Ryder Hesjedal Discussion Thread

[Unkown]

Jonathan Vaughters ‏@Vaughters
Am I bummed? Sure. But, as I've said before, these guys aren't machines. Sometimes the body is great, sometimes not.

Ya saw that earlier today, pretty much sums it up. Hopefully he can salvage something at this Giro or find a way to compete at the Tour.

 

[cineteq]

Ya saw that earlier today, pretty much sums it up. Hopefully he can salvage something at this Giro or find a way to compete at the Tour.

This just in:

"A decision on possibly pulling out of the Giro d'Italia or fighting on with far lesser goals will be made with the team's management and medical staff after a night of recovery and reflection. He could decide to fight on or instead retire, to quickly understand his problem and then find a solution before it is too late for the Tour de France."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hesjedal-to-decide-on-his-giro-ditalia-plans-before-stage-11

 

[the delgados]

Just like Landis and Basso when they had their respective jour sans.

I'd be shocked if Ryder pulled off an epic solo escape to regain time lost.
No one would believe it.

 

[ElChingon]

This just in:

"A decision on possibly pulling out of the Giro d'Italia or fighting on with far lesser goals will be made with the team's management and medical staff after a night of recovery and reflection. He could decide to fight on or instead retire, to quickly understand his problem and then find a solution before it is too late for the Tour de France."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hesjedal-to-decide-on-his-giro-ditalia-plans-before-stage-11

He needs to stay in and suffer like a true champ or ex-champ.

 

[RobbieCanuck]

Does Ryder's performance prove he is clean? It sure seems so, and I want in my heart of hearts to believe that to be true.

 

[whittashau]

it doesn't prove anything. This isn't math. It's not like you can say: Bad days = Clean. Too many good days = Juiced. All it proves is that he isn't going to win the Giro, and that his form last season is probably the best we'll ever see from him.

 

[Altitude]

Called it. Still cannot believe he won the Giro last year.

 

[Altitude]

He was a total fluke in 2012. That's all.

True dat......

 

[meat puppet]

sure didn't look like a fluke when he dropped jrod, scarponi, basso etc on cervinia though. anyhow, I never did grasp the concept of some riders being entitled winners and others (underdgos) flukes.

as for this year, too bad but that's racing. something's clearly off. LBL went well and RH was good on the first stages. an infection probably, or going really deep into the red in the ITT and never recovering properly. I'd wager the former.

 

[hfer07]

Really surprised by Ryder's disastrous past days- Is he sick? I honestly thought of him as an immediate threat to Nibali & Wiggo, based on his aggressive riding on the very first stages- but after the ITT apparently the plot just collapsed.....
Hope he gets better & at least honors the race properly....

 

[movingtarget]

sure didn't look like a fluke when he dropped jrod, scarponi, basso etc on cervinia though. anyhow, I never did grasp the concept of some riders being entitled winners and others (underdgos) flukes.

as for this year, too bad but that's racing. something's clearly off. LBL went well and RH was good on the first stages. an infection probably, or going really deep into the red in the ITT and never recovering properly. I'd wager the former.

Of course it wasn't a fluke. Pretty hard to fluke a win in a race that goes for three weeks. Armchair critics.

 

[ElChingon]

Called it. Still cannot believe he won the Giro last year.

Many called at the end of the 2012 Giro. Who's to find it though.

 

[webvan]

Of course it wasn't a fluke. Pretty hard to fluke a win in a race that goes for three weeks. Armchair critics.

This...too much baseless bashing going on here, things aligned last year for sure but the guy has (GT) talent.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

At least it shows he's human?

Maybe the sinister plan is to have the best team possible for the 100th addition of the TdF, and he was paid to show up at the GIRO and politically it would look dismal if he did not show.

ancillary points:
-CVV is a non factor at GIRO and may be using it as training for TdF.
-RH is clearly not fit enough, look for him to win a stage and train for TdF.
-Garmin will try to make 'best' team roster for TdF.

?maybe, or it was a total flop.

