Discovery in disarray.... ?

micron said:

Hincapie tells Eurosport: "If I would have known he was attacking, maybe I could have gone with him"

...

Well he should had gone with both of them when he saw Hoste take turns with Boonen. It's not like they got away fast. The CSC guy (don't remember who he was) tried to go with them and failed. Probably Hincapie would have failed himself had he tried so he is looking for excuses...

At 25, Boonen's palmares make Hincapie's look - well, ordinary seems a kind way of putting it. And he already has those 3 monuments, and the Flanders win in the Rainbow Jersey that only Merckx has previously achieved. And do you think he'd have achieved this playing domestique for Hincapie? Hincapie still wouldn't have won a monument and we'd have seen a very frustrated Boonen - thank god he signed to QSI and we've had the privilege to witness what his talent is capable of.

DV1976 absolutely agreed

Seems like everyone but Hoste thought Hincapie was the leader at Flanders and even more striking was the Hincapie had said before the race that it was key to have two riders against Boonen in the final break..... all of this = disarray.

"George Hincapie is our team leader, Hoste, Devolder and Gusev are lightning conductors," Discovery Team Director Demol told Sportwereld.
cyclingnews.comnews.phpOpen ↗

"We're just to try not to arrive at the finish with him (Boonen), because he's probably the fastest guy in the world," Hincapie said.
"So the best option is, if you're in a break with him, to have more than one guy from the team there with you, and just attack, that's really the only thing to do."

Discovery Team Manager Dirk Demol says Hincapie is the outright leader, but the 32-year-old Hincapie will have a strong supporting cast.

"George is our biggest guy, on Sunday he's our real leader, and also we're going to protect three other guys," Demol told Eurosport. "Leif Hoste, Stijn Devolder and also [Vladimir] Gusev, because don't forget that Gusev can be also a challenger."

eurosport.comsport sto860088.shtmlOpen ↗

micron said:

Hoste's view: "It's already some time that I've been saying that you should attack if you want to win. Men who wait are not right. OK, I didn't win but still..."

Hincapie tells Eurosport: "If I would have known he was attacking, maybe I could have gone with him"

Hmm, the team leader doesn't know what the domestiques are doing? Sounds like disarray to me....Maybe Hoste should look for a new team where attacking rather than following is encouraged - Lotto could do with some added Classics firepower...

Hoste cycled with Lotto in 2004 - when he was pipped by Stefan Wesseman at
RVV

DV1976 said:

Well he should had gone with both of them when he saw Hoste take turns with Boonen. It's not like they got away fast. The CSC guy (don't remember who he was) tried to go with them and failed. Probably Hincapie would have failed himself had he tried so he is looking for excuses...

It was Cancellara who tried to go with Hoste and Boonen.
Hincapie didn't have the legs to go with their break.

limerickman said:

It was Cancellara who tried to go with Hoste and Boonen.
Hincapie didn't have the legs to go with their break.

Thank you. I think that from the moment that the DS boys found themselves with 3 QS athletes in the group their only option was to go for a break. The alternative would be a group sprint in the end and that was a foregone conclusion. Hoste did the only reasonable thing and if Hincapie had managed to follow maybe (just maybe) they would have had a chance being 2 against 1 (assuming that Pozzato and Bettini were spent and couldn't follow which I doubt). Hincapie just didn't have the legs (and this had been apparent since Koppenberg) and being the classy guy that is reputed to be he should admit it instead of looking for excuses.

limerickman said:

Shot to the main field doing cyclo-cross - Hincapie gets off the bike and is walking.

Tactically, DS didn't get it right as regards trying for overall victory.
QuickStep got it 100% right : does spell tactical issues for DS.

Hincapie didn't walk up the Koppenberg - he was only a few lengths behind Boonen. There was another Disco with white sunglasses that dismounted - easy mistake if you blinked when George went by.

Here is what said by DS before the RVV to Cyclingnews :

"George Hincapie is our team leader, Hoste, Devolder and Gusev are lightning conductors," Discovery Team Director Demol told Sportwereld. "A lot has changed in this team since two years ago. Now we have eight to ten riders that really can go for it. Two years ago we bought 'Volderke', last year Hoste and Hammond, now Gusev who finished tenth in Meerbeke in his RVV debut and twelfth in Roubaix. It used to be frustrating because we only had three riders as motivated as the sports director. The rest came to Vlaanderen for an evening of Italian or Mexican food.

"Boonen makes me think of Lance more and more. When he was riding in my team, he was already pretty self-confident, now he's even more. To ride Boonen into oblivion, we'll have to make the race hard. To attack is the only way to do that. We have to break all four of them because Bettini, Pozzato and Nuyens aren't exactly choir-boys either. All teams have got the same interests.

"I'm keeping Van Petegem in mind. He is old but not worn. He could be an ally. If Boonen is the strongest and ends up winning, I will be sincerely pleased for him. But I'll also be thinking: damn, that could have been one of my men."

Roger Hammond's fall was picked up by ES : he was screaming with pain and holding his knee.
Has anyone any update??

DiabloScott said:

Hincapie didn't walk up the Koppenberg - he was only a few lengths behind Boonen. There was another Disco with white sunglasses that dismounted - easy mistake if you blinked when George went by.

The rider in question looked like Hincapie - I could be wrong of course.

limerickman said:

The rider in question looked like Hincapie - I could be wrong of course.

I thought I saw him walk too. Maybe I'm wrong too or mayble DiabloScott is being humourous...

DV1976 said:

I thought I saw him walk too. Maybe I'm wrong too or mayble DiabloScott is being humourous...

There was definitely a DC rider that looked like Hincapie just a few lengths behind Boonen and the announcers said it was Hincapie. Then there was a DC rider dismounting when they panned back to the carnage and that looked like Hincapie too. But since GH was with the Boonen group over the top I assumed it wasn't him.

