Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[Extinction]

How is he exaggerating? You mean how he predicts what he will do before races?

Exactly and he makes a laughing stock of the equally prepared racers. So he must be this much stronger or we have a rouse.

 

[Red Rick]

Exactly and he makes a laughing stock of the equally prepared racers.

Based on just dude trust me bro

 

[Hugh Januss]

There are two monsters. You forgot the other less versatile one who crashed and spoiled the suspense for the TdF.

One thing we should consider is Pogacar is coming into his prime years as a cyclist. He is still only 25. Talent + clinic + optimal age.

2? What about the Belgian who pulled off basically the same escapade at last years LBL or the little Dutch boy who just did the same thing at RVV and PR? Something has changed, but is putting it all off to doping just being lazy? Or is there some new super drug that only Visma and UAE have access to? Well and Alpecin and Quick-Step! Bahrain used to have it too but apparently their prescription ran out?

 

[Extinction]

Based on just dude trust me bro

I trust you bro

 

[GuntherL1]

That Belgian has been doing similar things since he was 17-18, but is not able to win where and when he wants to. Feel free to compare his Paris-Nice with Pogacars Tour of Catalunya.
Most of the competitors of the little Dutch boy were absent or injured in Flanders or P-R. Do you think he could do this against a fully fit Visma LaB and Trek? I don't. Besides, he couldn't compete for victory in Amstel or LBL.

 

[ivanic]

Gene doping with mRNA.

This show is out of control, what are UCI and WADA waiting for?

 

[Ripper]

Gene doping with mRNA.

This show is out of control, what are UCI and WADA waiting for?

Well, given the recent news about the Chinese athletes, I would say that WADA is definitely not waiting to keep a lid on doping issues. I guess another way of looking at it is, they are hoping no one else sincerely takes up the fight. And the UCI would be worse.

Point being, it is likely up to others to figure what the hell is going on

 

[Nick2413]

If there really is something new and game changing going on, how long until everyone is on it? The traditional methods trickled down to the rest of the peloton eventually, but it seems 2 or 3 riders are on something completely separate right now.

 

[the delgados]

Where's Rmk--Rol (?) when we need him?
I apologize if I've misspelled his or hers name, but s/he's the guy who spent a long time in the Clinic telling everyone how stupid they are with all the doping talk, adding that there's nothing to see here.
I'm genuinely curious to hear his or hers thoughts on the matter.

 

[Nick2413]

Where's Rmk--Rol (?) when we need him?
I apologize if I've misspelled his or hers name, but s/he's the guy who spent a long time in the Clinic telling everyone how stupid they are with all the doping talk, adding that there's nothing to see here.
I'm genuinely curious to hear his or hers thoughts on the matter.

Someone find his Twitter account, he would post stuff from that on here, maybe still active

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Where's Rmk--Rol (?) when we need him?
I apologize if I've misspelled his or hers name, but s/he's the guy who spent a long time in the Clinic telling everyone how stupid they are with all the doping talk, adding that there's nothing to see here.
I'm genuinely curious to hear his or hers thoughts on the matter.

Funny! I had that exact thought today.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

What strikes me most nowadays is that there are no rumors. Doping allegations and rumors used to be surrounding top guys regularly, journalists were always interested in this topic. Now when the supermen trio perform (not only Pogacar but also MVP and Vingo) there's nothing as if our heroes were riding paniagua indeed! Ok, sometimes they are asked about doping but that's it. I'm almost starting to believe in fairy tales but then Gianetti comes and hugs Teddy after the race...

 

[topcat]

Where's Rmk--Rol (?) when we need him?
I apologize if I've misspelled his or hers name, but s/he's the guy who spent a long time in the Clinic telling everyone how stupid they are with all the doping talk, adding that there's nothing to see here.
I'm genuinely curious to hear his or hers thoughts on the matter.

fmk_rol
Feargal McKay
Active on twitter, etc.

 

[Rob5091]

Point being, it is likely up to others to figure what the hell is going on

The sh*t normally hits the fan with police raids and not anti-doping organizations. Bahrain got raided then Colbrelli nearly died so they dialled it down. Nairo & a few other fools got caught with Tramadol after they were warned that UCI were going to check for it, so the norm is warn riders so there's no scandal (which is why WADA have "monitoring programs" so riders know what not to take). Even the old regular bust of some rider just before the Tour to scare off people seems to have stopped.

 

[Slavique Nuke]

I am fascinated by my own perception that Ramco is much more believable time trialing away from everyone then Toby. Toby's awful aerodynamics just don't help the suspension of disbelief, nor does his moderate effort destruction of the peloton

Pog decided the race on the climb when he attacked 900 metres before the top of La Redoute and took a 20s lead. Then came the usual G2 mentality, everyone hesitated and the gap widened.

He didn't win the race in a time trial like Remco did last year when he just shook off Pidcock on the small uncategorised bump.

