• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread

Page 110 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Could find some hot takes for 3rd tbh.

Actually I think it should be Carapaz and it shouldn't be that much of a hot take.
It 's all subjective. For me, i get hot when temperatures exceed 22°C. While my mother would drink her soup as soon as it stopped boiling.

Honestly, i'd put a few riders above Carapaz.

I think it's either Carapaz or Alaphilippe if you wanna play the chauvinistic card.
Van Aert had a monster season but his biggest wins pale in comparison to an ORR or a WC.
But he did also take silver on both the WCC ITT and the ORR.
 
For me a Pogačar, Roglić and Van Aert podium is the result that makes most sense as the first two won the most important races, but with Pogačar having a clear edge this time with Van Aert third for the sheer amount of wins including some pretty big ones too and despite having missing out on his biggest goals he had good results in all the big races he rode.
 
Could find some hot takes for 3rd tbh.

Actually I think it should be Carapaz and it shouldn't be that much of a hot take.

Hmm, I don't see how. He only managed 3 wins this season - ORR, Suisse GC, and stage.

I would still rank WvA, Ala or Corbrelli ahead of him, perhaps even Bernal - Giro GC + 2 stage wins, 6th Vuelta, 3rd Strade Bianche, 4th TA. Of course, ORR is a major win, but I wouldn't rank above a GT.
 
The old "let's look at the monuments+ winners" and forget everything else logic.
Let's get down to results people might honestly care about.

Amstel Gold win
GW win
3 Tour stage wins

2nd Olympic RR
3rd Milano Sanremo

He had like 6 big targets this year and didn't win any of them. I would much rather have a season like Bernal, Carapaz or Alaphilippe than Van Aerts.

If I'm doing someone dirty it's Harrie Lavreysen.
 
I think van Aert third is totally fine. He has been everywhere this season, and managed to do the incredible thing, win a Ventoux stage, a time trial and on the Champs-Elysée in one Tour, that's something remarkable. The others also had strong seasons and were remarkable, but with a Tour like that and a huge accumulation of points a third place seems fair.

Congratulations to Pogacar, but really not much of a surprise. :D:D
 
Some of the journalists need to watch non road cycling.........not one MTB rider on the list. Ridiculous......
The problem is, the best mtb (XCO) rider of the '21 season (who won Olympics race, which in mtb world is like winning the Tour + he won one world cup) is... another road/cx rider named Tom Pidcock. :D

It's been really not a very encouraging situation for all the orthodox mtb riders, since guys like Pidcock and MvdP entered their playground.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Monte Serra
If the biggest MTB race of the year gets won by a 21 year old for who MTB is arguably only the 3rd discipline, does any MTB rider really deserve to be on the list?

Is there anything Pidcock can't do? The guy doesn't run anymore cause he doesn't want to ridicule Afrikans. Tough cross-country guys from the north are already shaking in their boots as Tom apparently likes snow.
 
If the biggest MTB race of the year gets won by a 21 year old for who MTB is arguably only the 3rd discipline, does any MTB rider really deserve to be on the list?
I wouldn't put it like that. It's more like this 21 year old being an exceptional talent with his skillset suiting mtb races very well, not mtb riders being sh*t cyclists losing against some random cx guy.

Using this logic you could say that road cycling's level is also average, cause a 21 year old kid riding cx, being a neo-pro, is straight away one of the strongest riders of the spring races and wins a quite prestigious race like Brabantse Pijl (okey it's not like winning mtb Olympics but still).
 
Last edited:
Let's get down to results people might honestly care about.

Amstel Gold win
GW win
3 Tour stage wins

2nd Olympic RR
3rd Milano Sanremo

He had like 6 big targets this year and didn't win any of them. I would much rather have a season like Bernal, Carapaz or Alaphilippe than Van Aerts.

If I'm doing someone dirty it's Harrie Lavreysen.

I'd rather have a season like Kasper Asgreen's than Van Aert's.
 
138964.max-1280x1280.jpg


Slovenia always had some good cyclists. From a generation that didn't race much outside of Yugoslavia (amateur level).

138965.max-1280x1280.jpg


To the generation that came before the duo. With this generation Slovenia got
represented in all the big races. Still mostly as domestiques.

Then came Roglič and everything changed.

138969.max-1280x1280.jpg


And who might this youngster be?

 
I'd rather have a season like Kasper Asgreen's than Van Aert's.
NC ITT
Algarve ITT
E3
RVV

vs

AGR
GW
NC RR
TA stage
TA ITT
TDF stage x2
TDF ITT
WCC ITT silver
OG RR silver
ToB stage x4
ToB GC

Obviously Asgreen won a top monument, and Van Aert didn't, but 3 stages in the TDF + AGR + 2 TA stages + 2 medals imho top one RVV.
 
From the Tour perspective van Aert was a beast. Hence here it's rather OK if he has the edge over Carapaz. And overall he did have a great season. Otherwise he would not be No.2 in the world ATM. One thing we can't ignore is Carapaz won Olympic RR. This one goes massive in his favor. Still van Aert won silver and that has to get acknowledged.

I would say Carapaz didn't top van Aert in this season in the mentioned competition but likely got some credit for the next season.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan

TRENDING THREADS