Not to worry - I got the whole thing on TiVO.

DiabloScott said:

There was definitely a DC rider that looked like Hincapie just a few lengths behind Boonen and the announcers said it was Hincapie. Then there was a DC rider dismounting when they panned back to the carnage and that looked like Hincapie too. But since GH was with the Boonen group over the top I assumed it wasn't him.

Not to worry - I got the whole thing on TiVO.

DS - your favourite race, what did you make of it?

Many great riders were forced to walk the Koppenberg - see here

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/apr06/rvv06/index.php?id=raceday/S-KOPPENBERG_6297

That photo really gives an impression on how tough the race is when it hits the hills and the cobbles.

limerickman said:

DS - your favourite race, what did you make of it?

Legendary: The rainbow jersey at the finish with his second win in as many years. More than 30 years since someone's won this race two years running; many more repeat winners in P-R.

Excellent: The best man won, the battle of attrition and elimination was classic, the Koppenberg is back, Boonen is just super human athletically and QSI is non-pareil as a team. It was a masterful performance.

SoSo: Would like to have seen Boonen attack Hoste and win with a solo again, but that may not have been too smart. Whenever the clear favorite wins some will say it was predictable. Years from now people will remember the total domination.

Bad: Well, it was a little too dry climatologically, and clean.

Shame: The rainbow jersey will be absent from P-R and the winner will be wearing that plain Jane ProTour jersey in all the photos that will become part of history.

DiabloScott said:

Legendary: The rainbow jersey at the finish with his second win in as many years. More than 30 years since someone's won this race two years running; many more repeat winners in P-R.

Excellent: The best man won, the battle of attrition and elimination was classic, the Koppenberg is back, Boonen is just super human athletically and QSI is non-pareil as a team. It was a masterful performance.

SoSo: Would like to have seen Boonen attack Hoste and win with a solo again, but that may not have been too smart. Whenever the clear favorite wins some will say it was predictable. Years from now people will remember the total domination.

Bad: Well, it was a little too dry climatologically, and clean.

I just saw the race on TV.
1.Boonen was super strong, no one else was gonna win.
That having been said, Hincapie was the only rider close to Boonen in form. 2. When Boonen plowed up the Koppenberg Hincapie was the only close to following his wheel and he was gapped only because Bettini slowed down. Bettini was right with Boonen, then behind Boonen and Hincapie behind Bettini.
3. Hincapie did NOT unclip. Hoste did, Period.
4. Boonen and Hoste appeared to have the move planned. Watch the tapes. The group slows, Bonnen looks around. Then he looks around again to the right and to the left. The Hoste attacks with George sitting boxed in as Hopste squeezes around on the right. Boonen lept immediately no hesitation.
5. Boonen said in an interview that he saw Hoste go and only Karsten Kronn was going so he went. This is absolute rubbish. Hoste went out of the pack WITH BOONEN GLUED TO HIS WHEEL. There was never any gap. Call it a plan. Call it great insticnts. But in the end, Boonen didnt have to fight Hincapie or PVP and went to the finish with someone he could habe outsprinted with one leg, and with another Belgian. Think about it. It looked like Bettini and Pozzato knew it was coming too.

hombredesubaru said:

I just saw the race on TV.
1.Boonen was super strong, no one else was gonna win.
That having been said, Hincapie was the only rider close to Boonen in form. 2. When Boonen plowed up the Koppenberg Hincapie was the only close to following his wheel and he was gapped only because Bettini slowed down. Bettini was right with Boonen, then behind Boonen and Hincapie behind Bettini.
3. Hincapie did NOT unclip. Hoste did, Period.
4. Boonen and Hoste appeared to have the move planned. Watch the tapes. The group slows, Bonnen looks around. Then he looks around again to the right and to the left. The Hoste attacks with George sitting boxed in as Hopste squeezes around on the right. Boonen lept immediately no hesitation.
5. Boonen said in an interview that he saw Hoste go and only Karsten Kronn was going so he went. This is absolute rubbish. Hoste went out of the pack WITH BOONEN GLUED TO HIS WHEEL. There was never any gap. Call it a plan. Call it great insticnts. But in the end, Boonen didnt have to fight Hincapie or PVP and went to the finish with someone he could habe outsprinted with one leg, and with another Belgian. Think about it. It looked like Bettini and Pozzato knew it was coming too.

Looking over the pics it does show Hoste walking up the Koppenberg. The only pics I have seen shows Hincapie still clipped in , but I am not going to say he stayed that way at the top....
A Belgian helping another Belgian while helping himself....... It is bike racing from the past...... Hoste will be asking QS for a contract next year....
I'm curious as what his role will be next at the PR..... Lance hates disloyalty. And Lance has a say in this. Hoste may be scheduled to ride then gets pulled at the last minute. DC does not need him for a chance at PR.
Bruyneel needs to jerk Hoste out of the lineup to show who's in charge.

DiabloScott said:

Shame: The rainbow jersey will be absent from P-R and the winner will be wearing that plain Jane ProTour jersey in all the photos that will become part of history.

[font=Verdana]There has been a rule change where the rainbow jersey takes precedence over the ProTour jersey so fear not big Tom will be wearing the rainbow bands at PR and beyond. [/font][font=Verdana][/font]

Who's in charge ? Hincapie ? A bloke who sucks wheels ? Thats not taking charge you need to lead by example..... disarray. Hincapie is the Jan Ullrich of the Classics.

wolfix said:

Lance hates disloyalty. And Lance has a say in this. Hoste may be scheduled to ride then gets pulled at the last minute. DC does not need him for a chance at PR.
Bruyneel needs to jerk Hoste out of the lineup to show who's in charge.