How good is Robbie????

He is a great sprinter. Interesting that this was his 10th TdF win, when compared to Zabel who has won the Green jersey 6 times...yet only won 12 stages. Nothing against Zabel, I didn't really follow cycling when he was at his prime, but it's an interesting stat.

I saw an interview with McEwen on EuroSportNews where he suggests that the rules should change so that to be eligible for the green jersey, you should have to win at least 1 stage. I have to agree with him, gathering intermediate sprint points isn't that glamorous (which is what sprinting is all about, let's face it) and doesn't mean you're the best sprinter. Beating the pack at 70kph makes you the best sprinter.😎

Walrus said:

He is a great sprinter. Interesting that this was his 10th TdF win, when compared to Zabel who has won the Green jersey 6 times...yet only won 12 stages. Nothing against Zabel, I didn't really follow cycling when he was at his prime, but it's an interesting stat.

I saw an interview with McEwen on EuroSportNews where he suggests that the rules should change so that to be eligible for the green jersey, you should have to win at least 1 stage. I have to agree with him, gathering intermediate sprint points isn't that glamorous (which is what sprinting is all about, let's face it) and doesn't mean you're the best sprinter. Beating the pack at 70kph makes you the best sprinter.😎

i dunno man the green jersey to me has been about the best overall rider, not best sprinter. erik zabel may not be have been a GC contender, but he IMO is the perfect mix of everything, unlike robbie, who simply can't climb [censored].

SaintAndrew said:

i dunno man the green jersey to me has been about the best overall rider, not best sprinter. erik zabel may not be have been a GC contender, but he IMO is the perfect mix of everything, unlike robbie, who simply can't climb [censored].

That's why he wins the green not the polka.

SaintAndrew said:

i dunno man the green jersey to me has been about the best overall rider, not best sprinter. erik zabel may not be have been a GC contender, but he IMO is the perfect mix of everything, unlike robbie, who simply can't climb [censored].

Zabel can't climb or Time Trial. He's a sprinter who can challenge on rolling terrain (he rode quite well earlier this year, 11th in Tour of Flanders and 8th in Brabantse Pijl). Valverde on the other hand is an all rounder...he can sprint, he can climb, he can TT and he can win the classics.

The Green Jersey goes to the most consistent "finsher" and is won by either accumulating points (ala Zabel and Hushovd) or winning stages (ala McEwen).

The last time the Green Jersey was won by the best overall rider was when Hinault won it in 1979.

nitrous said:

That's why he wins the green not the polka.

polka isn't even fair to compare to green or yellow, but it is a good point about it green being for consistent finisher and not mid-race point grabber ala polkadot.

I think it is amazing how RM just pops out of nowhere and wins stages. Today, he def. studied that last turn to blow every away for the win. I don't even think Phil and Paul realized the race ended immediatley.

RM def. a fast dude.

TrekDedicated said:

I think it is amazing how RM just pops out of nowhere and wins stages. Today, he def. studied that last turn to blow every away for the win. I don't even think Phil and Paul realized the race ended immediatley.

RM def. a fast dude.

That's right - and he is SMART!!!!! Not saying that Boonen, Zabel, Thor etc aren't smart but Robbie definately puts himself in a position to win more often than the others. Call it experience or intuition but the guy certainly has the brains to back up his braun.

P.S - we are having a competition at work to see who can get the most clicks to our new ad campaign, I'm in the lead with a day to go - prizes are great!! If you could please click this link and help a fellow cyclist out I'd really appreciate it. The ads are quite funny, if you have time, check them out.

Agree on all counts bar one...that he saves himself just for the TdF. Don't forget he won 3 stages at the Giro in May, a stage at the Tour de Romandie as well as a criterium at the Tour Downunder and the Jayco Bay Classic to name a few. He rides year round. Is he better than LA in his chosen speciality? The legend of Ewan McEwan's father grows by the day......

nitrous said:

Seriously, he's bloody brilliant! You'd have to say he's the Lance Armstrong of TDF sprints. Doesn't do much all year and then comes out and wins TDF stages. Great to see that that is his focus and the others are all fighting it out for the minor points and intermediates, hoping to spend a day in yellow cos they know they can't beat Robbie in a bunch sprint.

Even after loosing Freddy, he is still able to use his team, his strength and his brains to manufacture an outstanding win.

P.S - we are having a competition at work to see who can get the most clicks to our new ad campaign, I'm in the lead with a day to go - prizes are great!! If you could please click this link and help a fellow cyclist out I'd really appreciate it. The ads are quite funny, if you have time, check them out.

agreee pgando...ewan's old man can play.

it really [censored] me having to listen to every commentator under the sun talking about boonen this, boonen that. mcewen has always been faster. always. he could easily have won 5stages this year already. shouldve won the green jersey last year...and every betting agency had him 3rd fav this year. hushovd wouldnt beat me in a sprint, and boonen wont even finish the tour let alone consistently outsprint robbie.

