The Quick-Step Floors team will not allow the Tour of Flanders to play into the hands of Peter Sagan, even if it means risking their own chance of success, with the team’s directeur sportif for the Classics Wilfried Peeters, telling Cyclingnews that they don’t plan on fully collaborating with the world champion on Sunday.
Sagan criticised Niki Terpstra in the aftermath of Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem, where bickering over work rate in the decisive five-man group allowed Greg Van Avermaet and Jens Keukeleire to ride away and contest the victory. He accused the Dutchman of playing a “cheap game”. Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere quickly defended his team’s tactics, with Tom Boonen adding: “Niki didn’t fail; Sagan failed.”
Sagan, whose own strength but lack of team suport seems to be his biggest weakness, is by now no stranger to rivals being unwilling to work with him, fearing they’ll only be picked off in a sprint. He has lost a fair few races either by being forced into shouldering the lion’s share of the workload or, as was the case on Sunday, simply refusing to accept that burden.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I could decide today who could win,” said Sagan in Wevelgem, adding that Terpstra’s actions were “one example of how you can lose the race against me”.
If Sagan secretly hoped his public comments would put pressure on Quick-Step Floors, Peeters showed no indication of bowing.
“We try to win… but if we don’t win then he loses,” Peeters said with a grin, upping the ante in what is becoming quite the game of brinksmanship, both parties bluffing that they’re willing to lose the race, with mutually assured destruction the natural conclusion.
Strength in depth
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2nkuzBa
No comments:
Post a Comment