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Tejay Van Garderen Discussion Thread

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I kinda feel sorry for him. It must suck to suddenly be bad without knowing why.

I think anybody who does sports understands this feeling. When you seems you have top form, and then suddenly you have a really bad day out of nowhere, and then don't seem to get the level you had weeks before or even days before. Sport is a mystery sometimes
 
Apr 12, 2017
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Valv.Piti said:
Dr. Watson said:
seems like he puts way too much pressure on himself, it must be in the head, I dont see any winning spirit in him
Do you think there is a psychical problem, Doc, or is it all mentally?

Im not his psychiatrist but sure as hell seems to me guy has some issues with the pressure and cannot cope with responsibility.
 
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yaco said:
I have posted similar previously - I query how well USA riders cope with living and riding in Europe on the WT, especially in the last 10 years - TJ is still a WT standard rider, but teams need to tread warily before offering him a contract - His complete adaptation to Europe is essential.

Well, I'm an American living in France, and I've adapted quite well!

But, seriously, I do think there is some resentment of Americans on euro teams, given how deep the talent pool in Europe is. And, cycling is still a European sport, and while recreational road riding may be growing in the US, the racing scene has stalled at about the same level as it was 20 years ago. So you have a combination of sponsors desperate to reach wealthy US road cyclists, but not having enough world-class talent to populate either US-majority teams or a critical mass of US riders in the peloton.

To the guy who called TJVG a "loser" -- that's 3rd grade kindergarten stuff. He's a talented rider who's going through a really bad patch. Nothing more, nothing less. Either he'll change something up and progress, or drift backward.
 
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jaylew said:
TJ's take:
VN: Things haven’t gone as you expected. How do you assess your situation now?
Tejay van Garderen: I definitely had high hopes coming into this event, and this is not how I envisioned my Giro going. I don’t really know what else to say.

VN: Are you suffering from an illness or any physical problem?
TVG: I don’t really want to make excuses. Every time I try to make an explanation, everyone says, oh, he’s just making more excuses. It’s a lose-lose situation; if I try to give an explanation, then it’s an excuse, and if I don’t, then people don’t accept that, either. Right now, my body is just kind of failing. I don’t know why. I did feel a little bit of a heat stroke on the day before Blockhaus, but I was able to dump some water over my head. I ate and drank, and I felt like I dodged a bullet. Since then, I feel like I can’t really get into the red. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. I don’t know …

VN: You seemed like you were on track in your approach to the Giro.
TVG: I feel like I put in a perfect month of training. I feel like I did everything right. I wasn’t doing anything stupid or experimental. I was keeping everything simple. And Romandie was good. I felt like I showed the legs were good there. I was up there on the summit finish and the time trial. I had that small crash in the prologue, but even with the crash, I wasn’t that far behind … [pauses] … It’s really confusing, frustrating. I know what people are probably saying about me. I don’t even look at cycling websites anymore, and I deleted my social media accounts. I know what people are saying. Every time I want to prove them wrong … I don’t know why it’s not working.

VN: It must be frustrating because you’ve shown in the past you could be at the top level.
TVG: Sometimes I tell myself, maybe I am not a grand tour rider. That doesn’t mean I am not a good rider. But other times I look at who’s up there, and wait a minute, I’ve beaten these guys before — I’ve beaten them just last week. I should be up there. Maybe I am not up there at the level of [Nairo] Quintana or [Chris] Froome, but I could be up there. For some reason, sometimes my legs … I don’t know.

VN: We know Max Sciandri spoke with you; what is he telling you to get through this Giro?
TVG: He’s trying to keep the morale up. Keep the team morale high. Reassess, try to use these couple of days to recover and get my body feeling like itself again, and then take any opportunity I can. Right now, I need to get my career back on track. In order to do that, you need to seize any opportunity that comes your way.

VN: You lost more time on Wednesday. What was happening there?
TVG: It was a hard, hard day. I was suffering to stay on the wheel. At the time, it only takes a split second, maybe we should just, instead of digging the hole deeper, let’s save it for a breakaway, and you can justify it in your mind at the time. Looking back, I don’t know if it would have been better to fight and stay there, or a good idea and save the legs and go for a breakaway. Hopefully I can get in one and have a good showing. And make that decision worthwhile.

