Etixx-QuickStep’s house of cards collapses
The whys and wherefores of Etixx-QuickStep’s defeat at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad were parsed and analysed in detail after the race and will no doubt continue to be debated for years to come, particularly if Omloop remains the one cobbled classic missing from Boonen’s palmares when he finally does hang up his wheels.
After the podium ceremonies, Boonen came to the conclusion that Etixx-QuickStep simply ought to have waited for the sprint instead of trying to drop Stannard in the finale. Certainly, it seemed odd that Boonen, by some distance the fastest sprinter of the Etixx trio, was delegated to launch an attack at all. It was strange, too, to see Vandenbergh – perhaps inadvertently – shut down an attack of Terpstra’s.
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Most of curious of all was Terpstra’s decision to launch the two-up sprint early despite the fact that Boonen was almost within touching distance behind and, more importantly, the fact that the same approach had backfired so spectacularly for Greg Van Avermaet against Stannard in more or less the same situation last year.
The whole misadventure raises questions about how well Terpstra and Boonen can dovetail their efforts on the cobbles this season. Since signing for QuickStep in 2011, Terpstra has seen off the likes of Sylvain Chavanel and quietly moved up the hierarchy to within a heartbeat of Boonen’s longstanding presidency. After landing Paris-Roubaix last year, Terpstra may feel he has a case for the premiership in his own right.
Or perhaps we are simply reading too much into one, unusual afternoon of racing. QuickStep have a recent history of delivering dissonant displays at Omloop, after all, only to sing resolutely from the same hymn sheet come the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. And, to borrow from footballing parlance, Stannard seemed almost unplayable in those absurd closing kilometres. Or as one Etixx staff member put it, “Sometimes you just have to say chapeau.” (BR)
Cavendish in the frame for Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem?
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