World Championships 2024: Men's Road Race (September 29)

[velaso montador]

Amazing race.
Still trying to digest.

And sometimes I don't understand a word of the negative vibes on this forum.

IMO so many details of pure enjoyment.
To say I was entertained is an underestimation.

A race for the ages like ive seen many say already but that there was something else weve never seen before. The end. I truly wonder what the naysayers are telling themself after this, its really close right?

What Pogacar did here and what a race exciting to the end when they starting to gain and he never got more than 1.30 with 80-90 km to line. Amazing race indeed!! Truly something weve never seen before.

 

[pmcg76]

It was like a football match with one team leading 4-0 after 20 minutes and never looking back. No matter how brilliantly the winning team is playing, it would never be regarded as a historic match (unless you're a big fan of that specific team of course).

Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?

 

[James M]

Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?

100% this one will go down for the ages for sure and something noone will forget. This is history just and many will remember it as the day he become the best and something weve not been close to see. What a amazing race indeed and will stick for ages.

 

[Squire]

Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?

While I agree to some extent, the fact that Pogacar has been winning 7-1 all season makes it a little bit less interesting. You can say this is the greatest performance in a cycling world championship in recent times, but for me it's far from the best in terms of entertainment value. Mendrisio was miles ahead. Harrogate and Glasgow too.

 

[E_F_]

Comparing this farce to 7-1 is heresy. 7-1 was shocking. This wasn't.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

And not forgetting that as of 2022, Annemiek van Vleuten is the only woman to attain the female equivalent of cycling's triple crown.

It can be argued that Catherine Marsal already achieved it in 1990, but one of the many differences between men's and women's cycling is of course that you usually don't have to explain/defend whether or not something was a GT.

 

[Danskebjerge]

Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?

The 7-1 match stood out because it was a surprise. If Germany had won all matches with that margin, it would have been a boring tournament.

 

[pmcg76]

While I agree to some extent, the fact that Pogacar has been winning 7-1 all season makes it a little bit less interesting. You can say this is the greatest performance in a cycling world championship in recent times, but for me it's far from the best in terms of entertainment value. Mendrisio was miles ahead. Harrogate and Glasgow too.

Well I never said it was super entertaining, it was memorable because it was super impressive and an all time performance. I get that people don't like super dominant performances, this applies to any sport. In athletics, Sydney McLaughlin and Mondo DuPlantis are the GOATs in their events and crush their rivals making their events a borefest, but you still have to admire the greatness that is happening in front of your eyes.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

If never having more than a one-minute gap is a 4-0, then I‘m confused about the sport of football. It‘s more like a 1-0 where the opponent has way more players (like 11 vs 7) but the undermanned team wins.

This pretty much sums up my feelings, basically making me almost unable to contain myself for pure excitement, all the way.

I think it's a big mistake to make comparisons to e.g. Pogi's display (and pre-race picking) in Strade Bianche.

Partly due to the WC race has more distance, partly because several favourites and outsiders are extra determined for the magic rainbow jersey, partly the ingredient of this once a year special team composition comes into play.

Moreover, in my eyes it was only really decided after the last descent and the last 9km, where I still had the infamous black cat crossing the road in my mind.

Your description fits very well with my POV watching the race with frayed nerves.

Pogi's long range attack was amazing, right into the history books.

But besides, IMHO the race itself was purely amazing.

 

[xo 1]

Becoming second after just one elite GC-rider but still way better than all the others, with 5 (?) stage wins under the belt, is not 'cracking' in my book.

I agree that it is a very high bar to assess finishing second in the TdF as cracking, but watching the two seasons of Unchained on Netflix again, I'm struck each time that Pog failed in a very human manner.

 

[Sciatic]

The problem is that "talent" is relative in cycling. If you can push more watts than your opponents, you probably win. It's not like Pogacar has the technical skills of Roger Federer, Lionel Messi or Simone Biles. Cycling is about suspense and nice landscapes - not much more than that.

That’s no revelation—ball sports typically require more specific skills and technique than most endurance sports. Weight-bearing endurance sports still require some technical expertise—as with distance running, rowing, cycling for example—but if if someone doesn’t have the “engine” they can’t be at the elite level.

And even in ball sports natural gifts, like hand-eye coordination or body type, play a huge role and are combination genetic/training attributes just like high VO2max and recovery ability are for cyclists.

 

[pmcg76]

The 7-1 match stood out because it was a surprise. If Germany had won all matches with that margin, it would have been a boring tournament.

Well it was you that brought up football and ironically are now moving the goalposts, from originally a team winning 4-0 to a team doing that all the time.

Like I said, Pogacar winning was predictable, but winning from 100k out was not that predictable. Evenepoel, and Van der Poel have both said the attack was suicide so they were clearly not expecting it either, which is what makes it so impressive to witness.

 

[Wvv]

Why do all these forum members get banned? On the day of the World's no less. It's really weird to catch up on threads and seeing a bunch of us suddenly cancelled out. Ok, there are rules, and moderation is necessary, but we never get an explanation or context why these decisions are made. A bit sad, really.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Why do all these forum members get banned? On the day of the World's no less. It's really weird to catch up on threads and seeing a bunch of us suddenly cancelled out. Ok, there are rules, and moderation is necessary, but we never get an explanation or context why these decisions are made. A bit sad, really.

OK, so off-topic, I just hope my presumptions are right:

That the forum consist of impartial and clear-thinking moderators, simply do their job in relation to threads or posts that my eyes miss to see.

