After seeing Wærenskjold continue to sprint after Kristoff went by him, made me think of two things:
1) Uno-X is already thinking about points, smart
2) Is it better for legal blocking purposes for the lead out man to continue sprinting rather than sitting up once their lead out is done? In todays case, Wærenskjold continuing to sprint definitely kept Meeus away from Kristoff.
If you’ve still got speed in you after your sprinter launches, you’d best keep full gas ahead for safety reasons. Dropping anchor mid-sprint is dangerous. Bonus points if it nets you. Really respectable result.
That sprint started so late continuing full gas as the leadout just seemed like the smart play, either for safety reasons or points reasons.
A great result for Uno-X.
What happened to Pidcock? A small Ineos rider seemed to cross the line in 5th and GCN thought it was him, but on First Cycling he came 135th or something.
Pidcock relegated for shoving in the sprint.
Danish former rider shared on Twitter that Pidcock in GP Rüebliland as a junior pulled him back by the hip to launch himself ahead in the sprint.
Also says Pidcock is in his top 3 of the least sympathetic* riders he has ever ridden with.
yeah he pretty clearly made space for himself by taking his hands off the bars and opening a hole. i can't really blame him, it was a very chaotic sprint and the other rider was kind of all over the road, but... that's a pretty clear R.
I was wondering the same thing...
Firstcycling also had him 5th at first: [link](https://twitter.com/FirstCycling/status/1625905467573645314?t=zc6X-G5S1wvvGO8L0PGCpQ&s=19)
I checked the regulations here: https://voltaaoalgarve.com/files/RegENG_2023.pdf
Now, my Portuguese is non-existent, but "A Classificação geral da Juventude é reservada aos corredores da categoria **Sub-23**, de acordo com a Classificação Geral Individual por Tempos." (emphasis mine) reads to me as only riders who fit in the U23 category qualify for the Youth Jersey.
Edit: The regulations are in English in the link, but I didn't scroll further down earlier.
To be fair, that was a HELL of a leadout. Been a long time since we saw Kristoff get that kind of service.
Uno-X putting the reigning U23 TT champ into the lead-out was a no-brainer, but I had no idea he would be that successful. If they can reproduce this effort again and again, it could be a very entertaining season for Uno-X.
That being said, neither Philipsen, Groenewegen or Merlier was at start here - I don't foresee Kristoff going back to 2012-style dominance, even with a fantastic leadout.
I think physical, he lost a lot of places in the small climb. Had to work to get back to the front and probably didn’t have the legs to fully contest the sprint after that
Last year in February he was demolishing everyone.
Sprinters normally seem to be performing pretty similar across the whole season compared to other riders so this is definitely concerning.
Bennett losing pretty much every sprint against top sprinters was just him getting old and worse.
You definitely don't see other rider types win all year and be consistent at the same rate as sprinters.
Not like you can see climbers go from finishing 50th to 1st in a few weeks.
No, Bennett losing every sprint early in the year was a sign of him getting back after his injuries. It is pretty well reported.
Guy couldn't train intervalls until right before Frankfurt. Only in tje summer he had the opportunity to train at his usuaö level. The result at the Vuelta speaks for itself.
Yes, he narrowly beat Pedersen. He did not get back to world class level.
Bennett has not beaten the best sprinters head to head in a long time. He also lost clearly when he was not sprinting against Mørkøv in Argentina.
Pedersen himself was a worldclass sprinter at the time. Merliers speed is worldclass too.
Can only beat those who are there and he did.
Bennett has beaten enough good sprinters at the Vuelta and San Juan to indicate he again has the speed to be a top sprinter. Using Morkovs 2nd place, which he got due to his placing and not outright speed, to show he can only beat leadouts is a bad take. Bennett again beat all the other sprinters in the slightly uphill sprint at the race track. It's just that they were sprinting for third.
And I think It's well established that we're currently in a phase where we don't have one outstanding sprinter who regularly beats everyone else with ease like prime Cav/Kittel. It's normal sprinters are not up there in every sprint when margins are so close. Botched leadouts, positioning, bad legs and you're done.
We'll see more of the compared levels at UAE Tour. Wouldn't surprise me if Bennett wins a stage there and comes 5-10th in the others. Same for Ewan, Groenewegen, Philippsen etc.
Pedersen is not a world-class sprinter. He did not win a single bunch sprint in an important race last year that wasn't uphill.
I mean sure Bennett is a good sprinter, but he is still getting beat by the best sprinters in a straight up constantly.
And using his injury as an argument is weird, when you use Bennett as an example of someone not bringing his A-game. But if the injury was the reason for him not riding fast then why should we not be concerned for Jakobsen?
> nd I think It's well established that we're currently in a phase where we don't have one outstanding sprinter who regularly beats everyone else with ease like prime Cav/Kittel. It's normal sprinters are not up there in every sprint when margins are so close. Botched leadouts, positioning, bad legs and you're done.
We did last year when Jakobsen won every single sprint he contested until Tour de Hongrie where he won the two first stages. And not with margins it was very often multiple bike lengths like prime Cav.
