Do I dare get hopes up?
I know I shouldn't... but he looks good and he looks like he's actually getting better :O
I know I shouldn't... but he looks good and he looks like he's actually getting better :O
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Perfect stage for him, rode it really well too.
Basically rode a mtt up towards Glanon and already rode his own tempo on the Galibier. He must be convinced in his shape again to do this and it obviously payed off.
Maybe he can win a stage in the Pyrenees.
Elos Anjos
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As much as I'm hopeful for him he has shown to be a more steady-state climber. He doesn't react well on the longer climbs when there are sudden changes of pace. Part of this is age and recovery from his cumulative wear and tear. How aggressive Pogi, Pidcock and others are in attacking will be his challenge, IMO.
The guy can be quick. Nairo hasn't shown much quick these days. Power, diesel steadiness yes, but none of the searing attack style. He may still have it in him but it's not on display from what I've been able to see.
Pidcock is almost 9 minutes down on Vingegaard and hasn't been able to follow the top 6 on any major climb. Whatever he does in this race seems irrelevant to the GC battle in general and Quintana specifically. I don't see how Pogacar races effects Quintana, either. Only Vingegaard has been able to follow his attacks and there's no reason for Quintana to even try to follow.
Even peak Quintana was always a diesel. Didn't even try to follow Froome. Just motor his way up the mountain. He is really a true diesel even for a rider of his size.
You're forgetting Alpe d' Huez? Froome was in his exhaust while Nairo put over a minute in him in 5 km.
I'm not saying he's capable of everything but if he gets in a break with sporty climbers he'd better hang on. It'd be cool if he did make the podium.
The only problem was it didn't translate to the TT. I have to admit that he handles the flat stages better than most GC riders these days. His positioning is generally good.
Quintana usually benefitted from multi mountain stages. I'm not sure if Diesel is the right word, he did tons of small acceleration that wore his opponents down.
I guess when Quintana was on especially in races froome and contador weren’t there he was so much better it didn’t look like a diesel
So proud of Nairoman today. Hanging tough with Pogacar and Vingegaard on the Mur de Peguere. His power to weight ratio seemed to kick in on the steepest sections.
Hoping he can produce some of his old magic on the remaining climbs!!
Hoping he can produce some of his old magic on the remaining climbs!!
He was never a diesel in a classic sense, like for example Basso. He didn't have the acceleration like Contador, but was still stable to put in fierce attacks and repeat those again and again. I don't really remember an instance from his peak years, when he dropped his rivals by just riding high tempo, it was always through accelerations and changes of rhythm, which cracked lesser climbers. It was the same against Froome on Alpe, against Contador on Covadonga and against Nibali on Blockhaus and Lagunas de Neila.
I think even when he used to attack like that, his climbing is still so smooth and fluid, it can b deceiving how much faster he was going—until you saw the gap he created. He doesn’t look like Pogacar or Pinot attacking, but his form still looks the same.
Today's ride was intelligent and paced well for the upcoming stages. Geraint could be sizably gapped and fatigued today. It's possible those gaps could get bigger on a longer set of climbs.
Why do I care? 'Cause Nairo could get on the podium.
Why do I care? 'Cause Nairo could get on the podium.
Looks unlikely to me as Thomas has been very consistent and Quintana probably needs to take around 4 minutes on him in the next two stages.
Quintana on the other hand has been quite inconsistent, so it could well be that tomorrow he is worse than he was today.
I can't realistically see a podium, G to his credit has managed the race very well and will obviously be a killer in the TT. Maybe there's a chance that Pog causes a long range shake out that results in Nairo gaining mega time but that's about the only scenario a podium might manifest.
I hope that the legs stay strong though and he can perhaps sneak a stage if Pog and JV end up in a robot wars standoff
I hope that the legs stay strong though and he can perhaps sneak a stage if Pog and JV end up in a robot wars standoff
So today who paced Geraint back up to the lead pack? Thomas alone could have lost a minute to the group on a descent and Nairo would need that time.
I think Quintana was actually quite unlucky not to gain time on Thomas yesterday. TJV and Pog clearly weren't interested in gaining time on Thomas, else they would have pushed on right after the final summit and they might have gained a lot.
The problem I see for Nairo is the same that has haunted him since 2017. He has occasional world class climbing performances just to be absolutely nowhere the next day and the fact that precisely this has already happened in this very Tour doesn't make me optimistic for today. Remember when people were going on about him being one of the top favorites for the 2020 Tour after he looked like a top 3 climber in the Loudenvielle stage? Nairo has had so many false dawns over the last few years that I refuse to buy into this one.
The problem I see for Nairo is the same that has haunted him since 2017. He has occasional world class climbing performances just to be absolutely nowhere the next day and the fact that precisely this has already happened in this very Tour doesn't make me optimistic for today. Remember when people were going on about him being one of the top favorites for the 2020 Tour after he looked like a top 3 climber in the Loudenvielle stage? Nairo has had so many false dawns over the last few years that I refuse to buy into this one.
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