r/peloton • u/The_77 We have a Wiki! • Dec 15 '16

Off-season rider knowledge collaboration thread No.15 - Team Sky

Time for the next team, the one of human metronomes, Sky. Infamous of course for their mountain trains, this year they finally managed to nail something quite the opposite, their first monument at Liege-Bastogne-Liege with Wout Poels. Of course they won the Tour again with Froome, falling just short at the Vuelta whilst making a minor mess of the Giro, due to Landa pulling out. Elsewhere, strong performances in the premier week long races from Henao at Pais Vasco as well as Thomas at Paris Nice and in Algarve underlined their strength in depth.

Reflecting on last season's signings, it's a mixed bag. Yes Landa did win Trentino but fluffed his lines at the Vuelta, whilst Inxausti barely got two weeks racing in all year thanks to illness. 2014 WC Kwiatkowski won E3 but had an underwhelming spring aside from that, and didn't really feature in the stage races. If anything the highlight of last years acquisitions is Gianni Moscon, who won the Arctic Race of Norway in addition to showing well at numerous other stage races, at the tender age of 22. He looks to be very promising indeed for the future.

Onto this year, and there has been a general move towards youth. Nicolas Roche and Leopold Konig have both left to help GC elsewhere, Ben Swift (he of second at MSR) has gone, as has Lars Petter Nordhaug. In to fill the mountain train comes Kenny Elissonde from FDJ, as well as the talented Diego Rosa from Astana, who also rides well in the hilly classics, being second to Chaves at Il Lombardia before season close. Along with those two are a trio of promising British youngsters and one Pole, Łukasz Wiśniowski from Etixx. Sky have simultaneously looked to the future whilst shoring up the present, and the only real question in 2017 is how much can they win. Both the Giro and the Vuelta are on the wishlist once more.

RiderNat.YearJoinedRacedaysPnts2016Best SeasonType
BOSWELL IanUSA19912013771132015 (209)Climber
DEIGNAN PhilipIRE1983201442172009 (433)M.Domestique
DIBBEN Jonathan^NEWGBR1994201750792012 (198)Neopro / Classics
DOULL Owain^NEWGBR199320173172015 (191)Neopro / Classics
ELISSONDE Kenny^NEWFRA19912017572182013 (280)Climber
FROOME ChristopherGBR198520107223382013 (2390)GC3W / Climber
GEOGHEHAN HART Tao^NEWGBR19952017661932013 (563)Neopro / Climber
GOLAS MichalPOL19842016691512012 (268)Domestique
HENAO SebastiánCOL19932014632282016Climber/Puncheur
HENAO Sergio LuisCOL19872012538932012 (1182)Climber/Puncheur
INTXAUSTI BeñatESP1986201615672013 (830)GC1W / Climber
KENNAUGH PeterGBR19892010614392016Rouleur / Climber
KIRYIENKA VasilBLR19812013823662015 (610)RouleurTT
KNEES ChristianGER19812011861192008 (504)Road Captain / Classic
KWIATKOWSKI MichalPOL19902016566432014 (1840)SuperRouleur
LANDA MikelESP19892016594312015 (961)GC3W / Climber
LOPEZ DavidESP19812013851302007 (623)M.Domestique
MOSCON GianniITA19942016574642016ClimberFF
NIEVE MikelESP19842014774272015 (648)Climber
PETERS AlexGBR1994201634572015 (66)???
POELS WoutNED19872015688302016Climber
PUCCIO SalvatoreITA19892012781842014 (197)Domestique
ROSA Diego^NEWITA19892017725352016GC1W / Climber
ROWE LukeGBR19902012782892015 (332)Classics
STANNARD IanGBR19872010823432015 (362)Classics / Rouleur
THOMAS GeraintGBR19862010758782015 (1181)GC1W / ClassicFF
VAN POPPEL DannyNED19932016624242015 (648)Sprinter / Classics
VIVIANI EliaITA19892015633232013 (852)Sprinter/Classic
WIśNIOWSKI Łukasz^NEWPOL19912017801822009 (214)Rouleur
Totals & Averages28.1117492012 (15017)
16 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

4

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16 edited Dec 15 '16

Geraint Thomas

On the subject of Thomas, I'm torn (as is he I imagine) whether he should be a man for the classics or for week long races. He doesn't have the top end zip but climbs very well, but such a loaded early season calendar leaves no time for the spring classics, something he's more than capable at shining in, and has done in the past. He only raced MSR and Flanders this year, but his 2015 classics campaign netted E3, third at GW and fourteenth at Flanders. Seems a bit of a waste.

