Tejay Van Garderen Discussion Thread

[Taxus4a]

Tejay is a very good rider, but there are a lot very good riders today.
It looks like if you dont win Le Tour you are not good.
He has done already very good things in cycling, and he is a good lider for BMC.

 

[BigMac]

Re:

Who comes to mind for younger talent? Dombrowski, Craddock? Anyone else

Those two pretty much. Lawson hasn't yet found his form after that nasty crash Down Under. It totally compromised his season, especially Cali where he always performs. He didn't look bad on the San Jose stage though. Still half the season to go. Another, but older guy, whom I expected to be better is Carter Jones.

Maybe Giant is invited to Utah this year instead of Lampre who had no business there whatsoever but still got a place because of Horner. Lawson, Chad, Carter. Apocalypsis.

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Unlucky for Tejay but he rode a good race, he will suffer from the lack of iTT in the Tour but he has at least shown that he can climb up to a level near the best, he could top 5 the Tour of it all goes well.

I do believe that I read somewhere that he has been working more on his climbing because of the lack of tting. He certainly looks to be climbing better now than last year.

 

[movingtarget]

Good ride at the Dauphine but Froome is hard to hold out when the time gap is small. Best American rider at the moment by a long way and still improving. Talansky is yet to convince me of a big future in GTs.

 

[Dedelou]

Re:

Good ride at the Dauphine but Froome is hard to hold out when the time gap is small. Best American rider at the moment by a long way and still improving. Talansky is yet to convince me of a big future in GTs.

Yes Good ride for TJ , must be maddening to have it , loose it , have it again and to have to give it back in the end but that is what happens at the top of the ladder. Congrats , however , almost won

 

[bdoyle86]

Re: Re:

Who comes to mind for younger talent? Dombrowski, Craddock? Anyone else

Those two pretty much. Lawson hasn't yet found his form after that nasty crash Down Under. It totally compromised his season, especially Cali where he always performs. He didn't look bad on the San Jose stage though. Still half the season to go. Another, but older guy, whom I expected to be better is Carter Jones.

Maybe Giant is invited to Utah this year instead of Lampre who had no business there whatsoever but still got a place because of Horner. Lawson, Chad, Carter. Apocalypsis.

Would have loved to see a full strength Craddock in Cali. What do we expect from Boswell?

 

[rm7]

What's up with this guy? He have been trash talking so much about "it's not about the big 4, I can challenge them anyday" "I am ready to become the leader of this team" and stuff like that.

The first chance he get's to show his leaderskills and take initative he completely fail. BMC were freaking 5 guys in the front, and I only saw 2 of the pulling with around 10k to go or something.

He could've put maybe 2-2:30 minutes into Quintana, Nibali, Pinot and the other top guys !!!

Who's their sports director? They should have given the order if Van Garderen didn't.

I understand SKY, because Stannard was almost done after pulling a few times, he could barely hang on anymore, so Froome had to keep G. Thomas just in case. Thomas even did some pulling when they were relative safe. But there's really no rational explanation for BMC not to pull with Saxo from the beginning.

To be honest i'm completely shocked about how tactical inept he have shown himself to be. I hope he loose the podium with 1 or 2 minutes, and will look back and think he should've done more at this stage. That will marture him as rider.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

What's up with this guy? He have been trash talking so much about "it's not about the big 4, I can challenge them anyday" "I am ready to become the leader of this team" and stuff like that.

The first chance he get's to show his leaderskills and take initative he completely fail. BMC were freaking 5 guys in the front, and I only saw 2 of the pulling with around 10k to go or something.

He could've put maybe 2-2:30 minutes into Quintana, Nibali, Pinot and the other top guys !!!

Who's their sports director? They should have given the order if Van Garderen didn't.

I understand SKY, because Stannard was almost done after pulling a few times, he could barely hang on anymore, so Froome had to keep G. Thomas just in case. Thomas even did some pulling when they were relative safe. But there's really no rational explanation for BMC not to pull with Saxo from the beginning.

