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Post by salopstick on Apr 9, 2024 7:01:40 GMT
But could he do 170km in the absolute fucking biblical rain and cold on the York Leeds York I did yesterday Which way did you go Al? York to Leeds is around 50k init? all through the sticks mate through to ottley and back
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Post by Bod on Apr 9, 2024 9:45:59 GMT
Ineos' identify crisis is compounded by the fact that they can't seem to recruit what seems to be the cream of the best neo-pros like Del Toro and Morgado and that they have lost some talent like Tullet. Surely they can afford a development squad to help with that. They need to get Pidcock to decide what he wants to do on the road once the Olympics are done. Lots of talk of him being a grand tour GC rider but he has never even come close in even a week long stage race and although he has a few good wins he doesn't have anything like the superiority of some of his peers. Not sure what has happened to Hayter who looks like he's got the yips based on Itzulia. I wish that I could like this post twice. Unless something drastic has changed, Hayter doesn’t enjoy bunch sprinting as has never been comfortable when the elbows get pointy on the road and his positioning in the bunch reflects this as he has a tendency to drift towards the back. If you have a team dedicated solely to shepherding you later in the race, it’s not too much of an issue, but INEOS doesn’t have this. I looked at INEOS’ roster earlier and it seems pretty disjointed. Maybe there is a subconscious admission of defeat knowing that Pogacar and Vingegaard look a level (or more) above everyone else? It sits very strangely though in a team that was at the forefront on changing the approach to data and equipment, but now doesn’t seem to have an actual set of tangible goals.
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Post by salopstick on Apr 9, 2024 10:08:39 GMT
Ineos' identify crisis is compounded by the fact that they can't seem to recruit what seems to be the cream of the best neo-pros like Del Toro and Morgado and that they have lost some talent like Tullet. Surely they can afford a development squad to help with that. They need to get Pidcock to decide what he wants to do on the road once the Olympics are done. Lots of talk of him being a grand tour GC rider but he has never even come close in even a week long stage race and although he has a few good wins he doesn't have anything like the superiority of some of his peers. Not sure what has happened to Hayter who looks like he's got the yips based on Itzulia. I wish that I could like this post twice. Unless something drastic has changed, Hayter doesn’t enjoy bunch sprinting as has never been comfortable when the elbows get pointy on the road and his positioning in the bunch reflects this as he has a tendency to drift towards the back. If you have a team dedicated solely to shepherding you later in the race, it’s not too much of an issue, but INEOS doesn’t have this. I looked at INEOS’ roster earlier and it seems pretty disjointed. Maybe there is a subconscious admission of defeat knowing that Pogacar and Vingegaard look a level (or more) above everyone else? It sits very strangely though in a team that was at the forefront on changing the approach to data and equipment, but now doesn’t seem to have an actual set of tangible goals. sometimes in all in industries you get caught by your competitors and dont have the resources (riders) to compete their sole focus for so long was TDF everything else secondary that was great when they were winning it but makes them look so far behind when they are not. Even though they have had some success in other races its not good enough for their stature
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Post by Bod on Apr 9, 2024 15:06:40 GMT
I wish that I could like this post twice. Unless something drastic has changed, Hayter doesn’t enjoy bunch sprinting as has never been comfortable when the elbows get pointy on the road and his positioning in the bunch reflects this as he has a tendency to drift towards the back. If you have a team dedicated solely to shepherding you later in the race, it’s not too much of an issue, but INEOS doesn’t have this. I looked at INEOS’ roster earlier and it seems pretty disjointed. Maybe there is a subconscious admission of defeat knowing that Pogacar and Vingegaard look a level (or more) above everyone else? It sits very strangely though in a team that was at the forefront on changing the approach to data and equipment, but now doesn’t seem to have an actual set of tangible goals. sometimes in all in industries you get caught by your competitors and dont have the resources (riders) to compete their sole focus for so long was TDF everything else secondary that was great when they were winning it but makes them look so far behind when they are not. Even though they have had some success in other races its not good enough for their stature There are 18 WT teams. Only DSM and Cofidis have won fewer races than INEOS this season. Use whatever statistics necessary but they all add up to a woeful season thus far. What INEOS didn’t do though, which successful teams do, is look to develop a short-term future for themselves. They are nondescript.
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 9, 2024 15:33:16 GMT
sometimes in all in industries you get caught by your competitors and dont have the resources (riders) to compete their sole focus for so long was TDF everything else secondary that was great when they were winning it but makes them look so far behind when they are not. Even though they have had some success in other races its not good enough for their stature There are 18 WT teams. Only DSM and Cofidis have won fewer races than INEOS this season. Use whatever statistics necessary but they all add up to a woeful season thus far. What INEOS didn’t do though, which successful teams do, is look to develop a short-term future for themselves. They are nondescript. Totally agree. They frustrate the hell out of me. They don't have viable GT contenders anymore and no real Classics riders. Their roster is, as you say, disjointed to say the least, and they seem to have no plan long or short term to replace ageing riders, or those who leave for other/better teams, with any real quality. They are one of, if not the best funded teams in the World Tour yet they have become one of the lesser also-rans. They remind me of the cycling version of Stoke City. I can't believe Jim Ratcliffe is happy with the return for his investment.
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Post by salopstick on Apr 12, 2024 20:42:23 GMT
Bod hoping you will know If you do a border cycling route that goes from France to Switzerland Italy back to France would you carry your passport
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Apr 16, 2024 11:26:09 GMT
Ratcliffe must have been on the Oatcake because right on cue Pidcock wins Amstel (loves the race, hates the beer) and one of their more random signings Tobias Foss takes the first stage of Tour of the Alps.
Think I saw quotes/paraphrasing of Pidcock saying he's now thinking he won't ever totally focus on one discipine as it keeps him mentally fresh to do a bit of MTB and CX (hopefully those were up to date comments and I'm not misinforming you all). I think that's fine, but then they have to also ditch the idea of him being a grand tour GC guy. To be honest I don't really see him as that sort of rider anyway and think he should be going more for one-day and stages - he seems like he can be competitive in all 5 monuments and I think would win a couple of them if he went that direction.
He has had a few impressive days during Grand Tours where he has hung with the big guns on days with 3000m+ of climbing, but I think his best overall is still over half an hour down. Dedicating himself to GC might get him a top 5 but not the win, I can't see that being motivating for him in the long term.
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 21, 2024 15:40:54 GMT
Liege-Bastogne-Liege today. Pog does what Pog does. Best of it is that he told everyone before the race that he would attack on La Redoute, but nobody, including MVDP, was able to go with him. Impressive yet again.
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Post by salopstick on Apr 21, 2024 17:58:15 GMT
Liege-Bastogne-Liege today. Pog does what Pog does. Best of it is that he told everyone before the race that he would attack on La Redoute, but nobody, including MVDP, was able to go with him. Impressive yet again. Try and catch some highlights later. 100mile tour of Lancashire today mainly the bowlands ANOB Tough
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