Gesink's time trialling abilities

[Arnout]

i don't understand why would people dislike hesink ? a talented, hard-working lad that to my knowledge hasn't got his nose up in the sky. he occasionally says stupid things all young racers do.

his tt progress is entirely natural. it could be more due to specialized work on better a position than more watts..

i only wonder how he'd place in the algarve itt field ? something tells me with all the super heavy weights there, he'd be around contador placing at best.

That can be the problem. He's a bit too average. Sometimes cycling needs strong personalities to spice things up.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

@python: Yes, a field with Cancellara and Hagen as best ITT-ers is indeed a lot weaker than a field with Tony Martin and Lieuwe Westra

 

[theyoungest]

i don't understand why would people dislike hesink ? a talented, hard-working lad that to my knowledge hasn't got his nose up in the sky. he occasionally says stupid things all young racers do.

his tt progress is entirely natural. it could be more due to specialized work on better a position than more watts..

i only wonder how he'd place in the algarve itt field ? something tells me with all the super heavy weights there, he'd be around contador placing at best.

Gesink is not Colombian, that's the problem He's modest, and (to some people) a bit boring. You can't please everyone.

 

[hrotha]

Looking at his tt results the distance is not a problem. He can ride a 40km tt well when it is not too flat and not too straight.

Well, I don't consider 40km to be a long TT. Long is >50km (or at least >45km) for me. But those might be a thing of the past so I might as well change my scales.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

With his enormous power output (wattage) he can deliver good TT's.

A specialist in the future? NO

Someone who can defend himself in the TT? Yes

this perfectly sums it up imo.

also i think some people overrate ac's tt ability. He is good, but in no way a specialist or as consistant as some one like menchov/evans.

 

[Jamsque]

also i think some people overrate ac's tt ability. He is good, but in no way a specialist or as consistant as some one like menchov/evans.

Seriously? Let's look at AC's TT results in the same time-frame as we are considering Gesink's:

2010

2 Volta ao Algarve, Stage 5 : Lagoa - Portimao I.T.T.
2 Critérium International, Stage 3 : Porto-Vecchio I.T.T.
1 Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Stage 4 : Ponferrada I.T.T.
1 Critérium du Dauphiné, Prologue : Evian-les-Bains I.T.T.
6 Critérium du Dauphiné, Stage 3 : Monteux - Sorgues I.T.T.
6 Tour de France, Prologue : Rotterdam (Ned) I.T.T.
35 Tour de France, Stage 19 : Bordeaux - Pauillac I.T.T.

2009

1 Volta ao Algarve, Stage 4 : Castro Marim - Tavira I.T.T.
1 Paris - Nice, Stage 1 : Amilly I.T.T.
2 Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Stage 2 : Palencia I.T.T.
1 Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Zalla - Zalla I.T.T.
2 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Stage 1 : Nancy I.T.T.
5 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Stage 4 : Bourg-lès-Valence - Valence I.T.T.
1 National Championships Spain (Torrelavega - Altamira) I.T.T.
2 Tour de France, Stage 1 : Monaco I.T.T.
1 Tour de France, Stage 18 : Annecy I.T.T.

2008

3 Vuelta a Murcia - Costa Calida, Stage 4 : Alhama de Murcia - Aledo I.T.T.
1 Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Stage 1 : Valsain - La Granja de San Ildefonso I.T.T.
1 Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Orio I.T.T.
2 Giro d'Italia, Stage 10 : Pesaro - Urbino I.T.T.
4 Giro d'Italia, Stage 16 : San Vigilio di Marebbe - Plan de Corones I.T.T.
11 Giro d'Italia, Stage 21 : Cesano Maderno - Milano I.T.T.
4 Olympic Games (Beijing) - I.T.T.
4 Vuelta a España, Stage 5 : Ciudad Real I.T.T.
2 Vuelta a España, Stage 20 : La Granja de San Ildefonso - Alto de Navacerrada I.T.T.

2007

5 Paris - Nice, Prologue : Issy-les-Moulineaux I.T.T.
5 Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Stage 1 : Zamora I.T.T.
2 Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Stage 6 : Oiartzun - Oiartzun I.T.T.
18 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Prologue : Grenoble I.T.T.
35 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Stage 3 : Anneyron I.T.T.
15 Tour de France, Prologue : London I.T.T.
6 Tour de France, Stage 13 : Albi I.T.T.
5 Tour de France, Stage 19 : Cognac - Angoulême I.T.T.
9 Tour of Missouri, Stage 3 : Branson I.T.T.



Contador is a phenomenal TT rider, by any measurement.

 

[theyoungest]

Contador's first good results were even in time trials, not on climbs.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I stAnd corrected. I never realized he was so consistent. Truth be told I totally forgot how many he won I'n 09/10 (and my memory is generally good) brain mishap i think. My bad
Ps. I certainly wasn't comparing him to gesink tho, I knew he was wayyyy better then him.

 

[Kvinto]

Well, I don't consider 40km to be a long TT. Long is >50km (or at least >45km) for me. But those might be a thing of the past so I might as well change my scales.

To be honest he has ridden a >45km tt only two times (Beijing 2008 and Le Tour 2010). He was 10th at Beijing due to the hilly course and totally failed at the Tour tt due to the wind and injury suffered at the cobbled stage. I think it's not enough to make up a conclusion about his tt abilities on such a distance. As it was mentioned before, he has a problem with an aerodynamic position or rather with the lack of it.

 

[Oldman]

He'd be hard pressed to take or defend a GT title with those performances, Merckx's predictions notwithstanding.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

That's seriously blowing it out of proportions.

