Joseph Dombrowski

[yaco]

Surprising that a ride rof this caibre can't even pick up a Pro team contract.

 

[Sciatic]

“Say it ain’t so, Joe”

ed. 1919 baseball reference

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Surprising that a ride rof this claibre can't even pick up a Pro team contract.

Excluding TTTs, his last top-10 came in a stage of the 2021 (!!) Vuelta. And it's not like Astana had a bunch of riders to slave away for these past two years. Maybe HPH would have thrown him a lifeline had they not folded, but without that, it was obvious no team wouldn't think his time had simply come and gone.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Nice post about his decision here:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1749844435066614240

View: https://twitter.com/JoeDombro/status/1749844435066614240

 

[yaco]

Excluding TTTs, his last top-10 came in a stage of the 2021 (!!) Vuelta. And it's not like Astana had a bunch of riders to slave away for these past two years. Maybe HPH would have thrown him a lifeline had they not folded, but without that, it was obvious no team wouldn't think his time had simply come and gone.

And he won a stage of the Giro in 2021 - Not every rider can be a winner and he can fill a role for the team. There are worst riders in the WT and its surprising he could not find a job with a pro team.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

If this was motorsport, he'd likely buy a seat and continue......

Maybe he'll join the ex-WT riders in Gravel racing......

 

[Devil's Elbow]

And he won a stage of the Giro in 2021 - Not every rider can be a winner and can fill a role for the team. There are some worst riders in the WT and its surprising he could not find a job with a pro team.

The Giro stage win is almost three years ago at this point, that's a long time in sport. Heck, Vingegaard hadn't so much as started a Tour at that point, and look where we are now.

 

[Rob5091]

Hope he can find something soon - thanks for the memories!

 

[Bolder]

Surprising that a ride rof this caibre can't even pick up a Pro team contract.

Maybe that wouldn't pay enough to cover living expenses for his family. Better to devote the time to finding another job.

 

[Anderis]

The only race he finished in top50 this year was Tour of the Alps. Astana didn't have any big leaders in races that Dombrowski rode so he was basically free to ride for his own if he had the form but he didn't deliver anything. I think only one breakaway of note, 0 top20 stage finishes other than that one breakawy and he rode a calendar perfect for his characteristics. He's not even a good domestique material because he pretty bad at descending, pulling and positioning etc. What could he offer to any pro team at this point on his 2023 level? And he's been declining for a while so 2024 could've been even worse. He's not worth anything more than a minimum salary at this point so I imagine if he didn't want to settle for that, there's no way anybody would've offered him a better contract.

 

[theyoungest]

What Sepp Kuss eventually became, 12 years ago it looked like Dombrowski could become. The Great American Climber. Winning the Baby Giro against Fabio Aru. Both of them already retired...

 

[Potomac]

I'm curious what he will do next.

 

[ManicJack]

Not many riders return to their former level after Iliac artery surgery. I'm surprised he hung on for almost a decade after having the procedure.

 

[staubsauger]

Yeah, Dombrowski somehow came back from hibernation with his 2021 Giro d'Italia stage win. At a moment ain't nobody was still expecting anything from him. Then, misfortune caught up with him again, when he crashed into the road furniture due to inattentiveness. Guess Dombrowski really could've won the mountains jersey in 2021. It eventually went to Bouchard.

Afterwards it was just the same as it had been before. He was always about to kinda break through with an important stage win, but it eventually never materialized.

Then, at his age. People don't believe in the big breakthrough anymore. Not even Joe himself. So I'm not surprised he didn't get a new contact. Neither was he himself apparently as he describes his pro career as a rough ride.

That was the special thing about Moncoutie and his comeback at the 2008 Vuelta a Espana and onwards. Normally at a certain age it doesn't materialize anymore / again. It was nice to see him winning the mountains competition still.

 

[Sciatic]

Nice post about his decision here:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1749844435066614240

View: https://twitter.com/JoeDombro/status/1749844435066614240

Thanks for posting that, nice letter from him.

 

[Sciatic]

Maybe that wouldn't pay enough to cover living expenses for his family. Better to devote the time to finding another job.

From the tenor of his retirement announcement it sounds like he’s already been trying to build a life beyond being a pro, which Ihope is true.

 

[staubsauger]

From the tenor of his retirement announcement it sounds like he’s already been trying to build a life beyond being a pro, which Ihope is true.

He must've seen it coming, since it nearly happened before twice!

 

[search]

there's an endless interview with Dombro on Escape Collective now, talking about his career, retirement and possible future:

The Joe Dombrowski exit interview

Looking back at a successful career that ended before Dombrowski hoped it would.

escapecollective.com

 

[RedheadDane]

there's an endless interview with Dombro on Escape Collective now, talking about his career, retirement and possible future:

LIES! It's long, but it definitely ends.

 

[Bolder]

He must've seen it coming, since it nearly happened before twice!

Yes.

I think he's one of those riders who could have benefited from a few more kg of muscles. He always looked really frail.

 

[staubsauger]

Yes.

I think he's one of those riders who could have benefited from a few more kg of muscles. He always looked really frail.

I remember seeing him up towards Lagos de Covadonga in 2016 and thinking exactly the same!

 

[Unchained]

Solid bike racer. Shame he is out. Excellent interview with Caley Fretz ..Joe says that he has lots of mixed feelings, but says if someone called today w a contract offer he would take it.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

The only race he finished in top50 this year was Tour of the Alps. Astana didn't have any big leaders in races that Dombrowski rode so he was basically free to ride for his own if he had the form but he didn't deliver anything. I think only one breakaway of note, 0 top20 stage finishes other than that one breakawy and he rode a calendar perfect for his characteristics. He's not even a good domestique material because he pretty bad at descending, pulling and positioning etc. What could he offer to any pro team at this point on his 2023 level? And he's been declining for a while so 2024 could've been even worse. He's not worth anything more than a minimum salary at this point so I imagine if he didn't want to settle for that, there's no way anybody would've offered him a better contract.

Yeah, that sums it up pretty perfectly.

First of all, I‘ve always been a big fan of him. In his Sky days, with this jersey and all, he looked super, super nice on his bike. Pleasure to watch (him climb).

I also, when going through result lists in recent times, like 2023, was some kind of shocked how much he had deteriorated performance-wise. Apparently healthy and not in any way handicapped, he appeared inexplicably weak, in performance.

You, Anderis, actually mentioned everything that I would confirm. Perfect calendar, free role, reasonable support, and yet, he most of the time got dropped not only by the best climbers, but also frequently by well-climbing sprinters. The time gaps in the mountains were huge. He most of the time was in a similar position to David de la Cruz. De la Cruz finally was able to save his career, by joining Q36.5 - deservedly, because he, when it counted, frequently was this little bit better than Dombrowski: lost four minutes instead of twelve, on a MTF, just things like these. And more than once, so.

So performance-wise one has to admit that Dombrowski‘s „value“ for WT racing/races apparently wouldn’t have been enough, any more, for 2024 and beyond. I don’t even think he has become so much too „bad“, it‘s rather that his respectable performances lost and would lose value very quickly, in a peloton full of super talented climbers.

So his retirement is sad, but this sport is quite „honest“ in results, so very likely we wouldn’t have seen any additional really successful races on top level, by him.

Hope he stays in pro cycling, in some way and function…