Teams & Riders Everybody needs a little bit of Roglstomp in their lives

[Rackham]

If Roglič takes it will Belgium hold a grudge? Ouch. So many things to consider when preparing the game plan.

He wasn't training with the rest of the Slovenian team doing a recon of the route today, so he's arriving at the very last moment.

And I've been searching through some social media conversations & stuff to see what people are predicting, i.e. some say he'll work for Mohoric... which sounds implausible because there's absolutely no reason to do so (he's a Bahrain rival & Roglic has never received any favor from him). Some say he'll ride for Wout... but that's also ridiculous because even if that was his intent, WvA really, really doesn't need Roglic on this particular profile. His Belgian squad is more than enough to get the job done (Roglic is no lead out guy, nor would jumping on the wheel of WvA's rivals just to mark them be of particular use).

Chris Horner meanwhile has him as his 3rd favorite to win (behind WvA & Sagan).

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

I think Roglic could be a suprise on Sunday, or just have a bit of an anonymous ride.

He wont work for either Wout or Matej. And definetely not for Tadej. I suppose he has a free role within the slovenian team. He had some comments about the slovenian now having 3 coaches at the Vuelta, which is unlike Roglic, so could also explain why he only joins the team last minute.

He will def not work for Wout. Of course they are great colleagues but Roglic has way too much honour to so that.

 

[Rackham]

I think he can become world champion.

Now obviously there's a thousands caveats & factors involved which can ruin everything (more so than in the Olympics TT where we knew he could win as long as his legs responded correctly). But despite all the potential snafus (punctures, splits in the peloton, crashes, strategic mistakes etc.), if he has the legs he can follow the best & then... anything is possible.

 

[Bonimenier]

He'll be more invisible than in the road race in Tokyo.

 

[Rackham]

He'll be more invisible than in the road race in Tokyo.

Any reason? Because in Tokyo he had back cramps & it was his first race since leaving the Tour through injury.

His worst race this year on pure form was Liège, and even in that he wasn't totally invisible - he just didn't have the legs after all the racing that came before.

I mean maybe there's a small possibility he's using this as preparation for Lombardia, but this is Roglic, i.e. when he shows up he usually goes full gas all in.

 

[Bonimenier]

Any reason? Because in Tokyo he had back cramps & it was his first race since leaving the Tour through injury.

His worst race this year on pure form was Liège, and even in that he wasn't totally invisible - he just didn't have the legs after all the racing that came before.

I mean maybe there's a small possibility he's using this as preparation for Lombardia, but this is Roglic, i.e. when he shows up he usually goes full gas all in.

I just don't see him playing any significant role on a route like this. Even if he did I don't know in which scenario he could win.

 

[Eeslliw]

He'll be more invisible than in the road race in Tokyo.

I would agree. I just don't see him in the final selection or to make any moves. Also distance is his known weakness, with not so good positioning which will be important in this race. To put him in top 6 of favorites it's just mad. Maybe in really long list of possible winners, and that is just because he is used to winning, so why not eh.

 

[topt]

If Roglič takes it will Belgium hold a grudge? Ouch. So many things to consider when preparing the game plan.

absolutely and they should be; everybody knows he should work for Wout

 

[topt]

I dont believe Rogla should be one of the favorites here, to long for him even if he was in top form

 

[johnymax]

He's been destroying myths about him all his career. He doesn't attack from afar, he fades in the third week of a GT, he can't TT at the end of a GT...all vanished in one GT.
Time to put the "he can't contend in long races" talk to bed now. This talk is silly to be honest. He won LBL, he was the strongest/2nd strongest in Lombardia 2019, he was in the group of 6 best riders in the WCRR one week after the Tour in 2020 (the only one of the group who was fighting for GC).

About the road race... He is not among the 5 biggest favourites, but he is certainly in a group of 20 or so riders who can medal. In the Slovenian squad there is no secret what they are going to do. Mohorič is the leader on paper, but Roglič, Pogačar and Mohorič will all try to make the race hard with multiple attacks. Mezgec will try to hang on and be there in the end if there's a bigger group contesting the sprint.

I expect Roglič to be in phenomenal form, though. It's the best ever he's come out of a GT, he is apparently healthy and he hasn't raced that much this year so he still has to be relatively fresh. Maybe it won't show on Sunday, because the profile doesn't suit him, but I hope it'll show in Lombardia.

 

[Rackham]

I just don't see him playing any significant role on a route like this. Even if he did I don't know in which scenario he could win.

By following the correct wheels.

There are enough riders & teams in this race who don't want a bunch sprint with WvA, Sagan or Magnus Cort. So that's the scenario, i.e. take advantage of the race being blown apart.

And IMO jump on Remco Evenepoel when he attacks. Because in Evenepoel's current form he could be the winning ticket.

 

[Red Rick]

It is not about distance, it's about the route. I don't really doubt he can be in the final selection if he's good, but then what. In this field Roglic isn't a good shout for a sprint.

