Thoughts on Emma Langly “win” at Nats?

[trener1]

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

If you're gonna drag someone all the way to the last 500 meters, you better be like Moreno Argentin in 1986.

Or like Van Der Pol in 2019 at Amstal (or was it 2020?)

[72gmc]

"So when you next see me avoiding the front in a race, shamelessly shirking my turns, please understand I’m no slacker. I’m just having one of those days. For when it comes to winning at road racing, you’re either a wheelsucker, or just a sucker."

https://bicyclingaustralia.com.au/ne...a-wheelsucker/

[KonaSS]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

A gravel racer came that close to winning the US Women's Pro Nationals.. not really any face to be saved there.

Sure, gravel is her current focus, but she has a long road history and wants to be included in the Road Worlds team this year. So perhaps face to be saved.

My read was that they were both trying to console their athlete and pre-emptively address any criticism of the Cinch team car tactics.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by KonaSS

Sure, gravel is her current focus, but she has a long road history and wants to be included in the Road Worlds team this year. So perhaps face to be saved.

My read was that they were both trying to console their athlete and pre-emptively address any criticism of the Cinch team car tactics.

What was the issue with the Cinch team car tactics?

[prototoast]

This seems like pretty basic racing tactics. EF had the strongest team, and clearly the most cards to play. Seems like they played it pretty well.

DeCrescenzo guaranteed herself a podium finish, and that's something. Given how big the buffer was over the peloton, she probably could have tried a little bit more to drop Langly, but sometimes these things are easier to see in hindsight.

Racing can be frustrating sometimes. I think we've all been in a situation where we wish someone from a different team was playing their tactics differently in a way that would have been beneficial to ourselves... But that is not their job, and that's part of racing. There is always the time trial if you don't like tactics.

[skouri1]

ya, i get it. i didnt like when simon gerrans outsprinted fabian after hanging on to him on descent in MSR . the fun thing about racing is the strongest rider does not always win. if they did, it would be boring. If you are in a break and get outsprinted, sorry, you could have /should have done something else, or maybe you would have been outsprinted anyway.

[deluz]

Can't remember the race but Mike Woods did this once.
I think his excuse was his "team leader" was not that far behind.
After drafting for quite a long time sprinted pass his breakaway companion at the line. Just did not feel right.

[Likes2ridefar]

It’s a sport, there is only one winner and many losers. If they didn’t cheat to win, kudos to them for taking advantage of someone willing to pull them in.

Had folk like this frequently when racing. If I didn’t want them there it was up to me to do something about it not hope they have some unspoken code of honor and will let me skate through for the win…

[merlinmurph]

Even this guy that never raced and knows little about racing can see that Emma ran a smart race.

This reminds me of when I was young and stupid. I played tennis and raquetball a lot and would enter small tournaments for fun. Old guys were always the toughest because they played smarter. Maybe they were slower and their strokes weren't as good, but they figured me out, played with my head, and hit the ball exactly where they wanted to. I imagine crusty old bike racers are the same - they race smarter, they play with your head, and make you beat yourself.

Congrats, Emma.

[carpediemracing]

The rider that got second did a poor race.

Often a rider that is not pulling doesn't have a choice because they're not as strong.

Taking pulls and getting shelled - that's a huge no-no. And if a team says not to pull, that's not the rider's decision, especially if the teammates are actively chasing. You don't pull in the break if your team is chasing, unless you're a rogue rider who is about to lose their place in the team.

The director of the rider who got second should have either negotiated with the other director or told their rider to sit up and try again.

Riding a poor race tactically isn't an excuse to complain about tactics.

[fried bake]

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

The rider that got second did a poor race.

Often a rider that is not pulling doesn't have a choice because they're not as strong.

Taking pulls and getting shelled - that's a huge no-no. And if a team says not to pull, that's not the rider's decision, especially if the teammates are actively chasing. You don't pull in the break if your team is chasing, unless you're a rogue rider who is about to lose their place in the team.

The director of the rider who got second should have either negotiated with the other director or told their rider to sit up and try again.

Riding a poor race tactically isn't an excuse to complain about tactics.

Trying to understand what you are suggesting here. LDI should have sat up and allowed Stephens back on? or the pack with three additional EF riders to catch her?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[junkfood]

That was DeCrescenzo's best shot at winning the race. If she would have dropped Langly the whole EF squad would have gave chase and caught her. She didn't want any part of a sprint finish. Then Stephens would have probably attacked the group for first the same way she did for 3rd.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by junkfood

That was DeCrescenzo's best shot at winning the race. If she would have dropped Langly the whole EF squad would have gave chase and caught her. She didn't want any part of a sprint finish.

Agree. I think Cinch did a good thing by preventing EF from chasing. It's too bad that Langly sat on and was able to out sprint DeCrescenzo, but it's pretty basic logic that a 2 up sprint with 2nd as the worst outcome is way better for Cinch than a bunch sprint where they are almost certainly out of the top 10.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

The rider that got second did a poor race.

Often a rider that is not pulling doesn't have a choice because they're not as strong.

Taking pulls and getting shelled - that's a huge no-no. And if a team says not to pull, that's not the rider's decision, especially if the teammates are actively chasing. You don't pull in the break if your team is chasing, unless you're a rogue rider who is about to lose their place in the team.

The director of the rider who got second should have either negotiated with the other director or told their rider to sit up and try again.

Riding a poor race tactically isn't an excuse to complain about tactics.

Exactly. Maybe the OP should get rid of the quotation marks around WIN since Langly did just that with sound tactics.

Also the breakaway finished 1:40 clear of the chasing peloton - by the usual rate it would take roughly 14km to catch them. Unless Cinch didn't accurately report the split to DeCrescenzo then she had more than enough time during the last lap to sit up and and gain some strength back for the final sprint.

[FlashUNC]

Hennie Kuiper is somewhere laughing.