Tejay Van Garderen Discussion Thread

[Taxus4a]

Re:

If Froome has his usual bad day or 2 and TJ can be consistent ,,,,he can win the tour. He has time on Quintana and Nibs so does not need to panic when they attack. He only has to stay in touch. He has proved he can get the better of Froome and his team so far look very strong.
Bertie looks tired and unless he hits some major form in the last week then TJ has a great chance to win this.

If Froome has a bad day TVG will have a worse bad day...

Froome is at another level at he showed in Dauphiné.

But Tejay showed he was ready to fight for the podium, as he was close to Froome, and now he has confirmed that. He is a serious candidate.

There isnt any very hard stage in the last week, so he has some chances...he has put time to important rivals and he is at a better level than Contador IMO, but Contador has a big experience and is a hard contender, he has an strong attack and a better team for the mountains. Maybe Contador will play to win, not just podium,but we will see.

What is sure is that he is at that top level he was in le Tour that wigins won (he is better now, he is older) and in Oman when he was second behind Froome on green mountain.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

If Froome has his usual bad day or 2 and TJ can be consistent ,,,,he can win the tour. He has time on Quintana and Nibs so does not need to panic when they attack. He only has to stay in touch. He has proved he can get the better of Froome and his team so far look very strong.
Bertie looks tired and unless he hits some major form in the last week then TJ has a great chance to win this.

If Froome has a bad day TVG will have a worse bad day...

Froome is at another level at he showed in Dauphiné.

But Tejay showed he was ready to fight for the podium, as he was close to Froome, and now he has confirmed that. He is a serious candidate.

There isnt any very hard stage in the last week, so he has some chances...he has put time to important rivals and he is at a better level than Contador IMO, but Contador has a big experience and is a hard contender, he has an strong attack and a better team for the mountains. Maybe Contador will play to win, not just podium,but we will see.

What is sure is that he is at that top level he was in le Tour that wigins won (he is better now, he is older) and in Oman when he was second behind Froome on green mountain.

Yes if Froome is inconsistent then TJVG is even more so. Consistency in the mountains has always been his problem. BMC should do well in the TTT which is an advantage but will TJVG be able to withstand the attacks in the mountains by the big four ? I have my doubts. The best he can do is limit his losses and I don't think that will be enough. I don't think he will win the race but I think he has a shot at third place.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

If Froome has his usual bad day or 2 and TJ can be consistent ,,,,he can win the tour. He has time on Quintana and Nibs so does not need to panic when they attack. He only has to stay in touch. He has proved he can get the better of Froome and his team so far look very strong.
Bertie looks tired and unless he hits some major form in the last week then TJ has a great chance to win this.

Tejay has had a very solid start so far, however if Froome has a bad day the chances are Tejay will have an even worse one somewhere, especially where there are multiple mountain stages where Froome seems to recover better, as proved in the Dauphine.

I think he has a good chance of a podium, if BMC can pull a bit more time out in the TTT that will also obviously help. If he can start next week 2 minutes ahead of Nibali and Quintana plus nearly a minute clear of a tired Contador he has a shot.

 

[jmdirt]

Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

I think that Tejay will be in the GC fight all the way to Paris.

 

[Marco Pantani]

Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Dont know, but It's obvious that he is one of the favourites for 4 th place behind Quintana, Froome and Nibali.

He's very strong this year and should be even better on the longer ascents. I was very impresses with him at the mur and pretty much the whole race so far. He has to be taken very serious this year.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Probably not the only one, but definitely one of the very few. Last year Nibali put 11 minutes into TJ, 8 of those in the mountains. Maybe Nibali isn't as strong as last year and he is already 1:25 behind but a 5 minute swing is still needed from VN to TJ. That is almost impossible in a single year, especially as it's not like Nibali has gone from being 33 or 34 in his last competitive year to being 35 or an age where age has caught up with them, and TJ is already 26, not a young, bright 23 improving rapidly. While TJ has improved and Nibali may not be as strong, I really doubt he will come second barring any unforeseen circumstances, and not forgetting Quintana and Contador. 5th is assured, and a podium is very possible.

 

[djpbaltimore]

TJ was pretty beat up last year due to his numerous crashes. I imagine that took quite a bit of sting out of his legs. I have been impressed with the work of BMC so far. Shades of 2011. Contador going for the double, Evans not given much of a shot, Alpe the final MTF. Too bad there is no penultimate day time trial in 2015.

 

[MKL]

Re: Re:

Last year Nibali put 11 minutes into TJ, 8 of those in the mountains. Maybe Nibali isn't as strong as last year and he is already 1:25 behind but a 5 minute swing is still needed from VN to TJ.

Good point! This visual illustrates it quite well. http://www.cyclograph.cc/race/get/tour_de_france-/2014?z=50&m=GC_Time

I would love to see Tejay on the podium though.

