The only evidence that Kruijswijk can compete with any of those guys is one race he didn't finish.WheelofGear said:Come on, Dekker_Tifosi. Kruijswijk was spectacular in the 2016 Giro but Uran has 3 Grand Tour podiums. I think Kruijswijk's average level is closer to Mollema than it is to Uran.
They both will hunt stages, from my understanding.yaco said:So will it be Gesink or Roglic riding for GC in Giro 2018 ?
One race he probably would have won based on what happened up until then but that's history and 2017 didn't work out for him so I hope he does better next season.Zinoviev Letter said:The only evidence that Kruijswijk can compete with any of those guys is one race he didn't finish.WheelofGear said:Come on, Dekker_Tifosi. Kruijswijk was spectacular in the 2016 Giro but Uran has 3 Grand Tour podiums. I think Kruijswijk's average level is closer to Mollema than it is to Uran.
Maybe but watching Uran follow wheels for three weeks was very dull but it has got his career back on track and obviously helped his team so there was method in the dullness...........fauniera said:WAY stronger than Uran? Nonsense.
He looked great, I was hoping he’d win and I also hope he shows it wasn’t a fluke in the future. But one race two years ago that he didn’t finish is not enough to rank a 30 year old rider who has two career wins with the likes of Uran, Martin, Zakarin or for that matter Yates and Mollema. Judging by their careers so far, all of them should be favorites to finish ahead of him in any race. He’s intriguing though because he has been great just often enough to show that his upper limits are much less clear than they really should be for a guy who has been around this long.movingtarget said:One race he probably would have won based on what happened up until then but that's history and 2017 didn't work out for him so I hope he does better next season.Zinoviev Letter said:The only evidence that Kruijswijk can compete with any of those guys is one race he didn't finish.WheelofGear said:Come on, Dekker_Tifosi. Kruijswijk was spectacular in the 2016 Giro but Uran has 3 Grand Tour podiums. I think Kruijswijk's average level is closer to Mollema than it is to Uran.
That Giro was ridiculous. Nibali was a shadow of his 2014 or 2017 general form and still could win. Pathetic and not to be compared to anything.Dekker_Tifosi said:@WheelofGear: If Kruijswijk is anywhere near his 2016 form or end of 2015 Giro form, he is WAY stronger than Martin, Yates and even Uran. Hell, he sorely outclassed Nibali even in 2016. Ofcourse it depends on form. But to say Yates and Zakarin are clearly better is really taking it too far.
Yeah 2017 Kruijswijk didn't have it, but he never appeared to be in optimum shape due to a fall in yorkshire (giro) and illness (early vuelta).
Yeah Nibali was ordinary in the 2017 Giro but much worse in 2016. That's why I though SK had the race sewn up until the fall. But the injuries definitely effected SK in 2017. Be interesting to see if Fuglsang can do another good Dauphine next season as well. I thought that was even more surprising than what SK did because like many others I thought Porte had the race sorted but that's Porte, finding ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory !bambino said:That Giro was ridiculous. Nibali was a shadow of his 2014 or 2017 general form and still could win. Pathetic and not to be compared to anything.Dekker_Tifosi said:@WheelofGear: If Kruijswijk is anywhere near his 2016 form or end of 2015 Giro form, he is WAY stronger than Martin, Yates and even Uran. Hell, he sorely outclassed Nibali even in 2016. Ofcourse it depends on form. But to say Yates and Zakarin are clearly better is really taking it too far.
Yeah 2017 Kruijswijk didn't have it, but he never appeared to be in optimum shape due to a fall in yorkshire (giro) and illness (early vuelta).
Not looking bad. I wonder how his flat TT is though, the one in the Giro was a mountain TT which is where he gained even more time on Nibali at the time.Gigs_98 said:So, I just noticed Kruijswijk got through the first week pretty much unharmed and finished in the first group in the first mountain stage. Not saying he will win this tour, but the last time he was looking as good early in a gt was the giro 2016, so maybe the shape is back. Maybe a decent bet for a top five overall in Paris?