Teams & Riders Jakob Fuglsang discussion thread

[Broccolidwarf]

Re:

Depends if you just count road cyclist or add other discplines as well

- or footballers :razz:

 

[Blanco]

Re:

Is Fuglsang the rider of the year thus far?

Him, Alaphilippe and Roglic would be the three best so far... And in that order imo.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Is Fuglsang the rider of the year thus far?

Him, Alaphilippe and Roglic would be the three best so far... And in that order imo.

Carapaz in 4th I guess?

Not sure I'd put Roglic ahead of him tbh

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

Is Fuglsang the rider of the year thus far?

Him, Alaphilippe and Roglic would be the three best so far... And in that order imo.

Carapaz in 4th I guess?

Not sure I'd put Roglic ahead of him tbh

Carapaz 4th, yes.
Giro is big, I agree, but Rogla won many races, all WT level, and got that Giro podium. To me, he's slightly above.

 

[Nirvana]

Re: Re:

So, according to this article (in Danish) with B.T. one of the reasons can be because he removed a insole from his bike shoes. He used to have a his right sole be slightly thicker than the left because his right leg is slightly shorter than his left. However, that caused him to get blocked in his neck and back.

And one of the others reasons might be his change in eating.

Actually i am surprised if he didn't do these things before:
- made a plan for eating in a race
- more carbohydrates than before and better sense for what he needs of fat, protein and so on
- good at filling his depots after/under training

This means he can train harder and get better.

Up to 2019 I have always voted Fuglsang out of the GC in the tour (though he is always hyped by the Danish media). He would always have a bad day or a crash at a bad time. Only a few times he tried for the GC with full backup from the team. Other years they have focused at Nibali or Aru as nr. 1 and then changed in the race or not really backed him up.

But this year I'm not sure anymore - I think he needs trust and confidence from the team and he will have it this year - he changed a few things and he's might these 5 % percent better. Those little things can do a lot.

In the interview for "Sui pedali magazine" after Liege he talked about some food intolerance he found out last winter and that apparently hampered him in the past, for this reason he changed his diet.

 

[Bushman]

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

Thats basically the same analysis that I wrote yesterday. Very much agree with this balanced take. The races where he has been 'relegated' has been races where he had no business doing anything of note GC-wise anyways.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

He's in monstrous form this year. He's been top 6 in every race he's done this year and has only finished off the podium twice. Super impressive considering there's such a mix of one days and stage races.

Murcia - 6th
Ruta del Sol - 1st
Strade Bianche - 2nd
Tirreno Adriatico - 3rd
Itzulia - 4th
Amstel Gold - 3rd
Flèche Wallonne - 2nd
Liège - 1st
Dauphiné - 1st

Then logic* dictates he'll be second in the Tour. And we're sure he didn't do some race between Liege and Dauphine where he was 6th?

*At least the RedheadDane brand of logic, which, I admit, can be rather strange.

 

[jaylew]

OK, he did have a DNF at Almeria along with most of the field.

 

[Frankschleck]

Another rider who peaked at 34 or after is Valverde. He peaked at 37

Chapeau Fuglsang. Only beat the great Van Garderen and Buchmann by 20 seconds so probably stupid to look to much into this result for the tour. But what a season he has had. Always been a really taented cyclist and great to see him get the results he derseves. Especially been good the last 3 years which also shows what confidence can do for mental aspects in sports.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

I can subscribe to this view even if it is a little bit simplified regarding the 2016 Giro

 

[Bushman]

Re: Re:

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

I can subscribe to this view even if it is a little bit simplified regarding the 2016 Giro

What happened during the Giro? I cant remember anything else that he was second on Etna in the first week. Regardless, he was never gonna ride his own chances with Nibali in contention.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

Another rider who peaked at 34 or after is Valverde. He peaked at 37

Chapeau Fuglsang. Only beat the great Van Garderen and Buchmann by 20 seconds so probably stupid to look to much into this result for the tour. But what a season he has had. Always been a really taented cyclist and great to see him get the results he derseves. Especially been good the last 3 years which also shows what confidence can do for mental aspects in sports.

Valverde peaked in 2003 and hold that peak until the autumn 2018

As for who did Fuglsang beat, there were also certain Pinot, Bardet, Quintana among others...

