CYCLING IMPRESSIONS: Bora-Hansgrohe

Showing posts with label Bora-Hansgrohe. Show all posts

Friday, 14 December 2018

Rider of the Year 2018

Congrats Peter! You have been elected Cycling Impression's rider of the year!
Someone says that winning a Paris - Roubaix is worth a Word title, but in this case it seems more than just a hyperbole.
Despite Valverde's great victory in Innsbruck, Sagan impressed everybody with his solo attack 50 kilometers away from Roubaix and gained the last encomium of the year.
I think this happened also due to the fact that Paris - Roubaix is the last legendary race. It brings us back to the legendary old cycling, made of gravel roads, punctures and hazard.
Nevertheless, Sagan would be remembered as the last winner of THE Paris - Roubaix because I don't know if we will call the race with its legendary name in the future.
I am talking about the shameful request, made by the Amis de Paris Roubaix, to fill the gaps between the cobbles of the Arenberg Forest with mortar.
They say that, otherwise, the sector is too hard to clean.
I hope they are kidding! We are talking about one of the last legendary cycling places in a cycling world that is moving to new nice places like Oman or Dubai but where history still has to be written.
My final question is: these people, asking to add mortar between the cobbles in the Arenberg Forest, are Friends of Paris Roubaix or Friends of the Sofa?

Monday, 9 April 2018

Paris - Roubaix 2018

How hard is it to be Sagan?
"You are a champion","you are the strongest one","you have to win", "Of course you have won, you were the strongest".
These are the main sentences we hear about Sagan. In addition to this, you have to deal with the fact that what you do will never be enough.
In Sagan's position, once you have won a race, you have just done your job.
In my opinion ,every Sagan's success is fully deserved and is praiseworthy like every other cycling victory.
We often forget that cycling is a sport for losers.
When 200 riders start a race with just one winner, it is easy to understand that 199 will loose and just one will win.
This consideration seems obvious but I invite my 25 readers to think about this sentence and repeat it as a sort of Mantra.
Sagan is accused to be more talkative than active but this is just his way to deal with the enormous pressure that he endures every race.
Imagine being in Sagan's position without laughing about it; it would be a nightmare.
It is already hard to be a cyclist, it is impossible to be a rider that must win every race he starts.
On Sunday, Sagan rode a fantastic race and deserved this incredible victory.
Celebrating his success, he said an incredible truth: you can attack and ride the perfect race but you have to be lucky.
Paris-Roubaix is such an extreme race that sometimes is the best way to normalize situations pumped too much up.
Sagan used the Paris-Roubaix to do this and he did it in the best way.
He didn't tried to arrive alone in the velodrome, starting a battle with his breakaway mate in the last kilometers, he just wanted to win.
Paris-Roubaix is a race that brings everybody back on earth, you can't theorize or preach too much, you have just to ride the most concrete thing on earth: the cobbles.
The riders know this but for people who never tried the cobbles is easy to forget.

***

I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Michael Goolaerts.

Tuesday, 13 February 2018

Cycling Kits 2018

It's survey time again!
Have a look at the new kits and vote your favourite one:

Ag2r-La Mondiale

Astana Pro Team

Bahrain-Merida

BMC Racing Team

Bora-Hansgrohe

Dimension Data

EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale

Groupama-FDJ

Lotto-Soudal

Mitchelton-Scott

Movistar Team

Quick-Step Floors

Team Katusha-Alpecin

Team LottoNL-Jumbo

Team Sky

Team Sunweb

Trek-Segafredo

UAE-Team Emirates

Monday, 25 September 2017

Bergen 2017, History Has Been Made

Love him or hate him, Peter Sagan is in the history of cycling.
For the first time a rider has been able to win 3 world championships in a row.
The third victory has been the hardest of the three for Sagan's admission too.
The circuit was really difficult to interpret and you could play your cards just one time.
Sagan is also doing something incredible, that never happened before in the history of cycling, he is identifying himself with the rainbow jersey.
You don't even know which is the team jersey of Sagan, when you see a rainbow jersey you just think is Sagan's jersey.
What will happen next year when the rainbow jersey will change owner? Will we get used to the new rainbow jersey?
We have time to think about this, but let's enjoy another year of Sagan in his most suitable jersey before.

Thursday, 10 August 2017

August Cycling

May not be the green jersey of le Tour de France but it is always a nice jersey to wear in the land of cycling.
Sagan is dominating another race, proving that he is enjoying his good shape.
I don't understand why the team didn't let Sagan defend his European title.
That is a pity but also the proof that this new race has still a long way ahead to become a "classic" of the cycling calendar.
Kwiatkowski took an incredible victory in San Sebastian, enriching the best year of his career.
It is nice to see that the main characters of the month of August are almost the same of the spring classics, just Van Avermaet is taking a longer break.
The upcoming Vuelta is a show not to miss.
It presents a parterre of contenders better than the one at le Tour de France and with roads full of surprises, perfect for clever riders.
It is gonna be great, stay tuned.

