Sagan to Deceuninck-QuickStep?!?
#51
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totally. and these, along with classic-styled finishes, are realistically the only kind of stages/races sagan is capable of winning now. that's still a bunch of stages/races
offered throughout the year...more than your pancake flat, straight as an arrow sprinterfests. sagan is this generation's sean kelly. sagan has expanded the realm of
possibility of victory for a sprinter type. sure, he'll still finish in the top 7-8 of the flat and straight sprinterfests but whom else would you rather have on an uphill sprint finish?
the list gets short pretty quickly.
offered throughout the year...more than your pancake flat, straight as an arrow sprinterfests. sagan is this generation's sean kelly. sagan has expanded the realm of
possibility of victory for a sprinter type. sure, he'll still finish in the top 7-8 of the flat and straight sprinterfests but whom else would you rather have on an uphill sprint finish?
the list gets short pretty quickly.
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Maybe not. Sagan seems to have a sweet spot for the Giro. OTOH, it's putting on a show at the Tour that pays the bills for most teams, and winning sprint stages really has been Quick Step's bread and butter. So it's hard for me to imagine them going to the tour without a sprint-stage strategy. That might leave Remco with less support than he would need at the Tour, and couol eventually dislodge him to another team.
Edit to add: as long as they have Alaphilippe (through 2024), don't think they'll be hard pressed to put on a show in France in the summertime. And he can still help Remco in all but the longest climbs, which is fine since nobody except Ineos and J-V can expect to have super-domestiques strong enough anyway.
Last edited by surak; 05-19-21 at 12:14 AM.
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With 5 years left in his contract on a team that he feels is his, I don't see it. Even the biggest Sagan fan isn't going to expect him to be a serious green-jersey contender still in 2027. It's all about what Sagan can deliver in 2022 and maybe 2023.
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as previously disclosed, it's a consistently, short list. sure...mvdp. alaphilippe. wout...would you take pidcock instead of sagan at this point?
love to throw the "h" out there at every opportunity with it being silent and/or compliant during the vuelta, tdf and latino/hispanic/charlemagne heritage races...
Last edited by diphthong; 05-19-21 at 12:49 AM.
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classics-styled/uphill sprints (top 3-4). those young punks occasionally make a mistake and a veteran racer with a committed team is more
than capable of punishing and pouncing.
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In the recent TdF and Giro editions, they unexpectedly held the leader's jersey for many days, defending it while sacrificing potential stage wins along the way, despite knowing that winning it in the end would be a longshot both times. With Remco there is, until proven otherwise, a significantly greater chance of being on top into Paris, so recent history suggests they would 100% back him should he be in good GC position.
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dqs is the quiet, 800 lb gorilla. and now with them cultivating gc riders such as almeida and potentially remco, they can run the table.
alaphilippe held the yellow jersey for a good stretch there. this commitment is an eternity in cycling...
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dec...teams-sponsor/
agree that they can pretty much contest tt's, sprints, hilly stages, and queen stages. they've got all the horses for particular courses.
can they go for the yellow (or green) jersey at the tdf? absolutely. both? possibly. just go for stage wins vs a classification win?
definitely. seems like the sponsors would benefit more with individual stage wins vs, say, a green jersey win. think they won 5-6 stages
in the last vuelta. if they only targeted stage wins in the tdf, ny over/under is 5. they could hit 7-8.
alaphilippe held the yellow jersey for a good stretch there. this commitment is an eternity in cycling...
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dec...teams-sponsor/
agree that they can pretty much contest tt's, sprints, hilly stages, and queen stages. they've got all the horses for particular courses.
can they go for the yellow (or green) jersey at the tdf? absolutely. both? possibly. just go for stage wins vs a classification win?
definitely. seems like the sponsors would benefit more with individual stage wins vs, say, a green jersey win. think they won 5-6 stages
in the last vuelta. if they only targeted stage wins in the tdf, ny over/under is 5. they could hit 7-8.
Last edited by diphthong; 05-19-21 at 12:44 AM.
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^ that is a very long term commitment, relatively speaking.
From that article, it's not clear if it is any MORE of a commitment from Quick Step or just LONGER. LeFevre probably has something else up his sleeve. Any guesses?
From that article, it's not clear if it is any MORE of a commitment from Quick Step or just LONGER. LeFevre probably has something else up his sleeve. Any guesses?
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The big new sponsorship has to be Specialized. No way Bennett is moving away if Morkov just signed an extension. Sagan would seem to be a good fit for Quickstep's classic focus. Maybe a new focus on some lesser known off tarmac racing to parallel interest in selling gravel bikes?
.... Omg just had a wild thought ....
Sagan to ride "Unbound Gravel" in 2022?
.... Omg just had a wild thought ....
Sagan to ride "Unbound Gravel" in 2022?
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Yeah, maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, but I don't get quick steps move with Evenpoel and Alameida. I don't think they can pivot to be highly competitive in the Tour against Ineos and J-V, which really have built teams to support a full throated GC campaign, and at the same time, to support a full lead out train for lots of sprint stage wins in the grand tours.. I'm not saying they can't win - Pogacar won with UAE, which doesn't field as strong a team as Ineos or JV. But a multi-pronged GC+sprint stage strategy puts QS at a disadvantage in the grand tours compared to truly GC focused teams.
