42x16ss said:
Libertine Seguros said:
Oh, Mick Rogers. Turned pro with Mapei at the turn of the century. Won the Worlds the first time ahead of two Gerolsteiner riders and Isidro freaking Nozal while riding on the Museeuw-Virenque version of Quick Step. Went to Ferrari with Vino, Kash (a teammate at the time) and Levi Leipheimer. Learns how to climb grinding ugly climbs like Arcalis. Goes to T-Mobile. Top 10s the Puerto-gutted Tour. Is at the Freiburg edition of the team when Klöden pays to make the investigation go away. Stays on into HTC-High Road and top 10s the now known to be utterly dope-addled 2009 Giro. Goes to Sky and has an illness-and-injury-ridden season before returning better at climbing than ever and boasting to the press about putting out his best ever power outputs whilst road captaining the most dominant team in a major stage race since 2009 Astana and cheerfully telling his team leader that guys like Evans and Nibali aren't going to get away from the power he's tapping out. Is jettisoned under cover of night when it turns out he can't comply with the requirements of Sky's farcical white sheet. Goes to freaking Tinkoff. Tests positive for clenbuterol. Gets exonerated. Reinvents himself as a stagehunting super-climber, winning MTFs of the steepest and most horrible kind.
Mick Rogers is basically the low-rent Andreas Klöden, or Phil Zajicek with more contacts. One of the most egregious and unlikable dopers in the péloton. Complete teflon. Should have been run from the sport years ago, but has somehow managed to stain it for the best part of another decade and we still can't get rid of him even temporarily. And somehow, because he's crashed at some inopportune times, we're supposed to feel sympathy for the guy.
In my fictitious breakaway group of Sagan, Froome, Rogers, Gerrans and Leipheimer coming to the line together, I'd probably want Rogers to win the sprint. But it's close, I might prefer Levi to shade it. I don't need to hear his shingle-inducing, charisma-vacuum justifications for 15 years of unrepentant doping.
The big problem is, that although Rogers is one of the biggest chargers getting around he was also a big natural talent too. As a junior back in Aus he wasn't just beating but smashing almost everyone his age - Lancaster, Gerrans, Hayman, Sutherland etc included. This gets him a lot of leeway along with Australia's willingness to turn a blind eye.
I reckon his ability is on a par with Wiggins, and Mcgee.
I think he was gonna take the yellow jersey with Rasmussen that stage he busted his clavicle or displaced his shoulder, cant remember which.
If he took the yellow jersey, and rode to 5th on GC in the Tour, his career could have panned out much differently, if a team threw their resources behind him, he could have won like Wiggins.
Remember the Tour de Suisse circa 2006 when Aitor Gonzales won on the second last stage with a late breakaway, teflon Dodger Rogers was isolated no help and he had to chase and lost the GC by about 20 seconds, you could say it was <less a breakaway, more an attack for the GC race not the stage and this interpretation would be correct>....
but teflon dodger rogers sino clen beef would have had a career like Wiggins if he could hold the tyre/tire/whheel upright on the descent.
if
ironic, Rogers is a good descender. it may have been a hot day and the glue had started to melt
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