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

[Rackham]

Maybe I'm eternally optimistic but I feel like this Vuelta is just a microcosm of all things Rog so far: a couple of stomp victories, some questionable team tactics & the usual injury fears with a "will it or won't it affect his performance" sort of thing.

It could be copium but I really do believe this one will work out well in the end. I say this because if today was a bad day, then that really wasn't so bad. There's also a boatload of recency bias in the reporting where people make predictions based on the day's stage. I mean Mas once dropped Rog on Sierra Nevada two years ago as well, for what it's worth (& he dropped Evenepoel that day as well, i.e. Mas has good days in the Vuelta).

And other than crashes I think we can clearly see the biggest danger is getting mugged by someone in a breakaway who does an O'Connor or a Yates but very late in this Vuelta (to the point the time loss is irretrievable). That's because I think we're all starting to see the 'obvious' fact his team (& the guy sitting in the car) aren't totally in control of this race.

 

[IndurainsTdF1994]

Not Rogla's favorite parcours. But he survived. Let's hope he recuperates & stays healthy enough. Nice win for Yatesy!

 

[Berniece]

I didn’t watch the past two days so I can only form an opinion about what I read, but I would be really surprised and impressed if he wins this Vuelta. His back will haunt him the next two weeks, and I think he’ll DNF eventually

 

[Sciatic]

I didn’t watch the past two days so I can only form an opinion about what I read, but I would be really surprised and impressed if he wins this Vuelta. His back will haunt him the next two weeks, and I think he’ll DNF eventually

 

[JosefK]

I've been impressed with Rog's toughness. He already has two stage wins in this Vuelta. That's at least some tangible success, especially considering his impeded form.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Overall some good racing so far and queen stage delivered. Rogla going that extra mile and providing a full range of emotions, for fans, from it's all over to he has it in the bag.

Almeida abandoning due to Covid and UAE having nothing to lose, they used that (termo) bullet intended for ambushing purposes. Smart move, Rogla lending the leaders jersey at stage 6 and by doing that dodging it. I mean the team is obviously growing and progress can be seen all over, still currently they are not capable of supporting a leader through the whole 3 weeks of racing. It helped today, having Ben at your side. Yates and Carapaz moving up in GC, while Rogla basically losing nothing meaningful, that is in my opinion a good outcome for Rogla and should be beneficial down the road. Mas tried and for a while it looked good but in the end it was a misfire and a lot of energy wasted, Yates in my opinion to pay for such effort deeper into the race.

Some rest, then around stage 12 lets have some fun again, it's holidays after all!

 

[Cookster15]

What a difference a day makes. Rogla's back problems are now public knowledge - including by his rivals. His back will also play on his own mind. Might be a miracle if he can win this Vuelta now. Particularly after how well Ben O'Conner bounced back today. 3'53" is a very big gap.

 

[CyclistAbi]

I mean just look at the profiles of some stages to come. Much better opportunities for Rogla, then today. Today was a perfect opportunity for queen stage hunters.

 

[how yes no?]

His back problems were always there and public (he said at start that that is just the way this injury is and that it is expected the pain will subdue around the time of Vuelta finish, if things don't go wrong before that), today it was just a day it hurt more, combined with the missing legs. It's possible that ridding the Vuelta will prove too disagreeable with rehabilitating his back, but I think he will find the legs and finish the business regardless of the back pain.

 

[dazaau]

I think there is a bit of over reaction in this thread. This is not uncommon for Roglic and it wasn't a bad result gc wise.

The main issue for Roglic is his teams lack of control.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I think there is a bit of over reaction in this thread. This is not uncommon for Roglic and it wasn't a bad result gc wise.

The main issue for Roglic is his teams lack of control.

The problem is when/if this occurs again and there isn’t Kuss to help limit the damages. Otherwise his time gap over everyone else bar O’Connor is to be expected at this point.

 

[Cookster15]

I think there is a bit of over reaction in this thread. This is not uncommon for Roglic and it wasn't a bad result gc wise.

The main issue for Roglic is his teams lack of control.

I understand this. But this is a three week grand tour being raced hard in very hot conditions. I am no doctor and we don’t know his exact prognosis but racing a grand tour can’t be helpful to an injury which already showed itself on the first stage with multiple tough climbs and the day after he made a big attack?

And regardless of his team’s lack of control I think normally Roglic would have destroyed those other riders in that sprint finish?

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Cookster15

Then again this likely was the hottest and the hardest stage. So for now the back pain looks like it's still under control, that is the pain involved is still bearable. Otherwise Rogla would have lost something more meaningful today, compared to it being a stalemate. We'll see on how the body responds.

 

[Oldermanish]

@Cookster15

Then again this likely was the hottest and the hardest stage. So for now the back pain looks like it's still under control, that is the pain involved is still bearable. Otherwise Rogla would have lost something more meaningful today, compared to it being a stalemate. We'll see on how the body responds.

I think he got everything strategically that BRB could want. More motivation to pursue the overall GC for Mas, UAE (whoever will be their guy), EF and a few podium hopefuls. Roglic now can pick his opportunities and allies better and gave up no meaningful time to anyone and shut down Mas.
I'd like to see him hook up with Carapaz in week 3 and equalize things. Pretty much every stage from here to the last TT is hilly or mountainous and rich with opportunity. Today's long descent didn't present that same situation so Roglic's best outcome was what happened, IMO.