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Well Lefevre gave Remco the same term that UAE gave Pogacar, and I think if Remco shows he's up near that tier then they will invest more in the climbing domestiques needed for GC contention. Even today's stage could be considered a great learning experience for Remco and Quick-Step, with plenty more opportunities down the road for the next 6 years. If it turns out he's really not cut out for the 3 week races (which it's far too early to declare), then he can go back to shredding the competition in the shorter stage races and hunt for stage victories in the long ones. Definitely not going to turn into a one-day racer for the likes of Strade Bianche though (ouch).
Edit: w.r.t. Almeida, I think a combination of unexpected circumstances caused him to gain prominence too early for Remco's and Quick-Step's GC developmental timeline. Had there not been thin competition at last year's Giro, coupled with Remco's crash, I think they could've/would've held onto Almeida to develop alongside Remco as a lieutenant/backup plan. That Giro created an illusion that Almeida was ready to stand on his own as a GC guy (similar to what happened with Alaphilippe), but Lefevre thinks otherwise and wants no part in paying the price Almeida's agent demands. So I wouldn't take his unwillingness to invest in Almeida as a strike against the possibility for them to push to have a better GC-focused team.
Edit: w.r.t. Almeida, I think a combination of unexpected circumstances caused him to gain prominence too early for Remco's and Quick-Step's GC developmental timeline. Had there not been thin competition at last year's Giro, coupled with Remco's crash, I think they could've/would've held onto Almeida to develop alongside Remco as a lieutenant/backup plan. That Giro created an illusion that Almeida was ready to stand on his own as a GC guy (similar to what happened with Alaphilippe), but Lefevre thinks otherwise and wants no part in paying the price Almeida's agent demands. So I wouldn't take his unwillingness to invest in Almeida as a strike against the possibility for them to push to have a better GC-focused team.
Last edited by surak; 05-19-21 at 10:51 AM.
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https://cyclingtips.com/2021/05/lefe...ly-sign-sagan/
Lefevere admits interest in Sagan but wary about price tag to bring his whole entourage (brother, Oss, Bodnar, mechanic, soigneur, press officer(!)) and effects on having a team within a team.
CyclingTips also reports (not sure if this can be attributed to Lefevere) that the team needs help for Remco, but with Deucininck leaving they're in a pinch.
I wonder if it shows that winning classics and stages isn't close to the draw that winning a grand tour is from a funding perspective (Ineos, UAE, recently J-V), or is it the other way around where massive funding is a prerequisite to be in the game?
Lefevere admits interest in Sagan but wary about price tag to bring his whole entourage (brother, Oss, Bodnar, mechanic, soigneur, press officer(!)) and effects on having a team within a team.
CyclingTips also reports (not sure if this can be attributed to Lefevere) that the team needs help for Remco, but with Deucininck leaving they're in a pinch.
I wonder if it shows that winning classics and stages isn't close to the draw that winning a grand tour is from a funding perspective (Ineos, UAE, recently J-V), or is it the other way around where massive funding is a prerequisite to be in the game?
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Sagan fined for "intimidation." That can't hurt his negotiation.
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https://cyclingtips.com/2021/05/saga...nck-quickstep/
Levefere squashing the dream and suggests Total-Direct Energie is willing to take Sagan's total entourage.
Levefere squashing the dream and suggests Total-Direct Energie is willing to take Sagan's total entourage.
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Lol what - Total Direct? Really? I read that article as well, are they trying to get Vaughters to just panic spend? Total does have some decent results ...
Sagan is going to Quickstep, Cofefe levfrefre is just BSing.
Sagan is going to Quickstep, Cofefe levfrefre is just BSing.
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Could be like Nairoman going to Arkea-Samsic, I wouldn't write it off just because it's not currently a World Tour team.
#69
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DQS has to decide if they're a GC or classic team. They can't have both. If they want to build a GC team for Remco, they will need an overhaul.
BTW, I don't think Remco will be as good as Almeida. But Remco is Belgian so he has this card over Almeida.
BTW, I don't think Remco will be as good as Almeida. But Remco is Belgian so he has this card over Almeida.
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Even before the 28 man roster oozed up to 32, teams like TJV have figured out a way to go both ways. Successfully. Though it is a challenge that requires some inve$tment and thus some $upport.
DQS can't not be a classics team. It's in their DNA and their sponsors raison d'etre. But I wouldn't rule them out of being competitive for GC. Certainly not because a 21 year old in his first grand tour and first race after a 10 month recovery failed to deliver. Any reports of the death of LeFevre's GC ambitions are exaggerated.
DQS can't not be a classics team. It's in their DNA and their sponsors raison d'etre. But I wouldn't rule them out of being competitive for GC. Certainly not because a 21 year old in his first grand tour and first race after a 10 month recovery failed to deliver. Any reports of the death of LeFevre's GC ambitions are exaggerated.