Paris - Nice 2021, March 7 - March 14

[Extinction]

Roglic won yesterday. Schachmann won today.

Roglic needed friends today, but had none. This has not always been the case in cycling.

 

[tobydawq]

Because we have live commentary & absolutely no journalist or onlooker posted anything about the peloton (& Jumbo) pulling hard to distance Schachmann.

You can't just make things up in your head & pretend both scenarios are identical.

Live commentary, right, that is always so accurate before live images begin...

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Isn't he? I thought we'd agreed that every Jumbo rider is Chris Harper.

Every Jumbo rider is indeed Harper, so if Roglic had won, it would have counted as a win for Harper too. A win by any other Jumbo rider is a win for both Harper and said rider. So Roglic can never win a race he doesn't enter, but Harper can.

 

[kingjr]

Roglic needed friends today, but had none. This has not always been the case in cycling.

I read about Bouhanni, Campenaerts and Declercq pulling for him in this thread

 

[Red Rick]

Someone check in on @Gigs_98 I fear the worst guys

 

[tobydawq]

I read about Bouhanni, Campenaerts and Declercq pulling for him in this thread

Declercq tried to lead him off the road

 

[RedheadDane]

Roglic needed friends today, but had none. This has not always been the case in cycling.

You're saying that teams like Bora and Astana didn't wait today, because Roglic snatched the win away from a Bahrain rider yesterday? I doubt that.

 

[Extinction]

I read about Bouhanni, Campenaerts and Declercq pulling for him in this thread

"Pulling for him" or just taking turns?

 

[Extinction]

You're saying that teams like Bora and Astana didn't wait today, because Roglic snatched the win away from a Bahrain rider yesterday? I doubt that.

No, just that he had no friends to help.

 

[Netserk]

Yea but you don't remember the romantic side, when politics and social agreements regulated behavor, before this hedonistic and ruthless individualism set in. It was no different with sponsors and teammates 30-40 years ago, and yet there was a certain chivalry.

The nice ladies-racing where everyone is obliged to wait whenever the yellow jersey takes a piss is a recent invention. A norm favouring the strongest and enforced by the strongest. Have you heard of Merckx waiting for anyone?

 

[RedheadDane]

No, just that he had no friends to help.

And it's possible nobody would have helped no matter what he'd done yesterday. Besides, I don't think he was planning on crashing today. Yesterday he had no way of knowing that he might end up needing friends in the peloton in the near-future.

 

[Wvv]

1. Well, Laporte excelled in 'not winning' this race. He deserves another victory soon. With a Flemish schedule it will be very hard though.
2. Matthews came in at 38 seconds today. He is not in top shape yet, stage 6 showed that already. But maybe he is finally building up right for the big classics.
3. Enjoyed the performances of Hamilton this week, well done. Kudos to Mäder, Jorgensen, Vanhoucke, Neilands, Elissonde and Crazy Campenaerts too.
4. Roglic was the only deserving winner of Paris-Nice 2021, such bad luck. Schachmann winning the GC twice now without ever finishing in Nice, quite special.
5. Tirreno-Adriatico is ridden on another planet this season.

 

[johnymax]

Last stage of Paris - Nice never disappoints.

It's a shame what happened to Roglič, but that's part of racing. It happens often to him, though. It happened on the last day of Pais Vasco 2018, when he was comfortably in the lead, he crashed on the last stage but was able to hold on. It happened in Dauphine 2020 when he had to abandon before the last stage while in lead. It happened in Vuelta 2019 when he almost lost the race because of a late crash. It happened in Innsbruck 2018 when he was one of rhe favourites but crashed just before the final climb. Not to mention what happened in the Giro 2019...

He has won a lot but he's also had his share of bad luck. I don't know anymore if it's only bad luck or it's something else involved. I know he is not the absolute best of a bikehandler, which is understandable with him being a latecomer to the sport.

I just hope it doesn't become a recurring issue. And most of all I hope that he'll be ready for Itzulia for the showdown with Pogačar.

 

[kingjr]

"Pulling for him" or just taking turns?

dunno, you be the judge:

Bouhanni just used himself up for Roglic!

And now Campenaerts. Everybody is not on the same side.

 

[johnymax]

Incredible turnaround at the end and bad luck for Roglic. Who would have thought it would happen? Yesterday he had everything and today he's left with nothing.

He's left with 3 stage wins. If he was gifting stages, he'd be left with nothing.

 

[Red Rick]

1. Tirreno-Adriatico is ridden on another planet this season.

I think with Strade growing in popularity PN will never attract the better field again

 

[Wvv]

I think with Strade growing in popularity PN will never attract the better field again

Unless the UCI and/or ASO are smart enough to start the race at least one day later (and 1 day shorter as a result).

 

[Rackham]

Live commentary, right, that is always so accurate before live images begin...

On L'Equipe & Eurosport, it usually is. Especially when we're talking about one of the top 2 GC guys & the matter of teams pulling hard to drop him.

 

[Extinction]

And it's possible nobody would have helped no matter what he'd done yesterday. Besides, I don't think he was planning on crashing today. Yesterday he had no way of knowing that he might end up needing friends in the peloton in the near-future.

Hypothetical circumstances don't explain his isolation today.

 

[Extinction]

dunno, you be the judge:

Bouhanni just used himself up for Roglic!

And now Campenaerts. Everybody is not on the same side.

Bouhanni used himself up for Roglic? Really? Are you insane?

 

[Sciatic]

I think with Strade growing in popularity PN will never attract the better field again

I wondered whether when teams & riders were planning their race schedules back in Dec/Jan, if it seemed wise to limit the amount of border crossings, because of COVID and the (the) unknowns about quarantine requirements in different countries. So perhaps it tilted the balance this year toward riding Tirreno, rather than P-N, prior to San Remo?

 

[RedheadDane]

Hypothetical circumstances don't explain his isolation today.

Neither does the fact that he didn't give Mäder the win yesterday. And how is the fact that Roglic yesterday had no way of knowing what would happen today a hypothetical?

However, if you do want a hypothetical; let's imagine Roglic had given Mäder the win yesterday, and then lost the GC by just 4 seconds today. Then giving Mäder the win would have been tactically stupid.

 

[kingjr]

Bouhanni used himself up for Roglic? Really? Are you insane?

Ask Zinoviev

 

[saganftw]

On L'Equipe & Eurosport, it usually is. Especially when we're talking about one of the top 2 GC guys & the matter of teams pulling hard to drop him.

schachmann said in interview he had to make a big effort to get back, so what now? does it not count because he made it back? they both met adversity and unfortunately for roglic it was at the worst time in the valley, but there is a point when you cannot just make somebody else responsible for your fortune anymore

it sucks for roglic but it kinda sucks for schachmann too, especially because he is the bad guy now even tho astana and cofidis pulled plenty themselves

 

[Carols]

Roglic needed friends today, but had none. This has not always been the case in cycling.

Not true. Quite a few dropped guys gave him a wheel. What race did you watch?