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Is Robert Gesink soft?

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Don't worry about it.

Ryo is an avid Gesink hater because he has 'no personality' and is a 'painfully limited rider' because of his lack of explosiveness, according to Ryo.

Ryo like guys like Vino and Ricco' and in the past guys like Pantani, Cipollini and Vandenbroucke.
Gesink is too much of a 'boerenzoon' (simple farmer) for Ryo so he doesn't like
him and doesn't see anything good in him, he doesn't even want to see that.

Everyone to his own taste, but he's biased in these kind of discussions, just like the Gesink fans are. The truth is probably somewhere in between
 
Jul 14, 2009
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Libertine Seguros said:
6th in the Tour > 6th in the Vuelta, in terms of prestige and achievement.

Plus, isn't it a bit unfair to continue calling someone 'softie' when they've raced to the top 10 of the Tour de France despite having been riding with a hairline fracture for the last two and a half weeks?

+1, that says it all, right there. End of debate
 
The Hitch said:
WTF:confused:

Riders take painkillers before a tt????:eek:

That's why I don't care about doping. What's the difference between this, a food gel or a bit of EPO. All three they improve performance and all three they are unnatural. Only one is illegal though.

But I guess this doesn't belong here.
 
The Hitch said:
WTF:confused:

Riders take painkillers before a tt????:eek:
It probably won't be beyond the aspirin category, but apparently yes, they do. And to Arnout: yeah right, this is no worse than EPO :S

edit: I looked up the quote, the team doctor actually says that some riders sometimes take a painkiller, so it's not quite as bad as I said ;)
 
theyoungest said:
It probably won't be beyond the aspirin category, but apparently yes, they do. And to Arnout: yeah right, this is no worse than EPO :S

edit: I looked up the quote, the team doctor actually says that some riders sometimes take a painkiller, so it's not quite as bad as I said ;)

The weight is not the point. I see no fundamental difference. Its only because we made that difference that EPO is frowned upon.
 
Arnout said:
The weight is not the point. I see no fundamental difference. Its only because we made that difference that EPO is frowned upon.
Well, let me explain it to you: EPO actually improves your perfomance, painkillers may take away a bit of the suffering but your maximum performance remains the same. Anyway, not a very relevant discussion in this thread.
 
theyoungest said:
Well, let me explain it to you: EPO actually improves your perfomance, painkillers may take away a bit of the suffering but your maximum performance remains the same. Anyway, not a very relevant discussion in this thread.

Both are ultimately used to go faster. Pain is an important reason for not going fast.

The boundaries we set are artificial, that's the point. Not the detailed workings of every product.
 
Aug 24, 2010
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Very talented rider no doubt, in Holland they expect a lot from him, do you guys think he can become a Tour-winner?
 
Mich78BEL said:
Very talented rider no doubt, in Holland they expect a lot from him, do you guys think he can become a Tour-winner?

If you mean the TDF, maybe, but lets wait and see about AC. If you mean La Vuelta I would say a big yes. Don't think he has done the Giro yet so can't comment.

As for the wimp comment:(
 
Mich78BEL said:
Very talented rider no doubt, in Holland they expect a lot from him, do you guys think he can become a Tour-winner?

Tour.... Meh.

That would mean beating Schleck the Younger.... Can Gesink do that? Don't really think so. There was a pretty massive difference between the two at the Tour this year in terms of pure climbing ability, and Schleck is also a better TTer to boot.

Unless Gesink is willing, like Schleck, to really only give maximum effort two or three times a season and really peak, maybe, just maybe, he might be able to be Schleck in a Tour over the next 8 years or so. But everything we know and have seen about Gesink so far in his career indicates that the Schleck strategy of doing only 3 races a year seriously is totally counter to his personality. Gesink tries to win every race he enters, which I why I love him so. But I therefore doubt he'll ever be able to beat Baby Schleck in a Tour. I do not doubt, however, that he could win the Giro or Vuelta.

The question of whether Gesink can beat Contador in a Tour I will leave blank for the moment. For obvious reasons.
 
Moondance said:
Tour.... Meh.

That would mean beating Schleck the Younger.... Can Gesink do that? Don't really think so. There was a pretty massive difference between the two at the Tour this year in terms of pure climbing ability, and Schleck is also a better TTer to boot.

Unless Gesink is willing, like Schleck, to really only give maximum effort two or three times a season and really peak, maybe, just maybe, he might be able to be Schleck in a Tour over the next 8 years or so. But everything we know and have seen about Gesink so far in his career indicates that the Schleck strategy of doing only 3 races a year seriously is totally counter to his personality. Gesink tries to win every race he enters, which I why I love him so. But I therefore doubt he'll ever be able to beat Baby Schleck in a Tour. I do not doubt, however, that he could win the Giro or Vuelta.

