Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2023, March 20-26

[tobydawq]

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 certainly didn't gift anything on La Molina?

 

[tobydawq]

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

Evenepoel and Roglic expected to go 'mano a mano' at Giro d'Italia

Lefevere finds comfort in World Champion's Volta a Catalunya performance after disappointment in the Classics

www.cyclingnews.com

Ever the charmeur, our good old Patrick

 

[BR2]

He certainly didn't gift anything on La Molina?

I am not sure. Gift is probably not the right word. But did he go all out that day? He didn't contest the win anymore, and I would say he could have done more but likely would have had to go very deep and decided that it's not worth it. That's what it looked like to me.

 

[tobydawq]

I am not sure. Gift is probably not the right word. But did he go all out that day? He didn't contest the win anymore, and I would say he could have done more but likely would have had to go very deep and decided that it's not worth it. That's what it looked like to me.

I think he went as deeply as he could. There has to be a limit somewhere. Everybody cannot always do a little bit more. At some point you reach max. Given how he suddenly looked on Lo Port, I see why you can think he didn't go all in on La Molina but maybe the clever Lodewyck has a point that the accumulated fatigue got to him and tipped the scales ever so slightly in Remco's favour.

 

[Extinction]

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...

I fear you are the blockhead here, as I was not referencing stage 6, which I clearly clarified to another poster up thread. Indeed I acknowledged Roglic did the only thing he had to do on that occassion, which was mark Evenepoel. Try reading more carefully before posting next time, it would save you a useless exertion.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Soler is just a Peter Pan that one time won Tour de le Avenir and grew up thinking he was the next big thing. He isn't and he will never be, but races like he owns loyalty to no one. That's why he is given to this mindless, dumb racing tantrums that no one understands.

Maybe you forget that Soler won a Paris - Nice with a legendary long range attack on the final stage. He mugged the gc favourites and took the jersey from flying Simon Yates . This is bigger and better than anything Almida done in his career (whcih big stage race did Almida win?), and he did it with a great and smart move. The opposite of mindless and dumb racing. Maybe you don't watch cycling back in 2018 I don't know.

funny guy (Ilmaestro99 )

Thanks mate . I will do more jokes for you . I don't know why you assumed these other things about me

 

[Ilmaestro99]

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

Evenepoel and Roglic expected to go 'mano a mano' at Giro d'Italia

Lefevere finds comfort in World Champion's Volta a Catalunya performance after disappointment in the Classics

www.cyclingnews.com

To be honest , I kind of agree with some of that... I know that Lefefre is an not amicable or good guy and he lacks any tact, and Roglic was as strong as remco no doubt.

But if my team was having a very public struggle for results, and my best rider lost a stage race by 6 seconds after celebrating very early on a La Molina finish when he could have got another few seconds with a last push to the line, I would be privately quite annoyed. Quickstep need a big win

 

[Elos Anjos]

Maybe you forget that Soler won a Paris - Nice with a legendary long range attack on the final stage. He mugged the gc favourites and took the jersey from flying Simon Yates . This is bigger and better than anything Almida done in his career (whcih big stage race did Almida win?), and he did it with a great and smart move. The opposite of mindless and dumb racing. Maybe you don't watch cycling back in 2018 I don't know.



Thanks mate . I will do more jokes for you . I don't know why you assumed these other things about me

What has that to do with Almeida? It just shows that you also think that past exits entitle team mates. Guess what: Adam Yates and Majka have also done extraordinary things. But that's all in the past. And right now Almeida is a more interesting rider because he is young and has potential.

And why do you keep misspeling his name like people haven't told you? Oh, I forgot, you like to be the funny guy.

PS: I love it when people like you think that watching cycling for more years than X is an argument for something. Of course it helps, but that doesn't improve the way you reason

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations to Remco Evenepoel for winning stage 7 and to Primož Roglič for winning overall.

