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I haven't proved your point at all. If you say it's worthless, it doesn't make it worthless. If it's worthless for Movistar, OK. But that doesn't make it worthless for Ganna, Yates, Bjerg, Dekker, Cattaneo, Almeida, Gaviria, Bennett, etc... It's a WT race, there are stage wins still up for grabs, there is still a GC win and top3 to be decided. Stage 1 is already a strong candidate for stage of the year. Now that this race doesn't have cycling history and same prestige as some older races, now that's another story. But that doesn't mean the racing has to be bad.
Wow. I mean, I would try to get some points if I were them, this season. Are they so confident?
It represents all that is wrong with Movistar though.
According to himself he got 4 stiches on one knee and lots of bruises, but is fine otherwise.Tiberi's crash looked strange, like something broke. His head looked like it bounced of the the ground too.
What points? Those are all out of reach other than the generic couple of points to get if you finish the entire WT race. My guess is they don't see a difference between 12 points and 2 to 5 points. (truthfully I don't see enough of a difference between 12 and 5 points to tell the riders to push, when it's just not worthwhile.) They have 0 chance of getting inside the top 20. To get any real points you need to finish inside the top 10 and after stage 1 that is 100% out of reach, so they don't see any reason to care.
Not a given at all that Pogacar wins both MTFs given how the race unfolded last year. Also, if Pogacar were to be guaranteed those stages, the race would also be over after today as he was the best climber in the time trial.Stages that unless a break goes up the road will be won by Pogacar
Pre-Omloop races are usually glorified training sessions to most riders, whether it's here, in Australia or in Europe. Heck, it would have been a glorified training session for Van Der Poel had the wind not blown. It's also still an opportunity for the climbers to test themselves, and Pogacar, Almeida and Yates marking each other increases the chance of a different climber winning on Jebel Jais in particular.At this point any team who doesn't have a rider in the top 6 of GC or a sprinter may as well just turn it into a training session.
Yes, because there are clearly no points on offer for stage placements.What points? Those are all out of reach other than the generic couple of points to get if you finish the entire WT race.
Objectively not true, many of the sprinters and rouleurs who made the first echelon will drop more than 8 minutes across the two MTFs.120 plus riders have no shot at a top 20 let alone a top 10
If you can't enjoy a full stage worth of echelon action when your favourite riders (or rider, in this case) suffer, I honestly don't know what to say. Should they cancel stages with wind from now on because they pose a risk to your favourite riders?Stage 1 actually is the worst stage of the year having made the entire race worthless.
I could totally relate to the thought that it's not worth while. But then that's one of the reason's I'm not a pro athlete but a couch writer who likes to ride her bike sometimes.
As a sports team of the highest level the thinking should certainly be different. Of course there are preparation races. But you should enter them and continue to give your best and actually race. Not caring about the outcome is not racing.
This is about two aspects, really: "mentality" (I usually don't like this over-used term, but here I find it fitting), and secondly actually getting the points, which you might regret not going after later.
Not a given at all that Pogacar wins both MTFs given how the race unfolded last year. Also, if Pogacar were to be guaranteed those stages, the race would also be over after today as he was the best climber in the time trial.
Pre-Omloop races are usually glorified training sessions to most riders, whether it's here, in Australia or in Europe. It's also still an opportunity for the climbers to test themselves, and Pogacar, Almeida and Yates marking each other increases the chance of a different climber winning on Jebel Jais in particular.
Yes, because there are clearly no points on offer for stage placements.
Objectively not true, many of the sprinters and rouleurs who made the first echelon will drop more than 8 minutes across the two MTFs.
If you can't enjoy a full stage worth of echelon action when your favourite riders (or rider, in this case) suffer, I honestly don't know what to say. Should they cancel stages with wind from now on because they pose a risk to your favourite riders?
