Most overrated (good) rider in the peloton?

[Eddy Evenepoel]

That's what I'm getting at. If we call his current form 'below his level' then he's been 'at his level' one season in his career. His RvV win is essentially a bigger fluke than Bettiols at this rate.

I think Asgreens 8 wins (Danish champs overlooked) looks a lot better than Bettiols 5:
- Both have Ronde of course.
- Asgreen has Tour stage, Bettiol has Giro stage.
- Asgreen has K-B-K, Bettiol has Milano-Torino.
- Asgreen has ITT in Algarve, Bettiol has ITT in Besseges.
- Asgreen has stage win in California, Bettiol in Down Under.

So here it’s pretty close, but then Asgreen has stage wins in Deutschland Tour, Tour of Slovenia and the big difference maker: E3.

 

[jono]

Of course Pidcock is still really young but in today's era that's no longer as strong of an excuse as it was before and, besides some flashes of promise, he hasn't done all that much.

Only 5th youngest in this list, and less than a year younger than Pogacar.

 

[Netserk]

I know of someone, let's call this person Dominica Vacanze, who would like to nominate an American, two or three Brits, a Slovak, a Belgian, and, if she ever were to exchange her skis for a bike, another American

What about the Dutch teammate of the Belgian?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

What about the Dutch teammate of the Belgian?

The one I'm thinking of has a Dutch teammate who "DV" adores.

 

[Panda Claws]

Only 5th youngest in this list, and less than a year younger than Pogacar.

Sure but Pogacar is awful at being a proper measuring stick.

 

[Netserk]

Yeah, I can see that I don't follow those threads closely enough. I had just assumed that such a ridiculous dominance from the star of a super team would have been a turn-off.

 

[fbjim]

Asgreen was also, along VDP, arguably the best rider in that 2019 Ronde. I think there's a highlights video showing exactly how active he was.

 

[proffate]

Pidcock spreads himself too thin between different disciplines, one day races, and TDF GC. That's what's prevented his big breakthrough win on the road imo. One gets the feeling he could win a greater range of races than anyone except Pogacar, maybe WVA. He interviews well and is IMO among the best descenders if not the absolute best. For these reasons he gets media attention, but I've never once heard him mentioned as the favorite. If you're always the dark horse and occasionally deliver then how can you be overrated?

 

[houtdffan]

the glorified George Hincapie, WVA

 

[tobydawq]

The one I'm thinking of has a Dutch teammate who "DC" adores.

Wasn't it DV?

 

[tobydawq]

Asgreen was also, along VDP, arguably the best rider in that 2019 Ronde. I think there's a highlights video showing exactly how active he was.

Both Asgreen and Van der Poel did indeed ride phenomenally in the 2019 Ronde, yet I have a feeling you meant 2021? Since Bettiol was also alright in 2019.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Pidcock? A current World & Olympic champion..........There's some clowns on here.......

We're in the road racing section of the forum...

 

[Volderke]

From the voting list:

• Mads Pedersen - overrated. Some on here put him at the same level as WvA, and he is definitely a lesser mortal + WvA is already considered overrated. He is a powerhouse, that's for sure, but would actually be a more valuable rider in the WvA role in e.g. the TdF than his sprinter's / free role.
• Primoz Roglič - I for sure not overrated. He always seems to bounce back after a crash / bad period. Like in last year's Vuelta, he was best of the rest (behind Vingegaard) and his TT is still excellent (but not constantly excellent).
• Remco Evenepoel - I think he's overrated in Belgium as a climber. But as a rider, ask around in the peloton who makes them suffer the most, and it could well be Evenepoel (mind you: Pogacar, Vingegaard don't allow suffering in the wheel - they get rid of wheelsuckers).
• Wout van Aert - he is actually underrated. The work he has done in all those TdF - he is the best ever lieutenant / domestique in the peloton for the last 5 years (sorry Tim De Clercq and others), on a level that he often saved / forced GT on his own (Roubaix stage in the Tour, Roglic' Paris-Nice,...).
• Adam Yates - He's mentioned more because he has a twin brother. Overrated but not his fault.
• Juan Ayuso - I think he will get where he needs to be (a GC contender), and he's a very good descender. So correctly rated imho.
• Mattias Skjelmose - I wouldn't rate him higher atm than a serious 1-week GC contender. Has anyone rated him a top 3 GC candidate?
• Arnaud De Lie - I would rate him highly for e.g. Roubaix / E3, I think he's too heavy (like WvA) to be a major RVV contender except maybe during his prime (a bit like Kristoff). If he gets the career of e.g. Kristoff / Degenkolb, it will be a succes. Does anyone rate him higher? I don't think so.
• Thomas Pidcock - I just don't see him as a major force compared to some others. He'll always have to pick his moment as he won't win just by riding away and leaving the competition in dust (like MvdP, Pogacar, even WvA in the smaller races). Even his Strade win wasn't enormeous and also not against a strong field.

