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Teams & Riders General topic for riders who don't deserve their own thread (yet)

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Couldnt agree more that these three riders deserve to be mentioned after this Giro, very good performances from them!

Would add Storer for his performance in the last few stages, seems to grow slightly every year.
Yes, Storer seems to be one of those guys who slowly progresses year after year and keeps getting better.

Fortunato's final ITT was beyond bad, he finished over 5min behind Ganna and managed to loose his 15th place on the gc to Formolo by loosing over 3min to him.
 
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Maybe a mention for Vervaeke too. He was a strong under 23 who has done basically nothing since but here was ok w 20th overall and in some good break attempts. In general I also noticed a (maybe small) Italian revival, the guys from the smaller teams looked more competitive than usual, not just Fortunato.
 
It's a shame James Shaw is on a continental team, as he's definitely got what it takes to be on a world tour or at least team. He's definitely been unlucky contract wise since not being renewed by Lotto, as he's been up and down since. Rode for conti Swift Procycling for a season, got a contract with with Riwal last year before they were very uncertain with continuing and is now riding for Ribble Weldtite at conti level again. He's had decent form to be up there with the leaders in Slovenia so definitely deserves another chance. Although I think the only teams he might get a ride for are Alpecin, Qhubeka or Intermarche.
 
Maybe a mention for Vervaeke too. He was a strong under 23 who has done basically nothing since but here was ok w 20th overall and in some good break attempts. In general I also noticed a (maybe small) Italian revival, the guys from the smaller teams looked more competitive than usual, not just Fortunato.
I remember him riding a strong Pais Vasco maybe 6 years ago, he finished 11th in GC, just a few seconds from Kelderman's 10th place. On the climb in the ITT, he had the fastest time, faster than Contador and Quintana. But then he started overtraining and got serious issues with getting his weight under control, while Lotto did nothing to protect him from himself.
 
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In retrospect, do you think that is credible?
I've never had reason not to believe it. But if you are asking whether it's possible that info is incorrect, sure, that's possible.
It was raining, so i guess it's quite possible he lost a lot of time on the descent.
He was trying to get into the top 10 (which he missed by one second) and needed to beat a slew of good riders to do so (Kelderman, Landa, Latour...). I could also see a scenario where he would cook himself on the climb and lose a lot of time on the flatter parts.
He had been climbing very well all week.
I remember some riders changing bikes after the climb (don't remember if he did or didn't).

But that's about all i can say about it. I have no actual proof other than what i remember they said during broadcast.

EDIT: some googling revealed that he actually rode the fastest climb in the Romandie prologue, just two weeks later, faster than Quintana. He took KOM as well. Possibly my memory is mixing things up.
 
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I asked whether you found it credible in retrospect (it really isn’t difficult to read and understand my post — anything is possible, and it wasn’t what I asked). Despite no affirmation, I take it as a yes.

I asked because I don’t think it’s credible, and I wouldn’t want to claim something as a fact without knowing it, and given how extraordinary a claim it is (out-climbing one of Contador’s best performances since his ban) that was without any indications of doubt (or that it was mere hearsay), I thought you knew it as a fact. Otherwise, it’s practically spreading misinformation.

EDIT: So I searched for a video of the stage, and as can be seen on the intermediate times there, the claim was false.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjaEcR6IK5Q
 
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I asked whether you found it credible in retrospect (it really isn’t difficult to read and understand my post — anything is possible, and it wasn’t what I asked). Despite no affirmation, I take it as a yes.

I asked because I don’t think it’s credible, and I wouldn’t want to claim something as a fact without knowing it, and given how extraordinary a claim it is (out-climbing one of Contador’s best performances since his ban) that was without any indications of doubt (or that it was mere hearsay), I thought you knew it as a fact. Otherwise, it’s practically spreading misinformation.

EDIT: So I searched for a video of the stage, and as can be seen on the intermediate times there, the claim was false.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjaEcR6IK5Q
As i already edited into my previous comment, he rode the fastest climb in Romandie 2 weeks later, faster than Izagirre and Quintana. So I likely misremembered.

Of course, that doesn't mean i can't pull a Red Rick and keep insisting it actually did happen, since it's ok to keep making a claim after having been proven wrong. So I've been told that by moderators.
 
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Mini-Nys grabbing the first two stages of De Ronde van Vlaams-Brabant. Not the biggest of races, only cat 2.12 - IC 2 NAT, meaning it's meant for U23 and elites without contract. However, some pro teams do participate with their CX riders. David van der Poel for instance, is present for Alpecin Fenix.
He won both stages in the bunch sprint. Thibau Nys is still only 18, and just like his dad, he comes from cyclocross (and will likely remain a crosser). He's currently probably the only CX rider who is technically superior to Van der Poel, and like all crossers he's quite punchy. He might not have the same engine as MvdP/WvA/TP (yet?), but he's quite zippy.
 
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