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

[Rackham]

We'll see whether Jens Voigt is correct that Roglic already has got great shape, but actually might fade at the end of the Giro d'Italia or whether the Slovenian gets his act together in Italy.

Evenepoel isn't completely free of a potential meltdown either. It's not likely, but he has collapsed before.

lol, if Jens Voigt has said this, I'm somehow not surprised. I'd ad a little addendum, i.e. "Jens Voigt hopes Rog will fade at the end of the Giro".

Voigt did after all declare last year that Roglič is finished & will never win a grand tour again. So seeing the shape Rog is already in, Voigt might be sweating a little.

 

[acm]

That was the first time in 6 months that this guy raced at over two thousand metres and some of you are complaining about his tactics.
I am more than happy to see him climbing so great, honestly didn't expect he would beat Remco today.

 

[Lequack]

Great climb today I think, not attacking or anything, but holding on okay. Probably Remco was setting a really strong pace.

 

[Rackham]

Tomorrow's stage profile is pretty sick, i.e.

Anything can happen but I trust Rog knows how to maintain energy levels over a one week stage race, so no need to go crazy at the moment.

 

[Rackham]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1638266526254989313

View: https://twitter.com/BikeBlz/status/1638266526254989313

 

[Peyroteo94]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1638266526254989313

View: https://twitter.com/BikeBlz/status/1638266526254989313

Carapaz is still living in his head

 

[Gregor_Slovenia]

Fasten your seat belts, this season will be crazy over and above I think for Roglič fans; in a positive way!

 

[CyclistAbi]

Came in second today. Considering Evenepoel gave everything he got. And in the end Roglič finishing ahead of Evenepoel. That must count as mission successfully accomplished. Ciccone now obviously somebody to keep an eye on. Another hard stage tomorrow. That ramp at the end looks interesting.

 

[topcat]

Should Ciccone be disqualified?

 

[acm]

Should Ciccone be disqualified?

Well he was all over the road, but I don't think that was enough for relegation...

 

[Gratemans]

Should Ciccone be disqualified?

Of course not.

 

[Netserk]

Better than I expected, nice to see. Also lucky that Bambi is mentally still in diapers.

 

[Oldermanish]

Should Ciccone be disqualified?

Looking back at Remco and shading him, then looking at Primoz and directing that line would normally be a problem. He had clear space and IMO didn't win from that however cheesy his intentions. His form makes the race more interesting but he can be specatularly absent after a good effort, too.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

In general, I prefer riders, so I didn’t love Roglic’s ride today from aesthetic / emotional standpoint, but given his last 12 months and the fact that they crushed the record on this climb and he beat Evenepoel, I am very pleased with his performance. He must be pleased too with his conditioning, as I think he is ahead of schedule. I thought he would lose time to Remco today; finishing s.t. feels a bit like a victory. Hopefully he can find more strength and this regain some panache. As it stands, it is logical to play to his strengths and ride defensively, but it is not inspiring.

 

[tobydawq]

Much better than last year, not quite at 2001 levels (although... he didn't light up the first week of the Vuelta that year either) but has now shown he can climb with the best on a 15km col. Not bad.

I think if someone last month had suggested this is what would happen so far in March 2023, they would have been called crazy hopeful.

In 2001, he was 12.

 

[Rackham]

In 2001, he was 12.

Big things have small beginnings eh.

Typo obviously (i.e. I meant 2021).

 

[Gargamel35]

I glanced in Remco thread and couldn't stop laughing. Based on delusion there, Remco was way better yesterday, Roglič was about to crack, Roglič might win Catalunya, but Remco is better and Remco will win Giro no problem. They expected fireworks and glory and now they are happy with crumbs. This Roglič guy (According to posters there he's washed and not even in the same sport as mighty Remco, forget the league/level) comes from a surgery at 33 years of age to slowly prepare for GT race and meets god tier Remco, who destroyed all records in training weeks ago. Not only Roglič can do anything god can, he beats him to the line every time. And yet, he gets absolutely no recognition. He's still washed, bad, about to crack, way way worse then Remco. Remco should destroy him and others on a long climb. He didn't, he lost to Roglič and Ciccone but hey, he's tier 1, paralel or even better then Pogačar, right? Right....

