One of the big 'what ifs' in sports is what Lemond's palmares looks like without the shooting accident.
- May 5, 2010
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This guy will do just about everything to avoid riding with data:
Just completely ignoring the guy with the bike computer!
Just completely ignoring the guy with the bike computer!
- Jan 8, 2020
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It's in many ways unfair to compare eras, however, Lemond was a pioneer coming from outside the traditional cycling national scenes. As he has said, had he been French of Belgian, he probably would have had a different trajectory early on. But with Hinault being who he was and Fignon the new French hope, Lemond had to ride in their shadows during the first years, his immense talent thus being reigned in a bit. In the current globalized cycling, by contrast, it doesn't matter where you come from (in a certain sense because of what Lemond, but also Kelly, Roche and Anderson, started in the 80s), while the preparation in the junior/under 23 ranks today has evolved in such a way that talent can hit the ground running once turning pro as Tadej has done. Interesting whereas Tadej in the classics is up against phenoms like MVDP and WVA, Lemond was competing with Kelly, AVDP, Fignon, Rookes, etc. One thing is for certain, like then, today's cycling, because of Pogacar, MVDP, WVA and I hope eventually Evenepoel, etc. is exciting.
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- Jan 8, 2020
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Constructive criticism from Alessandro Ballan in today's la Gazzetta dello Sport:
GdS: "A great MVDP, but Pogacar off the podium after having made the race the whole day..."
AB: "An incredible finish: it's not acceptable allowing Van Baarle and Madouas to come back that way. The Slovenian made a mistake on how he managed the sprint, like the tactic on the Muurs."
GdS: "Would you explain?"
AB: "Well, Pogacar has a lot of confidence in his engine, he knows he is the strongest when the road goes uphill. It's certainly valid in stage races, in the Tour, when the climbs go up for 10 k and more. Nobody can keep up with him. It's different, however, in the monuments. He should have made MVDP take pulls on the Muurs and not just keep him on the wheel. And, having made the selection, he should have managed his resourses. In the last kilometer, moreover, why did he not give the Dutchman a change at the front to take him on in a 2 man sprint? If worse came to worst, he would have gotten second. Winding up fourth was a smack in the face, also for the team that had worked so well. We already saw this film at San Remo."
GdS: "There too Pogacar made mistakes?"
AB-"Certainly, his three attacks on the Poggio were futile and damaging. He should have attacked once at 500 meters from the top... Pogacar is young, he will learn from his mistakes."
GdS: "A great MVDP, but Pogacar off the podium after having made the race the whole day..."
AB: "An incredible finish: it's not acceptable allowing Van Baarle and Madouas to come back that way. The Slovenian made a mistake on how he managed the sprint, like the tactic on the Muurs."
GdS: "Would you explain?"
AB: "Well, Pogacar has a lot of confidence in his engine, he knows he is the strongest when the road goes uphill. It's certainly valid in stage races, in the Tour, when the climbs go up for 10 k and more. Nobody can keep up with him. It's different, however, in the monuments. He should have made MVDP take pulls on the Muurs and not just keep him on the wheel. And, having made the selection, he should have managed his resourses. In the last kilometer, moreover, why did he not give the Dutchman a change at the front to take him on in a 2 man sprint? If worse came to worst, he would have gotten second. Winding up fourth was a smack in the face, also for the team that had worked so well. We already saw this film at San Remo."
GdS: "There too Pogacar made mistakes?"
AB-"Certainly, his three attacks on the Poggio were futile and damaging. He should have attacked once at 500 meters from the top... Pogacar is young, he will learn from his mistakes."
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- Sep 4, 2017
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This. Yesterday just further reinforced in my mind that the very best Grand Tour all-rounders can very much live with and often destroy the classics specialists on heir own territory. Prime Nibali and Valverde could have had multiple top 5 finishes in RVV had they gone for it.
- Sep 4, 2017
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Good point as the 3rd quickest in that elite trio he could have tried to clip off the front in the last 3km and be gone if the other 2 showed any hesitation in leaning on the other to close the gap. a 2 up sprint was always going to be more tricky for him.
