3 reasons why menchov will not do much this year

[auscyclefan94]

menchov will win overall, there I said it!

 

[theyoungest]

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that his victories were not worthy, they were, and I agree, 'what if' discussions are meaningless. However, the TdF is not a 'what if' question as he has generally underachieved in it. Last year it was undoubtedly due to fatigue from the Giro. This year that will not be a factor, I just don't think he has it against the leading contenders in a number of areas, team strength included.

The Rabo Tour squad is quite strong actually.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

It frustrates me that people are cynical of Menchov's GT wins. I don't hear any bashing of Carlos Sastre, who won the 2008 tour without multiple top riders being present.

 

[Angliru]

Three, but who is counting? It wasn't against real opposition, just non-top-5 soft peddlers like these Sastre, Sanchez, Di Luca, Pellizotti, Basso and Evans fellas, who also weren't challenging hard to win.

They didn't show up and he won. End of story for me really, as it would otherwise trigger endless what-if discussions. What if the others had shown up in all these to compete for real? Would they still be as fit to snatch the same TdF places? What if Menchov hadn't (and also had spared the legs in his team too)? Would Rabo have managed to squeeze more out of the TdFs if they had targeted just those?

No-one flukes his way to 3 GTs, and certainly not one which was arguably the hardest GT that year. But it seems you can win 3 without people even noticing, much. His mistake for not having English as a first language, or Ozzie blood. We wouldn't hear the end of it then. A Russian on a Dutch team. That defines "under the radar", no? I mean, come on, the guy hasn't even been able to bag a cool nickname yet. Tsss...

+1
He can only race against whoever shows up and he won. How many other current contenders other than Contador, Sastre and Basso can say the same?
The opportunities have been there for Evans, Frank Schleck, Andy Schleck, Vandevelde, and since his return to the sport, Armstrong, but ultimately they have yet to win a grand tour. Menchov gets more bad posts regarding his falling than positive posts regarding his successes. It's really a shame he's so unappreciated.

 

[Angliru]

How about Gesink being Rabo's main man at the tour? He's not great going downhill but at least he doesn't fall off going up them!

The Menchov-falling-off-the-bike jokes are getting pretty tired.

 

[issoisso]

How about Gesink being Rabo's main man at the tour? He's not great going downhill but at least he doesn't fall off going up them!

Oh he doesn't? Re-watch the Tour of the Basque Country.

 

[Angliru]

It frustrates me that people are cynical of Menchov's GT wins. I don't hear any bashing of Carlos Sastre, who won the 2008 tour without multiple top riders being present.

Like Menchov, he can only race against the riders that are there. If Sastre had not kept himself within striking distance in the GC he would not have been in the position on Alpe d'Huez to have taken the leader's jersey and ultimately his much coveted Tour win. Multiple riders have had opportunities to win grand tours but come away empty. To battle for 3 weeks and come out in the end the victor is something to be applauded not minimized for who didn't show up.

 

[teamcresthuffy]

Dennis the Menace

I like his chances for making the podium... I am hoping he can close in on the "Dynamic Duo"

 

[Francois the Postman]

It pleases me how often Menchov (and Gesink) is seen near the front this year when things tense up a bit, aiming to stay at the right side of potential trouble. In previous years, Menchov would always lose a couple of minutes here and there because he was somewhere down the bunch, often torpedoing his chances before the Tour was good and well out of the starting blocks.

Rabo is riding very alert so far, and maybe their first podium spot is indeed within reach. It better be, as they aren't riding for much else it seems.

 

[theyoungest]

Oh he doesn't? Re-watch the Tour of the Basque Country.

Thanks people for digging up this thread, so I can tell issoisso to rewatch that stage himself. Gesink fell in the descent. Same spot as Txurruka, and some others. Dirt on the road. Well ok, you couldn't actually see it. But that's where it happened.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It was oil actually. That race was a travesty, because five days of great racing were ruined by the sour note of Txurruka's injury and not being able to claim the KoM despite having three times as many points as anyone else.

 

[The Hitch]

It was oil actually. That race was a travesty, because five days of great racing were ruined by the sour note of Txurruka's injury and not being able to claim the KoM despite having three times as many points as anyone else.

That was a sad incident, made worse by the fact that the supersticious david harmon put the blame fully on his own shoulders. The reason was that Harmon had said that Txuuruka was doing well seconds before the fall. He spent the rest of the stage giving heartfelt and serious apologies to Txuurukas familly if they were listening and to the fans for causing this crash.

He still reacts with sorrow and dissatisfaction every time he remembers the "curse of the commentator" or txuuruka.

 

[theyoungest]

It was oil actually. That race was a travesty, because five days of great racing were ruined by the sour note of Txurruka's injury and not being able to claim the KoM despite having three times as many points as anyone else.

Tell me about it. Gesink could have won that race

 

[python]

tbh i am surprised but pleased with how well robert and denis cooperated on stage 9.

i think gesink was climbing better but menchov pulled more on a final flat. also menchov complained he could not find the right rhythm. to me, it may spell a loss of another 20-30 seconds today.

wonder why no one picked up on ekimov’s prediction 2 days ago that menchov will still surprise.

 

[theyoungest]

Funny BTW how this thread was started by a Wiggins fanboy. And look who's totally out of contention now!