So to conclude: Pedersen and Pidcock - overrated. All others... rated 'au point' or we'll just have to wait.

 

[tobydawq]

From the voting list:

• Mads Pedersen - overrated. Some on here put him at the same level as WvA, and he is definitely a lesser mortal + WvA is already considered overrated. He is a powerhouse, that's for sure, but would actually be a more valuable rider in the WvA role in e.g. the TdF than his sprinter's / free role.
• Primoz Roglič - I for sure not overrated. He always seems to bounce back after a crash / bad period. Like in last year's Vuelta, he was best of the rest (behind Vingegaard) and his TT is still excellent (but not constantly excellent).
• Remco Evenepoel - I think he's overrated in Belgium as a climber. But as a rider, ask around in the peloton who makes them suffer the most, and it could well be Evenepoel (mind you: Pogacar, Vingegaard don't allow suffering in the wheel - they get rid of wheelsuckers).
• Wout van Aert - he is actually underrated. The work he has done in all those TdF - he is the best ever lieutenant / domestique in the peloton for the last 5 years (sorry Tim De Clercq and others), on a level that he often saved / forced GT on his own (Roubaix stage in the Tour, Roglic' Paris-Nice,...).
• Adam Yates - He's mentioned more because he has a twin brother. Overrated but not his fault.
• Juan Ayuso - I think he will get where he needs to be (a GC contender), and he's a very good descender. So correctly rated imho.
• Mattias Skjelmose - I wouldn't rate him higher atm than a serious 1-week GC contender. Has anyone rated him a top 3 GC candidate?
• Arnaud De Lie - I would rate him highly for e.g. Roubaix / E3, I think he's too heavy (like WvA) to be a major RVV contender except maybe during his prime (a bit like Kristoff). If he gets the career of e.g. Kristoff / Degenkolb, it will be a succes. Does anyone rate him higher? I don't think so.
• Thomas Pidcock - I just don't see him as a major force compared to some others. He'll always have to pick his moment as he won't win just by riding away and leaving the competition in dust (like MvdP, Pogacar, even WvA in the smaller races). Even his Strade win wasn't enormeous and also not against a strong field.

So to conclude: Pedersen and Pidcock - overrated. All others... rated 'au point' or we'll just have to wait.

Mostly agree, though I don't look at Adam Yates the same way you do. We're not living in 2018 anymore.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Most overrated rider ever must be Armstrong. Look at his palmares, hardly won anything.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I'm surprised that Wout is not already miles ahead based on the flack he get in that proverbial big six thread.

Nobody thinks wout van aert is that good anymore. E3 prijs merchant. If this thread was started in 2021 I would have been adamant that the Belgian pozzato was the most overrated rider, and would have been called a troll, mocked, called to be banned etc. But it looks like more people have seen the light nowadays.

I think a lot of people understand that he represents the worst things about cycling. The product of a super team who bullied small team into giving up their riders, a guy with ridiculous watts beyond belief, but with no natural gift for racecraft or tactics

However I have always said he can win a big cobble classic if he races more intelligently and that is still the case. With how strong Visma are this spring I would still consider him among the favourites for Flanders and Roubaix and have therefore held back from talking about him too much in this thread

 

[Salvarani]

What do we mean by over rated ? I cannot see how Tom Pidcock is over rated ? Where is this over rating occurring ..In some anglophone media ? where ? I listen to Eurosport UK and while he is interviewed at races and mentioned I don’t see any dwelling on Pidcock above any other rider ?

