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

[acm]

Are you sure? I saw another screen grab that showed Roglic just ahead of Remco; Remco is far ahead of Roglic in this one, implying Remco moved around him and he couldn’t follow.

What @Berniece said.

 

[samhocking]

The interview I saw with him was he said he was too far out of position and the team still have things to work on to improve, so I think mostly inexperience at a team level to keep him well positioned, maybe tactics and nutrition etc too. I assume he's gone from Ketones to no Ketones now like Jumbo use in the final because MPCC teams are not supposed to be using them as members and that might have a small factor too. It's also getting difficult to keep your leader at the front because there's now not just Jumbo or UAE strongest but several teams. I think he'll climb well though, he's done a bit of a Wiggins in the weight department Roglic for this year it seems.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Rogla and Bora not really fighting for positions, at the end of stage 3, rather smart. First big test at this Tour edition ahead tomorrow, on where stage 2 already long forgotten. At this point it likely still makes the most sense to leave it up to UAE and Pogi, testing Jonas, Visma likely emptying themself too. In crucial moments both Rogla and Bora hopefully to counter it with ease.

 

[Carols]

It's a rollercoaster & always has been.

When do we 'give up'?

That's because this Tour is very, very backended & other than the Galibier on stage 4, there's no real climbing test until stage 14.

I've never given up on someone who stole my heart until he hung up his bike. It was easy to be a fan from 2018 on. The only hole in his palmares is the Tour. I fear he will never get it. It should have been his in 2020. But he's given me thrills for 5 years showing up just as Alberto and Nibali were aging out. Now he is aging out . I may give up that he'll win this Tour but I won't give up respecting and rooting for him until he retires .
So much angst around here. He said I didn't have legs and there are 19 more stages. Now there are 18. Tomorow we'll learn more about his condition for this race. There are other races.................

 

[CyclistAbi]

Regardless if being religious or not we can all hold hands and pray for good legs, don't ever give up hope, as it was never about being easy, it was always going to be hard. Rogla never ever promised to win the Tour on stage 2!

 

[Oldermanish]

It's a rollercoaster & always has been.

I mean sure I sort of watched that finale unfold with my head in my hands. That's clearly not what any of his fans wanted. Respect to Pog for seizing the moment though, i.e. it looked like he was the only rider who thought it was a good time to attack & take time on Rogla whereas the others either did very little (Vinge did the bare minimum pulling) or nothing at all. Maybe they'll regret that.

That's not copium BTW, i.e. Rog has a long history of proving doubters wrong - namely through displaying a helter-skelter form curve in which a very bad performance (like the Olympics road race) is followed by one of his best ever (Olympics ITT), or Monte Bondone in the Giro last year followed a few days later by Monte Lussari. There's also some historic 'scars' in there as well like the 2018 TdF with the podium loss in the ITT after his epic win in Laruns, i.e. in that respect the near 'collapse' we saw in the Dauphiné was totally in character. FYI his peaks are usually super performances that offset his time losses elsewhere. There's basically a 'narrative' which says he's a consistent performer all year long which misses the finer details, namely the fact he has serious ups & downs (this is a rider who gets dropped & always has done).

When do we 'give up'? If he gets dropped by his podium rivals on stage 14 on Pla d'Adet, it'll be game-over more or less. He could even afford to lose more time on Tuesday (it's not exactly unusual for a podium finisher to start slowly & finish strong) but by stage 14, he must have form.

That's because this Tour is very, very backended & other than the Galibier on stage 4, there's no real climbing test until stage 14.

That stage 4 may not be the toughest it is also the first opportunity to ditch some JV unknowns. Not much definitive has been seen yet other than Pogacar having the desire to make something happen at great risk on Stage 2 and everyone else scrambling to not lose too much time. That will probably be the concern tomorrow as well.

 

[Oldermanish]

Are you sure? I saw another screen grab that showed Roglic just ahead of Remco; Remco is far ahead of Roglic in this one, implying Remco moved around him and he couldn’t follow.

The attack was chaos that Pogi saw, attacking on the daylight side. Roglic had been moving up on the opposite side with a teammate and they got stalled out just before Tadej left the building. Jonas' had his bungee cord attached to Tadej's seatpost until the time it was unhitched and he was asked to work. The swarm of descenders were not responsive and Remco saw and opening. Smartly, he took it as much for clear view on the descent as anything. Lots of stupid decisions in a small space and the guys with the initiative succeeded.
Long alpine climbs require a whole lot less thought. That'll be a separation opportunity.