To be honest i'm completely shocked about how tactical inept he have shown himself to be. I hope he loose the podium with 1 or 2 minutes, and will look back and think he should've done more at this stage. That will marture him as rider.

It's a three week race. Lotto and Ettix were after the stage and yellow. He lost a few seconds at the finish so he probably could not have done any better. He is still in a good position with a handy lead over Nibali and Quintana with a TTT to come. With TJVG it comes down to the climbing and how consistent he will be. He often has a bad day. If he doesn't then he is in the race with a chance at a podium as it stands now. A GT rider does not burn out his team at the beginning of the race. If this stage was in week three then you would have seen completely different tactics.

 

[rm7]

Re: Re:

What's up with this guy? He have been trash talking so much about "it's not about the big 4, I can challenge them anyday" "I am ready to become the leader of this team" and stuff like that.

The first chance he get's to show his leaderskills and take initative he completely fail. BMC were freaking 5 guys in the front, and I only saw 2 of the pulling with around 10k to go or something.

He could've put maybe 2-2:30 minutes into Quintana, Nibali, Pinot and the other top guys !!!

Who's their sports director? They should have given the order if Van Garderen didn't.

I understand SKY, because Stannard was almost done after pulling a few times, he could barely hang on anymore, so Froome had to keep G. Thomas just in case. Thomas even did some pulling when they were relative safe. But there's really no rational explanation for BMC not to pull with Saxo from the beginning.

To be honest i'm completely shocked about how tactical inept he have shown himself to be. I hope he loose the podium with 1 or 2 minutes, and will look back and think he should've done more at this stage. That will marture him as rider.

It's a three week race. Lotto and Ettix were after the stage and yellow. He lost a few seconds at the finish so he probably could not have done any better. He is still in a good position with a handy lead over Nibali and Quintana with a TTT to come. With TJVG it comes down to the climbing and how consistent he will be. He often has a bad day. If he doesn't then he is in the race with a chance at a podium as it stands now. A GT rider does not burn out his team at the beginning of the race. If this stage was in week three then you would have seen completely different tactics.

They lost a few seconds, because a rider lost the wheel in front of them, so he they couldn't close the gap. TJVG wasn't spend, then he wouldn't have send 2 men to the front with 10k to go.

But the argument that it's a 3 week race is a silly excuse. TJVG really needs to make up so much time as possible this first week, so he have a buffer when they come to the mountains. It was simply his big opportunity today. And burn his team out?? Did you see what Saxo, Astana and Moviestar were doing? They were racing, that's why they're here!
It's not like TJVG will need his team to control the race later on, they'll get dropped one by one as they always are, and then he will get dropped when the big 4 starts to attack. They're so irrelevant when they mountains will come.

He'll at least need 3 minutes on Quintana and Nibali to even fight for the podium, when they come to the mountains. He'll not pass either Froome or Contador, unless they fail on the cobbles, and he rides well.

EDIT: And it's not about only being in a good position and be satisfied with that. He needed to take the chance today... if he doesn't take any chances, then I guess he'll be satisfied with a top10.

 

[jmdirt]

Tejay and BMC rode smart today.

 

[Jelantik]

Re: Re:

What's up with this guy? He have been trash talking so much about "it's not about the big 4, I can challenge them anyday" "I am ready to become the leader of this team" and stuff like that.

The first chance he get's to show his leaderskills and take initative he completely fail. BMC were freaking 5 guys in the front, and I only saw 2 of the pulling with around 10k to go or something.

He could've put maybe 2-2:30 minutes into Quintana, Nibali, Pinot and the other top guys !!!

Who's their sports director? They should have given the order if Van Garderen didn't.

I understand SKY, because Stannard was almost done after pulling a few times, he could barely hang on anymore, so Froome had to keep G. Thomas just in case. Thomas even did some pulling when they were relative safe. But there's really no rational explanation for BMC not to pull with Saxo from the beginning.

