CountArach wrote:
What a surprise, it turns out Thomas actually is best when used as a classics rider. People have only been saying it for what, five years now?
Or as a short hilly/tt stage race as we saw in Algarve. Or as a week long stage racer as we saw in Paris-Nice. Basically just make Thomas the ultimate leader of Team Sky and watch as he Merkcx all over the place!
Thomas is like the nearest thing today to Merkcx as he can do it all, luckily for everybody else though he can't over a three week tour.
As for the classics I'm disappointed that there's no Boonen or Cancellara now even though Cancellara is the bigger loss here. Boonen not being around finally allows Stybar and Terpstra to lead and Vanmarcke will never get a better chance than now to win a monument considering he's at the top of his game in terms of strength.
Thomas is the nearest thing atm to Merckx? I think Kwiatek is even more allround. But in the end I am happy that i missed out E3. I would've raged about Thomas winning. Surprisingly I only like Porte and Froome at Sky...But still sad that Cance and Tommeke are out now...I hope that Terpstra and Styby will make Vanmarckes time not too easy.
Lol, to even compare Thomas to a giant of the sport like Merckx. The Welsh is versatile alright but let's get carried away with the superlatives when he has won his first Grand Tour and Monument please.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Kwiatkowski is another candidate and is better at the Ardennes classic races than Thomas could be, but I do think Thomas is potentially the better big tour contender of the two.
Of course none of them are like Merckx and nobody will probably ever be like him again, as the sport over the last 20 years or so has become so specialized with riders for certain disciplines.
But today the nearest thing we have to a Merckx are riders like Thomas, Kwiatkowski, Wellens and even Sagan to a certain extent. But of course there is only one Eddy Merckx.
Edited by Tafiolmo on 28-03-2015 14:23
ok, there we have a different opinion. I think Kwiatek could maybe win a GT in 5 years, if there are no strong opponents. Thomas is no good climber imo. But like most Sky riders, his performance increased significantly during a short period of time. Rogers, Porte, Froome, Wiggins are only a few examples for that.
Paul23 wrote:
ok, there we have a different opinion. I think Kwiatek could maybe win a GT in 5 years, if there are no strong opponents. Thomas is no good climber imo. But like most Sky riders, his performance increased significantly during a short period of time. Rogers, Porte, Froome, Wiggins are only a few examples for that.
I was impressed with how Thomas stayed on the wheel of Porte on that mountain stage in the Paris-Nice and I'd say that was pretty good climbing right there.
Paul23 wrote:
ok, there we have a different opinion. I think Kwiatek could maybe win a GT in 5 years, if there are no strong opponents. Thomas is no good climber imo. But like most Sky riders, his performance increased significantly during a short period of time. Rogers, Porte, Froome, Wiggins are only a few examples for that.
Thomas did win Junior Paris Roubaix, multiple Olympic golds and track world championship titles (junior and senior), and stage races since he was a teenager / in his early twenties and top tens in cobbled classics since 2011. Not sure you if you could describe his recent success as unprecedented / progress as sudden especially as he has been moving away from the track since 2012, since which his road race success started to grow more significantly.
Its the same with Wiggins. He came from the track, was not a great climber and suddenly he is the man to beat in the mountains...I never thought that they were bad riders, but their climbing ability increased extremely, imo.
Paul23 wrote:
Its the same with Wiggins. He came from the track, was not a great climber and suddenly he is the man to beat in the mountains...I never thought that they were bad riders, but their climbing ability increased extremely, imo.
With Wiggins it is a bit different. He made the transformation later and to GC contender in a GT (albeit one made for him). But for either of them I think a major improvment in climbing would be expected considering their obvious talents and a radical change in direction supported by a very rich team with all that that carries - and I'm not speculating on the illegal stuff - doctors, chefs, training regimes, equipment, etc. Neither are physically built in a way to exclude them being climbers (a la Greipel) and both have massive engines (evidences by team pursuit titles.) If you look at Thomas' early palmares he was clearly one of the most physically talented riders of his generation and over the last few years has just started to deliver that in senior races on the road. Personally I'm not that suprised, and I like the way he rides, fractured pelvis and all...
Tafiolmo wrote:
Thomas is like the nearest thing today to Merkcx as he can do it all, luckily for everybody else though he can't over a three week tour.
As for the classics I'm disappointed that there's no Boonen or Cancellara now even though Cancellara is the bigger loss here. Boonen not being around finally allows Stybar and Terpstra to lead and Vanmarcke will never get a better chance than now to win a monument considering he's at the top of his game in terms of strength.
I would say the sam about Thor Hushovd if he was in same shape as last years P-R..
Btw i agree that ist a shame that Neither Spartacus or Tornado is participating.
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
