- May 10, 2024
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How difficult it is to achieve what Tadej has done can be perhaps grasped by looking back a bit.
It is the beginning of March, first race, the Strade Bianche.
There are 14 winners of Strade in history (since 2007) and they are big names. Only two (at the time) are multiple winners, Kwiatkowski and Cancellara.
You appear on the start of your first race of the season. Do you say to yourself "I'll do this race and ease myself into the rhythm, no pressure, I have big plans (the Tour) later in the season" or do you attack with 80+kms to go because deep inside you want to win this race, then Catalunya, Liege, the Giro, the Tour, Montreal, become the World Champion and then conclude with Emilia, Varesine and Lombardia?
You are at the start of Strade. There is Pidcock, Mohorič, Laporte, Hirschi, Wellens, .. In order for your Grand Plan to work, you must not start losing right now, but winning. Even winning this one race for mere mortals is near impossible, let alone making you a famous cyclist in your country.
But then on the start of Liege you will have to face Van Der Poel. And then do the improbable and win the Giro on your first try.
And if you succeed in all that improbability, you're merely at the start.
You have to appear at the greatest race of all, the mighty Tour, facing your ultimate nemesis Vingegaard who cracked you two times already. Many saying you will never win another Tour again. And at the same time do the impossible mythical "double" that has been achieved only a couple of times in the stange black and white days of past, sometimes under suspicious circumstances.
And then, then you plan to also become the World Champion.
Seems like a great PCM campaign, trying some new cheat codes you got from a friend. Seems like a game.
And this is not enough for you. Denying the existence of reality you use the Force and improvise the greatest escape in history of World Championships to put an exclamation point on your rainbow yersey.
Of course, this is not some grand 5-year plan or a career tick-off, this is what you intend to do in the next 7 months.
And it all starts on one crazy Saturday in March.
After 200 kilometers of racing, you are tired. The second flat tire has really done you in. There is a group uproad, some 15 minutes in front, that's probably going to battle it out for the glory. You decide not to waste this beautiful day on too much stress and wave to your team car for another drink.
It is the beginning of March, first race, the Strade Bianche.
There are 14 winners of Strade in history (since 2007) and they are big names. Only two (at the time) are multiple winners, Kwiatkowski and Cancellara.
You appear on the start of your first race of the season. Do you say to yourself "I'll do this race and ease myself into the rhythm, no pressure, I have big plans (the Tour) later in the season" or do you attack with 80+kms to go because deep inside you want to win this race, then Catalunya, Liege, the Giro, the Tour, Montreal, become the World Champion and then conclude with Emilia, Varesine and Lombardia?
You are at the start of Strade. There is Pidcock, Mohorič, Laporte, Hirschi, Wellens, .. In order for your Grand Plan to work, you must not start losing right now, but winning. Even winning this one race for mere mortals is near impossible, let alone making you a famous cyclist in your country.
But then on the start of Liege you will have to face Van Der Poel. And then do the improbable and win the Giro on your first try.
And if you succeed in all that improbability, you're merely at the start.
You have to appear at the greatest race of all, the mighty Tour, facing your ultimate nemesis Vingegaard who cracked you two times already. Many saying you will never win another Tour again. And at the same time do the impossible mythical "double" that has been achieved only a couple of times in the stange black and white days of past, sometimes under suspicious circumstances.
And then, then you plan to also become the World Champion.
Seems like a great PCM campaign, trying some new cheat codes you got from a friend. Seems like a game.
And this is not enough for you. Denying the existence of reality you use the Force and improvise the greatest escape in history of World Championships to put an exclamation point on your rainbow yersey.
Of course, this is not some grand 5-year plan or a career tick-off, this is what you intend to do in the next 7 months.
And it all starts on one crazy Saturday in March.
After 200 kilometers of racing, you are tired. The second flat tire has really done you in. There is a group uproad, some 15 minutes in front, that's probably going to battle it out for the glory. You decide not to waste this beautiful day on too much stress and wave to your team car for another drink.
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