Should I go on the Cipressa? That would have been suicide, Tim Wellens spills Tadej Pogacar's race tactics
CyclingSunday, 17 March 2024 at 12:45
UAE Team Emirates' tactics were known and expected by the entire peloton at Milano-Sanremo this Saturday. However they did not pull it off ideally. Tim Wellens reveals his talks with Tadej Pogacar during the ascent to the Cipressa.
"So we were a bit ahead of the plan. Only one rider was left instead of 2 teammates, but of course it is not a PlayStation," Tim Wellens told Sporza. After Alessandro Covi and Isaac Del Toro pushed the pace very hard in the first half of the climb, UAE only had Wellens and Pogacar left. More men were expected to keep the pace high, but the team intended on saving the Belgian for the final ascent of the Poggio.
Pogacar was impatient with the lack of pace at some point, and Wellens reveals that he even considered attacking in the penultimate climb itself. "Tadej briefly asked if he should go on the Cipressa, but that would have been suicide," his teammate comments.
What went wrong was the lack of positioning and a few missing men at the bottom of Cipressa. "We expected Hirschi or Ulissi at the Cipressa, but they were no longer there," team DS Mauro Gianetti added. "That is of course sport. Isaac did great, but Wellens had to work a bit and so he lacked some energy for the Poggio."
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- It is kind of funny. I thought he was the superior intellect??? I broke him down in less than thirty minutes. Technically, I'm not going to dox him, and Lompoc, Ca is too far away for me to pay him a visit, which I wouldn't do anyway. I've made a screenshot of every outrageous thing he's said in case he keeps going and then I'll let the popo pay him a visit at work. Internet tough guys make me laugh, LOL! Ok, let's get back to the Giro.awp17-05-2025
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Hmm, we begin to see, Pogi actually relies more on others when he has serious competition than is made out.
Yea it is a 'team' sport' ! You need that team to set a super high pace on that climb to whittle down the field vs trying it yourself as it's not a steep climb !
Yeah but then you need a team that didn’t get whittled down before the climb from other teams setting a super high pace, and it still doesn’t get rid of those who can cope with your teams pace.
If you’re not stronger than your rivals, no team is going to get you up faster than your rivals if they’re sitting on your wheel, and that’s the whole UAE dilemma, no matter how fast the team takes TP up that hill, MVDP (asan example) will be being pulled along just as much as TP.
In order for TP and team to win in these kind of situations, they have to focus on strategies around the weaknesses (even spontaneous momentary ones) of their rivals and hope they have some.
In any case, I think TP is too instinctive and spontaneous (good qualities in themselves) a rider to methodically work through such a plan, it’s the kind of thing JV is good at.