Yeah, I don't read every post. I responded to the post I saw and quoted it in it's entirety. Bolding is for emphasis, it doesn't mean one hasn't read the rest.I am referring to what Remco actually said himself. He had a “blocked nose” and he “hoped he wasn’t getting sick.” I’m not going to repeat my nuanced post about this that you selectively read or at least selectively quoted; I’ll just say I absolutely agree he is likely thinking that he would be here smashing the opposition if he had stayed in, hence my line of thought.
Yes, he said those things. You may also have noticed over the many years that cycling teams and athletes aren't always 100% transparent about their form, weight, fitness, illness or other things they think might give advantage to their competitors. And he was obviously sick, to anyone looking at him for 2 seconds could obviously see. And it obviously explains his form falloff the day before and during the TT. This stuff isn't as complicated as everyone seems to want to make it.