Yes, Del Toro prepared extensively naturally but he didnt do an altitude camp big distinction. Lidl and Decathlon did true. He wasnt and its not the end of the world it takes nothing away from what he is elite at. We saw how easily he dispatched Almeida on 2.5km hills, seixas and co couldnt do that. if anything I think he deserves credit for trying his best at becoming better at something he inherently isnt best at.
I agree--but that's why it seems like it's a moot point what his weight is for those one-day races because he isn't beating Pogacar regardless.
Sure, but anltitude AND 60 kg should be much more indicative. I mean 60 kg is a world of difference.
Health, with a solid base, I don't think so. He should focus on calorie deprivasion in training. Water and spirit.
I would be interested to know more about this. I find it fascinating that, as altitude camps have been becoming more and more essential for top performance over the past 15 years, the best team in the world now seems to do very little altitude.
The first peace of evidence is I have never heard anyone say I wishI was heavier during the race. Now, in all seriousness there is little to no trade off between power and weight. Road riders can be lean and deliver their best power. What become a problem is the dedication to stay in that shape and how does one react during an illness and so. The fact he would have won does not say much. I am not claiming the opponents are well prepared either. Froome and G have won the TdF by training fasted for crying out loud...
Possibly Alaphilippe that time he got blown right off the road.
Actually Pogacar said that exactly 2 yrs ago after RvV when asked whether he would do Roubaixin the future. He said he’d have to put on some more weight first. Of course he could have been joking around, but he said it.The first peace of evidence is I have never heard anyone say I wishI was heavier during the race. Now, in all seriousness there is little to no trade off between power and weight. Road riders can be lean and deliver their best power. What become a problem is the dedication to stay in that shape and how does one react during an illness and so. The fact he would have won does not say much. I am not claiming the opponents are well prepared either. Froome and G have won the TdF by training fasted for crying out loud...
Clearly at 65 kg on a quasi 15 km climb at average 12% the last 7 km his watts are insufficient. Now maintain those same watts at 60 kg and the whole scenario changes. It doesn't matter what anybody else weighs, but only his own power to weight ratio. Again at 65 kg on long, hard climbs that ratio can't compete, so the only thing to do is increase the watts or decrease the weight. Which one is more doable?
He surely has increased his watts, see his ITT.
I don't buy that. If other riders can visibly ride skinnier throughout the year, I don't see why Remco cannot other than he lacks proper guidance. If I'm wrong, which may well be the case, it's time he at least tries to race the season overall much leaner. As the formula that's been used so far, considering his lofty ambitions, surely aint working. At this point, he's really got nothing to lose and tempus fugit.
He want's to be at this weight for the Ardennes and it is also good for ITT.
I don't think being lighter for Liege will hurt his chances against Pogacar. Actually it's the opposite. He should I think at the moment stop being concerned with ranking number one TTer and start being competitive on the long cols, if he wants to win the Tour. His TT, besides, will never become bad, but he won't win WT stage races on his TT if he gets shelled out the back on the climbs.
PCS is not a good source. However, at what point is Remco considered a very powerful rider or just a rider who can be really aero and save a lot of watts compared to others? When it goes uphill, Remco can still produce decent watts but when he needs to maintain for a long period those watts, he falls apart. The ability to sustain a fair amount of watts for a long period is just not there. I believe he is not that powerful like most people think, he is just so much better when we talk about aerodynamics.
Or he simply does not want to lose much more weight. Which may be true. In which case he is stuck where he is at.
That you can say this with a straight face after seeing his fall season is bonkers to me. Sure he was never as good as Pogacar, but after that he was much better than the rest. He showed that at WC, UEC and Lombardia. All long, hard races.
I said long mountains. In any part of my post I questioned his level in hilly classics. There, he is by far the second best and probably the only one who can threat Pogacar in the future.
Passo di Ganda:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram