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2019 Tour de Suisse

Page 24 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Re:

Robert5091 said:
Chapeau Carthy - from start to finish in the lead. Shame Bernal did not need to make up time as he seemed to be well within himself. Dennis 2nd - week's big surprise.
Dennis has been gradually moving to aim at Stage Races for the past year or so. Last years Giro was probably the first time he showed himself, though he faded in the 3rd week. I suspect that the TT "problem" was more as a result of the effort he put in the day before. As to Le Tour, assuming he goes, Nibali will be #1, and I suspect Pozzovivo wont be there, so he will be expected to sacrifice himself for Nibali.
 
Re:

luckyboy said:
Carthy's ride was great but once the Spilak, Aru, Soler group didn't make any progress catching him on San Gottardo, everything was already decided. Dennis, Hirt and Spilak gave it a bit of a go, I guess.

How is this sentence a "but" sentence? Surely that was part of what was so great about his ride? It was a great ride full stop.
 
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luckyboy said:
Bernal just said that it's all for Thomas and he has no problem with it.

"I don't choose to say that I'm the favourite. In any case, I will go with G – he will be our leader. I will try to help him. If he's better than me, for sure I will help him. I don't have any problems to help him; I'm just 22 years old so I think that I have a lot of Tours in front of me."
That reminds me of Jan Ullrich in 1997.

Did he really call him G or is that the poetic license of the translator?
 
Re:

Velolover2 said:
Will Bernal be riding the Vuelta as a captain then?

Froome would be out for the rest of the year.

I remember read it after his crash that the plan was doing both the Tour and Vuelta so he might be leader there, I think that even if Thomas rides it, it will be more about preparing the Worlds.
However I am not sure if he will be able to keep this kind of shape until mid-Septmeber
 
Finally had a chance to watch Furka and Nufenen on TV. My bucket list just got shorter (is this still a thing in 2019?).

I knew Benoot was good at climbing since his high finish during that 2015 Dauphine stage in Vercors, where Nibali and Costa planted a bomb. However, with this showing he may actually have a chance at a GT top 10. While Dennis' attack didn't look that strong visually he did more than 20s on the rest except Bernal inside the last 1km of Furka. Maybe this time his GT campaign won't have any TJVG bad day in the mountains and he will finish high in GC for once. Carthy rode this stage like a robot but the last serpentines of Furka, when he seemed to finally struggle.

I also know, who will win the Tour de France and that's Ben Swift. Another British Sky/Ineos non-climber (former sprinter this time) turned mountain goat. If not this year then inside the next 2-3 years.

Velolover2 said:
Will Bernal be riding the Vuelta as a captain then?

Froome would be out for the rest of the year.
I think he's more interested in TdF. He would be the first Colombian ever to win this particular bike race and GT's form is unsure.
 
I think we all agree that having two cards is good for Ineos.

Bernal should be better on a climb like Planche des Belles Filles. It's more explosive and steep. I think he might be allowed to win that stage for a service as a superdom.

But when it comes to the "real" long mountains, I'd still favor Thomas. Last year, he destroyed everyone in the high altitude. That said, he'll be a bit being the schedule but the third week is the most important.
 
Re: Re:

Pantani_lives said:
luckyboy said:
Bernal just said that it's all for Thomas and he has no problem with it.

"I don't choose to say that I'm the favourite. In any case, I will go with G – he will be our leader. I will try to help him. If he's better than me, for sure I will help him. I don't have any problems to help him; I'm just 22 years old so I think that I have a lot of Tours in front of me."
That reminds me of Jan Ullrich in 1997.

Did he really call him G or is that the poetic license of the translator?

He really called him G.
 
Re: Re:

Publicus said:
Pantani_lives said:
luckyboy said:
Bernal just said that it's all for Thomas and he has no problem with it.

"I don't choose to say that I'm the favourite. In any case, I will go with G – he will be our leader. I will try to help him. If he's better than me, for sure I will help him. I don't have any problems to help him; I'm just 22 years old so I think that I have a lot of Tours in front of me."
That reminds me of Jan Ullrich in 1997.

Did he really call him G or is that the poetic license of the translator?

He really called him G.
Everyone at Sky always call him G.
 
Re: Re:

Nirvana said:
Publicus said:
Pantani_lives said:
luckyboy said:
Bernal just said that it's all for Thomas and he has no problem with it.

