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Alberto Bettiol is the new classics contender thread

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I don't see what the problem with his descending was today? Yes, he was not as good as Pidcock or Mohoric but vast majority of riders aren't. I think he finished the descent around 6th place? Which I don't think would be possible for a truly bad descender in these circumstances.
 
I don't see what the problem with his descending was today? Yes, he was not as good as Pidcock or Mohoric but vast majority of riders aren't. I think he finished the descent around 6th place? Which I don't think would be possible for a truly bad descender in these circumstances.

But he was third on the top (if we exclude Ganna who had a mechanical). The Poggio descent is a bit like the Monaco GP. You don't lose positions there if all goes well. But he was overtaken by three riders and couldn't even keep the wheels. I was surprised by that.

Note here that I think that one thing is not being able to ride as fast down as Mohoric and Pidcock, but another thing is not being able to follow their lines. Especially when they in turn are being limited by Pogacar - a non-superb descender himself.
 
When you see a performance like this you really wonder how this guy can have only six career wins... Or how this can be the freaking first year ever where he wins more than one race!
He looks leaner and more muscular this year. Wasn’t the knock on him at one point is that he didn’t train correctly? I may be confusing him with someone else, but he’s definitely changed something this year.
 
He looks leaner and more muscular this year. Wasn’t the knock on him at one point is that he didn’t train correctly? I may be confusing him with someone else, but he’s definitely changed something this year.
I haven't heard that Bettiol trains poorly, but I know he has ulcerative colitis and he struggled to adapt to it/train with it in 2021 and 2022 especially
 
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He won the Boicles de la Mayenne. GC + stage win. Not a huge race but he beat a flying cosnefroy comfortably.

He just came from a team camp at sierra Nevada. Looking at some of his training files on Strava from April, when he was rebuilding at home after the classics, he seemed very motivated.