 

[hayneplane]

Jambaljamts DNF in the end, should've been doing his home race with Burgos instead of this ciciban bollocks, not sure why Aaron Gate isn't there either? Loads of stages for him.

Burgos BH Letting my CQ ranking team down by not selecting Aaron Gate for Langkawi.

 

[Gratemans]

What a insane race and what did i just watch. What is it really left to say about him

Pogacar and this race will go down with the rest this season will go down in the history not only for the result but also the fashion of it and in 50-100 years people will talk about Pogacar in ways which are hard to imagine.

Thats just it and what will happen no matter if your fav rider lost or not. He is in a league of his own over anyone in the history of this sport.

Look, I didn't even have a fav rider here. Well, MvdP perhaps, but he did about as well as could be expected. On the whole, I was entertained today. And I like Pog's style on the bike. But could you and others just please stop shouting and shoving down our throats that this is "THE BEST PEFORMANCE IN HISTORY", the "GOAT" or any of those other hyperboles?

I get it, you're a fan. And I'm glad for you, I truly am. But you probably weren't around during the 90s and 00s. Forgive me for holding out on celebrating this exceptional feat for the time being.

 

[Netserk]

Why do all these forum members get banned? On the day of the World's no less. It's really weird to catch up on threads and seeing a bunch of us suddenly cancelled out. Ok, there are rules, and moderation is necessary, but we never get an explanation or context why these decisions are made. A bit sad, really.

If judged by the posts that I have seen posted today that have since been deleted, then all I can say is that it is for a mix of reasons in different ends of the scale.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Feel free to quote me and say 'this aged well' when he wins, but I think it's a big mistake by Pog. I don't see how this could be beneficial for him in any way.

"This aged well"

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Well, to be fair, Pogi's 2024 is one of the best, if not the best single-year performances in history. I think the panache he showed really added to the glory of his wins. Speaking solely for myself as a cycling fan, I much prefer riders like Pog over the usual GC guys who sit on the wheels of their super-domestiques until the last possible minute.

 

[Heston]

Like I said, Pogacar winning was predictable, but winning from 100k out was not that predictable.

We expected Real Madrid to win 5-0, but they won 7-0 instead. So unpredictable and exciting!

 

[QueenStagiaire]

We expected Real Madrid to win 5-0, but they won 7-0 instead. So unpredictable and exciting!

He won by 34 seconds over Ben O‘Connor, hardly a 7-0. Was Gilbert‘s 2017 Flanders (got up the road 95k out, went solo 55k out) also a 7-0 (with some own goals)?

 

[Gratemans]

Well, to be fair, Pogi's 2024 is one of the best, if not the best single-year performances in history. I think the panache he showed really added to the glory of his wins. Speaking solely for myself as a cycling fan, I much prefer riders like Pog over the usual GC guys who sit on the wheels of their super-domestiques until the last possible minute.

There's a whole spectrum inbetween though. And the way riders are physically built plays a part in that.
Some are just better built for hanging on and outsprinting everyone at the finish. I'll never hate the Roglic's or Valverdes for maximising their capablities that way.

(*edit* But I just realised you were talking about sitting on the wheels of their super-doms. Yeah no, I don't like that either)

 

[James M]

Well, to be fair, Pogi's 2024 is one of the best, if not the best single-year performances in history. I think the panache he showed really added to the glory of his wins.

Nailed it.

 

[Danskebjerge]

Well it was you that brought up football and ironically are now moving the goalposts, from originally a team winning 4-0 to a team doing that all the time.

Like I said, Pogacar winning was predictable, but winning from 100k out was not that predictable. Evenepoel, and Van der Poel have both said the attack was suicide so they were clearly not expecting it either, which is what makes it so impressive to witness.

It's not complicated. Nor is it about goalposts.

It's about two factors being involved at the same time. A situation without suspense AND our knowledge that the leader had done the same thing numerous times before (successful long range attacks).

If Neilson Powless had done it instead of Pogacar, it would have been much more interesting. Isn't it quite obvious why those two scenarios are different?

The semi final that ended 7-1 is a very good example. A tight match was expected, the opposite happened. It was fascinating because of exactly that. If the situation was that the Germans were the top favourites to win it all by a landslide. we would have seen it differently, wouldn't we? Unless we were big fans of the German national team. Then we would have loved any German victory.

And I have a feeling that the biggest fans of Pogacar are also the ones who think the race in Zürich was brilliant.

 

[Danskebjerge]

And even in ball sports natural gifts, like hand-eye coordination or body type, play a huge role and are combination genetic/training attributes just like high VO2max and recovery ability are for cyclists.

Some think it's a joy to watch Pogacar on a bike - or Evenepoel or some other star. I can't say those people are wrong. But cycling still doesn't provide us with the dynamic aesthetics of many other sports. Serving in tennis or doing a double somersault are simply much more complicated processes than going round a bend on a bike. So you can sit and enjoy watching those athletes move their body impressively although there isn't much uncertainty about the result. While in cycling - and in endurance sports in general - the audience get something else. And that's seeing how the suspense increases, who will crack, who will cross the line first, and all that.

Cycling is in that regard more interesting than most other endurance sports - mainly because a rider gets a big advantage by being right behind another rider. That's why it's normally not a good idea to go solo from 100 k to the finish. If a rider does succeed in doing so - not only once, but on many occasions -, then the main characteristic of cycling wears off, and you might as well watch a marathon run. In fact, it seems there is more suspense in marathon these days than in men's cycling. It's not necessarily anyone's fault. It's just the consequence of having a couple of guys "from another planet" in the sport.