What would be the most difficult thing about winning 3 GTs in one season?

[Muerdago11]

I would imagine that there are basically four things that are the major hurdles to winning the Giro, Tour and Vuelta in the same year:

1. Peaking at the proper time for each or at least having good form. If one's strategy were to win all three it would affect certain tactics and strategy in each individual GT and stage. The second guessing on exactly what to do when would be mind boggling.

2. The psychological torture involved in being that single minded, focused, and stressed from May through September. By the time you got to the Vuelta I imagine it would be pretty tough to get on the bike some mornings for 200k.

3. Staying healthy and avoiding accidents and injury. Not falling off, getting in a crash or getting sick over some 6000k of stage racing seems statistically unlikely to me.

4. Having a super human team of dedicated domestiques to help and protect--this team would have to be super consistent and on board with the plan.

Of these four I think that # 3 is the most likely derail the attempt.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

not getting caught

 

[Cerberus]

I would imagine that there are basically four things that are the major hurdles to winning the Giro, Tour and Vuelta in the same year:

1. Peaking at the proper time for each or at least having good form. If one's strategy were to win all three it would affect certain tactics and strategy in each individual GT and stage. The second guessing on exactly what to do when would be mind boggling.

2. The psychological torture involved in being that single minded, focused, and stresses from May through September. By the time you got to the Vuelta I imagine it would be pretty tough to get o the bike some mornings for 200k.

3. Staying healthy and avoiding accidents and injury. Not falling off, gettimg in a crash or getting sick over some 6000k of stage racing seems statistically unlikely to me.

4. Having a super human team of dedicated domestiques to help and protect--this team would have to be super consistent and on board with the plan.

Of these four I think that # 3 is the most likely derail the attempt.

I disagree, number 1 is the big one. Avoiding crashes and injuries in 3 consecutive GTs isn't necessarily harder than avoiding it in three non-consecutive GTs. Peaking 3 times close together on the other hand is much different from peaking three times with greater distance between.

 

[michaeld]

Win the Giro at 75% of fitness, race the TdF peaking, and be able to recover enought to win the Vuelta at 85% fitness.

 

[ingsve]

The biggest obstacle is simply to be better than everyone else. Sastre will be riding all three GTs this year and he has had resonable form in the two he's done and will probably have reasonable form in the vuelta as well but that doesn't mean he could ever win all three.

Even when you have the capasity to beat everyone else at your very best you still need to be better than everyone else even when you are only at 90% of your capasity when others are at their max.

Only if this criterion is met will the other factors play a part.

 

[Derrick]

Counting the money.

 

[TopCarbon]

not getting caught

lol.....hahahahahaha


right

 

[Muerdago11]

I disagree, number 1 is the big one. Avoiding crashes and injuries in 3 consecutive GTs isn't necessarily harder than avoiding it in three non-consecutive GTs. Peaking 3 times close together on the other hand is much different from peaking three times with greater distance between.

You may be right that peaking at the right time for each GT is the key but I disagree that crashes and injury (don't forget illness) wouldn't be harder from May through September than in separate seasons. The body breaks down nagging little problems become major. An intestinal problem at the end of the Giro hampers preparation (or healthful rest) for the tour. It all adds up and no off season to sort it out. Certainly the first thing is that you have to be able to win each GT and have a plan to peak properly but I still believe that illness and injury and luck will damn any attempt from the beginning. While on the subject I wonder if any one could take the yellow, green, and polka dot jerseys to Paris as Merckx did. That I'd like to see--it would be the green that would prevent that.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

avoiding all of the traditional post-tour responsibilities would be a nightmare. you could not for example recover and do the vuelta (even if you managed the double!) if you were to ride all the crits. and think of all the money you are passing up if you didn't ride them. tricky-if you even got this far, which a lot of people think is impossible in modern cycling.

look at the performances of the boys that rode the giro in the tour. the triple is impossible, unless noone else is on form. that said, if it could be done in the modern era, contador would be the only candidate to attempt it. and that would be so much more interesting than just watching him dominate the tour for the next 5 years.

 

[smittyjs]

Finding a jersey that would carry full seasons "allergy" medicine......

 

[Vonn Brinkman]

2. The psychological torture involved in being that single minded, focused, and stressed from May through September. By the time you got to the Vuelta I imagine it would be pretty tough to get on the bike some mornings for 200k.

I think #2 is the greatest factor. Look at for example the great Eddy Merckx. He had the ability to peak, at least get fit to a level of 80%, at different periods per year. Stephen Roche did the great triple crown in 87 winning the Giro, Tour and the WC. I think it is mainly the psychological stress that would cut a rider down. You'd have to be impossibly mentally strong.
I think if Contador tried it, he would win the Giro, then win the Tour with great difficulty, start the Vuelta and get dropped on the mountain stages to abandon, crying.
It's humanly impossible.

 

[outrage9]

5. An unprecedented amount of good luck.

I think Contador could manage 1 because he can beat the Giro and Vuelta guys at <100%.

I think he could manage 2 because he's that good. The TdF would be the most difficult though with all of the other added stresses, especially if he were attempting this, it would be a HUGE story coming off of a Giro win and taking yellow in the Tour, so focus in July would be hard but think he could manage between normal our stresses plus the "Attempting the triple" story.

3 is a part of what I said with 5 is overall luck. No sickness, crashes, chain drops, flat tires, basically he can't get "Lanced" in any of the 3 GTs, nor can many of his team mates, he'll need them more than ever.

4 I think he would have 2 different, maybe not entirely but different, teams. He'd have his A team at the Tour, but likely a slightly different mix at the other two.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Banking enough blood for 3 GT's without screwing up your training too much.