State of the peloton 2022

[fbjim]

they still have Campagnolo-Colnagos and I will always consider them Italian just for that

 

[roundabout]

I don't like average speed as a metric, but this Tour is 3 stages away from being the new fastest ever

 

[spalco]

Yes I think we have peaked on excitement for this cycle.

Bora showed it at the Giro. Keep your powder dry and just crush the race with a concentrated mega watt effort.

After this edition Pog will ride more conservatively but now JV know they have the recipe right they will trust that they can just crush enough people to tee up JV to go full cyborg whenever needed.

Until the next guy(s) come along who have an even better mixture. I'm still hoping for a fully powered up Evenepoel, or maybe a VA vs VdP GC showdown.

Why not?

 

[Cagalitroso]

Italians really need to step up their game like they did in many other sports. They are nowhere at the moment.

yep, they need a full state-sponsored program like the British had

 

[Mayomaniac]

And you can make a case that Almeida was actually better before joining UAE.
As was Hirschi.

Plus UAE has cut a lot of its Italian ties in the past few years.

Yeah, they only started flying once Gianetti removed the old Lampre doctors and coaches and brought in guys with more "modern" approaches.

 

[ppanther92]

Until the next guy(s) come along who have an even better mixture. I'm still hoping for a fully powered up Evenepoel, or maybe a VA vs VdP GC showdown.

Why not?

Do you actually think thats what an arms race looks like? Because I am just thinking if Armstrong's reign would have ended earlier if there was no UCI protection (in both ways - making the positive test go away and blackmailing Mayo and Hamilton). Might be.

 

[spalco]

Do you actually think thats what an arms race looks like? Because I am just thinking if Armstrong's reign would have ended earlier if there was no UCI protection (in both ways - making the positive test go away and blackmailing Mayo and Hamilton). Might be.

I really don't have a clue what's going on right now. Blood bags, EPO, steroids, that's all stuff that - while pretty disgusting - I can sort of understand on a technical level. I have no idea what the current peloton is taking.

But yeah, I think Armstrong's reign was helped significantly by protection, and having more money and focus than everyone else also, similar to what Sky were doing.

 

[Eclipse]

Until the next guy(s) come along who have an even better mixture. I'm still hoping for a fully powered up Evenepoel, or maybe a VA vs VdP GC showdown.

Why not?

So far it seems MVdP has a bit of decency in his focus.

Maybe we get another nuclear breakout at the Vuelta but I think we're probably set for a bit. 2 nukes for the tour and a strong mixed field behind.

Spain and Italy will surely want to find someone after such a bad spell though so maybe there's some wiggle room there.

 

[Laverna]

The US doping problem returns to the Lance era. Kuss, McNulty, Powless, Jorgenson, Simmons all had a very 'good' Tour

 

[ppanther92]

The US doping problem returns to the Lance era. Kuss, McNulty, Powless, Jorgenson, Simmons all had a very 'good' Tour

As long as they are top 20/30 riders at best and no stage wins, I am going to point my finger at others first.

 

[Laverna]

As long as they are top 20/30 riders at best and no stage wins, I am going to point my finger at others first.

Kuss and McNulty are super domestiques, they can demolish anyone if they have to, except Vingegaard and Pog

Powless is among the break almost every day. Apart from the first week, the same applies to Jorgensen. Simmons worked steadily for Pedersen and looked stronger than Ciccone in the mountains.

 

[fbjim]

Finally we've found the real doping villain of the Tour: Neilson Powless.

 

[Riek s]

As long as they are top 20/30 riders at best and no stage wins, I am going to point my finger at others first.

Would even say, as long as they have power output within the believable range i'm all fine.

Its the continious accelerations, continious extreme high output day after day that makes it fun to watch while having bottom level credibility imo.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Superman popped, police it looks like not anti-doping

Antonie Vayer's dodgy provincial French mayor must have connections in South America!

Miguel Ángel López is being investigated for alleged drug trafficking

The Colombian was met off his flight back to Europe by police who are investigating him for his connection to the so-called 'Maynar case'.

cyclingtips.com

 

[PhiLiz]

And yet another police investigation stirring things up. Never the testing.

 

[MartinGT]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1550204334687883265

View: https://twitter.com/daniellloyd1/status/1550204334687883265?s=20&t=gL8JCd_TkxgKqutaIYwseQ


The same old being trotted out.

Better diet
Better equipment
Better recovery

Yawn yawn yawn

 

[Ripper]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1550204334687883265

View: https://twitter.com/daniellloyd1/status/1550204334687883265?s=20&t=gL8JCd_TkxgKqutaIYwseQ


The same old being trotted out.

Better diet
Better equipment
Better recovery

Yawn yawn yawn

Well it is true that lots of things are a bit better. And it does add up. Thermonuclear is still thermonuclear though, acknowledging that it's not everyone.

 

[Ripper]

And yet another police investigation stirring things up. Never the testing.

I know, right?

 

[Ripper]

And you can make a case that Almeida was actually better before joining UAE.
As was Hirschi.

Plus UAE has cut a lot of its Italian ties in the past few years.

UAE has difficulty organizing its way out of its own bus.

 

[Ripper]

Finally we've found the real doping villain of the Tour: Neilson Powless.

Lol!

Don't forget Pidcock!

 

[SafeBet]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1550204334687883265

View: https://twitter.com/daniellloyd1/status/1550204334687883265?s=20&t=gL8JCd_TkxgKqutaIYwseQ


The same old being trotted out.

Better diet
Better equipment
Better recovery

Yawn yawn yawn

He also forgot to mention that, despite being 263 km, that stage wasn't as hard as yesterday's.

Or am I missing something?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

He also forgot to mention that, despite being 263 km, that stage wasn't as hard as yesterday's.

Or am I missing something?

Second halves of stages 17 and 18 were ridden on a crazy tempo (mainly because Pog and UAE wanted to get back time). The time losses of Thomas and co. were huge.

 

[roundabout]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1550204334687883265

View: https://twitter.com/daniellloyd1/status/1550204334687883265?s=20&t=gL8JCd_TkxgKqutaIYwseQ


The same old being trotted out.

Better diet
Better equipment
Better recovery

Yawn yawn yawn

Human devolution confirmed.

 

[Red Rick]

Human devolution confirmed.

Time is a flat circle.

 

[noob]

There's another thing I don't understand though; the difference between partying on tour nights instead of sleeping should make a real difference?