"I don't choose to say that I'm the favourite. In any case, I will go with G – he will be our leader. I will try to help him. If he's better than me, for sure I will help him. I don't have any problems to help him; I'm just 22 years old so I think that I have a lot of Tours in front of me."
That reminds me of Jan Ullrich in 1997.

Did he really call him G or is that the poetic license of the translator?

He really called him G.
Everyone at Sky always call him G.
I, also, call him "G".
... But he never answers.
 
Re: Re:

Valv.Piti said:
Red Rick said:
I like how there's not a single doubt in the world Thomas will be in great shape after diong nothing all year and crashing out of his most important prep race
Seems very odd to say the least. On the other hand, whoever they decide to go for will probably win the race, so why not choose Thomas? He is more experienced and obviously is British.

I think being British has nothing to do for what Thomas and Bernal are going through coming TdF. Huge hype and mental pressure for Bernal, with one GT under his belt, where Thomas..13 of them. Thomas has all the knowledge and trust to go to once again to the TdF. He has less pressure as he already proved he can do it and he's been in trouble quite a many times too, so he knows all the risks and that way not overcook things too early.

That he crashed out from Dauphine is not a problem as it's possible to ride yourself to peak condition during GT, it's a question of balancing being in the wind and inside groupetto. To say that TdS or Dauphine is most important race of the year..it's not. It's close moment to take a snapshot where athlete is in racing performance. But after that it's possible to mess things up badly, as fitness and form are never static but going up or down all the time.

All the best for Bernal after all. His racing history is so slim and GT is at least as much mental strenght as raw and explosive youth power. Hopefully he or Ineos do not overcook him too early as 3 week race is a long one and lots can happen to everyone.
 
Re: Re:

memyselfandI said:
Valv.Piti said:
Red Rick said:
I like how there's not a single doubt in the world Thomas will be in great shape after diong nothing all year and crashing out of his most important prep race
Seems very odd to say the least. On the other hand, whoever they decide to go for will probably win the race, so why not choose Thomas? He is more experienced and obviously is British.

I think being British has nothing to do for what Thomas and Bernal are going through coming TdF. Huge hype and mental pressure for Bernal, with one GT under his belt, where Thomas..13 of them. Thomas has all the knowledge and trust to go to once again to the TdF. He has less pressure as he already proved he can do it and he's been in trouble quite a many times too, so he knows all the risks and that way not overcook things too early.

That he crashed out from Dauphine is not a problem as it's possible to ride yourself to peak condition during GT, it's a question of balancing being in the wind and inside groupetto. To say that TdS or Dauphine is most important race of the year..it's not. It's close moment to take a snapshot where athlete is in racing performance. But after that it's possible to mess things up badly, as fitness and form are never static but going up or down all the time.

All the best for Bernal after all. His racing history is so slim and GT is at least as much mental strenght as raw and explosive youth power. Hopefully he or Ineos do not overcook him too early as 3 week race is a long one and lots can happen to everyone.
Being British has a lot do with the team's pecking order.
They've been national project since the beginning, closely related to British Cycling and a kind of extension of their track development.
Sky sponsorship confirms the relation and now Ineos takes over.
Although things are changing lately a bit, since the golden generation is getting older and there's no similar generation to succeed, they'll continue the same policy till they run out of domestic resources.
 
Re:

luckyboy said:
Bernal just said that it's all for Thomas and he has no problem with it.
"I don't choose to say that I'm the favourite. In any case, I will go with G – he will be our leader. I will try to help him. If he's better than me, for sure I will help him. I don't have any problems to help him; I'm just 22 years old so I think that I have a lot of Tours in front of me."

Big "if" :)
 
Apr 22, 2012
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Re:

roundabout said:
Soler - team given weight 68 kg
Bernal - no weight on the team site, but probably low 60's at a glance (I am the same height as him so it should be a relatively reasonable guess)
Soler is 12 centimetres taller, so...
 
Almighty performance by Hugh Cathy. This certainly was one of the Rasmussen like breakaways, we're still talking about a decade later. Leading over all 3 big cols holding off strong chaser like Spilak & Frank. His win never seemed to be in doubt ever since he went away on Nufenen and kept moving out on Sankt Gotthard!

Also quite much between the favorites, actually. Spilak, Hirt & Mas all tried to get that podium spot from Konrad who somehow survived.

Bernal looked slightly tired minutes before Dennis attacked, but eventually he proved to be completely in control.

Scenery was simply beautiful with the snow covered mountain peaks. What an incredibly gorgeous place of earth the Alps are!
 

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