Carl Spackler wrote:
Gerrans has a wicked kick so he rolls the dice on someone else dragging him into a position to win. Valverde, OTOH, is a much better all arounder--he can sprint, climb, TT, etc. So he has more tools to work with but chooses not to.
I think Lombardia was a case of Martin making a great move and then those guys looking at each other, not wanting to drag someone up to get beat in sprint. So they gamble that someone else will do the work for them or otherwise race for scraps. Same exact thing as worlds.
That's why I'm more sympathetic to Gerrans. I see him as an underdog punching above his weight vs. Valverde who comes across as an underachiever. So basically overachiever vs. underachiever and everyone loves an underdog.
Also Valverde must have the record for most world championship podiums without a win. Imagine if he'd won all of those times. Or if Fabian had won MSR the last four years. Or even, more realistically, if Martin had won LBL and Lombardia.
Martin is a smart rider and I think he'll be in the hunt in those two monuments for at least the next five years or so. In terms of his palmares I think he could emulate someone like Bettini. Going to be hard to get that MSR win though.
