Spring Classics 2011

[team fl]

Trentino is for sausages!!

[Bear]

FW:
9h - 12 Teams
14h - 15 Teams
18h - 8 Teams
21h - 18 Teams
23h - 7 Teams

Just 60 teams in total. Not very much.

[Luna]

At least no field splits

[team fl]

also not with 28 teams per race

[Luna]

No. But if all the Tretino teams would have signed for the Fleche, then we'd have had 2 or 3 fields per edition. Even with a maximum of 28 teams per field.

[team fl]

As I wrote before, Trentino is for sausages...

[Robyklebt]

The apes prepare for the last classic of the spring, motivated as usual

1 S. Berlogea
2 O. Fahrny
3 P. Haryono
4 M. Leibundgut
5 F. Montandon
6 B. Qian
7 O. Uchigasaki
8 S. Urganov
9 S. Uzielli

[Bear]

Damn it, I wanted to ride 15h - but no chance to be at home till 15:30. So now it looks like 18h or later.

[Robyklebt]

So only me and Wizard? Yesterday that were the 3 that were in for the race... ok, maybe a few more now, I have to check... bah, would have enjoyed losing against Jamie... now I have to win.

[Bear]

There might be a little chance to ride 15h. Maybe I can set the helpers just in time, but I would miss the first 30-45min for sure. Actually 18h or later is too late for my day plan. I have to rethink my decision...

Edit: I have decided, I want to ride with Allagen, so 15h

[Lizard]

Edit: I have decided, I want to ride with Allagen, so 15h

I didn't see someone write that down in a long time.

Anyways, go everyone join the race. 8 teams til now... it's a monument guys!!!! 8 teams?! Ridiculous!

[Rockstar Inc]

Lesos fault

[el Galactico]

15h, i will start as well

1- Slevin McGuigan
2- Sebastian Araujo
3- Stephan Auge
4- Inacio Araujo
5- Arturo Sarrabal
6- Joaquim Tigre
7- Johnnie Walker
8- Alexandre Geniez
9- Oswaldo Iguacu

[team fl]

Team FL at 20h

x1 Chuck Bass
x2 Gilles Braas
x3 Daniel Clavadetscher
x4 Pedro Garrido
x5 Frantz Granvorka
x6 Tony Longo
x7 Hugo Marxer
x8 Luigi Mastrangelo
x9 Haruki Murakami

[Lizard]

Yes Roby, you should've attacked!!!

[Robyklebt]

No, really shouldn't have. Should just let have everybody come back..

[Bear]

I should have followed Scabbia...
But who cares, Jamie's results are good anyway.

And a Roby-attack would be not really good in my eyes.
A lot of energy gone and maybe 15seconds ahead before the 11%.
The result might be the same.
And for sure, Roby would have lost the sprint anyway.

[Bear]

I didn't see the 22h race, but the result.
Fantastic what Team Lulu does with this great rider, Purnomo.
3 monuments, that's really strong.

[Robyklebt]

Yep! Agree completely, with that he has huge huge chances for rider of the year already.

[NoPikouze]

Nobody wanted to make tempo in the peloton, the great morgan grimes attacked for a 200km solo. But many others followed (Ari, Luna etc...)
Then Leso did the job, almost alone; but the group was almost through... too bad we stayed in green a bit too long

And the finish... not much too say, kind of classic.

[Luna]

Just didn't want to carry the two 60+ sprinters to Ans. I saw no way to get rid of them, so it was to them to push and motivate the others in the group. They stayed silent. So I stayed, too.

Bad that once again I finished the clicks too late to follow the decisive move 3km from the finish. Not the first time that I somehow lose myself in clicks and opening windows for setting up my desired attacking/following actions. Sometimes it feels like the one minute between the kms run faster than normal. Then the next km is already calculated when I finally connected my wheel to the rider who's alreaey gone then. But anyway. Would have been a Top 10 instead a Top 15. Who cares.

All in all, considering the whole spring classics season, I was extraordinarily uninspired and spiritless. Ronde and Roubaix I nearly skipped completely, after I came home lately, felt tired and rather wanted to sleep then staying awake anopther 2,5 hours riding the race. As a consequence I more or less just watched the races go by without any dedication.

Could have gone into groups on many occasions, but somehow didn't mind winning such big races out of an early escape group just because noone in the peloton feels responsible.

(Belgian Team coming 100km late was part of the confusion in both, Ronde & Roubaix. She had the strongest team, but lost energy without helpers. Anyway nobody wanted to work. Led to stranmge situations, making the races somehow obsolete)

In the Ardennes it got better, regarding motivation and passion, although inspiration was still missing. Pure chance (and disbelieve) that Amstel ended in a mass sprint where I got on the podium with Rocafuerte.

Maybe I should have ridden the Ronde for Duran, setting up a sprint, too. Could have worked maybe, since attacking from far out seems tabood at RSF; or it's just not necessary. 9 riders per team still tempt to control everything til the end. No need to set up a group or a solo move 20-50km from the line. But again, just don't want ride those races that way only because the game physics would allow it. It disappoints me. Duran was for G-V. It worked. Yeah! But the Ronde is for other riders. Considering that I indeed felt a bit ashemed by my podium at Amstel. Waited the whole race for the right moment to attack or to follow and subsequently finish 10th or so. But nothing happened. It was only at the very last km I realized it was going to be a boring sprint.

The 5 momuments stay the most unreal ridden races at RSF. It's really demotivating.

Fleche Wallone, okay. Here is really hardly more to expect then a uphill sprint up the Mur. Cesar 6th.

Liege was the most funny and interesting spring classic for me, although I once again failed completely.

Somehow I'm happy that these races are finished now. Don't know if and how I will tackle them next year.

[Bear]

Interesting post.
I can understand what you are thinking of the way the monuments were ridden. The problem is that early attacks are (almost) never successful. Maybe the attack is a really good one. But most teams never follow with 30-50km to go (me neither, I like to attacke by myself). And with two guys in front and at least 2 teams chasing, the attack is useless, especially in monuments when more than two teams are interested in chasing the escapees.
So, siebs are more effective. But you need the team to do that because you don't to hurt yourself. In many races I just wait because I can't don anything which would help my team. Like LBL yesterday. I got 3rd, ok, but it was almost boring. Just waiting for the last big sieb, chase with the classics, waiting again and attacking at the last km... ok, should have followed, but anyway. Just waiting for almost 3 hours is not really good. But it's really complicated to solve the problems.

[NoPikouze]

I still have the feeling that the riding in rsf (at least on those classics) somehow evolved since last year. I remember that last year in the final 10 or 20 kms there were often only 1, maximum 2 riders per team, and it was everybody for his own chances.
Perhaps I'm just wrong because one year ago I didnt have much experience and could'nt understand everything what was going on. (At least I won one classic back then with the fabulous roko keko grr...)
This year i have the impression that everybody wanted to keep 3 or 4 riders until the last 5 kms and then see what happens.

Anyway, right or wrong, I didnt enjoy it so much. No sweat in my armpit, no big thrill... A bit disappointing. Although I have to admit that my focus isnt completely on the game as it used to be some months ago.

[team fl]

L-B-L 20h was just boring. Nobody tried anything, just the last 2 km were interesting. point.

[Bear]

One problem is that 99% of the teams don't want to ride one single with their captains before the decesive part of the race. Most of the siebs are just ridiculous.