Aleksandr Vlasov discussion thread

[BR2]

Hopefully he recovers well in time for Le Tour. The line-up discussed by Fasser would be excellent. On paper, Vlasov should be one of the best GC contenders for the Roubaix stage. He should have good support (Van Poppel, Pollitt), he is very good at positioning and is good at flat terrain.

I have him as the 4th overall favourite after Pogacar and the duo from Jumbo. Possibly in the same level as the INEOS riders, but I don't have much confidence in Thomas, especially given how crash prone he is. I'm intrigued by Martinez but he is a bit of unknown in terms of three week racing.

As for the rest (A.Yates, Caruso, O'Connor, Mas, Haig) if Vlasov shows in the high mountains the same level as in his 2022 season, they should be below Aleks in overall terms.

My only doubts with him come in the high mountains, he underperformed in Giro 2021. However, he looks much better this year.

This positive is a real pity in my opinion. What will he do now? Will he train like nothing's up? Or train more carefully, in that case it will definitely hinder his preparation. In the other case he might endanger his health. Oof. Difficult. I hope they are monitoring him very closely and that it's all going to work out fine for him.

 

[AlfaLum]

This positive is a real pity in my opinion. What will he do now? Will he train like nothing's up? Or train more carefully, in that case it will definitely hinder his preparation. In the other case he might endanger his health. Oof. Difficult. I hope they are monitoring him very closely and that it's all going to work out fine for him.

Well he won a very hard stage just hours before he tested positive. So I guess that if he is monitored well he should still be able to put in big efforts despite testing positive.

Really sad for him to have to drop out of suisse though, as I think he was going to win this one as well.

 

[AlfaLum]

Very good performance by him again. Has become a very good allrounder and I think he has a very decent chance on a podium here.

For all this talk about Vingegaard as the main and sometimes only competitor left for Pogacar, I am not sure that Vlasov is less than Vingegaard. But there is the question mark about the longer climbs of course.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Very low forum interest level for a rider who is one of the best stage racers in the world, and is shaping up to be a strong tour podium chance. Perhaps he just hasn't really done anything particularly memorable yet.

 

[AlfaLum]

Must have done some very good climbs to get back like that after falling in the final KMS of the race. Too bad he lost 5 seconds, but luckily for him only five seconds.

For now he seems my best bet to go for a podium with Vingegaard and the one who can’t be beaten.

 

[Faserr]

Vlasov says he should be OK. He has some cuts and scratches (on his ellboy according to a picture at the bora site) but could ride really hard after the crash.

News

www.bora-hansgrohe.com

 

[Unterlenkerfahrend]

Unbelievable job from Bora and him to get him back on. Other teams would've lost a minute there. Already yesterday they got him quickly on after a mechanical before they hit a cobble sector.
Also he really keeps a cool head in these situations, got up, put his chain back on and off he was, no panicking like Vingegaard yesterday.

 

[Ktarie]

Very low forum interest level for a rider who is one of the best stage racers in the world, and is shaping up to be a strong tour podium chance. Perhaps he just hasn't really done anything particularly memorable yet.

I like his balance in the overall package as a rider: good at time trials, very good climber, in addition he can stood out in one-day races, which I personally always like and he has decent explosiveness and sprinting ability. Of course you have to wait for the long climbs with the corresponding competition in the peleton. Basically, I only have some impressions of his Vuelta '20 and his Giro '21 in mind, which at the age of 26 he might be able to confirm or expand on in a previously successful year for him with his new team. A top 5 in GC would be desirable, but it is such a long road until then.

Secondary attributes: he looks quite elegant on and off the bike.

However, I was really happy that he didn't lose a lot of time in the final kilometers yesterday at the pace to finish. Good job of his team mates.

 

[noob]

Hope he recovers in the mountains :/

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I doomed him by picking him for third in the prediction game back in February. That was a kiss of death.

 

[SafeBet]

Getting COVID less than a month before the Tour certainly didn't help.
This was his worst climbing performance of the year, can't be a coincidence.

 

[Bonimenier]

Expected quite a bit of him in this Tour. A bit disappointed. Maybe the crash of yesterday bothered him, or maybe he's just the Russian Spilak.

 

[Peyroteo94]

He just can't deliver in 3 weeks.

 

[AlfaLum]

He has been very good on this kind of climbs this year. Very likely it is the crash.

 

[SafeBet]

He just can't deliver in 3 weeks.

How is that relevant after 7 stages?

 

[Mayomaniac]

He has been very good on this kind of climbs this year. Very likely it is the crash.

If Bora knew that he wasn't going to deliver after the crash it would also explain why they send both Schachmann and Kämna on the attack...
Let's hope that he'll be able to recover before the high mountains, more proper gc riders is always good.

 

[Ktarie]

He has been very good on this kind of climbs this year. Very likely it is the crash.

Vlasov:"I had a pain in my back today from yesterday's crash. It was tough for me, especially in the last part of the race. I tried not to lose too much time. A bad day for me but I hope to recover now quickly."

Vingegaard: “Als Pogacar vorbeizog, hatte ich keine Antwort mehr“ | radsport-news.com

www.radsport-news.com

 

[roundabout]

Easier finish, but looked much better today

 

[Mayomaniac]

Easier finish, but looked much better today

Yeah, he's already looking much better and Konrad set things up nice for him.
Is it just me or does he have a history of underperforming in the heat?

 

[skippo12]

Nice recovery. In the first few days after the crash it looked like Bora should just give up on the GC but they limited the damage and now he is close to a top 5 GC result. 27s behind Meintjes. 35s behind Quintana. On paper that shouldn´t be a problem in a 40km TT. Then again...both looked pretty solid in the opening TT. Not to mention that third week TTs can have suprising results.

 

[yaco]

He could end up 5th, however he's been underwhelming and well off the pace.

 

[Wyndbrook]

He could end up 5th, however he's been underwhelming and well off the pace.

He beat the guys just in front of him yesterday, momentum with him perhaps.

 

[geisterhome]

He could end up 5th, however he's been underwhelming and well off the pace.

Cant believe that performance secured him a 5th place. It seemed like he was nowhere near the pointy end of the race after his crash, even in the escape he joined he never could really stick with the best riders.

 

[staubsauger]

Cant believe that performance secured him a 5th place. It seemed like he was nowhere near the pointy end of the race after his crash, even in the escape he joined he never could really stick with the best riders.

Even Voeckler at least held on somehow for his 4th place back in 2011. And of course gave a real show when he mistakingly joined that Contador-Schleck move.

That 5th place missed glory. But Vlasov had been kinda unlucky the last 2 years as well. He's not top not, but certainly a bit underrated because the big results weren't there.

 

[geisterhome]

Even Voeckler at least held on somehow for his 4th place back in 2011. And of course gave a real show when he mistakingly joined that Contador-Schleck move.

That 5th place missed glory. But Vlasov had been kinda unlucky the last 2 years as well. He's not top not, but certainly a bit underrated because the big results weren't there.

Yea I have nothing against Vlasov and I believe a 5th,4th or even 3rd place at this Tour would match his potential very well. He was nowhere near his best though (after his crash) and still managed to get into 5th. If I never looked at the overall and you asked me to estimate the standings at the end of the Tour I would maybe rank him 10th at best. But I guess it also has to do with the dominance of JV and Pogacar. Apart from GT everyone else in the Top 10 was looking like 5 places worse than their actual placing. Vlasovs 5th just stands out a bit more than the others.