No one can do the double!

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Froome could do the triple every year.

Don;t get me wrong Froome is the best at the moment but a double would be too far for him too because of the need to be so thin for so long, possibility of illness, etc

Its more than just being a great rider there are other issues involved

But he has been that thin for years

 

[Gigs_98]

I think not even Froome can do the double but maybe its possible. Would like to see him trying it next year, or maybe more likely 2017 because I am sure even someone who cares most about the tour would like to see the 100th giro on his palmares

 

[cellardoor]

Re: Re:

If a legend who won 9(7) GT's cant do it, then nobody. (not writing this as a AC fan really)

Are we supposed to pretend we can't see your signature?

nope, thats why I wrote that, as I was writing it clearly as a fan of cycling not a fan of certain Alberto Contador

Ok, I'll give you a pass this time, but if you start saying "Go Nairo (but not as a fan of Colombian cycling)" then you're really taking the biscuit. :>

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

Contador has at least won a Giro/Vuelta double in the past whereas Froome has struggled in his last two Vueltas. Froome looks immense when he's able to peak for a specific race, but if his form is even slightly off he looks quite beatable. I wouldn't rule it out if he happened upon weak fields, but I don't think Froome could do the double with fields like Contador faced this time.

The point with froome is that he has to be the strongest rider if he wants to win a gt. As already written in the sky tactics thread he has problems to do something different than attacking on the last climb on the last 10 kilometers. For example in last years vuelta he could have brought AC into serious problems if he would have acted differently.

 

[Walkman]

Re: Re:

Contador has at least won a Giro/Vuelta double in the past whereas Froome has struggled in his last two Vueltas. Froome looks immense when he's able to peak for a specific race, but if his form is even slightly off he looks quite beatable. I wouldn't rule it out if he happened upon weak fields, but I don't think Froome could do the double with fields like Contador faced this time.

The point with froome is that he has to be the strongest rider if he wants to win a gt. As already written in the sky tactics thread he has problems to do something different than attacking on the last climb on the last 10 kilometers. For example in last years vuelta he could have brought AC into serious problems if he would have acted differently.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Pantani Attacks]

I was just messing. Froome even in this shape for 2 GT's couldn't do the double. So much more than just having the best legs. Nibali is the closest to Contador of current crop. Contador of 2007 would have done it and Contador would have done the triple in 2008 had Astana been invited to the Tour. 2008 Contador was the most energetic he's ever been and even though he was't as tactically brilliant then as h was in 2009, he wouldn't have needed it and would have marked Sastre.

 

[Pricey_sky]

I'd love Froome to try the Giro/Vuelta one year, im not sure he would though and Sky seem to want their best rider at the tour each year.

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Re:

I'd love Froome to try the Giro/Vuelta one year, im not sure he would though and Sky seem to want their best rider at the tour each year.

They'll have Geraint for that

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

I'd love Froome to try the Giro/Vuelta one year, im not sure he would though and Sky seem to want their best rider at the tour each year.

They'll have Geraint for that

That exact thought came into my head as I was typing that post!

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Re: Re:

I'd love Froome to try the Giro/Vuelta one year, im not sure he would though and Sky seem to want their best rider at the tour each year.

They'll have Geraint for that

That exact thought came into my head as I was typing that post!

Haha. Chances are Kwiat and even Landa could be there though. Landa could do Giro/Vuelta alone if he maintains the form he showed in the Giro and moving to Sky will help him lots too.

 

[vedrafjord]

Re:

At the very least, the double also requires a lot of lady luck to be on your side. As soon as Contador fell off and got banged up in the Giro, the stacked deck became even more insurmountable IMO. Overall, the sport will have to change drastically to allow a double.

Bingo. I'd go as far as to say that a double right now would require lady luck to not be on the side of your opponents - the GC field is deep enough now that I think you'd have to rely on some of your opponents dropping out through crashes or injuries to manage it.

 

[PremierAndrew]

If anyone can do it, it would be Froome. Could see him doing Tour-Vuelta possibly, and definitely Giro-Vuelta (if he ever decides to go for something other than the Tour), but Giro-Tour is just such a hard feat

 

[PremierAndrew]

Issue with Bertie atm is that he'd be simply unable to match Froome if he was fully fresh in the Tour, let alone tired after a Giro

 

[orangerider]

As mentioned, Contador did the Giro because he knew his chances against a fit Froome in the Tour was slim even if he did not do it. Majka, Basso, et al on the team were just not cut out to take 1st for the Giro.