 

[bNator]

It is not about distance, it's about the route. I don't really doubt he can be in the final selection if he's good, but then what. In this field Roglic isn't a good shout for a sprint.

Well he did win LBL. You could argue of course he wouldn't have been able to beat Hirschi had Alaphilippe not blocked him but then aghain - he beat Hirschi in a sprint in 2020 TDF stage 9. Then you have Giro dell'Emilia 2019 and Tour de l'Ain 2020 stage 1 was a good showing as well...

I agree he can never beat the likes of Wout, MvDP Asgreen or some sprinter specialist in a sprint, but as soon as there's a little incline, I'm not so sure anymore. Look at how he beat Matthews in PN for instance...

 

[Rackham]

At this level & on this sort of parcours, I think the level is extremely homogenous at the top. We're talking about fine margins between riders.

And ironically, I feel Sunday might be a little bit more attainable than Lombardia simply because he doesn't have a giant bullseye on his back. In Italy he's going to be one of "the" riders who're totally marked, whereas on Sunday in the worlds... no.

And I think getting totally underestimated is also when he shines most. But, notwithstanding that fact, I'm not going into the race expecting a result. As a Roglic fan I've been totally spoilt in recent months so I'm just here to enjoy the ride (& hope there's some drama, namely from the Belgians with Evenepoel going rogue).

 

[Gargamel35]

All Slovenian media and team very loudly promote Mohorič as their captain. Mohorič also talks a lot about this race to be "the one" for him this year. So i believe he expects whole team to work for him. Pogačar could also play a super domestique role for Mohorič, because they are great friends.

Roglič looks a bit out of the picture and probably doesn't want to just get here and be a domestique for anyone. He'll probably have a quiet race.

 

[Rackham]

All Slovenian media and team very loudly promote Mohorič as their captain. Mohorič also talks a lot about this race to be "the one" for him this year.

I saw those quotes & unless there's some sort of bluff involved (like an attempt to make the rest of the peloton disregard Pogacar & Roglic as threats), it was like Mohoric trying to convince his own teammates to ride for him.

But the charm of the world championship also includes the fact sponsor team loyalties play a role. And there's just no way Roglic will ride against Wout van Aert to make Mohoric become world champion.

 

[Gargamel35]

I saw those quotes & unless there's some sort of bluff involved (like an attempt to make the rest of the peloton disregard Pogacar & Roglic as threats), it was like Mohoric trying to convince his own teammates to ride for him.

But the charm of the world championship also includes the fact sponsor team loyalties play a role. And there's just no way Roglic will ride against Wout van Aert to make Mohoric become world champion.

You mean van Aert that loudly demands riding TdF with half the team and not working for Roglič? That van Aert? You can be damn sure Roglič would rather see Mohorič win then van Aert.

 

[Rackham]

You mean van Aert that loudly demands riding TdF with half the team and not working for Roglič? That van Aert? You can be damn sure Roglič would rather see Mohorič win then van Aert.

The problem is it would be too obvious.

I don't disagree with your assessment of WvA (I've posted similar in recent months), but in the world championships on Belgian soil... it would be hard for Roglic to go back to Team Jumbo Visma & shrug with a "why not eh?" whilst WvA is sulking again.

But whatever, if that happened I would be totally A-okay with the outcome. The Belgian media would go bananas again though & full meltdown, which could be funny to an extent.

 

[Gargamel35]

The problem is it would be too obvious.

I don't disagree with your assessment of WvA (I've posted similar in recent months), but in the world championships on Belgian soil... it would be hard for Roglic to go back to Team Jumbo Visma & shrug with a "why not eh?" whilst WvA is sulking again.

But whatever, if that happened I would be totally A-okay with the outcome. The Belgian media would go bananas again though & full meltdown, which could be funny to an extent.

Who cares about Belgians. This is "world championships" where teams ride to represent their countries and try to win a medal. Van Aert has enough support in Belgian team and shouldn't expect all JV team helping him. If any Slovenian is in a position to fight for the win at the end and Roglič is still there, he'll fight to win first and if that won't be possible, he'll fight to help other Slovenian. There is no other option.

I loved to se Ganna win TT in front od van Aert, specially when i saw how Belgian "fans" tried to signal Ganna to slow down. Van Aert winning world championship will destroy all chances for JV to ever win TdF. You can't not race your wold champion in TdF and you need to give him support to race there so there is no room to fight for yellow jersey with half the team.

 

[Rackham]

Who cares about Belgians. This is "world championships" where teams ride to represent their countries and try to win a medal. Van Aert has enough support in Belgian team and shouldn't expect all JV team helping him. If any Slovenian is in a position to fight for the win at the end and Roglič is still there, he'll fight to win first and if that won't be possible, he'll fight to help other Slovenian. There is no other option.

I loved to se Ganna win TT in front od van Aert, specially when i saw how Belgian "fans" tried to signal Ganna to slow down. Van Aert winning world championship will destroy all chances for JV to ever win TdF. You can't not race your wold champion in TdF and you need to give him support to race there so there is no room to fight for yellow jersey with half the team.

