Weird they keeping a door open for the Giro when even the Tour might come too soon.
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Older amateurs will risk life, limb and financial ruin to win a no-money local race. The psychology of that is individual but the willingness is pretty universal. It's just how desperate you may be to go home with bragging rights.There is no one person or orgainzation to blame...maybe there is a case to blame capitalism, but I still believe people would race their bikes against each other, even in the absence of money, so even that is just an exercise on my part to promote a personal view, and not really reflective of the overall reality of racing. So, debate away, but I choose to go with the "Sh!t happens" explanation, and move on.
The way I see it, they only rule him out of the races that they are certain he won't do. It's still too early to tell how long it will take him to get back on the bike. It's not like they are in any rush to change the Giro roster.Weird they keeping a door open for the Giro when even the Tour might come too soon.
My take is that athletes tend to weather these physical and emotional traumas better than fans might expect because they are competitors and have already been through enormous ups and downs already by this point in their careers.That's not true. I think both should be grateful to one another because such rivalry likely made them who they are now and if not for the other, they wouldn't have perhaps trained so hard.
I don't agree with this. You get disappointed or depressed by what seems to be within your reach given your set of skills. Only 5 riders can get depressed not winning the Tour.
Next time they should go 10 mphI'm pointing out the discrepancy between Visma and WvA acknowledging that this stretch is very dangerous, while simultaneously handing out notes that they should ride it like hell in order to set up an attack on Kanarieberg.
I honestly don't know what the part in bold is in reply to what I've said? Like you want to link that to my opinion (spoiler: I think exactly the opposite).
first, Pogi was a big hole in the road, not a racing incident, just a road that isn't good enough to race on.
Second, yes, this was a racing incident, but a self-provoked racing incident. WvA touched Benoot's wheel as Benoot was eager to move up with WvA, swinging hard to the left in order to pass a fading Tim Van Dijcke, and Benoot even got out of the saddle at 70K/hr in a downhill, creating even more sudden movement of his rear wheel.
Either Benoot (or another domestique) accelerates seated going 70k/hr in order to keep position, or you just allow other riders to move in front and start the next hill from 10th-15th. Visma just didn't have the right guys / firepower at that moment to lead the bunch to the next curve: the Visma management made a plan to dominate the race, but without Tratnik, van Baarle, Laporte,... they simply lacked the guys executing the plan.
So in the end, Visma had an unrealistic plan to attack on Kanarieberg, they had it in their notes they should ride like hell. At the same time, they already expressed their concerns to RVV organisers that this stretch is very dangerous (the reason Kanarieberg won't feature anymore in RVV). Maybe they should reflect a bit on risk assessment.
Next time, they should consider if aiming to ride like hell, without the capacity to do so, in a Micky Mouse race, on a segment they consider very dangerous themselves, is worth the increased risk, with the big race looming 4 days later.Next time they should go 10 mph
Yeah, we get it. Repeating your personal opinion over and over isn't going to change anyone else's.🙄Next time, they should consider if aiming to ride like hell, without the capacity to do so, in a Micky Mouse race, on a segment they consider very dangerous themselves, is worth the increased risk, with the big race looming 4 days later.
I think the way to race these smaller WT classics, if you are one of the top 3 guys for Flanders and roubaix, is to attack early to truly test your form, get the best training affect, and minimize your time scrambling for position. This is what Van der poel always does. It clearly doesn't come naturally to a guy like wout van art however, who I have criticised heavily in the past for his defensive racing on the classics.I mean: if you read this carefully, the crash was a selffulfilling prophecy, and Visma has to think REAL hard how much responsability they want to take for this crash, given the way these notes ask for nothing else than to ride agressive and take serious risks crashing, for no other reason that setting up an attack for WvA to win this race. There was a time when prep races were just that: prepare for the big race. If WvA (but Visma in the first place) treated this race like a prep race, testing out tactics, e.g. send Benoot / Jorgensen up the road, or let WvA chase attacks rather than be the one to attack,... or in other words: Visma could have eased up just a bit in this race, still win it, but learn a lot more from racing differently than the plan they had now, which was to obliterate the competition already on Kanarieberg. What would they have learned from that, in preparation for trying to beat MvdP on Sunday? Not much it seems. Maybe whether they could drop Stuyven / Pedersen, but that's about it.
