Parasite? Some years he trained in South Africa, home of bilharzia.
he trained in South-Africa last November View: https://twitter.com/officeguru23s/status/1192373910639202305
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Parasite? Some years he trained in South Africa, home of bilharzia.
I don't believe we have confirmation this parasite came from planet Earth.
I don't believe we have confirmation this parasite came from planet Earth.
Indeed. No idea what was going on, but this seems fishy.So... why was there a need to adjust his program weeks in advance?
I can asure you they haven't used ketones at this point in the season yet. It's only being used during the important races and certainly not during their preseason training rides.Okay great, nice PR, but I wonder if it had anything to do with the (yes, perfectly legal) ketone supplements Jumbo are using (and Sunweb aren't and weren't).
Okay great, nice PR, but I wonder if it had anything to do with the (yes, perfectly legal) ketone supplements Jumbo are using (and Sunweb aren't and weren't).
Exogenous ketones can potentially cause serious stomach issues (and lower blood sugar levels, which could have have negatively affected his performance , as well)
Would their sponsors want that kind of publicity (again) , considering the headlines they got when they admitted to using them last year? Dumoulin is one of their star riders, also.
Indeed. No idea what was going on, but this seems fishy.
The ketones scenario, while funny if true, i can't really see it. Few teams are this organized as TJV, checking everything, eye for detail, nutrition... If Tom's testresults have really been going backwards for 2 months, it would be a huge oversight on their part.
I read that as well. But in these times, where people can't go outside, you'd think sleeping in an altitude tent would be a no-brainer. I'm not saying it will replace actual training on altitude, but it would certainly even the odds. People in other countries might live on altitude, but might not be able to train outside. I'm sure everybody can argue that their prep won't be ideal.TD says that he can't win the TdF without an altitude camp. If no one has an altitude camp isn't that even? He does make a good point that he's living at sea level and other riders live higher so I'd be curious of the top 10 favorites where they are (stuck) living now.
They had to cut a piece of rock out of it, that was stuck there since a crash. Glad he can see better now.The World Cup is back? I hadn't heard. Also good to hear that his eye is better now.
I think Bernal was a much bigger favorite than Thomas to win last year. 2018 Tour, I don't think Froome was really a favorite to win the double. It maybe a bit of captain hindsighting, but Thomas suddenly being the next in line seemed more in line with Sky than Froome pulling a double that hadn't happened for 20 years all of a sudden. Also both Thomas and Bernal didn't really benefit tactically, they were just the best dudes in the race when it mattered most.We've seen 3 GTs recently be won by a team with co-leaders (the last 2 Tours, and the Giro last year) and in each case the winner was the guy who didn't start out as number 1. If Jumbo play their cards right and make use of their resources, they can protect both Primoz and Tom until very deep into the race.
I think Bernal was a much bigger favorite than Thomas to win last year. 2018 Tour, I don't think Froome was really a favorite to win the double. It maybe a bit of captain hindsighting, but Thomas suddenly being the next in line seemed more in line with Sky than Froome pulling a double that hadn't happened for 20 years all of a sudden. Also both Thomas and Bernal didn't really benefit tactically, they were just the best dudes in the race when it mattered most.
And for Carapaz, true. He really benefitted tactically. Without Landa it probably becomes a lot harder to win that race, and I think Nibali screwed himself like 3 times that race, as well as potentially being screwed by Gavia cancellation
I think Bernal was a much bigger favorite than Thomas to win last year. 2018 Tour, I don't think Froome was really a favorite to win the double. It maybe a bit of captain hindsighting, but Thomas suddenly being the next in line seemed more in line with Sky than Froome pulling a double that hadn't happened for 20 years all of a sudden. Also both Thomas and Bernal didn't really benefit tactically, they were just the best dudes in the race when it mattered most.
And for Carapaz, true. He really benefitted tactically. Without Landa it probably becomes a lot harder to win that race, and I think Nibali screwed himself like 3 times that race, as well as potentially being screwed by Gavia cancellation
I didn't see the Pinot/Ala stage, so I didn't know he crashed. Sounds like a Thomas thing to do.Thomas was absolutely the biggest favourite after the TT last year. He had been the strongest of the favourites on La Planche des Belles Filles, and the only reason he couldn't follow Pinot and Alaphilippe on their foray into Saint-Étienne was that he had had a crash just before the climb, so it was actually a near-miracle that he managed to not lose time to anybody else. Then he of course drove the cross-winds and gave everybody but Alaphilippe a lesson in the TT with Bernal losing almost a minute and a half.
But the second he lost ground near the top of the Tourmalet that was the moment where I got the feeling that that Tour edition would be something really special, not knowing who would win from a far way out.