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Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2023, March 20-26

Page 43 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Straight off the bat I have no idea what will happen & Rog might explode entirely on Lo Port tomorrow, i.e. like everything that happened late last year finally catching up with him.

But... yesterday was the stage with the some grind, i.e. most vertical meters on the most sapping stage. Traditionally when he hasn't quite got his best legs that's the sort of stage where cracks begin to show.

So he might have some explosivity back again tomorrow with fewer vertical meters (basically everyone arriving 'fresh' at the final climb).
 
Sorry, this is just silly. The idea is to win, not to do it in a "proper" style. Riders use the weapons they have. And Roglic has attacked in the past. Not often, of course, but it's not like he can't -- when you have a kick like that, why waste energy in the wind?

Speaking of wind, Remco's aero advantage has got to be enormous. I'd love to compare his drag coefficient with the rest of the GC contenders. So riding at the front doesn't hurt him as much as someone like, say, Bernal, who rides with a more upright style and is taller.
A mountain sprinter will always be a mountain sprinter, even if they go on attack mode once in a while. Ask Purito and Valverde if I'm not right.
 
Those talking about wheelsucking from Roglic? I could pen down a huge epistle here but those people just don't get the intricacies of cycling . It was the logical thing to do in this situation unless he had very good legs, and was pretty sure he could put seconds into those chasing. Roglic clearly didn't have the legs. In the meantime he has to be wary of blowing up and losing seconds to Remco so trying to hold the wheel and relying on his sprint was the obvious thing to do.

Wheelsucking is wheelsucking imo. Every rider that wheelsucks has a valid reason (for him/her) to do it.
  • you can't go faster
  • you have a teammate behind you
  • you want to save for the sprint
  • only way to win
  • you love to look at the ass of the one in front of you
  • ..

But it is still wheelsucking. Maybe you want to portrait it with a heroic reason to diminish the perception of the word wheelsucking, but it doesn't change the meaning of it.
 
Is Ciccone a wheelsucker too? So lets get this straight. Whoever beats Remco is a wheelsucker. But at stage one. When Remco was unsuccessfully wheelsucking.

That doesn't count.

The main point here hence is to first establish if Remco won the stage or not. And if he did then all other cyclists are wheelsuckers. If he didn't then it was not his fault. Or is it the other way around?

Got it!
 
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Is Ciccone a wheelsucker too? So lets get this straight. Whoever beats Remco is a wheelsucker. But at stage one. When Remco was unsuccessfully wheelsucking.

That doesn't count.

The main point here hence is to first establish if Remco won the stage or not. And if he did then all other cyclists are wheelsuckers. If he didn't then it was not his fault. Or is it the other way around?

Got it!
No Ciccone is a survivor.
 
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Straight off the bat I have no idea what will happen & Rog might explode entirely on Lo Port tomorrow, i.e. like everything that happened late last year finally catching up with him.

But... yesterday was the stage with the some grind, i.e. most vertical meters on the most sapping stage. Traditionally when he hasn't quite got his best legs that's the sort of stage where cracks begin to show.

So he might have some explosivity back again tomorrow with fewer vertical meters (basically everyone arriving 'fresh' at the final climb).
The normal outcome is a clear defeat but I´m hoping for a Moncalvillo or a Pandera, similar climbs and Roglic showing weakness previously. Yes guys, let me dream :sweatsmile:
 
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So the take from stage 3 can be if a stage is hard enough and if QS maxes out and after Evenepoel maxes out. Then they can take 2s + potentially bonus seconds from current form Roglič.

From JV point of view. Without Kuss Roglič would be isolated rather early. Something to think about. And obviously to improve. As there isn't all that much to think about.

On stage 5 i imagine only the final climb will be made as hard as possible. Lets see if JV and Roglič can seal the deal. Here both should max out and lets see where that takes us.
 
Is Ciccone a wheelsucker too? So lets get this straight. Whoever beats Remco is a wheelsucker. But at stage one. When Remco was unsuccessfully wheelsucking.
Yes, Ciccone was a wheelsucker too, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you feel that you can't take a turn for whatever reason, you are a wheelsucker. Lampaert was also wheelsucking yesterday when they were able to breakaway with the 4 of them. He did it because Jakobsen was behind him. Roglic did it yesterday because there was no reason for him to take over as the leader and knowing he's better than the other riders that were dropped, as well as being at his limit which was clear in the sprint.

But what did you mean that Remco was wheelsucking in the first stage though?
 
The normal outcome is a clear defeat but I´m hoping for a Moncalvillo or a Pandera, similar climbs and Roglic showing weakness previously. Yes guys, let me dream :sweatsmile:

Yep, it's part of the fun, i.e. the unknown.

Roglič can be unpredictably... predictable? Like for example yesterday's mini crack came after a very long multi pass mountain stage the day after another hard mountain stage. Moncalvillo in 2020 meanwhile happened two days after a rest day & despite the fact he'd cracked on the Sunday 3 days earlier he still stomped Carapaz handily.

There's a pattern of small diminishing returns with Rog & it usually comes after a succession of hard stages. So let's see what's what tomorrow.
 
Yes, Ciccone was a wheelsucker too, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you feel that you can't take a turn for whatever reason, you are a wheelsucker. Lampaert was also wheelsucking yesterday when they were able to breakaway with the 4 of them. He did it because Jakobsen was behind him. Roglic did it yesterday because there was no reason for him to take over as the leader and knowing he's better than the other riders that were dropped, as well as being at his limit which was clear in the sprint.

But what did you mean that Remco was wheelsucking in the first stage though?

He wanted to use Rogličes wheel to get an advantage.

P.S. But beyond that i agree that reasons on why cyclists don't work, due to that being in their advantage, can't really be considered as "wrongdoing".
 
A mountain sprinter will always be a mountain sprinter, even if they go on attack mode once in a while. Ask Purito and Valverde if I'm not right.

Purito actually often attacked from long range. He is known more for mountain sprinting, because he was really good at that and had many wins.

Let's not forget that on the 2011 giro stage over 5 mountains, it was Purito who attacked halfway up the Giau and again on the Finestre
 
Purito actually often attacked from long range. He is known more for mountain sprinting, because he was really good at that and had many wins.

Let's not forget that on the 2011 giro stage over 5 mountains, it was Purito who attacked halfway up the Giau and again on the Finestre
I think for Purito it comes mainly from the 2012 Giro, where he didn't attack enough when he had the legs and lost in the TT.

For Valverde I simply think it doesn't apply that much to high mountain stages anyway. Valverde more about the negative tactics in the classics.
 
I didn't watch a lot of 2020 Tour but that sounds like a similar story. Or did Pog just wheelsuck?
No, Pog was caught behind a crash just as echelons were forming, which made him lose 50 seconds i believe. He then attacked a few times to take time back in other stages. But at that time he wasn't considered a real threat for the win, given his age and barely making the Vuelta podium half a year before.
Jumbo was also going full Sky so there was little other option but follow.
 
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Remco's tactics by attacking using a steady hard pace also attracts wheelsuckers. That's why you see other riders using all kinds of strategies to try to break away when attacking. Also he usually persists with his effort, a lot of other riders would see there are people behind, slow down, try something else etc. But as long as you're strongest, the Remco strategy usually works in the end.
 
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