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So Richard Plugge apparently said in an interview that they start the Tour with a 2min to 2min 30s gap to Pogačar because of the two ITTs in this year's TdF. Do you think he really believes that? Or did he say that to put some pressure on Pogačar. I don't think Pogačar really cares about those words to be honest (or if he has even heard or read of that).

What do you think? Has Pogačar with his PdBF performance reached an unmatchable level for other GC riders in a ITT (excluding Remco)? Is he the new Dumoulin of GC riders as far as ITTs go? I am still a bit sceptical to give him that title, to be honest. That ITT up to PdBF was very specific. I need to see more from him.

It'll be interesting to compare the performances of riders relative to each other in both ITTs. One is in the first week when the riders are going to be still relatively fresh, the second is on the penultimate day, after the grind of three weeks. Both are pretty similar in length and profile.
 
So Richard Plugge apparently said in an interview that they start the Tour with a 2min to 2min 30s gap to Pogačar because of the two ITTs in this year's TdF. Do you think he really believes that? Or did he say that to put some pressure on Pogačar. I don't think Pogačar really cares about those words to be honest (or if he has even heard or read of that).

What do you think? Has Pogačar with his PdBF performance reached an unmatchable level for other GC riders in a ITT (excluding Remco)? Is he the new Dumoulin of GC riders as far as ITTs go? I am still a bit sceptical to give him that title, to be honest. That ITT up to PdBF was very specific. I need to see more from him.

It'll be interesting to compare the performances of riders relative to each other in both ITTs. One is in the first week when the riders are going to be still relatively fresh, the second is on the penultimate day, after the grind of three weeks. Both are pretty similar in length and profile.
I don't think it's about Pogacars ITTing. I think it's about the penultimate day. He had a supermassive performance on the penultimate Vuelta day as well. That said, cycling was extremely weird in 2020, so I am extremely cautious in drawing conclusions for 2021 cause the field might adjust very quickly.

Overall, I would assume Roglic is still the favorite to take time in the ITTs, especially cause it's not a ridiculous MTT, but I wouldn't be saying anything like what Plugge is saying especially after what happened at the Tour.
 
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Some more info here:
Such a shame for Mike. After a great 2019 it looked like he was ready to make another jump in quality but an injury (or was it illness or both, I'm not sure) slowed his progression. And now another setback with the crash. Hopefully he'll be ready in a couple of weeks.
 
Such a shame for Mike. After a great 2019 it looked like he was ready to make another jump in quality but an injury (or was it illness or both, I'm not sure) slowed his progression. And now another setback with the crash. Hopefully he'll be ready in a couple of weeks.

I think he proved to be a bit limited both in the 2019 Worlds and Omloop last year where he initially had made the front group but was then spat out (of course you have to have some quality to get there in the first place).

Edit: Actually, I don't think he ever quite made it to the front in Yorkshire, he was just a stepping stone for Mads Pedersen.
 
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The name Frans Maassen was mention, don't know if he was the sole master mind behind Itzulia Basque Country 2021 tactics, but some people in this department, team tacticians, for sure deserve a raise. Masterclass tactics on this race. In addition and from now on people won't be able to claim anymore, TJV doesn't know tactics.

Masterpiece.
 
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I honestly don't understand the Tour selection of Teunissen. He's not a real powerhouse, Tony Martin is maybe half human/half machine, but needs some back-up after all. Is he there as a leadout for Van Aert? Why no Van Hooydonck or Roosen?
 
Strong team. The only question remains - does Roglic have it in him to bring it home this time?
Roglic has it in him. The problem is, Pogacar has it in him as well. So unless they buy Pogacar too, there’s really not much they can do if their goal is to win TDF. They are doing everything correctly and Roglic is doing everything correctly but this is a competitive sport. They will most likely beat Ineos with half their budget and UAE’s budget must surely be bigger as well...
 

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