As predicted Evenepoel tried at stage 7 but that was not enough to turn the tide. Overall this was a really good race to watch and Roglič, Evenepoel, Almeida and others for sure won't disappoint at Giro. If we consider Roglič and Evenepoel as the main protagonists for the Giro. It shows that they are already in great form. With enough data and feedback now available to polish the individual and team details.

See you at Giro!

 

[houtdffan]

To be honest , I kind of agree with some of that... I know that Lefefre is an not amicable or good guy and he lacks any tact, and Roglic was as strong as remco no doubt.

But if my team was having a very public struggle for results, and my best rider lost a stage race by 6 seconds after celebrating very early on a La Molina finish when he could have got another few seconds with a last push to the line, I would be privately quite annoyed. Quickstep need a big win

La Molina is not where Remco lost Catalyuna.

He lost it by starting the sprint on stage 1 too far back. That was an 8 second difference

 

[Tim Cahill]

Was just looking at the results, noticed no breakaway wins again, same as Paris-Nice, Tirreno ,UAE, TDU, RDS, San Juan. I'm sure there's another example or two but the only one I can remember was Cort in Algarve which was pretty cool, but not exactly unexpected. JV also won 4 classics with Merlier 1.

I dunno man I hope it's just an outlier season but if it's part of a wider trend then that's not good. Pogacar waving away De La Cruz the other week didn't sit quite right with me. I suppose it makes things easier to follow for new fans and more marketable having the same guys up against each other, but an unlikely baroudeur getting their moment is a massive part of the charm of cycling to me, hopefully it doesn't continue in the grand tours.

Only thing that would make it worth it is if Vanmarcke wins Roubaix, then I take it all back.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Was just looking at the results, noticed no breakaway wins again, same as Paris-Nice, Tirreno ,UAE, TDU, RDS, San Juan. I'm sure there's another example or two but the only one I can remember was Cort in Algarve which was pretty cool, but not exactly unexpected. JV also won 4 classics with Merlier 1.

I dunno man I hope it's just an outlier season but if it's part of a wider trend then that's not good. Pogacar waving away De La Cruz the other week didn't sit quite right with me. I suppose it makes things easier to follow for new fans and more marketable having the same guys up against each other, but an unlikely baroudeur getting their moment is a massive part of the charm of cycling to me, hopefully it doesn't continue in the grand tours.

Only thing that would make it worth it is if Vanmarcke wins Roubaix, then I take it all back.

I think there is a noticeable difference here. The reason why there was no room/place for a breakaway, was that Evenepoel and Roglic were so close in both GC placing/time as well as in form/strength. That means they took every opportunity they had to try and distance the other. For me that's a huge difference from one rider pummeling the entire peloton and winning nearly all the stages by himself.

 

[Oldermanish]

Firstly, I have no idea how the Giro will turn out, only it will be a different story as it's a GT and there are 3 TTs. And secondly I think Remco's 6 secs to Primoz's 2 had as much to do with Evenepoel's timing error than the forces on the battlefield that day.

Whatever the case, they were extremely evenly matched, so theoretically the one who has a higher ceiling to reach come the Giro, bar mishaps, should win the Corsa Rosa. But I have no idea who that is. In this sense, it's a shame Roglic is skipping Liege, because it could have given some further indication.

There is also the matter of the teams. The first to gain an advantage, should the first/short ITT provide what could be a slim version will likely be forced to defend it. Then you have another 2 weeks of competition to sort out who attacks, responds, etc. There will be definitely others that will take advantage of any perceived lack of response, too. It shouldn't get down to bonus seconds but it may depend on strategic alliances.
It will be interesting.

 

[tobydawq]

La Molina is not where Remco lost Catalyuna.

He lost it by starting the sprint on stage 1 too far back. That was an 8 second difference

Then we can say stuff like that all the time. If Remco had indeed passed Roglic, we could say that Roglic lost the race there by getting the front too early.

Also, in your scenario Roglic would then beat him in Barcelona and take the win anyway.

 

[Carols]

"Remco does not lose races. He just forgets to pedal hard"

I think I'm going to pee myself laughing!!!