Keegan & World Tour

Racing
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Yeah, that’s sort of what pro sports are I guess. I think about the 12th guy on an NBA bench, who never plays, and has to be so, so good at basketball just to sit and not play.

I’m not contending he would be one of those twenty guys or however many (though I would not say he can’t be either). I’m contending he would be in that next tier. A guy you see in breakaways often enough to know who he is, someone who is an important domestique for a big name, and maybe a team leader at smaller races. Or maybe the difference in racing style would be too great, no one really knows. But this isn’t like putting like a Zwift racer with massive power and no skills out there.

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6 hrs at Leadville is ridiculously fast. And then followed it up with a win at SBT GRVL the next day.

It will be interesting to see how he does. I’m guessing he’ll do surprisingly well given it’s his first road race in a while and at world champs level. A big question will be what’s his role on the team, and if he’ll be allowed to give it a go for himself.

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Keegan’s card to play is his endurance for longer events…he’s not as good at the shorter stuff. Fortunately Road Worlds is a long race.

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This is Keegan’s road bike for the Worlds (courtesy of Velonews)

Can anyone tell me the brand of those bottle cages? :eyes:

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Disappointed he didn’t ride one of these:

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Those are made by Santa Cruz! SCB Carbon Bottle Cages – Santa Cruz Bicycles

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I really like the tribute to Ben on Keegan’s bike. Such an amazing person and cyclist. Still crushing to think about. Great to see that he is not forgotten.

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Hopefully he will take the Varia mount off before the weekend. :joy:

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Maybe the Varia is to help spot fast approaching motorcycles like WVA.

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Or maybe give it to Julian Alaphilippe so he can put it in the front to avoid motorcycles that need to brake :wink:

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Need to angle it up to detect swooping magpies

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:rofl:

Swenson’s last road race went well. He won the 2021 John Lauck Memorial at Antelope Island in Syracuse, Utah, by a single second, making him the Utah state road race champion. A solid amateur result that, ahead of an elite world championship, is nonetheless akin to telling a man about to step into the ring with Conor McGregor that he’ll be just fine because he won a schoolyard fight as an eight-year-old.

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This article made me wonder how Keegan was able to get a visa so quickly but Lawson wasn’t.

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Was Lawson just trying to go for the TT, then skipped the RR because he couldn’t do the TT?

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I have been wondering the same thing since the announcement. Also about Lawson getting his visa 20 minutes after a flight the reason why he did not go? I’m sure the next flight would have pushed timing close, but sounds like an excuse to not go to me.

:man_shrugging:

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I’m super interested to see how this goes for Keegan.

Let’s be very clear though. Winning Leadville has very little relevance to the world champs tomorrow. Particularly, on this course. Having a strong diesel engine is irrelevant on this course. Everyone in the race has a strong diesel engine.

The metrics required to excel at the world’s are massive fatigue resistance, repeated anaerobic fatigue resistance, pack skills, dedicated team mates, perfect timing and a billion micro skills.

I actually know and have ridden with a few riders in the Jnr/U23 races. On paper, fantastic numbers etc. Translation to race results. Zippo. Dropped like a hot potato.

Racing at this level is really the only measurement of someone’s ability to do it.

On a whole this forum is dramatically metric driven. Road racing, particularly compared to TTs and long distance gravel is not won by power meters.

It’s won by racers. Insanely good racers, at this level.

The course is brutal. Almost anybody could win. As the previous races have shown, any kind of separation is the key. This course rewards attackers. Group two will always implode.

Keegan has dramatically less chance than any of the favorites, as he has no dedicated team working for him. The chances of victory are incredibly slim. Really, it could only come from him getting in the break and it going to the finish.

He is a racer, so you never know.

I suspect it’s one of the favorites, purely because of team support. After watching the first races on the course, picking a winner is close to a random guess.

It suits Pogacar the most. He’s got to be the favorite.

I have noticed the downhill seems to really handicap the lighter riders. So if Pog or Remco don’t get away early, a bigger rider wins.

Wout, MVDP, even someone like Dylan Van Baarle.

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The metrics are still a critical ticket for entry.

I’m not sure that Keegan’s MTB skill will automatically translate to the road course, but that U19 race showed that this race could in fact be won on the descent - especially in the wet - so long as someone posseses a ticket to the party that is the final lap.

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Reminds of a comment a dean at a very selective (<12% acceptance rate) college has said to the parents of incoming students to help frame the parent’s expectations around the academic experience that awaits their daughter/son, “50% of the students will be in the bottom half of their class.”

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I read something about Harvard where they try to help the bottom 25% be successful. It’s a huge ego blow for many students to go from the brainicac of their local high school to scraping bottom at Harvard.

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https://www.unibet.com/betting/sports/event/1018978915

Betting odds have Keegan higher than expected.