 

[MartinGT]

Yesterday on the commentary they were talking about a cross head on La Redoute. Rowe said 'So that means it will be a tailwind after' Which I put down to one of the reason why Pog gained time quickly. It wasn't until I watched the women that it was actually a headwind.

He's turned this into a laugh.

 

[ivanic]

The sh*t normally hits the fan with police raids and not anti-doping organiztions. Bahrain got raided then Colbrelli nearly died so they dialled it down. Nairo & a few other fools got caught with Tramadol after they were warned that UCI were going to check for it, so the norm is warn riders so there's no scandal (which is why WADA have "monitoring programs" so riders know what not to take). Even the old regular bust of some rider just before the Tour to scare off people seems to have stopped.

usually before the Giro some unknown rider gets caught. We'll see.

yet another meaningless performance and there are only half words, the riders are silent, let's forget about the journalists.

On Twitter there is only Vayer, a few anonymous French profiles, all the others have disappeared. I only see positive comments, is this a nightmare?

 

[hrotha]

Where's Rmk--Rol (?) when we need him?
I apologize if I've misspelled his or hers name, but s/he's the guy who spent a long time in the Clinic telling everyone how stupid they are with all the doping talk, adding that there's nothing to see here.
I'm genuinely curious to hear his or hers thoughts on the matter.

fmk_rol can be annoying because his disdain for everyone not named fmk_rol seeps through his every post, but he's not naive. He didn't call people stupid for talking about how prevalent they think doping is, he'd call people stupid because they'd make stupid arguments then pat themselves on the back

 

[pastronef]

usually before the Giro some unknown rider gets caught. We'll see.

yet another meaningless performance and there are only half words, the riders are silent, let's forget about the journalists.

On Twitter there is only Vayer, a few anonymous French profiles, all the others have disappeared. I only see positive comments, is this a nightmare?

Vayer's words are just anger and bitterness and shouting. he was left out of the pro cycling circus after 1998 and never had a chance to find a job. he's toxic and people know it. misoginist, obsessed by Alaphilippe and Marion Rousse, fighting a personal battle against a Bahrain soigneur, accusing foreign riders while some French ones doing the same watts are fine for him.
accusing riders of hiding in altitude training camps while FDJ and their riders been doing the same, Preidler included. Vayer accusing Bardet of being -not normal- in July 2016 while saying yestarday he's the moral winner in Liege.
if twitter's antidoping fight is lead Vayer blabbing about speeds and a few others shouting when even teams post pictures of riders drinking ketones, well...

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I am fascinated by my own perception that Ramco is much more believable time trialing away from everyone then Toby. Toby's awful aerodynamics just don't help the suspension of disbelief, nor does his moderate effort destruction of the peloton

Haha, who needs aerodynamics when there's unlimited power!

 

[TrekCyclist]

Seems, it needs a Jonas Vingegaard (or a tactical sprint from a small group) to crack Pogacar. Which is still much more entertaining than nobody been able to challenge Lance (apart from Ullrich in 2003), for example.

 

[the delgados]

fmk_rol can be annoying because his disdain for everyone not named fmk_rol seeps through his every post, but he's not naive. He didn't call people stupid for talking about how prevalent they think doping is, he'd call people stupid because they'd make stupid arguments then pat themselves on the back

I regret introducing the term stupid and it's overall implications as a way to invite someone into a conversation. I can see how it's interpreted as provocation. My apologies.
I dislike fmk, but I respect his intelligence. I'm genuinely curious to get fmk's take on the current state of cycling for more reasons than one.
Just a note to edit to add that I have a different take on your explanation for why fmk called people stupid, but maybe that's a conversation to be had with fmk.

 

[Nick2413]

One of the problems is the narrative around doping is that even if they’re all doping, it’s not a problem because they’re all doing it. When in reality, we’re suddenly seeing a few specific riders head and shoulders above the rest, which kills the competition. The problem isn’t just the doping but rather the access to the best doping, and the imbalance seems more than usual lately.

 

[nayr497]

There is the myth Lance was unlikable. I don't know a single rider who is close to have a similar popularity to what Lance had back in the early 00's. Not even Contador.

Are we talking amongst the riders or the fans?

Never heard a rider from another squad talk nicely about Lance and have definitely heard guys on his own team (Frankie, Tyler) not say such nice things.

I also wouldn't call it a "myth" in any way. He came off as an arrogant liar, then he told his story and admitted he was an arrogant liar, then he hosted a podcast and he comes off as an arrogant jerk.

He's made his own myth, in my mind.

 

[nayr497]

One of the problems is the narrative around doping is that even if they’re all doping, it’s not a problem because they’re all doing it. When in reality, we’re suddenly seeing a few specific riders head and shoulders above the rest, which kills the competition. The problem isn’t just the doping but rather the access to the best doping, and the imbalance seems more than usual lately.

Thank you! You just summed up the entire PED issue in a few sentences. It's never the same, it's never equal.

Obviously something unequal is going on when Pogacar, van der Poel, Wout, and Vingegaard win every single race. It's bad for the sport and clearly signals something is going on.