Joining the Van Looy, Merckx and De Vlaeminck club

andyp

rick_chasey said:

RichN95. said:

Lombardia and LBL often change their routes and finishes, so who knows what the future holds. Van der Poel has shown he can finish top ten in both it's possible. I think he may need Pogacar and Evenepoel to be absent though.

His Lombardi top 10 shouldn’t really count as it was the rona one and he was miles off the pace.

I'd go as far to say that 2020 was by far his best chance to win Lombardy, given the quality of the field.

rick_chasey

Tbh I think the limiting factor for Pog is that he can fry bigger fish than PR.

Can’t really see him wanting to give up all those hilly classics AND stage races for a race that’s a mechanical lottery half the time anyway.

mididoctors

rick_chasey said:

Tbh I think the limiting factor for Pog is that he can fry bigger fish than PR.

Can’t really see him wanting to give up all those hilly classics AND stage races for a race that’s a mechanical lottery half the time anyway.

He is going for the set imo

RichN95.

rick_chasey said:

Tbh I think the limiting factor for Pog is that he can fry bigger fish than PR.

Can’t really see him wanting to give up all those hilly classics AND stage races for a race that’s a mechanical lottery half the time anyway.

It may be target for later in his career if he gets bored of winning other races.

rick_chasey

RichN95. said:

rick_chasey said:

Tbh I think the limiting factor for Pog is that he can fry bigger fish than PR.

Can’t really see him wanting to give up all those hilly classics AND stage races for a race that’s a mechanical lottery half the time anyway.

It may be target for later in his career if he gets bored of winning other races.

Needs to win the tour more often to do that.

Which has his two weaknesses - altitude and heat

TheBigBean

I think MSR is the hardest to target for Pogacar. Hasn't been a repeat winner for a while, which shows it can be a bit more random.

andyp

I think he's won the monuments he's going to win. He might add more editions, especially of Liege and Lombardy, but I can't see him ever winning Roubaix or Sanremo.

The former is a race that doesn't suit his physiology and the latter isn't hard enough for him to get rid of everyone else, which is arguably the only way he can win it.

tailwindhome

You'd think Pog would prioritise a Giro over PR? No?

rick_chasey

Yup

TheBigBean

andyp said:

I think he's won the monuments he's going to win. He might add more editions, especially of Liege and Lombardy, but I can't see him ever winning Roubaix or Sanremo.

The former is a race that doesn't suit his physiology and the latter isn't hard enough for him to get rid of everyone else, which is arguably the only way he can win it.

Did you think that Gilbert would win P-R? I certainly didn't and posted as much on this thread.

I don't see any downsides (other than crashing) if Pogacar tries it. History shows riding the Giro (Contador and Froome) is not great for winning the tour.

No_Ta_Doctor

TheBigBean said:

andyp said:

I think he's won the monuments he's going to win. He might add more editions, especially of Liege and Lombardy, but I can't see him ever winning Roubaix or Sanremo.

The former is a race that doesn't suit his physiology and the latter isn't hard enough for him to get rid of everyone else, which is arguably the only way he can win it.

Did you think that Gilbert would win P-R? I certainly didn't and posted as much on this thread.

I don't see any downsides (other than crashing) if Pogacar tries it. History shows riding the Giro (Contador and Froome) is not great for winning the tour.

I was absolutely certain Gilbert would never win Roubaix.
I think Sanremo is well within possibility for Pog, though tactically difficult. He'd need a bit of luck, but if he can get over the top of the Poggio alone then it's game on.

rick_chasey

No_Ta_Doctor said:

TheBigBean said:

andyp said:

I think he's won the monuments he's going to win. He might add more editions, especially of Liege and Lombardy, but I can't see him ever winning Roubaix or Sanremo.

The former is a race that doesn't suit his physiology and the latter isn't hard enough for him to get rid of everyone else, which is arguably the only way he can win it.

Did you think that Gilbert would win P-R? I certainly didn't and posted as much on this thread.

I don't see any downsides (other than crashing) if Pogacar tries it. History shows riding the Giro (Contador and Froome) is not great for winning the tour.

I was absolutely certain Gilbert would never win Roubaix.
I think Sanremo is well within possibility for Pog, though tactically difficult. He'd need a bit of luck, but if he can get over the top of the Poggio alone then it's game on.

MMm I think it's team effort to make it as hard as possible up the Turchino and then up all the CAppos and the Cipressa.

If anyone has it in them to make a move stick from the Cipressa it's Pog.

phreak

TheBigBean said:

andyp said:

I think he's won the monuments he's going to win. He might add more editions, especially of Liege and Lombardy, but I can't see him ever winning Roubaix or Sanremo.

The former is a race that doesn't suit his physiology and the latter isn't hard enough for him to get rid of everyone else, which is arguably the only way he can win it.

Did you think that Gilbert would win P-R? I certainly didn't and posted as much on this thread.

I don't see any downsides (other than crashing) if Pogacar tries it. History shows riding the Giro (Contador and Froome) is not great for winning the tour.

I'm not sure history is much use with the way the current crop are riding. You'd think though that Pogacar will want to win the Giro/Tour double at some point, precisely because it's so rare. Maybe he's waiting for there to be a favourable Worlds course and go for the Triple Crown.

No_Ta_Doctor

rick_chasey said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

TheBigBean said:

andyp said:

I think he's won the monuments he's going to win. He might add more editions, especially of Liege and Lombardy, but I can't see him ever winning Roubaix or Sanremo.

The former is a race that doesn't suit his physiology and the latter isn't hard enough for him to get rid of everyone else, which is arguably the only way he can win it.

Did you think that Gilbert would win P-R? I certainly didn't and posted as much on this thread.

I don't see any downsides (other than crashing) if Pogacar tries it. History shows riding the Giro (Contador and Froome) is not great for winning the tour.

I was absolutely certain Gilbert would never win Roubaix.
I think Sanremo is well within possibility for Pog, though tactically difficult. He'd need a bit of luck, but if he can get over the top of the Poggio alone then it's game on.

MMm I think it's team effort to make it as hard as possible up the Turchino and then up all the CAppos and the Cipressa.

If anyone has it in them to make a move stick from the Cipressa it's Pog.

Or MvdP.

Honestly, I don't think anyone will make anything stick from there, much as we might dream