 

[Mako]

I think the next week actually looks like quite good territory for Roglic. This Vuelta is particularly unpredictable so pretty much anything can happen anytime, but I would assume that Tuesday and Wednesday there won't be too much GC action. Thursday looks like a good Roglic stage, short drag race with uphill finish where he can make use of his punch. Friday also. I'm not sure about the long climb on Saturday, might not be his favourite, but then again - who knows. I would assume it's his least favorite stage this week. Still easier than the ordeal of yesterday though. Cuiti Negru? Will be very interesting, as it's not too difficult before.

 

[Divergence]

The next few stages are going to be raced in cooler temperatures and that is a major thing.
Just anecdotally: A few days ago I was racing in very hot conditions and I could push only about 85% of what I am normally capable of. Therefore, the extreme heat might affect different riders differently and not in the same way on different days. So let us hope Rog was just having some problems with the heat and now, in the cooler temperatures, he can show his strength again.
As for the back injury, it must be very uncomfortable to be riding with pain and we can only hope that he can cope with that and that it might get better by the end of the race.

 

[Divergence]

Yeah call it coping but he bounced back from Bondone very well last year

Well I am sure he was hurting and coping all throughout the Giro last year. Both with a bit of illness and after that crash because of INEOS.
But, this is also why I am a fan of his. All the ups and downs, humanlike performances, suffering, different capabilities on different days... These are things that I experience myself all the time and it is refreshing to see such things in this Vuelta as well.

 

[IndurainsTdF1994]

I think he got everything strategically that BRB could want. More motivation to pursue the overall GC for Mas, UAE (whoever will be their guy), EF and a few podium hopefuls. Roglic now can pick his opportunities and allies better and gave up no meaningful time to anyone and shut down Mas.
I'd like to see him hook up with Carapaz in week 3 and equalize things. Pretty much every stage from here to the last TT is hilly or mountainous and rich with opportunity. Today's long descent didn't present that same situation so Roglic's best outcome was what happened, IMO.

On the other hand, Brb have to attend to more riders/teams now, more so than Deca, who still have a nice buffer (partly thanks to Gall's pacing). Brb should be hoping that Martinez and Vlasov came to Vuelta undercooked and are riding themselves into shape. I fear though that they are out of it.

 

[Carols]

Still weird how Roglic fumbled this Vuelta (vs this field..) Massive L to give O'Connor that lead. Not a good/posetive sign for leadership for coming years at all. Doesnt help that he only will get weaker relative to his competitors either.

Well Villa accepted responsibility for letting O'conner go. Roglic was really pissed but couldn't ignore orders from his NEW teams DS. And riding with 3 fractured vertebrae can't be painless.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Still weird how Roglic fumbled this Vuelta (vs this field..) Massive L to give O'Connor that lead. Not a good/posetive sign for leadership for coming years at all. Doesnt help that he only will get weaker relative to his competitors either.

On top of that i just read it's hard to make friends after 30s.

 

[CyclistAbi]

La Vuelta on Instagram: "When your closet is full but you don’t know what to wear... 🤷‍♂️ Which colour do you think suits Rogla best? 😍 Cuando tienes el armario lleno... y no sabes qué ponerte 🤷‍♂️ ¿Qué color crees que le sienta mejor a Roglic? 😍 #

12K likes, 62 comments - lavuelta on August 26, 2024: "When your closet is full but you don’t know what to wear... 🤷‍♂️ Which colour do you think suits Rogla best? 😍 Cuando tienes el armario lleno... y no sabes qué ponerte 🤷‍♂️ ¿Qué color crees que le sienta mejor a Roglic? 😍 #LaVuelta24".

www.instagram.com

 

[Rou]

I really like him as a rider but I have my own opinion about stage 6. I'll say it very simple - if Jonas or Pogacar were in red they are not giving away that jersey. Pogacar had opportunities to give away pink in the Giro but he didn't. Remco also has this mentality of giving away the leader's jersey like he is afraid of the pressure. In the end it's a gamble and you burn a lot more energy trying to get it back. Also it's a mental thing. You guys may think it's funny but Roglic should be bossing this peloton in the red jersey. I don't know if he wanted to give it away or was it all part of Patxi Villa's 'amazing' masterplan.

 

[Carols]

I really like him as a rider but I have my own opinion about stage 6. I'll say it very simple - if Jonas or Pogacar were in red they are not giving away that jersey. Pogacar had opportunities to give away pink in the Giro but he didn't. Remco also has this mentality of giving away the leader's jersey like he is afraid of the pressure. In the end it's a gamble and you burn a lot more energy trying to get it back. Also it's a mental thing. You guys may think it's funny but Roglic should be bossing this peloton in the red jersey. I don't know if he wanted to give it away or was it all part of Patxi Villa's 'amazing' masterplan.

Well since Villa owned up to it, it sure would be nice if people stopped blaming Rogla. He's on a NEW team he can't just ignore the orders of the DS. Villa Knew the team isn't strong enough to protect it. They certainly aren't showing they would have been.

I would say it's more difficult to make friends after 50.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Lets not forget Pogi and Jonas do have a team, to support them through three weeks of racing, them wearing leaders jersey. Rogla has no such luxury, so giving the jersey away was the right call. Ideally to lesser threat or by less time, still. So lets say Rogla would get the jersey back, stage 9, then what? It would be too soon. Lets hope that instead the team will be improving over this race, especially when it comes to last hill on where they fall apart too soon. The rest has already improved.

 

[veganrob]

The remainder of the Vuelta is brutal. If Roglic back is ailing him that is not good.
Whatever, the rest of the race will be fun to watch.