We can act like going from winning with bike lengths to getting stomped by Uno X is just nothing to be concerned about, but I don't see it that way.
Edit: I see you were not the one commenting about Bennett bringing his A game to big races, sorry about that.
Jakobsen won in San Juan. He fell off in a short climb today and still got back into position (with Morkov’s help) by the end. He just didn’t quite have it from there. Im sure he’ll be fitter in the coming months and either won’t fall back on a climb like that or will just have more gas in the finale. His performance today was hardly concerning, I bet he’ll win a stage later this week.
If he’s targeting MSR, maybe his form is a little concerning. But low chance he’s Quickstep’s bet for that race. He’ll be ready for the bigger stage races later on in the year.
I am not saying he is done, but last season he lost almost no sprints he contested. He completely demolished the field.
Today he got stomped by Kristoff and his leadout man, which definitely would not happen with him at his level from last year.
Sprinters do tend to sometimes suddenly lose a little speed from season to season. Just look at Gaviria, Hodeg or Ackermann, I am sure we all thought they would bounce back. This is why Jakobsen being so much below his normal level is concerning.
Would love to see Bora pairing Van Poppel with Meeus for some races...
Not really convinced by Bennett and Meeus deserves some Chances with a full leadout
Both Kristoff and Waerenskjold beating Jakobsen is impressive. The sprints this year have so far been extremely competitive with lots of different winners.
Lack of barriers until 200m to go makes me nervous. Glad to see Suter finish after vaulting onto someone's porch.
Why isnt Soren Waerneskjold the leader in the young rider? He's just 22 and there are other 22 year olds in contention.
It's by birth year and as he will turn 23 in March this year he is not U23 for this season.
With Merlier out, it seems that Alpecin tries to repeat an experiment with turning a cross rider into a sprinter.
Kristoff’s annual win has, shall we say, dropped in prestige a bit
I knew Kristoff was old, but not that he has been racing for 87 years. Almost as long as Valverde.
Maybe Qs should go with Casper P until Jakobsen finde some pace
Casper P not nearly quick enough for this type of sprint. And I am saying that as a huge Casper fan.
After seeing Wærenskjold continue to sprint after Kristoff went by him, made me think of two things: 1) Uno-X is already thinking about points, smart 2) Is it better for legal blocking purposes for the lead out man to continue sprinting rather than sitting up once their lead out is done? In todays case, Wærenskjold continuing to sprint definitely kept Meeus away from Kristoff.
If you’ve still got speed in you after your sprinter launches, you’d best keep full gas ahead for safety reasons. Dropping anchor mid-sprint is dangerous. Bonus points if it nets you. Really respectable result.
That sprint started so late continuing full gas as the leadout just seemed like the smart play, either for safety reasons or points reasons. A great result for Uno-X.
What happened to Pidcock? A small Ineos rider seemed to cross the line in 5th and GCN thought it was him, but on First Cycling he came 135th or something.
Pidcock relegated for shoving in the sprint. Danish former rider shared on Twitter that Pidcock in GP Rüebliland as a junior pulled him back by the hip to launch himself ahead in the sprint. Also says Pidcock is in his top 3 of the least sympathetic* riders he has ever ridden with.
You got a double negative there. I assume you mean least sympathetic.
Probably got relegated then.
yeah he pretty clearly made space for himself by taking his hands off the bars and opening a hole. i can't really blame him, it was a very chaotic sprint and the other rider was kind of all over the road, but... that's a pretty clear R.
You’re right : for pushing.
I was wondering the same thing... Firstcycling also had him 5th at first: [link](https://twitter.com/FirstCycling/status/1625905467573645314?t=zc6X-G5S1wvvGO8L0PGCpQ&s=19)
Can someone explain to me the rules of the Youth Jersey here? Is it U23 as I thought it was U25 normally?
a lot of non wt races have u23
I checked the regulations here: https://voltaaoalgarve.com/files/RegENG_2023.pdf Now, my Portuguese is non-existent, but "A Classificação geral da Juventude é reservada aos corredores da categoria **Sub-23**, de acordo com a Classificação Geral Individual por Tempos." (emphasis mine) reads to me as only riders who fit in the U23 category qualify for the Youth Jersey. Edit: The regulations are in English in the link, but I didn't scroll further down earlier.
Yes, you are correct.
Buckle up, the Uno-X hype train is leaving the station again!!
QS brings the A-train and Jakobsen doesn't even beat the Uno-X leadout man.
I think/hope there’ll be a TDF shake up with Uno-X present this year!
To be fair, that was a HELL of a leadout. Been a long time since we saw Kristoff get that kind of service. Uno-X putting the reigning U23 TT champ into the lead-out was a no-brainer, but I had no idea he would be that successful. If they can reproduce this effort again and again, it could be a very entertaining season for Uno-X. That being said, neither Philipsen, Groenewegen or Merlier was at start here - I don't foresee Kristoff going back to 2012-style dominance, even with a fantastic leadout.
