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Prediction - best rider of the 2020s

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Who will in 10 years be considered as the best rider of the 2020s?

  • Wout Van Aert

    Votes: 3 5.0%

  • Mathieu Van der Poel

    Votes: 3 5.0%

  • Egan Bernal

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Tadej Pogacar

    Votes: 48 80.0%

  • Julian Alaphillipe

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Primoz Roglic

    Votes: 1 1.7%

  • Remco Evenepoel

    Votes: 2 3.3%

  • Tom Pidcock

    Votes: 2 3.3%

  • Jose Almeida

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 1 1.7%
  • Total voters
    60
Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
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A race's worth in collective memory is based on the adversity of a particular era & how much impact the winner makes. No matter how many people might want a value set in stone which determines the "best", by & large the reality is the best is where the best race & how memorable the fight was (or the performance).

I mean there's just no way Geraint Thomas's Tour win for example is worth more than Roglic's 3 Vueltas. It was nice for Thomas of course but than one win doesn't mean he'll be remembered as a better cyclist than Primoz Roglic. Where were the memorable stages? The battles? The key moments? The drama? That's what matters.

This applies to all races & winners. Just look at this season: technically speaking Milan San Remo is a bigger race than Strade Bianche, yet I'd wager Mathieu van der Poel crushing Alaphilippe in Strade had far more impact on cycling followers than Jasper Stuyven winning Milan San Remo.

Yes, the Tour de France is obviously the biggest race. But it has had its ups & downs with its less memorable, less favored winners who're quickly forgotten. Pogacar is such a superstar in large part due to "how" he won both Tours: a smashing TT which shocked the world last year & total crushing domination this year (putting 3 minutes on his rivals in a mountain stage is very rare).

Logic-is-your-friend said:
Ok, we're officially entering coocoo land. This is where i get out.
Click to expand...

If Evenepoel wins the Vuelta in the coming years, you'll be singing a different tune.
 
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Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
Fair enough, but i still disagree. Froome only did the Vuelta because it came after the TDF and he had nothing to lose by doing it. He did the TDF+Vuelta double 5 times, and only won the Vuelta once out of those 5 times. It's simply more of an afterthought in many cases. Sure, many big names will compete, but only few will do so with an optimal prep and as a season goal. Roglic' wins are testament to that.
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In general I agree, but IMO you don’t enter a GT as a protected rider 5 times at a marquee team like Sky on the basis that you have “nothing to lose.” Froome was trying to win.

Of course any GT double is damned hard.
 
Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

Jun 7, 2011
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Rackham said:
If Evenepoel wins the Vuelta in the coming years, you'll be singing a different tune.
Click to expand...
Ok, let me know which tune i should be singing when that happens. But please not "Take On Me" by Aha, because that's fcking hard to sing.

I think you might be misinterpreting some things concerning Evenepoel. Mainly the aspect of his age that played a big part in why people are/were amazed. Unfortunately his crash happened and he lost 2 seasons of GT racing, which will make him 22 when he tries next year. It would still be amazing to win any GT at that age, but it won't change what i wrote about the Vuelta, unless Roglic, Bernal and Pogacar skip the Tour to prep for the Vuelta.
 
Cookster15

Cookster15

May 14, 2011
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Rackham said:
I mean there's just no way Geraint Thomas's Tour win for example is worth more than Roglic's 3 Vueltas. It was nice for Thomas of course but than one win doesn't mean he'll be remembered as a better cyclist than Primoz Roglic. Where were the memorable stages? The battles? The key moments? The drama? That's what matters.

Yes, the Tour de France is obviously the biggest race.
Click to expand...

Yes three Vueltas are worth more points but its like asking Olympic athletes: Would you swap three silver medals for one gold medal? They would all say yes.

The Tour is way more prestigious than the Vuelta and Giro. The Tdf is the gold medal. The Giro and Vuelta are minor medals. We may not like it but that's the reality. Those races might be better for purists but the reality is the Tour is the biggest race on the planet because it goes beyond cycling fans and beyond the sport of cycling. Ask sponsors. Ask non cycling fans outside of Europe about the Giro or Vuelta and most will vaguely know what you are talking about. Almost every person on the planet knows what the Tour de France is.

Yes Roglic is a better cyclist than Thomas ever was but until Roglic wins the Tour de France his palmarès will be incomplete. I do hope Roglic can avenge his 2020 defeat. But at his age his best chance might be 2022. But for this poll we are only at the beginning of the decade. Unless he can do a Valverde he will be retired before 2029 and will start to decline before then.
 
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tobydawq

tobydawq

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Cookster15 said:
Yes three Vueltas are worth more points but its like asking Olympic athletes: Would you swap three silver medals for one gold medal? They would all say yes.

The Tour is way more prestigious than the Vuelta and Giro. The Tdf is the gold medal. The Giro and Vuelta are minor medals. We may not like it but that's the reality. Those races might be better for purists but the reality is the Tour is the biggest race on the planet because it goes beyond cycling fans and beyond the sport of cycling. Ask sponsors. Ask non cycling fans outside of Europe about the Giro or Vuelta and most will vaguely know what you are talking about. Almost every person on the planet knows what the Tour de France is.

Yes Roglic is a better cyclist than Thomas ever was but until Roglic wins the Tour de France his palmarès will be incomplete. I do hope Roglic can avenge his 2020 defeat. But at his age his best chance might be 2022. But for this poll we are only at the beginning of the decade. Unless he can do a Valverde he will be retired before 2029 and will start to decline before then.
Click to expand...

