Teams & Riders Fabio Aru discussion thread

[Pinot's goat]

Any news on him?

Was in the main group today.

 

[roundabout]

made the front group today in the Dauphine, but bigger tests are to come

 

[Forever The Best]

That's decent. At least showig that he has some kind of base form. Hopefully he at least redeems himself as a stage hunter.

 

[tobydawq]

But isn't this what he usually does? Seems decent the first stage or two in a stage race to then fade away?

It's not like he has trouble doing top 100 like Froome.

 

[Cookster15]

It puzzles me the interest in this rider. But I suppose staying in the front group of 42 other riders on a hilly stage means you must have enough motivation to train quite hard. Lets see how he goes in the bigger tests to come.

 

[ppanther92]

It puzzles me the interest in this rider.

Really? He was once, not even that long ago, an elite GT rider and should now be in his best age. Instead he has been falling off a steep cliff and can't get any results whatsoever. Surely a quite curious case.

 

[Cookster15]

Really? He was once, not even that long ago, an elite GT rider and should now be in his best age. Instead he has been falling off a steep cliff and can't get any results whatsoever. Surely a quite curious case.

Okay I get that now. I was thinking about now not his past. Maybe best discussed elsewhere?

 

[Forever The Best]

But isn't this what he usually does? Seems decent the first stage or two in a stage race to then fade away?

It's not like he has trouble doing top 100 like Froome.

True. In last years Tour he looked decent on Lusette then was dropped by peloton on flat roads a few days later.

 

[Mayomaniac]

True. In last years Tour he looked decent on Lusette then was dropped by peloton on flat roads a few days later.

I guess the later was also a mental meltdown, 1 or 2 days later news came out that his Grandfather had died, he had a really good relationship with him and Aru has always been really impulsive and emotional.
Yesterday a DNF at the Italian NC, at least he could have worked at bit for Pozzovivo and finishing the race wouldn't have been impossible. If a sprinter like Dainese was able to finish the race without any teammates to help him than one could expect the same from him (not to mention Rebellin, who still finished 25th at the age of 50). You can't tell me that he wouldn't have been able to finish inside the main bunch with Canola and Sbaragli...

Rumour has it that he's trying his best and doing +7h training rides around Sestriere, but his body is just no longer able to perform at the highest level. This was posted on an Italian forum:

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Out of the Tour now, "after suffering from unspecified physical problems in the Italian national championships over the weekend".

Fabio Aru out of Qhubeka-Assos' Tour de France squad

Barbero replaces Italian after 'physical problems' over the weekend

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[Rollthedice]

Out of the Tour now, "after suffering from unspecified physical problems in the Italian national championships over the weekend".

Fabio Aru out of Qhubeka-Assos' Tour de France squad

Barbero replaces Italian after 'physical problems' over the weekend

www.cyclingnews.com

The sad story of The Knight of the four Moors continues.

 

[Pinot's goat]

Out of the Tour now, "after suffering from unspecified physical problems in the Italian national championships over the weekend".

Fabio Aru out of Qhubeka-Assos' Tour de France squad

Barbero replaces Italian after 'physical problems' over the weekend

www.cyclingnews.com

He was doing ok at the Dauphine until the La Plagne stage, but then his legs disappeared.

 

[Mayomaniac]

He was doing ok at the Dauphine until the La Plagne stage, but then his legs disappeared.

That's the story of his career over the last few years, his recovery is totally gone. He can no longer handle multiple mountain stages.

 

[Pinot's goat]

That's the story of his career over the last few years, his recovery is totally gone. He can no longer handle multiple mountain stages.

Worse version of Chaves.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

This is sad, probably for the best he's pulled out of the Tour even if he seems to have second thoughts now:

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Aru admitted that he had struggled even to drive home to Lugano following the Italian championships in Imola, where he was distanced early from the peloton.

“I was as white as a sheet. I sat myself on a bench for an hour, drinking water and Coca-Cola,” Aru said. “Going home, I was even struggling to drive, and I stayed in bed all day on Monday. I’d never felt discomfort like that. So I told the team it wasn’t right to keep me in the eight for the Tour.”