Friday, 14 July 2017

How Long Will This Charade Last?

The jurors continue taking shameful decisions trying to help French riders win at the Tour de France.
Bouhanni did something definitely worse than Sagan and he is still in the race, Bardet took a bottle just like Uran Uran, Bennet and Pauwels but the Jury "did not see".
My question is: is this a World Tour race or the aim of the organizers is just to have a ridiculous French parade?
The race, so far, make me leaning towards the second option.

Wednesday, 5 July 2017

Is Still Worth Watching The Tour De France?

The answer is No.
The Tour de France is generally quite a boring race in itself, It is full of flat stages and the climbs are always the same five every year.
What makes the Tour de France a great race is that the most iconic champions are at the start of this Grand Tour and animate it with their talent and their class.
When Valverde is out due to a bad crash and the World Champion is out due to a more than questionable decision of an unprepared jury, why should We still watch this piddling race?

P.S. If organizers are happy just with French victories, they should just decide to turn the Tour de France into the new French national championship.

Monday, 3 July 2017

Tour de France 2017 Pt. 1

The same old Tour is on and nothing seems to have changed.
Froome is again the big favourite and the other teams are already complaining about Team Sky's tactics and materials.
This time under investigation are the skinsuits used by the team during the opening Time Trial that, with their "vortex generator", seem to have provided the riders a notable time gain.
The saddest event is the crash of Valverde in the first stage, the Tour looses one of the most spectacular riders of the peloton. I really hope this won't be the end of the career of one of the last legend of this sport.
One of the most interesting riders to watch out during the first part of this Tour is Phinney, the American seems finally healed and in a good shape. No doubt about his talent, now I'm curious to see what he can do.
Until the stage arrival at la Planche des Belles Filles we can just enjoy watching Sagan that tries to win every stage.
Welcome back to the same old Tour de France.

Sunday, 18 June 2017

Pre - Tour De France Races

What a nice final for the Route du Sud 2017! Scully won the last stage after a thrilling sprint on the racetrack of Novaro.
The Route du Sud gave us great signals about the team Cannondale-Drapac, can we finally expect to see something good at le Tour de France from this World Tour team? I really hope so.
Tour of Slovenia and Tour de Suisse proved that the Team Bora-Hansgrohe is ready to lead their first Tour de France.
Nevertheless, I'am worried because I see so many pretenders for a stage to win in good shape, but I don't see a proper parterre of contenders for the victory of the Tour de France general classification.
I really hope it was all tactics so far but with such a great Giro d'Italia, this year, many Grand Tours riders choose the Giro instead of the Tour.
It is going to be a strange Tour de France this year, but we'll be ready to comment everything is going to happen.

Monday, 22 May 2017

Giro 100 Pt. 3

I want to divide this brief Impression in three parts, because we've just finished an intense week.

SPRINTS & SPRINTERS

Last week has been the week of Gaviria, he claimed and obtained a place in the sprinters' elite.
He dominated the sprint, winning each time in a different way, showing the world his multiples skills.
Ewan could be the only one faster than him, but he is too small and struggle too much while fighting for position.
Sam Bennet is supported by an incredible team, but unfortunately found a sprinter stronger than him.
I'am a bit disappointed by Greipel, he could not be satisfied with just one stage win, even if it gave him the pink jersey.
If you are one of the best sprinters in the world, you have to do something more to remain in the elite, considering that, as we said, you have a new impressive opponent.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AND PINK JERSEY CANDIDATES

I've never seen Tom Dumoulin so confident and self-aware.
He demolished his opponents on his field, the TT, but what he did on the Mount Oropa climb is even better.
He won on the Pantani's climb wearing the pink jersey, what else do you need to be considered a champion?
He has learned a lot from his Vuelta's defeat and will fight 'til the end of the Giro, with a great TT waiting for him in Milan.
Quintana is the strongest climber of this Giro 100 and it seems to be the only one capable of attacking Dumoulin.
We will see, we have great week ahead.

TEAMS

What can I say about Quick-step Floors?
The Wolfpack is honoring the race and demolishing its opponents on the roads of Giro 100, winning and exciting the crowd on any terrain. What a team!!
The last consideration is about the so many teams that haven't already gotten anything from this Giro 100 and that are doing nothing in order to justify their participation.
You will understand of which teams I'm talking about once the Giro is over, reading the upcoming article in which I'll rate the teams.

