Rafal Majka discussion thread

[dick the quick]

He admitted that his goal for the TdF is stage hunting (same as in 2014 and 2015), and that he will lose time in the first week, in order to become far down enough in the GC and to be let go in a breakaway one day in the mountains.

As for building time losses in the GC, he is currently on his way to success But IMO it is still uncertain if he will be allowed by Tinkoff to try his chances with a breakaway (at least until Contador will have any real chances to fight for the podium and will need superdoms).

 

[Red Rick]

Criticism - ok
Insults - not ok

Further insults will be deleted as well and will lead to more than just that

 

[Aurelio]

Oleg maybe looking to have 2 jerseys in Paris: Sagan´s green and Majka´s polka dot.

 

[Red Rick]

He lost 2 minutes on the climbs to the great grimpeur GvA, who also pulled way more throughout the day. I don't think Majka has the form

 

[staubsauger]

Maybe he was held back as a docking station in first place.
Maybe he simply missed the winning move and never went all-in afterwards.
Maybe he indeed lacks the shape to hunt for stages and polka dot.

Saturday might tell us the truth. Although he might've big challenge from Nibali & Fuglsang to battle with in the Pyrenees!

 

[dick the quick]

Re:

Criticism - ok
Insults - not ok

Further insults will be deleted as well and will lead to more than just that

Thanks for deleting this post, even if this triggered automatically deletion of my polite reply to it.

M***, insulting anyone in the way you did is simply below the level of someone who is veteran on this forum. You can like Majka or not, but - to be honest - he just did not care very much about what you are thinking about him.

Cheers, please don't take it as an offence.

 

[Netserk]

Re:

Criticism - ok
Insults - not ok

Further insults will be deleted as well and will lead to more than just that

Ever been in an Armstrong thread?

Surely, it is only insults targeting other posters that aren't tolerated.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

So it turns out that despite all the howling about Majka on yesterday's race thread, he wasn't supposed to wait for Contador and didn't ignore any order or plan from the team. The team didn't want him to stop because they knew that Contador had Kreuziger with him. Kreuziger then repeatedly ignored team orders to pace Contador.

I'm not a fan of Majka's racing style at all, but he really was just getting dog's abuse for something that wasn't his fault because people don't like him.

 

[DFA123]

Credit to Majka for getting the KOM jersey, despite the apparent turmoil in his team. Smart move today, and probably without wasting too much energy. With Contador looking finished in this race, it could still be a great Tour for Tinkoff if Sagan and Majka both win jerseys, and Kreuziger possibly finishes high in GC (maybe even top 5).

He's also probably added a few k to his contract next season with today's performance.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re:

I'm not a fan of Majka's racing style at all, but he really was just getting dog's abuse for something that wasn't his fault because people don't like him.

This type of confirmation bias seems to really common around here. Early impressions become fortified and lead to every incident being interpreted as being further evidence for some negative trait.

 

[Arked]

Majka accomplished something today. After failed breakaway he managed to stay with the main group, help his teammates by bringing food and water bottles form team car couple of times and win enough points to wear polka dot jersey tomorrow. Not too shabby...

 

[Kokoso]

Re:

So it turns out that despite all the howling about Majka on yesterday's race thread, he wasn't supposed to wait for Contador and didn't ignore any order or plan from the team. The team didn't want him to stop because they knew that Contador had Kreuziger with him. Kreuziger then repeatedly ignored team orders to pace Contador.

I'm not a fan of Majka's racing style at all, but he really was just getting dog's abuse for something that wasn't his fault because people don't like him.

„I rode away at the foot of the Tourmalet because I didn’t know how the climb was and I preferred to be at the front to be able to help Alberto Contador and Roman Kreuziger later on.“ What Rafal said about yesterday's stage. How about that?
Anyway Kreuziger ignored nothing, he didn't hear it as we know.

 

[saganftw]

i found it funny when people were accusing majka of being selfish and riding against orders after his interview for ES and then doing exactly the oposite...anyone who believes the rider will just lay out plans for an important day in the mountains while having GC interests (for himself or his leader) in mind is an imbecile

even ES commentators were laughing about that

 

[LeSensei]

Majka is a selfish rider, way too arrogant. Probably thinks he can win the Tour. He is good at climbing though.

 

[Fergoose]

He may be hard to like but it's good to see riders of his and Pinots quality contesting the KotM. It gives the jersey a bit of prestige to have riders that could finish 5th to 20th in a good year really go for it.

 

[dick the quick]

Today, he demonstrated a different style of racing than he usually does, and I liked it very much. Attacking on the ascends, pulling strongly when necessary, taking risk when descending - that was quite entertaining to watch. And at the same time he raced wisely, remembered not to waste too much energy before le Grand Colombier, did not battle for minor KoM points earlier in the day.