It's not minor medals, it's smaller events. Your analogy doesn't make sense.
 
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CyclistAbi

May 29, 2019
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Some likely go way to far in the past and try to map that 1:1 on how Vuelta should be perceived today. As we are talking from the point of view of current cyclists and on what Vuelta is today. And will be in the next decade.

I would say that Roglič made Vuelta equal to Giro in at least 2021. And lets not forget next year Evenepoel is going to Vuelta. Hence Vuelta > Tour and Giro. If Evenepoel wins Vuelta 2022 then Vuelta > Tour + Giro.
 
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Cookster15

Cookster15

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Samu Cuenca said:
You do know that the Tour isn't held in July (just) because it's the biggest race, right?
Click to expand...

You will have to explain that this view? July is middle of the Northern hemisphere summer. Are you saying the Giro wouldn't prefer to run in July if it could? Of course not the Vuelta as Spain can be oppressively hot but certainly the Giro would prefer to run in July rather than have regularly snowed out stages (TdF weather like 2019 is the exception). And I think we would agree that the Giro is 2nd biggest grand tour behind the Tour. You should concede we are cycling fans. But the Tour de France didn't become what is is because of cycling fans. It goes way beyond cycling and this is the primary reason why it has centre stage in July.
 
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Samu Cuenca

Samu Cuenca

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Cookster15 said:
You will have to explain that this view? July is middle of the Northern hemisphere summer. Are you saying the Giro wouldn't prefer to run in July if it could? Of course not the Vuelta as Spain can be oppressively hot but certainly the Giro would prefer to run in July rather than have regularly snowed out stages (TdF weather like 2019 is the exception). And I think we would agree that the Giro is 2nd biggest grand tour behind the Tour. You should concede we are cycling fans. But the Tour de France didn't become what is is because of cycling fans. It goes way beyond cycling and this is the primary reason why it has centre stage in July.
Click to expand...

The Giro and the Tour were held in May and July, respectively, already in its first editions, and back then there were very few riders who were even interested in riding both races. That didn't have that much to do with prestige. And the Tour has obviously not been as big an event compared to the Giro during the full history of the races. But I agree that the calendar spots have played a part in making TdF the event it is today, but it certainly isn't the only/main reason.
 
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Salvarani

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Pog has a lead for sure right now, but anything could happen. He has won GTs and monuments. Roglic has too but Pogs two Tours clinches it.

I would probably have Ala behind those two right now. Then Bernal. Then MVDP and Van Aert pretty much tied.

Evenepoel and Pidcock are future stars. We have not seen the ceiling with these guys yet, I hope.

Almeida... I would still like to see a little bit more. He could be one that is always right there but doesnt win much.

Ayso could be someone for this discussion in the future. Perhaps Quinn Simmons also. We have not seen what he can/will do in the classics yet.
 
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Leinster

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Salvarani said:
Pog has a lead for sure right now, but anything could happen. He has won GTs and monuments. Roglic has too but Pogs two Tours clinches it.

I would probably have Ala behind those two right now. Then Bernal. Then MVDP and Van Aert pretty much tied.

Evenepoel and Pidcock are future stars. We have not seen the ceiling with these guys yet, I hope.

Almeida... I would still like to see a little bit more. He could be one that is always right there but doesnt win much.

Ayso could be someone for this discussion in the future. Perhaps Quinn Simmons also. We have not seen what he can/will do in the classics yet.
Click to expand...
Pog I’d 2 Tours + 2 monuments >>> Rogla’s 3 Vueltas + 1 monument. But if Roglic beats Pogacar at the Tour in 2022, that changes.

Bernal’s Giro win puts him ahead of Alaf’s 2 World Titles in the ‘20s for me, with the caveat that we must expect Bernal to get more wins like that, and that this is coloured by Bernal beating Alaf to win his Tour in the last decade, and Alaf’s MSR win coming back then too.

Wout and MVP have high ceilings, but for now they only have 1 monument each. You can win as many Strades and Amstels and CX-titles and GT stages as you want, if you’re a classics rider, you’ve got to get it done on those 6 weekends (monuments + Worlds).

Almeida has started winning races, which was the one mark against him before this year. No guarantee he will thrive at the new team (Marc Hirschi says hello), but winning is a habit (Cav also says hi), that Joao seems to have finally picked up.
 
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Salvarani

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Leinster said:
Pog I’d 2 Tours + 2 monuments >>> Rogla’s 3 Vueltas + 1 monument. But if Roglic beats Pogacar at the Tour in 2022, that changes.

Bernal’s Giro win puts him ahead of Alaf’s 2 World Titles in the ‘20s for me, with the caveat that we must expect Bernal to get more wins like that, and that this is coloured by Bernal beating Alaf to win his Tour in the last decade, and Alaf’s MSR win coming back then too.

Wout and MVP have high ceilings, but for now they only have 1 monument each. You can win as many Strades and Amstels and CX-titles and GT stages as you want, if you’re a classics rider, you’ve got to get it done on those 6 weekends (monuments + Worlds).

Almeida has started winning races, which was the one mark against him before this year. No guarantee he will thrive at the new team (Marc Hirschi says hello), but winning is a habit (Cav also says hi), that Joao seems to have finally picked up.
Click to expand...

Thats cool, was only speaking on how I see it and would rank it at the moment.
 
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