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Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

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Wout has injured his knee in training camp in Tignes. Unclear if he will be able to start at the Tour de France…

:(

me thinks this is much ado about nothing. likely a pretext not to have to race nationals (which all Belgian riders have to race unless they demonstrate having an "injury").
 
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He even uploaded a run on strava yesterday, them quickly took it down, So yeah: a fake injury to avoid the nationals/travel/covid/risk
Are you doctor ? Or do you know something about knee injuries ? I don't think so. Your provocative statement is below par.

With this injury it is allowed to run and swim. Van Aert has already run and will do so in the next few days. His team has also confirmed that.

Van Aert wanted to extend his title, and the course is also suitable for it. You never break an altitude trainingcamp for fun.... or "to avoid the nationals/travel/covid/risk".
 
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me thinks this is much ado about nothing. likely a pretext not to have to race nationals (which all Belgian riders have to race unless they demonstrate having an "injury").
If all the best riders are doing this and nationals are always a week before the tour then why don’t they change dates? Seems weird to even bother holding national championships if the best riders are never there or always a question mark.
 
If all the best riders are doing this and nationals are always a week before the tour then why don’t they change dates? Seems weird to even bother holding national championships if the best riders are never there or always a question mark.

this is a good point.

back in the 70s and 80s most top riders competed in their national champs - even if they were TDF bound. But cycling was still very euro-centric so less traveling was required for most. On the other hand, I do not think Lemond ever returned to the US a week before the TDF.

As training methods also evolved (tapering and the need to be well-rested before a big target) this also started to affect numbers at NCs. This got further disrupted in the mid 1990s by the arrival of early types of tests for epo. As I have noted elsewhere, top riders “prepping” the TDF would stay away so as not to be tested during their full “glow” period.

Now, I am pretty sure WvA does not want to leave high altitude training in Tignes to race in Belgium (particularly since he already owns both titles). He has bigger goals in his mind.

none of the above answers your question, I realize. Frankly, I miss the WCs being shortly after the TDF as they used to be. Seems like we lose a lot of contenders when placed after the Vuelta. If they are not going to move that back, maybe they could move the NCs to where San Sebastián is…

my 2 cents.
 
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this is a good point.

back in the 70s and 80s most top riders competed in their national champs - even if they were TDF bound. But cycling was still very euro-centric so less traveling was required for most. On the other hand, I do not think Lemond ever returned to the US a week before the TDF.

As training methods also evolved (tapering and the need to be well-rested before a big target) this also started to affect numbers at NCs. This got further disrupted in the mid 1990s by the arrival of early types of tests for epo. As I have noted elsewhere, top riders “prepping” the TDF would stay away so as not to be tested during their full “glow” period.

Now, I am pretty sure WvA does not want to leave high altitude training in Tignes to race in Belgium (particularly since he already owns both titles). He has bigger goals in his mind.

none of the above answers your question, I realize. Frankly, I miss the WCs being shortly after the TDF as they used to be. Seems like we lose a lot of contenders when placed after the Vuelta. If they are not going to move that back, maybe they could move the NCs to where San Sebastián is…

my 2 cents.
Agreed.
 
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Except for some of us fans it’s more exciting to have this cornucopia of nats races the weekend before the tour starts, filling a big hole in the calendar and building anticipation for the Grand Depart, instead of after the Tour.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I would like to see worthwhile national championships. But I also think the reason the NC is being skipped isn't purely injury related.

Edit - it's like getting a sick note from the doctor :)
 
For sure; I didn’t mean to contest your point about that.
And I agree with you! It's a shame that for many countries the rider wearing a national championship jersey did not have to face the best in their country. At least there is some racing before the tour, it would just be nice if it was higher end.

It would be great if they had some XCO World Cup races in these two weeks prior to the tour. :p
 
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this is a good point.

back in the 70s and 80s most top riders competed in their national champs - even if they were TDF bound. But cycling was still very euro-centric so less traveling was required for most. On the other hand, I do not think Lemond ever returned to the US a week before the TDF.

As training methods also evolved (tapering and the need to be well-rested before a big target) this also started to affect numbers at NCs. This got further disrupted in the mid 1990s by the arrival of early types of tests for epo. As I have noted elsewhere, top riders “prepping” the TDF would stay away so as not to be tested during their full “glow” period.

Now, I am pretty sure WvA does not want to leave high altitude training in Tignes to race in Belgium (particularly since he already owns both titles). He has bigger goals in his mind.

none of the above answers your question, I realize. Frankly, I miss the WCs being shortly after the TDF as they used to be. Seems like we lose a lot of contenders when placed after the Vuelta. If they are not going to move that back, maybe they could move the NCs to where San Sebastián is…

my 2 cents.
If my memory serves me correctly, Lemond came to Philadelphia in 89 after the Giro and got 5th at the Cores Classic, then also the US Pro Championship race, to then go back to Europe for the Tour. And we know how that ended up.

Like Van Aert, Ganna skipped the Italian national road race (but unlike the Belgian, rode and won the tt title), surely to avoid too much stress on the body before the opening Tour tt. Nibali was openly critical about anyone "snobbing" the rr, but in Ganna's case, like Van Aert's, how can you criticize the strategy with the first Yellow Jersey in mind?

I too prefered the WCs in early September, before the UCI moved the Vuelta in 1995. The Vuelta organizatiom was quite happy with the nove, the Giro not so much.
 
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If my memory serves me correctly, Lemond came to Philadelphia in 89 after the Giro and got 5th at the Cores Classic, then also the US Pro Championship race, to then go back to Europe for the Tour. And we know how that ended up.

Coors Classic or Tour duPont/Tour de Trump where he raced under Coors sponsorship/team jersey? I believe the latter.

is it also possible that the US Pro Championship was held earlier than other national champs (traditionally a week before the TDF)? I also believe so. But could be wrong.

after a horrendous Tour dePont/Tour de Trump, he may have competed in the US Pro Championship, from where he returned to Europe for the Giro, before the TDF...

I doubt he returned from the Giro to the states before heading to the TDF.
 
Coors Classic or Tour duPont/Tour de Trump where he raced under Coors sponsorship/team jersey? I believe the latter.

is it also possible that the US Pro Championship was held earlier than other national champs (traditionally a week before the TDF)? I also believe so. But could be wrong.

after a horrendous Tour dePont/Tour de Trump, he may have competed in the US Pro Championship, from where he returned to Europe for the Giro, before the TDF...

I doubt he returned from the Giro to the states before heading to the TDF.
Sorry, my bad, not Cores Classic, but CoreStates!, which was held in mid-June. And, no, he did return to the States after the 89 Giro and got 5th in Philly. I remember, because I was there.;)