 

[klintE]

And Woods started racing at age of 26. Who knows when he will peak?

 

[Midnightfright]

Of course there is Chris Horner who peaked at 54

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

I can subscribe to this view even if it is a little bit simplified regarding the 2016 Giro

What happened during the Giro? I cant remember anything else that he was second on Etna in the first week. Regardless, he was never gonna ride his own chances with Nibali in contention.

It wasnt Etna, but some easy climb in the Apenninnes. However, he was mightily impressive that day which is pretty much the only positive thing about that performance. He was unlucky on a sterrato stage and lost some time. After that, seemed his race was over, either he peaked too soon or flat out gave up (also in helping Nibali out, it was Scarponi who did all the work on the mountains pretty much).

 

[jaylew]

Supposedly he's being offered to Movistar for next year.

 

[Bushman]

Re: Re:

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

I can subscribe to this view even if it is a little bit simplified regarding the 2016 Giro

What happened during the Giro? I cant remember anything else that he was second on Etna in the first week. Regardless, he was never gonna ride his own chances with Nibali in contention.

It wasnt Etna, but some easy climb in the Apenninnes. However, he was mightily impressive that day which is pretty much the only positive thing about that performance. He was unlucky on a sterrato stage and lost some time. After that, seemed his race was over, either he peaked too soon or flat out gave up (also in helping Nibali out, it was Scarponi who did all the work on the mountains pretty much).

Of course it wasnt Etna, I somehow got it mixed up with the stage Chaves won last year.

Fuglsang does seem to have had troubles with timing his peaks right throughout the years. I sincerely hope he got it figured out this year, because if he is as good as he was in the spring he can go very far.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

There is no doubt that Fuglsang has had his fair shair of opportunities in grand tours. However, he has also been pursued a lot of bad luck. He has only ridden a few tours where crashes, sickness and team duties has not compromised his chances of a good result in the overall classification. One was in 2013, obviously, where he placed 7th but he wasnt climbing as well back then as he is now. There was the Tour last year as well. I dont know what happened but he just didnt have what it would take to impact the gc. In 2017 he broke his wrist in a crash when he was 5th overall and seemingly in great shape. I believe he could have held on to a placing around top 5 but the podium was likely out of reach. In the Giro in 2016 he entered the race as a backup for Nibali but he didnt have the legs and was relegated to domestique duties. Same story in 2014.

I can subscribe to this view even if it is a little bit simplified regarding the 2016 Giro

What happened during the Giro? I cant remember anything else that he was second on Etna in the first week. Regardless, he was never gonna ride his own chances with Nibali in contention.

You are thinking of the Roccaraso stage.

The first time he showed real weakness in that Giro was stage 14, where he was dropped on Passo Giau. But he had already lost close to 3 minutes before this stage because of two misfortunes, one which cost him the chance to wear the Maglia Rosa.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

Thought this thread deserved a BUMP as Jakob seems to be the flavour of the month.

Will he be the flavour of next month?

 

[Cance > TheRest]

https://cyclingtips.com/2019/06/the...s-last-best-chance-to-win-the-tour-de-france/

Found this piece about Jakob's chances in the Tour.

Not sure I agree entirely with the analysis, but there are some fine points about Jakob's background as MTB rider and the development into the rider he is now, that might be interesting to people who are not so familiar with Jakob's story.

 

[Bolder]

Interesting article, well reasoned. My take is that JF is basically Thomas with a weaker TT and a weaker (though hardly weak) team. So podium doesn't look out of the question, and mayawaybe even a win if all falls right and he has a bit of luck (which he seems not to have had). I'll be pulling for him.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re:

Interesting article, well reasoned. My take is that JF is basically Thomas with a weaker TT and a weaker (though hardly weak) team. So podium doesn't look out of the question, and mayawaybe even a win if all falls right and he has a bit of luck (which he seems not to have had). I'll be pulling for him.

I don't think Thomas will reach the podium this year - too few race days in the legs

With Froome/Dumoulin out, Nibali/Landa having done the Giro, and Roglic not riding the tour, Fuglsang has the best shot, ever, at a podium

 

[rune1107]

Update on Jakob: No fractures but he states that he has gotten some stitches in his eyebrow, and also bruised his right knee. Says tomorrow will be difficult but sounds optimistic.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Usual Fuglsang “luck” at the tour.