A couple of points: winning a world title in cycling is a very individual, personal success where the teammates get nothing. It's not like winning a football world cup where the entire team is king, no, here it's just one man (& the national supporters back home who get one of their own as champion). Does anyone remember the Frenchmen who worked their asses off to get Alaphilippe into position last year to win his rainbow jersey? No. Did they get a reward? No. Were they on the podium? No.

Add the fact Mohoric is a Bahrain rider (hello Sonny Colbrelli) & I don't get what is in for Roglic to make Mohoric world champion. Would Mohoric be a better option than Pogacar? (because of the rivalry) Probably, but I doubt Roglic would ever make anything personal like that. And because of the age of Roglic (almost 32) & because of his standing (3rd in UCI ranking, winner of the Olympics TT & 3 Grand Tours etc.), I would find it strange for Mohoric or anyone to expect Roglic to ride domestique in the world championship.

In these cases I almost feel like Roglic is far too much of a "nice guy" & he's the one who should be talking in the media (like Mohoric is) about the race being "good for him" etc. & expecting to team to ride for him. He has definitely earned it whilst Mohoric & Pogacar will get other chances. And the profile itself is not such a huge deal because both Pogacar & Roglic are all-rounders (for example Roglic was flying in Amstel earlier this year until his mechanical).

In any case, roll on Sunday. I can't wait.

 

[Rackham]

And in more news, this is how "legendary" Roglic is (i.e. how much of an inspiration he has become):

Uijtdebroeks inspired by Roglic in valiant World Championships fightback | Cyclingnews

Speaking to the media afterwards, he said he’d been inspired by Roglic’s ride on the final day of Paris-Nice, where he crashed three times and watched the overall victory disappear up the road, but mounted a long and lonely chase in ripped kit up the final climb.


“After the crash where my bike was broken, I really thought for a moment that it was all over. Then I came to the Wijnpers [climb] and at the top there were so many people, so that gave me motivation. I said to myself, ‘okay, I ride full gas until the end.'



“It was so so long. It was almost a 100km time trial. But I rode all out. I had the image of Roglic at Paris-Nice in my head. He was really riding full gas, after also crashing a few times, and he was losing the GC as well. I said to myself, if you take to the start of a World Championship in Belgium, you have to go on. So I rode on character to the end.”

 

[cen]

I saw those quotes & unless there's some sort of bluff involved (like an attempt to make the rest of the peloton disregard Pogacar & Roglic as threats), it was like Mohoric trying to convince his own teammates to ride for him.

But the charm of the world championship also includes the fact sponsor team loyalties play a role. And there's just no way Roglic will ride against Wout van Aert to make Mohoric become world champion.

This is a ridiculous statement. If the race demands it, ofc he will ride against WvA. Slovenian fans would tear him apart if he didn't.

 

[Rackham]

This is a ridiculous statement. If the race demands it, ofc he will ride against WvA. Slovenian fans would tear him apart if he didn't.

Then I think those "fans" might have misunderstood what the UCI Road Race World Championship is.

Roglic is not going to screw WvA over or even ride hard against him (unless it's for himself), I can pretty much bet anything on that. They've been together at Jumbo for a long time & this is WvA's ultimate dream & objective.

Haven't you noticed the conversations elsewhere in other teams? Even the Belgians are getting angsty over the possibility of Remco Evenepoel going rogue because that's what often happens in this race. And Roglic gave Slovenia an Olympic gold medal, so anyone who would have a problem with him because he doesn't commit 100% to helping a Bahrain rider beat Wout van Aert, well, I wouldn't care what that person thinks.

As I said, I would be fine whatever he chooses, but I know how much of a team player & loyalist Jumbo rider Primoz Roglic is (i.e. always, always putting his teammates first), something I doubt he'll suddenly throw out the window in the one race on the calendar on Sunday.

I'll repeat myself here, i.e. Roglic should have only two objectives on Sunday: either go for the win or use this race as a training block in preparation for Lombardia. Meanwhile the people who think he owes Mohoric, Pogacar or Slovenia anything... yeah, no.

 

[bNator]

I agree with @Rackham that Roglič doesn't owe anyone anything. I think we can all agree he doesn't owe s*** to Pogačar and as far as Mohorič and his team Bahrain Victorious are concerned... well their member *took him out in TDF and the team actually rode for their lives after that happened to maximise the damage. So while I expect him to do some pulls for Mohorič if neccessary and IF he thinks he's out of contention for the victory himself - in case a situation arises where he could help his team by screwing Wout van Aert I guess he will sort of "fade". Like he did in the olympics (we will never know whether he still had it in him to help Pogačar a bit in the road race. If he did, he certainly made it look like he didn't).

 

[Rackham]

Jonathan Vaughters has posted about road race world championship problems (namely the fact it's raced by national teams):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1441128373195993094

View: https://twitter.com/Vaughters/status/1441128373195993094


It's a double edged sword, i.e. although national teams & split loyalties add some charm, it can also get really messy & ugly (& it's also unfair, due to reasons such as team size disparity).