Rafal Majka discussion thread

[damian13ster]

Said he still feels effect of the crashes on the cobbles.. Hopes that it will get better for tomorrow already. I personally don't believe so

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Fun rider to watch, but never a true GC guy.

He should have targeted the KOM jersey again.

 

[damian13ster]

Clearly didn't get better. Probably still screwed for tomorrow, but from then on will most likely target KOM

 

[Escarabajo]

All the climbers are being screwed in this Tour. Not just him. Combination of the parcours and other things are not helping him.

 

[dick the quick]

Not good for him.

Now, he has very limited possibilities to save this TdF. He may switch to a stage hunting mode - but it seems that currently he does not have enough legs to think about it, even if he manages to be in a breakaway. He may fight for the KoM jersey - but this year there is a serious contender who is really interested in that competition and who is already 60+ pts ahead of Majka. Finally, he can try to reel into a transitional stage breakaway which will be let to go away for a 10+ minutes and, as a result, to jump back into top 10-15 GC - but then again, he will most likely lose minutes again in the Pyrenees.

 

[The Barb]

Just wondering if anyone knows if Majka is riding LBL?

His form looks super strong right now and I think he could go very well.

 

[Koronin]

Just wondering if anyone knows if Majka is riding LBL?

His form looks super strong right now and I think he could go very well.

Great question. It would make sense for him to ride it.

 

[Leinster]

If he wasn’t planning on it, a spot in the Bora squad just opened up with Sagan dropping out.

 

[The Barb]

Boooo, not riding LBL according to Bora twitter.

Shame, in this form he would have been a genuine threat and would have made the Bora team even more imposing.

 

[klintE]

Nice to see Rafa in good shape
Today he was attacking on climb, on descent, on flat... hope he won't burn himself before crucial 3rd week.

 

[Cookster15]

I have not been a fan of Majka since the year he went on his solo KOM breakaway in the Tour whilst his captain Alberto Contador was left languishing after a crash. But I have remind myself he is still only 29 years old so what we are seeing is probably natural progression so good for him that he is realising his potential in GC rather than KOM. Hopefully for him he can keep up this level the rest of the Giro.

 

[HelloDolly]

I used to hate all the hype on here about Majka ...esp as I never thought he was a GT winner. However he is looking good and I wish him luck
Needs to keep his powder dry and could do a very good GT ....maybe podium or top 5

 

[damian13ster]

Showed true heart today.
Dropped multiple times, cramps, dehydration, yet still came in only losing time to Carapaz. Probably never win a GT. He is simply never the strongest in the race but shows that if not slowed down by crashes, he is top 5 candidate just about any race he enters. Not a bad place to be

 

[Arked]

He had a bad day, yet didn't lose time to anyone but Carapaz. He might get some nice GC result this year. Being rather underestimated by media and rivals should help him too.

 

[damian13ster]

Assuming it was actually a bad day and not him simply being 6th strongest in the race. He was fairly happy in post race interview and said he hopes to avoid a bad day. Didnt mention this was the one

 

[Arked]

I think he didn't feel great as his style of riding was very different from what we already saw in this Giro and Tour of the Alps (not responding immediately to accelerations, riding at the back of the group). He didn't crack by any means, but he wasn't as sharp as in previous stages.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Riding a great race, and hypothetically he can still win if he has no bad days, and Carapaz and Roglic have at least one, and Nibali isn't super strong. Highly unlikely of course, but a great effort by the Pole to be where he is in the standings right now.

 

[F_Cance]

and again we got to see a classic Majka.

 

[klintE]

He was top10 candidate pre-race and he acquired it.
Mortirolo killed his ambitions to be higher.
But still, good time management and a little bit improvement i TT-ing are telling me that his GC ambitions are not dead.
Next test shall be La Vuelta and he should have better chances there.

 

[WKA311]

Podium mission still on track. Great ITT for his standards and he should be one of the stronger climbers in the last week. Seems like switching coach might have been treating him well.

 

[damian13ster]

Consistency has been remarkable. He was 8th favorite for the win. He was tied for first to be in top 10 in batting odds, and think he had 4th best odds to be in top 5. Think bookmakers get it right with him. The huge question is Kelderman, but if no states get cancelled, this year might be the year for him to get Giro podium. Tomorrow will tell us all

 

[Blanco]

this year might be the year for him to get Giro podium.

This year might be the year for him to win the whole thing, a podium is in the bag

 

[Anybody_but..]

LOL, Konrad - Majka relations, etc (Majka's interview):

You said the team was aiming for a place in the top five. For you or another Bora Hansgrohe cyclist Patrick Konrad?
It was about two players. You can see that we are both thinking about the general classification. Each of us is driving our race.

How to put it ... There is no good chemistry...
What can I say? I try to stay calm and do what they tell me to do. I want to end my four-year group stay with a good performance at Giro d'Italia. And thank Ralph Denek and the sponsors Bora and Hansgrohe for this period. Because next season I will be racing in a different team.

About this in a moment, but I will also ask if you lack the group support during the Giro...
I have Maciej Bodnar, Paweł Poljanski, Cesare Benedtti, and there is also Matteo Fabbro. They do a great job. Matteo helped me a lot on Sunday, and I have someone to talk to in Polish, because there is also Peter Sagan. The atmosphere isn't bad, really.

Who would you bet on today in this race?
This boy from Sunweb is very strong and is currently in third place. Jai Hindley, he really surprised me. The whole driveway continued on Sunday! Sunweb has a great starting position. And let's not forget Nibali. He had losses in 2016 too, and the Giro won in the third week.

Have you signed a contract for a year or two?
On two. We got along before the Giro, and we completed the formalities eight or nine days ago. I'm happy. Something changes, a new motivation appears. Cool, I'm really glad.

 

[Scarponi]

How does a rider like him not end up being in a train at Ineos but better riders are wasting careers slaving for others

 

[Anybody_but..]

How does a rider like him not end up being in a train at Ineos but better riders are wasting careers slaving for others

Some kind of answer:

On Monday, it was officially announced that you will be a UAE Emirates cyclist next year. I understand that we will see you in front of this year's Tour de France winner Tadeju Pogačar, but in some races you will still be able to think about yourself.

This is exactly how it should be. I'm not an old cyclist enough to think only about helping. I still have my ambitions. During TdF I will help Pogačar, I will start in the Criterium du Dauphine, but I will be able to do Giro, Vuelta or other stage races on my own. I do not go to a team in which I will only be a helper.