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Rafal Majka discussion thread

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He was going to medal without attacking, pulling or doing any kind of work. Fortunately he had a chance for Gold and was left with no options. Should have held on but unfortunately cramped. Which is why should practice a lot more attacking in the last 10 k when he is a contender to avoid cramping in important situations. Hope to see a new Majka.
 
Aug 6, 2015
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Re:

damian13ster said:
Very realistic about TdF chances. Knows he is getting a bit stronger each year- natural progression, and aims at top 5.
Wants to go for Stages in the Vuelta
What a great contradiction... so you say that he is very realistic and he is aiming a top5 in tour. Wtf??? Do you really think he could do a top5?
 
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portugal11 said:
damian13ster said:
Very realistic about TdF chances. Knows he is getting a bit stronger each year- natural progression, and aims at top 5.
Wants to go for Stages in the Vuelta
What a great contradiction... so you say that he is very realistic and he is aiming a top5 in tour. Wtf??? Do you really think he could do a top5?

Well this year a lot of riders are going to the Giro so sure - He should aim for a top 5. He might get it.
 
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portugal11 said:
damian13ster said:
Very realistic about TdF chances. Knows he is getting a bit stronger each year- natural progression, and aims at top 5.
Wants to go for Stages in the Vuelta
What a great contradiction... so you say that he is very realistic and he is aiming a top5 in tour. Wtf??? Do you really think he could do a top5?

He already did a top 3 in the Vuelta and finished 5th, 6th and 7th in the Giro. Why shouldn't he aim at top 5 in the Tour?

Many other riders (who are not even close to Majka's GT results) declare, almost each year, fighting for top spots in the TdF.
 
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portugal11 said:
damian13ster said:
Very realistic about TdF chances. Knows he is getting a bit stronger each year- natural progression, and aims at top 5.
Wants to go for Stages in the Vuelta
What a great contradiction... so you say that he is very realistic and he is aiming a top5 in tour. Wtf??? Do you really think he could do a top5?


Yes, I think he can top 5. Who is significantly better than him? Porte (he can have a bad day but i think he will perform well), Froome, Quintana, Contador (might try to follow Froome/Quintana and crack badly). Who else that is way above him? Top 5 is ambitious but not unrealistic
 
I think top-5 is a reasonable goal for him, GC-wise, as a podium would be a bit too optimistic and lower than that would be boring/unambitious.

I still think it'd be better to target KOM and mountain raid stage wins, and then GC in the Vuelta.

But perhaps not everyone thinks that KOM+stage=5th and that KOM+2stages>4th
 
I think that changes a bit after you already have 3 stages and 2 KOM. He just wants to test himself is my guess. Plus, Vuelta win would be unlikely and he already has a podium there so better to go for stages. That's my thinking though

Edit: Also, you have to consider that Porte and Bardet aren't truly proven yet, Contador has been known to suck at the Tour, and with tooooons of luck, 5th, 4th, or 3rd might be doable (although 3rd would be equivalent of winning a lottery)
 
Aug 6, 2015
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He struggled to be top5 in giro (i know that he doesn't like cold but he should do better than he did). Honestly I think he won't get even a six or seven place in tour
 
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damian13ster said:
Netserk said:

Yeah, Bardet appears strong, I think their levels are pretty close to each other though. Anyway. Even if you are realistically top 6-7 in terms of strength, you should still aim at top 5. What's the fun in going for top 10 in that case. Where is the ambition in that?
Majka is smart. He's the 15th or 20th best GT rider. But he found his niche, he climbs well, gets the points, hopefully wins a stage, like Moncoutie at the Vuelta...smart.

But top-5 at the Tour...nope. He's not contemplating this. And he wouldn't get it.
 
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damian13ster said:
I think that changes a bit after you already have 3 stages and 2 KOM. He just wants to test himself is my guess. Plus, Vuelta win would be unlikely and he already has a podium there so better to go for stages. That's my thinking though

Edit: Also, you have to consider that Porte and Bardet aren't truly proven yet, Contador has been known to suck at the Tour, and with tooooons of luck, 5th, 4th, or 3rd might be doable (although 3rd would be equivalent of winning a lottery)

If somebody is willing to give me those odds (nearly 14 million to one), I'd readily take a bet on Majka to make the podium.
 
Yes Konrad and Buchman will help Majka in the mountains. Also Poljanski.
Bodnar and Burghardt on flat.
Top 5 is a goal for him, out of the question. He said it openly couple of times
When something go wrong they shall fight for stages, obviously.
 
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klintE said:
Yes Konrad and Buchman will help Majka in the mountains. Also Poljanski.
Bodnar and Burghardt on flat.
Top 5 is a goal for him, out of the question. He said it openly couple of times
When something go wrong they shall fight for stages, obviously.

With Konrad riding both Giro and Suisse, it is very unlikely that he should ride the Tour too. With Sagan on the team, getting Buchmann and Poljanski as potential helpers should be good enough for Majka too. Perhaps McCarthy can help a bit too if needed if he has good climbing form.
 
Majka is a solid grinder of a GC rider, top 5 is definitely where he should be aiming at a Grand Tour he targets as a leader.

Maybe he's not going to achieve it if everyone rides well and has no incidents, but how many times does that actually happen in a Grand Tour?
 
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Eclipse said:
Majka is a solid grinder of a GC rider, top 5 is definitely where he should be aiming at a Grand Tour he targets as a leader.

Maybe he's not going to achieve it if everyone rides well and has no incidents, but how many times does that actually happen in a Grand Tour?

Exactly. That's my opinions as well. Goals are supposed to be ambitious, yet not outlandish. That's top 5 in Majka's case. Can he fail? Of course, it is likely. But top 10 would be to conservative for him, it would show lack of ambition.

You also have to consider that Majka's progression is very natural. He slowly increases his level throughout the years, and is likely to peak at 30-34.
 
Actually I'd take 14-1 odds on Majka to make the podium, let alone 14 million to 1.

Here are some of the cyclists to make the podium in the past decade:

2016 Bardet
2014 Peraud, Pinot
2013 Rodriguez
2011 F Schleck
2010 Menchov
2008 Kohl
2007 Leipheimer

So it doesn't seem impossible; though unlikely.
 

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