Future GT Winner

[Maaaaaaaarten]

I miss the Barguil option.

His TTing is horrible, but he has proved to have a good recovery, tactical wit and guts. All very important traits for a GT winner. I think he might be the great French hope, rather than Pinot and Bardet, though he has to confirm and improve next year.

By the way Barguil has won more GT stages in his first GT than the other French hopes put together in all their GT's. If anyone of them is a winner, it's Barguil.

 

[David_Incognito_66]

Come on, either you're playing with me or just don't know about racing from experience.

Let me explain how things go. He trained hard for Giro so as the Giro went on he did get better. Probably half away through he got to his peak and after that his level started to decline. At the end of it he was super tired, because the Giro is special demanding and he is young not matured as other GT riders. Betwen the Giro and Tour he did very little training, focus was on recovery. So after this period his level is supposed to have declined a lot.
So then you go to the Tour and you take it easy? As days go by you are at best holding the little condition you have. Then he went to the mountains and climbed faster than he did at the Giro.

Sorry but if you can't figure what happened here i can't help you, i would probably be banned from this forum.

 

[Jspear]

Come on, either you're playing with me or just don't know about racing from experience.

Let me explain how things go. He trained hard for Giro so as the Giro went on he did get better. Probably half away through he got to his peak and after that his level started to decline. At the end of it he was super tired, because the Giro is special demanding and he is young not matured as other GT riders. Betwen the Giro and Tour he did very little training, focus was on recovery. So after this period his level is supposed to have declined a lot.
So then you go to the Tour and you take it easy? As days go by you are at best holding the little condition you have. Then he went to the mountains and climbed faster than he did at the Giro.

Sorry but if you can't figure what happened here i can't help you, i would probably be banned from this forum.

So there is no such thing as riding into form? Funny that's what Rafal said he was going to do. That's also what Chris Froome said he was going to do at the Vuelta...now you can trust him right? Remember he is not a lier.

 

[David_Incognito_66]

You can ride into form if you have decent base in your legs.
Look Froome did climb into form but it's a different sittuation, he didn't ride a full GT unlike Majka and had time for some hard training. And even so his performance clearly suffered with that.

 

[Jspear]

You can ride into form if you have decent base in your legs.
Look Froome did climb into form but it's a different sittuation, he didn't ride a full GT unlike Majka and had time for some hard training. And even so his performance clearly suffered with that.

Right. And Rafal only needed enough form for those later mountain stages...it's not like he was kicking buttt through the entire Tour. Some people are really over estimating his performance.

 

[Netserk]

Right. And Rafal only needed enough form for those later mountain stages...it's not like he was kicking buttt through the entire Tour. Some people are really over estimating his performance.

He was the 2nd strongest climber on the 2 HC MTFs he did together with the favorites. The other two big MTFs he won...

 

[janraaskalt]

He trained hard for Giro so as the Giro went on he did get better. Probably half away through he got to his peak and after that his level started to decline. At the end of it he was super tired

He was ill at the end of the Giro, not tired.

 

[Arredondo]

Fabio Aru (100%)

Will win al GT's in the future. Real climbing talent, and good enough of a TT to minimize his losses. Really explosive, good in nervous stages, good tactics.

Romain Bardet (25%)

Has the potential to reach the podium of GT's i think, but no 100% certain winner of one of them. They are guys better then him, and climbing wise he isn't that dominant as some of his future rivals (Aru, Quintana).

Rafal Majka (50%)

Don't see him winning a Tour, but a Giro or Vuelta is possible. Great climber, decent TT, good sprint, great recovery. But i will be curious to see how well he does next year in a GT, with the even bigger expectations and pressure.

Jean-Christophe Peraud (0%)

No, got his podium chance and took it. One hit wonder. Too old too.

Thibaut Pinot (40-50%)

Definitely a future winner of a Giro/Vuelta. I don't think he's stable enough to win a Tour, but i have to say his recovery is great based on the last TT in the Tour. But i want to see him in the Tour with the biggest competition.

Joaquim Rodriguez (0%)

Fanboy answer: Of course, next year Giro or Vuelta.

Realistic answer: No, too old. Did have his chance in 2012, but didn't take them. Perhaps a podium next year, but no win.

Andrew Talansky (5%)

No. Just doesn't have enough class. Good rider though, and podium in the future is possible ofcourse, if Peraud can do it.

Rigoberto Uran (15%)

No Tour. I don't really get all the hype about him. Not good enough as a climber. Sometimes inconsistent too. But a Giro/Vuelta with weak competition can be in the future.

Tejay van Garderen (0%)

No. Not good enough as a climber. I don't think he will even get a podium in the Tour. But i have to say he's developed this year, but still not good enough.

 

[Jspear]

He was the 2nd strongest climber on the 2 HC MTFs he did together with the favorites. The other two big MTFs he won...

Right I understand. But he would have had to ride even harder if he was going for GC. Yes his performance was good-impressive....Really I was responding because the new poster thought it didn't make any sense. I just think it was a very "sensible" performance....it wasn't "out of this world."

 

[Red Rick]

Right I understand. But he would have had to ride even harder if he was going for GC. Yes his performance was good-impressive....Really I was responding because the new poster thought it didn't make any sense. I just think it was a very "sensible" performance....it wasn't "out of this world."

Don't thinkt he guy is a new poster, he immediately hijacked multiple threads with snarky/negative/clinic comments

 

[Netserk]

Right I understand. But he would have had to ride even harder if he was going for GC. Yes his performance was good-impressive....Really I was responding because the new poster thought it didn't make any sense. I just think it was a very "sensible" performance....it wasn't "out of this world."