Zabel is consistent. If the allegations against JU are correct, Erik Zabel is the peloton's best "current rider" with the most wins of importance. No one else comes close that is currently riding.
One of cycling's biggest disapointments to me was not ever seeing Erik Zabel in the World's jersey.

What is going on with Boonen? I am not naive to believe he would come to the TDF and just romp to win after win.... That would be a slam to McEwen and Feire. But this is strange. Mistake after mistake.

What is Robbie like in the mountains? Can he climb well enough to be able finish a climbing stage without struggling to meet the cutoff time? After watching the World Cup and seeing what a true headbutt is, last years attempt by Robbie in that sprint was weak. He needs to work on that. Sereiously though, Robbie is a great bike handler and he deserves the green this year at theis point.

wolfix said:

What is going on with Boonen? I am not naive to believe he would come to the TDF and just romp to win after win.... That would be a slam to McEwen and Feire. But this is strange. Mistake after mistake.

From what I know of track sprinting (running), sprinters are a different breed. They need to be in top condition physically and mentally. Even when they are in top condition physically if there's just a knick in their confidence or they're not 100% aggressive they can't pull off the win. Boonen appears to have lost confidence. He looks almost tentative coming past his lead out men and isn't catching wheels or sprinting aggressively now. McEwan looks great right now, his turnover is so fast and his "jump" today was amazing even though Freire won in the end.

All the sprinters talk about how relieving it is to get one under your belt and how the pressure comes off once you have won a stage. I think Boonen is suffering a bit from the pressure that the cycling world is putting on him, given his high profile, world championship and early season form/wins. The fact that he has not won a stage yet just compounds after each unsuccessful attempt.

Robbie is definately in good form but it will be interesting to see how he goes over the mountains. Best thing for him I think is that some of the big boys are out so the winners time might be a bit higher.

Fingers crossed he makes it out alive!

The more I read about him (Robbie), the more I like him. I'm refering to the interviews with him currently going on. He seems to make it a point to give credit to other riders, and especially his team.

That's not the impression I originally had about him.

Where do you guys think he would stack up against Cipollini if they both were on top of their game?

Mansmind said:

The more I read about him (Robbie), the more I like him. I'm refering to the interviews with him currently going on. He seems to make it a point to give credit to other riders, and especially his team.

That's not the impression I originally had about him.

Where do you guys think he would stack up against Cipollini if they both were on top of their game?

In general Robbie has always been second fiddle to Cipollini, then Petacchi, but he has always managed to get a stage or 2 though each time.

Cipo is a rider who can accelerate gradually over a longer distance, plus he was the one who perfected the lead-out train, and in the Giro especially, the last 4 km was a guarantee of the Fassa Bartolo team lining out in the front of the field.

Robbie is more craftier as a bike handling then Cipo, and his top speed is probably around the same. The main difference is Robbie has a quicker 0-60 acceleration, but he can't maintain the top speed as long as Mario could.

Walrus said:

Zabel can't climb or Time Trial. He's a sprinter who can challenge on rolling terrain (he rode quite well earlier this year, 11th in Tour of Flanders and 8th in Brabantse Pijl). Valverde on the other hand is an all rounder...he can sprint, he can climb, he can TT and he can win the classics.

The Green Jersey goes to the most consistent "finsher" and is won by either accumulating points (ala Zabel and Hushovd) or winning stages (ala McEwen).

The last time the Green Jersey was won by the best overall rider was when Hinault won it in 1979.

I'd quibble with that actually walrus whilst accepting the general thrust of your point. Surely Sean kelly had a legit claim to best overall rider status when he was winning the Green jersey during the 80s. Vuelta winner, multiple points winner by huge margins, 6 times world No.1 and "Roi des Classiques" gives him very letitimate claims to greatness.

tiogar said:

I'd quibble with that actually walrus whilst accepting the general thrust of your point. Surely Sean kelly had a legit claim to best overall rider status when he was winning the Green jersey during the 80s. Vuelta winner, multiple points winner by huge margins, 6 times world No.1 and "Roi des Classiques" gives him very letitimate claims to greatness.

You're probably right, I guess I was only looking at the Tour.😉

Walrus said:

You're probably right, I guess I was only looking at the Tour.😉

I take your point.

Perhaps the best way to put it would be to say that the last truly great all round rider to win the green was Kelly whereas the last truly great "rider of the Tour" to win it was as you say, Hinault.

tiogar said:

I take your point.

Perhaps the best way to put it would be to say that the last truly great all round rider to win the green was Kelly whereas the last truly great "rider of the Tour" to win it was as you say, Hinault.

Sounds reasonable. I wonder how long it will be before another rider wins all 3 jersey's?

Robbie wins stages 2, 4, & 6 in both the Giro and the Tour this year.
Green jersey winner in 2002, '04, & '06 (Making an assumption for '06).
Spooky.