Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Quick Step's Strength, Even in Weakness
So perhaps there are some dents in Quick Step’s armor after all. Thor Hushovd was able to take a measure of revenge for a poor run at Flanders by winning the mid-week classic at Ghent-Wevelgem. In the final sprint, he came around the tired legs of Alessandro Pettachi to sweep past a fading Filippo Pozzato. Pozzato had tried to repeat his Milan-San Remo feat by holding off the sprinters with another late run. Going from more than a kilometer out, he also managed it – in the end he was fourth.
Overwhelming favorite for any race he enters Tom Boonen rode a comparatively quiet race, indicating he felt dead on the first climb of the Kemmelberg. Nevertheless, his weakness underscored Quick Step’s strength: realizing the Force wasn’t with him today, he released the rest of the Quick Step storm troopers to ride their own races.
And that’s a key to maintaining team discipline. Lance used to talk about the fear of seeing disappointment on his teammates’ faces at the dinner table if he failed to win after they sacrificed so much for him. Such fear motivated Armstrong to countless victories. The flip side of that is having the character to let your team know that you don’t have it – and allowing them to ride their own race (or take an easy spin along with Boonen).
Contrast that with certain other prima donnas of the peloton. Last year Paolo Bettini accused Alessandro Pettachi of letting the Squadra Azzurri know too late he wasn’t in top form, costing the Olympic gold medalist his chance at the World’s title. A similar situation went down with VDB at the Verona World’s in 1999 – he didn’t let his teammates know he was riding with a broken wrist. And then we were all also entertained with the pathetic fiction that Joseba Beloki could continue to be competitive in the Tour de France, keeping Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano by his side, dooming the chances of both men.
Quick Step is successful in the classics because they avoid these problems. They do require sacrifices from all their riders, but at the same time, their riders also know their chances will come. And they also know that on a day when the captain’s legs feel like mine, they won’t be riding in vain.
Overwhelming favorite for any race he enters Tom Boonen rode a comparatively quiet race, indicating he felt dead on the first climb of the Kemmelberg. Nevertheless, his weakness underscored Quick Step’s strength: realizing the Force wasn’t with him today, he released the rest of the Quick Step storm troopers to ride their own races.
And that’s a key to maintaining team discipline. Lance used to talk about the fear of seeing disappointment on his teammates’ faces at the dinner table if he failed to win after they sacrificed so much for him. Such fear motivated Armstrong to countless victories. The flip side of that is having the character to let your team know that you don’t have it – and allowing them to ride their own race (or take an easy spin along with Boonen).
Contrast that with certain other prima donnas of the peloton. Last year Paolo Bettini accused Alessandro Pettachi of letting the Squadra Azzurri know too late he wasn’t in top form, costing the Olympic gold medalist his chance at the World’s title. A similar situation went down with VDB at the Verona World’s in 1999 – he didn’t let his teammates know he was riding with a broken wrist. And then we were all also entertained with the pathetic fiction that Joseba Beloki could continue to be competitive in the Tour de France, keeping Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano by his side, dooming the chances of both men.
Quick Step is successful in the classics because they avoid these problems. They do require sacrifices from all their riders, but at the same time, their riders also know their chances will come. And they also know that on a day when the captain’s legs feel like mine, they won’t be riding in vain.
