UAE Tour 2024, February 19-25

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Rob5091

Rob5091

Apr 8, 2023
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Strong of O'Connor to win from the front, chapeau! - Lenny VE showing he's in good shape! Let the Battle of the Lennys commence!
Yates's absence will mess up UAE's plans but Vine or McNulty should be good enough to hang on for a win.
 
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theyoungest

Jan 11, 2010
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
That's not the same really. Surely you didn't expect him to win stage 1 or 2 either, because he was in form, did you? So why expect him to win on a climb where you would expect a bunch sprint?
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Bar Adam Yates, O'Connor is probably the best climber here, certainly given the form he has already shown. So if he then wins on a climb, even one that usually doesn't provide huge gaps, is not that surprising.

Btw O'Connor's win was pretty similar to Vingegaard's, when the latter was still reasonably unknown. Attacked on pretty much the same spot as he did, clearly Ag2R have done their homework. That team has made progress over the winter, also tactically.
 
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Berniece

Berniece

Sep 12, 2022
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
That's not the same really. Surely you didn't expect him to win stage 1 or 2 either, because he was in form, did you? So why expect him to win on a climb where you would expect a bunch sprint?
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I don't agree with comparing a flat stage and a TT with a climb of 19km's at 5%. Sure it could've ended in a bunch sprint, but that's not necessarily always the case. I personally didn't expect him to win, but I get that other people might saw this coming. Or at least an attempt would've been made.
 
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search

Aug 29, 2009
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theyoungest said:
He was their protected rider and finished just inside the top-20. He's just not that good of a climber, but he keeps trying.
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yeah, Foss yesterday said that this is the perfect climb for him, and he wants to give it a go. So apparently the team believed in him.

In the end, he finished just inside the Top 20, 8 seconds behind his team mate. So I really struggle to see how this is a good sign as well.
 
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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

Jun 7, 2011
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theyoungest said:
Bar Adam Yates, O'Connor is probably the best climber here, certainly given the form he has already shown. So if he then wins on a climb, even one that usually doesn't provide huge gaps, is not that surprising.

Btw O'Connor's win was pretty similar to Vingegaard's, when the latter was still reasonably unknown. Attacked on pretty much the same spot as he did, clearly Ag2R have done their homework. That team has made progress over the winter, also tactically.
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That he might be the best climber here is completely besides the point. This is not a stage where climbers put time into each other. Not even the best climbers in the world. Big groups in the last hundreds of meters, riders like Ganna only losing seconds instead of minutes. So again, him "as a climber" winning here, was about as expected as Foss "as a TT'er" winning the WCC ITT. Simply because every half decent climber was still there in the final kilometer, and of all the climbers, there are plenty who were more likely to win due to being better punchers or sprinters. There is a big difference between "not surprising" and "expected".
Berniece said:
I don't agree with comparing a flat stage and a TT with a climb of 19km's at 5%. Sure it could've ended in a bunch sprint, but that's not necessarily always the case. I personally didn't expect him to win, but I get that other people might saw this coming. Or at least an attempt would've been made.
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See my response to theyoungest. None of this makes him the expected winner on THIS mountain/finish. This wasn't Jebel Hafeet.
 
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postmanhat

postmanhat

Oct 21, 2012
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Red Rick said:
How Ineos believes in GC Foss is one of cyclings great mysteries at this point.

The guy couldn't be more obviously an alround domestique but not more. He isn't even suited to be a stage hunter in the mountains.
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Not sure they 'believe' in him, but given the mess Ellingworth seemed to making of the team and transfers, he was probably worth a punt. And increasingly, it seems moving away from Jumbo is a preferred option for mere mortals to get opportunities. 9th at the Giro in 21 suggests he can climb. Though I seem to remember that was the year a lot of GC hopefuls crashed?
 
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yaco

Jun 20, 2015
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
How the hell was this an expected win? Dude would not have finished in the top 10 in case it came to a sprint. Peloton was asleep when they attacked and you could see it coming a mile away, but nobody responded, probably thinking UAE would close it down, but Bjerg was done so they got a gap.

Glad for O'Conner, don't get me wrong, he took the shot and it paid off. But i don't see how this was expected on this climb where differences are usually minimal if not a bunch sprint.
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He was my favorite to win the stage - He did an exceptional ride to drop Wellens in Murcia and when he did a good ITT that my belief stronger - One thing about O'Connor is he is prepared to attack to win - I don't think he is as suited to Jaleel Haleef and is not my favorite for that stage.
 
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Squire

Squire

Dec 28, 2010
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Red Rick said:
How Ineos believes in GC Foss is one of cyclings great mysteries at this point.

The guy couldn't be more obviously an alround domestique but not more. He isn't even suited to be a stage hunter in the mountains.
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I'm not a huge believer in Foss the climber either, but riding for him in this race isn't the same as making him GC leader for grand tours or anything.

Considering he was high up in GC after the time trial, it clearly makes sense to try to protect that GC placing as well as possible, even if they don't believe he is the next Vingegaard. Especially with the rather weak field and suitable mountain stage (on paper) for a guy who hung on to achieve a top 10 in the Giro. It's not like they have much better options here that were sacrificed for him.
 
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Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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Red Rick said:
How Ineos believes in GC Foss is one of cyclings great mysteries at this point.

The guy couldn't be more obviously an alround domestique but not more. He isn't even suited to be a stage hunter in the mountains.
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Talk about an overreaction and ignoring context.

It is just this race... who else on the team, that they have sent, has the best chance to do something here for GC? Taking the ITT and overall route into account as well.
 
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