After placing 26th overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Aru spent time at his regular training base of Sestriere before travelling to Imola for the national championships, which was to be his final test ahead of the Tour.

“I came down from Sestriere the day before and I had to do a long drive to the hotel at Gatteo a Mare. But I’ve always gone quite well in the heat and my sensations at the start of the race weren’t bad,” Aru said.

Fabio Aru's Tour de France withdrawal raises questions about future

'I've had more setbacks than joy in recent years, but I feel at ease with Qhubeka'

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[IndianCyclist]

Once he had that stent in the iliac artery, i think his career was over. Sam Oomen also had the similar surgery and he is no longer a GC rider. If there are cardiovascular issues, i suspect that top form may not be feasible.

 

[Mayomaniac]

This is sad, probably for the best he's pulled out of the Tour even if he seems to have second thoughts now:

Fabio Aru's Tour de France withdrawal raises questions about future

'I've had more setbacks than joy in recent years, but I feel at ease with Qhubeka'

www.cyclingnews.com

It was almost 40 degrees and high humidity, the way he describes it it sounds like a heatstroke to me. Coming down from Sestriere only the day before and not getting used to the rather extreme heat before racing a long one day race also sounds like a really bad idea.

 

[Cookster15]

Once he had that stent in the iliac artery, i think his career was over. Sam Oomen also had the similar surgery and he is no longer a GC rider. If there are cardiovascular issues, i suspect that top form may not be feasible.

Aru's circumstances seem quite sad. I found the below linked paper which says the condition is mainly found in male endurance cyclists who are younger than 40 years of age.

Iliac artery endofibrosis (nih.gov)

 

[movingtarget]

Once he had that stent in the iliac artery, i think his career was over. Sam Oomen also had the similar surgery and he is no longer a GC rider. If there are cardiovascular issues, i suspect that top form may not be feasible.

Other riders have had the same procedure and still had good careers after the operation. Maybe that's not the only issue for Aru. Some riders also lose the hunger when they have protracted adversity. Quintana went pretty quickly from probable podium rider to top 10 rider pretty quickly and he never had Aru's problems and he's not that old. Even successful riders like Dumoulin and Kittel struggled with the mental pressures and the sport is hard enough without having ongoing mental or physical issues. Aru might manage to save his career and become a stage hunter or a different type of rider. Riders can reinvent themselves and take a different path. GC riding isn't the only option.

 

[Red Rick]

Aru's circumstances seem quite sad. I found the below linked paper which says the condition is mainly found in male endurance cyclists who are younger than 40 years of age.

Iliac artery endofibrosis (nih.gov)

Estimated 10-20% of cyclists is affected wow ***

 

[Mayomaniac]

Other riders have had the same procedure and still had good careers after the operation. Maybe that's not the only issue for Aru. Some riders also lose the hunger when they have protracted adversity. Quintana went pretty quickly from probable podium rider to top 10 rider pretty quickly and he never had Aru's problems and he's not that old. Even successful riders like Dumoulin and Kittel struggled with the mental pressures and the sport is hard enough without having ongoing mental or physical issues. Aru might manage to save his career and become a stage hunter or a different type of rider. Riders can reinvent themselves and take a different path. GC riding isn't the only option.

Yes, looking at the results that he got last year before Lombardia I wouldn't say that he's finished as a rider. I really doubt that he can still be a gc rider, he can no longer handle multiple mountain stages, but stagehunting and going for gc in smaller one week stage races should be possible. He did finish top 10 in Burgos and the Tour de l'Ain and also got a 5th place in the Mt. Ventoux challenge.

 

[masking_agent]

sad to read about this about such a promising rider. he had one of the lowest BMI's in the peloton and was italy's great hope. Oh well. Good luck to him.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Fabio solo break today in GP Lugano. Eventually finished 13th behind Moscon

 

[Mayomaniac]

Fabio solo break today in GP Lugano. Eventually finished 13th behind Moscon

Not bad, he went on a solo attack, caught and dropped the breakaway (Pirazzi, Shalunov, Peak, Zoccarato and his teammate Brown, to name a few), did a few laps at the front and still finished 13th after he got caught.
He's probably finished as a gt rider, but he could still to something as a stagehunter and in shorter stage races.

 

[TourOfSardinia]