Who is your rider of 2020?

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  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 17,041
    edited November 2020
    exlaser said:

    There were some great rides this year . Roglic gets stick for how he rides but he rides to his strengths, he cannot ride away with 2k to go like CF ,he has to leave it to the last few 100m , so what . Maybe he is not a great rider , but he is a bloody good one with now two grand tours on his belt.

    . WVA also had a stunning year . But for me the best ride of the year was TGH ride at the giro, given his head only after being mins down on all the big names, he was always the strongest rider in the mountains and didn’t crack under pressure at the end . The other stand out ride of the year for me was R Dennis in the giro helping TGH in the mountains, we have not seen that form from him in years .

    Both Rohan and Hugh stepped up the year before in the tour de Swiss . Hugh did an amazing ride there which ducked under the radar
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • WvA for me.

    That opening week of the revised season was amazing.
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    WVA for his contribution this year. strongest rider in a lot of situations and won where he wasn't expected to win. his work in the tour was absolutely phenomenal.

    Roglic was a very safe and passive GC winner in the vuelta, but did win some stages, and was tactically astute when his legs caved in (reducing the impact against the pure climbers). if others can match him in the timetrials, he might struggle against riders that can punch better up the steep stuff.

    think TGH was a breakthrough last few days, he clearly rode into very decent form. one for one of next years tours... (vuelta maybe?)...
  • mpatts
    mpatts Posts: 1,010
    My rider of the year is Celine Del Alvarado. She has been simply magnificent.
    Insert bike here:
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 17,041
    edited November 2020
    The argument against roglic, if there is one, is a lot of roglics success was down to kuss and WvA anyway . but I think the vuelta kinda revealed that to be less the case ... Jumbo looked tired and collapsed across the finishing line for the win . Roglic was astonishing all season as rich says ...

    Still Tao for me . How brilliantly unlikely was that .
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 17,041
    edited November 2020
    If a fit Rohan had been at the vuelta carapaz would have won
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • brundonbianchi
    brundonbianchi Posts: 689
    edited November 2020
    It’s between Roglic and a couple of others for me. A couple of the ‘new breed’ riders have really shown some promise, despite the oddness of the year’s main races / tours. TGH did show some guts to step up like he did, and WVA had some cracking results as well, but I think Roglic gets my vote overall.
  • Roglic for me, purely because i love to see a GT contender up there in one day races and i enjoyed him pipping Alaphilippe in Liege after him taking Hirschi out of contention, as well as his overall consistency. Plus I think he's really raced the vuelta. Had Wout taken Flanders or the WC stripes it would have been a tough call for me.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,851
    WvA for me, as this time last year he could hardly walk following his TdF leg injury.

    Roglic's collapse at this years' TdF marked him down.
    Half man, Half bike
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    WvA for me. Ridiculous performance at the Tour, and plenty of wins outside.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,892
    edited November 2020

    WvA for me. Ridiculous performance at the Tour, and plenty of wins outside.

    Just 3 wins on the road besides the Tour.
    Good quality though.

    Interesting that up thread, Roglic was being discredited for finishing second in the Tour, but his super domestique in this loss is the people's rider of the season..
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • The polls are closed and the votes counted here:

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,906
    edited November 2020
    Ridiculous.

    You lot over-value mountains far too much.




    *(relax, I am not taking this very seriously)
  • WvA for me. Ridiculous performance at the Tour, and plenty of wins outside.

    Just 3 wins on the road besides the Tour.
    Good quality though.

    Interesting that up thread, Roglic was being discredited for finishing second in the Tour, but his super domestique in this loss is the people's rider of the season..
    Couldn't help him in the ITT
  • Ridiculous.

    You lot over-value mountains far too much.


    *(relax, I am not taking this very seriously)
    Agreed, since it's your man's domestique work in the mountains that has folks here voting for him!

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,722
    I'm perfectly happy for their to be a domestique of year award, but that should be distinct from a rider of the year.
  • I'm perfectly happy for their to be a domestique of year award, but that should be distinct from a rider of the year.

    Strade bianchi, a monument, second in another monument and second in both worlds road and TT. Add to that beating the sprinters on sprint stages in the tour, and only then it's adding the climbing domestique work in the tour that takes him to 1st place in my opinion.

    Roglic clearly had a very good season too.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,722

    I'm perfectly happy for their to be a domestique of year award, but that should be distinct from a rider of the year.

    Strade bianchi, a monument, second in another monument and second in both worlds road and TT. Add to that beating the sprinters on sprint stages in the tour, and only then it's adding the climbing domestique work in the tour that takes him to 1st place in my opinion.

