Still young but so far he hasn't shown anything in 250+ km races. Would need to develop a much bigger engine to be competitive in monuments.
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Still young but so far he hasn't shown anything in 250+ km races. Would need to develop a much bigger engine to be competitive in monuments.
After Boonen and Cancellara (who pretty much got all their wins in 2 of the 5) there was years where hardly anybody won more than 2 monuments; even Valverde (4 wins, 2006 - 17) and Gilbert (5 wins, 2009 - 19) spread their wins out across a full decade.
The sudden dominance of 2 riders across all 5 monuments AND Worlds, AND Grand Tours feels really weird as a result.
- Jan 27, 2012
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Can't see anybody really sticking out outside of Pedersen and Ganna. The rest quickly becomes hope and preference. Preferring Del Grosso to Nys and Pidcock over Powersome.
- Sep 6, 2023
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I know he's going through a rough patch at the moment but if I saw how he was hammering everyone on the Muur last year I'd still give Arnaud de Lie as an option in the poll. If he gets his mind to it he's talented enough.
- Sep 20, 2017
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Between Roland Garros 2005 and Australian Open 2020, men's tennis went 60 grand slams where three players won 52 times with only four other players getting on the board in this era. I think we're in a similar generation here, and thus so long as the monuments all have the fields you expect from monuments there will be very few opportunities until Van der Poel/Pogacar age out. I think Pedersen can squeeze at least one in like Murray and Wawrinka eventually managed, I agree that Nys is a good shout, but it definitely wouldn't surprise me if one of the next three riders to win a monument hasn't turned pro yet.
Having said that, Morgado is a better shout than about half the poll options. As is Brennan, come to think of it.
Having said that, Morgado is a better shout than about half the poll options. As is Brennan, come to think of it.
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- May 3, 2010
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Mads Pedersen is the one who comes closest. Without that flat tire in PR he might have done it, and winning Wevelgem three times isn't a small feature. I also voted Nys and Del Grosso, because they're young and can still improve. And Pidcock because of what he showed at the Strade Bianche.
I wanted to include one Frenchman in the poll, but it was a hard choice between Madouas, Grégoire, Lenny Martinez and Vauquelin. I picked Madouas because he already has a lot of top 10 places in big races.
Hirschi and Girmay can win races like San Sebastian or Wevelgem, but this spring they didn't show much in the bigger races.
Jorgenson might have a better chance than Powless, but he seems to focus on the Tour of Flanders only and his best place is ninth so far.
Another option could be "someone else from UAE." With Narvaez, Pölitt, Wellens, Vermeersch, Del Toro, Morgado and Christen they have a bunch of riders who sometimes look strong enough to win if they didn't have to sacrifice themselves.
I wanted to include one Frenchman in the poll, but it was a hard choice between Madouas, Grégoire, Lenny Martinez and Vauquelin. I picked Madouas because he already has a lot of top 10 places in big races.
Hirschi and Girmay can win races like San Sebastian or Wevelgem, but this spring they didn't show much in the bigger races.
Jorgenson might have a better chance than Powless, but he seems to focus on the Tour of Flanders only and his best place is ninth so far.
Another option could be "someone else from UAE." With Narvaez, Pölitt, Wellens, Vermeersch, Del Toro, Morgado and Christen they have a bunch of riders who sometimes look strong enough to win if they didn't have to sacrifice themselves.
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- Mar 20, 2022
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I think we can have a new monument winner this year IF pogacar races Tour-Vuelta-WC.
- Mar 20, 2022
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Nah, same generation of Pogacar. Next monument winner will be a wildcard, maybe this year in GdL or next year in MSR.
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- Feb 20, 2012
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Hard to see his form crash from WC to Lombardia IMO. Plus Lombardia doesn't exactly have standout competitors for him. Guess it also depends on the route, I think he's much more susceptible to getting beaten on a 2020/2022 style route than that of 2021 or 2023/4.
The only doubt about Pog is if last year he basically didn't peak in the spring and that's why he was that good in the fall, and if that means it's very hard to replicate his fall form of last year because he went balls deep in the spring this year.
It's Pogacar, so it fully feels like I'm just huffing copium glue.
- Mar 20, 2022
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He didn't peak last year in the spring. But doing spring classics as your first peak this year, then go to altitude in Spain, then Tour+Vuelta+WC, it's hard to maintain a good level two more weeks for GdL. I think his level in Kigali will not be stellar already and he will scream for vacations.
- Apr 30, 2011
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He hasn't announced that he will ride the Vuelta yet, so if he doubts that he can maintain top shape throughout the season after the Tour, I don't think he'll ride in Spain.
- Mar 20, 2022
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