The "Anton Palzer is the new Greg LeMond " thread

[Bavarianrider]

Ladies and gentlemen,

in less than two weeks a (not so) young man is about to shock the world of cycling.
Bavarian Ski Mountaineering and Trail Running legend Anton "Toni"Palzer is entering his very first professional bike race, the Tour of the Alps.

Palzer, born on March 11, 1993, stands 1,77m tall and weighs in at less than 60 kilogramms.
He has a measured VO2max of 92, putting him on the same level as the great Gregg Lemond.
In his very first training camp with Bora this spring he already gave the team`s best climbers a run for their money.
Obviously he has some learning to do in terms of riding in a peleton, positioning himself and so on. However, his natural climbing ability should already show in his first races this year.
Once he has gained some experience in the peleton ,there really will be no limit for Palzer. He will be a major Grand Tour GC contender from next year on. You can take this to the bank.
So I thought he definitely deserves a thread where we can follow his rise to the top of the cycling world.

 

[johnymax]

So he is 28. If he is really a Grand Tour GC contender from next year on, that would be next level crazy stuff. I hope he succeeds, I like next level crazy stuff

 

[SafeBet]

But can he time trial?

 

[Bavarianrider]

But can he time trial?

As we all know, Time Trials are a thing of the past, so it doesn`t matter at all.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Great way to start a thread.
One of my best friends has competed against him in trail running a few times (he's clearly not at that level).
Ski mountaineering and trail running are probably the sports where you find the really talented alpine mountain men who compete in endurance sports. I know a guy from Misurina/Auronzo who has 2 top 15 results at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail (120km and 5,800m of atitude gain) and 2 top 30 results at the Mont Blanc Ultra Trail (170km at 10,000m of altitude gain), those guys are monsters.

 

[Anderis]

Well, riders with a background from another sport tend to do very well in cycling, so...

 

[BlueRoads]

He doesn't look like a monster. Looks like his hairdresser is one, though.

On another random note I find it a bit disturbing to see a ski mountaineer in a jersey with "Ötztal" on it.

 

[Bavarianrider]

He doesn't look like a monster. Looks like his hairdresser is one, though.

On another random note I find it a bit disturbing to see a ski mountaineer in a jersey with "Ötztal" on it.

Why would that be disturbing?

 

[Marco-Sun]

Besides that it is not clear yet, if he is really able to compete on Pro level cycling, he is most likely one of the most likeable guys within the peloton. In case you understand german language I can really recommend the podcast episode from the "Besenwagen" where he joined the crew.
#goschnpoliern

 

[BlueRoads]

Why would that be disturbing?

No it's okay, since you said he's the new LeMond and not the new Ötzi.

 

[Gregor_Slovenia]

Hja, let's see how he handles positioning in group. He can be the fastest up riding the mountain on a training ride where everyone is just going own line. In group before a climb, when a mess begins. If you begin a climb on a 100th position. U can be Pantani but nothing helps you. Everyone can climb nowadays 1700 VAM for at least 20 minutes on a climb in pro peloton. Nothing special

 

[BlueRoads]

I think a very important question is how you deal with the changes of rhythm, how big is your ability to go with the bunch and then get rid of the lactate, because you can't just go your own tempo. Whether you learn how to save energy through technique is another one but probably less relevant. Then there's technique and not crashing as a third question mark.
I wish him the best.

 

[WKA311]

Even if he's adapting quickly to positioning, tactics etc. he'll still need 1-2 years of serious training and racing in the legs to develop his potential.

His 92 VO2 max was measured on skis btw. On the bike he was at 89 or 90 iirc. And yeah, as was said before, if you speak/understand german listen to the Besenwagen Podcast episode with him. He is great fun.

He also speaks thick as hell bavarian which makes it hard to understand him once he is laying it down even for normal german speakers. Ackermann thought he was austrian because of that after the first team meeting in november lmao

 

[Mayomaniac]

Even if he's adapting quickly to positioning, tactics etc. he'll still need 1-2 years of serious training and racing in the legs to develop his potential.