To be honest i'm completely shocked about how tactical inept he have shown himself to be. I hope he loose the podium with 1 or 2 minutes, and will look back and think he should've done more at this stage. That will marture him as rider.

It's a three week race. Lotto and Ettix were after the stage and yellow. He lost a few seconds at the finish so he probably could not have done any better. He is still in a good position with a handy lead over Nibali and Quintana with a TTT to come. With TJVG it comes down to the climbing and how consistent he will be. He often has a bad day. If he doesn't then he is in the race with a chance at a podium as it stands now. A GT rider does not burn out his team at the beginning of the race. If this stage was in week three then you would have seen completely different tactics.

They lost a few seconds, because a rider lost the wheel in front of them, so he they couldn't close the gap. TJVG wasn't spend, then he wouldn't have send 2 men to the front with 10k to go.

But the argument that it's a 3 week race is a silly excuse. TJVG really needs to make up so much time as possible this first week, so he have a buffer when they come to the mountains. It was simply his big opportunity today. And burn his team out?? Did you see what Saxo, Astana and Moviestar were doing? They were racing, that's why they're here!
It's not like TJVG will need his team to control the race later on, they'll get dropped one by one as they always are, and then he will get dropped when the big 4 starts to attack. They're so irrelevant when they mountains will come.

He'll at least need 3 minutes on Quintana and Nibali to even fight for the podium, when they come to the mountains. He'll not pass either Froome or Contador, unless they fail on the cobbles, and he rides well.

EDIT: And it's not about only being in a good position and be satisfied with that. He needed to take the chance today... if he doesn't take any chances, then I guess he'll be satisfied with a top10.

he said in his interview.. it's not about gaining time, but try not to loose? huh? I don't know where he could get a great opportunity to put more than 2 minutes to other GC contender. What? he is going to rely on TTT to pad more time then ride defensively in the mountain like he did in Dauphine? It's a 3 weeks race. God knows how he recovers and let alone fares against the fab 4? there fore he should have taken every opportunity to pad his advantage whenever the opportunity presents! He got more men with him, and still lost 4 seconds from Froome. Was he sleeping or just don't see any opportunity or what?

 

[Sciatic]

Re: Tejay Van Garderen

Um, you do know BMC had the MJ in the next group back? So it would have made sense (at least for a while) to not go all in until it was clear Rohan would not get back on. And that would have been a DS decision, not TJ's to make.

 

[Warhawk]

Re:

The first chance he get's to show his leaderskills and take initative he completely fail. BMC were freaking 5 guys in the front, and I only saw 2 of the pulling with around 10k to go or something.

And in the race thread people were pointing at the BMC guys who were pulling and calling it disgraceful that Tejay would have them abandon the yellow jersey to get him time on the other GC guys.

Pretty much no matter what he does, he can't win around here.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

What's up with this guy? He have been trash talking so much about "it's not about the big 4, I can challenge them anyday" "I am ready to become the leader of this team" and stuff like that.

The first chance he get's to show his leaderskills and take initative he completely fail. BMC were freaking 5 guys in the front, and I only saw 2 of the pulling with around 10k to go or something.

He could've put maybe 2-2:30 minutes into Quintana, Nibali, Pinot and the other top guys !!!

Who's their sports director? They should have given the order if Van Garderen didn't.

I understand SKY, because Stannard was almost done after pulling a few times, he could barely hang on anymore, so Froome had to keep G. Thomas just in case. Thomas even did some pulling when they were relative safe. But there's really no rational explanation for BMC not to pull with Saxo from the beginning.

To be honest i'm completely shocked about how tactical inept he have shown himself to be. I hope he loose the podium with 1 or 2 minutes, and will look back and think he should've done more at this stage. That will marture him as rider.