 

[Rackham]

I've never given up on someone who stole my heart until he hung up his bike. It was easy to be a fan from 2018 on. The only hole in his palmares is the Tour. I fear he will never get it. It should have been his in 2020. But he's given me thrills for 5 years showing up just as Alberto and Nibali were aging out. Now he is aging out . I may give up that he'll win this Tour but I won't give up respecting and rooting for him until he retires .
So much angst around here. He said I didn't have legs and there are 19 more stages. Now there are 18. Tomorow we'll learn more about his condition for this race. There are other races.................

I could look at stage 2 several ways, i.e. more positively (as I tried to express earlier) or more... negatively.

I mean like I said there's nothing I want more than for this rider to finally get his TdF but whenever something like Sunday happens (dropping on San Luca) I can't just ignore it. There's basically multiple ways to interpret what happened - including some which are quite honestly worrisome, i.e. namely throwbacks to races like Itzulia 2022 in which he got dropped everywhere because he was carrying an injury.

We'll find out more today because out of all the explanations given, age & declining is actually one I consider less likely at this stage. If there is an underlying issue in this Tour I'd be more inclined to lean towards injury issues. It has happened before (like a recurring shoulder problem or the knee which took a knock in Itzulia back in April).

We'll find out soon enough regarding his form in any case. I expect some big attacks from Pog/or Vinge on the Galibier. It is still my hope he's just started the Tour relatively undercooked because all the major difficulties are in week 3.

And if it doesn't go well... then it is what it is. I'll leave the meltdowns to fans of other riders (I'm sure there will be many).

 

[Berniece]

He is still smiling, no need to worry.

 

[Gargamel35]

He is still smiling, no need to worry.

He's smiling while being wrapped like a burrito and pushed on the bike to continue the next day. It's probably Lora (wife) that gets to see the real R.

 

[Extinction]

He must not get dropped today.

 

[KOM]

Very nice damage control today, if he can somehow improve from this base he can still get atleast 3rd. Honestly kind of the big winner for me today, finishing with Vingegaard considering how he looked 5km from the top of Galibier is huge

 

[Peyroteo94]

Not even close to be the third best climber. He will suffer a lot during this Tour

 

[Extinction]

Very nice damage control today, if he can somehow improve from this base he can still get atleast 3rd. Honestly kind of the big winner for me today, finishing with Vingegaard considering how he looked 5km from the top of Galibier is huge

Not at all, he was dropped, which means he will only lose more time in the mountains.

 

[Rackham]

I came here to say he's much better today & that was very promising for what's next... & I read that he sucks. Never change guys, never change.

Not at all, he was dropped, which means he will only lose more time in the mountains.

Yes, because riders always remain at the exact same level throughout the 3 weeks of a GT, right? Especially when there's no real mountain stage again until... stage 14!

I mean seriously. I bet most people probably thought he'd explode & finish minutes down.

 

[svit]

Roglič was good today. I expect him to be at his best in the 3rd week.

 

[acm]

Well done Rogla! After all he gained 2 seconds on Jonas.

 

[zlev11]

great ride today, right there with all the mortals

 

[Rackham]

He also showed he's one of the better descenders in the peloton. His fans know that (remember Laruns?) but neutral observers often equate high crash ratio with bad descending. On the contrary he's a very fast descender.

 

[Valv.Piti]

He also showed he's one of the better descenders in the peloton. His fans know that (remember Laruns?) but neutral observers often equate high crash ratio with bad descending. On the contrary he's a very fast descender.

Also Carlos Rodriguez helped him quite a bit today. He was close to opening a gap a few times, but managed to hold on to him.

 

[Salvarani]

Have to give him credit for the resilience and fighting spirit today, because he sure was on the limit.

That there are many days until the next mountain stage is something he is probably quite happy about atm.

All he has to do is not crash and stay out of trouble.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Roglič is like a cat, always lands on his feet. He looked like the 8th strongest climber today and barely hung onto the group on the tailwind-ish section avoiding a two-minute loss and in the end he had gapped Vingegaard. I guess this is that famed long-range defense he can do.

 

[skippo12]

Roglič is like a cat, always lands on his feet. He looked like the 8th strongest climber today and barely hung onto the group on the tailwind-ish section avoiding a two-minute loss and in the end he had gapped Vingegaard. I guess this is that famed long-range defense he can do.

This. He can be super happy with the stage result. As bad as he looked compared to Pogacar/Vingegaard/Evenepoel the gap is still relatively small.

 

[Miha81]

In Slovenian interview: "It was fast, very fast. Not to fast for Tadej so I congratulate him. I am getting better feelings back and am satisfied with this day. It is good to be back in the top 5."

 

[pablohidalgo7]

I think hw will improve like in the Tour 2018 or last year Giro or others GT, but is quite concerning the perfomance of his team, so poor today.