Zabel and TdF

ErikZabel said:

Can Ete wins his seventh green TdF jersey and win first stage on TdF from 2002?

Perhaps you could tell us... cos' you are Erik Zabel....

I'll try to win all stages with sprint finishes 😄

ErikZabel said:

Can Ete wins his seventh green TdF jersey and win first stage on TdF from 2002?

No - one word... Robbie!

Much as I admire you, Erik - I think Thor and/or Robbie are the more likely candidates for the Points jersey.

ErikZabel said:

Can Ete wins his seventh green TdF jersey and win first stage on TdF from 2002?

Not a chance. Zabel has not been a top sprinter for what, two or three years now?

I think I will put my money on Boonen. He and Quickstep need to salvage their season.

Bro Deal said:

I think I will put my money on Boonen. He and Quickstep need to salvage their season.

He, Quickstep and Fuentes need to salvage their season.

Bro Deal said:

Not a chance. Zabel has not been a top sprinter for what, two or three years now?

I think I will put my money on Boonen. He and Quickstep need to salvage their season.

Zabel has not won a sprint in the Tour since 2002. Yes, he won 2 Vuelta sprints last year, but they are not the same.

I think Boonen will be doing more sprint training now than he ever has. I do not ever think sprint repeats have been incorporated into his training, but they will now. He needs to salvage this season, E3 and KBK are not enough for a rider of his calibre and self-opinion.

I don't count his Qatar wins because it is easy to win bunch sprints when a train drops you off at 65 kmph with 200 metres to go, then as long as you do not die, if they drop you off one length ahead of everyone else, no one can come around you.

Tour sprints are different, the competition is there, you cannot rely on your team to control it, that is why Mcewen is so dominant because he has the skill to change tactics multiple times in the last 3 kilometres. If Boonen loses a run with his train or his echelon is swamped, that is his sprint gone. Mcewen can still win from that situation.

Shall be a great fight for Green.

Mcewen
Boonen
Bennati
Petacchi
Hushovd
Freire
Ventoso
Ogrady, who, cannot possibly win green, but may win a bunch kick for the first time in his life by getting lucky, as the sprints get chaotic, finding the right wheel and getting a perfect run and slipstream. Heck, if Casper can win a bunch kick.

thunder said:

Ogrady, who, cannot possibly win green, but may win a bunch kick for the first time in his life by getting lucky, as the sprints get chaotic, finding the right wheel and getting a perfect run and slipstream. Heck, if Casper can win a bunch kick.

IMO its about changing his tactics in the last 200-300m. He makes fantastic position but then follows wheels in the last furlong. Instead of following, hit out once in a while. Wait for that little pause that nearly always occurs before the sprint opens up, then POW!. Sure, he might get mowed down, but what he's doing now doesn't work so he might as well try something different.

classic1 said:

IMO its about changing his tactics in the last 200-300m. He makes fantastic position but then follows wheels in the last furlong. Instead of following, hit out once in a while. Wait for that little pause that nearly always occurs before the sprint opens up, then POW!. Sure, he might get mowed down, but what he's doing now doesn't work so he might as well try something different.

but he cannot wait fcpate it and come from 5th wheel as the front pause, and slingshot. He does not have that explosive acceleration, so he cannot freewheel with the front guys before the sprint. Best example is Freire's first win last year, about stage 6.

Steegmans screwed up Mcewen's leadout and Mcewen was freewheeling and in the wind at 350-300 metres, and then QS took over, andthe echelon shifted to the left, Flecha was pulling Freire from way back on the right and put him on Zabel's wheel who put in an acceleration to get on the letft echelon. Freire used Zabel to accelerate to terminal velocity and had a slingshot on the right and surprised the bunch on the left, who could never get his slipstream because by the time he left the station he had 5 lengths and was at 70 kms while everyone else was only at 65kms. Did not matter that is was a headwind as he had enough gap and has good sprinting strength.

The other sprint was in 2003 Giro when Rodriguez jumped Mcewen and an almost unbeatable Petacchi from behind and comfortably held them off.

I think Ogrady best chance is to hand back and float, and hope the leadout of Quickstep or Milram is swamped and he is in the echelon travelling 5kms faster and gets that slingshot.

thunder, can you re-write that in English?:p

McEwen often anticipates that little prop or pause. Friere too. They also lay off the wheel so they don't get baulked and can hit them with momentum. Why can't O'Grady? He's won sprints in Langkawi a couple of years ago by leading out. I know there wasn't the number of gun sprinters as at the Tour, but those second string sprinters on Italian teams aren't bums either. He should try it in Europe.

BTW, I reckon the Milram and to a lesser extent the QS train fark it up time and time again. Clever sprinters like McEwen and Friere take advantage of it. O'Grady should too.

