JTL

ddraver

Man, JTL and Contador?

LL you must be feeling like a necro in a grave yard right about now eh?! :P

ocdupalais

JTL is truly something else... As far as I can recall, he's only been distanced on a climb in the finalé of a race this year ONCE - and that was by the impressive Quintana in the Tour of Murcia (also the only rider I can recall managing to escape from a Wiggins led Sky train on a climb in the finalé of a race this year- in the Dauphiné): and that was only after the Colombian had sat on JTL's wheel for 6.5km of an 8km climb before dicking him...

LeicesterLad

ddraver wrote:

Man, JTL and Contador?

LL you must be feeling like a necro in a grave yard right about now eh?! :P

Certainly am! It's been a fantastic month of cycling for me, My two favourite riders coming up trumps!

LeicesterLad

OCDuPalais wrote:

JTL is truly something else... As far as I can recall, he's only been distanced on a climb in the finalé of a race this year ONCE - and that was by the impressive Quintana in the Tour of Murcia (also the only rider I can recall managing to escape from a Wiggins led Sky train on a climb in the finalé of a race this year- in the Dauphiné): and that was only after the Colombian had sat on JTL's wheel for 6.5km of an 8km climb before dicking him...

Stealing this for the blog, with a hat-tip.

Mikey23

The boy done good

Turfle

OCDuPalais wrote:

JTL is truly something else... As far as I can recall, he's only been distanced on a climb in the finalé of a race this year ONCE - and that was by the impressive Quintana in the Tour of Murcia (also the only rider I can recall managing to escape from a Wiggins led Sky train on a climb in the finalé of a race this year- in the Dauphiné): and that was only after the Colombian had sat on JTL's wheel for 6.5km of an 8km climb before dicking him...

And Quintana (depending on which side you believe) sat on JTL's wheel for almost the entire climb.

ocdupalais

Turfle wrote:

OCDuPalais wrote:

JTL is truly something else... As far as I can recall, he's only been distanced on a climb in the finalé of a race this year ONCE - and that was by the impressive Quintana in the Tour of Murcia (also the only rider I can recall managing to escape from a Wiggins led Sky train on a climb in the finalé of a race this year- in the Dauphiné): and that was only after the Colombian had sat on JTL's wheel for 6.5km of an 8km climb before dicking him...

And Quintana (depending on which side you believe) sat on JTL's wheel for almost the entire climb.

Er, yes.
For approximately 6.5km of an 8km climb...

Turfle

Sorry. Alcohol. Could have sworn I read all the way to the end.

ocdupalais

Turfle wrote:

Sorry. Alcohol. Could have sworn I read all the way to the end.

Ah, alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of Life's problems.


Unless you're JTL, when it turns out that unscrupulous Colombians are your main problem.

I'll raise a glass to the Worlds and hope that Phil Gilbert and some Spaniards are his main problem...

symo

ToB win

MDCC in the house!

Barker 6th on the stage too!

pb21

What's his TT like?

Turfle

pb21 wrote:

What's his TT like?

Not got much to go on.

This year:
Mucia, 12.3k: 14th http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=23130
Alsace, 17.7k: 7th http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=22224

Last year:
Britain, 8.8k: 18th http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=21350

Richmond Racer

pb21 wrote:

What's his TT like?

I know that he did a TT in the Tour of Murcia this year when he came 2nd overall to Quintana. Placed 14th but was 10 secs faster than Quintana over a 12k non-technical course.

Sky'll put Bobby Julich on to him, I'd imagine.

pb21

Be interesting to see. I wonder what his role will be next year? Similar to this year but on a bigger team, bit of a wildcard on hilly one dayers, or domestique...

takethehighroad

8/1 to win the worlds? Whaaaa?

chadders81

pb21 wrote:

Be interesting to see. I wonder what his role will be next year? Similar to this year but on a bigger team, bit of a wildcard on hilly one dayers, or domestique...

I hope we see him in the Tour de France. He looks like he could go with Contador's attacks though doubt he'll be given that role.

Might be given a chance to ride for the Giro? Presumably Sky already know exactly what numbers he's putting out and they wouldn't have signed him unless he was the real deal.