VN: What’s next after this Giro?
TVG: I just want to get my career back on track. I don’t know what I’ll do after the Giro, but any race I go to, see it as an opportunity to do that.

It' sad to read this. He's mentally weak and he should go to another team. He really seems to be needing a fresh start.

Anyway, I hope he goes to the Vuelta to fight for the top-10.
 
Apr 22, 2012
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Jancouver said:
damian13ster said:
Wow, looking at the above comment......good for him for deleting social media. People can be clueless and cruel.
Hope TJ gets out of the slump and figures out what's going on so that he is able to find his place in the peleton (wherver that might be).
Being in the situation he is in must suck

Just FYI, I'm not on twitter/fakebook and never harassed anybody with my opinion.

That being said, the head in the sand approach is a clear sign of his mental weakness as he is unwilling to face or hear any negative comments. So yes, he is a loser in my book.

d067b805211ed1723f566ec8be75b1f2.jpg
You are sooo wrong.
 
Apr 22, 2012
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Dr. Watson said:
Valv.Piti said:
Dr. Watson said:
seems like he puts way too much pressure on himself, it must be in the head, I dont see any winning spirit in him
Do you think there is a psychical problem, Doc, or is it all mentally?

Im not his psychiatrist but sure as hell seems to me guy has some issues with the pressure and cannot cope with responsibility.
Are you close to him somehow, or is that just uninformed, worthless opinion?
 
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Jancouver said:
jaylew said:
TJ's take:
(Interview, snipped)

... deleted social accounts ... clearly, he can't handle the pressure. Very mentally weak. Trying to hide like the loser he is. If he is not willing to face the reality like a real man, he should retire. Pathetic loser.

And retiring he gonna help him get stronger mentally... how?

You're calling him a loser who's not willing to face reality and is "hiding" because he's quitting social media, yet you're suggesting he should simply give up entirely, instead of facing the reality that sometimes you need to fight.
Isn't it better that he quits social media if that's what he needs in order to focus on the sport, than he quits the sport and then starts sitting at home spending all his time on social media? Luckily there's not rule saying that you must be on social media.
Seems like he's still got some passion for the sport, he just needs to (re-)find that, and rediscover his purpose as a rider. As we are some here who have suggested he probably needs to find another team, not because there's anything wrong with BMC, but simply because he might need a breath of fresh air, and because on BMC the label of GT contender might be attached too strongly to him. Then, if he after some years reach a time when even the thought of going training or racing fill him utter despair and he just can't bring himself to it, maybe he should quit. Now is too soon.
 
Apr 12, 2017
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Kokoso said:
Dr. Watson said:
Valv.Piti said:
Dr. Watson said:
seems like he puts way too much pressure on himself, it must be in the head, I dont see any winning spirit in him
Do you think there is a psychical problem, Doc, or is it all mentally?

Im not his psychiatrist but sure as hell seems to me guy has some issues with the pressure and cannot cope with responsibility.
Are you close to him somehow, or is that just uninformed, worthless opinion?

Well its either bad legs, bad mental state or both so you can choose what you want
 
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Dr. Watson said:
Kokoso said:
Dr. Watson said:
Valv.Piti said:
Dr. Watson said:
seems like he puts way too much pressure on himself, it must be in the head, I dont see any winning spirit in him
Do you think there is a psychical problem, Doc, or is it all mentally?

Im not his psychiatrist but sure as hell seems to me guy has some issues with the pressure and cannot cope with responsibility.
Are you close to him somehow, or is that just uninformed, worthless opinion?

Well its either bad legs, bad mental state or both so you can choose what you want

A bit harsh? Tejay just hit his physiological peak at a young age. Neither he nor BMC were to know 2012 was his peak at just 23 years of age. Normal progression says you hit peak form a a GC rider between 28 and 32. Logic would support the belief he could get back to 2012 level if not better. He tried but it hasn't worked out for him. Not a hanging offense for either him nor even BMC but I can imagine it is difficult to deal with. The reality is he will need to reassess his future and maybe accept a pay cut but can still make a healthy living stage hunting or as a GC support rider in the mountains.
 
