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Rider schedules and targets for 2023 (also rumours and opinions allowed)

Page 9 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
I agree, thats the only finger I can put on Vingegaard during that race. Its a no-brainer to go all out on Galibier towards the top and try to win the Tour right then and there.

Actually faking to be in trouble and dropping yourself would have been better as well with Van Aert up the road. That would have been an extremely interesting tactic that we probably never see in pro cycling, but would have been a better move than the status quo. Basically, with Wout up the road, you want everything else than status quo. Then you keep Pog interested and Wout wheels him in a few km before Granon - game over!
I think there's definitely room for some faking in cycling, but I would probably never take it as far as dropping early, unless its right before the top somewhere where you can then get back. If anything you'd wanna balance body language, so if you have visible tells of being weak you should sometimes act like that when you're great.
 
Why not? Vingegaard would still be in a much better spot with 30sec-1min down with Wout in the alley. Him and Pog being together is the only way he doesnt really get an advantage by having him , but then again, he was much stronger on the last climb anyways.
 
Why not? Vingegaard would still be in a much better spot with 30sec-1min down with Wout in the alley. Him and Pog being together is the only way he doesnt really get an advantage by having him , but then again, he was much stronger on the last climb anyways.
I think the advantage is negligble in the Granon case. Attacking Galibier is much better if you're good. If Van Aert is obviously gonna bring it back Pogacar simply isn't gonna drill the valley himself.

I think a better situation to do it is on a MTF or climb when attacks fly early like what Froome did on Covadonga 2016 or what Dumoulin did on Oropa 2017, though those aren't real faking weakness. If anything it's probably better for group dynamics to fake weakness to do less turns in a valley or inbetween hills or something, and I think situations where purposefully getting dropped being a viable strategy is neglible.
 
Julian Alaphilippe 2023 programme up until the beginning of April:

-Challenge Mallorca (25th -29th January)
-Ardeche Classique (25th February)
-Drome Classic (26th February)
-Strade Bianche (4th March)
-Tirreno-Adriatico (6th - 12th March)
-Milano-Sanremo (18th March)
-Ronde Van Vlaanderen (2nd April)

No mention of any flemish classics before RVV for the moment

View: https://twitter.com/soudalquickstep/status/1611340706299224064?t=y7t0A8PaSDGFcn3cGpkY8A&s=19
 
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I can see Roglic doing something in June, like the Tour of Slovenia. His full calendar isn't known yet. His team probably doesn't know yet either, as I guess it really depends on how he goes in the Giro. And he could well be put in some race between Catalunya and the Giro too.
 
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I can see Roglic doing something in June, like the Tour of Slovenia. His full calendar isn't known yet. His team probably doesn't know yet either, as I guess it really depends on how he goes in the Giro. And he could well be put in some race between Catalunya and the Giro too.
Yeah, from that tweet it looks like Roglic is only doing 2 races this year, which will surely not be the case.
 
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Yeah, from that tweet it looks like Roglic is only doing 2 races this year, which will surely not be the case.
It´s three with the vuelta, which you only see if you open the link. But yes only Catalunya before the giro seems very few racing days, although Roglic already said, that he will start the season slow because he started late with his preperation for the season due to his injury. I think before Catalunya we will not see him, but after Catalunya they could add perhaps the ardennes classics, Itzulia Basque or Romandie.

Normally after the giro all the GC guys make a break, if they also want to target the vuelta later. Hindley, Carapaz and Landa for example only made one stage race a few weeks ahead of the vuelta.
Also an interesting fact about which I thought a few weeks ago: Last year and also 2021 the top giro GC guys failed to deliver later in the vuelta GC wise. The last time a giro podium rider delivered GC wise at the vuelta had been Roglic in 2019.
 
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Also an interesting fact about which I thought a few weeks ago: Last year and also 2021 the top giro GC guys failed to deliver later in the vuelta GC wise. The last time a giro podium rider delivered GC wise at the vuelta had been Roglic in 2019.
Almeida did deliver at the Vuelta to an extent, but far from podium in any of the races of course. And I'm not sure how many of the others really tried. But broadly speaking you're right, and it's an interesting observation. Could be a coincidence, as I'd be surprised if it's suddenly become more difficult to recover for the Vuelta.
 
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Almeida did deliver at the Vuelta to an extent, but far from podium in any of the races of course. And I'm not sure how many of the others really tried. But broadly speaking you're right, and it's an interesting observation. Could be a coincidence, as I'd be surprised if it's suddenly become more difficult to recover for the Vuelta.
Yep, Almeida also didn´t finish the giro, so i don´t count him as a Giro GC guy in my argumentation.. ;)
I made this observation with Hindley, Carapaz and Landa this year and with Bernal in 2021. All of them came with pretty bad form into the start of the vuelta, although they said, that they wanted to target the GC. Hindley and Carapaz and also Bernal in 2021 came better in form during the race, but lost so much time in the beginning, that they haven´t been a threat in GC anymore. Landa´s peak last year seemed to be even after the vuelta, he wasn´t in shape for the whole race..
 
For every other Tour winner of the 21st century except Pogacar, Vingegaard's results outside of the Tour in 2022 would have been a good or decent season. I just think it's unfair to say we don't know if he's capable of replicating his Tour performance on the basis of him not dominating the rest of the season like Pogacar does (and Froome and Contador in their absolute best years). I don't think he was 'lucky' in the 2022 Tour, and I think it does show what he's capable of. I haven't heard complaints from Pogacar that he was lacking form, and the gaps down the field from Vingegaard are comparable to Pogacar's dominance. I do however agree that Roglic should take his chances on getting some favourable Tour de France circumstances, especially considering that he might not be quite ready in time for the Giro.
Uhhh El Pistolero and Nibali would laugh at that.
 

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