Drumlin

I'd very much like to see JTL in the Grand Tours and perhaps in a few years yes he could be competitive as a top climber.

sunburntknees

Hopefully he will get a glasses sponsor now.

ddraver

So..JTL to be next years Froome? Froome to be next year's Wiggo?

Richmond Racer

Next year's JTL will do for me, finding his feet at Pro Tour level, trying him out in the Ardennes.

Journo in the Times this morning already suggesting that JTL might be a good possibility for British winner for Sunday :roll: ...no wonder the Great British Public go throwing their cash at Betfair, PP etc

okgo

"looks like he could go with Contadors attacks"

LOL! The lad is decent, clearly, but I think its a big statement to make that because he can hold his own around Devon that he'd be going with Bertie in those savage spanish/italian hills...

ocdupalais

okgo wrote:

"looks like he could go with Contadors attacks"

LOL! The lad is decent, clearly, but I think its a big statement to make that because he can hold his own around Devon that he'd be going with Bertie in those savage spanish/italian hills...

I'd suggest you take another look at how he rode and who he beat in some of the events he did (and usually won) earlier this year. That was on savage Spanish and French hills...

Where he is unproven at a high level is the longer Alpine style climbs in a GT and one-dayers of length and intensity of classics and... World Champs! I'm sure there'll be expectations on JTL - esp after ToB victory - but I think he'll be advised by Sky/GB to go into Sunday's race to do his best, stay as fresh as poss and see how it goes... It'll give him and the Sky training staff the ideal blue-print for his off-season training for the hilly classics and Paris-Nice/Tirreno-Adriatico... In which he will dick everyone.

The thing is with JTL, so far, is that it's an open secret in the peloton that he's going to attack, and often they even know where he's going to do it, yet there's rarely anything anyone can do about it.
I'd say that's VERY like Contador...

frenchfighter

Yeah, JTL even climbs like Contador somewhat.

Turfle

It'll be tough for him to ease in slowly, away from pressure, because the months that suit him best are early in the year; Feb, March, April. My guess is (assuming it's Sky) he'll do Mallorca, Algarve, Paris-Nice/Tirreno/Catalunya, hilly classics, and then Vuelta at the end of the year if he's feeling okay. Something like that should suit him well.

Can't wait to find out one way or the other.

symo

OCDuPalais wrote:

I'd say that's VERY like Contador...

Incorrect; better than Contador, because Contador doesn't go out on a Sunday from Abbrook Park in Kingsteignton.

bigmat

Crikey people are getting a bit carried away aren't they? Great result to win the ToB, and a very impressive early season, but the guy has been riding second tier races for the most part. Still unproven on the long climbs you find in grand tours and the long distances involved in classics / semi-classics. He has bags of potential and could live up to the hype, but I think its a bit early to be hailing him as the second coming of Contador. Let's give him a chance to test his mettle at the very highest level and see how he gets on, personally I'd be surprised to see him competing for GC in a grand tour next year but maybe the Ardennes classics and similar could be realistic.

He'll probably go and win on Sunday now I've said all that!

ocdupalais

I think the Sky/GB backroom-Barneys will be be doing their utmost to take some of the pressure off of JTL this week.


I expect Tim Kerrison will be aching to get his hands on JTL's numbers, though - and Steve Peeters to open his head up to see what makes him tick... They'll be like two excited little boys who can't wait to open their Christmas presents...

frenchfighter

Pross

BigMat wrote:

Crikey people are getting a bit carried away aren't they? Great result to win the ToB, and a very impressive early season, but the guy has been riding second tier races for the most part. Still unproven on the long climbs you find in grand tours and the long distances involved in classics / semi-classics. He has bags of potential and could live up to the hype, but I think its a bit early to be hailing him as the second coming of Contador. Let's give him a chance to test his mettle at the very highest level and see how he gets on, personally I'd be surprised to see him competing for GC in a grand tour next year but maybe the Ardennes classics and similar could be realistic.

He'll probably go and win on Sunday now I've said all that!

Yep, he's been very good this season and beaten a few good riders in hilly races but people are saying he could have a shot at the Giro - he's never ridden a 3 week race so far! I can see him being put into mountain domestique duty for Froome in the Giro. So far he is looking more along the lines of Uran and Henao and both of those have cracked on longer climbs in GTs. I'm not saying he can't do well but at present he is untested and people are getting a bit carried away.

okgo

Agree with that.