Does anyone wonder?

[jilbiker]

You know i am wondering about somethings so far this season.

1/ Where is Froome and Cobo? They had the explosive Vuelta from nowwhere and have vanished again to nowhere
2/ Where is Gilbert, superman of last season? Oh, yea, he is racing except has not form? one season wonder?
3/ Where is Cadel Evans? Explosive almost all of last year and now average at best.
4/ Where are the schleks? Seem to be no factor during the season, Andy can hardly win a race and then will win TDF??

All this smells to me like juice. One season wonders, inconsistent performances, even lance won some races during the season and was competitive at all times. people say we only perform at the majors, Doesn't add up. In every sport you build up to the major, if someone appears hot 3 or 4 times a year at ONLY the majors, thats a redflag.

Any thoughts?

 

[hrotha]

My thought is that accusing Gilbert, Evans or even Fränk Schleck of being generally inconsistent or one-season wonders is simply ridiculous, dope or not.

 

[Ferminal]

Someone missed Evans looking immortal in Corsica.

 

[fatandfast]

Gilbert is there,he is not winning but he is the sh_t

 

[Parrulo]

You know i am wondering about somethings so far this season.

1/ Where is Froome and Cobo? They had the explosive Vuelta from nowwhere and have vanished again to nowhere
2/ Where is Gilbert, superman of last season? Oh, yea, he is racing except has not form? one season wonder?
3/ Where is Cadel Evans? Explosive almost all of last year and now average at best.
4/ Where are the schleks? Seem to be no factor during the season, Andy can hardly win a race and then will win TDF??

All this smells to me like juice. One season wonders, inconsistent performances, even lance won some races during the season and was competitive at all times. people say we only perform at the majors, Doesn't add up. In every sport you build up to the major, if someone appears hot 3 or 4 times a year at ONLY the majors, thats a redflag.

Any thoughts?

evans, gilbert and the schlecks one season wonders?

lance winning all season long and being competitive all the time?

 

[therhodeo]

Rumor is Gilbert spent all winter living the playboy life. Cadel is worried about defending. Everything else was supposed to be up to the classics superteam. Schlecks (as much as I don't want to defend them) are on the Brunyeel plan. The only important cycling happens in July.

 

[hfer07]

even lance won some races during the season and was competitive at all times.

 

[andy1234]

Rumor is Gilbert spent all winter living the playboy life. Cadel is worried about defending. Everything else was supposed to be up to the classics superteam. Schlecks (as much as I don't want to defend them) are on the Brunyeel plan. The only important cycling happens in July.

To the bold.........garbage.

 

[ElChingon]

I wonder, but nothing of what the OP stated, its as if he isn't really watching.

 

[Marcus135]

You know i am wondering about somethings so far this season.

1/ Where is Froome and Cobo? They had the explosive Vuelta from nowwhere and have vanished again to nowhere
2/ Where is Gilbert, superman of last season? Oh, yea, he is racing except has not form? one season wonder?
3/ Where is Cadel Evans? Explosive almost all of last year and now average at best.
4/ Where are the schleks? Seem to be no factor during the season, Andy can hardly win a race and then will win TDF??

All this smells to me like juice. One season wonders, inconsistent performances, even lance won some races during the season and was competitive at all times. people say we only perform at the majors, Doesn't add up. In every sport you build up to the major, if someone appears hot 3 or 4 times a year at ONLY the majors, thats a redflag.

Any thoughts?

1) Froome has been battling a parasitic infection which does not sound nice at all, This has hampered him for the last few seasons, Cobo is known to be very lazy and rarely reaching his potential.

2) Gilbert has been sick to, a tooth infection of some sort, he has still been up there in a few of the classics so he would be only a tiny bit off 100% however at that level a slight difference in fitness and you wont win.

3) Obviously you didn't watch the criterium international this year aside from that he has been sick also

4) Its not July... racing does not exist outside that month for them now.

Lance winning outside July? please, that basically never happened.

 

[jilbiker]

evans, gilbert and the schlecks one season wonders?

lance winning all season long and being competitive all the time?

I want to make it very clear. I am NOT NOT NOT a lance fan. Don't let me start on Lance. But when I look at AndyS I wonder about his plan for just one race a year - TDF. Andy does not know how to win, how to battle and be tough in a race. He goes to races during the season and slouches around, kind of hangs in the bunch, does an occasional attack, "supports" his brother etc.

 

[Caruut]

I want to make it very clear. I am NOT NOT NOT a lance fan. Don't let me start on Lance. But when I look at AndyS I wonder about his plan for just one race a year - TDF. Andy does not know how to win, how to battle and be tough in a race. He goes to races during the season and slouches around, kind of hangs in the bunch, does an occasional attack, "supports" his brother etc.

