Grumpy French (contains doping talk)...
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I think his ability to still be sprinting between mountain stages and limit his losses after his turn in the mountain train was just more of a sign that JV didn't master the train tactic as much as people were saying (possibly because their own team leader was near the limit). Compare the way he was able to recover and sit on Bernal's wheel on the one stage with some of the Sky train riders in the past who looked like they were going to have to get off and walk.phreak said:
WvA was the most incredible performance of the Tour for me. Pogacar not only was outstanding as a junior but was outstanding in the Vuelta last year, so I fully expected him to be up there.RichN95. said:joe2019 said:
So, you seriously think he won Le tour cleanblazing_saddles said:
The only "truth" , as you put it, which actually relates to Pogacar, is that he was 10 in 2008.joe2019 said:
Not really 'dishonest' then, just the truth, and a blind eye.RichN95. said:DeadCalm said:It's not just the French though. British libel laws being what they are, the British press have been more circumspect, but the Telegraph and Guardian have both raised questions.
God, I've read Whittle's piece. It's so dishonest. Lots about what his team manger did while Pogacar was a small child and before he was born, but absolutely no mention of Pogacar's stellar u23 career before he even got to that team.
The rest is just vacuously infers the possibility of guilt through association.
I don't know. But I do know two things.
1. Doping scandals used to have proper drugs. Now people are grasping at saline drips, ventolin and ketones for their scandal fix.
2. In 2018 Tadej Pogacar was not just the best pre-pro talent, but to some observers the best for several years. Last season was the best by a first year pro for many years.
I can't think of a time when we've had a rider driving on the flat, winning sprint finishes, doing huge pulls on mountains, and then hanging in there sufficiently to be fairly high up in GC (top 20 wasn't he?). Perhaps the nearest comparison we have is Kwia, who can do all of those things, but he had to sit up on various stages in order to recover sufficiently to do them, hence he was nearly an hour behind Wout on GC, despite having gained a chunk back by being given the freedom to hunt stages).
As others have mentioned, probably the last time there has been such a rider is Sean Kelly, and Kelly was able to do well on GC as the protected rider, not as the 4th or 5th carriage in his team's mountain train. You could also argue that the 80s were an era in which riders did successfully complete across all disciplines, whereas now is far more selective, and therefore much rarer to get someone that can be as good in something like Paris-Roubaix as they can up an Alpine climb.
That's not to say WvA is cheating of course, just that his performance was the likes of which I haven't seen for a very long time.0 -
Kwait parking it after an epic turn0
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He liked a bit of late drama even then. Stage 10 (final stage) of the Tour de l'Avenir 2018. Pogacar, in yellow, is isolated (as he has been all race) in a group of ten or so including Arensman, Mader and Vlasov who are within a minute to a minute and half off the race lead plus riders of the calibre of Dunbar and Sosa. Riders have been launching attack after attack up the penultimate climb of the day, each of which Pogacar has chased down. Everything seems to be under control. Then, on the descent to the final climb, this happens (@ 1'10" or thereabouts) leaving Pogacar alone and having to chase back on to the group of favourites who are going full tilt up the Glandon in pursuit of Mader who has managed to do a Hirschi style descent (the one where he doesn't fall off) and is a minute or so up the road.RichN95. said:
2. In 2018 Tadej Pogacar was not just the best pre-pro talent, but to some observers the best for several years. Last season was the best by a first year pro for many years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl1P_aWq04g
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The previous day (with a GC lead of just 7s) he just rode away from a similar group of 13 and beat them by a minuteDeadCalm said:
He liked a bit of late drama even then. Stage 10 (final stage) of the Tour de l'Avenir 2018. Pogacar, in yellow, is isolated (as he has been all race) in a group of ten or so including Arensman, Mader and Vlasov who are within a minute to a minute and half off the race lead plus riders of the calibre of Dunbar and Sosa. Riders have been launching attack after attack up the penultimate climb of the day, each of which Pogacar has chased down. Everything seems to be under control. Then, on the descent to the final climb, this happens (@ 1'10" or thereabouts) leaving Pogacar alone and having to chase back on to the group of favourites who are going full tilt up the Glandon in pursuit of Mader who has managed to do a Hirschi style descent (the one where he doesn't fall off) and is a minute or so up the road.RichN95. said:
2. In 2018 Tadej Pogacar was not just the best pre-pro talent, but to some observers the best for several years. Last season was the best by a first year pro for many years.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Indeed. It was the first time I'd ever followed the Tour de l'Avenir but I suspect it was an exceptional year. As well as Pogacar, Vlasov, Sosa and Dunbar, there were some very good riders in that race. I believe all of the top 14 are now riding for World Tour teams. Oh, and Hirschi finished 24th.RichN95. said:
The previous day (with a GC lead of just 7s) he just rode away from a similar group of 13 and beat them by a minuteDeadCalm said:
He liked a bit of late drama even then. Stage 10 (final stage) of the Tour de l'Avenir 2018. Pogacar, in yellow, is isolated (as he has been all race) in a group of ten or so including Arensman, Mader and Vlasov who are within a minute to a minute and half off the race lead plus riders of the calibre of Dunbar and Sosa. Riders have been launching attack after attack up the penultimate climb of the day, each of which Pogacar has chased down. Everything seems to be under control. Then, on the descent to the final climb, this happens (@ 1'10" or thereabouts) leaving Pogacar alone and having to chase back on to the group of favourites who are going full tilt up the Glandon in pursuit of Mader who has managed to do a Hirschi style descent (the one where he doesn't fall off) and is a minute or so up the road.RichN95. said:
2. In 2018 Tadej Pogacar was not just the best pre-pro talent, but to some observers the best for several years. Last season was the best by a first year pro for many years.0 -
He’s a cyclocross rider. They are better at high intensity efforts than road cyclists. So no surprise here.bobmcstuff said:Well, WvA was pretty ridiculous, to be fair. I'm not sure I would go quite this far though...
