The It's No Picnic PostNL Thread

[laarsland]

He'll think differently the day he cut his hair half an inch shorter than agreed with the team and he needs to get disciplined.

So THAT’S why Tusveld is persistantly thriving in this regime

 

[Leinster]

He'll think differently the day he cut his hair half an inch shorter than agreed with the team and he needs to get disciplined.

But if he doesn’t cut it shorter, he’ll need to buy shampoo and conditioner, and to get that he’ll have to leave the team hote…

Run Romain!! It’s a trap!!!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Even in a toxic environment as DSM is, I imagine training-wise is miles ahead of what the french teams are doing.

I suspect that you are right about this. They probably have a self-consciously ultra-modern approach to training, at the opposite end of the spectrum to the mostly conservative French teams. Which doesn’t mean that they don’t also have a weird, intense team culture..

 

[Mayomaniac]

Even in a toxic environment as DSM is, I imagine training-wise is miles ahead of what the french teams are doing.

If only Pinot did the same, he could have done nicer things in his career instead of wasting so many years with Madiot.

I don't see a big gap between how good Bardet was at AG2R and how good he is at DSM. Look at the results they got out of O'Connor, to me AG2R don't really fit the narrative of the backwards French team.
Back to DSM, what they lack is a top sprinter. They have the train but Bol is not the guy to beat the big boys on a regular basis.

 

[EliseeReclus]

Even in a toxic environment as DSM is, I imagine training-wise is miles ahead of what the french teams are doing.

If only Pinot did the same, he could have done nicer things in his career instead of wasting so many years with Madiot.

I think it also could be that having very strict controls over training can have some initial success but riders can be worn down by the restrictions and discipline which seems to match with Sunweb/DSM riders leaving after a few years with the team. I see it as analogous to coaches in team sports who like to scream and shout at their players in training - often they will get some immediate results but 'lose the dressing room' over the long term.

 

[BlueRoads]

I don't see a big gap between how good Bardet was at AG2R and how good he is at DSM. Look at the results they got out of O'Connor, to me AG2R don't really fit the narrative of the backwards French team.
Back to DSM, what they lack is a top sprinter. They have the train but Bol is not the guy to beat the big boys on a regular basis.

I don't know how true that is, but well, Bardet himself says he's better than before - only the other riders, especially the young ones, are also better, the whole level of the peloton has increased. Don't know how much clinic insinuation there is in this, and how much this is just a generally better training understanding in the peloton, and whether his numbers are actually better than before and how much of that is to do with DSM...
Anyway, he seems content. Maybe it actually suits him and maybe it's also something that he needs to tell himself because he made that decision. Still, I think for the majority of people such a regime is insufferable, so I just hope everyone who signs there gets the truth before the signing and has other options as well.

 

[Bolder]

I don't see a big gap between how good Bardet was at AG2R and how good he is at DSM. Look at the results they got out of O'Connor, to me AG2R don't really fit the narrative of the backwards French team.
Back to DSM, what they lack is a top sprinter. They have the train but Bol is not the guy to beat the big boys on a regular basis.

Bardet to me is about the same level but he is on a different program. He mostly needed a break from the Tour. He could have done better in GC at either Giro or Vuelta, I thought. Though he did fight hard to the finish of the Giro after Hindley dropped out.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I don't know how true that is, but well, Bardet himself says he's better than before - only the other riders, especially the young ones, are also better, the whole level of the peloton has increased. Don't know how much clinic insinuation there is in this, and how much this is just a generally better training understanding in the peloton, and whether his numbers are actually better than before and how much of that is to do with DSM...
Anyway, he seems content. Maybe it actually suits him and maybe it's also something that he needs to tell himself because he made that decision. Still, I think for the majority of people such a regime is insufferable, so I just hope everyone who signs there gets the truth before the signing and has other options as well.

Bardet during TDF 2020 was following the favorites until his crash and he was saying "they were riding faster than ever". He was still at AG2R then. So he was going faster than ever at AG2R, according to his own statements.

 

[Bolder]

Bardet during TDF 2020 was following the favorites until his crash and he was saying "they were riding faster than ever". He was still at AG2R then. So he was going faster than ever at AG2R, according to his own statements.

Yes, that's definitely true. He looked really good in 2020. But I expected him to fade at some point. Recall that G. Martin was also up there in 2020.

Bardet is one of my favorite riders but I think I'm basing that on his early/mid 20s form when he went toe to toe with Froome at the Tour. After the euphoria of 2016-1017 nothing really went right for him.