Post-cancer, Lance was racing pretty much only in July, and a few of the prep races. Him and Bruyneel set the template for the modern TdF rider's season plan. July, July, July.

With regards to Froome and Cobo, both had shone in the past, and seemed to have had decent reasons to have been going through downward slumps. Froome's infection, and Cobo is rumoured to have suffered from depression, which would be incredibly bad for a cyclist.

Also, given their success in the Vuelta, they may both be targeting the race this year. If that is the case, then it's understandable that they wouldn't want to race too hard, too much during the early season. They'd be more looking to come towards competitive form during the late-July stage races, then try and peak for the Vuelta.

Calling Cadel a one-season wonder is a bit insulting, to be honest. The guy has been there or thereabouts for years, and in modern times is one of the only TdF guys to give the classics a proper go.

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

As an ex racer myself I have always been very suspicious of guys who race very little, having perhaps shown little form earlier in the season, who then show up at a certain time and rip everyone's legs off, after weeks spent just "training".

Training doesn't build the top end speed that gives you "form", and there is no better way to build fitness than blocks of racing followed by good recovery. The less I raced, or the fewer races I finished, the worse my form got - the more likely i was to get dropped and so forth.....and all training did was tire me out and dull my speed.

I also laugh at guys like Andy Schleck who are useless all spring, and then emerge as a strong tour contender. Not wanting to get too technical it seems his FTP increases by more than 100w in the weeks leading up to the tour - yet any racer will tell you the numbers hardly vary anything like that much, even after a winter break. The guys who are the best in July, should be among the best at anytime on terrain that suits them unless they have had serious time off, or are injured or sick. "Form" is not much more than some extra watts and a little less pain for the big efforts - not a ridiculous increase in power and performance that takes them from dropping off the back to zooming off the front.

His Sociopathic Majesty and Bruyneel started all this BS with his "peaking" fraud of course, and it now seems ironed into popular consciousness that a rider can have such a ridiculous peak in form when they plan it carefully.

Fwiw i haven't raced for 3 years, and last year rode my bike for a few hours about 10 times. This year I have had 2 rides, and yesterday on my old training route I came within 10% of my old training numbers when I was semi-pro, and that's just on running 3 x a week. Sure I am more tired afterwards, and after 2 hrs I was cooked - but guys like Schleck expect you to believe that despite riding 20hrs a week + every week their form can somehow improve way beyond what I lost after 3 years of hardly touching the bike.

It's a farce.

 

[karlboss]

Post-cancer, Lance was racing pretty much only in July, and a few of the prep races. Him and Bruyneel set the template for the modern TdF rider's season plan. July, July, July.

With regards to Froome and Cobo, both had shone in the past, and seemed to have had decent reasons to have been going through downward slumps. Froome's infection, and Cobo is rumoured to have suffered from depression, which would be incredibly bad for a cyclist.

Also, given their success in the Vuelta, they may both be targeting the race this year. If that is the case, then it's understandable that they wouldn't want to race too hard, too much during the early season. They'd be more looking to come towards competitive form during the late-July stage races, then try and peak for the Vuelta.

Calling Cadel a one-season wonder is a bit insulting, to be honest. The guy has been there or thereabouts for years, and in modern times is one of the only TdF guys to give the classics a proper go.

Where did Froome ever show he had GT contending talent?

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Where did Froome ever show he had GT contending talent?

U should have seen the Tour of Kenia 2009, that was before his parasitic problem

They are all juicing up for the Olympics, as if anyone else then the little idiot from Britain is to win there.

 

[therhodeo]

To the bold.........garbage.

You don't think thats the Brunyeel plan or you think that I think that and its garbage?

 

[Caruut]

Where did Froome ever show he had GT contending talent?

Well, he'd had pretty good results in mountains and TTs. Obviously he hadn't ever lit up a GT or major stage race before, but looking back, he seems more like a horse with problems than a donkey. Not to say there's no dope involved, I just don't buy the line that he was a nobody, then the dope took him from nowhere to almost winning the Vuelta. Same goes for Cobo.

@Waaijer

The thing is, into the 3rd week, tiny differences become much bigger, and in the TTs and MTFs, it only has to be small for it to count. I guess the idea of a "peak" is not so much becoming stronger, it's about trying to get as fit as you possibly can before fatigue starts to take its toll, and balancing those two.

The way you've put it, riding the Giro would be perfect prep for the Tour, and I think evidence has shown that it isn't. Vuelta contenders being in top form during the January-April period now would be akin to a Tour contender being in top form in mid-December.