- Jan 8, 2020
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For Tadej to really get his best chance to win RVV, he needs to arrive without Wout or MVDP in a sprint finish (this will remain the case while they race it together for the rest of their careers).
- Aug 6, 2010
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- Aug 6, 2010
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PR could be more winnable than MSR imo.
And I think winning just one of those at some point (and I'm assuming he'll win Flanders one year) would be a bigger deal than doing the Giro-Tour double. I'd rather he keep saving some peak form for the monuments, and having the Tour (rather than Giro) as his GT target maybe aligns better with that.
- Aug 6, 2010
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It's what Contador paid tribute to after all of his victories. And nobody had any beef with that.
- Jan 8, 2020
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Not bigger than Giro-Tour double for him, but why not achieve them all?
- Aug 13, 2011
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This. Win them all, go for doubles, all 3 in the same year, and all the monuments same year. He can race like he is now and focus on all the monuments and Tour next year or two then start doing doubles after winning all the monuments. Hopefully he maintains motivation too.
- Aug 6, 2010
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He may only have a couple more great seasons, who knows?
I'd be focusing on those winnable monuments that he hasn't won.
Giro-Tour is okay for Indurain and Pantani (and for Contador and Froome to try). Neither could dream of winning MSR or RVV.
- Jan 8, 2020
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But my point is that Tadej can I think aspire to winning the Giro-Tour double AND winning MSR-RVV-PR like Coppi, Merckx and Hinault (even if not each won all 3 classics, except Merckx). In other words, Tadej perhaps has the ability like no other since Hinault to do the Giro-Tour double and win cobbled classics and other monuments during his career. If he does that, he will enter a very select pantheon of the sport. I thus would not give up on one for the other, especially since being a Tour winner, going for the Giro-Tour double is mythic, regarded by many as the single most difficult challenge in the sport. He already has some monuments and he can get others without having to compromise going for the big combination. He already is doing the Tour-Vuelta combo. He must do the Giro-Tour combo too and doubtless will. Besides he loves a challange like nobody does. He'll go all in, wait and see.
- Jan 8, 2020
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While I like your ambitions for him, he probably will want to take a more strategic approach, while I don't think he should wait too long to attempt the Giro-Tour double as in next year. He already has the sufficient level to try it and if he gets even better over the next few years success is within his reach. If, on the other hand, he only maintains or slowly declines, then he won't want to wait until its's too late. But I don't foresee him on the decline for another 5 potentially 7 years yet.
- May 3, 2015
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I think what would ultimately manifest him as one of the greatest would be the triple. Giro-Tour-Vuelta. Is it doable? Probably not. But if one can, then Pogacar.
The monuments thing is cool and all but he always needs to get lucky in RVV or MSR. LBL and Lomabrdia are more planable but he won them already.
The monuments thing is cool and all but he always needs to get lucky in RVV or MSR. LBL and Lomabrdia are more planable but he won them already.
- Jan 8, 2020
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Remember when Riis was planning that with Contador, the Clenbugate struck and everything went to hell.
- May 29, 2019
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- Sep 4, 2017
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If Roglic declines sharply, Bernal doesn't regain full strength and Remco ends up more of a classics beast than GC threat then I see it as feasible in a perfect year with no crashes or illnesses derailing preparation for Pogacar to win a triple if his team is good enough to keep the field on the leash.
- Jan 8, 2020
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Why? The season is designed to be able to ride classics in the spring, GTs in the summer and worlds-Lombardy in the fall. I thus don't understand what possibly could be gained for someone of his caliber, to abstain from going for double grand tours in one season, as the greats of the past had always done. It would actually be legacy suicide and, in any case, his team would never allow it to happen.
- May 12, 2015
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- May 12, 2015
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It should be ridiculously easy for a rider of his caliber to gain 2-3 kgs for Roubaix and lose it for future races with no adverse impact.
- Mar 31, 2022
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The biggest (realistic) achiviement Pogacar could do in one season had to be something like Triple Crown + monument. Even Eddy Merckx didn't do that. He managed double GT + 3 momuments. And he did the Triple Crown, but without any monuments that season.
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