+20
05-08-2024 22:04
+1
24-07-2024 23:23
24-07-2024 00:16
24-07-2024 00:00
+10
23-07-2024 23:41
+2
23-07-2024 23:31
23-07-2024 22:21
+3
23-07-2024 22:10
+4
21-07-2024 06:36
20-07-2024 19:39
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+20
cdw
I had thoughts similar to your as the Tour progressed. For all their power, UAE looked like they had no idea how to use it. For past Visma teams (or Sky before them) they had a pretty logical progression of riders do do pacemaking. UAE was just had this skattershot approach sometimes and Pogi never really wanted to wait for them anyway. Which is fine when Pogi has a clear advantage, but what will he do the next time he meets a full strength Visma squad and he is maybe not quite as dominant? He has shown he is like a doorbell; yank his chain and he will react and chase. It also shows Pogi is a little petty or immature. Do you think Jonas won those two tours just to show up Pogi? No, Jonas just won them the way he could, but Pogi clearly took it personally for whatever reason. I don't think Pollit did UAE any favors by airing their dirty laundry.05-08-2024 22:04
+1
cdw
Technically speaking, his number is just about right. I crunched the numbers using my Alp D'Huez calculator (1 pound = 14 extra seconds from bottom to top). The Bonette-Restefonds is 5,200 feet of climbing, so about 1.5 times the Alpe. You do the math and it comes out to about 45 seconds. Using another source, at 250 watts, I kilo takes an additional 2.5 to 3 watts. So yes, if his bike was one kilo heavier, all other things equal, he would lose 45 seconds. Of course, it is way more complex than that. What if his Look bike was more aero than his opponents? I showed a friend once, using one of those complex cycling calculators that going up and down a mountain on an aero 17 pound bike was actually faster than a non-aero 15 pound bike. (Not by much). On a windy climb like the Bonnette-Restefonds, drafting on a climb was probably more than the extra 3 watts he needed. IF, everyone, in fact, had 1 kilo lighter bikes. In any case, the comment above about not saying things that hurt your career is most apt.24-07-2024 23:23
+1
cdw
When I was coaching high school running I read A LOT of stuff trying to improve and one thing that was pretty apparent was that it takes about 8 years of consistent, high level training to reach your peak. High school phenoms who break 4 minutes in the mile/1600 usually started pretty young and are probably six or seven years into their training. That is why so many highly touted HS runners go to college, but don't dominate. Their peers that were running 30-40 miles a week catch up and sometimes pass them. Is that where Pogi is this year? I have no idea. This year was like a perfect storm of goodness for Pogi in training and racing. No illnesses that I read about, no crashes, a relatively weak Giro field (that meant he did not have to go too deep) and then his main Tour rivals all crashing in April so that their prep was affected to different degrees. Other riders have tried it and failed more recently. Contador won the Giro but then just was not there and could not beat Froome and Sky. When Froome tried it, he could not beat Geraint Thomas. It is really hard because most riders focus their year on either the Giro or the Tour. I'll be interested to see if he tries to win the Giro-Tour annually, because one has to think it will be much, much harder.24-07-2024 00:16
+1
cdw
The thing that makes records hard to break is the unpredictability of sports. Cav has been trying for a couple of years and nothing worked. And then, in the one perfect day, the stars aligned for him, he used fresh legs, his massive experience and a gap opening up to do it. If you looked at the sprints for the rest of the Tour, he was up there a couple of times, but then just faded. I think he was tired and lacked the fitness to compete with the younger boys. He needed that early win. It also took Cav 15 tours to get it done. He had a few years where he had four or five wins but also some dnf's from crashes. Right now people probably think Pogi is going to win 50 stages and ten Tours, but Tour history is littered with folks who won young or young-ish and then were done (Fignon, Ulrich, Roche, even Lemond was only 25 when he won his first. Maybe Bernal as he is having a hard time ofit).24-07-2024 00:00
+10
cdw
Armstrong's situation is unique because he was an American. Europeans view doping almost like fouls in basketball. They know it is going on, if you get caught, shame on you, but they don't obsess about it much. Armstrong pissed off too many people and one of them decided to make a name for himself by prosecuting him and he got lots of former teammates to dish on him--in exchange for immunity for their own doping. Can you imagine the Spanish sports authorities going back and trying to take away Indurain's tours from the '90s. The thought is laughable. I read and article that came out when the statute of limitations ran out for Operation Puerto and it implied that the reason they (Spanish authorities) would not release the names was because there were a couple of national-hero level athletes from non-cycling sports that were on the list and they were protecting them. Now, having said that, Armstrong got what he deserved, but I value his opinion as much as any past champion who we know was doping. Why is it when Contador give an opinion that one cares he was a doper? Just a double standard. Pantani died a tragic death, so no one touches him, but he was doper and the last guy to do the Giro-Tour double. Can you imagine Italian authorities taking away his wins. No, he got a memorial or two.23-07-2024 23:41
+2
cdw
That story just sounds like rumor. Anyone who followed LeMond knows he was an outsider to most of the European omerta. Before 1990, I believe it was possible for a really talented rider to win the Tour without drugs. After '90, I'm sorry, but no. EPO was just too big of an advantage, and when did LeMond stop being competitive? 1990. He slowly slid into ignominy as more and more riders realized that EPO was like rocket fuel. Look at Claudio Chiapucci. In '90 he has a huge advantage over LeMond in the GC that LeMond slowly whittles down to nothing. Over the next couple years Chiapucci is dropping Lemond like it was cool. Even Roche made a comeback in '93 and he admitted it was because of EPO.23-07-2024 23:31
+1
cdw
With Jonas not up to previous standard, I wonder what Kuss could have done. He's finished 12th while still being the last man riding for JV in the mountains. Jorgensen was 8th this year when he was sort of it for Visma. He lost like 10 places on the day Jonas had him shatter the field, so if he had been able to ride his pace that day, I would not have been shocked to see him finish top 5. Kudos to Landa for a good race. I think he did poorly as a leader to Movistar, but as a 2nd option for Soudal, he looked a lot more comfortable. And let's be honest, it is a lot easier to stay high in the GC when you not constant on the front pulling for you GC leader. He did a bit here and there, but most of the time it was UAE or Visma controlling the tempo; Landa pretty much raced his own race most of the time.23-07-2024 22:21
+3
cdw
Visma not a good Tour? What? PL's own team took one stage win and 3 and 5 place. Visma, one stage win and 2nd and 8th place. But his team was all positive and Visma not good? Honestly, given that they had to leave Sepp home, Wout was not up to his regular climbing prowess, nor was Wilco until the final week and Jonas had zero days of racing before the tour, I would say it was an unmitigated success for them. Unless you are comparing it to last years sweep of grand tours, in which case, yes, it was not good.23-07-2024 22:10
+4
cdw
That's true enough, but he, like so many short-sighted tyrants, is forgetting that he's bullying them in a best-case scenario for him/worst case for Jonas/Visma. In future conflicts, I suspect he's going to pay because he has shown that he'll throw his own people under the bus (Landa today) in favor of his own interests--not a strategy that inspires loyalty. Visma , meanwhile seem to have built a team culture that creates a team better than the sum of its individuals. And Pogi has made it into a feud. What are the odds Visma is ever going to have worse luck than this year? Pogi's day of reckoning is coming.21-07-2024 06:36
+2
cdw
Whenever I see some of these guys at the finish, it reminds me that they suffer like few other people in sports.20-07-2024 19:39