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77th Tour de Romandie (2.UWT) // 23rd - 28th of April 2024

Page 29 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

yes or no


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You obviously knew that Lipowitz -who couldn't even follow Plapp two days ago- was capabele of this. So don't be so hard on the Bora DS, he doesn't have the insider knowledge you have.
Haha, nothing to do with "insider knowledge". But everything with observation, analysis and race insight.Your sour reaction marks you completely.
Lipowitz did end just before the topriders in the first mountainstage (and again, even more this second even harder mountainstage). He was well placed in the rankings before this stage. He had the legs today and did the right move, strong enough to crush most opponents. Vlasov hadn't the legs. Lipowitz was able to recover in the wheel of Rodriguez. Then as a team leader you have to act quickly and not letting Vlasov decide (he is a poor teammate). Lipovitz clearly had extra physical reserves and was talking into his microphone all the time.... not getting permission to attack....on time. If Lipowitz was allowed to attack 500 m before his actual attack, he would have won the stage (the extra boniseconds) and the general.
 
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I agree that Bora messed it up slightly. They had no way of knowing how strong Lipowitz was but the way of using him was strange.
You either bring him back to help Vlasov, either give him the permission to ride for himself from early enough so he can eventually win the stage and potentially the GC.
With Carapaz gone, him staying in Rodriguez' wheel until 300m or so didn't make any sense as he had nothing to gain by attacking this late.
 
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I agree that Bora messed it up slightly. They had no way of knowing how strong Lipowitz was but the way of using him was strange.
You either bring him back to help Vlasov, either give him the permission to ride for himself from early enough so he can eventually win the stage and potentially the GC.
With Carapaz gone, him staying in Rodriguez' wheel until 300m or so didn't make any sense as he had nothing to gain by attacking this late.
Who says they didn't give him permission to ride for himself? He nearly won and took boniseconds away from Rodriguez, plus he ensured an extra podium spot for the team. had he waited for Vlasov, Lipowitz would not have been on the podium, but Van Wilder would have. Plus i doubt it would have made a big difference for Vlasov anyway. The seconds Vlasov might have gained on Rodriguez, might have been less than the boniseconds Lipowits "stole" from Rodriguez.

Had Lipowitz been 5 minutes down in GC, then obviously you'd tell him to wait unless he knew he could win. Which he nearly did regardless.

Or Lipowizt could have attacked when he felt like it, without asking is daddy DS first, they are paid, adult professional after all, not five years old children that need assistance in every thing they do.
Maybe Lipowitz simply did the maximum he could and this was the best possible result. Maybe had he attacked earlier, he would have been overruled by 20 guys. He said himself he didn't know he was capable of this.
 
Maybe Lipowitz simply did the maximum he could and this was the best possible result. Maybe had he attacked earlier, he would have been overruled by 20 guys. He said himself he didn't know he was capable of this.
Sure, but if that's his best (as it may well be), then the DS did nothing wrong, and he also did nothing wrong. But still, pro riders should be able to judge by themselves what they can or cannot do, without the need for constant input from the team car
 
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I think it’s a shame riders’ data isn’t streamed to the car. Would make decision making easier
Yes, would be better if the data could also show their energy levels, on a kind of bar of some kind. Maybe it could look something like this:

Pro-Cycling-Manager-2023-5-768x434.jpg.webp
 
Who says they didn't give him permission to ride for himself? He nearly won and took boniseconds away from Rodriguez, plus he ensured an extra podium spot for the team. had he waited for Vlasov, Lipowitz would not have been on the podium, but Van Wilder would have. Plus i doubt it would have made a big difference for Vlasov anyway. The seconds Vlasov might have gained on Rodriguez, might have been less than the boniseconds Lipowits "stole" from Rodriguez.

