Tadej Pogacar and Mauro Giannetti

[zlev11]

actually he got caught out big time at Pais Vasco and was definitely not as good as Roglic was there

 

[Rackham]

absolutely this. sports is an entertainment business. this TdF has been very entertaining indeed. those brit winners were, as said, much more improbable. and the racing much more dull.

I wouldn't speak too soon.

I think Pogacar put everyone in their place & you'll see the effects in the coming 2 weeks (i.e. riders will no longer put themselves in the red to attack the yellow jersey or help their leader in the GC for a podium because there's no point).

Yesterday was made interesting because of the weather, but in the GC group, nothing happened until Pogacar rode away with a couple of km left after Carapaz had put in a small dig. We had one week of madness where everything was in a state of flux, now you should expect tedium & usual scenarios to resume.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

"I know, for example, that yesterday, I had three controls in one day – two before the stage and one after."


Did anybody ever hear of something like this before? Two controls before a stage surely isn't normal...

Indeed. A double check in the morning - jeez!

Seems like a rather desperate attempt to catch him red-handed.

If you're suggesting that they are onto something - I doubt it. It's probably just the fact that he's laying it on too thick.

 

[mollusc]

I wouldn't speak too soon.

I think Pogacar put everyone in their place & you'll see the effects in the coming 2 weeks (i.e. riders will no longer put themselves in the red to attack the yellow jersey or help their leader in the GC for a podium because there's no point).

Yesterday was made interesting because of the weather, but in the GC group, nothing happened until Pogacar rode away with a couple of km left after Carapaz had put in a small dig. We had one week of madness where everything was in a state of flux, now you should expect tedium & usual scenarios to resume.

we will see, and you may well be correct. but I can also imagine some great, fun breaks, Cavendish going for record, close battles for podium places. and perhaps some more extraordinary rides by Pogacar. imagine if he throws caution to the wind and wins by a large double digit margin.

 

[Cookster15]

we will see, and you may well be correct. but I can also imagine some great, fun breaks, Cavendish going for record, close battles for podium places. and perhaps some more extraordinary rides by Pogacar. imagine if he throws caution to the wind and wins by a large double digit margin.

Would be just as exciting (or boring) regardless of doping or not.

 

[Cookster15]

Indeed. A double check in the morning - jeez!

Seems like a rather desperate attempt to catch him red-handed.

If you're suggesting that they are onto something - I doubt it. It's probably just the fact that he's laying it on too thick.

He might have the prep worked out meticulously but Giannetti needs to read up on PR. Today's press conference was Lance all over again and only looks worse.

 

[Oldermanish]

He might have the prep worked out meticulously but Giannetti needs to read up on PR. Today's press conference was Lance all over again and only looks worse.

That would be a shame if he was on a program or continued an ongoing defense in the dogged press situation. Either way; he has a long way to go to be the skeezy, weaselly public liar you've mentioned.

 

[Sciatic]

not only its fun but its also a very welcomed shift from past decade where sky train would do basically same thing - uncontested win BUT in an infinitely more boring manner - that was as unwatchable as it gets so i do appreciate mvdp,alaphillipe,van aert, pogacar and the lot

also one notable difference is that im not being lectured on marginal gains, in a way pogacar is way more honest than sky ever was, he just does his thing and then we dont hear about magical socks that can get you 20 watts - incidentaly if i asked you to list of the least likely tdf winners ever, froome,wiggo and thomas would be unchallenged at the top

if you watched any sport for past few decades you would have to be insane to not understand that doping is omnipresent, so i can live with that, what i cannot live with is when the clowns of the past start honking from their comically large horses - gcn didnt even take 24 hours to bring up suspiscion about pogacar, meanwhile good ol cav is just amazing story and froome is back to his barloworld self pittyparty

all im saying is nothing has changed from the past, we are just recycling the same story, but now its at least balls to the wall

If you live in the U.S. and watch the NFL or even the highest level of college football) you’re seeing the same level of over-the-top enhanced performances Every Single Game. But because testing is so much looser and the penalties for getting caught are a joke, there is probably less variance between players doping levels.

 

[Brumdog66]

If you live in the U.S. and watch the NFL or even the highest level of college football) you’re seeing the same level of over-the-top enhanced performances Every Single Game. But because testing is so much looser and the penalties for getting caught are a joke, there is probably less variance between players doping levels.

Also the NFL has a much smaller team budget discrepancy

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Unlike the Lance or Froome thread.
No one has turned up to vigorously defend Pog .

Where are the Pog Mob?

 

[Sciatic]

For those who follow athletics (track & field here): Turns out they have “authentic” Mexican food trucks serving boar-meat burritos in Slovenia now too! And there’s probably no shortage of wild boar to be had.

 

[Rackham]

He might have the prep worked out meticulously but Giannetti needs to read up on PR. Today's press conference was Lance all over again and only looks worse.

