Menchov could of beaten Cadel in this year's tour if he was invited.

[SilentAssassin]

Oh yes I did go there. I'd argue that Menchov in top form can climb better than Cadel and Time trial just as good. I definitely think Menchov could have won the tour this year if his team was invited, especially considering Sastra would be a super domestique in the mountains.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Nobody will ever know.
Dumb thread.

 

[Moondance]

No, he couldn't have.

That is all

 

[oncehadhair]

Oh yes I did go there. I'd argue that Menchov in top form can climb better than Cadel and Time trial just as good. I definitely think Menchov could have won the tour this year if his team was invited, especially considering Sastra would be a super domestique in the mountains.

Must have been lost in the mail. Bad luck eh!

 

[just some guy]

Could have would have did not.

Stupid thread

 

[Franklin]

Oh yes I did go there. I'd argue that Menchov in top form can climb better than Cadel and Time trial just as good. I definitely think Menchov could have won the tour this year if his team was invited, especially considering Sastra would be a super domestique in the mountains.

Want some cheese with you whine?

 

[dbrmuz]

Who the hell cares?

 

[woodie]

Coulda woulda shoulda

 

[Cycloid]

Coulda woulda shoulda

Totally agree.
As one of my old cycling coaches told me "you can only beat whoever is there". Guess what? Menchov wasn't. But a class field was there at the start, and Cadel did triumph. Deal with it.

 

[slim charles]

With a risk of sounding stupid, what does "could of" mean? I've seen people write that, but I don't get what does that mean. Is that ''could have'' written wrong?

On topic: Maybe. Maybe not. Who cares, really, since Menchov wasn't there?

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Oh yes I did go there. I'd argue that Menchov in top form can climb better than Cadel and Time trial just as good. I definitely think Menchov could have won the tour this year if his team was invited, especially considering Sastra would be a super domestique in the mountains.

It's a fair enough question but we could also say what would have happened if JVDB, Kloeden, Horner etc had stayed on their bikes, what if Basso hadn't had the crash etc etc, what if Ricco hadn't cocked up his self-transfusion

I do think that inviting Saur over Geox was something of a mistake.

It's a bit like asking would Contador have won the 2008 TDF if Astana had been invited.

Counter-factuals are always interesting. Unless of course you are a Cuddles fan which makes you naturally very thin-skinned.

 

[zigzag wanderer]

With a risk of sounding stupid, what does "could of" mean? I've seen people write that, but I don't get what does that mean. Is that ''could have'' written wrong?

That's exactly what it is - could of and could've sound pretty much identical.

It's a mistake that a lot of native speakers make, while non-native speakers
hardly ever make it in my experience - probably because they study English grammar much more closely than native speakers.

 

[ProfTournesol]

I also could have won if I'd been invited.......and given a Ducati. What a shame I wasn't invited. What a pointless thread

 

[hrotha]

With a risk of sounding stupid, what does "could of" mean? I've seen people write that, but I don't get what does that mean. Is that ''could have'' written wrong?

On topic: Maybe. Maybe not. Who cares, really, since Menchov wasn't there?

To be precise, it would be "could've" written wrong. Some people here love it. Some people here never bother to analyze the grammar of what they're saying.

Also, Menchov has the potential to beat pretty much everyone, but also to suck big time like in the Giro.

 

[laziali]

worst thread ever. You lose.

 

[dbrmuz]

Why is this thread still open? Just crap.

 

[dlwssonic]

menchov sucked at the giro and he rode it. I think he would have to come le tour in bad form and fatigued.

 

[Thomsena]

still waiting to see a sensible post from SilentAssassin on this forum..

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Menchov perhaps could have done; he's won multiple GTs whereas coming in to this one Evans had none.

But the last time they properly faced off and both were on form (so not the 2009 Tour where Menchov was fatigued from the Giro and Cadel was sick, or the 2010 Tour where Menchov peaked and a Giro-fatigued Evans was injured), this happened:

2 EVANS Cadel (Aus) Silence-Lotto +58"
4 MENCHOV Denis (Rus) Rabobank +2'10"

Menchov lost a minute on the descent to Jausiers. Given how hard Sánchez, Contador and Evans made the racing on stages with descent finishes, that would give Evans the advantage.

Also, look at how many people crashed out. Do we really, honestly think that the Pope could have kept it upright for 3 weeks in such an environment?

 

[El Pistolero]

2010 Menchov would have won this with 2 fingers in his nose. But same can be said about 2010 Andy and 2010 Samu(without TTT and crashes)

2011 Contador in the Giro would have raped this field and won with even bigger margin than the Giro. They were THAT slow up the mountains. Hell, Scarponi and Nibali would have podiumed here if you compare the data of the climbs.

But the thing is, Cadel Evans won. And for real.

 

[craig1985]

At the end of the day it isn't Cadel's fault that a lot of the other GC riders crashed, or have rubbish bike handling skills.

 

[Zoncolan]

Look, they both missed their chance of a lifetime in '08. Menchov due to poor bike handling (losing time downhill, falling uphill), and Evans due to poor tactics and injuries/bad luck.
Who would have thought Evans would ever come close again. I for one didn't. I even doubted he could podium. Was I wrong!
I'm glad Cadel got another chance. He deserved it! And he rode like a champ to make the most of it.
Menchov? If Contador gets a ban and ASO put some more TT km in next year's race, he could get another chance.
With a fully fit, injury/bad luck free Contador, nobody has a chance, whatever the course.

 

[killswitch]

IMO he could have podiumed. This course isn't suited to him. To win he needs two long ITTs.

Do we really, honestly think that the Pope could have kept it upright for 3 weeks in such an environment?

Well, the Schlecks did it, though they had Voigt, O'Grady and Canc to protect them...

 

[Praetor]

Oh yes I did go there. I'd argue that Menchov in top form can climb better than Cadel and Time trial just as good. I definitely think Menchov could have won the tour this year if his team was invited, especially considering Sastra would be a super domestique in the mountains.

Menchov could have never pulled of those 2 impressive chases Evans did in the Alps

Not to mention that he would have probably been 5 minutes behind all the others in the GC before they had seen the first mountain, seeing that Menchov is very good at losing unnecessary time by not paying attention in the first week and this Tour gave him a lot of opportunities to do so.

 

[The Exorcist]

What if Rasmussen was kicked out of the 2007 tour b4 dragging contador up the mountains rather than after, would that have left contador riding with the peloton and not gaining much time on evans b4 the TT?

What if eddie mercx was cycling now instead of the 1960s/1970s?

What if you knew what you were talking about?