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Yeah this. I am not claiming to be rational in wanting to see effort in their faces and of course those things can also be faked. But the way in which he just seems to tick of boxes rubs me in so many wrong ways so this just makes it even worse.
Double for UAE. McNulty with the already patented UAE-Bahrain long-range solo attack and Pog doing whatever he wants with the rest, no sweat. It looks so easy for these guys. McNulty from a guy who got dropped in Itzulia on the first big climb, now puts 2 minutes into the next guys from the breakaway and honestly he could've probably gone even further, his gap on the climb was rising ridiculously fast. Roglic is kinda lucky McNulty&Almeida got screwed by the wind.
It's interesting how these solo long-range attacks(30km+) occur only from these 2 teams with incredible frequency and they almost never lose when they go in these attacks. There is nothing special with this tactic and actually it's harder to win this way in most cases than with a closer attack as the rest of the teams do. Whatever drug these teams are using it's clearly suited for this kinda of tactic tho and it allows them to keep great pace over a very long time and the fatigue comes much slower than normal. The fatigue effect also works great in reduced sprints, where are very hard races, these guys sprint much better than the rest(Pog LBL, Colbrelli Roubaix). But so far we haven't seen it having any spectacular effects in bunch sprints.
This year Bahrain has looked pedestrian so far, personally I think this is their real level. It might be because of the investigation or they will get a "boost" right before Giro like it happened last year. While UAE is clearly expanding the usage of the drug from Pog to the rest of the team. These long-range attacks are already recognised by the guys in the peloton with Ewan saying that Milano-San Remo is gonna depend on how Pogacar is gonna attack and probably this is also the reason Roglic goes there, to help WvA to cover such an attack.
I wonder how much this domination is gonna stay, for me it's already boring. When I saw McNulty in the breakaway I already knew he is gonna go long-range again but what was ridiculous is how he destroyed everyone there. It was funny how the moto had to drive a lot before finding McNulty, they didn't expect him to get such a gap either.
Which 2 teams do all the long range attacks? I don't think Alaphilippe or Van Aert or van der Poel are any of them on UAE or Bahrain, and yet I've seen them all pull off long range attacks. It's kind of Ala's calling card.Double for UAE. McNulty with the already patented UAE-Bahrain long-range solo attack and Pog doing whatever he wants with the rest, no sweat. It looks so easy for these guys. McNulty from a guy who got dropped in Itzulia on the first big climb, now puts 2 minutes into the next guys from the breakaway and honestly he could've probably gone even further, his gap on the climb was rising ridiculously fast. Roglic is kinda lucky McNulty&Almeida got screwed by the wind.
It's interesting how these solo long-range attacks(30km+) occur only from these 2 teams with incredible frequency and they almost never lose when they go in these attacks. There is nothing special with this tactic and actually it's harder to win this way in most cases than with a closer attack as the rest of the teams do. Whatever drug these teams are using it's clearly suited for this kinda of tactic tho and it allows them to keep great pace over a very long time and the fatigue comes much slower than normal. The fatigue effect also works great in reduced sprints, where are very hard races, these guys sprint much better than the rest(Pog LBL, Colbrelli Roubaix). But so far we haven't seen it having any spectacular effects in bunch sprints.
This year Bahrain has looked pedestrian so far, personally I think this is their real level. It might be because of the investigation or they will get a "boost" right before Giro like it happened last year. While UAE is clearly expanding the usage of the drug from Pog to the rest of the team. These long-range attacks are already recognised by the guys in the peloton with Ewan saying that Milano-San Remo is gonna depend on how Pogacar is gonna attack and probably this is also the reason Roglic goes there, to help WvA to cover such an attack.
I wonder how much this domination is gonna stay, for me it's already boring. When I saw McNulty in the breakaway I already knew he is gonna go long-range again but what was ridiculous is how he destroyed everyone there. It was funny how the moto had to drive a lot before finding McNulty, they didn't expect him to get such a gap either.
UAE and Bahrain. When was the last time Ala, Van Aert or Van der Poel did a 30km+ solo? They all make selections early but they are still in a group. Being in a group it allows them to save some energy. If they do a solo then it's a much shorter one, less than 20km like Van Aert in Omloop or Ala at WC RR. Pogacar broke the record for the biggest solo attack in Strade which means he soloed even more than guys like Cancellara.
So going from being gassed by doing some pulls on the flat while in a big group to 2 big solo long-range attacks in less than 2 weeks?(25 km solo also in Faun-Ardeche) That doesn't sound normal at all. And the difference in fatigue last year between McNulty and Pog was striking. Now suddenly McNulty is at the same level. I really doubt this McNulty would lose Itzulia like last year. He dropped Roglic, Kuss, Alaphilippe, Martin on the climbs in Faun-Ardeche,
Getting a bit offtopic but this is really comparing apples and oranges. In Itzulia last year, McNulty was in very good form and capable of climbing with the majority of the favorites on the normal climbs. Then on said last stage after the Roglic and Movistar group got a gap he got dropped on the steepest climb of the whole race because Roglic was putting on the pressure in the first group and Pogacar was chasing in his group. Not being among the best on a 10 minute super steep effort is a totally different thing than attacking from a breakaway and riding your tempo for 45 minutes, especially given that he was a TT specialist in his earlier years.
Yes, in cases like this it mostly work as an illustration of the gap between the riders.
Absolutely. Not a criticism, just wanted to emphasize how - "exceptional" - that was. Those updated numbers look pretty spot on.
right, cause the concept of form worked so well in the past to know who is doping
I'm not using it as a determinant as to who is doping or not, it's just curious that they're in peak condition at every single race they appear at.
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