There has been no indications that he would race Romandie, there has only ever been the hope of fans and false rumours/free speculation in the press. There has been no news, nothing to announce. He sticks to the schedule already announced, so he hasn't owed anyone any answers since they said he wouldn't be ready for Catalunya.
Hunting accidents skyrocketed among amateur cyclists.
Which is ironic because with better targeting it would have never happened.
He already said before(?) Algarve that he approached the spring differently this year, with no altitude camp before PN. And the only stage in PN before his crash where he was in action was a temporarily neutralised stage in the cold. Without his crash and concussion, I think he'd have been at least top-2 in both PN and Catalunya and there really wouldn't have been any grounds for this conversation.
I don’t think that’s fair to Lemond. Prior to the accident he road all the classics that a GC guy of that era would do, with several podiums. In his comeback year 1989, he road the Giro (poorly) before winning the Tour. Post Tour he rode (and I think was 3rd) at championships of Zurich, then won the road world’s title. And prior to this year, the last time the prior year’s Tour champion rode Roubaix was Lemond. Does that sound like Vingegaard? He did change his approach racing less in 91-93 as his form was fading.
Lance's calendar would be being very generous. He raced (ok, participated in) MSR, Flanders, GW, san Sebastian, Amstel gold, LBL as well as the usual week long stage races...
Lemond was an American pioneer in Europe, which overshadowed his physical talent. He was cast into a world that wasn't Kansas anymore, an Oz without national accommodations such as english speaking riders have today. In his first years he had to deal with language barriers, a homesick wife, no social media to offset his trials and tribulations, no team structure, unlike Armstrong, to cater to his cultural needs. I'd say this is why he entered seasons so below form, to then have to overcome the deficit to be good in the Tour. Even so, a suboptimal Lemond managed 4th in Roubaix and the Giro. Today, however, he'd be riding from March to October at the level his 92 Vo2 max, power and resistence merited. He'd also have better cadence, better physiological understanding and superior support. I mean he, on a French team, had to overcome Hinault and Fignon back then, when national allegiances took precedent over pure talent.
His 2024 before Pais Vasco was amazing as well. People just don't give him credit for that sort of stuff, they want to see him in races that don't suit him (i.e. the classics).
Obviously this is an exercise in fantasy, but just to pass the time, how do you think he would do if you plunked him down and had him born in 1998?
Well, that's a tough call, because the differences between generations are too large in terms of how riders prepare and race today. But on physical prowess alone, I'd put him up there with today's best. Perhaps he'd be like Rogilc or Remco today. The former because of his incredible resiliance to adversity, the latter because of his aerodynamics and power. He also had a formidable sprint amongst non-specialists and could have won, I think, any monument today, given how they would prepare him now (he was excellent on the pave, short explosive climbs and long distances). In this sense, Pogacar comes to mind. He was similarly a true all-rounder. Mentally, however, Greg was subject to mood swings, so I don't think he would be as placid as Tadej.
Maybe this is the reasons his team and teammates didn't notice his concussion in Paris-Nice!
He started very soon the training camp, in April.
I think if Greg Lemond was racing today with all the advantages of having his own team and all he would be the closest to being on par with Pogacar. That would be a much better rivalry than Pog and MVdP because their talents would overlap more. Roglic and Remco would not be close to him.
I guess some cyclotourists who just happened to also be there and who joined the ride. As he rode the climb next to Niermann, the pace would have been quite easy.
In that case it makes a lot of sense to not race LBL and Romandie‘No Point Worrying About Pogačar': Visma and Vingegaard Bullish on Tour de France Comeback Plan
Trainer backs controversial altitude-heavy, race-lite approach as Vingegaard scrambles back from concussion: 'We know this works.'velo.outsideonline.com
Heemskerk revealed to Velo the 28-year-old only returned to full training last week after he finally shook off the hangover of his brain injury.
All told, the Tour de France star was away from all-things-intensity for five full weeks.
“It was a big setback,” Heemskerk said. “The leaders of a team want to win races, so it was a blow mentally and physically when you do months of training over winter.
“And of course, we’d spent a lot of winter working on Jonas’ muscle mass and explosivity too, he lacked that after last year,” Heemkerk said, referring back to his rider’s brutal crash in the Basque Country.
“But we’re now with an opportunity to start back earlier than we used to. Many riders will rest now, but Jonas is back training.”
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