He didn't have the balls? Weird expression in this case.im getting more and more convinced each day dumoulin took the break because he saw where this was going and he didnt have the balls to go this far
I agree with much of what you're saying. For me it's hard, because I like van Aert. I want him to win, to be successful. But this doesn't really make me feel good. Even taking into equation that many others are probably not clean, either.All the above was done by the same rider during a single one-week stage race.
- Wins bunch sprint
- Ends in top 10 on a MTF at 15k long climb against a TDF-quality field, while losing only peanuts to everyone bar the reigning Tour winner
- Beating reigning world TT champ (who had until today looked near unbeatable force of nature against the clock himself) in a pan flat ITT
I think it shoudn't have trouble qualifying for this particular thread:
https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/most-memorable-doped-perfomances.11997/
For me WVA-s performance is the hardest out of the trio of him, MVDP and Pogacar to gauge without adding doping factor into equation. Maybe my understanding of specialisation in modern peloton and factors that determine it is too limited and simplistic, and that factor of specialisation itself too ingrained into my understanding of the sport to properly evaluate what I am seeing these days. The way things stand, performance like that just seems far too good to be true for my eyes.
In the end this results in some conflicting emotions. I watch it all in awe and amazement, while at the same time I shake my head in disbelief.
That's an interesting observation. Guy didn't take long to exit the sport after reaching the pinnacle.im getting more and more convinced each day dumoulin took the break because he saw where this was going and he didnt have the balls to go this far
Kittel?That's an interesting observation. Guy didn't take long to exit the sport after reaching the pinnacle.
Same goes for the sprinter who called it a day before his time. The name is escaping me at the moment, but I'm sure you know who I mean. I am not by any means drawing any conclusions, but the quick downward trajectory was surprising to say the least.
Was thinking a similar thing earlier as well.im getting more and more convinced each day dumoulin took the break because he saw where this was going and he didnt have the balls to go this far
thats not gonna happen so its a fine joke however other insane thing thats for sure going to happen: he will be among favourites to win every single stage, even mountain stages he should get at least 1 starI'm starting to imagine a scenario where WvA winning all stages of the Tour de France. 21/21.
Van Aert's been doing road racing since he was a kid. Like Oliver Naesen and Tiesj Benoot were stating on Belgian television: Wout and Mathieu aren't coming from out of nowhere, they were dominating cycling ever since they started. They did the same, in cyclocross AND on the road when they were younger, dominating cycling.Plus WvA is still only 26 so knowing he's only been riding the road for maybe two years makes the future potential rather astonishing. According to Wiki his weight is 78Kg! That explains his sprinting ability and his TT power but it also means he is climbing with huge sustained wattage. I scratch my head.. A freak of nature or a freak of doping I just hope time will tell us the truth on him.
Dumoulin couldn't handle top sports and cracked mentally. Didnt' want to be the hero and had a hard time being treated like this ever since he had won the Giro. So no.That's an interesting observation. Guy didn't take long to exit the sport after reaching the pinnacle.
Same goes for the sprinter who called it a day before his time. The name is escaping me at the moment, but I'm sure you know who I mean. I am not by any means drawing any conclusions, but the quick downward trajectory was surprising to say the least.
I might have been the one that was too much for him. In fact, the fact he was already struggling makes it an even more plausible theory.Dumoulin couldn't handle top sports and cracked mentally. Didnt' want to be the hero and had a hard time being treated like this ever since he had won the Giro. So no.
Just wait for the Tour de France, i.e. I reckon it's going to be 1997 levels of amazement.In the end this results in some conflicting emotions. I watch it all in awe and amazement, while at the same time I shake my head in disbelief.
Hey djerkson. I come from a country where cycling is not only an afterthought, it's not a thought. You'd pretty much have to win a grand tour to get notice.Dumoulin couldn't handle top sports and cracked mentally. Didnt' want to be the hero and had a hard time being treated like this ever since he had won the Giro. So no.
Yes, I'm from Belgium, cycling is very popular here, in fact it's on the same level as football. Flanders is a true 'Mekka of cycling' you might say. And I'm living close to the border with the Netherlands, very close to a small village where Dumoulin is living (Kanne, a pitoresque village quite close to the Dutch border and next to Maastricht). It was in Maastricht that Dumoulin was welcomed as a hero when he won the Giro. He stated much later that he never cared for that much (media) attention, in fact, his dream was to become a doctor. Dumoulin's very smart, one of the few cyclists who openly dared to question the World Road Championships in Qatar cos of the violation of human rights in that country. Anyway, Dumoulin has been a much debated topic in Belgium and in the Netherlands as well...The main idea is that Dumoulin probably is too soft/smart for sports on the top level. He stated that he's happier now without all the pressure. There has never been any talk about doping and so on. I hope this is a decent answer for you?Hey djerkson. I come from a country where cycling is not only an afterthought, it's not a thought. You'd pretty much have to win a grand tour to get notice.
Do you live in a country where the sport is so popular that the media pays attention to the state of Dumoulin's mental health? In Canada, news about a hockey player's mental state would be talked about in the media with such repetition that a reader would end up questioning their own mental state.
Do you have inside information about Tom? Not asking you to name names or anything, but were you part of the team which allowed you to be part of everyday interaction?
From where does the "So no" conclusion derive?