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Na ruleti Primoža Rogliča se je kroglica spet ustavila na napačni številki. Zasavčan zaradi kar treh padcev na letošnji Dirki po Italiji še zdaleč ni ne v idealni formi ne v idealnem položaju. Zgodovina je najboljša učiteljica.
www.rtvslo.si
It's an interesting article but something worth noting here is that sport - pro-cycling in particular - is extremely brutal. Rog due to his position and qualities carries a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, namely to his sponsors. It's a cutthroat business in which sentiment rarely exists inside the bubble. And yes, over the years Rog has defeated numerous cyclists who all had their own little stories and dramas.
The bottom line is very few cyclists are afforded the luxury of riding around on their own terms or going out in a manner of their choosing. It's ugly when disaster happens. It was ugly when Rog DNF'd the Tour last year and certain issues within the team were simmering beneath the surface (this was pretty much confirmed when Denk spoke of overcoming these relationship problems later in the Vuelta).
It means there's no easy way for this Giro crash to happen on a soft landing, i.e. Red Bull Bora have been a total disaster this season. The results are terrible outside of everything Rog and to a lesser degree Lipowitz have done and now here they are putting all their eggs in the Rog basket in this Giro and it's gone kaput.
As fans we'd like the athlete to be afforded all the time and space to deal with this but who are we kidding? If he gets dropped today at any point the team car will get on the radio and send a "all in on Pellizzari" message to the rest of them. They'd also most likely revaluate the Tour selection and add a sprinter. Not someone who can beat the best in the world (they don't have one), but someone who can collect those almighty 5th place UCI stage points whilst Rog fights alone for position 40 in the bunch going into the final 3k of a sprint stage. They'll also start flirting with Evenepoel again for next season and maybe even try their luck with one of the UAE boys. And just to add icing onto the whole shebang, I doubt we'll hear any sort of self-reflection about 'why' Rog was even alone on the gravel stage when the crash happened.
Bottom line, pro-cycling has a sort of live by the sword, die by the sword unwritten rule that we as fans (or fans of any particular rider) can't influence. It means Bora wanted Rog to win this Giro and they'll be bitterly disappointed when he doesn't. That's the worst part tbh. Unlike individual sports, cycling remains a team sport in which the individual wins. There's a difference. And his team won't be as gracious towards his lack of victory here as his fans are.
Personally speaking if I was in a sort of "let's go back in time and try something different" approach here, I'd like to have seen what could have happened had he signed for Lidl-Trek instead of Bora.
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