I am unsure if Roglic could have followed Pogacar on the technical descent - The beauty of Pogacar's win was he got the gap where you needed premium bike-handling skills.
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I am unsure if Roglic could have followed Pogacar on the technical descent - The beauty of Pogacar's win was he got the gap where you needed premium bike-handling skills.
- Oct 5, 2009
- 1,502
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Just watched the race from the Ala somersault olymics discipline to the finish line.
This very young race have become a prestigious classic and this edition lived up to my expectations again.
I was well enjoyed for the full three hours of broadcasting I watched!
Have to add I've been away from this forum for half a year and feel I have to put some words on here . I hope not to initiate toxic discussions, my goal is the opposite.
It saddens me to return to same kind visible amount of salty live posts of yellings 'boring race', complaints of non tactical riders and so on.
I partly understand for superfans of single riders or specific packs of riders, viewing the races quite single eyed, getting their enthusiastic fire that way.
But try to take a step back and just observe. The joy is in the details.
E.g. complaints of the chasing groups not cooperating in this race. Well this is not a flat P-R race. The slopes of Strade Bianche makes it extremely difficult cooperating in a group of riders with different forces. And ofcourse some riders are more wise than others.
And I'm enjoyed by this fact, not annoyed. For me, it's just one of the ingredients/a part of a story that a bike race is capable of writing and why this sport is so fantastic. IMO we have even been completely pampered by curagious riders in recent years, racing by spontanity and seizing the moments that way, and not like radio/DC controlled RC racers
Whether it's a 50k breakaway or a tiny group of favourites and dark horses into the final, I have quite the same show. And in this edition I never had the feeling of the chase group giving it up. Just so enjoyable.
However, it would have been a different story for me with 184 flat k's without a single thing happening before the 500m mark.
Sorry if I take your posts too literally, I hope I misinterpret something and that you enjoy it anyway
This very young race have become a prestigious classic and this edition lived up to my expectations again.
I was well enjoyed for the full three hours of broadcasting I watched!
Have to add I've been away from this forum for half a year and feel I have to put some words on here . I hope not to initiate toxic discussions, my goal is the opposite.
It saddens me to return to same kind visible amount of salty live posts of yellings 'boring race', complaints of non tactical riders and so on.
I partly understand for superfans of single riders or specific packs of riders, viewing the races quite single eyed, getting their enthusiastic fire that way.
But try to take a step back and just observe. The joy is in the details.
E.g. complaints of the chasing groups not cooperating in this race. Well this is not a flat P-R race. The slopes of Strade Bianche makes it extremely difficult cooperating in a group of riders with different forces. And ofcourse some riders are more wise than others.
And I'm enjoyed by this fact, not annoyed. For me, it's just one of the ingredients/a part of a story that a bike race is capable of writing and why this sport is so fantastic. IMO we have even been completely pampered by curagious riders in recent years, racing by spontanity and seizing the moments that way, and not like radio/DC controlled RC racers
Whether it's a 50k breakaway or a tiny group of favourites and dark horses into the final, I have quite the same show. And in this edition I never had the feeling of the chase group giving it up. Just so enjoyable.
However, it would have been a different story for me with 184 flat k's without a single thing happening before the 500m mark.
Sorry if I take your posts too literally, I hope I misinterpret something and that you enjoy it anyway
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- Jun 6, 2017
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You mean, if he rode differently, not just for podium, he would've certainly had more wins than Merckx?
Roglic won a stage of the (2018?) Tour where he rode away from the GC group on a descent. Going downhill has never been a problem for Primoz.
There is a world of difference between a descent on a road and on the gravel.
- Nov 16, 2013
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He somehow finds the words to make you understand what he is trying to say. Gotta give him that.
- Mar 29, 2012
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He would have more 1st, and a lot less 2nd and 3rd.
But he seems to play safe for a podium rather that gamble for a win, with the risk getting 5th or so.
- Sep 4, 2017
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He also dropped Pogacar on the gravel plateau on top of a climb in the last week of the Tour but let off. In hindsight if he knew what Pogacar was capable of in the TT he could have taken vital extra time then and almost settled the race.
- May 5, 2010
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- Jun 6, 2017
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You're aware that he has 133 professional victories?
- Mar 29, 2012
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He could have gotten even more, that’s the whole point. Many chances on a victory he let slip away, to become 2nd or 3rd by winning the sprint of the chasing group.
I particularly remember a giro di lombardia. He had to control the leading group in the last few kilometers, and if he did so, he had a chance of winning.
But instead, he let one rider go and duly sprinted for the 2nd place.
look at how eg WvA battled at the olympics: he was in the same position as Valverde but much further out, and still he tried everything possible to keep things together in order to win.