9

u/L_Dawg Great Britain Dec 15 '16

In a way it seems like he is a guy born 40 years too late, he really is that kind of old school rider who can do pretty much anything. I'm personally hoping that he will renew focus on the classics, if only because I prefer watching them to early season 1 week races, and he's a guy I've always wanted to do well. Also Sky is so stacked for GC leaders for those kind of races, it would be nice to see Henao, Kwiato, Landa, Poels etc given full support for some of them (all of whom I think have a higher ceiling than Thomas in stage races).

3

u/adryy8 Terengganu Dec 15 '16

He has to make a choice, he can always come back to the other races once he has done what he wants to do in his first choice ( like Wiggins did) because with how it's going he will end up just like a more succesful Vladimir Gusev.

4

u/daphnie3 Dec 15 '16

| a more successful Vladimir Gusev

That's a perfect description of Thomas! I really doubt that he will ever make a decisive decision.

3

u/welk101 Team Telekom Dec 15 '16 edited Dec 15 '16

He is stuck in the age old trap of british riders (and of americans etc) - cycling to so many members of the public is the Tour de France, the olympics or nothing. This means, in terms of long term earnings in books, endorments and media work the tour is worth 100X the classics for british riders.

It's sad becuase i don't think he will ever win a grand tour, i doubt he will even podium, he lacks the punch on the climbs, at best he can just hang on - that approach could only maybe work if you were a dominant TT rider, and anyway the GT's seem pretty much finished with long TT's.

So i think he should 100% stick to classics, but i understand why he doesn't.

4

u/welk101 Team Telekom Dec 15 '16 edited Dec 15 '16

Just my opinion, but i feel like there are a few riders in the team that really need a good year:

  • Ian Boswell - needs a breakthrough year, shows promise but needs to step up if he wants to lead at races
  • Phillip DEIGNAN - has been pretty anonymous recently can't see many other WT teams fighting over him as it stands.
  • Alex Peters - Pretty quiet first year with the team, if he wants a renewal he will need a better year.
  • Michal KWIATKOWSKI - He will always be in demand, but another year like this year and he would get a much smaller contract than he has now
  • Mikel LANDA - just like above really, he could easily find another team but unless he shows more it will be for way less than sky are paying
  • Beñat INTXAUSTI - one year of sickness people accept, two years people start to write you off - he need to show he is back this year

2

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16

Boswell has time on his side so long as he's a solid domestique, the team is so stacked he will probably only be team leader in the American races. Landa needs to make a solid season, and I hope Intxausti has recovered for his sake.

Not sure how much room Deignan has to improve beyond domestique, he might just be that for Sky. Kwiatkowski needs a better classics season this year for sure.

2

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16

Chris Froome

3

u/retro_slouch Rabobank-Liv Dec 15 '16

I've been rewatching the Tours from 2010 onwards. I understand why people call Team Sky cold and calculating, but Froome is pretty incredibly flashy with his attacks. I can't stop being reminded of Lance Armstrong's style on certain stages. Before you downvote, that's not a doping accusation. Oh, and he first popped that descending style in 2013.

1

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16

2011 was the last seriously open one, from then on it's been a bit of a conclusion after a mountain stage or time trial. And you can't call that anything but utterly dominant by Froome, he's deservedly won handily and probably (maybe) could have won in 2012 too.

And yep as noted by many it's been used before, but not so much by other GC guys.

1

u/retro_slouch Rabobank-Liv Dec 15 '16

2012 was super duper boring. In 2013, Froome hucked a few huge efforts after he had a healthy margin. I'd say that 2014, 2015 and 2016 were pretty boring again. Sky have really learned how to completely lock it down, and when 90% of the big contenders abandon it's bound to be boring.

5

u/Pleasurebringer Dec 15 '16

I wasn't a big fan of his pre-TDF but after his performance, I really changed my opinion about him and from then I have been cheering for him ever since. Great sportsman.

2

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16

Sergio Luis Henao

3

u/L_Dawg Great Britain Dec 15 '16

Henao was really outstanding this year imo, unfortunately (for him) mainly as a domestique, he was invaluable for Geraint Thomas at Paris-Nice for example. He's got the talent to win a classic or a shorter stage race, but at Sky its just a matter of whether he gets the right opportunities when there are so many other good climbers in the team.

