you know your legs arent there and you are 2 mins down and no one is chasing, then whats the point?

What we have learn’t this season is that:

1) Wiggo is the new Schleck / Zulle when it comes to descending in the wet i.e. useless.

2) Froome isn’t capable of looking after himself when he needs too.

You have to be kidding to think Stannard could lead a team on that course, he can’t climb for toffee. The best 2 riders GB have for that course and conditions would be Thomas and Millar, but neither had any form, and even if they did a top 20 would have been a decent achievement.

There was nothing stopping them wrapping up warm and touring round an hour later.

Well apart from them being pulled off the course when they were lapped that is.

They are not saving themselves for anything big.

Given the choice between dropping out and going into winter training healthy and injury free, or staying out there with no chance of a win with riders falling off all around me and risking a broken collar bone / pelvis / etc. I think I know which I’d pick. A good winter is very big indeed for a good racing season next year.

2) Froome isn’t capable of looking after himself when he needs too.

Wait, what? Did you even watch the Tour? Stage 9 was him without any Sky riders keeping the jersey on his back despite Movistar trying to batter him. Or perhaps the Ventoux where he went off and won the stage alone.

I’m talking about holding your position near the front in a big bunch, moving quickly in dodgy conditions. Some riders can do it without teammates; LA and Ulrich spring to mind, some can’t Hamilton and Sastre. Those that can’t need a team rider to help them move up and stay near the front of the bunch.

I’m talking about holding your position near the front in a big bunch, moving quickly in dodgy conditions. Some riders can do it without teammates; LA and Ulrich spring to mind, some can’t Hamilton and Sastre. Those that can’t need a team rider to help them move up and stay near the front of the bunch.

Again see stage 9 of this years tour (assuming that was the echelon stage.)

In that stage 9 TDF, the main group was only 33 riders, plus it was a GT, and hence the racing more predictable. The worlds is like a Classic race, you need to be watching all the time and they don’t follow such a steady pattern.

Lets be honest no GB rider was ever going to do anything on that circuit, we have very few (none?) riders skilled in placing in hilly classics.

In that stage 9 TDF, the main group was only 33 riders, plus it was a GT, and hence the racing more predictable. The worlds is like a Classic race, you need to be watching all the time and they don’t follow such a steady pattern.

Tell that to the GC riders who got caught out!

Agree though that a lot of the GC riders tend to be quite poor at that sort of thing, probably why they have more classics oriented riders looking after them on those stages. Thinking back to when Cancellara led the Schelks through those cobbled stages a few years ago when everyone else seemed all over the place.

On Stage 9 none of the major GC contenders got caught out, they all finished together.

Daily Mail article was less than flattering to Brad, as was the i article. Something about an old cat that’s grumpy and won’t go out in the rain?
BC set the boys up to fail, their much publicised plan failed before they’d rolled out at the start just like in London last summer, and suggests that they’ve still got much to learn about bike racing in 1 day races.

Apologies, was thinking of stage 13.