 

[harryh]

My dream podium is: vroom, tj, purito.

 

[Psalmon]

With Martin out, TJ can take the jersey if BMC wins the TTT in Stage 9 now (or beats Sky by 14 seconds). That would be huge for Stage 10, since the MJ gives you wings (or is it broken bones?).

Martin, Uran, Cav, Renshaw, Stybar, Kwisky, and the other horses they have were a serious contender for the TTT, but now...

We have not seen Sky do a good TTT this year. BMC had three in the top 25 of the ITT (Dennis won) while Konig was 23 and Froome was 39th. BMC has 4 of the 6 from the Worlds team at the Tour. They beat Sky in Ponferrada (with Wiggins and Thomas) by 38 sec over 57km. Stage 9 is half that distance. TJ is 13 seconds back

TJ should contest on Stage 8 and go for some bonus time. Then all they have to do is beat Sky. I really think they can do it. Love to see TJ give Froome some payback for the Dauphine. Not trying to dance on Tony's bad luck, but them's the facts. Go get it TJ!

 

[damian13ster]

Yeah, unless Froome gets additional advantage on stage 8 I think TJ will be in yellow. Would be really great since it will force others to attack.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Yep.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Yes, simply because TJ is incapable of gaining time on Froome, unlike Nibali (downhill) and Quintana. That said, it's very much possible he will be closest to Froome when they get to the Champs-Elysees.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Yes, simply because TJ is incapable of gaining time on Froome, unlike Nibali (downhill) and Quintana. That said, it's very much possible he will be closest to Froome when they get to the Champs-Elysees.

Really?
Nibali, Quintana and Contador will all be better uphill.

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Clinic will explode if Tejay climbs as well as the top 4

 

[jaylew]

Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but I wouldn't be shocked if that were the case. It seems like he's progressed and may have stepped up a level this year. He's been very attentive and consistent so far, always near the front and on the right side of splits (maybe learned from Cadel?).

Of course I also wouldn't be shocked if he had a bad day in the mountains and wound up in the back part of the top 10.

 

[Billie]

Tejay is not a climber. He always has one mountain stage where he has troubles finishing in the top 50 on the stage. Has happened in every gt he ever raced.

 

[PremierAndrew]

I can't help but feel he's peaked too early though. Should be good in week 2 but I'll be extremely surprised if he's one of the top 3 climbers in the 3rd week

 

[Walkman]

Re: Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Yes, simply because TJ is incapable of gaining time on Froome, unlike Nibali (downhill) and Quintana. That said, it's very much possible he will be closest to Froome when they get to the Champs-Elysees.

Really?
Nibali, Quintana and Contador will all be better uphill.

Nope.
Calling it now, Tejay to outclimb Contador.

 

[jaylew]

Re:

Clinic will explode if Tejay climbs as well as the top 4

Probably, but won't mean anything, just par for the course around here. If he does manage it, it shouldn't come as any huge surprise. He's at an age when he should be coming into his best. Isn't this about when Nibs started to blossom?

 

[Irondan]

Re:

Tejay is not a climber. He always has one mountain stage where he has troubles finishing in the top 50 on the stage. Has happened in every gt he ever raced.

He looked like a climber in the Dauphine. He may not be Mikal Landa, but he's certainly no Cav when it comes to climbing.

 

[Psalmon]

Well Sagan bonused himself into second so now BMC will also have to beat Tinkoff in addition to Sky. Stage 9 will really be a battle royale.

I don't think there will be major time splits on the Bretagne. We did not see it in 2011. So the only battle there is more for the stage and psych points among GC. Sagan is 11 sec back so bonus won't do it and I can't see a split between him and Froome uphill. My bet is on Valverde for the MdB. It will be interesting if Sagan can take Green tho.

For the TTT, if Tinkoff wins it, Sagan will be in Yellow (imagine that, Sagan could be in Green and Yellow in Pau, wow), but I still think BMC is the favorite vs. Sky and TS. I can't see Lotto S coming out of nowhere for Gallopin, or Etixx getting Uran up there without Tony Martin.

So that's it, Tejay, Peter, or Chris for yellow on the rest day...

 

[Jelantik]

tejay? hmm.. i will reserve my comment to myself. There's no way he can be better than Quintana in climbing department. Contador maybe.. if he win the TTT. (seems that BMC is favorite to win TTT)

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

I am the only one who thinks that he will be Froome's biggest rival in this Tour?

Yes, simply because TJ is incapable of gaining time on Froome, unlike Nibali (downhill) and Quintana. That said, it's very much possible he will be closest to Froome when they get to the Champs-Elysees.

Really?
Nibali, Quintana and Contador will all be better uphill.

probably but they haven't shown it in this race

 

[yaco]

Van Garderen has similar characteristics to Cadel Evans - He's improved year on year and he is a good chance of winning a GT - Doubt he will win the 2015 TDF.