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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-
It seems the best answer then is to reduce the number of riders a team can bring to a race like liege, if all the numbers do is essentially neutralise the racing
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Yes very true, but it was great to the field smashed to bits, mainly down to the magnificent pull by Kennaugh. He may be a bit of a Charlie but he is also one hell of a bike rider. Loved all the little groups racing hard, and Voeckler's brudge with Turgis was a fantastic bit of riding, especially when he looked back and saw Nordhaug on the charge and put in a extra kick to keep him away.
And echelons on the top of climbs! Great countryside and conditions for a hard race too.
plxarc
Jimmy_Fingers
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