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2019 Critérium du Dauphiné stage 8 Cluses - Champéry 113.5km

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Re:

Valv.Piti said:
What a *** race tbh. I have watched betwen 7-10 hours of this......
that was a classic pre Sky dauphine with a minimal GC action whereas you always catch yourself thinking that all major riders are rather training than racing. the contention between froome and contador is what used to revive the dauphine massively over the years. as of today, it's just boring.
 
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Cance > TheRest said:
movingtarget said:
It's done, give the trophy to Fuglsang.Interesting stage that needed a harder finish.
I disagree. The stage is actually more interesting the way it is constructed.

If the stage had finished with a tough climb, it would favor Fuglsang, because he is the best climber. Now he may be isolated earlier on because the hardest climbs come early in the stage. When isolated he will have to answer attacks in easy terrain which is a lot harder than answering attacks on tough terrain.

You were saying.............
 
Re: 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné stage 8 Cluses - Champéry 113

JosephK said:
I think the rainy stage yesterday took its toll. Lots of sick/weak riders today. Also, the final climb was too easy to allow for any worthwhile attacks from the GC guys.

Nobody was going to be able to take 20+ seconds on Fuglsang, so guys on the podium spots rode defensively.

I think you are absolutely right.

I also think a lot of DSs have told their riders not to go deep, if they feel ill, because that can completely jeopardise their Tour..... another reason we saw a lot abandon.
 
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dacooley said:
Valv.Piti said:
What a *** race tbh. I have watched betwen 7-10 hours of this......
that was a classic pre Sky dauphine with a minimal GC action whereas you always catch yourself thinking that all major riders are rather training than racing. the contention between froome and contador is what used to revive the dauphine massively over the years. as of today, it's just boring.
Valverde vs Evans was even better.
 
Re: Re:

movingtarget said:
Cance > TheRest said:
movingtarget said:
It's done, give the trophy to Fuglsang.Interesting stage that needed a harder finish.
I disagree. The stage is actually more interesting the way it is constructed.

If the stage had finished with a tough climb, it would favor Fuglsang, because he is the best climber. Now he may be isolated earlier on because the hardest climbs come early in the stage. When isolated he will have to answer attacks in easy terrain which is a lot harder than answering attacks on tough terrain.

You were saying.............
I didn't expect Astana to be this strong, and I also didn't expect Yates to DNF. But I will stand by my words that having the hardest climbs early and the easier ones later in a stage makes for better racing in most cases. Of course this theory only applies when someone actually dares attacking the leader. This was not the case today because of how strong Astana was.
 
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Escarabajo said:
Valv.Piti said:
What a *** race tbh. I have watched betwen 7-10 hours of this......
This!

Horrible race. People think the design was fine but it depends on the riders and the weather as well. Really needed a second hard stage. Like a classic Dauphine.
I tell you what. On principle I switched to the Tour of Switzerland yesterday already, because I couldn't strike it up with this year's Dauphine all week long. In fact Friday's stage was so boring I nearly fell asleep for the second time after the TT. Might've something to do with a cycling overkill after a busy spring schedule. But apparently the race was quite mediocre as well...
 
Re: 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné stage 8 Cluses - Champéry 113

DanielSong39 said:
The riders' top priority was always going to be the Tour de France so it's a de facto exhibition race, sometimes that's how it plays out on the road too.
Just too much of today's stage was a glorified false flat.

If we're gonna use short mountain stage gimmicks, at least throw in at least one really good climb in the first half.
 
Great to see Carl Fredrik Hagen getting a chance to show his endurance. His talent is well known in Norway in a wide range of sports. XC skiing, running, mountain bike. Hit the roads late and this is his first year as a pro. Already proving what he is capable of in a world tour race. Fun to watch him bike Alaphilipe of his wheel. Sorry about the excitement, but it's been a long time since Norway had anyone who can climb.
 
Re:

Norbea said:
Great to see Carl Fredrik Hagen getting a chance to show his endurance. His talent is well known in Norway in a wide range of sports. XC skiing, running, mountain bike. Hit the roads late and this is his first year as a pro. Already proving what he is capable of in a world tour race. Fun to watch him bike Alaphilipe of his wheel. Sorry about the excitement, but it's been a long time since Norway had anyone who can climb.

