Yeah, that spot beginning at 28-29 is where the stupid mistakes, if any all disappear. The drop off afterward is usually to serious injury or lack of motivation. If Merckx had missed a few crashes, kept his pedal stroke smoother he could've continued 8-10 years more. Everyone else would've quit, though.@AlfaLum
Obviously, it could be different on Seixas case, but all this maths about age reminds me somewhat of the reactions after Ayuso's podium at the Vuelta.
Since he was a year younger than Pogacar, it seemed like he'd achieve everything a year younger, and jis progress has been less than other riders, probably because Ayuso had an excessively professional training since he was 15.
I'd like to see jis progress graph; I think he won't have a bell curve and he'll never have it, just a slight rise due to age, but without ever reaching that curve.
Aysuso´s curve will probably resemble what Merckx had from 28-29 to 32.
If Pogacar continues to resemble Merckx so much in his curve, it seems there are still 3 horrible years ahead for his haters
Unless Pogacar has messed up his preparation he will be in a league of his own again.
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I'm curious how Seixas performs i.e. how close he will be to the top3, to guys like Del Toro and Pidcock.
Yes will definitely be interesting to see how close he is. No idea if the sterrati suit him well, but I guess they think it will if he starts here.
Also interested how he will compare to his junior rival Withen Philipsen here, as this might be about the best suited race for Albert on the calendar.
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Tour + Vuelta would be pushing it a bit for a teenager.
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Obviously it would. Last year they weren't even sure he should ride the Tour in 2026 but I suppose they are more certain now.
Big mistake IMO. Why not race the Vuelta and fight ftw? Now, it's almost a sure bet he will race the TdF.
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I agree, I wouldn't put him through that amount of pressure at this age, and ride the TDF as his first GT. French talent riding French GT is asking for trouble.
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"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'"
Marc Madiot hopes Seixas is the messiah of cycling, who will stop the Alien from the East.
cyclinguptodate.com
Marc Madiot hopes Seixas is the messiah of cycling, who will stop the Alien from the East.
"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'" - Marc Madiot after another resounding victory by his 19-year-old prodigy
France has been searching since 1985 for an heir to succeed “The Badger” Bernard Hinault. It is a 41-year void without a Tour de France victory that now seems to be illuminated by new hope. After year...
cyclinguptodate.com
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On the contrary I believe sending him to the Tour makes the most sense - especially as soon as possible. He'll ride without pressure and learn. There's zero downsides.
It's all well and good saying ride the Vuelta and win it but A/that's not guaranteed (it's still a 3 week GT and his recovery is unknown) & B/imagine the best case scenario and he does win it? Next year in the TdF the pressure would be absolutely ginormous.
So since he's French and knowing how the hype cycle works, it's much better to pop the cherry and just do the Tour, come what may.
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Why would he ride without pressure? When he's being called the Messiah already
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It's true. His team would try to lower the pressure, perhaps giving him some freedom (without forcing the GC) but the media and fans would put tons of pressure on him.
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Because he's a kid and Pog exists.
I think the overarching sentiment towards him will be one of patience, support and understanding when things don't go well. We've seen it all before with Pinot, i.e. when fans have hope that a French rider will eventually come good and maybe win it in the future, they cut him massive slack.
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The presence of the ultimate alpha, Pogacar, should lower the pressure as well but the hype is still big.
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I don't know. I live here and I don't see the hype being outrageous tbh.
He's also got the advantage of the fact the football world cup takes place this summer and 'les bleus' monopolize almost every news outlet.
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My bet is that if he performs on the trajectory of the last few months, the external expectations put on him (what people often call pressure but pressure is more the internal perception of this) will increase more than his growth of maturity from age 19 to 20. He should thus ride the TDF now.
Doing the TDF with explicit communucation of riding for stages this year is basically easing into it. If he comes top 5-10 it's a bonus.
Edit: Pogacar rode the vuelta and finished third in his neopro year. Didn't hurt him much. Given the professionalization of youth cycling, Seixas is probably longer down the road in his maturity as a rider than Pogacar was then. Even considering the one year difference. People are overly traditional.
Doing the TDF with explicit communucation of riding for stages this year is basically easing into it. If he comes top 5-10 it's a bonus.
Edit: Pogacar rode the vuelta and finished third in his neopro year. Didn't hurt him much. Given the professionalization of youth cycling, Seixas is probably longer down the road in his maturity as a rider than Pogacar was then. Even considering the one year difference. People are overly traditional.
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Jesus was called the Messiah, too, yet not that much is known about what he did before his late twenties. Maybe it will be the same case for Paul the Apostle.
The French cannot help it, he will be going toe to toe with with Santiago Buitrago and Ciccone for 8th by week 2.
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