Monday, March 23, 2015

The Spokes Man

...discussion points from the Commish.

Captain on the Road
Missed by a nose

As the dust begins to settle from Milan-Sanremo I can begin to look back at what actually happened in the race.  Degenkolb showed impressive power and race tactics, but there was another rider with whom I was most impressed. As I think about this years race as well as lasts I am compelled to say that the best ride of the day was by none other than Luca Paolini.
Image result for tinkoff saxo water bottle holder
Not the Captain
We know what a protected rider is and his lieutenant's role seems pretty easily defined.  In addition, each team brings several domestiques, be it climbers, strongmen or just some guy who's good at carrying water.  But we also often hear that a certain rider is designated as the "captain on the road".  What exactly is this?  Some say its just a bullshit title given to make a domestique feel better.  Others say these are the guys that really control the race.
El Capitan
There have been a lot of good "captains" over the years.  Big George Hincapie is the first to come to mind.  A man who seldom won himself, but was always on the winning team.  So why was he good? (Remember the motto of  this blog: the only thing lamer than doping talk is tech talk)  The ability to read a race, position and protect his rider and probably most important, the ability to control the speed of the peloton.  The Spokes Man's question  of the day:  who's the best road captain out there today? Who do you want calling the shots?
Pulling on the Poggio

Luca, with his sagely beard, embodied the role of "captain on the road" last Sunday.  As his team leader Kristoff began to suffer at the back on the Cipressa Paolini took action.  First to the front of the peloton to slow the pace a bit.  Then he gathered his teamates as they dropped back to help pace Kristoff to the top.  As they entered the last climb of the day who was there to set the pace?  Luca.  Fast enough to deter attacks, slow enough to drag Krsitoff up.  Job well done.  Oh wait, there's more.  After guiding his man down the tricky decent he pulls wide around the final turn placing his man right at the front of the peloton.  How did he navigate this terrain so well as others (Gilbert) crash and others (Sagan) follow single file? A little digging shows us that Luca has a few podium finishes here himself.  He knows the route, knows his leader and knows himself.  Some say he dropped him off a little early, but that is Kristoff's style.  Also, his man almost won being able to hold off all but one for the last 300 meters.  It's a shame that Paolini wasn't rewarded with a team victory.  Its a shame that his amazing performance as a road captain becomes a mere footnote.  Had Kristoff won I have no doubt people would be talking about how Paolini had done the same thing last year.  Instead, Luca will have to fight for  few more victories of his own in order to be recognized.  Road captains may be respected, but only race winners are glorified.


 

5 comments:

  1. Did you copy this from cycling news?

    An amazing ride from Luca. I think this is an americanized viewpoint created for the great George Hincapie. George even refers to himself as the "Loyal Leutenant". Often times the road captain or leader on the road is known as the Patron, ala Lance Armstrong or Bernard Hinault. Luca paolini, although awesomely talented, is a super domestique in Milan- San Remo, a gregario, an elite water carrier.

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  2. I predict that Luca will get a win on his own this week as he did show that he is in very good form.

    What would you rather have:
    multiple leaders/protected riders or a dedicated domestique and 1 protected rider.

    Give me the latter. I much prefer a clear objective, as Katusha had at M-SR to a team bringing multiple leaders and no clear objective Ala GVA and Gilbert.

    if you have multiple protected riders you have none. See Team Garmin-(insert sponsor here).

    #LetNairoRide

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  3. I think the wording of your question is misleading. First of all I'm talking about grand tours not one day races. Secondly, multiple leaders makes it sound like you have no legitimate favorites. My question was: is it better to have 2 legitimate podium threats on one team or to have a clear cut overall contender with a strong domestique who will not threaten any high overall placements.

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  4. Concerning road captain, I don't think lieutenant or second in command really sums up the amount of control Luca had over the race on Sunday. Do we still have Patrons in the Peloton? Maybe Cancellera in one day races, but still not everyone listens. Chapeau to Chavanel I guess.

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  5. The knowledge...IMPRESSIVE!!!! Commish is really growing into the responsibilities of that beard and proving to be a real "sage of old" his damn self!

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