In 3 week GT Pogačar destroys both. Roglič could match him in a stage, but day after day (regeneration) would favour Pogačar towards the end.
Remco just isn't good enough all around to be talked on the same level as mighty Pogačar.

And it's just so nice to see Roglič happy just to race, pain free. Ride on.

 

[Rackham]

The problem with some fans (I won't generalize here) is they're addicted to the dopamine rush (of sorts) associated with supporting a superman performing at an insane level. Like a Marvel comics hero. So in Evenepoel's case he must destroy the field; or else some of his fans are left frustrated. It's pretty common in sports (football & tennis have the same phenomenon).

I'm not saying that's wrong per se, i.e. it's all just sport & entertainment, right? So all is fair & people can cheer for whatever they like but I'll speak for myself here: I became a diehard Rogla fan on the day he lost the final podium spot in the 2018 TdF, i.e. a day after a pretty epic downhill stage win in the Pyrenees. I already thought he was super cool & the backstory was awesome (along with some of his wins I'd watched, like in the 2017 TdF), but when Froome mugged him in that ITT? I was hooked.

No risk no glory... no pain no glory either. So bring the pain (like the terrible defeats) & the glory (winning stuff) is even better. I think in the cycling world Thibaut Pinot fans are probably similar, i.e. so many disappointments for their favorite rider which makes the wins (when they come) so much better.

 

[Gregor_Slovenia]

Hehe, another Vamos ala playa day for Primož today, eh? how I love this guy. It is great tactics also for Giro. Just follow the wheels on such climbs with not high gradients. Crack everyone on stage 19 and 20. Easy money, fellows

 

[frisenfruitig]

I glanced in Remco thread and couldn't stop laughing. Based on delusion there, Remco was way better yesterday, Roglič was about to crack, Roglič might win Catalunya, but Remco is better and Remco will win Giro no problem. They expected fireworks and glory and now they are happy with crumbs. This Roglič guy (According to posters there he's washed and not even in the same sport as mighty Remco, forget the league/level) comes from a surgery at 33 years of age to slowly prepare for GT race and meets god tier Remco, who destroyed all records in training weeks ago. Not only Roglič can do anything god can, he beats him to the line every time. And yet, he gets absolutely no recognition. He's still washed, bad, about to crack, way way worse then Remco. Remco should destroy him and others on a long climb. He didn't, he lost to Roglič and Ciccone but hey, he's tier 1, paralel or even better then Pogačar, right? Right....

In 3 week GT Pogačar destroys both. Roglič could match him in a stage, but day after day (regeneration) would favour Pogačar towards the end.
Remco just isn't good enough all around to be talked on the same level as mighty Pogačar.

And it's just so nice to see Roglič happy just to race, pain free. Ride on.

Good grief man, I don't know if you are familiar with the term "straw man" but this is an excellent example of it. Roglic is for sure going to be a tough nut to crack in the Giro. It's true that he beat Remco to the line but that doesn't mean he was stronger/better. His nose wasn't in the wind for even a second and he was happy to be able to hold on and not get dropped. The Giro isn't going to be won by sprinting for bonus seconds.

 

[Gargamel35]

Good grief man, I don't know if you are familiar with the term "straw man" but this is an excellent example of it. Roglic is for sure going to be a tough nut to crack in the Giro. It's true that he beat Remco to the line but that doesn't mean he was stronger/better. His nose wasn't in the wind for even a second and he was happy to be able to hold on and not get dropped. The Giro isn't going to be won by sprinting for bonus seconds.