- Jun 6, 2017
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He had his misses, I agree. But who doesn't? I remeber that same Van Aert riding passively many times, hoping that it will come down to reduced sprint. Sometimes he was wrong, and sometimes right. Bottom line is there are no universal rule, it depends on the circuimstances a lot, rider's strength on that day, etc.
Valverde, with his victory record, tells us that he was mainly right in his choices. I mean, only the best sprinter of all-time has more wins than him among active riders, and I don't see anyone coming near him, except maybe Teddy Merckx.
Valverde, with his victory record, tells us that he was mainly right in his choices. I mean, only the best sprinter of all-time has more wins than him among active riders, and I don't see anyone coming near him, except maybe Teddy Merckx.
- Feb 21, 2019
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The career wins ranking isn't exactly the best metric to measure success. A climber with a great sprint like Valverde always had more victory opportunities than riders like Nibali or Contador. A better metric for these great champions is the number of GT, monuments and big Championships wins and Valverde only has 1 Vuelta, 4 LBL's and 1 World Championship which is still very good but one would expect better from a rider with 133 career wins and counting. I actually argue that if he raced less second tier Spanish races, he would been fresher to win more of the major cycling races that I mentioned which would have improved his palmares despite getting less career wins.
- Jun 6, 2017
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- Oct 13, 2021
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- Feb 24, 2015
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Word to that! Pog is obviously a super strong rider having won TDF, several other stage races, GDL and LBL but what impresses even more is his bike handling skills. Would have been fantastic to see him up against WVA, MVDP and Pidcock.
- Feb 24, 2015
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Valverde in perspective:
| Top Five "modern" Monument podium riders (2004-2021/2022) | |||||||||
| #wins / #2 / #3 | |||||||||
| Name | Liege-Bastogne-Liege | Il Lombardia | Ronde Van Vlaanderen | Paris-Roubaix | Milano - San Remo | Total Monuments | Spring openers* | Monuments incl SO | |
| 1 | Tom Boonen | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 3 / 1 / 0 | 4 / 1 / 0 | 0 / 1 / 1 | 7 / 3 / 1 | 9 | 16 / 3 / 1 |
| 2 | Philippe Gilbert | 1 / 0 / 1 | 2 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 0 / 3 | 1 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 2 | 5 / 0 / 6 | 10 | 15 / 0 / 6 |
| 3 | Fabian Cancellara | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 3 / 1 / 1 | 3 / 2 / 1 | 1 / 3 / 1 | 7 / 6 / 3 | 6 | 13 / 6 / 3 |
| 4 | Alejandro Valverde | 4 / 2 / 1 | 0 / 3 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 4 / 5 / 1 | 5 | 9 / 5 / 1 |
| 5 | Vincenzo Nibali | 0 / 1 / 0 | 2 / 1 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 0 / 1 | 3 / 2 / 1 | 0 | 3 / 2 / 1 |
| *# wins (only) in Strade Bianche, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne, De Brabntse Pijl, Omloop Het Niuewsblad, Dwars door Vlaanderen | |||||||||
| Contemporary podium contenders (2004-2021/2022) | |||||||||
| #wins / #2 / #3 | |||||||||
| Name | Liege-Bastogne-Liege | Il Lombardia | Ronde Van Vlaanderen | Paris-Roubaix | Milano - San Remo | Total Monuments | Spring openers* | Monuments incl SO | |
| 6 | Peter Sagan | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 / 0 | 1 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 / 0 | 2 / 3 / 0 | 5 | 7 / 3 / 0 |
| 7 | Julian Alaphilippe | 0 / 1 / 0 | 0 / 2 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 / 1 | 1 / 4 / 1 | 5 | 6 / 4 / 1 |
| 8 | Wout van Aert | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 0 / 1 | 1 / 1 / 1 | 4 | 6 / 1 / 1 |
| 9 | Niki Terpstra | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 / 1 | 1 / 0 / 2 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 2 / 1 / 3 | 3 | 5 / 1 / 3 |
| 10 | Mathieu van der Poel | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 / 1 | 4 | 5 / 1 / 1 |
| 11 | Alexander Kristoff | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 0 / 2 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 / 0 | 2 / 1 / 2 | 1 | 3 / 1 / 2 |
| 12 | Tadej Pogačar | 1 / 0 / 1 | 1 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 / 0 | 2 / 0 / 1 | 1 | 3 / 0 / 1 |
| *# wins (only) in Strade Bianche, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne, De Brabntse Pijl, Omloop Het Niuewsblad, Dwars door Vlaanderen |
- Apr 30, 2011
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If you are going to compare riders, at least include all of their active years.
- Feb 24, 2015
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The start year is arbitrarily chosen, and it may be that it skews the picture but in that case what’s missing?
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