Well deserved polka dot jersey. IMO he should be able to defend it successfully in the Alps - one or two breakaways should be enough.

 

[dick the quick]

No stage win, but he almost secured his polka dot jersey (he is 85pts ahead of de Gendt, around 110pts to win on all the remaining GPMs).

 

[yaco]

A fantastic effort from Majka after fighting for GC at the Giro.

 

[Cookster15]

Re:

A fantastic effort from Mark a after fighting for GC at the Giro.

He's racing for consolation prises. Too bad he started racing for consolation prises when his team leader was still in the race but at the side of the road with a lack of team support. I am not a Contador fan but seeing Makja chasing stage wins while his team leader suffered left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

[damian13ster]

His leader sucked b**** (again) and entire Tinkoff team has realised that so they smartly switched priorities. Surely, you can't hold it against him. Oleg just realised that trying to chase GC again would be a failure. Took him too long to realise that in 2015, but this year the correct decision was made faster.

When it comes to Majka himself, I am sure he is dissapointed for not winning yesterday. A stage win would be icing on a cake, but I do not think he has energy for it now. Not after entire Giro and after being the rider who spent the most time in front of peleton in the Tour. Oh well, Polka-dot and 3 stage podiums is a decent consolation price

 

[dick the quick]

This leads us to the discussion on what is more important in the TdF, in terms of the result achieved and palmares. In other words, what is the main prize and what is just a consolation prize.

In my opinion, this may vary depending on the personal/individual goals and expectations of each rider. But generally, I agree with the following order, as set out by Eurosport commentators in my country:

1. GC win
2. GC podium
3. Stage win
4. Green/polka-dot/white jersey in Paris
5. Top 10 in the GC in Paris

What do you think?

 

[damian13ster]

I agree with positions 1,2,&5. Cant really decide between KOTM and stage win. Stage win is great but all it takes is conserving energy for entire race and having one good day (see Zakarin). KOTM is much more challenging because you have to spend half of the race in breakaways. Tough choice. I do agree though that both of those are better than top 10

 

[Cookster15]

Re:

I agree with positions 1,2,&5. Cant really decide between KOTM and stage win. Stage win is great but all it takes is conserving energy for entire race and having one good day (see Zakarin). KOTM is much more challenging because you have to spend half of the race in breakaways. Tough choice. I do agree though that both of those are better than top 10

He isn't my favourite rider but I have to admit Contador is the greatest rider of his generation. Yes he's past his best but he's done enough to deserve 100% support from Tinkov and his team. Majka's chase for KOTM points was premature at best. He has never been good enough to compete for GC and his limit is to chase KOM points when he isn't marked by other GC contenders. Majka should have been with AC when he had his troubles. AFTER AC had withdrawn is when he can chase personal glory and the team switch to thinking about stage wins or KOTM. I suspect AC has had a falling out with the team before his troubles started. There is a reason Professional road racing is a team sport, I get the impression Rafal Majka only seems to ride for team Majka.

 

[Sciocco]

I think if Majka prepared for GC at the Tour he could potentially top10 it but he's great when he's stage hunting and going for the KOMs so I much prefer that. GT Stages, KOMs, maybe some week long stage races, certain small one day races. Would be cool to see him win KOMs in Giro and Vuelta actually.

 

[damian13ster]

Re: Re:

I agree with positions 1,2,&5. Cant really decide between KOTM and stage win. Stage win is great but all it takes is conserving energy for entire race and having one good day (see Zakarin). KOTM is much more challenging because you have to spend half of the race in breakaways. Tough choice. I do agree though that both of those are better than top 10

He isn't my favourite rider but I have to admit Contador is the greatest rider of his generation. Yes he's past his best but he's done enough to deserve 100% support from Tinkov and his team. Majka's chase for KOTM points was premature at best. He has never been good enough to compete for GC and his limit is to chase KOM points when he isn't marked by other GC contenders. Majka should have been with AC when he had his troubles. AFTER AC had withdrawn is when he can chase personal glory and the team switch to thinking about stage wins or KOTM. I suspect AC has had a falling out with the team before his troubles started. There is a reason Professional road racing is a team sport, I get the impression Rafal Majka only seems to ride for team Majka.

Well, if the leader drops everytime a road gets uphill, entire team deserts him (Majka was chasing KOTM as per team orders, Kreuziger just deserted AC (had valid reasons of course)) then it speaks volumes about mentioned leader. He is just not good enough anymore and clearly doesnt have enough leadership skills to instill loyalty in quality riders. In 2015 Tinkoff waited too long to start looking at othrr goals than Contadors anonymous top 5, so they learned their lesson and changed priorities earlier seeing that AC sucks in the Tour. Good for them and there is no way they should be criticized for it because it was clearly a good choice.