I found what happened there quite odd. It seemed like Alaphilippe emptied himself by putting in a massive dig to get Hagen closer to the front duo an then immediately pulled away, letting the Norwegian go away on his own.
 
Re:

Koronin said:
Nice to see Tejay get a podium at the Dauphine. Also nice to see Kuss get a top 5 on the stage. That's the best he's raced in Europe. So maybe showing a little potential.
So far, the mountain stages where Kuss showed some promise, be it in Europe or the US, have all been short stages.
These Dauphiné stages were also short (113 km and 133 km). His best Giro result was in a stage of 131 km.
His best Vuelta result was a mountain stage of 161 km. There was one stage in the Vuelta that was 195 km, which is the only outlier so far. The stages in Utah, were 126 km, 140 km and 155 km. EDIT: His breakthrough ToC stage, was also 125 km.
 
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
Koronin said:
Nice to see Tejay get a podium at the Dauphine. Also nice to see Kuss get a top 5 on the stage. That's the best he's raced in Europe. So maybe showing a little potential.
So far, the mountain stages where Kuss showed some promise, be it in Europe or the US, have all been short stages.
These Dauphiné stages were also short (113 km and 133 km). His best Giro result was in a stage of 131 km.
His best Vuelta result was a mountain stage of 161 km. There was one stage in the Vuelta that was 195 km, which is the only outlier so far. The stages in Utah, were 126 km, 140 km and 155 km.


The hope is that he can get better in the longer stages. As he started racing at a bit older age than many, he might be able to improve and be able to be a really good mountain domestique.
 
Re: Re:

Koronin said:
The hope is that he can get better in the longer stages. As he started racing at a bit older age than many, he might be able to improve and be able to be a really good mountain domestique.

Forgot to add the ToC stage (where he was "discovered" by Jumbo Visma), it was a stage of merely 125 km. It's clearly a pattern.

Also, he started road racing in 2015, that's 4 years ago. Before that, he was mountainbiking since he was 17, iirc. So it's not like he was a couchpatato who started cycling before JV signed him. He's been riding a road bike just as long as Wout van Aert, just to name one, (not to mention Evenepoel). I feel he's entering a stage in his carreer (he turns 25 in 2 or 3 months) where you can't keep referring to that as an excuse or explanation for a lack of progress. If it takes him another 4 or 5 years, then why even bother. We should see clear improvements every year. I'm not sure if getting better in longer mountainstages is really in the cards for him, but maybe we'll find out in the Vuelta. It was kind of baffling that he was lower in the pecking order than both Tolhoek and Bouwman in the Giro. Maybe Jumbo Visma have reevaluated his role in the team.

I've been thinking about what type of rider he could be. Maybe a stage hunter in shorter mountain/hilly stages. Or stages with a MTF in an otherwise flat stage. I mean, i feel like making him carry bottles the first 75 km of a stage (mountain or not) is a waste of his talent and is something even a non-climber could do. But on the other hand, you can't rely on him to be there for his leader when *** hits the fan either. I mean, being a stagehunter is a relatively "no-strings-attached" role. No real responsabilities. I think he could definitely be good at it, as he can go for the stages that suit him best, when his legs are up to it. Try again if unsuccessful. Or let him ride lower tier stageraces, like California, Utah, Turkey, Poland...

I see he'll be riding the vuelta. It'll be interesting to see if he can/will improve. Vuelta is usually a little slower, might suit him better.
 
Wasn't Kuss originally scheduled to ride himself into shape with To-Dauphine-TdF? Then he had to do the Giro d'Italia as an replacement for Gesink without being on the level needed and subsequently hit his condition for the Dauphine. Now, he won't be in France with probably De Plus taking his spot, but goes to the Vuelta without good preparation therefore as well. So basically it's a completely lost season for him as an athlete due to shifting of his racing schedule. Something Kuss apparently doesn't respond very well to, because he needs a steady pattern to hit his peak condition!
 

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