Monday, 15 May 2017

Giro 100 Pt. 2

It has not been a memorable Giro, except for the Blockhaus stage, so far, but the best is yet to come.
Smaller teams are not interested in fighting for a stage win and the Peloton seems asleep, providing the same show almost everyday.
Bora - Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floor are still the only two teams honoring the race and taking great victories and podiums.
I want to underline also the strength of Gazprom Rusvelo, the only team that everyday has a man in the breakaway.
Dillier saved the Giro of Team BMC considering that team's GC ambitions sank in the Blockhaus stage.
Talking about the Blockhaus stage, the first consideration must be on Italian police, shame on them. They eliminated 3 GC contenders with one of the silliest move you can do in a cycling race.
Talking about the "survivors", Quintana proved to be the best, supported by a great team with licence to kill, see Gorka Izagirre.
Pinot is not a surprise for me, he is riding incredibly well since the beginning of the Giro.
He has prepared this edition of the Giro very well. He is stronger than Quintana against the clock and can be considered the first rival of the new pink jersey.
Dumoulin surprised me, he made a solid performance on such a hard climb.
Considering that he is the stronger GC contender in TT stages, he can take away the pink jersey from Quintana tomorrow and try to defend it as long as possible.
Just a few words about Nibali, he is riding alone, his team is inconsistent.
My question to the Bahrain - Merida director is: if you know you have a weak team compared to your opponents, why do you spend in a breakaway, the day before a mountain stage, one of your strongest climber? I really hope Bahrain - Merida is fighting for something more than a stage win.

Monday, 8 May 2017

Giro 100 Pt. 1

The Giro 100 has started three days ago, but it seems to be started just for two teams.
Bora Hansgrohe and Quickstep Floors attacked and deserved they victories, honoring such an important edition of this wonderful race.
Bora Hansgrohe, maybe due to the fact that Sagan wasn't in the race, started attacking with all his riders and were rewarded.
Quickstep Floors choose the windy day to teach cycling to the peloton, doing the one that, so far, could be called the best feat of the Giro 100.
I can understand that the teams with the GC contenders prefer to ride safely in the bunch, but in such a hard race I ask myself when weaker teams think they will have a good occasion to win a stage.
In conclusion, after these three stages is confirmed something that I always love to repeat: in cycling if you attack you may loose, but if you don't attack you can't win.

Saturday, 6 May 2017

Giro 100

Thank you Giro d'Italia for being such an unpredictable and fascinating race.
Could the 100th edition of the Giro have had a better and more unpredictable start? I don't think so.

Giro is a race I've always loved, since I was a kid.

The fact is that, at Giro d'Italia, you can't lie. The stages and the streets are too embroidered, too tricky, you have to be really the best in order to win.
If you win the General Classification of the Giro d'Italia, It is a Victory you definitely deserve.
Every stage you win, every jersey you wear, you can be sure that you deserve it, because you have been the best: the strongest, the smartest or both.
Postlberger today proved us this. That's the Giro, you have to think up something cool to win!
I want also to underline the fact that, even without Sagan, Bora-Hansgrohe had an incredible start.
They have all the jerseys and they have amazed us with this incredible class feat.

Sunday, 26 March 2017

Impressions After a Week On the Cobbles

A week on the cobbles has just finished and Van Avermaet comes out confirming his class in one day races.
Nevertheless, I think he wasn't the strongest rider in the peloton, he was just the smartest.
Gilbert lost two races in which he was clearly the strongest, trying to ride in the Sagan's way, a spectacular way to ride but that is not paying back in 2017.
We have also to consider that in order to ride like Sagan you have to be extremely stronger than the other riders and not just in a very good shape.
Allow me now to focus on what happened today in Gent-Wevelgem: while Sagan and Terpstra were arguing, Van Avermaet and Keukeleire, remaining focused on the race, silently rode away.
Van Avermaet took an incredible win that embellishes his palmarés proving that you have to be smart to win without caring too much about pulling as the others or showing that you are the best in the peloton.
I think that Sagan learned a lot from Gent-Wevelgem 2017 and we will enjoy an incredible Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
In conclusion, I want to celebrate the only rider that this week (at Volta Ciclista a Catalunya) won conjugating show, class and cleverness: El Imbatido, Alejandro Valverde.

Sunday, 19 March 2017

The Legend of Peter Sagan - Milano-Sanremo 2017

I've alwaye heared old people saying: "yes, nowadays there are good riders, but when there was Coppi..." or "but when there was Merckx...".
Nobody can say this anymore watching Sagan riding his bike.
Sagan is able to do romantic feat in a cycling dominated by technology and mathematics.
What he did on the Poggio during the 2017 Milano-Sanremo has been something that will remain in the history of this sport.
Milano-Sanremo in recent years has become a sprinter Classic and organizers where thinking about modify the route. This is not necessary anymore, you need champions, not route modifications in order to have great races again.
Yesterday the plot of all the romantic masterpieces was respected once again, the main hero didn't win, beaten by a clever and strong rider, the former World Champion before the Sagan's era.
I don't think this is the start of a new dualism, Sagan is simply The Hero and will have to face many different riders trying to defeat him.
Kwiatkowski deserved his Victory, he won in the only way he could against The Hero and will be remembered in the Milano-Sanremo winners list, but Sagan will be always remembered as The Legend and his presence in the Winners list of the various races will be just in the back burner.
Sagan doesn't know the cycling history, they say, It doesn't matter, It is more important making it.

Wednesday, 3 July 2019