2016 'PRO' cycling discussion.

[Sacke]

Schurter did ride Tour de Romandie and Suisse for Orica in 2014.
But if you want to be at the top in road cycling you have to be a super climber, sprinter or TT-guy. He's just non of these. He weighs 68kg just being 1m73, in road cycling that's fat, then you'll never be at the best on long climbs. He would be a decent allrounder but on the road then you just become a helper.

We compare everything to road cycling but in Switzerland mtb is really big, Schurter won the best male cyclist award in 2013 ... in that year Cancellara won E3, RVV and PR

Good point... while 90% of non-swiss citizens would first recognize Cancellara, instead of Schurter.

It's a bit like Sauser in his best years. He was a huge star in MTB circles, but relatively anonymous outside of them.

Sagan is 1.84m for 73kg, so about the same build.

Schurter also has a big advantage with his technical skills in MTB. Something that doens't give him an edge in 99% of the races on the road.

[Sacke]

He was with the front guys for a little over a lap of a 90 minute race. It's not like he shat all over everyone. Impressive move up, but even before his flat he was getting gapped near every hairpin and lots of the tech sections. I think it's sort of ridiculous to think that he would have romped on people had he not flatted.

Yes and no. If you look at the Top 5 of the race, and who was up in the top 10 after 8-10 minutes of the race, they were all there.

I think Sagan, despite playing it safe / not having the technical skills to take corners as fast, would have managed at least top 5-6 without mechanicals.

Podium would have been hard, but not impossible.

Edit: Considering how much his chances were downplayed before the Olympics, and the opinions of him "stealing" the MTB spot from a better Slovakian rider, he proved sceptics wrong.

I want to see him compete against the best in the world at the WC, to see if it was a 1 lap wonder, or if he could actually podium in a race that the MTB elite targets.

[wingguy]

Yes and no. If you look at the Top 5 of the race, and who was up in the top 10 after 8-10 minutes of the race, they were all there.

All guys who are used to racing XCO and are hugely experienced in pacing their efforts in this type of race. No matter how good he is, you can't automatically extrapolate their performance to Sagan.

(I have no doubt that Sagan would be awesome at XCO if he dedicated a lot more time and training to it, but he hasn't really done that and he isn't going to.)

[Super Brad]

I think the fact Sagan punctured is going to give people a lot more hope that he could have been up there.
There is a very high probability his desperation to hang on may have caused his flats with poor line choices/fatigue.

[OJ]

Until 3 minutes into the race, people were saying he couldn't even get past the traffic. I think Sagan could have pulled off top-10 placing, which in my opinion would have been really good.

[hasbeen]

that flat worked out pretty well for Sagan if you ask me. Saved him from exploding or crashing which i think was quite likely given the amount of racing left. what he accomplished was solidifying his reputation as a badass.

[DeeHubbs]

He even clawed back to 11th after his first flat, and before his second flat. That's impressive enough to me. But flats in XC MTB are not because of bad luck, its about wheel placement and bike handling skills. Any hack can bash though and over the rocks, it takes skill to do it in a way that will preserve your tires. When was the last time Nino had a flat tire at a World Cup, World Championships, Olympics, or even National Championships. I can't think of one as far back as the start of the 2014 season.

[ichobi]

Nino so smooth just like flowing water over rocks. His line selection is always perfect. Not to diss Sagan or anything but saying he's up there at the first 5 mins with world best is like saying Piere Rolland can hang on with the Froomes and Contadors, only to be shelled out at the last 800 meters of 10% climb. Sagan really did impress me - podium or otherwise he shows commitment and proves a lot of people wrong, but he needs more time on xc to be competitive with world's best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LeDuke]

He even clawed back to 11th after his first flat, and before his second flat. That's impressive enough to me. But flats in XC MTB are not because of bad luck, its about wheel placement and bike handling skills. Any hack can bash though and over the rocks, it takes skill to do it in a way that will preserve your tires. When was the last time Nino had a flat tire at a World Cup, World Championships, Olympics, or even National Championships. I can't think of one as far back as the start of the 2014 season.

Nino flatted twice at La Bresse this year. Took 4th behind Absalon.

Flatted at Lenzerheide last year as well. 2nd behind Kulhavy.

[DOUG]

He even clawed back to 11th after his first flat, and before his second flat. That's impressive enough to me. But flats in XC MTB are not because of bad luck, its about wheel placement and bike handling skills. Any hack can bash though and over the rocks, it takes skill to do it in a way that will preserve your tires. When was the last time Nino had a flat tire at a World Cup, World Championships, Olympics, or even National Championships. I can't think of one as far back as the start of the 2014 season.

True, but Fontana and Absalon both ended up with punctures in the first few laps, it would be hard to argue that either of them do not have the experience or skills to avoid punctures. That said, Schurter is definitely a superior bike handler so I agree in principal with your point, just that Sagan's punctures were not unusual in the context of the race. I think he was solidly in the top 10 if he managed to avoid any mechanical issues. Would love to see him at a WC event some time in the future.

[nickcube]

Also Nino has stopped using his Dugast tubular types and gone for something more sturdy.I think he's on maxxis now, which he's used at both the world champs and now the olympics, obviously the risk outweighs the reward, which is interesting considering he's used them for so long

[wingguy]

Also Nino has stopped using his Dugast tubular types and gone for something more sturdy.I think he's on maxxis now, which he's used at both the world champs and now the olympics, obviously the risk outweighs the reward, which is interesting considering he's used them for so long

That happened when he switched to 29er on the new Spark, so could be something to do with supply. Rissveds is still on the 650b on her new Spark and is still working her way through Nino's Dugast collection!

And the first race where Nino used the 29er with Maxxis was La Bresse - double puncture time!

[micky]

Who will win today at Vuelta?

[DanW]

May not have looked Nino Schurter smooth on some of the most technical sections, but have to say that I sort of lost a bit of respect for some of the XC-guys.

That is very naive. Hasbeen and KWalker nail it better and I also couldn't help thinking...

that flat worked out pretty well for Sagan if you ask me. Saved him from exploding or crashing which i think was quite likely given the amount of racing left. what he accomplished was solidifying his reputation as a badass.

It wasn't a super exciting race given how the field got strung out and quite predictable plus the UK commentary was very poor but the course and the TV coverage were top notch IMO. Not much more the organisers could have done but it still somehow fell flat for me and didn't really hold my interest even as an out and out MTB fan. I can see why MTB struggles for a global audience and attracting funding as its just one of those things you have to do to enjoy IMO

[Frolle]

Adam Hansen has been customizing a pair of his Lazer sunglasses with Oakley lenses