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

[scribers]

I don't think anyone will achieve what Roche achieved in 1987

Why you gotta not like Merckx so obviously here?

 

[topcat]

Are you referring to what he won, or what he made you feel/do at the time?

What he won. I don't think Pog will complete the triple crown on Sunday, his team isn't strong enough. Of course if he wins, I'll disappear from the forum till it all dies down.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

You are counting TT. Merckx would win tons of WC doubles if WC had TT back in his days. People just love to talk about rarity but it is due to TT being a recent event.

Given Eddy “only” winning 3 WC RR he couldn’t have won tons of doubles.

In 1967 I think it’s fair to say that Eddy wasn’t the best TTer in the world. He didn’t get close to win the TT in the Giro, got beaten comfortably in the Paris-Nice TT. There would’ve likely been a handful of bigger favorites for a WC ITT in 1967.

In 1971 he would’ve definitively been the massive favorite and that’s the one double that looks given to me.

In 1974 he would’ve also been the big favorite, but for example Pollentier beat him in the last TT in the Tour and was just seconds behind in the other one. I would still think a double would’ve been highly likely for Eddy here.

So I’d guess it’s not unreasonable to say that Eddy likely could’ve won 2 doubles if there was WC ITT back in his days.

 

[YavorD]

Hoping that no Mohoric will actually mean Pogacar feels the need to attack even earlier to diminish the effect of tactical plays from the likes of Belgium/Italy/Spain and goes 3/4 laps from the finish with his first attack.

On this course a very long attack from a bigger group is suicide.

 

[dazaau]

People just love to bash Vingegaard but his level is on another planet compared to Remco.

He is indeed a phenom.

However I don't know why you have chosen the World Championships thread to make this case given he isn't racing, has never been in contention in a WC race or frankly a factor any big one day race.

 

[Lequack]

The (in)famous mou appears yet again to spread some rumors/facts

 

[red_flanders]

The (in)famous mou appears yet again to spread some rumors/facts

Poor form for that guy to anonymously spread rumors like this, whatever the truth here.

 

[scribers]

Personally, I love the soap opera that is @mou

 

[FroomeWagon]

No odds quoted for Castrillo because he's a shoo-in.

He was a little further down the the list Skybet has him listed at 750 to 1.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Given Eddy “only” winning 3 WC RR he couldn’t have won tons of doubles.

In 1967 I think it’s fair to say that Eddy wasn’t the best TTer in the world. He didn’t get close to win the TT in the Giro, got beaten comfortably in the Paris-Nice TT. There would’ve likely been a handful of bigger favorites for a WC ITT in 1967.

In 1971 he would’ve definitively been the massive favorite and that’s the one double that looks given to me.

In 1974 he would’ve also been the big favorite, but for example Pollentier beat him in the last TT in the Tour and was just seconds behind in the other one. I would still think a double would’ve been highly likely for Eddy here.

So I’d guess it’s not unreasonable to say that Eddy likely could’ve won 2 doubles if there was WC ITT back in his days.

None of those years had Olympic games, so even if RR + TT were on the menu, he would unlikely have succeeded in a double double. Because that's what's at stake now. Two doubles. Not just "a double".

People just love to bash Vingegaard but his level is on another planet compared to Remco.

True, but that doesn't make Vingegaard a bad rider per se.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

If we're gonna argue like this Evenepoel is just a specialist in 1 day races where Pogacar can't be arsed to show up

We all know Pogacar wins every 1 day race he shows up for.

Unlike Evenepoel.

 

[Savant12]

What he won. I don't think Pog will complete the triple crown on Sunday, his team isn't strong enough. Of course if he wins, I'll disappear from the forum till it all dies down.

Pog doesn't need a strong team. He's good at following wheels. Did you not see the Tour and all the times Pog was at the front and his team was behind. All he needs to do is watch the main guys.

 

[Escarabajo]

I do. There's only 1 climb he will be dropped at, and after that it's still 19km's to the finish. I can see him comeback. It all depends on how hard the race is. Slovenia needs to make it as hard as possible if they want to be sure Pogacar wins.

He has zero chance. Unless everyone else slows down,

 

[Mako]

Unpopular oppinion: The term triple crown for the combination of Giro, Tour & WC is ***. I mean how in the hell is it a combination of 2 out of 3 grand tours and the world champs. A real triple crown would be winning all 3 GT's
(okay I get it, the Vuelta has an inferior status. But also in Golf or Tennis not all slams are equal and still a grand slam is not a combination of Wimbledon, French Open and the ATP finals)

Or there could be a phrase for winning all 5 monuments and the world champs as ultimate one day race season. But just mixing up "random" events? Come on. Otherwise I think we could just make the combo of winning giro, vuelta and LBL the "Treble".

