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Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2023, March 20-26

Page 90 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
After watching last year's race and watching him this year I cannot take him out of the equation. They would be a fool to do it. Who can tell me that Covid did not affect his performance towards the end? I understand he has longer odds but I would not discard them.

Having said that, I used him as an example. There could be another Carapaz hiding behind the tree waiting to ambush the big two. History can very well repeat itself.
It wasn't a dig on Almeida. Simply that last year, nothing happened. And Almeida always climbs like that. It is actually very smart, to stay below threshold and only go above for the part that you can actually endure. If you do it sooner, you explode and will lose more time than you could have possibly gained. Added bonus being that the others are usually not as smart and you get to pass them before the line.
 
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Lafavere said he gives Remco a 9/10 rating.

“He has taken two stages, he’s been the main protagonist of the race and he wasn’t any less strong than Primož Roglič, who’s not just anybody. I give him a good nine out of ten for his overall performance.”
“If he didn’t win overall, it’s because he forgot to keep pedalling hard all the way to the line at La Molina. If he didn’t sit up, we’d perhaps have had a different race,” Lefevere claimed

 
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Ockam's razor: what's more likely? That Soler and UAE according to you had a plan when Remco attacked and later messed up that same plan (despite being a team known for its lack of organization in other stages)? Or was it that Soler just followed wheels at that moment without envisioning that he wouldn't have the legs to follow because that's how his ego works?

I rest my case.
None of that even matters. You don't screw a teammate out of a podium in a WT stage race. Soler did nothing wrong, regardless of the motivation behind his actions.

I just want to add that your constant bemarks on how you are so close to the truth are just tedious and a little brat's talk. You have a constant need to show how you are superior to others who don't share your view. You're blind to how arrogant and boring the things you write are.
It's good to see you assume your posts are a gift to the forum then.
 
Lafavere said he gives Remco a 9/10 rating.

“He has taken two stages, he’s been the main protagonist of the race and he wasn’t any less strong than Primož Roglič, who’s not just anybody. I give him a good nine out of ten for his overall performance.”
“If he didn’t win overall, it’s because he forgot to keep pedalling hard all the way to the line at La Molina. If he didn’t sit up, we’d perhaps have had a different race,” Lefevere claimed

"Remco does not lose races. He just forgets to pedal hard"
 
None of that even matters. You don't screw a teammate out of a podium in a WT stage race. Soler did nothing wrong, regardless of the motivation behind his actions.


It's good to see you assume your posts are a gift to the forum then.
For the last time: he was not screwed:
  1. he failed to podium because of his legs, not because UAE chased; this is mathematical true.
  2. screwing someone applies when there is a previous tacit agreement between parts. That is not the case with UAE and Soler and whatever other team mates. He constantly shows how he is above whatever team tactics and rules by doing his own race.

Concluding: if you want to brag again that Soler got screwed, I add: he had it coming.
 
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Lefevere's comments are nice & all but let's be real here: Evenepoel lost the race because he didn't think Roglič would be at the level he was at. Quick-Step probably didn't either. Hence why Evenepoel celebrated at La Molina, i.e. no pressure because he felt he had it in the bag. Hence why he didn't chase intermediate bonus seconds before Saturday either.

Lo Port was the big moment which decided the race & they just didn't see that sort of performance from Rog coming.
 
Obviously it's a joke. The fact that you even have to ask sort of proves my point :)
I think i remember seeing you post hyperbole before when it was not a joke, so i wanted to make sure.

For the last time: he was not screwed:
  1. he failed to podium because of his legs, not because UAE chased; this is mathematical true.
  2. screwing someone applies when there is a previous tacit agreement between parts. That is not the case with UAE and Soler and whatever other team mates. He constantly shows how he is above whatever team tactics and rules by doing his own race.
This also does not matter. Almeida didn't have a calculator nor a stopwatch. They rode with the same intention. To prevent Soler from taking his place. There was no other reason for them to set the chase otherwise. They should have left it to other teams.

Concluding: if you want to brag again that Soler got screwed, I add: he had it coming.
Well ok.
 
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Okay, my two cents about RR:
They were pretty equal, but in the end Roglic won the race and deserved so. I think he "gifted" Evenepoel two stages, but wouldn't have done so if he hadn't felt Evenepoel was doing the bulk of the work there and very strong. Giro will be a new race with a completely different factor thrown into the mix, that is the time trials.
 
