Do You Consider J.Rodriguez a Wheelsucker?

[BillytheKid]

Yes. But with his finishing kick, its all good. Not much different than a sprinter on staby short-uphill finishes. I missed most of the Vuelta last year so I'm maybe a little off the mark, but most "climbers" sit-in until a ripe moment.

 

[Bavarianrider]

There has never been a bigger wheelsucker then him in the history of the sport actually. (excluding sprinters)

 

[burning]

There has never been a bigger wheelsucker then him in the history of the sport actually. (excluding sprinters)

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=14095&page=10

 

[Pentacycle]

There has never been a bigger wheelsucker then him in the history of the sport actually. (excluding sprinters)

Says the Tony Martin fanboy. But please try to come up with some reasons behind this statement.

 

[burning]

Says the Tony Martin fanboy. But please try to come up with some reasons behind this statement.

His opinions about Algarve route:

TT is a bit too short to balance Alto de Mahlaho MTF. 5km more would ahve bee appropriate.
Anyway, should offer Tony a decent shot at top 3 GC finish.

It is pretty much impossible for him to be reasonable about his opinions

 

[Netserk]

His opinions about Algarve route:



It is pretty much impossible for him to be reasonable about his opinions

You just have to read his statement as: The ITT should only be 5 km to balance the route.

Now it is reasonable

 

[burning]

You just have to read his statement as: The ITT should only be 5 km to balance the route.

Now it is reasonable

I just need to learn how to read

 

[cineteq]

Says the Tony Martin fanboy. But please try to come up with some reasons behind this statement.

It's safe to say that any of BR's comments outside the ITT realm can be dismissed.

 

[Netserk]

I just need to learn how to read

The top-3 statement about Tony also makes sense all of a sudden

 

[ultimobici]

Well, now I have to change my opinion on Rodriguez. He attacked ONE time - how far from the top was it exactly - in last years last WT race he had to win in order to win the WT? That is not trully a great argument ultimobici. And, really, to compare Rodriquez with Sean Kelly does not make it better to be honest.

Still not reconsidering it as you see.

Rodriguez is a very smart man, a smart wheelsucker who knows what he is capable of and to be fair, he is the best at it. And I am not judging him on that to be fair, at least he attacks.

Fair enough. You're entitled to your opinion, misguided as I think it is.

But, read what i said about Kelly a little more carefully. I didn't compare Rodriguez to Kelly, I said the ride was in the style of Kelly or Gilbert.

Wheelsucking in my book is the kind of riding Bruyneel displayed in Liege in the Tour. It's when a rider who is capable of contributing chooses not to, They just sit on their opponent and let them wear themselves out and then jump them in the last few metres. Rodriguez doesn't do this. He leaves it late but he is simply playing to his strengths. He has a good jump and the ability to make an attack stick on a climb more than a couple of km from the finish. If he made the big attacks you seem to expect he'd never place let alone win. What's the point in that?

 

[trevim]

There has never been a bigger wheelsucker then him in the history of the sport actually. (excluding sprinters)

This is one of the most epic threads of the last few years. Right up there with the Val di Fassa stage; go Levi!

 

[uphillstruggle]

Well, now I have to change my opinion on Rodriguez. He attacked ONE time - how far from the top was it exactly - in last years last WT race he had to win in order to win the WT? That is not trully a great argument ultimobici. And, really, to compare Rodriquez with Sean Kelly does not make it better to be honest.

Still not reconsidering it as you see.

Rodriguez is a very smart man, a smart wheelsucker who knows what he is capable of and to be fair, he is the best at it. And I am not judging him on that to be fair, at least he attacks.

Attacked once? You are just trolling or just don't watch much cycling. He attacks a lot - he's pretty much one of the most aggressive riders out there in fact.

In the last few GT's where he wasn't attacking he was in the leaders jersey. Even the forum golden boy Contador doesn't attack when he's in the leaders jersey.

A good example of wheelsucking is that guy who won the 1989 tour by sitting on Fignon's wheel and out TTing him. What was his name again?

 

[Angliru]

Good point, there were quite a lot of good finishers in the pack on the last climb. Not that Rodriguez is a BAD finisher, just didn't want to take a risk I guess. To me it was a typical Rodriguez victory, it seems not everyone agrees on that.

How could it be "a typical Rodriguez victory" if it's such a departure from the wheelsucker rep that you've pinned on him? Ideally as a wheelsucker he would've sat in someone's draft until the finish was in sight and then launched his sprint. Additionally isn't one of the major risks of an attack that the attacking rider could be caught and end the race with nothing for his efforts due to the effort put in to making the attack stick?

Yes, put me in the "Does Not Agree" column.

 

[Angliru]

This is one of the most epic threads of the last few years. Right up there with the Val di Fassa stage; go Levi!

If that's the stage where Leipheimer stole a overall major stage race win from Cunego to such thunderous disappointment from the forum that it brought tears of laughter to my eyes reading the immediate responses, then yes...that was a grand time! I don't know if this compares though. That was certainly, as you say, epic!

 

[The Hitch]

If that's the stage where Leipheimer stole a overall major stage race win from Cunego to such thunderous disappointment from the forum that it brought tears of laughter to my eyes reading the immediate responses, then yes...that was a grand time! I don't know if this compares though. That was certainly, as you say, epic!

Dude. You dont recognize the words Gardeccia Val di Fassa?

The race levi won the overall at the very last was the tt in the Tour of Switzerland 2011. A highly entertaining reaction followed especially for those of us who were cheering Bottle on.