I still hope and think he's got a GT podium in him, maybe at the Vuelta? but 2020 notwithstanding I don't think it would have been at AG2R. I also think he can win a classic or biggish one-day race with the right kind of finish.

 

[BlueRoads]

Yes, that's definitely true. He looked really good in 2020. But I expected him to fade at some point. Recall that G. Martin was also up there in 2020.

Bardet is one of my favorite riders but I think I'm basing that on his early/mid 20s form when he went toe to toe with Froome at the Tour. After the euphoria of 2016-1017 nothing really went right for him.

I still hope and think he's got a GT podium in him, maybe at the Vuelta? but 2020 notwithstanding I don't think it would have been at AG2R. I also think he can win a classic or biggish one-day race with the right kind of finish.

It's very difficult if the one day races he contests are also done by Roglic, Pogacar, Alaphilippe... On his day he may win against Woods, Gaudu, Pinot, but there will probably always be one of those super-big names who has a better sprint than him. And he doesn't really have a teammate he can play games with. Ironically, I think, if he had stayed at AG2R, there might now be such an option there with Cosnefroy, if he's in top form.
Right now a GT podium seems more probable to me, because there's a chance that behind the super-names something crazy happens in the Giro or Vuelta. I don't expect it, though. But a podium is just a better bet these days in my opinion, even in a bigger race, than a win in a slightly smaller race.

 

[Leinster]

Bardet during TDF 2020 was following the favorites until his crash and he was saying "they were riding faster than ever". He was still at AG2R then. So he was going faster than ever at AG2R, according to his own statements.

I’m sure the point of one is that in 2020 he couldn’t attack the leaders like he used to in 2017.

And the point of the new article seems to be as much that he’s now riding faster, on a smaller training load. And who wouldn’t want to get the same results by spending less time working out.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I’m sure the point of one is that in 2020 he couldn’t attack the leaders like he used to in 2017.

And the point of the new article seems to be as much that he’s now riding faster, on a smaller training load. And who wouldn’t want to get the same results by spending less time working out.

In 2017 he wasn't facing Pogacar, Roglic etc. But i'd like to see bardet drop others even in a DSM outfit. Always liked the guy. But i'll have to see it to believe it.

 

[Leinster]

In 2017 he wasn't facing Pogacar, Roglic etc. But i'd like to see bardet drop others even in a DSM outfit. Always liked the guy. But i'll have to see it to believe it.

Roglic was at the Tour in 2017, and won a stage, but he was still relatively new. Bardet was competing with a pretty strong field that year (and the year before) and looking like a dangerous attacker. But he became less and less of a threat each year after.

 

[noob]

Upon writing a contract with that bdsm coach don't forget to agree on a safeword!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Sh!t's gonna hit the fan, countdown has begun. Implosion eminent.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Sh!t's gonna hit the fan, countdown has begun. Implosion eminent.

?
What happened?

 

[AlfaLum]

?
What happened?

According to Wielerflits Benoot is going to leave team DSM. Things seem to have exploded between him and the team management in recent weeks, and they are now negotiating a solution for him to leave. So thats another captain out.

 

[Mayomaniac]

According to Wielerflits Benoot is going to leave team DSM. Things seem to have exploded between him and the team management in recent weeks, and they are now negotiating a solution for him to leave. So thats another captain out.

At this point it's obvious that the team's attitude is the problem, not the individual riders.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

A pattern has emerged, and is repeated....If it was 1 or 2 riders leaving dissatisfied, then you could argue maybe it was those riders. However, it's multiple riders, and seems to be a similar issue.

I've said before, if I was a sponsor, I'd want to know why? And what are they going to do to stop it happening, again.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

According to Wielerflits Benoot is going to leave team DSM. Things seem to have exploded between him and the team management in recent weeks, and they are now negotiating a solution for him to leave. So thats another captain out.

I checked my messages too late, or else i would have made my post before Wielerflits posted the article. And by the way, the Benoot thing isn't the only thing. They are digging their own hole. To be continued.

 

[Samamba]

Benoot, the guy who convinced Van Wilder and Vandenabeele to choose DSM over LTS. Ok bud.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Benoot, the guy who convinced Van Wilder and Vandenabeele to choose DSM over LTS. Ok bud.

Vervloesem knows.

 

[yaco]

I am more interested in that the women's team does not seem to have the same issues - Yes, they may have different coaches/program but wouldn't they share the same philosophies.

 

[Ricco']

There will be a time when the real news will be that "X rider wants to renew his contract with DSM".

 

[Devil's Elbow]

There will be a time when the real news will be that "X rider wants to renew his contract with DSM".

That rider will probably be Cees Bol.