 

[Valv.Piti]

The (in)famous mou appears yet again to spread some rumors/facts

That sounds like total bull to me. On the other hand, I could see Roglic not really being helpful at all to Pogacar, but hopefully Im mistaken..

 

[Coffeeplanter]

Unpopular oppinion: The term triple crown for the combination of Giro, Tour & WC is ***. I mean how in the hell is it a combination of 2 out of 3 grand tours and the world champs. A real triple crown would be winning all 3 GT's
(okay I get it, the Vuelta has an inferior status. But also in Golf or Tennis not all slams are equal and still a grand slam is not a combination of Wimbledon, French Open and the ATP finals)

Or there could be a phrase for winning all 5 monuments and the world champs as ultimate one day race season. But just mixing up "random" events? Come on. Otherwise I think we could just make the combo of winning giro, vuelta and LBL the "Treble".

Very true, it's just fabricated nonsense. I don't know if it's this forum specifically or cycling in general, but we're shifting towards the Americanization of discussion where fairytale stories have to be created, everything and everyone needs to be ranked and goats. So dumb.

Just look at the Velo d'Or. Genuinely, I had never heard of this prize until two or three years ago, and now people are discussing it like it's the equivalent of NBA MVP. It won't be long before revisionists starts giving someone the Steve Nash vs. Shaquille O'Neal treatment, and it's terrible.

 

[E_F_]

Unpopular oppinion: The term triple crown for the combination of Giro, Tour & WC is ***. I mean how in the hell is it a combination of 2 out of 3 grand tours and the world champs. A real triple crown would be winning all 3 GT's
(okay I get it, the Vuelta has an inferior status. But also in Golf or Tennis not all slams are equal and still a grand slam is not a combination of Wimbledon, French Open and the ATP finals)

Or there could be a phrase for winning all 5 monuments and the world champs as ultimate one day race season. But just mixing up "random" events? Come on. Otherwise I think we could just make the combo of winning giro, vuelta and LBL the "Treble".

History. The Vuelta wasn't that prestigious for the longest time, and it was almost on top of the Giro, so doing all three was absolutely out of the question. But it does feel pretty arbitrary now. We talk about it because it's tradition.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

That sounds like total bull to me. On the other hand, I could see Roglic not really being helpful at all to Pogacar, but hopefully Im mistaken..

IMHO those are professional mature riders and not toddlers.
Quite frankly, I don't trust a single word from this undercover melodrama queeen.

 

[Berniece]

The (in)famous mou appears yet again to spread some rumors/facts

Looking forward to MVDP riding top 10 to show again he knows nothing and should be ignored

 

[search]

Pog doesn't need a strong team. He's good at following wheels. Did you not see the Tour and all the times Pog was at the front and his team was behind. All he needs to do is watch the main guys.

he also has plenty of friends from other nations around. It's not like they will work for him, but most likely with him, even if they don't have a chance of winning.

There was a Tim Wellens interview in Belgian press today, for example, and going by the sound of it, I think even he would prefer to see Pogacar win over Evenepoel.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Pog doesn't need a strong team. He's good at following wheels. Did you not see the Tour and all the times Pog was at the front and his team was behind. All he needs to do is watch the main guys.

There may be some strong breakaway that needs to be chased down. If it includes guys from other strong teams then Slovenia will have to take responsibility for the chase and they will need horsepower. Mohoric's withdrawal is a huge loss - he would work for Pog without any hesitation. Rogla will have a free role and won't pull for Pogacar (I will only believe it when I see it) so the team is weaker than it looked on paper just a few days back. This could be a problem for Pog.

 

[Berniece]

There was a Tim Wellens interview in Belgian press today, for example, and going by the sound of it, I think even he would prefer to see Pogacar win over Evenepoel.

That’s a bit unfair to Tim Wellens. He merely said that if Pogacar attacks he can’t do much about that because he’s much stronger. Evenepoel needs to follow that attack

 

[Pantani_lives]

Devious plan for UAE:

• Wellens can take the lead, pretending to work for Evenepoel.
• Vine can take the lead, pretending to work for Matthews.
• McNulty can take the lead, pretending to work for Jorgenson.
• Almeida can take the lead, pretending to work for Costa.
• Adam Yates can take the lead, pretending to work for Pidcock.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Devious plan for UAE:

• Wellens can take the lead, pretending to work for Evenepoel.
• Vine can take the lead, pretending to work for Matthews.
• McNulty can take the lead, pretending to work for Jorgenson.
• Almeida can take the lead, pretending to work for Costa.
• Adam Yates can take the lead, pretending to work for Pidcock.

Pogačar can take the lead pretending to work for Roglič

 

[RedheadDane]

Pogačar can take the lead pretending to work for Roglič

Good thing Bjerg isn't riding.