Is it Carlton Kirby that is providing this over rated score . The man that talked every year of how Si Clarke was going to win MSR

There is no one on this forum over rating Pidcock …he barely gets mentioned.

Maybe its INEOS who are over rating …I don’t see how as he is one of their best riders in one day races, so they would build their team around him for those races ?

Maybe its Pidcock himself ? Cant see that either . He is disappointed when he doesn’t do well but he doesn’t act like he should have won or isn’t angry or overly nonplussed. Mostly shrugs

I call bull on this view and put it down to the usual anti British sentiment that pervades these pages , not so subtly



So what does over rated mean…Surely its given attention and credibility beyond your performance

Afterall if you are employed as a domestique and provider a good domestique service then you are not overrated. You are rated at the correct level. And if like Jonas Vingegaard you are rated as a Tour champion and deliver you are also correctly rated.

But say you are rated as the next Eddy Mercks and there are hundreds of pages about your every move and the Belgian media think if you don’t win then its another rider fault ? And if you don’t win there are pages of excuses on what you didn’t tactically do or how you are at the wrong weight or you are unprepared or your team are bad…and on and on and it isn’t really about your role in the outcome. You can be very good and attacking but if you don’t deliver based on the hype , e.g. live up to the Tour mantle you were given

Now that’s over rated !!!

Great points were made here,

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Nobody thinks wout van aert is that good anymore. E3 prijs merchant. If this thread was started in 2021 I would have been adamant that the Belgian pozzato was the most overrated rider, and would have been called a troll, mocked, called to be banned etc. But it looks like more people have seen the light nowadays.

I think a lot of people understand that he represents the worst things about cycling. The product of a super team who bullied small team into giving up their riders, a guy with ridiculous watts beyond belief, but with no natural gift for racecraft or tactics

However I have always said he can win a big cobble classic if he races more intelligently and that is still the case. With how strong Visma are this spring I would still consider him among the favourites for Flanders and Roubaix and have therefore held back from talking about him too much in this thread

I hate the fact that I added the last paragraph to this post, I have become too soft and considerate recently. Riders like the Belge pozzato are ruining our sport!!!!

 

[Keldergoat]

• Arnaud De Lie - I would rate him highly for e.g. Roubaix / E3, I think he's too heavy (like WvA) to be a major RVV contender

Kinda off topic but this sparked my interest. What are the weights of de Lie, WvA and MvdP? A quick Google search says 78 and 75 for WvA and MvdP, but the data looks a bit random and outdated.

Btw, seeing how WvA climbs in the TdF, I wouldn't say his climbing capacities are the reason he can't win RVV, I think his problem is more that he seems to lose more of his acceleration after 200/250km than MvdP.

 

[Froome]

I hate the fact that I added the last paragraph to this post, I have become too soft and considerate recently. Riders like the Belge pozzato are ruining our sport!!!!

Imagine someone being dropped by the belgian pozzato on hautacam.....

 

[Salvarani]

Imagine someone being dropped by the belgian pozzato on hautacam.....

You got dropped by Pidcock on L'Alpe d'Huez!

 

[Netserk]

I'll be fair and give him a chance again tomorrow, but if he bottles it there too, Pogi must be nominated.

 

[Froome]

The slovenian Pozzato.

 

[proffate]

Nobody thinks wout van aert is that good anymore. E3 prijs merchant. If this thread was started in 2021 I would have been adamant that the Belgian pozzato was the most overrated rider, and would have been called a troll, mocked, called to be banned etc. But it looks like more people have seen the light nowadays.

I think a lot of people understand that he represents the worst things about cycling. The product of a super team who bullied small team into giving up their riders, a guy with ridiculous watts beyond belief, but with no natural gift for racecraft or tactics

However I have always said he can win a big cobble classic if he races more intelligently and that is still the case. With how strong Visma are this spring I would still consider him among the favourites for Flanders and Roubaix and have therefore held back from talking about him too much in this thread

The problem is that many modern fans care only about watt bombs and not piloting; they view race results as an archaic and fatally flawed measure of vo2max, a holdover from the era of steel bikes before zwift was invented.

 

[Brullnux]

The problem is that many modern fans care only about watt bombs and not piloting; they view race results as an archaic and fatally flawed measure of vo2max, a holdover from the era of steel bikes before zwift was invented.

Make up a guy moment