Rafal Majka discussion thread

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Bauke Majka.

 

[HelloDolly]

He was at his best riding for stage wins at Tour ...maybe GC is not his forte as having ot be top everyday can wear you down

I know he did 3rd at Vuleta but alot of the field were tired ....and I never remember him attacking like Chaves, Dumoulin or a host of other riders

 

[damian13ster]

Yeah. But 26yo regularly riding for top 5 in GC, always without a team, is not going to give up and become a stage hunter.

It is just not going to happen. Plus, isn't this kind of what natural progression looks like in endurance sport? He still should develop for next 2-3 years

 

[Miburo]

Great giro ride from Majka. The haters can finally shut up.

 

[Sciocco]

2013: 7th +8:09
2014: 6th +7:04
2015 Vuelta: +1:09 on podium
2016: 5th +4:37 (assuming tomorrow goes as it should)

So he is showing improvement but either he just isn't fit for the Giro or he is so conservative that he is the most boring GC rider in the pro peloton. Especially compared to his stage hunting in the tour or even the tour of Poland in 2014. The machine, wish he would go back to that.

 

[damian13ster]

He is too conservative when not in top shape, and Giro definitely doesn't suit him (he said so himself many times). He prefers lower altitude, less steep climbs of TdF and hot temperature. And unfortunately not the type to attack when he is not in shape. Oh well, still the beat GT rider Poland had in ages. And I think he can surprise in Rio with high humidity and temperature

 

[movingtarget]

He will never win a GT. Not at his current level.

 

[Billie]

Re:

Great giro ride from Majka. The haters can finally shut up.

What exactly was great about his performance?

 

[damian13ster]

Re:

He will never win a GT. Not at his current level.

Of course. The only scenario in which he can win is Vuelta 2015 type of race at which he arrives fresh. Not going to happen. But he is going to improve. He is a workhorse and still didn't reach a peak age

 

[damian13ster]

Re: Re:

Great giro ride from Majka. The haters can finally shut up.

What exactly was great about his performance?

He is trolling.

 

[Isaak-Gabriel]

He's behind Aru, Pinot, Chaves, Quintana and Lopez, Bernal, Costa are on scene soon, he's already 26 1/2 yo. A career is about opportunities and realism, the expectations are too high now.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

He's behind Aru, Pinot, Chaves, Quintana and Lopez, Bernal, Costa are on scene soon, he's already 26 1/2 yo. A career is about opportunities and realism, the expectations are too high now.

While Majka lacks in peak performance, he has proven to be very consistent in 4 GT's. Something Pinot has only been on one occasion. So far, I would still put him ahead of Pinot, but potentially that could change after this year's Tour.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re: Re:

He's behind Aru, Pinot, Chaves, Quintana and Lopez, Bernal, Costa are on scene soon, he's already 26 1/2 yo. A career is about opportunities and realism, the expectations are too high now.

While Majka lacks in peak performance, he has proven to be very consistent in 4 GT's. Something Pinot has only been on one occasion. So far, I would still put him ahead of Pinot, but potentially that could change after this year's Tour.

Geez ...what fan boy slant is this

Pinot is on another level and has shown this by the improvement on his TT and downhill alone..Plus he podiumed the Tour and will do again

Majka will never win a GT and even if he did everyone would miss it as they would be asleep
He excelled in MTF stage wins...should stick to that...it makes him watchable
He cannot attack or anything at a GT as conserving energy...he has the pace to hold on over 3 weeks (even to Jungles)

This forum has blown his ability out of the water even suggesting by one poster he is up there with top 4

 

[lenric]

The funny thing about Majka is that he needs someone to pull even when he needs to go to the bathroom to take a dump.

 

[KGB]

But he can blink after that.

 

[RattaKuningas]

I don't understand the hate about Majka. He probably rides according to how he feels and that's it. If he felt really good then he probably would attack like any other rider.

 

[lenric]

Re:

I don't understand the hate about Majka. He probably rides according to how he feels and that's it. If he felt really good then he probably would attack like any other rider.

The hate about Majka is that he never attacks.

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

I don't understand the hate about Majka. He probably rides according to how he feels and that's it. If he felt really good then he probably would attack like any other rider.

The hate about Majka is that he never attacks.

If he doesn't feel good or better than the main competitors then there is no point of attacking because it makes things even worse when you go into red and explode.

Quintana rides similarly in my opinion.

 

[lenric]

Re: Re:

I don't understand the hate about Majka. He probably rides according to how he feels and that's it. If he felt really good then he probably would attack like any other rider.

The hate about Majka is that he never attacks.

If he doesn't feel good or better than the main competitors then there is no point of attacking because it makes things even worse when you go into red and explode.

Quintana rides similarly in my opinion.

Quintana attacks when he thinks he can make a difference.
Majka never attacks. So, he doesn't ever think he can make a difference.

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

I don't understand the hate about Majka. He probably rides according to how he feels and that's it. If he felt really good then he probably would attack like any other rider.

The hate about Majka is that he never attacks.

If he doesn't feel good or better than the main competitors then there is no point of attacking because it makes things even worse when you go into red and explode.

Quintana rides similarly in my opinion.

Quintana attacks when he thinks he can make a difference.
Majka never attacks. So, he doesn't ever think he can make a difference.

No disrespect to Majka but Quintana is much stronger and on a good day can drop any cyclist in the world. We'll probably see him more in upcoming years and I think that we will witness some attacks that last as well. But I think that he wasn't at his best in this Giro and just tried to finish as high as possible.

 

[lenric]

When he's riding for GC he never attacks, whether he's with Dumolin, or with Valverde.

 

[hrotha]

When Majka is hurting, how do you reckon his rivals are? Fresh as a daisy?

He doesn't move because he's a coward. Simple as.

 

[SeriousSam]

Meh, it's clear he lacks the strength to do great things. Sure, he could roll the dice for that 1 in 1000 chance or whatever.

 

[Miburo]

Re:

Meh, it's clear he lacks the strength to do great things. Sure, he could roll the dice for that 1 in 1000 chance or whatever.

Then maybe stop going for a top 5 and get a stage win. Surely that's worth more knowing he already achieved a top 5.

And maybe stop trying to wheelsuck everything and never take any kind of responsibility.

Just an idea

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re:

When Majka is hurting, how do you reckon his rivals are? Fresh as a daisy?

He doesn't move because he's a coward. Simple as.

He finished behind Nibali, Chaves, Valverde and Kruijswijk. I think we all know that he wasn't able to beat them. For example today he struggled to keep up with Scarponi when he accelerated. I think judging from this he wouldn't have been able to do any big attacks today.

Maybe during some next races he will do some big attacks when he feels much better and has a climb that he likes with really hot weather. I wouldn't call him coward because he has had great stage wins.