Oooooh yeah they definitely sandbag the comments. “We’ll see how the legs feel” 
Laporte has been the rider of the spring besides Pogacar IMHO. Wout getting the wins but Laporte looks like he is on fire.
1 Like
Is WVA defo out?
He did 130 miles Tuesday at 23mph then Wednesday motor pacing.
Seems a bit premature to rule out.
His team has said a start on Sunday is “unlikely” and he had to bail on the recon ride today.
Totally agree. You don’t get 3rd in a race as stupidly hard as that was if you’re not a 100% (or very close to it). That is of course not a guarantee of same form on sunday, and stomach problems can be difficult.
1 Like
I think he was dropped, he’s been ill. And as it stands he’s not riding Flanders. Could be good Amstel Gold option though.
Almost an obvious one considering the Sanremo win, but not mentioned so far: Mohoric. He won’t be the fastest up the steep bergs, but he was up there in E3 and Gent-Wevelgem, has amazing endurance, and goes well in long races. Plus no Dwars so fresh legs.
If the punchy riders like MVDP / Pogacar / Pidcock fail to go clear (or go clear but then start playing games), and we end up with a lead group of 8-12 on the flat run in to Oudenaarde, Mohoric would be a decent pick to escape for a solo win.
Stronger than Jumbo? Even without Wout they’re so strong in depth that I can’t believe they won’t get a place on the podium at least.
Yep, according to PCS he is out. Lots of swaps in/ out happening…
Yeah it was only Laporte who could stay with Wout up the Paterberg in E3…
Just re-watched and Pog was a bit unlucky. He got held up in the crash at about 71km, at which point Ineos started drilling it on the front all the way to the Berg Ten Houte climb, lining out the peloton. He had to try to get back to the front with pretty much no team mates and by the time he got there it was too late and the winning move had gone clear.
(Counterpoint to that - if Pog had been better positioned and stuck to Trentin’s wheel at the head of affairs, he’d have avoided the crash and gone into Berg Ten Houte up there with the leaders. But like you say, I’m sure he’ll be doing his best to stay at the pointy end on Sunday.)
One thing’s for certain: between his solo move from back end to front end of peloton, attempted solo bridge to a strong six-man chaingang, then subsequent 6 and 3 man chasing groups where he did a big chunk of the work, there’s definitely no issue with his fitness…
2 Likes
May I introduce all of you to our lord and saviour Victor C.?
6 Likes
Looks like you’re right. Dang!
IMHO I think they are both stronger, but heck at this level the difference is fractions of a percent. Most critically important to the outcome of the race, I think the new Pinarellos are the prettiest bike made, therefore INEOS will come away with the win
As a Sagan fan, I’m bummed he won’t be racing.
I’m guessing Pog is gonna go for a long one and it is a course that suits him well to do so….the question will be who goes with him or who is willing to chase. I can see a scenario where he gets away because everyone is looking at MVP / Alpecin to chase.
It is also just as possible that Pog and MVP end up cancelling each other out and wait for the other to make a move, etc.
Definitely worth watching. I didn’t have enough time to watch when the real split happened but the last 30-40k is pretty exciting.
He’s been making some super gutsy moves in the last year or so. It’s too bad that he rarely seems able to hold them to the finish though. 2 of his moves in DDV were probably good enough to be dangerous if the group behind just looked at eachother for a couple more seconds. I’m always surprised by the punch he has to get separation.
He’s a beast, but I can’t worship a stache like that
Wout confirmed out with COVID….fook.
But at least JV is being straight up about it and none of this “bronchitis” or “sickness” nonsense.
Hopefully he can recover for Roubaix, but seems kinda doubtful. The extra week in between this year will help, though.
5 Likes
It’s weird that there has been so much “bronchitis” with no discussion of COVID. Seems out of touch. Better to just come out and say it, move on.
3 Likes