I'd say his performances were out of this world. He was flying!

 

[Jspear]

Don't thinkt he guy is a new poster, he immediately hijacked multiple threads with snarky/negative/clinic comments

Ya, you're probably right.

I'd say his performances were out of this world. He was flying!

You say out of this world, I say impressive in the later parts of the race, not the entire Tour. Not taking away from what he did...Just not making it up to be something its not. Guess we'll agree to disagree.

 

[yespatterns]

He just reminds me of Ricco too much, so I'm biased against him for that simple (and possibly unfair & prejudicial) reason. The winks and skitching didnt make me root for him, thats for sure.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Lol, have you ever raced seriously?

I never realised that this was a pre-requisite for discussing possible outcomes of future races.

 

[Angliru]

He just reminds me of Ricco too much, so I'm biased against him for that simple (and possibly unfair & prejudicial) reason. The winks and skitching didnt make me root for him, thats for sure.

Me either. The winking at the camera really didn't do anything but make me wish he would just stop with mugging for the camera and just ride. He's a bit of a ham.

 

[damian13ster]

Me either. The winking at the camera really didn't do anything but make me wish he would just stop with mugging for the camera and just ride. He's a bit of a ham.

winking was actually directed at his fiance, who that day was at a finish line. Also, it was to show that he feels good and strong, and that he is finally confident with his abilities.

I think its awesome, especially from a rider that is/was known for having major issues with confidence and self esteem.

And yeah, I think he can win a GT. His TT is good enough to have nice advantage over Aru on certain parcours, and he should be able to easily minimize (or don't have) any losses. Of course it all depends whether they are still able to raise their level and by how much

 

[Afrank]

winking was actually directed at his fiance, who that day was at a finish line. Also, it was to show that he feels good and strong, and that he is finally confident with his abilities.

I think its awesome, especially from a rider that is/was known for having major issues with confidence and self esteem.

And yeah, I think he can win a GT. His TT is good enough to have nice advantage over Aru on certain parcours, and he should be able to easily minimize (or don't have) any losses. Of course it all depends whether they are still able to raise their level and by how much

Me too! Personally I like a little cockiness in a rider. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; part of being a great and winning bike racer is believing your the biggest badass to ever thrown your leg over a bike.

 

[Ryaguas]

Funny that the most realistic Spanish future GT winner is as young as Purito, with nobody in the 20s with real shot. No matter how silly his rivalry with Contador and Valverde lately, it might be a sight that Spain will miss for a long time. Anything can happen though, even Cobo won GT, but regularity is about to end for the first time after several decades.

Castroviejo was supposed to start focusing in 1 week races then into GTs cuz his TT is awesome but he needs to improve A LOT his climbing skills but I think is not going to happen. Then you have Igor Anton and Benat Intxausti that are the safe bets that are going to lead the spanish armada for the next years but yeah... Spain doesnt have a very good future after AC, Bala and Purito.

Well back in the topic... For me next year Uran is a must... if He can stay healthy well he can win Il Giro or Vuelta... and then I'd put Aru above Rafal in the list cuz they are targeting Giro or Vuelta... Pinot is not going to win anything cuz He will go always to Le Tour... the same for Bardet. TJVG the same always targeting le tour... and talansky could be a Giro or Vuelta.

 

[bicifan]

Majka has the attitude and skills to win a GT. Uran's only issue is his climbing ability.

No Kelderman?

 

[ILovecycling]

Majka has the attitude and skills to win a GT. Uran's only issue is his climbing ability.

No Kelderman?

Thats a big issue tho

I think uran,aru,pinot will win a gt one day (but first they have to get rid of quintana )

 

[bicifan]

I think uran,aru,pinot will win a gt one day (but first they have to get rid of quintana )

he he good one amigo!

 

[djpbaltimore]

It looks like I voted with the crowd on this one. Aru looks like as close as you can get to a sure thing to win the Giro one day, so that is who I voted for. My second choice would be Majka because he seems like someone who will be given leadership in the Giro or Vuelta with a stacked team surrounding him in upcoming years. Uran would be my third choice because of his strong TT skills but I wonder if he will start focusing on the TDF over the next few seasons. I don't see any of the Frenchman winning the TDF.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Yeah, with the incredible amount of 4 professional wins all of them this year, his 4th year as a pro. Pinot was already winning races when nobody ever heard of Majka, despite being a year younger.

And how much has Pinot won since 2012? NOTHING...
I'm just telling it how things are now: Majka has found his winning instinct this season. Whether it's happened in 1 year or 4 years really doesn't matter. (Also it's 5 wins, not 4).

 

[Flamin]

And how much has Pinot won since 2012? NOTHING...
I'm just telling it how things are now: Majka has found his winning instinct this season. Whether it's happened in 1 year or 4 years really doesn't matter. (Also it's 5 wins, not 4).

If Pinot went stage hunting in the Tour, he likely would have won at least one stage as well nothing to do with Majka 'having more of a winning instinct'.

Anyway, it's pretty irrelevant in a gt anyway.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

If Pinot went stage hunting in the Tour, he likely would have won at least one stage as well nothing to do with Majka 'having more of a winning instinct'.

Anyway, it's pretty irrelevant in a gt anyway.

So, we have now come to the point in your argument, where having the winning instinct is no longer important for WINNING a GT...
First Pinot was a winner, then you realised he's not, and all of a sudden, having a winning instinct somehow doesn't matter anymore (because he's Pinot).
Consistency is important in GT's but based on that alone, you cannot win. You need to be extraordinary in most cases, and Pinot, frankly, doesn't have that last bit, currently.

5 victories against 0 in 2013/14 combined speaks for itself