If Pogacar wins tomorrow, I don't necessarily expect UAE to control the breakaway on the second mountain stage as they already have their home race stage win and no bonus seconds being on offer for the GC riders would limit the chances of losing the jersey.This race is the least suited to breakaways in the history of stage races. You have two _ _ _ _ / stages (OK the 2nd one is not completely flat in the first part) and three flat stages left for sprinters. While I believe there is a small chance for a breakaway win on stage 5, I think the only successful breakaway we'll see is potentially like the one on stage 1, when the strongest group of riders got clear in the wind. For tomorrow I don't think INEOS and UAE will leave any room to the breakaway and rightfully so. That's way the decision of the chasing group to give up on chasing on stage 1 is as stupid as it gets.
Watch now Meintjes win from the breakaway tomorrow.
That's not the point I'm making at all. If Pogacar is guaranteed to win both MTFs, he would have been guaranteed the GC win by being the strongest climber on today's TT regardless of gaining time in the echelons. So your reason for seeing the GC as decided has nothing to do with yesterday's stage.Well I said after yesterday that the race would be over after the TT. So there you go.
The GC win will take priority over the stage win for the three remaining contenders, so I can't see Pogacar burying himself to close down someone like Sepp Kuss as long as he has Almeida on his wheel who can take the GC lead from him on bonus seconds, for example.You mean the riders who WANT to win the stage and will likely go after anyone on the climb they think are a threat to the stage win? If they want the stage win they WILL be paying attention.
Did this opinion form before or after the 2013 Tour de France?I've always found that echelons ruin races.
That's not the point I'm making at all. If Pogacar is guaranteed to win both MTFs, he would have been guaranteed the GC win by being the strongest climber on today's TT regardless of gaining time in the echelons. So your reason for seeing the GC as decided has nothing to do with yesterday's stage.
The GC win will take priority over the stage win for the three remaining contenders, so I can't see Pogacar burying himself to close down someone like Sepp Kuss as long as he has Almeida on his wheel who can take the GC lead from him on bonus seconds, for example.
Did this opinion form before or after the 2013 Tour de France?
I'm not sure UAE has bonus seconds. So that may not be a concern. It would require someone being a lot stronger than Pogacar on the climb to do that.
Please, can we stop pollute the race thread with "echelons ruin races" crap? It doesn't suit you to go ballistic like this. Valverde was never going to win the race anyway, and the race is not ruined seeing that the three biggest pre-race favourites all made the first echelon Sunday!!!
Part of the race just like climbs or cobbles. If Bala and Movi were great at crosswinds you would love themAre you going to tell me that Kuss and Huigita had no chance at all to get on the podium of this race before the echelons? They most definitely don't because of echelons.
Part of the race just like climbs or cobbles. If Bala and Movi were great at crosswinds you would love them
Tiberi's crash looked strange, like something broke. His head looked like it bounced of the the ground too.
Yes but that is a race he will never come close to winning. Crosswinds stop him from winning races he might win and if Movi won te TdF thanks to crosswinds I bet you would love themUnlikely. Paris-Roubiax happens to be my favorite race. A race Bala has never wanted anything to do with and a race Movistar is normally horrible at best at.
Yes but that is a race he will never come close to winning. Crosswinds stop him from winning races he might win and if Movi won te TdF thanks to crosswinds I bet you would love them
Who is Huigiti?He wasn't likely to win that Tour either.
These crosswinds costs Kuss and Huigiti any chance of winning or getting a podium in this race.
It's just not worth it it to chase so that your GC rider might be able gain a few places on the 4 riders max who could potentially lose between 4 to 8 minutes in the mountains stages.
Just from a quick glance at the top of the GC, I can think of the following riders as some who are likely to lose a bunch of time in the mountains; Mørkøv, Bjerg, Archbold, Gaviria, Viviani, Richeze, and probably Vanbilsen.
Then there's the fact that two of the guys, who were in the front-group Sunday are already out of the race.
Those two out of the race are already accounted for. You'd need to find more than 11 riders who will shed at more than 8 minutes on two mountain stages for caring about GC to make any sense at all to the riders who weren't in that top group. That's just asking way too much.
Those two out of the race are already accounted for. You'd need to find more than 11 riders who will shed at more than 8 minutes on two mountain stages for caring about GC to make any sense at all to the riders who weren't in that top group. That's just asking way too much.