Pogacar has the advantage of directly bypassing mainstream media outlets with his own social media presence on Instagram (which is growing).

I don't underestimate the sway power his goofing around & other stuff he shares has on the public, i.e. I'd wager most cycling fans now follow riders on Instagram or Twitter (& youtube as well, like with Froome recently) & don't even read papers like L'Equipe or read long interviews of the yellow jersey from first rest day, certainly not on the topic of doping.

I remember back when I was younger I would religiously run around to my local newsagent everyday to buy L'Equipe (at the height of the Armstrongmania in 2001 they even had a column "dans la roue d'Armstrong" featuring personal anecdotes about the behind the scenes at US Postal during the Tour de France... without the stuff about blood bags & sticking needles in arms or disposing of them in coke cans of course).

People now get the behind the scenes & personal stuff on Instagram & don't even come anywhere near articles about doping.

 

[Riek s]

They claim that he is consistent but it is not consistency, he is perfect. No missteps physically or tactically. A 21 year old. He wins all the time. No one including Froome, Contador, Nibali, Quintana, Bernal, Evenepoel has that kind of perfectness all year round. Which 21 year old has that level of savvy? Most just want to goof around. He is making of mockery of experience. He is at least 5% above the others in w/kg.

Not sure he is tactically perfect, if he was there would be less doping allegations/insinuations.

 

[Poursuivant]

What are the benefits of climbing in the big ring? Why did he choose to do this??

 

[solo80k]

What are the benefits of climbing in the big ring? Why did he choose to do this??

Faster than others despite lower cadence if you have enough power in your legs.

 

[samhocking]

"I know, for example, that yesterday, I had three controls in one day – two before the stage and one after."


Did anybody ever hear of something like this before? Two controls before a stage surely isn't normal...

Tested before and after the stage is done now because of Aderlass and microdosing I believe. I guess the other morning one was simply a random test, not because he's a jersey holder/stage winner.

 

[Escarabajo]

Tadej Pogacar: Anti-doping controls at Tour de France are 'enough' to prove doubters wrong

Slovenian 'not driven by history' ahead of Mont Ventoux stage

www.cyclingnews.com

Everything's okay, he gets tested a lot.

On a serious note, this is all I'm asking for: cycling media not totally ignoring the topic.

He has benefitted dramatically from the Covid times. But hugely benefitted from all angles. We just have to wait.

 

[armchairclimber]

It's an entertainment business for sure. Your glamorous movie actresses get a little help. They're not as beautiful as they appear on screen or in magazines. A bit of make up, hair and styling all go to create an illusion ... and it's one that is gladly swallowed whole (because it's better than looking at her with no make up, first thing in the morning with "just been shagged" hair). Our heroes in the saddle probably all benefit from a bit of "lippy" and some judicious use of hair products ... we can all allow that. After all, we aren't sheet sniffers, looking for purity, surely. Pogacar's problem is that he went full duck lips, 48 DD breasts and Dolly Parton wig.

 

[Escarabajo]

Unlike the Lance or Froome thread.
No one has turned up to vigorously defend Pog .

Where are the Pog Mob?

That's true. That is actually the only difference here. Slovenia is such a small country with no cycling history that you would barely get any fans in here. There was one not such a long time ago that shared some nice information with us about the country. But he was a Roglic fan. So I imagine that he won't defend Pogacar that much. LOL.

 

[Cookster15]

What are the benefits of climbing in the big ring? Why did he choose to do this??

Seems strange in current times where riders are now spinning up mountains rather than grinding. Maybe they have tested Pogi and found he is more efficient climbing in the big ring? I note that he was using the largest rear sprocket, maybe a 30T? Of course we know Lance spun very low gears to kill everyone in the mountains so I don't think the choice of gearing says that much about whether he is doping or not.

 

[Oldermanish]

That's true. That is actually the only difference here. Slovenia is such a small country with no cycling history that you would barely get any fans in here. There was one not such a long time ago that shared some nice information with us about the country. But he was a Roglic fan. So I imagine that he won't defend Pogacar that much. LOL.

It's possible everyone is a little gun-shy about going full fan-crazy over a rider's abilities. It's not like the least informed new cycling fan hasn't become familiar with the sport's past.

 

[SafeBet]

actually he got caught out big time at Pais Vasco and was definitely not as good as Roglic was there

Definitely not as good? He had very little help in his chase while Gaudu and Carthy were at least partly helping Roglic. And he only finished 35 seconds down after chasing for 50 km. I think that was an absolute monster performance.

 

[Tobi]

Giro & Vuelta has been the better races for years seems like that will continue in the foreseeable future…

 

[zlev11]

Definitely not as good? He had very little help in his chase while Gaudu and Carthy were at least partly helping Roglic. And he only finished 35 seconds down after chasing for 50 km. I think that was an absolute monster performance.

lost 28 seconds to him in a short TT

 

[Poursuivant]

How long before the French turn on him? They do not like seeing their race get dominated.