+4
29-05-2025 16:43
+3
29-05-2025 16:35
+0
28-05-2025 20:24
28-05-2025 18:13
+1
28-05-2025 18:09
25-05-2025 04:44
21-05-2025 05:23
18-05-2025 00:24
16-05-2025 03:30
+11
05-05-2025 21:04
+4
RidesHills
Of course Vingegaard was expected to show fatigue at the end, how could he not? He raced an incredible race, underprepared, most likely using some TUEs to get back in shape more quickly than usually possible (and I support that), but Pogacar was simply superior throughout. Other than stage 11, I don't think Vingegaard took time on Pogacar. The line that Vingegaard "was a big competitor toward the end" is countered by the fact that this was when Pogacar won most of his 6 stages, dominating the climbs, setting records. I'm just hoping that this year's concussion doesn't have the same effect. I'd love to see the both of them healthy and fully prepared - and then I have no clue at all who is superior over 3 weeks, which is what makes it fun to watch.29-05-2025 16:43
+3
RidesHills
Well, it happened in a way that had him tumble off the podium, which is close to what you say. Poor guy, what a lousy way to end the race for him.29-05-2025 16:35
+0
RidesHills
I don't know where you are referring to "points," given that I was looking at wins in different categories (overall, monuments, world tour) and trying to make different comparisons to illustrate my point. Could you clarify?28-05-2025 20:24
+0
RidesHills
Without bonus second, Yates is second by 5” and Carapaz third by only a few seconds more. Sure there are more stages to come but right now that is just incredibly close.28-05-2025 18:13
+1
RidesHills
What a great stage, even though the gaps ended up being so small. I thought del Toro was out of contention at some point after Carapaz attacked, but with the help of other teams he got back and wow what a win.28-05-2025 18:09
+0
RidesHills
(Just notice how long this is. Sorry.) I wonder why people rank van der Poel above Pogacar as a classics rider, like Museeuw does. Using Procyclingstats for what follows: Pogacar has 22 classics wins, of which 9 are monuments and 19 are at world tour level, and then there’s also one national and one world championship. His first classics win was 2021. Van der Poel has 26 classics wins, of which 8 are monuments and 17 are at world tour level, and there are 2 national and one world championship. His first classics win was in 2014. If we compare only the seasons from 2021 to now (meaning, from Pogacar’s first season with a classics won forward), van der Poel has 16 classics wins, of which 7 are monuments and 12 are at world tour level, and there’s a world championship. If we compare the seasons since Pogacar turned pro in 2019, then they are even at 22 classics wins, back to the 9 vs. 8 comparison of monuments, more of Pogacar’s are at world tour level (19 vs 16 of their 22), and they are even with 1 national and 1 world championship each. So it is damn close, but when I look at the stats alone, Pogacar comes out as the better classics rider in a head to head comparison, except at San Remo and Roubaix (his 4th place in a 2 man sprint at his first Flanders race has been more than rectified since). And yes, Pogacar will basically always lose the sprint at the end of a race to van der Poel, which requires him to use different tactics. So I get it, van der Poel is amazing, I absolutely love watching him race, I still think his Amstel win is one of the more superhuman feats I’ve seen in biking, and I got into CX and mountain biking because of him. But Pogacar, on the road, has a better head-to-head record. Sure, he also wins grand tours, but does that make him a worse classics rider? It shouldn’t. His record shows how amazing he is.25-05-2025 04:44
+3
RidesHills
The Roglic superpower: never question the past, always look forward. And always use adversity to aim higher. Who else loses the Tour on a time trial, then gets Olympic gold and wins the Giro on a time trial? The man is both reflective and totally immune to the past, it seems.21-05-2025 05:23
+4
RidesHills
Enigmatic as ever. He only cares about the jersey on one day: the last one. He knows better than anyone what it means to assume too much too soon.18-05-2025 00:24
+4
RidesHills
No place for that here.16-05-2025 03:30
+11
RidesHills
It remains a team sport, and either teams or injuries have determined the outcomes since 2022. In '22, UAE lost many team members due to covid, earlier than Jumbo Visma did, and that left Pogacar unprotected. In '23, Pogacar was injured at Liege, and that affected his training. In '24, Vingegaard was injured, Kuss and van Aert were a shadow of their '22 selves, and Roglic was gone from the team. So the question is, can Yates, Almeida, Novak, and the rest protect Pogacar, and will Kuss and the rest show up as they need to? Sure, it's the last climb that pits the two superstars against each other, and Pogacar (as we've seen with van der Poel) doesn't always win when he's got a challenger there. This year, if Vingegaard's concussion hasn't affected things too much, I think it will come down to the teams they bring.05-05-2025 21:04