There are far far worse time triallists than Gesink who have won a Grand Tour or even multiple ones.

 

[Oldman]

That's seriously blowing it out of proportions.

There are far far worse time triallists than Gesink who have won a Grand Tour or even multiple ones.

But not in this era of competitively close climbers. Given that parity a true contender needs the TT equalizer imo.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Oh come on. If Basso wins the Giro...
Basso post-epo never did a half decent time trial.

Hell what are we talking about, Mosquera even almost won the Vuelta. Talking about an anti-tt man...

And Gesink is 24 year old for crying out loud. How can you already say that. LOL.

 

[Oldman]

Oh come on. If Basso wins the Giro...
Basso post-epo never did a half decent time trial.

Hell what are we talking about, Mosquera even almost won the Vuelta. Talking about an anti-tt man...

And Gesink is 24 year old for crying out loud. How can you already say that. LOL.

My point exactly. Those guys climb exceptionally and there seems to be new blood (no pun intended) showing those capabilities each year. You seem vested in the conclusion he can win whether he can TT or not. I'm skeptical and don't use cute emoticons. Provide your own here______

 

[hfer07]

the way I see this is exactly the same situation with Contador: Everybody was in awe when he won the 09 ITT in Annecy against the likes of Cance & Willings, just to realize that the course had two good climbs to overcome, in which he made up all the big gaps. Gesink in Oman did the same on a course that suited him like a glove. the result none the less indicates he's improved a bit, but not to the level he can "gain" time on his nearest rivals if the terrain is flat-and that's the area of the ITT he must improve if he's serious about winning a GT

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

My point exactly. Those guys climb exceptionally and there seems to be new blood (no pun intended) showing those capabilities each year. You seem vested in the conclusion he can win whether he can TT or not. I'm skeptical and don't use cute emoticons. Provide your own here______

Gesink is a better climber than those guys....

 

[uphillstruggle]

Now, a long thin guy doesn't have to have a bad TT-position. Just look at guys like Indurain, Millar or Ullrich. But of course there is more to a good position on the bike than just your length. Maybe he can work on this, a couple of hours in a wind-tunnel in the winter isn't going to cut it. It could be possible that his body just doesn't fit on a TT-bike (with the current UCI-regulations), he will always remain an average TT-rider if that is the case, but if he can make some big aerodynamic improvements, he could potentially be a very good time trialist.

I think the problem is that some people cannot get the mix of aerodynamics and power, by which I mean that when they are in their most aerodynamic position they cannot put out their max power. Great TTers such as Canc Ullrich etc happen to be able to combine the two. I recall purito saying that by using a more aerodynamic position he performed worse because he did ne have th power.

 

[Oldman]

Gesink is a better climber than those guys....

Yes and as you pointed out, those guys are yesterday's news considering how much attention they will get. Gesink won a 5 day race in Oman; it's a little early to put him under the kind of pressure a designated "winner" lives with. It's one thing to be free to get good results in a GT when you're not the target and quite another when you are under close scrutiny. The thread was about his TT ability, I believe...

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Gesink as a potential GT winner isn't based on Oman, hope you realise that at the least.

As if this is the first and only time he has shown anything

 

[hrotha]

Oh come on. If Basso wins the Giro...
Basso post-epo never did a half decent time trial.

Hell what are we talking about, Mosquera even almost won the Vuelta. Talking about an anti-tt man...

And Gesink is 24 year old for crying out loud. How can you already say that. LOL.

Mosquera is actually rather decent at TTing, Clinicness aside.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And beaten by Gesink in bothVuelta TT of 2009, even though Gesink rode with a giant hole in his knee in the 2nd one.

Catch my drift?

 

[hrotha]

And beaten by Gesink in bothVuelta TT of 2009, even though Gesink rode with a giant hole in his knee in the 2nd one.

Catch my drift?

I bet you're proud that Gesink beat an "anti-tt man" (sic). Catch my drift?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Ugh, you're missing the point. If Mosquera can come that close to a GT win, who is a worse climber and time trialist and already 34yo

Then why is it, according to Oldman, impossible for Gesink to ever win a GC, when he has already shown more promise and is still only 24yo? He doesn't seem to have any valid argument.

 

[The Hitch]

Sometimes after reading Dekker Ts posts i check wikipedia to make sure that the Condor didnt actually win a gt at some point when i wasnt paying attention. Just to be on the safe side, because when you read Rubens posts, you actually think hes talking about some multi time gt winner.

And Gts rarely have such a poor lineup as Vuelta 10.

And even if they did, whose fault was it that Gesink wasnt there? No one told him he cant go. It was his choice for the headlines at the Tour. Whose fault is it that hes doing the Tour again this year where unless Schleck crashes, he will find himself lagging behind someone only a year his senior.

Of course if he goes for the Vuelta, even if its only half of that Giro lineup that does the Vuelta, he will struggle there.

Which brings us to 2012 where Valverde is back, Contador and Schleck are clearly superior, one or more of Cadel, Samu, Basso and the pope, will be better than Gesink still, and some new blood will be coming up the way Gesink did a few years ago. Maybe unlike Gesink they will take their chances at a Vuelta 2010 style lineup.

Maybe some of Ryos Colombians will step up. After today that would be funny . Gesink can of course win a gt, but i dont see it this year, and i think it will be difficult in the future as well.

At the end of the day, Nibali went for the Vuelta, Gesink didnt. Nibali got a gt, Gesink didnt.

1-0 Nibali.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yeah I'm not baiting that one, sorry.