Tirreno - Adriatico 2021, March 10 - March 16

[IndianCyclist]

Ivo Oliveira then. Id imagine he's just the water carrier anyway so not a huge deal but do think UAE could have someone better there who can contribute more. Kristoff be the road captain I guess, and I'd imagine Hirschi is just ahead of them and then probably Polanc, Dr La Cruz, Formolo and Majka as the mountain doms.

It's still not Jumbo but that's cos Jumbo have WVA who's probably the strongest domestique at the Tour, but its still a pretty good team to have around Pogacar.

In reality a team is not needed. Just the same strategy as last time. Allow some idiot to take the lead and let his team do all the work. Then Sandbag them in the last GC stage

 

[titan31]

In reality a team is not needed. Just the same strategy as last time. Allow some idiot to take the lead and let his team do all the work. Then Sandbag them in the last GC stage

Nah you do. Very handy if crosswinds, crashes or mechanical at unfortunate times. If Roglic had WVA at Paris Nice he probably gets back on with WVA bringing him back up and he wins.

Obviously not as needed if you suffer no misfortune and Jumbo uses the same train tactic.

Ideally Jumbo will join Ineos in doing mulitple attacks with their strength. If you've got WVA and Roglic in good GC positions, you can put Pogacar under some pressure to chase.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Who is that dude with the red jersey? Who invited him to the party?

I learned today, that his name is Mikkel Landa according to a Danish commentator.

 

[ice&fire]

I learned today, that his name is Mikkel Landa according to a Danish commentator.

I hadn't seen him in the last week. This race should have had a two-step podium.

 

[tobydawq]

I hadn't seen him in the last week. This race should have had a two-step podium.

The landismo is (too) weak with this one (so much that a ban should be in order).

 

[RedheadDane]

I hadn't seen him in the last week. This race should have had a two-step podium.

I saw him yesterday - or was it the day before ? - when he had a mechanical.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I remember him putting up a fight in the sprint for third on Prati di Tivo.

 

[Red Rick]

Nibali top 40 in ITT

Be very afraid lads.

 

[ice&fire]

I remember him putting up a fight in the sprint for third on Prati di Tivo.

Being caught by the fixed cameras at the finish doesn't count that much.

 

[tobydawq]

I remember him putting up a fight in the sprint for third on Prati di Tivo.

His early attack on stage 2 with Yates, Almeida and Sivakov isn't worth anything anymore?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

His early attack on stage 2 with Yates, Almeida and Sivakov isn't worth anything anymore?

Sure if we talk TV coverage alone, like @ice&fire seems to do, then that definitely counts. I think we saw him a fair amount of time during the race, and in the end his third place was deserved.

 

[RedheadDane]

Nibali top 40 in ITT

Be very afraid lads.

Seeing as I am not a lad, I shall not be afraid.

 

[tobydawq]

Seeing as I am not a lad, I shall not be afraid.

I won't be either, even if I am one. Pozzovivo demolished him.

 

[Climbing]

I won't be either, even if I am one. Pozzovivo demolished him.

Well now now!
You can't pair a TT specialist like Pozzovivo with Nibali!

 

[topcat]

I won't be either, even if I am one. Pozzovivo demolished him.

Same time gap (12 secs) between Wout and Pog as between Pozzovivo and Nibali. What can we conclude from that? Nothing. I found the whole race inconclusive.

 

[Escarabajo]

Nah you do. Very handy if crosswinds, crashes or mechanical at unfortunate times. If Roglic had WVA at Paris Nice he probably gets back on with WVA bringing him back up and he wins.

Obviously not as needed if you suffer no misfortune and Jumbo uses the same train tactic.

Ideally Jumbo will join Ineos in doing mulitple attacks with their strength. If you've got WVA and Roglic in good GC positions, you can put Pogacar under some pressure to chase.

I have watched cycling for so many years and fans always talk about alliances and teams working together. But I have not seen that unless there is a mishap. Other than that teams act like crabs trying to get out of a bucket.

Having said that, the big difference now is that Pogacar has to be 110% alert in every corner, every hill, every crosswind, etc. Now he is the guy to beat. If he drops due to cross wind you will see Ganna and Wout working together at the front.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Nibali top 40 in ITT

Be very afraid lads.

its in the bag

 

[topcat]

its in the bag

Welcome to the party

 

[tobydawq]

I have watched cycling for so many years and fans always talk about alliances and teams working together. But I have not seen that unless there is a mishap. Other than that teams act like crabs trying to get out of a bucket.

Having said that, the big difference now is that Pogacar has to be 110% alert in every corner, every hill, every crosswind, etc. Now he is the guy to beat. If he drops due to cross wind you will see Ganna and Wout working together at the front.

Upvote for the "crabs out of a bucket" thing. Seriously, how did that image spring to mind??

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

yeah the teams can work together against Pogacar in the wind. But he's become so strong i wonder if he doesn't just bridge alone and drop them all lol

 

[Sciatic]

Upvote for the "crabs out of a bucket" thing. Setiously, how did that image spring to mind??

Never heard that saying? A Portuguese friend told it to me in the form of a joke:

Guy on beach says to guy catching crabs: How come you don’t have a lid on that bucket with the crabs in it—won’t they escape?

Guy collecting crabs: oh, no it’s not a worry. These are Portuguese crabs—as soon as one of them tries to climb up and improve their situation, the others all pull ‘em back down to their level.

 

[hayneplane]

Fabulous one week race. Thrilling racing with an all star cast list that fully lived up to their billing.

Congratulations to Pogacar who won handsomely despite only noticeably having team assist for about 40km on Sunday from Formolo.

Virtually 4 minutes separating 1st and 3rd is crazy.

Most of the forum felt pre race that Wout Van Aert could make the top 10 in GC but few were bold enough to tip such a stellar performance. If you discount the otherworldly Pogacar then WVA would have beaten a field containing at least 8 Grand Tour podium finishers by almost 3 minutes on his very first attempt at riding GC and did so with very little support on the two hardest stages.

 

[ice&fire]

Sure if we talk TV coverage alone, like @ice&fire seems to do, then that definitely counts. I think we saw him a fair amount of time during the race, and in the end his third place was deserved.

Oh , I see, He must have been attacking at the same time than Chris Harper was attacking in PN and I missed it. Other than that I saw him either following wheels in the main group or missing. I agree his 3rd place was deserved, but he was light years behind Poga and Van Aert and just marginally better than Bernal. He's on a solid path to the Giro.

 

[Pinot's goat]

I hadn't seen him in the last week. This race should have had a two-step podium.

So you skipped stages 2,4 and 5. That's a shame as those were the most entertaining stages.

 

[titan31]

I have watched cycling for so many years and fans always talk about alliances and teams working together. But I have not seen that unless there is a mishap. Other than that teams act like crabs trying to get out of a bucket.

Having said that, the big difference now is that Pogacar has to be 110% alert in every corner, every hill, every crosswind, etc. Now he is the guy to beat. If he drops due to cross wind you will see Ganna and Wout working together at the front.

Ya, I didn't mean it as them much as working together but more that I reckon Ineos won't be doing their usual train tactic and will attempt to be more attacking with their riders but if Jumbo do the train tactic, it'll be pointless for anyone to attack. If they leave it up to Pogacar and his team, and both teams (and Bahrain who will attack imo) to disrupt and launch guys up the road, I'd wonder is he strong enough to mark out Roglic, WVA, Carapaz, Tao etc. If they ride with their trains, he'll just sit on Roglics wheel and win fine, and Ineos will burn themselves out attacking that Jumbo train.