Silly people, discussing race matters...
Love how it's either "little Italian guy", or "large Danish woman". No in-between. No other possible combination.

What's really silly is that they are discussing here when there is a dedicated thread for that. :cry: People don't care about the titles of threads, apart from those who insist of giving them the wrong ones.
 
Okay, my two cents about RR:
They were pretty equal, but in the end Roglic won the race and deserved so. I think he "gifted" Evenepoel two stages, but wouldn't have done so if he hadn't felt Evenepoel was doing the bulk of the work there and very strong. Giro will be a new race with a completely different factor thrown into the mix, that is the time trials.
He gifted one race otherwise you are closer to your opponent when finishing
 
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What's really silly is that they are discussing here when there is a dedicated thread for that. :cry: People don't care about the titles of threads, apart from those who insist of giving them the wrong ones.

Am I supposed to feel targeted by that last bit? I have never given a thread the wrong title! I always give the threads I make exactly the titles I intend to give them.
TBF, this isn't the "What is Ilmaestro's appearance?" thread either.
 
Am I supposed to feel targeted by that last bit? I have never given a thread the wrong title! I always give the threads I make exactly the titles I intend to give them.
TBF, this isn't the "What is Ilmaestro's appearance?" thread either.

But at least there isn't a specific "is ilmaestro a small Italian" thread (yet). Although it could be argued it belongs into the small Danish one.
And yes, I was very much targeting you. I am still sour. :smilingimp:
 
Okay, my two cents about RR:
They were pretty equal, but in the end Roglic won the race and deserved so. I think he "gifted" Evenepoel two stages, but wouldn't have done so if he hadn't felt Evenepoel was doing the bulk of the work there and very strong. Giro will be a new race with a completely different factor thrown into the mix, that is the time trials.
Please take it from me that he did not gift Evenepoel's first stagewin. First of all he could have gifted it without leaving a gap, there was no need for that if that was his objective. And considering he did leave a gap, he could not have predicted Evenepoel to start cheering 50 meters from the line, which effectively diminished the gap to only 2 seconds. If Evenepoel had ridden over the finish, the gap would have been 3 or 4 seconds. In that case, it would have been Roglic who needed to drop Evenepoel on Lo Porte instead of the other way around, and Evenepoel would not have needed to burn himself trying to drop Roglic. Furthermore, Roglic also could not have predicted that he would drop Evenepoel and take 6 seconds back there regardless.

In short, unless Roglic also wanted to gift the GC, which i highly doubt, there is no reason to assume he gifted that stage. He did however not contest the sprint in the final stage, letting Evenepoel win.
 
I don't see how "neutralizing" an adversary who you refuse to work with, when it's the winning move, with no teammates up the road and only a chase to keep at a distance, is anything but wheelsucking.

If I were Remco the moment I established the break with Roglic on my wheel, but who refuses to pull through, I sit up and watch his next move. That's race intelligence. Roglic wants to have cake and eat it too. The only thing naive is continuing to effectively do the work for him, not expecting him to contribute to the pace in that circumstance. He refuses to, fine, then you refuse too, calling his bluff. If you then get caught, the whole world sees Roglic's negative riding is to blame. Yet Roglic would know his tactic at that point no longer works, appart from making him an unpopular wheelsucker, because if a large group comes back, it's no longer manageable and so it would be better to work to not get caught instead.

Roglic, however, thus far has been fortunate in finding willing accomplices that catered to his game. Hopefully Remco won't be one again at the Giro.
Are you just playing dumb or what?!

Roglic is in the very slim lead.
His biggest opponent attacks.
He follows.
They have 20-25 sec advantage and around 20km of flat road in front of the main group.
His opponent is much more suited to this terrain.
Stage win is in play.
He already won two stages.
GC is much more important to him cause he never won this race and it would be 6th of 7 biggest week-long stage races.
GC is in danger, cause as I said his opponent is stronger on the flat, and he showed that he has a better flat sprint, so he's in risk to lose time.
He refuses to work, his opponent is making a scene, but eventually stops (although he was whining how he wanted a stage win, why didn't he rode then to the line full gas?).
And Roglic eventually wins the whole thing.

If you don't see that this is tactically flawless racing, then I just can't help...
 

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