He only initially dropped 25s cause he saw Carapaz flying away and was looking for his bff Vincenzo
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One more Vuelta and a Giro will equal Rominger's GT palmaresI think he has 2 more GTs in him and neither one of those will be the Tour.
Call me crazy but I think we haven't seen the best of Primož just yet. I think he has another gear for the GTs and he needs to ride more classics. It's crazy to think this year was his first LBL participation and he hasn't ridden AGR nor FW.
He has been riding professionally for 8 seasons, 5 of which were on the world tour. I wouldn't call that new to cycling. Of the riders who contended for GTs this year, he has more WT experience than Mas, Carapaz, Carthy, Pogacar, Hindley, Almeida and Hart. While he may improve I would expect his rivals to be more likely to do so.I totally agree. He is still new to cycling and learns more with every race.
He has been riding professionally for 8 seasons, 5 of which were on the world tour. I wouldn't call that new to cycling. Of the riders who contended for GTs this year, he has more WT experience than Mas, Carapaz, Carthy, Pogacar, Hindley, Almeida and Hart. While he may improve I would expect his rivals to be more likely to do so.
None of the above riders were leaders at GTs before him barring possibly Carapaz at the 2018 Giro, which he didn't go into with any expectations.I should have said he was new to leading GTs. As it was only last years Giro where he had the role. Plus it's obvious he still has much to learn.
But he didn't grow up cycling as Most pros do that is for certain. He was ski jumping when all the riders you listed were riding bikes even if they were just kids.
He has been riding professionally for 8 seasons, 5 of which were on the world tour. I wouldn't call that new to cycling. Of the riders who contended for GTs this year, he has more WT experience than Mas, Carapaz, Carthy, Pogacar, Hindley, Almeida and Hart. While he may improve I would expect his rivals to be more likely to do so.
In fact, I think this was the best Roglic we've ever had. From now on I wouldn't be surprised if he starts declining.
So just ignore the 2nd paragraph where all those guys were riding bikes while he was ski jumping and had never even ridden a bike. Geez.None of the above riders were leaders at GTs before him barring possibly Carapaz at the 2018 Giro, which he didn't go into with any expectations.
Sure they were riding bikes when he was ski jumping but I'm just pointing out that he has just as much experience as a lot of his rivals at leading GTs which is why I don't agree the he is still learning argument. It isn't as though the only reason he loses is tactical naivety or tactical maaterclasses by his opponents, he was beaten by a stronger rider at the Tour.So just ignore the 2nd paragraph where all those guys were riding bikes while he was ski jumping and had never even ridden a bike. Geez.
Sure they were riding bikes when he was ski jumping but I'm just pointing out that he has just as much experience as a lot of his rivals at leading GTs which is why I don't agree the he is still learning argument. It isn't as though the only reason he loses is tactical naivety or tactical maaterclasses by his opponents, he was beaten by a stronger rider at the Tour.
I'm not claiming he doesn't learn, I'm saying his rivals should be learning too. So I don't see it as an advantage for Roglic.Well he says he learns something with every race he rides, so I guess I'll take his word over your opinion.
Roglic was injured pretty badly 2 weeks before the Tour this year so we can question whether he was at his best (I don't believe he was) & the Vuelta was a very inconsistent performance from him, with his best rides early in the race/or early in the week after rest days (such as his mountain victory on the Alto de Moncalvillo on Wednesday last week) which suggests to me a case of serious fatigue hit him pretty hard, i.e. hence why his performance at the weekends dropped, with the first Sunday at Formigal, last Sunday at Angliru & yesterday being his low points.
A full gas top form Roglic would have secured this race earlier & easier, IMO. Now the part where he really, really shines (other than his inherent "punch" aka sprint ability which also allowed him to claw a few seconds back yesterday at the end) is the sheer grit, willpower, determination & rock solid mentality which is second to none. This guy is hard as nails & doesn't easily get demoralized when his legs hurt. Add a great base endurance level & voilà, he can compete in multiple grand tours in succession.
But if next year he arrives in top form for whichever GT he does (Giro, Tour, Vuelta) in a normal calendar year (i.e. without every major race congested in a 3 month period) you'll likely see a stronger Roglic.
nope, bought his first bike in his 20s, perhaps he had one when he was a kid, dont know about thatSure they were riding bikes when he was ski jumping but I'm just pointing out that he has just as much experience as a lot of his rivals at leading GTs which is why I don't agree the he is still learning argument. It isn't as though the only reason he loses is tactical naivety or tactical maaterclasses by his opponents, he was beaten by a stronger rider at the Tour.
I'm not disagreeing with that but he now has as much experience leading GTs as many of his rivals.nope, bought his first bike in his 20s, perhaps he had one when he was a kid, dont know about that![]()
As you'll see a top Pogacar, Bernal, etc.
Imo, this year was a golden opportunity for him to win the Tour.
He was clearly worse this Vuelta than in the 2020 Tour or 2019 Vuelta. If he'd properly peaked for this, he would've "dominated". Also won the 4 stages.a very strong rider.
but not a dominant rider.
he does not have the ability to ride away/dominate the mountains -- unless it is in the last few hundred meters.
he can win a TT, but not dominate it. so time differences will always be smallish, dependent on "sprinting" time bonuses and always, always at the risk of a bad day or a dominant ride by an opponent.
I think he was clearly better at the Tour than at the Vuelta.What are your thoughts on his form? He is always very consistent and holds his form for very long period, with very little ups and downs. Like this season. Do you think this is mainly based on his physical attributs or does way of training also have big impact?
I am asking because I have feeling we haven't seen him in best or "peak" form at Grand Tour. He was close at this years TDF but that heavy crash at Dauphine probably took something. Seems like he is always at 97% but not all the way at 100%.
His level in the Tour was high, but so were many others all season. The climbing times were through the roof for most of it.He was clearly worse this Vuelta than in the 2020 Tour or 2019 Vuelta. If he'd properly peaked for this, he would've "dominated". Also won the 4 stages.
His ITTs were underwhelming this season, but overall I think his Tour level was higher than several Tour winners as well. Just ran into a freak performance.