Gardieccia val di fassa was the finishing point for the legendary Giro stage which Nieve won with his last ounce of strength.

An extremely entertaining 3 hours of banter and excitement on the forum.

edit: unless val di fassa has some other meaning in italian that i am not aware of.

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Fair enough. You're entitled to your opinion, misguided as I think it is.

But, read what i said about Kelly a little more carefully. I didn't compare Rodriguez to Kelly, I said the ride was in the style of Kelly or Gilbert.

Wheelsucking in my book is the kind of riding Bruyneel displayed in Liege in the Tour. It's when a rider who is capable of contributing chooses not to, They just sit on their opponent and let them wear themselves out and then jump them in the last few metres. Rodriguez doesn't do this. He leaves it late but he is simply playing to his strengths. He has a good jump and the ability to make an attack stick on a climb more than a couple of km from the finish. If he made the big attacks you seem to expect he'd never place let alone win. What's the point in that?

Agreed on the Kelly part, bad reading on my count.

Bruyneel a good example, Indurain Luz Ardiden, maybe we need to start a new thread for the greatest wheelsucking races of all times.

Rodriguez might not be 'the classical wheelsucker' since he attacks from 1K till lets say 3K out. With Lombardia the kinda exemption.

A good example of wheelsucking is that guy who won the 1989 tour by sitting on Fignon's wheel and out TTing him. What was his name again?

Why so touchy? Let me guess. Guess LeMond wheelsucked, he sucked that day indeed, all the way up to l'Alpe d'Huez

 

[airstream]

Agreed on the Kelly part, bad reading on my count.

Bruyneel a good example, Indurain Luz Ardiden, maybe we need to start a new thread for the greatest wheelsucking races of all times.

Rodriguez might not be 'the classical wheelsucker' since he attacks from 1K till lets say 3K out. With Lombardia the kinda exemption. Why so touchy? Let me guess. Guess LeMond wheelsucked, he sucked that day indeed, all the way up to l'Alpe d'Huez

How about attacks at Morzine, Sestrieres and Collet d'Allevard? Seemingly, you saw many attacks when one decided to ride 6k at 9% alone and it does not impress you.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Says the Tony Martin fanboy. But please try to come up with some reasons behind this statement.

Because JRod is a totally useless rider apart of sprinting it out uphill on the last 500m.
He can't ride alone at all. He's acomplete joke in the flat and even on mountains he needs other riders to set the pace. He whellsucks like 99,9999999% of his yearly kilomters.
Once there is no wheel to suck he looks like a total bum

 

[Pentacycle]

Because JRod is a totally useless rider apart of sprinting it out uphill on the last 500m.
He can't ride alone at all. He's acomplete joke in the flat and even on mountains he needs other riders to set the pace. He whellsucks like 99,9999999% of his yearly kilomters.
Once there is no wheel to suck he looks like a total bum

And he wouldn't be the only one who's bad on the flat, however uphill he's one of the strongest, wheelsucking or not. At least his explosions on steep climbs are more spectacular than looking at boring TT specialists for an hour.

 

[Winterfold]

I really do think there are some people who post on here who simply do not understand the difference between "wheel-sucking" and riding efficiently in a bicycle race

 

[cineteq]

I really do think there are some people who post on here who simply do not understand the difference between "wheel-sucking" and riding efficiently in a bicycle race

+1
Sheeps will always follow.

 

[BillytheKid]

Because JRod is a totally useless rider apart of sprinting it out uphill on the last 500m.
He can't ride alone at all. He's acomplete joke in the flat and even on mountains he needs other riders to set the pace. He whellsucks like 99,9999999% of his yearly kilomters.
Once there is no wheel to suck he looks like a total bum

Being able to sprint 500m like Rodriguez on a final of a climb is a gift. Such a strong finisher earns the right to be protected. Following wheel to the launch point is no easy task either. He wins races in a way that many like and don't realy care if he's smart about it. A true wheelsucker only wins by totally profiting from the efforts of others till the final 20 meters and never wins any other way.

So I misfire in voting yes. He does follow wheels to a point, but not egregiously.

 

[Angliru]

Dude. You dont recognize the words Gardeccia Val di Fassa?

The race levi won the overall at the very last was the tt in the Tour of Switzerland 2011. A highly entertaining reaction followed especially for those of us who were cheering Bottle on.

Gardieccia val di fassa was the finishing point for the legendary Giro stage which Nieve won with his last ounce of strength.

An extremely entertaining 3 hours of banter and excitement on the forum.

edit: unless val di fassa has some other meaning in italian that i am not aware of.

I really had no idea and was too lazy to research it to see if there was any connection, that was why I asked "if". I remembered that it was an itt stage of Tour de Swiss but what I remembered is that so many were rooting for Cunego to pull it out and when it was certain that Leipheimer had won the reactions from those pulling for Cunego was classic.

 

[airstream]

Gardeccia was the most supreme GT fluke. I don't understand how that dish can be served with such a huge pomp. Zero intrigue, zero GC reshuffles, total absence of straight-out mutual attacks. And the stage gifted to breakaway like a crown of shame that was sunk in an evening rainy mist.

 

[El Pistolero]

Gardeccia was the most supreme GT fluke. I don't understand how that dish can be served with such a huge pomp. Zero intrigue, zero GC reshuffles, total absence of straight-out mutual attacks. And the stage gifted to breakaway like a crown of shame that was sunk in an evening rainy mist.

The most supreme GT fluke is still Andy Schleck. You just described his racing tactics/strategy spot on.