I'm familliar and Remco fans are holding on to them all the time. If a Remco fan comes out and plays down every other rider that is not Remco, talks on and on about his superiority, talks about how he's on Pogačars level, talks about records being broken, talks about Roglič and others are basically *** and talks about Remco gaining huge time on long climbs against that washed out other guy. And then Remco get's beaten...and we still need to hear about how Remco was better, others were about to crack, Remco, Remco, Remco. But others are winning, not Remco? Now the narrative already changed to Remco maybe won't win this race, but he's beeettteeeer and he'll win Giro. Straws, right? He can't even beat 10 year older "mountain sprinter" that came from a surgery to try and ride. Pogačar level? Please, hold on to straws.

 

[Rackham]

Hehe, another Vamos ala playa day for Primož today, eh? how I love this guy. It is great tactics also for Giro. Just follow the wheels on such climbs with not high gradients. Crack everyone on stage 19 and 20. Easy money, fellows

Yep, he knows what he's doing. A stage race is a marathon, not a sprint... although he does regularly sprint. Tactics employed in a one week race are different as well, i.e. Rog has proven again & again he can ride aggressively & offensively when he needs time, likewise he can ride defensive when energy conversation is possible (or necessary).

Good grief man, I don't know if you are familiar with the term "straw man" but this is an excellent example of it. Roglic is for sure going to be a tough nut to crack in the Giro. It's true that he beat Remco to the line but that doesn't mean he was stronger/better. His nose wasn't in the wind for even a second and he was happy to be able to hold on and not get dropped. The Giro isn't going to be won by sprinting for bonus seconds.

I'm not opening the "versus" can of worms until this week is over (i.e. a foot in mouth moment is always possible if the race goes wrong & I'd need to eat some crow), but man... the underrating of Roglič is just legendary at this point. It doesn't matter what he does, he's always got loads of commentators saying "he sucks" to varying degrees, usually when he's much closer to their favorite rider than they like.

I guess that just makes it even sweeter when he proves people wrong, like coming back this season stronger than last when loads of people thought (hoped) he was washed.

70 career wins & more to come.

 

[Gregor_Slovenia]

In other words, Primož is really a Terminator. Do you remember when he had surgery and he said in video; I'll be back. It seems he has a crystal ball and Iron body. He actually made a big step forward this season. Never has he been such a master of tactics and energy preservation. Pogačar on the other side is not so clever about preserving the bullets. We will see if last year's Tour was really a lection for him. Back to Primož, I think that after Catalonia he will do a lot of training also to improve time trialing. From that point of a view, I am really not concerned about TT in Giro. I even think that Remco will be so tired that he can fade even in TTs against Primož!

 

[theyoungest]

I'm familliar and Remco fans are holding on to them all the time. If a Remco fan comes out and plays down every other rider that is not Remco, talks on and on about his superiority, talks about how he's on Pogačars level, talks about records being broken, talks about Roglič and others are basically *** and talks about Remco gaining huge time on long climbs against that washed out other guy. And then Remco get's beaten...and we still need to hear about how Remco was better, others were about to crack, Remco, Remco, Remco. But others are winning, not Remco? Now the narrative already changed to Remco maybe won't win this race, but he's beeettteeeer and he'll win Giro. Straws, right? He can't even beat 10 year older "mountain sprinter" that came from a surgery to try and ride. Pogačar level? Please, hold on to straws.

You seem to be pretty obsessed with this. If Roglic happens to win the Giro after maybe being slightly underrated, all the sweeter, right? Roglic is doing surprisingly well, so far. He's really far ahead of schedule. Let the Evenepoel fans keep underrating him.

There is however the risk that he hasn't been able to build up a solid enough base for the Giro. He hasn't had a normal winter, which could come back to hurt him in May.

 

[CyclistAbi]

We shouldn't get carried away. This is only the beginning of the season. For now we can be happy things are such that Roglič is winning and being happy again. Just what he needs.

Remco did everything in his power to came to this race prepared. And so far he has show much. That is something to commend. The field is pushing Roglič to be at his best. But in the end Roglič must focus on himself.

For now that comes down to defending on this race. But i could see Roglič starting to take some initiative in the days to come. That is if the competition will allow for that. A good 30s lead in GC at the end of the race would be a good sign for Giro. But no need to force that at all costs. Winning GC and maybe to take a stage win or two more. That would be plenty.

We'll see.