It's a three week race. Lotto and Ettix were after the stage and yellow. He lost a few seconds at the finish so he probably could not have done any better. He is still in a good position with a handy lead over Nibali and Quintana with a TTT to come. With TJVG it comes down to the climbing and how consistent he will be. He often has a bad day. If he doesn't then he is in the race with a chance at a podium as it stands now. A GT rider does not burn out his team at the beginning of the race. If this stage was in week three then you would have seen completely different tactics.

They lost a few seconds, because a rider lost the wheel in front of them, so he they couldn't close the gap. TJVG wasn't spend, then he wouldn't have send 2 men to the front with 10k to go.

But the argument that it's a 3 week race is a silly excuse. TJVG really needs to make up so much time as possible this first week, so he have a buffer when they come to the mountains. It was simply his big opportunity today. And burn his team out?? Did you see what Saxo, Astana and Moviestar were doing? They were racing, that's why they're here!
It's not like TJVG will need his team to control the race later on, they'll get dropped one by one as they always are, and then he will get dropped when the big 4 starts to attack. They're so irrelevant when they mountains will come.

He'll at least need 3 minutes on Quintana and Nibali to even fight for the podium, when they come to the mountains. He'll not pass either Froome or Contador, unless they fail on the cobbles, and he rides well.

EDIT: And it's not about only being in a good position and be satisfied with that. He needed to take the chance today... if he doesn't take any chances, then I guess he'll be satisfied with a top10.

Astana and Movistar were chasing and they failed to close the gap. Why would they be mentioned ? Saxo worked hard but Contador is always aggressive in those situations. I think BMC did a pretty good job.

 

[Carols]

Tejay is like white bread, bland; lacking charisma or panache. But he is turning into a podium threat and has shown some flashes that he might make it someday. He is the best the USA has to offer and I'm American so I support him, but he isn't aggressive or talented enough for my taste! I wish he had grabbed every advantage to gain as much time as possible yesterday, but he acted like Tejay. Still with smart riding he just might make the 3rd slot this year and if not maybe next as he is progressing little by little, year by year.

 

[Queens Boulevard]

Is it too early to board the TJ hype train? Had a good season so far and a lot of riders from his own tier have lost a significant amount of time to him already for one reason or another(Pinot/Bardet/Majka). He was always going to have trouble beating the big four but anything can happen and if he can put in a great TTT and manage to not have his 1 bad day in the mountains I think he could sneak onto the podium.

All aboard the TJ hype train. Next stop disappointment

 

[Warhawk]

Re:

Is it too early to board the TJ hype train? Had a good season so far and a lot of riders from his own tier have lost a significant amount of time to him already for one reason or another(Pinot/Bardet/Majka). He was always going to have trouble beating the big four but anything can happen and if he can put in a great TTT and manage to not have his 1 bad day in the mountains I think he could sneak onto the podium.

All aboard the TJ hype train. Next stop disappointment

Betting odds have him now 2/1 for a podium finish. The big 4 are all evens or better, Purito is 4/1, and Pinot is 5/1. Everyone else now 10/1 or higher.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

He looks very sharp. Looks to be the second best rider at the moment.

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

He looks strong. Podium looks very real right now. Long way to go of course.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

so much can still happen. too early to say.
obviously looks good now, but who knows after tomorrow

the first week is like the Game of Thrones, you either win or die

 

[Carols]

Well he put a bit of jam on the white bread today! Let's see if he can keep it up .

 

[mrhender]

Re:

Well he put a bit of jam on the white bread today! Let's see if he can keep it up .

Wholegrain tomorrow and he'll be fine

 

[Vasilis]

I've actually started to like him more and more, I think he could even finish on the podium, given the right circumstances. He's everywhere he needs to be, consistent, his second place in the Dauphiné proves that. Great climb by him today!

 

[Warhawk]

Re:

so much can still happen. too early to say.
obviously looks good now, but who knows after tomorrow

the first week is like the Game of Thrones, you either win or die

I think the more apt saying, though clichéd, is that you can't win the Tour in the first week, but you sure as hell can lose it.

 

[May0maniac]

I think he'll fade in the last week, but that's just my gut feeling.