Had Lipowitz been 5 minutes down in GC, then obviously you'd tell him to wait unless he knew he could win. Which he nearly did regardless
The 2 bonus seconds he took off Rodriguez won't matter (unless we see a big surprise tomorrow). Had he helped Vlasov one could argue they would catch Rodriguez as the gap was 4 seconds in the end and if Vlasov beats him in the sprint, there you go, a new GC leader. Plus, I don't think it makes a difference for Bora whether they have 2nd and 3rd or 2nd and 4th in the GC in Romandie.

However, they had reason not to believe Vlasov as he was last wheel for a while (I think). So in order to have a chance to win the stage and, with the benefit of the hindsight, the GC they should've told him to attack earlier (okay, maybe they did but he wasn't confident enough) simply because by attacking 300m from the line he had nothing to gain.
 
There is a saying that hindsight is 20/20:

Who would have thought Carapaz would be slowing down rapidly in the end and his seemingly safe buffer could melt away like snow on a sunny day so quickly?
Who would have thought Lipowitz still had enough left to close that gap? For sure not himself, he looked pleasantly surprised with what he still had left in the end, more than that he lamented about a lost win.
 
Who would have thought Carapaz would be slowing down rapidly in the end and his seemingly safe buffer could melt away like snow on a sunny day so quickly?
Carapaz is very prone to overreaching and suddenly being parked at the side of the road, it doesn‘t happen every time but still commonly enough. Although Rodriguez wasn‘t exactly that much faster, it‘s just that wheelsuck and stomp is very effective.
Anyway, I think Lipowitz could have followed Carapaz when he attacked and with hindsight 20/20 he should have. It was logical to wait up for Vlasov at that point though
 
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Carapaz is very prone to overreaching and suddenly being parked at the side of the road, it doesn‘t happen every time but still commonly enough. Although Rodriguez wasn‘t exactly that much faster, it‘s just that wheelsuck and stomp is very effective.
Anyway, I think Lipowitz could have followed Carapaz when he attacked and with hindsight 20/20 he should have. It was logical to wait up for Vlasov at that point though
Bernal looked like he could've followed too. But he rode for C-Rod today.
 
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You know this already exists, right? It was exactly that that UCI thought they could find in Evenepoel's pocket in Lombardia '20 after the French Twitter nutjob kept harassing Lappartient about it.

Oh, I just thought it was a device that simultaneously reduced the rider's weight, warped the air space in front of the rider so as to redirect air molecules and thus reduce air resistance, acted as an engine of the bike and supplied a continuous stream of all sorts of illegal drugs directly into the blood stream of the rider.
 
Oh, I just thought it was a device that simultaneously reduced the rider's weight, warped the air space in front of the rider so as to redirect air molecules and thus reduce air resistance, acted as an engine of the bike and supplied a continuous stream of all sorts of illegal drugs directly into the blood stream of the rider.
It could have been a small Holtzman Generator.
 
This race has been terrible but the last 5km today almost made up for it. So much happening on a climb where you wouldn't expect all these differences.
- Bernal getting a gap and then Rodriguez closing it with everyone in his wheel lol.
- UAE with a disasterclass and Ayuso cracking big time.
- Lipowitz way stronger than he probably expected himself to be. First pulled too much with Vlasov dropped and Carapaz in his wheel, then correctly sat on Rodriguez but waited way too long to pounce. What a crazy punch that was at the end.
- Carapaz with a lovely cunning win, sat on them without taking a pull and then bam - gone. Great to see him back winning things, also cool for EF to finally get their WT win with him.

it's been a lot better than Romandie usually is
 
Just watched the highlights and who the hell is Lipowitz
I am asking but so was carapaz it seems
Wow he is super strong ...coming like a jet engine
This seems like the guy who could be the heir apparent to Rog

Carapaz looked fab on the climbs ...pity he is not going to the Giro


And Van Wilder ....maybe Remco might have to work for him yet on the climbs as Vanm Wilder did a great job

But Lipowitz & Carapaz were by far the best

 
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