cycling in 2018 & beyond

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If  only Remco had targeted the tour and was ready to race.

The idea that either of these guys can wear the other out by having his classics guys set a high pace and then hand it off to the mountain domestiques is kind of laughable at this point. I don't think UAE has been aggressive enough in using Yates. OTOH, as impressive as Van Aert's performance has been, his jumps into breaks have not been as useful as Soler's. He does some great tempo riding, but there hasn't been stages like last year where he helps at the top of a big mountain dropping from a break.  Spoiler about Sunday: Not much use in finishing second on the last alps stage, nowhere near the GC leaders. Had Roglic raced this, or Almeida, it would have been a difference-maker, even coming off the Giro.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

rewatched Sunday. I do think Van Aert had a reasonable shot at catching Poels up until the last few kms of the last climb, and probably by that time could not have waited long enough to be useful in the last km for Vingegaard. But clearly Soler was useful to Yates, even if he didn't make that much difference to Jonas / Tadej.

As for the TT, no spoilers for 24 hours.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Regarding the TT, Cyclingnews has an article, quoting Van Aert as calling himself, "the best among normal people," but, tbh, I think he may not be human, either.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wout-van-aert-best-of-the-normal-people-in-tour-de-france-time-trial/

Meanwhile, Tom Dumoulin is saying the winner might have road the best TT ever.

[English Natsie]

Meanwhile, Tom Dumoulin is saying the winner might have road the best TT ever.

Not sure that Greg Lemond would agree...

For all of the brave words, Pogacar is clearly undercooked, following his injury lay-off. Frustrating that he's been hampered for two consecutive Tours, so we still await to see a Tour where both are fully fit.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The fall probably didn't help, but Jonas has had falls too. He says basically he wasn't taking in food well.

You also saw jumbo and UAE had an extra blood test this AM?

[English Natsie]

Don't think it's anything to get excited about - just wanting to show that it's not like the 'old days'. I must admit, I thought (during the stage) that, although perfectly fine to those in the know, the race going from tight to a 7 minute+ lead wasn't the greatest look, given the recent history of the sport...

For those who don't follow cycling, we think back to riders such as Vinokourov (2007 Tour) who lost considerable time on an alpine stage, then came back to win the time trial and the next alpine stage to come right back into contention. The next day, he failed a blood test...(to those watching, it was blatantly obvious that something was going on...).

[English Natsie]

Will he, won't he?...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66368064

[English Natsie]

Greasy Spaniards...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66647757

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Greasy Spaniards...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66647757

They would protest and say Catalonians.

I wasn't paying attention to yesterday. As for the TTT, I saw that apparently Vingegaard had to change bikes, slowing Jumbo's time. Too bad the TTT was under such poor conditions. I really wanted to see the top teams, especially Jumbo, going at their best.

[English Natsie]

The elephant is definitely in the room...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66833262

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The elephant is definitely in the room...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66833262

Multiple leaders can always be a problem, and it's hard to argue that Roglic and Vingegaard, in some order, are not 2 of the top 3 or 4 grand tour cyclists of the era (Pogocar, and a case can still be made for Remco in any race he lines up in). It took a little awareness and ego suppression for them not try to attack Kuss or at least try for 2nd over the other. That said, Kuss had the time trial of his life (similar to Sastre the year he won the TdF), and the breakaway tactic of Jumbo  when they sent 4 up the road (Kuss, Kelderman, and I think a couple others) was a nice way to put him into position.

Jumbo has so many stars that they're a bit notorious for rivalries (I've not seen the Netflix series), with the classics team led by Van Aert and the two GC leaders, but they've really helped get a lot out guys like LaPorte, Kelderman, and Kuss. It'll be interesting to see if Jorgenson improves next year when he's on board.

As for whether this will hold up for 10-25 years, it's been about 10 years since Sky/Ineos emerged, and there's really nothing to sully what they did. I think the performances are credible. It's very much like Tampa Bay and the extra 2% in baseball. Jumbo is just the Dodgers now of cycling.

[English Natsie]

Tom Brady on wheels...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66786721

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Tom Brady on wheels...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66786721

this was happening as soon as he crashed. Astana brought on Morkov as his leadout. I think they may be bringing on Froome too.  Kazakhstan apparently is country for old men.

Meanwhile . . . is Quickstep going to be able to keep a name sponsorship in Soudal Amazon Visma?

I honestly do not think this changes grand tours much. Basically swaps Remco for Roglic. I think it has more of an impact on monuments, shorter stage races, and lesser classics.  Situations like Tirreno Adriatico and Paris Nice, they'll be able to field two top tier teams simultaneously.

Meanwhile, I guess I have to become a Bora fan. Roglic is still probably my favorite pro. Dude deserves a shot at the TdF as a healthy leader. There's some great pieces in Velo I think about how he basically was the model Jumbo rider and how he more or less turned the Rabobank disaster into the top team (with acknowledgements for Gesink and Kruiswijk).

[English Natsie]

Meanwhile . . . is Quickstep going to be able to keep a name sponsorship in Soudal Amazon Visma?

They'll no doubt become 'the team known as QuSAV'...

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I'm working my way through La Vuelta...I have to say that Bob & Christian have grown on me; CVdV even taught us something about the wood used to cook paella 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

In my mind, I picture Girona back in his day as a place where the entire populace can climb Cat 3 hills, speaks English, enjoys good wine and food, and takes EPO intravenously while sipping coffee in the morning.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I spent a night in Girona in the mid 90s and my lasting memory is of an old woman yelling at me in Catalan as I tried to pack and get out of the guesthouse with a king hell sangria hangover...*shudder*

[English Natsie]

Onward and upward - and upward...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/67213684

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Onward and upward - and upward...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/67213684

Cav may be freaking out because of the difficulty, but there are 8 sprints. He's got to get one.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Flatted today coming back from Herndon. Fortunately near EFC station because i didn't have a pump or co2 on my bike.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

No one comes back from Herndon

Flatted today coming back from Herndon. Fortunately near EFC station because i didn't have a pump or co2 on my bike.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/the-quiet-american-brandon-mcnulty-poised-for-breakout-in-2024-he-can-win-everything/

Nice article on Brandon McNulty. Sepp's still a better climber, Powless has better instincts for a breakaway, but McNulty may be the better bet for the next big result from an American. Better time-trialist than Kuss, which may be enough to make up the difference in climbing.

[English Natsie]

Good read- thanks, JCA...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Good weekend for US world tour pros. Brandon McNulty wins the Volta a la Comunitat Valencia and the mountaintop finish stage, Will Barta wins the final stage.

[English Natsie]

The wheels have come off...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/68402040