Jonas on that TT pushed the limits of my belief that guys were maybe cleanish.
But today, after yesterday? With the stage being so similar to the stage that Pantani set the record on? But raced harder?
Yeh... the required watts/kg to do that and the V02 max guys have to have?
I mean, it is just not realistic is it?
Look at guys like Bardet and Bernal... these are two of the guys who were the best climbers in the world 5 years ago. Look at S.Yates, Carapaz and Hindley and Mas.
They have not actually got any worse in terms of the times they are putting up really vs ~2-3 years ago. Some have even improved. But there are a few teams whose entire teams are just all improving at a level that does not seem normal given age curves, the fact V02 max doesn't improve over age, and they are not shedding pound after pound to improve their watts/kg. How are these VAMs possible?
Even as a kid during Armstrong I was one of the kids in high school who would not wear a yellow wristband because, well, speaking to my dad at the time? It was too good to be true given what we knew... and this is making some of the things back then look human.