Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[Slavique Nuke]

yeah very good point about how hard that Giro was. this years route was super easy, it was almost like a warmup race for Tadej.

Not only route, but his biggest opponent was Bora's fourth (at best) strongest man.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Rumours being spread by a few random twitter accounts about Novak, Almeida and Pogacar having taken a shadowy trip to Thailand in the winter for undisclosed doping reasons. Being dubbed 'The Thailand files'.

This is the kind of conspiratorial chat cycling messageboards used to live for, who could forget Digger/Hog and their deep dive into Froome's mysterious trip to Italy on a motorbike before La Vuelta in 2011.

Thailand as the hot spot for magic doping would be something new though, internationalization of cycling.

 

[zlev11]

Rumours being spread by a few random twitter accounts about Novak, Almeida and Pogacar having taken a shadowy trip to Thailand in the winter for undisclosed doping reasons. Being dubbed 'The Thailand files'.

This is the kind of conspiratorial chat cycling messageboards used to live for, who could forget Digger/Hog and their deep dive into Froome's mysterious trip to Italy on a motorbike before La Vuelta in 2011.

wow what

 

[Invicituz]

gotta realize this is Pog's 2nd GT in 3 months. And he is putting historical best climbing performances in.

Giro/Tour double used to be deemed impossible lol.

I remember Jesús Manzano, I think it was, once stating that it was impossible to be competitive in back to back Grand Tours without drugs ...

 

[Extinction]

Non Americans don’t have much potential to transcend the sport, because despite the sacking that American media has taken the last 20 years, it is still the most powerful shaper of the cultural zeitgeist. It's a big reason Lance transcended cycling and no one has done it since.

Sorry for the American exceptionalism, but Pogi will never be as popular with non cycling fans. He's not Tiger Woods, he's not Lance. Federer and Nadal never broke through either, despite their dominance.

UAE has an American on the squad (MacNulty), the most talented American since Lemond, but he's got no chance either. Just not good looking enough, no charisma. He lost to Sean Quinn in the US championships. No star power.

But the world exists outside the USA. Pogacar is big for cycling (a bonus or a liability remains to be seen) and, since not American, nobody cares how he does it. Herein lies the lack of scrutiny.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Thailand as the hot spot for magic doping would be something new though, internationalization of cycling.

wow what

Yeah it's likely just twitter bollocks but I found it funny/nostalgic, would be a nice change of pace actually, diversify our portfolio a bit.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814312705630585005

View: https://x.com/probablyaslee11/status/1814312705630585005

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814305688476409927

 

[Cookster15]

Jonas didn't crack, he was just too late out of icu. The effect is similar though.

Agree. But it was Visma claiming he wouldn't start this Tour if he couldn't win it. But for grand tour racing there ain't no substitute for putting in the time and kms.

 

[Can Racing Fan]

Depth of talent for UAE and Visma is way deeper than Sky at their peak.

i guess you didn't watch the Sky Train in its' peak if you believe this

 

[burning]

Not only route, but his biggest opponent was Bora's fourth (at best) strongest man.

Contador did attack way too much in that Giro though + the route was insanely hard. He would be fine with chilling and thinking about the tour after his gift to Rujano, but he did not for some reason. He had a very weak team in 2011 as well.

Well, at least Contador was happy to gift stages left and right, we all remember what happened in Fuente De against Purito.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

i guess you didn't watch the Sky Train in its' peak if you believe this

Like the time their 5th climbing domestique or so (TGH) won the Giro. Haven't seen this done by Visma or UAE yet.

 

[Taxus4a]

I remember Jesús Manzano, I think it was, once stating that it was impossible to be competitive in back to back Grand Tours without drugs ...

In that era, yes, but not later.

 

[Can Racing Fan]

magically. mountain goat ahah!
took G years riding and riding, 2 top15 TDF, Algarve, Paris-Nice and then in 2018 he beat Dumoulin at the TDF.

Pog, Vingo, LAnda, Remco, and all the top 15 of this TDF would dispatch every Sky rider. minutes

i'm not talking about his Tor win , i'm talking about his time as a super Dom for Froome where i would watch him pace him all the way up the mountain as well as chase down attacks for Froome and then go back to setting a monster pace

 

[pastronef]

i'm not talking about his Tor win , i'm talking about his time as a super Dom for Froome where i would watch him pace him all the way up the mountain as well as chase down attacks for Froome and then go back to setting a monster pace

yep, super steady drive. like Bjerg, like Politt, like WVA did. but slower

 

[FrontHeadlock]

Yeah it's likely just twitter bollocks but I found it funny/nostalgic, would be a nice change of pace actually, diversify our portfolio a bit.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814312705630585005

View: https://x.com/probablyaslee11/status/1814312705630585005

https://twitter.com/x/status/1814305688476409927

Very interesting. As a big tennis fan I have my own thoughts on Novak.