The question of whether Gesink can beat Contador in a Tour I will leave blank for the moment. For obvious reasons.
Schleck the better TT-er? Wow, he does the first good TT of his life and there we go. Gesink's track record on TTs is simply stronger than Schleck's.

I can't help but think that we didn't see Gesink on top form in the Tour. The fracture in his arm must have taken something out of it, or he simply peaked too early.

Gesink knows better than anyone what he can and cannot do, and he knows where he has to improve. I think he'll give Schleck a good run for the money, if not next year then in the years to come.
 
theyoungest said:
Schleck the better TT-er? Wow, he does the first good TT of his life and there we go. Gesink's track record on TTs is simply stronger than Schleck's.

I can't help but think that we didn't see Gesink on top form in the Tour. The fracture in his arm must have taken something out of it, or he simply peaked too early.

Gesink knows better than anyone what he can and cannot do, and he knows where he has to improve. I think he'll give Schleck a good run for the money, if not next year then in the years to come.

Baby Schleck beat Gesink by more than two minutes in the long TT in the Tour this year... That's a pretty massive difference. At Suisse as well, when Gesink had everything to ride for and Schleck very little, Gesink was still beaten.

Gesink's TTs have seriously dropped off since last year and 2008 when he rode some pretty strong TTs indeed, and I don't see why people are not acknowledging that.
 
The Hitch said:
Looks to me like Gesink could become a better classics rider than GT rider. He is still an awesome GT talent, but still has a way to go. Lets see how it goes.

World Champion 2012 on home soil???

The idea that a guy who would've podiumed a GT at 23 if not for an untimely injury should give up on Grand Tours is patently absurd.

Gesink can do both classics and GCs and should continue to do both.
 
No, I'm pretty sure Gesink better focus on GT's than classics.

There aren't much classics that are actually hard enough for him to win. AGR, too short hills. Liege - Possible, but still the finish doesn't suit him much and i don't see him going for a long solo like Andy.
Only Fleche Wallone (a lot like Emilia) and Lombardy really suit him.

No, GT's are definately his thing. I do agree that because he wants to win everywhere, his peak isn't nowhere near as high as riders as Andy Schleck who can focus really well on 1 race. Gesink can't do that and as long as he can't it will be hard to win the Tour de France against people who focus entire seasons around that. (besides Andy S, Jurgen Vandenbroeck is a good example)
 
Dekker_Tifosi said:
No, I'm pretty sure Gesink better focus on GT's than classics.

There aren't much classics that are actually hard enough for him to win. AGR, too short hills. Liege - Possible, but still the finish doesn't suit him much and i don't see him going for a long solo like Andy.
Only Fleche Wallone (a lot like Emilia) and Lombardy really suit him.

Would you say Montreal suits Gesink as a classic?

Granted, I know, Montreal didn't and will never have the full spread of top competition that AGR and Liege will always command... But still.
 
Jul 5, 2010
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Moondance said:
Would you say Montreal suits Gesink as a classic?

Granted, I know, Montreal didn't and will never have the full spread of top competition that AGR and Liege will always command... But still.

It does, but isn't it a bit early to call a race a classic after 1 year?
 
Dutchsmurf said:
It does, but isn't it a bit early to call a race a classic after 1 year?

Whatever. If you want to precise you can.

Classics, in my book, are the races I consider to be prestigious one-day events. The Canada races, if their first year will be something to go by, rank above, say, a crusty old classic (in the traditional sense) like Paris-Brussels, which few people care about anymore.

I think the Canada races were fantastic in terms of parcours, in terms of location, and the squads that were deployed there. I also think given where they're located in the season that they've got a very nice little niche there into which they can really grow.
 
Moondance said:
The idea that a guy who would've podiumed a GT at 23 if not for an untimely injury should give up on Grand Tours is patently absurd.

Gesink can do both classics and GCs and should continue to do both.

I never said Gesink should give up Gts :confused:

I just said hes looking really good for classics and could develop into a better classsics rider.

I even threw you dutchies a bone to drule over by saying he could be WC. Dont worry, im not going to be tricked twice. Ive learnt my lesson. I offer you my hand in friendship and you slap it away.

No more.

No more of this.
 
The Hitch said:
I never said Gesink should give up Gts :confused:

I just said hes looking really good for classics and could develop into a better classsics rider.

I even threw you dutchies a bone to drule over by saying he could be WC. Dont worry, im not going to be tricked twice. Ive learnt my lesson. I offer you my hand in friendship and you slap it away.

No more.

No more of this.

Sorry Chris.

Either way, Gesink, I doubt, will win the Worlds in 2012.

There's no way TGBM will let him have that victory. :p