I know they mean well, but I would hate for someone to tell me to "come back stronger" in that situation. Like let me try to deal with this *** agonizing pain first please, ok?
True—or in some instances (Pogacar at LBL, Cancellara at RvV) crashed out early in the race they were targeting before real racing even started.Anyway, I don't understand why people are saying it could be the end of wva chances to win Flanders or Roubaix. All the top classics guys had at least one spring where they crashed out of the big races in a prep race on great form. To come back and win one of these races would be a beautiful redemption for him. The most important thing is not to rush a comeback or recovery to try win some forgettable giro or tour stage, when he has some good years left in his career and many big races to win
That doesn't bring you good luck though.Ok Wout.
Recover in a relax way. Do some minor races in June, early July. Go to altitude. Come down from your Tenerife mountain to win the olympic title. Get your long desired Ronde van Vlaanderen next year with a golden bike and helmet.
Cheers.
Still breaks my heart that Greg never won it. But seven days after this picture, he pulled off Roubaix. Think Wout would sign for that.That doesn't bring you good luck though.
Just my .02, but for me it's because next year he'll be 30 years old and (IMHO) past his top years for something requiring the explosiveness of Flanders; f he was ever going to win it I think this would have been the year. I definitely still think he can win Roubaix but what's the strategy for next year then? Surely they'll have realized the folly of putting all their eggs in one basket but who knows? Anyway, gutted for him. According to Benoot Wout was in the form of his life.. Uggh.Anyway, I don't understand why people are saying it could be the end of wva chances to win Flanders or Roubaix. All the top classics guys had at least one spring where they crashed out of the big races in a prep race on great form. To come back and win one of these races would be a beautiful redemption for him. The most important thing is not to rush a comeback or recovery to try win some forgettable giro or tour stage, when he has some good years left in his career and many big races to win
We were cheated out of a fantastic finale that year; damn. I was really happy to see him get Roubaix but fact is he would trade that for a Flanders... nice consolation prize though.Still breaks my heart that Greg never won it. But seven days after this picture, he pulled off Roubaix. Think Wout would sign for that.
all races but the tour should be done virtually, on zwiftYeah, we get it. Repeating your personal opinion over and over isn't going to change anyone else's.🙄
I could see it go both ways. He seems to be at an inflection point in his career and there is starting to be a real sense of urgency to win certain races he’s been on the cusp of for a while. He’s had many highs and knows his worth, but has been on the fringe of something bigger many times without quite getting there and the window is closing. The immense pressure he faces in being a Belgian and the fast accelerating up and comers don’t help. Not quite managing to win the 2 biggest monuments in the sport is a good problem to have, but I imagine these last couple years are killing him inside.My take is that athletes tend to weather these physical and emotional traumas better than fans might expect because they are competitors and have already been through enormous ups and downs already by this point in their careers.
May I second that is ridiculous, in all types of racing there are circumstances and mistakes made that cause crashes.That's ridiculous. Show me a team that has ever told their riders to be at the back at a crucial moment.
While it's not getting easier and he might lose some explosiveness, I don't see why he can't win Flanders in the coming years. Guys like boonen and cancellara managed. In fact Boonen had one of his best seasons at 31.Just my .02, but for me it's because next year he'll be 30 years old and (IMHO) past his top years for something requiring the explosiveness of Flanders; f he was ever going to win it I think this would have been the year. I definitely still think he can win Roubaix but what's the strategy for next year then? Surely they'll have realized the folly of putting all their eggs in one basket but who knows? Anyway, gutted for him. According to Benoot Wout was in the form of his life.. Uggh.