You are reading a single comment by @noBlakes and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
Exactly this. If Sky tried to rip it up at Liege like that, they'd pull hard for 50 kms, turn round and see a field of 50-80 riders still left. The depth of the field in a WT race is much deeper. Most of the UK teams are delighted that they still had someone within 5 minutes of the winners.
I should add, that's not to demean the UK teams, they are an important part of the development process for younger riders, bridging the gap between junior racing and the WT for younger riders and giving chances to those who've developed later.
andyp
@noBlakes
The lack of world tour powerhouse teams also helped, the final group of 5 would have probably been a final group of 50 if it was a world tour classic as there's simply more teams to chase back on if someone gets away
Was a good parcours though, enjoyed the racing, nice to see Tommy V get a win, using all his experience to nab it. Van Poppel coming back and winning sprints was also cool after all the classics work he did for the team off the back of an early season injury