Doubt Froome would be capable of winning a double anymore than Contador would. Maybe a smidgen better chance but not overly so. Froome peaks for the Tour just as LA did, and completely crumbles outside of that domain. One trick pony, yet there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Taxus4a]

Re:

I was just messing. Froome even in this shape for 2 GT's couldn't do the double. So much more than just having the best legs. Nibali is the closest to Contador of current crop. Contador of 2007 would have done it and Contador would have done the triple in 2008 had Astana been invited to the Tour. 2008 Contador was the most energetic he's ever been and even though he was't as tactically brilliant then as h was in 2009, he wouldn't have needed it and would have marked Sastre.

The first time that you ride to win 2 GT , especially 2 in a row, is not possible to win- Once you have done that once, You can try in the future,becopuse your body knows that effort.
To win Giro and Vuelta is easy for a Tour winner if the resy of the best are not in those races, or are not at his best...except if a rider oif the level of Horner came fresher... but this is no likely...

 

[Cramps]

Apologies but I just thought I'd bump this on the chance someone who knows something about the answer missed it. There's a lot of science on preparation for and effects of efforts over short periods (eg max lift, sprints), longer sustained efforts (eg 10k, marathon). But what about the process of recovery over something like a GT, or the effects of a sustained multiweek effort on subsequent performance?

A literature that would address questions like:
How does physiology change over the course of a GT?
How long does it take to recover from a GT?
What differences between individuals predict quick and/or full recovery?

There's aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, but is there a literature on the kind of fitness required for recovery within and between efforts like GTs? eg recovering from the effects of sustained multiweek high efforts?

 

[happychappy]

Re:

Any **** man from Sky can do it.

Hell, I fit the profile, overweight student to cycling champ, nothing extroardinary for Sky

Nonsense. Even the "worst" professional cyclist is something you'll never be.

 

[Singer01]

as sky seem to be very tour centric it seems far more likely that he would go Tour - Vuelta double. the second GT is the hardest but the vuelta tends to have the least competition, in addition the Vuelta tends to have more stages with just one mountain as the final ascent (sky forte), and his preference for heat lends iself to this being the preferred option.
if he did double up next year he could then target the 100th Giro in 2017 and if successful hold all the GT's at the same time in a much easier way than contador was targeting, it would be 'the skinny slam'.

 

[Walkman]

Re: Re:

Any **** man from Sky can do it.

Hell, I fit the profile, overweight student to cycling champ, nothing extroardinary for Sky

Nonsense. Even the "worst" professional cyclist is something you'll never be.

How hard can it be? A VO2mx in the upper 70's is surly not that inconceivable.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

If anyone can do it, it's Froome. Best climber, best time trialler when he wants to, best team.

More importantly, Froome already won the Tour fatigued. By quite some margin. Would a 3 week Giro be more tiring than 1 week Tirreno 1 week Romandie, 1 week Dauphine etc etc. Probably. But then again Froome claims to train 10 hours a day even when he's not racing.

I think Froome could easily do it. Contador 09 could alos have easily done it.

 

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

Could Froome do it?

Not sure, even if in this kind of shape. He does seem quite easy to get sick, and with the usual Giro conditions it would be a big problem.

Froome only ever gets sick in the offseason and every day of his life pre 2011. He never ever gets sick when it matters.

 

[Eshnar]

Re: Re:

Could Froome do it?

Not sure, even if in this kind of shape. He does seem quite easy to get sick, and with the usual Giro conditions it would be a big problem.

Froome only ever gets sick in the offseason and every day of his life pre 2011. He never ever gets sick when it matters.

How many times did it matter? And what season was it?

 

[TourOfTexas]

No one will ever, ever win the Giro-Tour double.

Like, ever.

Tinkov talk to his friends, talk to Madiot, talk to Brailsford.

No one will ever, ever, ever, do the double.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Any **** man from Sky can do it.

Hell, I fit the profile, overweight student to cycling champ, nothing extroardinary for Sky

Nonsense. Even the "worst" professional cyclist is something you'll never be.

You don't know my VO2max values

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Any **** man from Sky can do it.

Hell, I fit the profile, overweight student to cycling champ, nothing extroardinary for Sky

Nonsense. Even the "worst" professional cyclist is something you'll never be.

How hard can it be? A VO2mx in the upper 70's is surly not that inconceivable.

How much can VO2 max improve with training?