If he follows his normal way of doing things he may be too tired to win either the Olympics or Worlds. Also not fully convinced he can climb well enough to win either one.
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Considering that he has to have a full peak for the Tour because he's French I think we should wait until he has won everything he wants to win in the spring to see him go for a lesser spring peak and a bigger fall one. Anyway he's still young enough to wait, Bettini for example shifted from spring and summer full peaks to spring and fall full peaks only when he was 31 and still won two WC, two Lombardia, five stages at the Vuelta and a Züri Metzgete (IMHO his most impressive win, look at the gaps...) in four years.If he follows his normal way of doing things he may be too tired to win either the Olympics or Worlds. Also not fully convinced he can climb well enough to win either one.
Considering that he has to have a full peak for the Tour because he's French I think we should wait until he has won everything he wants to win in the spring to see him go for a lesser spring peak and a bigger fall one. Anyway he's still young enough to wait, Bettini for example shifted from spring and summer full peaks to spring and fall full peaks only when he was 31 and still won two WC, two Lombardia, five stages at the Vuelta and a Züri Metzgete (IMHO his most impressive win, look at the gaps...) in four years.
Spring season overrated...MSR, Strade, FW, I think that you're getting a little carried away. Plus stage wins in major races...yes, his TdF was huge. I wouldn't hold that against him. He beat Bernal on the Tourmalet...Yhomas in the ITT.Congratulations to JA for winning the poll.
I agree with the top 3 in the Velo d'Or poll, but I think the order is more debatable. In my opinion, Roglic was ultimately the more succesful rider this season if you take away the hype of TDF. But it can be debated that JA was more spectacular. Even if, in hindsight, I also think that his spring season has become a little bit overrated, his ride in the Tour is probably the most spectacular multi-day-performance I have seen this year.
MvdP in 4th place must reflect that non-results-related contextual/narrative factors weigh higher than results, because otherwise there is no way that he, MvdP, had a better season on the road than Jakob Fuglsang and a few other riders.
The 3 races they lined up together MvdP beat him in the sprint twice, was far superior in the worlds until his untimely hunger knock. For sure it's gonna be a problem.MVDP could be a problem for him in 2020. If there is a person that can outkick, outpace AND outsprint Julian, it's him. At least when it's not super hilly.
MVDP could be a problem for him in 2020. If there is a person that can outkick, outpace AND outsprint Julian, it's him. At least when it's not super hilly.
Alaf won 2 “bunch” sprints in Tirreno this year.
No, I am not getting carried away...Spring season overrated...MSR, Strade, FW, I think that you're getting a little carried away. Plus stage wins in major races...yes, his TdF was huge. I wouldn't hold that against him. He beat Bernal on the Tourmalet...Yhomas in the ITT.
MVP? The king of Cyclo-Cross...the AGR final was something unforgettable. I can see him mentined.
Roglic? Great year. He had to be in the discussion.
Fuglsang? Same thing but in the GTs, when it mattered, he was nowhere to be found. That hurt him.
At the risk of going further 'off topic'... (it's the off season, so I hope to be forgiven)Sorry for going off-topic.
Bernal won Paris-Nice, Suisse and the Tour, and was still competitive at Lombardia. If anything was lacking from his year it was the period he spent injured that forced him to miss the Giro. Any other year, a 22 year old winning those 3 races should be on the cover of Time, never mind Velo.Alaphillippe the most exciting rider of the season. Worthy winner in my book. 2nd and 3rd could go either way. In my opinion Bernal had a good season but something was lacking from his year.
Bernal won Paris-Nice, Suisse and the Tour, and was still competitive at Lombardia. If anything was lacking from his year it was the period he spent injured that forced him to miss the Giro. Any other year, a 22 year old winning those 3 races should be on the cover of Time, never mind Velo.
Apparently Alaphilippe is considering racing Rhonde in 2020.
Found a link for the source for this:
Alaphilippe descubrirá el Tour de Flandes en 2020
Por @pmpalermo El flamante vencedor del Veló d´Or, Julian Alaphilippe, ya tiene la cabeza puesta en 2020. En dicha temporada, además de tener el duro reto de replicar un año tan sensacional como el…www.ciclismointernacional.com
Not considering. He's going.
I'm not convinced. Road is different from off-road. I think he has a natural limit when it comes to climbing. He is much more of a sprinter than Julian.The 3 races they lined up together MvdP beat him in the sprint twice, was far superior in the worlds until his untimely hunger knock. For sure it's gonna be a problem.
As to the hilly part. We don't know. In Arctic MvdP got a bit sick. I'd like to see what he could've done on that 3km climb if fit. In MTB he's done super hilly stuff and beat the 12kg lighter Nino Schurter.. Unfortunately we won't know next year either. I don't think he has any of the ardennes classics on the program.
For now I think Ala is still better on the really hilly stuff as FW / LBL and would comfortably drop him. But I'd like to see it in action..
Uphill sprints, and with van der Poel around i don't know if he would have been able to win them, especially a short uphill sprint like Jesi looks the best possible for van der Poel.Alaf won 2 “bunch” sprints in Tirreno this year.
I think we agree that he isn't a climber but the point is that the definition of a puncheur is quite ambiguous. Having a nice uphill sprint doesn't mean that you can do well in all hilly races.I'm just saying if you watch some of his junior/u23 results, there is some evident climbing potential in MvdP as well. Nowhere near GT level what Alaph can do, but still