Most Suspicious Performance Of The Last 5 Years

[Guybrush]

oh and the Rojas brothers of course, but that's nothing suspicius at all

 

[Robert5091]

I'm waiting for the Sky vs Movistar train battle at TdF ... should be one for the record books.

 

[Singer01]

Contador Giro 15, stage 14 and 16 a beast, whatever he was on had run out by stage 20.

 

[thehog]

Re:

Contador Giro 15, stage 14 and 16 a beast, whatever he was on had run out by stage 20.

I would throw in Landa's 2015 Giro as well. They was mmmmaaaassssiiiiiiiivvvvve.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Contador Giro 15, stage 14 and 16 a beast, whatever he was on had run out by stage 20.

I would throw in Landa's 2015 Giro as well. They was mmmmaaaassssiiiiiiiivvvvve.

Indeed, Landa was even more suspicious than Alberto in this race, he had almost alien-like qualities.

 

[Singer01]

Re: Re:

Contador Giro 15, stage 14 and 16 a beast, whatever he was on had run out by stage 20.

I would throw in Landa's 2015 Giro as well. They was mmmmaaaassssiiiiiiiivvvvve.

Indeed, Landa was even more suspicious than Alberto in this race, he had almost alien-like qualities.

Landa in 2015 form at this year Giro v Quintana who is looking otherworldly and serene, who wins?

 

[GraftPunk]

Re:

Majka 2014 Tour. After riding the Ardennes and Giro he cruises in the peloton for 10 days then goes ballistic, winning 2 stages, polka dots and making up for Contador's crash.

That actually seemed realistic--- tagging stages and nipping mountain points, not worried about covering for Contie or riding for the overall.
That in no way means I don't think he was doped to the gills, and he's a bit of a d-bag it seems, but the context of what he did when he did seems sort of not quite E.T. for me.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Contador Giro 15, stage 14 and 16 a beast, whatever he was on had run out by stage 20.

I would throw in Landa's 2015 Giro as well. They was mmmmaaaassssiiiiiiiivvvvve.

Indeed, Landa was even more suspicious than Alberto in this race, he had almost alien-like qualities.

Landa in 2015 form at this year Giro v Quintana who is looking otherworldly and serene, who wins?

Obviously Quintana because he can TT much better than Landa.

Landa in 2015 form is unbeatable in the mountains, but that's not enough for the likes of him to beat Quintana since NQ is pretty good in the mountains too.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

lol at how noone mentions sagan

Yes, he's definitely a contender. I guess his two biggest wins at the Worlds weren't that suspicious in themselves though - because he was just hidden in the peloton for about 518 of the 520 or however many kilometres there were.

His RVV win must rank close to Gilbert's in the suspicion index though.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

lol at how noone mentions sagan

Yes, he's definitely a contender. I guess his two biggest wins at the Worlds weren't that suspicious in themselves though - because he was just hidden in the peloton for about 518 of the 520 or however many kilometres there were.

His RVV win must rank close to Gilbert's in the suspicion index though.

Didn't Sagan close down a pretty large gap in the crosswinds by himself?

 

[GraftPunk]

Re: Re:

lol at how noone mentions sagan

Yes, he's definitely a contender. I guess his two biggest wins at the Worlds weren't that suspicious in themselves though - because he was just hidden in the peloton for about 518 of the 520 or however many kilometres there were.

His RVV win must rank close to Gilbert's in the suspicion index though.

Didn't Sagan close down a pretty large gap in the crosswinds by himself?

If I remember correctly when bridging he almost seemed to moto-pace behind a camera bike for what I consider a suspiciously long time. I may be getting it confused with another race this spring.

 

[Gung Ho Gun]

Re: Re:

Majka 2014 Tour. After riding the Ardennes and Giro he cruises in the peloton for 10 days then goes ballistic, winning 2 stages, polka dots and making up for Contador's crash.

That actually seemed realistic--- tagging stages and nipping mountain points, not worried about covering for Contie or riding for the overall.
That in no way means I don't think he was doped to the gills, and he's a bit of a d-bag it seems, but the context of what he did when he did seems sort of not quite E.T. for me.

It seemed realistic on paper, but the way he controlled those breakaways was very freakish. He let riders take half a minute, winked at the camera and then just bridged the gap without effort. Not to mention he was climbing on par with everyone but Nibali in the last mountain stages.

