Critérium du Dauphiné 2024, June 2 - 9

[scribers]

I can never get excited for or interested in this race. Too close to the tour and purely for tune up

 

[Taxus4a]

The stage is more up and down that looks, so teams should have more interested to be on the break.

Solf tailwind and just 42 Km/h at the first 10 totally flat Km....Thay just to start stages nowadays at more than 50 on this conditions


And no, Dauphine has its interest for many reasons, but it is a prestigious race by itself

 

[Kwaremonster]

Finally some cycling again. let's hope we get to see some duels this week. I personally hope that Ayuso smashes it out of the park to then have some interteam drama in the tour

 

[Salvarani]

I wouldn't say that sandbagging is lying "directly into our faces", but I do think he sandbags quite often.

He definitely sandbagged in the last Vuelta. He just conceded the GC without a fight.

 

[Berniece]

I wouldn't say that sandbagging is lying "directly into our faces", but I do think he sandbags quite often.

Examples?

 

[Netserk]

Examples?

Giro '21, Vuelta '22, Vuelta '23.

 

[Berniece]

Giro '21, Vuelta '22, Vuelta '23.

I disagree with all 3. Not sure why you feel he sandbagged on those occasions. But that’s always the case with Evenepoel. If he says he goes for the win and then doesn’t win, he’s arrogant. If he is realistic, and then does well he’s sandbagging. He can’t say the right thing, ever, for some people.

 

[Extinction]

I disagree with all 3. Not sure why you feel he sandbagged on those occasions. But that’s always the case with Evenepoel. If he says he goes for the win and then doesn’t win, he’s arrogant. If he is realistic, and then does well he’s sandbagging. He can’t say the right thing, ever, for some people.

I think all he needs to say is, I'm here to do the best I can and prepared the best to do so, and then just get on with it. If he wins,
everybody can say, good job, if he doesn't nobody can critisize him for what he said prior.

 

[shadowrider]

Evenepoel is pure class on rolling terrain so I expect him to be in the mix in the TT, but he isn't a natural born climber and if not in great shape, he would have to force himself greatly to follow uphill (and there is nothing but uphill) to stay up there in the GC.

So even if he wins GC in Dauphine (zero % chance imho), I wouldn't applaud that, because I know he would have been waaay to deep to achieve this and it isn't improving his Tour shape.

A perfect analysis and summary. Fortunately, there are much too little race experts on this forum who also have knowledge of the functioning of the human body and training theory.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

As Pogacar did in the final days of last years' Tour...... ?

Pogačar finished 2nd, Remco definitely did not finish 2nd. Remco still didn‘t sandbag in the Vuelta, though, that‘s also BS.

 

[shadowrider]

I think all he needs to say is, I'm here to do the best I can and prepared the best to do so, and then just get on with it. If he wins,
everybody can say, good job, if he doesn't nobody can critisize him for what he said prior.

That's exactly what he said. But "do the best he can" doesn't mean forcing himself to come tenth. But helping the team without forcing and going one day allmost full gas.

 

[shadowrider]

Pogačar finished 2nd, Remco definitely did not finish 2nd. Remco still didn‘t sandbag in the Vuelta, though, that‘s also BS.

Pogacar was destroyed in the TT and didn't really react when he was dropped the next day....

 

[Extinction]

That's exactly what he said. But "do the best he can" doesn't mean forcing himself to come tenth. But helping the team without forcing and going one day allmost full gas.

At this point he just needs to push, but stay within himself. If he is far off the pace, then the Tour is not a GC question. If he is good, then he can build upon that at the Tour and his prospects become brighter.

 

[shadowrider]

At this point he just needs to push, but stay within himself. If he is far off the pace, then the Tour is not a GC question. If he is good, then he can build upon that at the Tour and his prospects become brighter.

That's what I have written. Being here at 96/97 % is not enough to succeed in the Tour.

 

[tobydawq]

I can never get excited for or interested in this race. Too close to the tour and purely for tune up

Ok

 

[Extinction]

That's what I have written. Being here at 96/97 % is not enough to succeed in the Tour.

Right, but being at 96-97% here and being in the running for the win, should bode well for the Tour, because he will get better.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Pogacar was destroyed in the TT and didn't really react when he was dropped the next day....

How would he react? Counterattack? Say ‚I‘m not gone, I‘m not dead‘? Just ride faster, smh? He clearly still rode as fast as he could, otherwise he would have lost 2nd on GC.

 

[Taxus4a]

Weather conditions are worse than predicted

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Weather conditions are worse than predicted

Real summer vibes you get from those pictures

 

[Slavique Nuke]

How would he react? Counterattack? Say ‚I‘m not gone, I‘m not dead‘? Just ride faster, smh? He clearly still rode as fast as he could, otherwise he would have lost 2nd on GC.

I think he was worse mentally than physically. If ITT had been tighter he could have hung on longer. But instead he saved the energy and got another stage win later.

 

[Sciatic]

Real summer vibes you get from those pictures

Early June is definitely not summertime in some places—weather exactly the same here today.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Early June is definitely not summertime in some places—weather exactly the same here today.

Less to do with the time of year, more to do with the fact that it's been exceptionally rainy for months now in most of Western Europe.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

You have to be at 100% for stages 2 and 4, as well as the gravel stage on day 9. The pace will be brutal, even if the stages aren't super hard. Those who go into the TdF undercooked will end up paying the price.

See the talk re: Vingegaard. They want him in monster shape at the start.

I think the viability of growing into the race comes down to what your goal is.

When you're targeting a top-5 or even a podium, you can very much grow into the race if it's sufficiently backloaded. For example, in this Tour, you can ship half a minute on stage 2 and a minute on stage 4, but you'll be taking it back comfortably if you're consistently one of the best climbers from stage 14 onwards because gaps will be a lot bigger there. We've had plenty of recent examples: Porte in the 2020 Tour, Carthy in the 2020 Vuelta, Haig and Mäder (RIP) in the 2021 Vuelta, Caruso and Martinez in the 2022 Giro, Vlasov in the 2022 Tour, López and Almeida in the 2022 Vuelta and Landa in the 2023 Vuelta all come to mind. And a lot of those races were less backloaded than this one.

When you're going for the win, on the other hand, you usually need to be strong throughout, because there's almost always someone who's riding at GT-winning level all 21 stages. The only way you can win a GT by peaking for the third week is if your opponent crashes (Nibali in the 2016 Giro), you go full Landis in the third week (Froome in the 2018 Giro), or you have the very rare GT where everyone lacks consistency come along (TGH in the 2020 Giro).

In other words, it's far easier to see someone like Roglic or Ayuso overturn a 1.5-minute deficit to third place after stage 4, than it is to see Vingegaard overturn the same deficit to Pogacar's yellow jersey. Hence why it's more imperative for Vingegaard to be at 100% going into the race than it is for almost anyone else.

 

[tobydawq]

Remco said that he will not drop GC on purpose, he just doesn't believe he is good enough to be competitive.

 

[Salvarani]

Rain and narrows roads... where is Adam Hansen to call it off?