O'Grady has just been a bit too polite in the last 10 meters of the big sprints he's had a chance in. He holds his line and grits his teeth where as McEwen will be looking to go left or right if he can imagine a mm gap opening up either way.

O'Grady has the eye of the tiger from his recent win and I'm sure he will go all out if his job is to win sprint stages. If I was his manager I'd probably try and give him a chance at some other stages. He is a good all rounder. Will depend who they name as their ace for either General classification or the Green jersey.

McEwen is the man in form. Boonen is not sure if he's a sprinter anymore and isn't focusing on just sprints. Boonen can probably pick up a lot of sprint points along the course but that tactic seemed to eat up a lot of his energy last year and McEwen got the big points.

Zabel, McEwen, Pettachi and a few others will be focused on Green only...

I'd like to see some new youngster come through and scare the lot of them...

Bro Deal said:

I think I will put my money on Boonen. He and Quickstep need to salvage their season.

Boonen always seems to pansy out in the mountains / makes an excuse not to finish, I wouldn't put my money on him...

All about McEwen maybe Thor

classic1 said:

thunder, can you re-write that in English?:p

McEwen often anticipates that little prop or pause. Friere too. They also lay off the wheel so they don't get baulked and can hit them with momentum. Why can't O'Grady? He's won sprints in Langkawi a couple of years ago by leading out. I know there wasn't the number of gun sprinters as at the Tour, but those second string sprinters on Italian teams aren't bums either. He should try it in Europe.

BTW, I reckon the Milram and to a lesser extent the QS train fark it up time and time again. Clever sprinters like McEwen and Friere take advantage of it. O'Grady should too.

In Langkawi, Ogrady won because Brownie gave him a leadout. Intentionally, Brownie gifted it to him.

Mcewen never takes a run at them in the slipstream like the trackies do, He is always right on the wheel, and then accelerates about 25 metres after the lead rider, be it Boonen or Petacchi goes.

I do not know why Mcewen never gets boxed, the only time I remember him being boxed is when Steegmans screwed up last year but he still can get himself out of those situations. No way Petacchi or Boonen can.

Also helps when riders are wary about Mcewen's rear wheel shifting a little. Helps to have a repuation as a dangerous rider in those circumstances.

thunder said:

I do not know why Mcewen never gets boxed, the only time I remember him being boxed is when Steegmans screwed up last year but he still can get himself out of those situations. No way Petacchi or Boonen can.

Also helps when riders are wary about Mcewen's rear wheel shifting a little. Helps to have a repuation as a dangerous rider in those circumstances.

Four reasons. He's a phenomonal bike handler; he swings on the wheel if need be (though not always) to give himself room; he's not frightened to step into the line going past and to push in if he has too; and he's not frightend to dive into gaps.

Tactically he is the best by far in the sprints. I don't think there is anyone out there who could teach him anything. I saw his stage win in Tirreno this year on DVD. He checked out the run in to the finish on one of the finishing circuits by leading the bunch through. At the finish, he and Rodriguez totally bamboozled the peloton through the right and left handers in the last 500m. Rodriguez led out, McEwen hit out just before the first corner, then Rodriguez backed into them. McEwen won by 10 lengths. It was brilliant stuff.

The couple of interviews I read and heard with him and Steegmans during the Tour were great. McEwen was telling Steegmans exactly when to move. It probably helped that the QS lead outs were too slow, but McEwen had it totally sussed out.

classic1 said:

Four reasons. He's a phenomonal bike handler; he swings on the wheel if need be (though not always) to give himself room; he's not frightened to step into the line going past and to push in if he has too; and he's not frightend to dive into gaps.

Tactically he is the best by far in the sprints. I don't think there is anyone out there who could teach him anything. I saw his stage win in Tirreno this year on DVD. He checked out the run in to the finish on one of the finishing circuits by leading the bunch through. At the finish, he and Rodriguez totally bamboozled the peloton through the right and left handers in the last 500m. Rodriguez led out, McEwen hit out just before the first corner, then Rodriguez backed into them. McEwen won by 10 lengths. It was brilliant stuff.

The couple of interviews I read and heard with him and Steegmans during the Tour were great. McEwen was telling Steegmans exactly when to move. It probably helped that the QS lead outs were too slow, but McEwen had it totally sussed out.

was rhetoric classic!

He handles better, accelerates faster, throws the odd switch with his back wheel, and reads a finish better. Helps he rarely has a leadout man, and just gets dropped on a wheel. And by reputation, he will get the wheel he wants.

thunder said:

was rhetoric classic!

lol

TrekDedicated said:

Boonen always seems to pansy out in the mountains / makes an excuse not to finish, I wouldn't put my money on him...

All about McEwen maybe Thor

I agree, it doesn't matter how good you are if you cant finish the race. And well Boonen has proved he cant.