 

[therealthing]

Vuelta seems to produce suspicious riders every other year. In 2011 we had Cobo and Froome, in 2013 we had Horner, and in 2015 we had Dumoulin (remember that early MTF when he smashed all the GC guys?) The years inbetween were just the usual suspects

 

[GraftPunk]

Re: Re:

Majka 2014 Tour. After riding the Ardennes and Giro he cruises in the peloton for 10 days then goes ballistic, winning 2 stages, polka dots and making up for Contador's crash.

That actually seemed realistic--- tagging stages and nipping mountain points, not worried about covering for Contie or riding for the overall.
That in no way means I don't think he was doped to the gills, and he's a bit of a d-bag it seems, but the context of what he did when he did seems sort of not quite E.T. for me.

It seemed realistic on paper, but the way he controlled those breakaways was very freakish. He let riders take half a minute, winked at the camera and then just bridged the gap without effort. Not to mention he was climbing on par with everyone but Nibali in the last mountain stages.

Good points, I don't see how he didn't get busted for the literal slingshot off the camera bike at the time of winking.

 

[Squire]

Re:

Vuelta seems to produce suspicious riders every other year. In 2011 we had Cobo and Froome, in 2013 we had Horner, and in 2015 we had Dumoulin (remember that early MTF when he smashed all the GC guys?) The years inbetween were just the usual suspects

Oh, are you saying I should put my money on Dani Navarro for this year's Vuelta?

 

[therealthing]

Re: Re:

Vuelta seems to produce suspicious riders every other year. In 2011 we had Cobo and Froome, in 2013 we had Horner, and in 2015 we had Dumoulin (remember that early MTF when he smashed all the GC guys?) The years inbetween were just the usual suspects

Oh, are you saying I should put my money on Dani Navarro for this year's Vuelta?

Of course, we are due for a remarkable transformation of a previously average rider to GC star overnight. Could be Navarro, but more likely someone a bit more obscure.

 

[The Hegelian]

Re:

Vuelta seems to produce suspicious riders every other year. In 2011 we had Cobo and Froome, in 2013 we had Horner, and in 2015 we had Dumoulin (remember that early MTF when he smashed all the GC guys?) The years inbetween were just the usual suspects

I've changed my mind (a bit) on Dumoulin. At the time - in agreement with you - I thought that was indeed right up there with the most suspicious performances.

But the fact that he's dropped weight to climb better and subsequently, his tt power is not where it was, does buck the trend of the Sky, Astana and ex-Tinkoff skeletons dropping weight whilst increasing their tt prowess.

Wouldn't bet my house on that proposition, but I'm willing to see what unfolds for TD.

 

[blackcat]

Re:

How anyone can fail to mention Froome in a top list is beyond me, all of his egg beating accelerations up mountains spring to mind, Ventoux 2013 being the most memorable. His total dominance on all terrains in last years tour was equally ridiculous but his performances have become more normalised over time since the memory of the ceiling of his ability pre Vuelta 2011 fades from memories.

Other notables include Wiggins, Nibali, Horner, GVA, Valverde, Boonen, Cancellara, Zakarin, Gilbert but none come close to Froome for consistent suspiciousness.

he just uses a motor, so he is excepted innit

Need some Australians in the list to be fair. we are some of the best.

 

[therealthing]

Re: Re:

How anyone can fail to mention Froome in a top list is beyond me, all of his egg beating accelerations up mountains spring to mind, Ventoux 2013 being the most memorable. His total dominance on all terrains in last years tour was equally ridiculous but his performances have become more normalised over time since the memory of the ceiling of his ability pre Vuelta 2011 fades from memories.

Other notables include Wiggins, Nibali, Horner, GVA, Valverde, Boonen, Cancellara, Zakarin, Gilbert but none come close to Froome for consistent suspiciousness.

he just uses a motor, so he is excepted innit

Need some Australians in the list to be fair. we are some of the best.

Well obviously there is Hayman, Rogers' GT stage wins in 2014, maybe Dennis' monster TT on stage 1 of the 2015 Tour.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

How anyone can fail to mention Froome in a top list is beyond me, all of his egg beating accelerations up mountains spring to mind, Ventoux 2013 being the most memorable. His total dominance on all terrains in last years tour was equally ridiculous but his performances have become more normalised over time since the memory of the ceiling of his ability pre Vuelta 2011 fades from memories.

Other notables include Wiggins, Nibali, Horner, GVA, Valverde, Boonen, Cancellara, Zakarin, Gilbert but none come close to Froome for consistent suspiciousness.

he just uses a motor, so he is excepted innit

Need some Australians in the list to be fair. we are some of the best.

Well obviously there is Hayman, Rogers' GT stage wins in 2014, maybe Dennis' monster TT on stage 1 of the 2015 Tour.

