At the same time and looking back with almost 2 weeks of hindsight, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Ineos not put Carapaz to work on the Peyresourde
The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
Even on its own he looked like the strongest rider.I wish we see someone truly test him in the future with multiple big attacks. Wonder if he has the fortitude to bring them back on his own continuously. Otherwise how many GTs is he going to win?
Carapaz lost time even before Pey. He was not in good shape in week 1.At the same time and looking back with almost 2 weeks of hindsight, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Ineos not put Carapaz to work on the Peyresourde
But Roglic would have been punished more for not following Pogacar and not taking responsibility himself.Carapaz lost time even before Pey. He was not in good shape in week 1.
The DS told him to just follow people inside the 1 minute range. Also Dumo basically aided Pog in that day. TJV underestimated Pog greatly but most likely the others as well.I'm sure he found Quintana annoying, but it was pretty dumb that he didn't just ignore him and collaborated with Pogacar. But then again the whole team rode as morons that day.
They would probably lost more but he would still be ahead. Maybe he would've attacked more if he didn't feel his gap for ITT is good enough. If he had less than 30 seconds on Pog I doubt he will gamble with that advantage.I mean what would have happened had nobody been there to make the pace after the favorites group was formed and Roglic was without teammates for the longest time in this Tour.
It's absolutely not a what-if scenario of Carapaz being allowed to ride for himself from the start.
Maybe Dumo didn't said anything before? That stage is a mystery.Which is dumb enough as it is, but even if you accept that as the battle plan, the way the team rode was moronic. If they just wanted to ride defensively, they should have taken it easy on Balès and have Dumoulin not go faster than what he could maintain for at least half the climb (preferably the whole ascent).
Wait are you telling me that taking results out of context and then assuming correlation equals causation isn't a method to judge riders accurately?There were questions about his recovery, about his form in the third week. He can't deal with real mountains, with multi mountain stages, they said. Guess what, in the last two stages he looked as solid as ever to me. In a stage with two monsters of consecutive climbs and the next day with constant up and down, in a stage with almost zero flat. He keeps proving the doubters wrong and I love it. He keeps proving them wrong since the beginnings, since he started racing in amateur races in Slovenia.
Well, it's not over. He needs to survive tomorrows stage and then confirm his victory in the ITT.
There are still a couple of myths he has to kill. The first is "he can't TT if the time trial is towards the end of a GT". The second is "he can't deal with the distance".
The first, I'm confident, will get erased on Saturday. For the second would be nice to be over next weekend in Imola. In this I'm less confident because of the tiredness after the Tour. There's still LBL this year, if not, next year in Olympic Games Road Race.
My opinion is that he rode this conservatively exactly because of the final ITT, his form in 3rd week from the past, his crash and the pressure on him from a team who goes all-in on this Tour win. A lot of caution and trying to go with marginal gains. If there is anything certain about Roglic's interviews are his praising of the team. It's great to hear them but every day it's a bit too much. In the end people give him few credit to this possible win and new myth is a born: Roglic can't attack without his team.There were questions about his recovery, about his form in the third week. He can't deal with real mountains, with multi mountain stages, they said. Guess what, in the last two stages he looked as solid as ever to me. In a stage with two monsters of consecutive climbs and the next day with constant up and down, in a stage with almost zero flat. He keeps proving the doubters wrong and I love it. He keeps proving them wrong since the beginnings, since he started racing in amateur races in Slovenia.
Well, it's not over. He needs to survive tomorrows stage and then confirm his victory in the ITT.
There are still a couple of myths he has to kill. The first is "he can't TT if the time trial is towards the end of a GT". The second is "he can't deal with the distance".
The first, I'm confident, will get erased on Saturday. For the second would be nice to be over next weekend in Imola. In this I'm less confident because of the tiredness after the Tour. There's still LBL this year, if not, next year in Olympic Games Road Race.
I hope Roglic puts like 30 seconds on the ITT and finally puts the crosswinds argument to the bed. It's a dumb one but better dead than annoying.Roglič has been very impressive in terms of mental toughness this Tour. With only stages 19-21 left, he has shown that he is the best rider, and it's not a fluke. He is not at a physical/form level way beyond other top GC guys on a given day, but he is not giving anything away. He is the most consistently outstanding GC rider. -- It could still change by Paris, but that's looking unlikely.
In La Vuelta was similar. He was never head and shoulders above everyone else. One day he was the best with Valverde, the next day he was the strongest with Pogačar, then he was just 10s behind Lopez, the next day he was again the strongest with Valverde and so on and so on. In the ITT he destroyed every other GC rider and noone could come close.Roglič has been very impressive in terms of mental toughness this Tour. With only stages 19-21 left, he has shown that he is the best rider, and it's not a fluke. He is not at a physical/form level way beyond other top GC guys on a given day, but he is not giving anything away. He is the most consistently outstanding GC rider. -- It could still change by Paris, but that's looking unlikely.
And this is a spot on!EDIT: and ofc they should have just ignored Alaphilippe, the clown.
Roglic has ridden like the smartest rider in this and most recent Tours. Rode hard when needed and made others do their work. As much as folks like to bash JV; Roglic accomplished the same result in the Vuelta with far less support and suffered some crashes on the way.Roglič has been very impressive in terms of mental toughness this Tour. With only stages 19-21 left, he has shown that he is the best rider, and it's not a fluke. He is not at a physical/form level way beyond other top GC guys on a given day, but he is not giving anything away. He is the most consistently outstanding GC rider. -- It could still change by Paris, but that's looking unlikely.
He lost it because they damaged Roglic's bike.So, Zeeman lost it, after the Col de Loze finish. Normally, the UCI checks bikes with scanning equipment. But apparently, according to Bram Tanking, UCI officials felt the need to take Roglic's bike apart completely. Obviously, nothing was found, but the team mechanic had to piece the bike back together again.
Can you elaborate?He lost it because they damaged Roglic's bike.
He lost it because they damaged Roglic's bike.
Can you elaborate?
Or maybe UCI should hire better people ?Maybe, but it will take a TDF level machenic what 1hr to set up a brand new bike with that not even the rider would know is different unless you tell them...
Reaction to Merijn Zeeman's exclusion from Tour de France
Merijn Zeeman was present at the control of Primoz Roglic's bike after the 17th stage. A discussion arose with the UCI employee in question when the…www.teamjumbovisma.com
Or maybe UCI should hire better people ?