NW

Hesjedal is the defending champion and of course the plan was to win the Giro again. Garmin went in with a solid team to support the goal.

Anyway, I hope Hesjedal stays in the Giro recovers and try to win a mountain stage later, so he can go out in style.

 

[One Man Grupetto]

After last years Giro win, there was an article in CycleSport magazine which quoted Vaughters (I think, might have been Wegelius) saying that Ryder had the great ability - backed up by numbers - to get stronger in the last week of a Grand Tour, which he demonstrated last year. That might explain why he put in some of those attacks earlier on in the race, believing he was going to get stronger as time went on. And, for whatever reason, it just hasn't happened this year.

 

[theyoungest]

Does Ryder's performance prove he is clean? It sure seems so, and I want in my heart of hearts to believe that to be true.

Two words: Floyd Landis.

If what Wegelius is saying is true, that Hesjedal killed himself in the TT, that's not such a good selling point for the Cervelo TT bikes. "Want to ride a mediocre TT and then lose your ability to climb? Ride Cervelo!"

 

[maltiv]

Seems like they don't quite know what's wrong with him at Garmin, except that he's been feeling really bad the last few days.

My guess is that he lost too much weight too fast before the Giro. This can lead to reduced recovery and a lack of energy in general. Happens to many cyclists throughout their career when they get a little bit too ambitious. I know many cyclists personally who have done the same mistake, suddenly just losing their power completely. Hushovd actually did the same mistake in 2002, when he lost a lot of weight due to a crazy diet. He started the year by somehow being top 10 on Mont Faron, but afterwards he faded completely and had no energy for a few months.

Only a select few riders can lose that much weight while simultaneously increasing their power and recovery

 

[Neworld]

He was a total fluke in 2012. That's all.

Your comments are not congruent with his history of bike racing or winning.

 

[Euskaltel!]

The weight issue is an interesting one, although it could be anything (illness, bad buildup etc)

He said he was 3kgs lighter for this year's Giro, but the question is, why? He was in awesome climbing form last year, so why change anything? Is the pressure to retain your Giro title that much, or was this some kind of uber-plan gone wrong (Less weight = more power to weight etc)

But then we'll have to wait and see, if we indeed ever find out!

 

[webvan]

Yep, something went wrong...it's pretty reminiscent of Wiggo's 2009/2010 seasons actually, flying/sucking and same exact preparation that didn't work the second year.

If he's not ill it's possible he just pushed the weight loss too far, I think this also shows that there's a very thin margin between top cyclists, or top athletes for that matter, something we as viewers tend to forget in light of the gaps...

 

[Ripper]

He was a total fluke in 2012. That's all.

Nice trolling

Like a rider or not, winning a GT is never a fluke. Not like JRod was riding in the autobus last year my friend

 

[maxmartin]

The weight issue is an interesting one, although it could be anything (illness, bad buildup etc)

He said he was 3kgs lighter for this year's Giro, but the question is, why? He was in awesome climbing form last year, so why change anything? Is the pressure to retain your Giro title that much, or was this some kind of uber-plan gone wrong (Less weight = more power to weight etc)

But then we'll have to wait and see, if we indeed ever find out!

catch SKY trend, JV is a big SKY believer

 

[IndianCyclist]

The weight issue is an interesting one, although it could be anything (illness, bad buildup etc)

He said he was 3kgs lighter for this year's Giro, but the question is, why? He was in awesome climbing form last year, so why change anything? Is the pressure to retain your Giro title that much, or was this some kind of uber-plan gone wrong (Less weight = more power to weight etc)

But then we'll have to wait and see, if we indeed ever find out!

He tried the Sky way for the Giro. Worked for one day races but Didn't work longer races. If he continues he may not recover for TDF.

 

[Kender]

this has happened before. Little Prince anyone?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

this has happened before. Little Prince anyone?

Can't compare the situations imo.

Cunego was blasted unto the scene young. He probably quickly realized the situation and started to work differently.

Hesjedal is a +30 yo Garmin product with a long history.