Re: Re:

Dr. Watson said:
Kokoso said:
Dr. Watson said:
Valv.Piti said:
Dr. Watson said:
seems like he puts way too much pressure on himself, it must be in the head, I dont see any winning spirit in him
Do you think there is a psychical problem, Doc, or is it all mentally?

Im not his psychiatrist but sure as hell seems to me guy has some issues with the pressure and cannot cope with responsibility.
Are you close to him somehow, or is that just uninformed, worthless opinion?

Well its either bad legs, bad mental state or both so you can choose what you want


That's definitely a possibility. He was crushed at the 2015 Tour and really, he hasn't recovered from that, I don't think. He may be fine physically, but the prospect of losing massive time (has already happened), is lingering in his mind I am sure. He should try and focus on shorter stage races, pick up some wins and podiums, get some confidence back and then have a go at the GT's after he feels ready.
 
Wow, that interview was actually a pretty tough read. He seems very honest, and I feel bad for him. As someone said, it must be very hard to suddenly be a lot worse than you're used to and you can't figure out why.

Hopefully next year he'll drop the idea of him being a Grand Tour rider anymore. He should focus on week long races and especially the American races in which he's done well in the past.
 
He's not the strongest mentally and needs a change of pace in his career to get away from the pressure he puts on himself.

I would like to add that there's nothing wrong with being mentally "weak". It's a handicap in pro cycling, but that doesn't make him pathetic or anything of the sort.
 
Jun 30, 2014
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Hugo Koblet said:
Wow, that interview was actually a pretty tough read. He seems very honest, and I feel bad for him. As someone said, it must be very hard to suddenly be a lot worse than you're used to and you can't figure out why.

Hopefully next year he'll drop the idea of him being a Grand Tour rider anymore. He should focus on week long races and especially the American races in which he's done well in the past.
Yes, or just forget about riding gts for gc, ride the American races and maybe you can try do enter a few breeakaways at the Vuelta when you're feeling well, not everyone has to ride for gc in a gt, if you can't cope with thhe things that come along with it then just let it go and try something else.
 
Re:

Hugo Koblet said:
Wow, that interview was actually a pretty tough read. He seems very honest, and I feel bad for him. As someone said, it must be very hard to suddenly be a lot worse than you're used to and you can't figure out why.

Hopefully next year he'll drop the idea of him being a Grand Tour rider anymore. He should focus on week long races and especially the American races in which he's done well in the past.


I am sorry, but every time I look at your avatar, I LOL.

Oh, and absolutely agree with you.
 
I love the people here who just know that it's a mental thing with Tejay. Like with Quintana in the Tour last year. Froome had psycologically broken him. He had a mental hold over Quintana. Or with Sagan. He just didn't have it to ever win a monument. Too weak, mentally.

Just change your mindset, and everything is possible. Its not like cycling has anything to do with legs. I also love it when people un-ironically quote variations of Armstrong's "Winning is about heart, not just legs." Well, he also said that “motivation can't take you very far if you don't have the legs.” Because, duh.

Alberto Contador's won zero Grand Tours over the last two years. Not mentally strong enough or lacking in heart?
 
He's definitely not strong enough - physically or mentally - to win a GT, especially not up against the current batch.
Maybe he's just one of those people who, when they start losing a bit of time, can't seem to "turn the ship around", and regain time, instead he just keeps losing more and more time...
 
These are the top-100% of the top-100% of all people competitively riding bikes. There isn't ONE pro cyclist who is weak. Even Betancur, laughing stock of pro-cycling, can put his body and mind through the torture of racing at this level. Who on this forum has climbed the Ventoux, Mortirolo, or Angliru? TJVG is tough. Only armchair cyclists would say otherwise.

The weakness that some of you mention has nothing to do with weakness as a rider. Social media has changed the game big time. Every time that a rider under-performs, there are hordes of blood-thirsty trolls out there. I want to say to them: get a life! A girlfriend, something...and ride a bike. You'll respect what these guys are capable of.

Being called a loser by thousands of people is something relatively new, and many riders are not prepared for it. Social media. Every day, a kid commits suicide due to cyber bullying. These riders are human beings and I imagine how much it hurts when total strangers judge you, beat you up.

I'm done being sarcastic about him. I wish TJVG the best. Rough times for him...
 

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