Originally Posted by
DiabloScott
GT winners...almost never get in a situation where repeated attacks and counter attacks are necessary in order to win on flat stages.
Fixed.
Originally Posted by
Laggard
When AC starts winning classics then we can talk about him being a well rounded rider.
He won his country's TT championship. He's fully capable of winning Liege, a world championship on the right course, and has shown he can win any stage race he feels like winning. To say a guy who can beat Cancellera in a TT and destroy everyone on the hardest climbs isn't "well rounded" is just silly. But then I believe you once called Cunego "the Future of the Grand Tours" too, so your judgment on these things is a tad suspect.
With today's periodized training and specialization, you're not going to see another Hinault; he was the end of an era where guys raced that kind of schedule and didn't focus to peak for one or two time frames a year. You didn't have classics squads doing workout "A", the GT guys doing workout "B", and sprinters doing "C" on the same ride. They all just rode around together. These days guys FTP's bounce around 20% or more depending on time frames.
And there's simply no percentage in taking a chance to win a classic if it could compromise your TDF. That's a global money bucket as opposed to the classics which are unknown outside of Europe or a few hardcore fans.