Przemysław Niemiec

[aarnold517]

It seems like every race that takes place in italy that miche is invited to, niemiec is up there in every mountain stage and the GC

so why has he only raced for a continental team his whole career? does anyone have any knowledge as to why he has never joined a protour or pro continental team to get into more (and bigger) races?

 

[Hairy Wheels]

I wondered the same thing about Lagutin after 2003 Espoirs worlds...someone gave the explanation that he was "tapped out". Already doing "everything" it took and higher level teams felt like he couldn't get any faster. Apparently it's common in Italy. I had a teammate a few years back who raced amateur in Italy. He pointed to Frattini as a good example (won the baby giro) but couldn't get a contract in Europe...came to the US. Just what I heard.

 

[Master50]

Lagutin's Bike

After he left Navigators or should I say after Navigators ended I bought Lagutin's race bike. Fabulous.

 

[pmcg76]

It seems like every race that takes place in italy that miche is invited to, niemiec is up there in every mountain stage and the GC

so why has he only raced for a continental team his whole career? does anyone have any knowledge as to why he has never joined a protour or pro continental team to get into more (and bigger) races?

I agree with you on Niemiec. He has also done very well at the Route du Sud on a number of occasion's yet never seemed to move up to the next level.

 

[Michele]

Niemec "exploded" with some big results some years ago, and then I got very surprised when he signed a renew of contract with Miche for something like 3 years (which is kinda long and unusual for cycling).
I never understood that one.

Actually usually he has a peak exactly right around this time, and then sometimes he dissapear for the rest of the season.

@hairy wheels, you comment about Lagutin and guys like him riding amateurs in Italy is common thing, and they are very well known among the people who usually follow those races.
Remember Popovych? He won EVERYTHING as an U23 rider could ever win and he was nicknamed "Eddy Merckx" in Italy.
Yes, he got a nice career as a pro, but not as good as many expected (like Colnago himself).

 

[ingsve]

Maybe the pro teams know something that makes them not want to sign him. Not worth the risk perhaps.

 

[Michele]

It could be.