His 92 VO2 max was measured on skis btw. On the bike he was at 89 or 90 iirc. And yeah, as was said before, if you speak/understand german listen to the Besenwagen Podcast episode with him. He is great fun.

He also speaks thick as hell bavarian which makes it hard to understand him once he is laying it down even for normal german speakers. Ackermann thought he was austrian because of that after the first team meeting in november lmao

Yeah, it's hard to think of someone speaking a more stereotypical Bavarian.

 

[Red Rick]

Wouldn't you expect a lower VO2 max from an ultra endurance athlete?

 

[Mayomaniac]

Wouldn't you expect a lower VO2 max from an ultra endurance athlete?

Ski Mountaineering also has the vertical race that is just a single climb with a mass start and the short sprint events (that stuff is horrible and even makes XC skiing sprints look great), not just the classic Marathon races with Multiple ascents and descents or the individual with 1 climb and 1 descent. Palzer has been 2nd at the WC in both the vertical race and the sprint, one would assume that athletes who compete in those have a high VO2max (and a great power to weight ration when it comes to the vertical).

 

[WKA311]

Ski Mountaineering also has the vertical race that is just a single climb with a mass start and the short sprint events (that stuff is horrible and even makes XC skiing sprints look great), not just the classic Marathon races with Multiple ascents and descents or the individual with 1 climb and 1 descent. Palzer has been 2nd at the WC in both the vertical race and the sprint, one would assume that athletes who compete in those have a high VO2max (and a great power to weight ration when it comes to the vertical).

Exactly, I wouldn't say he is a ultra endurance athlete. Even the longer Skimo races are not extremely long. And his mountain running is mostly also in a "normal" capacity. His Watzmann record time was Sub 3-hours for example. And he was also doing a lot of those Red Bull sponsored Ski Jump runs. Very short and very intense. He said they were the hardest things he has done.

Edit: These things

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwFfatVlwMw

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I'm not fully convinced he's actually a legend. I mean the guy doesn't even have a German Wiki page. And also everyone who trains with a Red Bull helmet should be instantly disqualified.

It will be interesting to see him in the Tour of the Alps, where I guess he could do a Pernsteiner and offer up valuable help to Buchmann and/or Fabbro. If he can become a world-beater remains to be seen.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I'm not fully convinced he's actually a legend. I mean the guy doesn't even have a German Wiki page. And also everyone who trains with a Red Bull helmet should be instantly disqualified.

It will be interesting to see him in the Tour of the Alps, where I guess he could do a Pernsteiner and offer up valuable help to Buchmann and/or Fabbro. If he can become a world-beater remains to be seen.

Yeah, but Pernsteiner was already a top climber in the Marathon MTB ranks, I guess Toni will need more time to adapt to rad cycling.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Yeah, but Pernsteiner was already a top climber in the Marathon MTB ranks, I guess Toni will need more time to adapt to rad cycling.

Yes, that is very likely, and MTB is obviously a lot closer to road racing than what he has being doing previously. But then again, nothing really surprises me anymore.

 

[ppanther92]

Once he has gained some experience in the peleton ,there really will be no limit for Palzer. He will be a major Grand Tour GC contender from next year on. You can take this to the bank.

I wish him all the best and looking for endurance talent in other sports is of course interesting (see Roglic, and ski mountaineering is closer to cycling than ski jumping probably). But this is almost unfair to him. Remember Oskar Svendsen?

 

[yaco]

His goal at the Tour of the Alps is to keep up with the peleton - Lets take it step-by-step.

 

[Pinot's goat]

His goal at the Tour of the Alps is to keep up with the peleton - Lets take it step-by-step.

I predict he will finish ahead of a four time TDF winner.

 

[RedheadDane]

I just have to constantly remind myself that his name is not - in fact - Palzmann.

 

[BlueRoads]

I just have to constantly remind myself that his name is not - in fact - Palzmann.

Antoine Palzmann