The battles we never got to see

[SHAD0W93]

Cav vs the field TdF 2021
Rodriquez vs Valverde backstage at 2013 WC
Contador with no Giro vs Tour field in 2011
Demare vs Bouhanni street fight
Froome, Nibali, and Quintana accepting Tinkov’s payment to do the double
Boonen vs Cancellara vs MVDP vs WVA
Ullrich vs Riis 1996

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Cav vs the field TdF 2021

I think you might be wrong about that one...

 

[SHAD0W93]

I think you might be wrong about that one...

At the time I was right. XD

 

[YavorD]

Menchov - Andy - Zakarin. Ultimate descent showdown.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Menchov - Andy - Zakarin. Ultimate descent showdown.

- Basso
In the rain, snow, wind, and all of the above.

 

[Big Doopie]

Ocana vs Merckx TDF 1971
Merckx vs Ocana TDF 1973

Freddy Maertens without his crash at the Giro in 1977

Lemond 1987 & 1988

Hinault after age 32

Bassons and Delion and countless others whose careers were cut short by a clinic-enhanced peloton.

 

[BigCoward]

Froome v Wiggins 2012 if he had gone fully Roche. I still think Brad would have won with the TT and time Froome lost early on. But the banter would have been excellent.

 

[42x16ss]

But Armstrong wasn't the Armstrong that we've loved to hate later. Going into the 99 Tour my guess is that he was an outside favourite (coming off 4th at Vuelta), so Lance going head to head with Marco wasn't exactly something that people would have been hyped about, leading up to July that year.

The hype was in 2000 of course (also for Ullrich's return), but alas it didn't turn out to be much of a showdown.

Certainly, Armstrong was only seen as a top 10 contender at best, but I'm not talking about hype here, I'm talking about the battle we missed out on. If Pantani didn't get singled out at the Giro (or at least kept it sane to Montecampione) and made it to the TDF we would have had an epic.

As for 2000, Pantani's form had already started to wane - he was on the Colombian marching powder by ten - and Armstrong was firmly in his head after Ventoux

 

[Skalman]

Padun vs Pogacar, Roglic, Carapaz et al. Tdf 2021 (Only half joking).
I would really like to see what he could have done in a mtn stage against the best when all was going all out.

 

[RedheadDane]

Bernal vs. Pinot; Tignes, TdF 2019.

 

[staubsauger]

Certainly, Armstrong was only seen as a top 10 contender at best, but I'm not talking about hype here, I'm talking about the battle we missed out on. If Pantani didn't get singled out at the Giro (or at least kept it sane to Montecampione) and made it to the TDF we would have had an epic.

As for 2000, Pantani's form had already started to wane - he was on the Colombian marching powder by ten - and Armstrong was firmly in his head after Ventoux

Pantani never would've ridden the Tour de France. He might have tried to win the 1999 Vuelta a Espana instead.

So that battle between Armstrong & Pantani never was on cards.

 

[Amazinmets87]

Pantani never would've ridden the Tour de France. He might have tried to win the 1999 Vuelta a Espana instead.

So that battle between Armstrong & Pantani never was on cards.

Yea, the route sucked for him and he was tired. He should have raced the '98 Vuelta for the triple.

 

[42x16ss]

Pantani never would've ridden the Tour de France. He might have tried to win the 1999 Vuelta a Espana instead.

So that battle between Armstrong & Pantani never was on cards.

He was aiming for a consecutive Tour/Giro double, like Indurain before him.

 

[SafeBet]

He was aiming for a consecutive Tour/Giro double, like Indurain before him.

100%.
Don't know where this notion he would aim for the Vuelta comes from. He didn't care about the Vuelta.

 

[Põhja Konn]

Quintana vs Contador vs Froome at Vuelta 2014. Well, we saw some of it, but Quintana crashed out when most of the decisive mountain battles were yet to come.

 

[gerundium]

Quintana vs Contador vs Froome at Vuelta 2014. Well, we saw some of it, but Quintana crashed out when most of the decisive mountain battles were yet to come.

in that line: Contador Vs. Nibali Vs. Froome Tour de France 2014

EDIT: of course was already mentioned somewhere earlier in the thread but still.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Evenepoel vs Vlasov on Friday to Sunday in 2022 Tour de Suisse.

What a Friday today was!

This morning, I immediately remembered June 30, 2006: one day before start of the TdF, and a long list with riders who DNS. I was so sad.

Today, it‘s similar. A long list of riders who DNS in TdS, with three days to go.

Now I hope we get to see Pog vs Rog vs Vlasov all the way to Paris.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Can't believe this thread didn't get bumped in the spring considering that most classics were missing a lot of the biggest names. Van Aert versus Van der Poel versus Pogacar (versus Girmay as well, had he been there) in the Ronde, and Pogacar versus Evenepoel (and maybe also an in-form Roglic or a non-crashed Alaphilippe) in Liège are the most obvious ones.

 

[HelloDolly]

Quintana 2013 Tour v Mark Padun 2021 Dauphine
Contador 2009 v Pogacar 2021
Boonen 2005 v Wout van Aert 2022 (split Belgium down the middle)

Chris Horner 2013 Vuleta v Roglic 2021 Vuelta

 

[roundabout]

Spilak vs Evenepoel on a cold rainy mountain stage in Switzerland to settle the question once and for all.

 

[Ricco']

Carapaz vs Hindley vs Landa at the first 19 stages and 160km of the 2022 Giro

 

[RedheadDane]

Quintana 2013 Tour v Mark Padun 2021 Dauphine
Contador 2009 v Pogacar 2021
Boonen 2005 v Wout van Aert 2022 (split Belgium down the middle)

Chris Horner 2013 Vuleta v Roglic 2021 Vuelta

Spilak vs Evenepoel on a cold rainy mountain stage in Switzerland to settle the question once and for all.

I thought this was about battles that could, realistically, have happened.
Nothing involving time travelling.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Tour 2022 - Pogacar vs. Roglic

Something tells me this is not going to happen. Highly anticipated duels hardly ever happen at the Tour.

 

[SHAD0W93]

2022 Tour - Froome vs Roglic and Pogacar

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Tour 2022 - Pogacar vs. Roglic

Something tells me this is not going to happen. Highly anticipated duels hardly ever happen at the Tour.

A positive COVID test (absolutely terrible if false positive).