The other thing I think that it's important to recognise is that when so much of the reward and attention is paid to a single event, then that completely skews how things are raced. Rightly or wrongly, for most racers, 5% better in VaPV is nothing like as good as 1% better at the TdF.

 

[Parrulo]

froome had like at best top 30 places on 1 week races stages before the vuelta. If that kind of results make some1 a possible GT winner material then even cav is Gt winning material

from OP's list he is the only one that so far is a 1 hit wonder.

 

[FignonLeGrand]

You know i am wondering about somethings so far this season.

1/ Where is Froome and Cobo? They had the explosive Vuelta from nowwhere and have vanished again to nowhere
2/ Where is Gilbert, superman of last season? Oh, yea, he is racing except has not form? one season wonder?
3/ Where is Cadel Evans? Explosive almost all of last year and now average at best.
4/ Where are the schleks? Seem to be no factor during the season, Andy can hardly win a race and then will win TDF??

All this smells to me like juice. One season wonders, inconsistent performances, even lance won some races during the season and was competitive at all times. people say we only perform at the majors, Doesn't add up. In every sport you build up to the major, if someone appears hot 3 or 4 times a year at ONLY the majors, thats a redflag.

Any thoughts?

1. Froome and Cobo, both have been up and down for past few seasons, so they are being absolutely consistent.

2. Gilbert was great back end of 2010 kept his form in 2011untikl July and is now having a dip. So rather than attirbute this to one season wonder, isnt it more likely that he is having a blip. 2011 was probably a once in a lifetime season but he has won plenty before then and will no doubt so again.

3. Cadel Evans raced mountain bikes upto 1997 or so, was world champion in 2009 and won TdF in 2011. Thats a hell of a long season.

4. The Schlecks would seem to still be sulking that their super team was so rubbish in 2011 that Bruyneel had to take over and is now telling them what to do. They just arnt at the races and when they are they are falling over.

My thoughts are that you need to think more before taking numerous unconnected items and then drawing an absolutely unconnected conclusion.

 

[FignonLeGrand]

froome had like at best top 30 places on 1 week races stages before the vuelta. If that kind of results make some1 a possible GT winner material then even cav is Gt winning material

from OP's list he is the only one that so far is a 1 hit wonder.

And when you consider the field and who else top 10d its not that big a hit.

 

[Caruut]

froome had like at best top 30 places on 1 week races stages before the vuelta. If that kind of results make some1 a possible GT winner material then even cav is Gt winning material

from OP's list he is the only one that so far is a 1 hit wonder.

36th at the Giro in '09, and 2nd in British Nats TT in '10.

I am aware that he's a one-hit wonder, just think that claiming he never had any ability before is a bit unfair to the guy.

 

[BillytheKid]

It does make one wonder, but you can have other factors such as it has been very wet and cold and a lot of illnesses have been reported. The thought is never far from my mind as well though, still here's a list of alternative reasons why:

Cadel: He won the big one. I noticed that some TdF winners loose drive after accomplishing this goal. Pyschological with some? What's left? Cadel runs on emotion more than other riders. Or is it he now has the license to wait and ride himself back up to form for July?

The Schlecks are not very good in the wet and cold. They're body types, as is Horner's, are more vulnerable in these conditions as compare to riders with more mass.

Gilbert showed some form at Fleche, but illness and the same factor as Cadel's might be in play.

Or the other thought is the bad one about those winning now?

 

[BotanyBay]

Good riders used to be good all (or most) of the time. Now riders get a good program and some good drugs and have sporadic instances of domination. Us old-timers can totally tell the difference. The peaking and falling of a rider's condition used to work like a classic bell curve. Nowadays the results we see are generally massive peaks and valleys (IE, not normal).

Armstrong was nowhere to be seen in the early Spring, then he would emerge for Tour de Suisse, TDF and then just vanish again. NOT NORMAL.

We're not stupid. We remember which riders were actually good and which ones simply had the sporadic "good day" or which good riders were just having the "bad day". Look at the Brothers Schleck! They are nobodies until June and then by late July, they transform back to being nobodies again.

 

[Digger]

Anyone want evidence of the farcical nature of a good doping programme which is tailored months in advance - look at Andy Schleck now and look at Andy in July.

 

[Parrulo]

36th at the Giro in '09, and 2nd in British Nats TT in '10.

I am aware that he's a one-hit wonder, just think that claiming he never had any ability before is a bit unfair to the guy.

seriously you really think a 36th place at the giro shows GT winning potential?

and second at the british itt championships. . . . wowzers