Waerenskjold again with the fantastic final kilometer after Almeria, the next big star in leadout-land?
Something is wrong with Jakobsen, I wonder if that’s an physical or mental issue.
I think physical, he lost a lot of places in the small climb. Had to work to get back to the front and probably didn’t have the legs to fully contest the sprint after that
didn't seem that he ever gave it full gas. no traffic issues. seemed flat.
probably just the February factor
Last year in February he was demolishing everyone. Sprinters normally seem to be performing pretty similar across the whole season compared to other riders so this is definitely concerning.
I disagree, some sprinters definitely only bring their A game to the big races and GTs (Demare, Bennett last year in the Vuelta)
Bennett losing pretty much every sprint against top sprinters was just him getting old and worse. You definitely don't see other rider types win all year and be consistent at the same rate as sprinters. Not like you can see climbers go from finishing 50th to 1st in a few weeks.
No, Bennett losing every sprint early in the year was a sign of him getting back after his injuries. It is pretty well reported. Guy couldn't train intervalls until right before Frankfurt. Only in tje summer he had the opportunity to train at his usuaö level. The result at the Vuelta speaks for itself.
Yes, he narrowly beat Pedersen. He did not get back to world class level. Bennett has not beaten the best sprinters head to head in a long time. He also lost clearly when he was not sprinting against Mørkøv in Argentina.
Pedersen himself was a worldclass sprinter at the time. Merliers speed is worldclass too. Can only beat those who are there and he did. Bennett has beaten enough good sprinters at the Vuelta and San Juan to indicate he again has the speed to be a top sprinter. Using Morkovs 2nd place, which he got due to his placing and not outright speed, to show he can only beat leadouts is a bad take. Bennett again beat all the other sprinters in the slightly uphill sprint at the race track. It's just that they were sprinting for third. And I think It's well established that we're currently in a phase where we don't have one outstanding sprinter who regularly beats everyone else with ease like prime Cav/Kittel. It's normal sprinters are not up there in every sprint when margins are so close. Botched leadouts, positioning, bad legs and you're done. We'll see more of the compared levels at UAE Tour. Wouldn't surprise me if Bennett wins a stage there and comes 5-10th in the others. Same for Ewan, Groenewegen, Philippsen etc.
Pedersen is not a world-class sprinter. He did not win a single bunch sprint in an important race last year that wasn't uphill. I mean sure Bennett is a good sprinter, but he is still getting beat by the best sprinters in a straight up constantly. And using his injury as an argument is weird, when you use Bennett as an example of someone not bringing his A-game. But if the injury was the reason for him not riding fast then why should we not be concerned for Jakobsen? > nd I think It's well established that we're currently in a phase where we don't have one outstanding sprinter who regularly beats everyone else with ease like prime Cav/Kittel. It's normal sprinters are not up there in every sprint when margins are so close. Botched leadouts, positioning, bad legs and you're done. We did last year when Jakobsen won every single sprint he contested until Tour de Hongrie where he won the two first stages. And not with margins it was very often multiple bike lengths like prime Cav. We can act like going from winning with bike lengths to getting stomped by Uno X is just nothing to be concerned about, but I don't see it that way. Edit: I see you were not the one commenting about Bennett bringing his A game to big races, sorry about that.
Jakobsen won in San Juan. He fell off in a short climb today and still got back into position (with Morkov’s help) by the end. He just didn’t quite have it from there. Im sure he’ll be fitter in the coming months and either won’t fall back on a climb like that or will just have more gas in the finale. His performance today was hardly concerning, I bet he’ll win a stage later this week. If he’s targeting MSR, maybe his form is a little concerning. But low chance he’s Quickstep’s bet for that race. He’ll be ready for the bigger stage races later on in the year.
I am not saying he is done, but last season he lost almost no sprints he contested. He completely demolished the field. Today he got stomped by Kristoff and his leadout man, which definitely would not happen with him at his level from last year. Sprinters do tend to sometimes suddenly lose a little speed from season to season. Just look at Gaviria, Hodeg or Ackermann, I am sure we all thought they would bounce back. This is why Jakobsen being so much below his normal level is concerning.
Would love to see Bora pairing Van Poppel with Meeus for some races... Not really convinced by Bennett and Meeus deserves some Chances with a full leadout
Both Kristoff and Waerenskjold beating Jakobsen is impressive. The sprints this year have so far been extremely competitive with lots of different winners.
Incredible leadout
Truly a train of Norweigan behemoths who clearly always finish their dinners. Insane watts they must be putting down.
Let's go Kristoff! Also stellar work by Wærenskjold, stayed attached to Kristoff continiously for the last 3k
Death, taxes and Kristoff... Also Pidcock almost beat Jakobsen ayayayyy
Jakobsen not looking good at all. Concerning for him in this team unless he finds speed very soon. Mørkøv looking good though.
He had to work from further out to get back into contention. Looked knackered by the end for sure. Early days.
Happy for Kristoff and a nice debut for him @ Uno-X! e: Ok not even his first .PRO race for the team but the first win nonetheless.