If the French start blaming on doping rather than being specialized in these sort of things ....
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CX Bears no resemblance to road. A lot of the best road riders come from a MTB background. CX isn’t MTB. It’s like MTB light.0
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That's a load of rubbish.zest28 said:
He’s a cyclocross rider. They are better at high intensity efforts than road cyclists. So no surprise here.bobmcstuff said:Well, WvA was pretty ridiculous, to be fair. I'm not sure I would go quite this far though...
If the French start blaming on doping rather than being specialized in these sort of things ....
CX =/= pulling on the front of a mountain train on a HC climb.
Sprints and classics type stages I can see, there's a history of that.
That doesn't mean I think he's doping, but I do think he's a ridiculous freak.0 -
How often do TDF riders ride a single Alpine climb? I'm not disputing that WVA is awesome. I just don't think the efforts in cross equate to those in road racing. Not saying that one is harder than the other either. Just saying that they're not the same.ddraver said:About the same as a long Alpine Climb...
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Not after several other Alpine climbs you've done already though... when you did a load of climbs the day before, and the day before...ddraver said:About the same as a long Alpine Climb...
The guy is clearly a massive engine, but claiming we shouldn't be surprised because he's so good at CX doesn't follow. We absolutely should be surprised.
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As I posted on the previous page JV clearly knew what he was potentially capable of to sign him up two years before he was available to ride for them.0
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'Sometimes everything is wrong'bobmcstuff said:
Not after several other Alpine climbs you've done already though... when you did a load of climbs the day before, and the day before...ddraver said:About the same as a long Alpine Climb...
The guy is clearly a massive engine, but claiming we shouldn't be surprised because he's so good at CX doesn't follow. We absolutely should be surprised.
REM - Everybody Hurts Sometimes
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That's not engine though, that's recovery. And it's also highly dependent on how the previous climbs were ridden.bobmcstuff said:
Not after several other Alpine climbs you've done already though... when you did a load of climbs the day before, and the day before...ddraver said:About the same as a long Alpine Climb...
The guy is clearly a massive engine, but claiming we shouldn't be surprised because he's so good at CX doesn't follow. We absolutely should be surprised.
I don't understand why it offends so many people on here, it doesnt seem to be controversial anywhere else, but the experiences of the last few months keep adding up...We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
'Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline'joe2019 said:
'Sometimes everything is wrong'bobmcstuff said:
Not after several other Alpine climbs you've done already though... when you did a load of climbs the day before, and the day before...ddraver said:About the same as a long Alpine Climb...
The guy is clearly a massive engine, but claiming we shouldn't be surprised because he's so good at CX doesn't follow. We absolutely should be surprised.
REM - Everybody Hurts Sometimes
REM - It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.0 -
I'm not offended by it...ddraver said:
That's not engine though, that's recovery. And it's also highly dependent on how the previous climbs were ridden.bobmcstuff said:
Not after several other Alpine climbs you've done already though... when you did a load of climbs the day before, and the day before...ddraver said:About the same as a long Alpine Climb...
The guy is clearly a massive engine, but claiming we shouldn't be surprised because he's so good at CX doesn't follow. We absolutely should be surprised.
I don't understand why it offends so many people on here, it doesnt seem to be controversial anywhere else, but the experiences of the last few months keep adding up...0