    Roglic clearly had a very good season too.
    Sure he is a contender for both awards, but in my view it is all the other stuff that makes him a contender for the rider of year. I think his only competition for domestique of year is Kuss.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,172
    edited November 2020



    Sure he is a contender for both awards, but in my view it is all the other stuff that makes him a contender for the rider of year. I think his only competition for domestique of year is Kuss.


    Rohan Dennis, Michael Morkov
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 6,969

    Ridiculous.

    You lot over-value mountains far too much.




    *(relax, I am not taking this very seriously)
    So speaketh a flat lander living in a flat land! :D
    You cannot over value mountains - they are the ultimate place to spend you life in summer and winter!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,906
    edited November 2020

    Ridiculous.

    You lot over-value mountains far too much.




    *(relax, I am not taking this very seriously)
    So speaketh a flat lander living in a flat land! :D
    You cannot over value mountains - they are the ultimate place to spend you life in summer and winter!
    There is no parcours you wouldn't say he has some chance to win.

    Bunch sprint - wins those
    reduced sprint - wins those
    break from a group - wins those
    classics - MSR, won that, ToF, 2nd in that, LBL - didn't ride but you wouldn't be surprised with a podium - his 2nd in the World's shows that
    Mountains - regularly dropped some of the world#s best climbers and was 3rd one one of the big TdF mountain stages despite doing a lot of the donkey work.
    TTs - *just* missed out on the podium for the final TT.

    MTF - lacking.

    The guy was EASILY the best all round rider in the world, by quite a way.

    He makes Sagan look like a one trick pony.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,906
    Roglic's main success was helping me sleep despite my very sore arm and neck.

    He's about as exciting as a dentist appointment.
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 6,969
    I agree with both your posts above Rick regarding Wout being the best all round rider of the year, and Roglic's racing style being just plain dull (though pretty effective).
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 17,041
    Roglic is exciting because he can get dropped ... You don't know if he will sprint away In The final or lose the wheels 2-3 k to go
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725

    Roglic's main success was helping me sleep despite my very sore arm and neck.

    He's about as exciting as a dentist appointment.

    But... but... he rides for a Dutch team!? *walks away confused*
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 17,041
    Lance Armstrong was boring except maybe in 2003 . Indurain was boring . Olano was genuinely boring . Jesus if roglic is boring he'll knows what the rest are .
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    would love to be in the mountains. but... this is about the years best rider.

    best GC climber - roglic
    Best flat time triallist - ganna
    Best one day classics rider - WVA
    best lower mountain/ flat super domestique - WVA
    best high mountain Domestique - Kuss
    best chopper and hi octane thrillseeker with penchant for stupendous/ stupid attacks - Allaphilipe
    Best sprinter - Demare or Bennett
    new talent - Hirschi

  • I've gone for WVA, he's put in a ridiculous shift and won on different terrains

    I've also got a suspicion that's the last GT Roglic will win. I don't mind if he proves me wrong, but he's hardly beaten stellar fields in either of his Vuelta wins. Valverde 2nd last year! There seems an increasing number of younger riders coming through who are far better GC contenders than the likes of Majka, Superman, Pozzo, Chavez, Pinot who all have flaws (physically, technically or mentally) etc who seem to be the ones he rides against at La Vuelta. Think Carthy, Pogacar etc will now know they've got him beaten on the right terrain and not take him to the last 200m. Plus other Sports Directors need to really have a word with themselves for towing him when he's isolated.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,172

    Lance Armstrong was boring except maybe in 2003 . Indurain was boring . Olano was genuinely boring . Jesus if roglic is boring he'll knows what the rest are .


    Say what you like about Armstrong, but he wasn't boring. He was a very attacking rider. His dominance may have been boring, but his riding wasn't.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • I'm perfectly happy for their to be a domestique of year award, but that should be distinct from a rider of the year.

    Strade bianchi, a monument, second in another monument and second in both worlds road and TT. Add to that beating the sprinters on sprint stages in the tour, and only then it's adding the climbing domestique work in the tour that takes him to 1st place in my opinion.

    Roglic clearly had a very good season too.
    I think Strade Bianche gets generally overrated in terms of prestige among the various forum. It's good, but it's not yet up there with the monuments and a couple of other Belgian races in my book.

    WvA won Milan-San Remo beating Alaphilippe on the lunge.
    Roglic also did that in LBL but had both Pogacar and Hirschi to contend with, plus Mohoric.

    That aside, the key word in your post is "second".
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.