B_Doughtie wrote:
I sorta am unclear why gaped formed? They were worried about too many passengers? 13k out? Sagan didn't want to work to pull everyone back up? Kinda lost why they sat up for that brief instance and actually never even got close after that. 8' gap was as close as they could get.
Quickstep was half a step ahead of themselves and instructed Terpstra to stop taking turns on the front, hoping that the peloton would catch everyone and setting up a sprint for Gaviria. There was signs that this might happen as the peloton was getting closer to the rather disorganized front group(s). This prompted Sagan to sit up and let the gap open, throwing away his own chances in the process
that 12-person group was never meant to last when you have the following:
Degenkolb: no one wants to drag him to the line, even when sharing the pace (e.g. 2015 Roubaix)
Matthews: had excuse not to do work when he has a teammate
EBH: had excuse not to do work when he has a teammate
Meanwhile, you have people who wouldn't want to be with sprinters even if they do the work (e.g. GvA and Terpstra). Add up all that, and the 12-person group was never going to gain time on the peloton if the former were to stay together. Quickstep was foolish in thinking that the dwindling gap was due to a lack of firepower when it was cohesion that was lacking. They gambled by folding a good hand (telling Terpstra to stop pulling), believe they had something better in store.