But I find Pog (like Novak) to be SO insecure and have such a chip on his shoulder, that his inability to win the TdF the last two years, even though he won a ton of other accolades, could very easily serve as a catalyst to do whatever it takes to become unbeatable.

 

[Can Racing Fan]

Contador did attack way too much in that Giro though + the route was insanely hard. He would be fine with chilling and thinking about the tour after his gift to Rujano, but he did not for some reason.

Well, at least Contador was happy to gift stages left and right, we all remember what happened in Fuente De against Purito.

Alberto had the class to let others also have there day in the sun .

 

[repoman]

i guess you didn't watch the Sky Train in its' peak if you believe this

Who was on peak Sky?
Froome with Thomas and Porte and some lowers
or
Froome with Kwiat, Thomas, Poels, Landa, and thats bout it

UAE has Pog with Yates (better than Porte), Almeida, Sivakov, Soler, Polit, Wellens is a better brick wall than anything Froome had.

Visma with Vinge had Roglic, Kuss, WvA, Kelderman, Van Baarle, Jorgenson....

How can you rate those Sky teams higher than UAE or Visma???

 

[burning]

Alberto had the class to let others also have there day in the sun .

He knew that it was in his best interest to make allies, and Tiralongo did repay his gift a year later. Others probably also did too, but in a less obvious way.

 

[Floatstick]

i guess you didn't watch the Sky Train in its' peak if you believe this

Exactly. Same as the Postal train which was the same as Reynolds.

And the reasons for it, both the ones given by the teams and the real ones, are the same.

 

[Can Racing Fan]

yep, super steady drive. like Bjerg, like Politt, like WVA did. but slower

were they also chasing down prime Quintana attacks up the mountain then going back to the front of the group all the way to the top like G did in a stage for Froome ?

if this wasSky today Pog would have had a dom pacing him to to the last 500 m before he would then breakaway for the win

 

[Can Racing Fan]

Who was on peak Sky?
Froome with Thomas and Porte and some lowers
or
Froome with Kwiat, Thomas, Poels, Landa, and thats bout it

UAE has Pog with Yates (better than Porte), Almeida, Sivakov, Soler, Polit, Wellens is a better brick wall than anything Froome had.

Visma with Vinge had Roglic, Kuss, WvA, Kelderman, Van Baarle, Jorgenson....

How can you rate those Sky teams higher than UAE or Visma???

Sky split their team between climbers and bulldozers for the flats

 

[Can Racing Fan]

He knew that it was in his best interest to make allies, and Tiralongo did repay his gift a year later. Others probably also did too, but in a less obvious way.

I agree he knew it was in his interests but he also knew a stage in meant much more to other riders than himself .

I really miss watching him ride .

 

[Slavique Nuke]

Who was on peak Sky?
Froome with Thomas and Porte and some lowers
or
Froome with Kwiat, Thomas, Poels, Landa, and thats bout it

UAE has Pog with Yates (better than Porte), Almeida, Sivakov, Soler, Polit, Wellens is a better brick wall than anything Froome had.

Visma with Vinge had Roglic, Kuss, WvA, Kelderman, Van Baarle, Jorgenson....

How can you rate those Sky teams higher than UAE or Visma???

What's the point of comparing teams from different eras? Froome had a dominant team that no one could compete with in their glory days.

 

[Valv.Piti]

6.83 ᵉW/Kg for 37:44 min and 7.21 ᵉW/Kg, 19th stage after Vars and Bonette, high pace all day

My god

 

[noob]

Very interesting. As a big tennis fan I have my own thoughts on Novak.

But I find Pog (like Novak) to be SO insecure and have such a chip on his shoulder, that his inability to win the TdF the last two years, even though he won a ton of other accolades, could very easily serve as a catalyst to do whatever it takes to become unbeatable.

Chip on his shoulder? I agree on his insecurity. Doesn't bode well when he retires. It won't be fixed by winning 💔

 

[Valv.Piti]

On the other hand, this is where I really don't think numbers are be-all-end-all:

"If the 2024 version of Politt had ridden the 2018 Tour de France, he at least would have been a strong contender for a podium finish."

From the LR summary of the stage by a guy name Karlis Ozols. Thats too much now dude, come on.