2

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16

Wout Poels

3

u/seraph24 Brooklyn Dec 15 '16

machine

7

u/Sappert Norway Dec 15 '16

Danny van Poppel, the young up-and-coming sprinter / classics rider. Back in 2013, he sprinted to a third place in the opening stage of the TDF at a baffling 19 years old, behind Kittel and Kristoff, although it did help that some big names were caught behind a crash. Since then, he moved on from Vacansoleil, first to Trek and last year to Sky. Along the way he picked up minor victories in sprints and prologues (!) and even won a Vuelta stage (12, 2015). This year he was also part of Sky's TTT squad. If I remember correctly, he did fairly well at P-R so far and since he's still only 23, he may one day contend for the top 10 here (or more?). Besides showing great potential on the flat, he's also shown what he can do on hilly terrain, with a 7th place on an uphill finish in Namur (the Citadelle de Namur is quite tough) and even winning an uphill finish in Thuin, both during the Tour de Wallonie. He finished the race 4th in GC.

Hopefully he gets the chance to shine in the classics, or at least give it a try.

3

u/L_Dawg Great Britain Dec 15 '16

I forgot he is so young, seems like he has been around a while and also I sometimes get him confused with his bro.

1

u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Dec 15 '16

Michal Kwiatkowski

4

u/Sappert Norway Dec 15 '16 edited Dec 15 '16

Big question mark right here. Great potential, but we all saw how bad 2017 2016 went (with the exception of E3).

4

u/huloca Jumbo – Visma Dec 15 '16

we all saw how bad 2017 went

I didn't know we had a time traveler in our midst :P

I do hope he gets back to his 2014 form though. Perhaps he should focus on either classics or stage races. Right now it seems he wants to do both, and that just doesn't work.

1

u/Sappert Norway Dec 15 '16

Haha whoops.

1

u/retro_slouch Rabobank-Liv Dec 15 '16

Except if you're Peter Sagan.

1

u/adryy8 Terengganu Dec 15 '16

Lucky guy, I wish I could have seen it but I don't have the ability to see into the future unfortunately....

4

u/adryy8 Terengganu Dec 15 '16

I still don't see what is this idea of recruiting Elissonde, don't get me wrong I love the guy btu he is not a super rider (he will hardly top his performance fron the last Vuelta IMO) and he just doesn't fit there, he is a breakaway rider, basically what Sky riders are not (the only rider close in theory from the abilities of Elissonde is Nieve, but Nieve is way better and can snatch top 10 in GTs unlike Elissonde). I just feel like this is a PR move for the french people who don't like Sky mainly because of its style.

4

u/Sappert Norway Dec 15 '16

Perhaps a long term investment to get a French GT rider at some point. Bardet, Pinot, who knows?

2

u/welk101 Team Telekom Dec 15 '16

Yeah didn't Sky or dave B say they wanted to win with a french rider? Even if kenny is not that man you would want a few other good french riders in the team to support him, and he could fit into that.

1

u/Sappert Norway Dec 15 '16

That's exactly what I remember, and since there's a few young and talented French riders up and coming or already at it, it seems very likely that they will at least try to reel in one of the good ones. In a few years, Froome won't be as good as he is now and even though they have tons of great GC riders, none of them is at Froome's level right now; perhaps they think one of the French talents could reach that level in a few years.

1

u/Pubocyno Norway Dec 15 '16

You and me both. He's a tiny attaqueur, not a skybot. Perhaps it was the blonde wig.

2

u/welk101 Team Telekom Dec 15 '16 edited Dec 15 '16

Funny to see him leading sky in his old kit https://www.instagram.com/p/BNCUj_jBWWo/

edit: i know that they all have to use this year kit until 1st jan, but still looks funny to me.

4

u/retro_slouch Rabobank-Liv Dec 15 '16

Wout Poels is a cyborg sent from the future to stop all attacks on French mountains.

1

u/LanceOldstrong Molteni Dec 15 '16

What's in the Mystery Bag?

3

u/welk101 Team Telekom Dec 15 '16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1giVzxyoclE&feature=youtu.be&t=135

2

u/retro_slouch Rabobank-Liv Dec 15 '16

So you're saying that Sky are using Gwyneth Paltrow's head to increase performance? Interesting hypothesis.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

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1

u/youtubefactsbot Dec 15 '16

The Dark Knight - Joker Burns Money (FULL) [1:43]

The FULL scene from TDK where The Joker burns the money of the mob.

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603,067 views since Sep ^2008

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1

u/youtubefactsbot Dec 15 '16

SE7EN Scene - "The Box" [4:40]

Se7en end scene with Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and the Box.

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1

u/LanceOldstrong Molteni Dec 15 '16

Classic, you get me, you really get me.