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Could be, but Carapaz rides for Ineos now and Nibali's first two TTs on the Trek bike in Algarve and Paris-Nice were pretty mediocre. It's uncertain which way the TT pendulum will swing imo.I guess more flat TT kms also favor Nibali over Carapaz.
Last year...
stage 1 8km Giro d`Emilia final: 24s
stage 9 35km climb to San Marino: 50s
stage 21 17km around Verona: 49s
All really difficult. First two more or less MTTs. Wouldn´t be suprised if Nibali can gain even more in flat TTs.
Could be, but Carapaz rides for Ineos now and Nibali's first two TTs on the Trek bike in Algarve and Paris-Nice were pretty mediocre. It's uncertain which way the TT pendulum will swing imo.
Could be, but Carapaz rides for Ineos now and Nibali's first two TTs on the Trek bike in Algarve and Paris-Nice were pretty mediocre. It's uncertain which way the TT pendulum will swing imo.
Don't doubt Ineos could improve Carapaz' TT, but I have a hard time seeing him put time into Nibali on them. If he does, there's also just a form difference which makes Nibali unable to win the race anyway.Could be, but Carapaz rides for Ineos now and Nibali's first two TTs on the Trek bike in Algarve and Paris-Nice were pretty mediocre. It's uncertain which way the TT pendulum will swing imo.
Nibali's general shape was better this spring than usual though, so I expected that to be translated into TT results too, which it wasn't really. But I agree that it's too early to draw conclusions. Still, I don't buy into the whole "Merida has a terrible TT-bike thing". It was probably more a psychological issue for Dennis.I don´t think Trek is an downgrade when it comes to TT bikes. More about Nibali rarely doing good TTs outside of GTs these days.
I still remember the Rohan Dennis drama and the complains about Meridas bikes. In the last few years Bahrain certainly underperformed in TTs with the exception of Nibali and Caruso.
Nibali actually used to be weird in that his ITTs were better than his climbing when out of form. Like in January he'd beat Contador in the ITT in some warm up race on the edge of the world then he'd climb in the grupetto.I don´t think Trek is an downgrade when it comes to TT bikes. More about Nibali rarely doing good TTs outside of GTs these days.
I still remember the Rohan Dennis drama and the complains about Meridas bikes. In the last few years Bahrain certainly underperformed in TTs with the exception of Nibali and Caruso.
For sure Nibali should take time on Carapaz in the TTs, totally agree. Question is, will it be enough to put him basically out of contention over 70 km of TTs? That I don't think.Don't doubt Ineos could improve Carapaz' TT, but I have a hard time seeing him put time into Nibali on them. If he does, there's also just a form difference which makes Nibali unable to win the race anyway.
Nibali actually used to be weird in that his ITTs were better than his climbing when out of form. Like in January he'd beat Contador in the ITT in some warm up race on the edge of the world then he'd climb in the grupetto.
I think the Giro ITTs of last year aren't the greatest reference as they all had a decent bit of climbing and they were in different forms throughout the 3 weeks.
If Nibs is gonna win his climbing needs to be the right level much more than the TTing. Last year it seemed to be missing just that tiny bit.For sure Nibali should take time on Carapaz in the TTs, totally agree. Question is, will it be enough to put him basically out of contention over 70 km of TTs? That I don't think.
DudeCarapaz is not that bad in TT. I don't see a problem there. Few days back I saw Evenepoel in Algarve. I just think he is too thick for Stelvio and Agnelo. And too young. Even for a guy of his talent. If those high mountain stages get cancelled or modified then it could be a different story.