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But but but butDekker_Tifosi said:Perhaps he can finally do a Lombardia in good shape as well. So far he was usually too tired or over his top shape there.
JosephK said:I'm wondering also whether the imbedded piece of gravel isn't the only issue. It's reported that there was some cartilage damage. Now that can be painful for a long time -- several months easily.
yepLogic-is-your-friend said:Had they cleaned that knee weeks ago...
JosephK said:I'm wondering also whether the imbedded piece of gravel isn't the only issue. It's reported that there was some cartilage damage. Now that can be painful for a long time -- several months easily.
Exactly. Just take that time to heal. There is plenty of time ahead of the Vuelta.Dekker_Tifosi said:No, he said in the same interview that since the gravel has been removed his knee doesn't "whine" anymore.
It's just that with 10 stitches he can't move freely and theres too little time to prepare TDF.
This just hurts reading it. I can imagine Spekenbrink wanting Dumoulin to skip Lombardia for the Hammer Series.Red Rick said:But but but butDekker_Tifosi said:Perhaps he can finally do a Lombardia in good shape as well. So far he was usually too tired or over his top shape there.
What about Hammer Series?
Red Rick said:Now Matthews is really really pissed lol.
Sunweb is such a garbage team
Bolder said:Red Rick said:Now Matthews is really really pissed lol.
Sunweb is such a garbage team
Frankly those were garbage comments from Matthews. Seriously? Why not just say, "I'd focused on supporting Tom, but now I'll be able to target some stages that fit my profile. I haven't done a lot of sprint training but I'll give it my best."
I mean, I'm glad he's saying what he feels but really, it's not how you support a teammate. I'm sure Dumoulin would much rather be at the Tour than picking stones out of his knee...
Davesta said:Bolder said:Red Rick said:Now Matthews is really really pissed lol.
Sunweb is such a garbage team
Frankly those were garbage comments from Matthews. Seriously? Why not just say, "I'd focused on supporting Tom, but now I'll be able to target some stages that fit my profile. I haven't done a lot of sprint training but I'll give it my best."
I mean, I'm glad he's saying what he feels but really, it's not how you support a teammate. I'm sure Dumoulin would much rather be at the Tour than picking stones out of his knee...
On the other hand, I appreciate his honest comments.
And whilst I'm sure there's two sides to the story, it sounds like he's been given a bad wrap by the team - he's sacrificed his entire season (including a ride at the Giro) to support TD's bid for yellow. I would guess from his comments that he hasn't had much update from the team about TD's knee, and so hasn't been able to prepare himself for other goals, and TD's withdrawal is a bit of a surprise to him, hence his "confusion".
Sunweb are well known as a team that operate in a very rigid fashion, but it's still a surprise to hear that Spekenbrink told the riders they "shouldn’t have any ambitions [themselves]".
Given they're paying €€€s for riders like Matthews, it seems a bit of a waste of that money to allow them no personal ambition...
For a team with a reputation for being run in a rigid fashion, they seem to have been making TD’s program up as they go along. If Bling thought at the start of the year that he was doing the Giro, then it’s really not clear what they were thinking sending Dumoulin instead.Red Rick said:If they thought he was gonna win they shouldn't have **** sent him to the Giro in the first place.
Sunweb are paying riders like Matthews a lot of money to win races like San Remo, the Ardennes, the Canadian classics, and pick up stage wins. It’s clear that what Spekenbrink meant was that nobody should go to the Tour with any personal ambitions. I doubt anybody at the Tour de Suisse has been told “don’t go winning any stages, we’re all about yellow for Tom here.”“Sunweb are well known as a team that operate in a very rigid fashion, but it's still a surprise to hear that Spekenbrink told the riders they "shouldn’t have any ambitions [themselves]".
Given they're paying €€€s for riders like Matthews, it seems a bit of a waste of that money to allow them no personal ambition...