Matthews in general as well. Perhaps goes under the radar a bit because he doesn't win much important, but I think that's more to do with poor tactics. He consistently gets top 5s in both hilly classics and sprint stages, and now seems to have developed into a very good TTist as well. Obviously not the most suspicious rider of the last five years, and quite possible a big natural talent, but certainly his performances deserve some scrutiny imo.

 

[El Pistolero]

Stijn Devolder at the National Championships in 2013 (La-Roche-en-Ardennes). He hadn't performed well since 2010. A couple of weeks before the start of the race his Team Manager Dirk Demol claims Devolder will win the NC.

He wins with a long solo and finishes a minute ahead of riders like Jan Bakelants, Gianni Meersman, Greg van Avermaet, Philippe Gilbert, Bjorn Leukemans, Sep Vanmarcke, etc.

Hasn't won a race since. And thank God for that.

 

[blackcat]

Re:

Stijn Devolder at the National Championships in 2013 (La-Roche-en-Ardennes). He hadn't performed well since 2010. A couple of weeks before the start of the race his Team Manager Dirk Demol claims Devolder will win the NC.

He wins with a long solo and finishes a minute ahead of riders like Jan Bakelants, Gianni Meersman, Greg van Avermaet, Philippe Gilbert, Bjorn Leukemans, Sep Vanmarcke, etc.

Hasn't won a race since. And thank God for that.

Lance reckoned Stijn could win the Tour.

But, Race Radio reckoned Devolder needed copious dangerous amount of packed red cells to compete. Like Andy Schleck, he could be dominant on copious amount of dope, but, it was not his party-boy w Stuey m8 in Spain, it was the dope appetite. Andy was with Cyrill Guimard at VC Roubaix no?

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

How anyone can fail to mention Froome in a top list is beyond me, all of his egg beating accelerations up mountains spring to mind, Ventoux 2013 being the most memorable. His total dominance on all terrains in last years tour was equally ridiculous but his performances have become more normalised over time since the memory of the ceiling of his ability pre Vuelta 2011 fades from memories.

Other notables include Wiggins, Nibali, Horner, GVA, Valverde, Boonen, Cancellara, Zakarin, Gilbert but none come close to Froome for consistent suspiciousness.

he just uses a motor, so he is excepted innit

Need some Australians in the list to be fair. we are some of the best.

Well obviously there is Hayman, Rogers' GT stage wins in 2014, maybe Dennis' monster TT on stage 1 of the 2015 Tour.

Matthews in general as well. Perhaps goes under the radar a bit because he doesn't win much important, but I think that's more to do with poor tactics. He consistently gets top 5s in both hilly classics and sprint stages, and now seems to have developed into a very good TTist as well. Obviously not the most suspicious rider of the last five years, and quite possible a big natural talent, but certainly his performances deserve some scrutiny imo.

I remember racing the Tour of Bright in 2007, on the Mt Hotham stage I got dropped from the lead group just over half way up (LRP won the stage). A few minutes after crossing the line, the large gruppetto rolls in, paced by a skinny kid from B Grade.

B Grade started 10 minutes after A Grade, so this kid not only caught the A Grade gruppetto (which included a decent number of NRS riders), he went straight to the front and paced them up the rest of the climb. A few of us got talking to him after the stage and it turned out this kid had been riding for roughly a year and racing less than 6 months. He actually was worried that he should be in C Grade until then.

It was a 16yo Michael Matthews.

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

How anyone can fail to mention Froome in a top list is beyond me, all of his egg beating accelerations up mountains spring to mind, Ventoux 2013 being the most memorable. His total dominance on all terrains in last years tour was equally ridiculous but his performances have become more normalised over time since the memory of the ceiling of his ability pre Vuelta 2011 fades from memories.

Other notables include Wiggins, Nibali, Horner, GVA, Valverde, Boonen, Cancellara, Zakarin, Gilbert but none come close to Froome for consistent suspiciousness.

he just uses a motor, so he is excepted innit

Need some Australians in the list to be fair. we are some of the best.

Well obviously there is Hayman, Rogers' GT stage wins in 2014, maybe Dennis' monster TT on stage 1 of the 2015 Tour.

Gerrans from 2012 onwards, Haussler all of 2009, Evans' final week of the 2011 Tour.

 

[Escarabajo]

Matthews does not seem obvious to me. I thought we were just mentioning obvious. Not just mention every name in the Pro Tour circuit.

Obvious like Froome, Lance, Pantani, Ullrich, Virenque, Contador pre-ban. Contador might as well be doping now but we are talking about obvious.