Tour de France 2018

[Plentipotential]

 Wout Poels apparently earns more than Tommy D!!!

 

That's cos he's better than TD.

 

Let me explain. He gets paid to support a team mate to win a grand tour, this he has done on a number of occasions. TD gets paid to win a grand tour, this he has done once.

[shaper]

[Shebeen]

That's cos he's better than TD.

 

Let me explain. He gets paid to support a team mate to win a grand tour, this he has done on a number of occasions. TD gets paid to win a grand tour, this he has done once.

So Shane Watson is a better cricketer than ABdV?

Griesman a better footballer than Messi?

 

Nice logic there

[Butterbean]

How amazing is SKY!

Takes a man who finished 2nd last in 2007 to TDF winner in 2018,

there's hope for me If I join SKY

You realise that was more than ten years ago?? Surely if he was still doing so you would be questioning their methods because they can't develop a rider?

 

Just the silliest logic in the world right now...

[Rick Sanchez]

Not sure how GT won using those old Oakley Jawbones, like, has he not seen the Cavendish Jawbreaker wind tunnel footage?!

[Gen]

Not sure how GT won using those old Oakley Jawbones, like, has he not seen the Cavendish Jawbreaker wind tunnel footage?!

There is a story behind those oakleys.. it is quite a funny one.

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[DieselnDust]

You realise that was more than ten years ago?? Surely if he was still doing so you would be questioning their methods because they can't develop a rider?

Just the silliest logic in the world right now...

 

My my sensitive tonight aren't we

[nochain]

This can obviously be attributed to the Skybots' dominance.

 

Sunweb's budget is estimated to be below half of that of Sky's.

This places TummyD's performance into perspective.

The same for Movistar. Also estimated than less than half, slightly more than Sunweb's budget.

 

The results are clear with 6 out of 7 victories in the biggest race.

Ironically, the Skybots attract more prize money and also more sponsorship resources as they continue to dominate.

 

It remains a conundrum for road cycling with specific reference to the Grand Tours.

The Steppers are by far the most successful team overall wrt total victories.

Lots of talk around budget..so was thinking about this a bit.

What would money change right now?

The answer most will give is buy more riders? Consensus is that they all doing the same things all ready..marginal gains is nonsense because its nothing new and information is available to all.

Sunweb already has one of the strongest riders in the world as leader..I see only 13 seconds between him and Froome if you combine Giro and tour times.

They already one of the strongest TTT squads in the world..current world champs.

 

So buy more riders..??

What will that change..you can't out control the controller??

Attack more..send more riders up the road? Have more leaders? All sound like things already done..Lotto tried it..Movistar tried it.

Take just this race as an example..how would more money have changed the outcome?

Interested in some views on this?

Thomas was the strongest rider in the tour..in my view he would have won this race even if he was on a different team.

[Pure Savage]

Lots of talk around budget..so was thinking about this a bit.

What would money change right now?

The answer most will give is buy more riders? Consensus is that they all doing the same things all ready..marginal gains is nonsense because its nothing new and information is available to all.

Sunweb already has one of the strongest riders in the world as leader..I see only 13 seconds between him and Froome if you combine Giro and tour times.

They already one of the strongest TTT squads in the world..current world champs.

 

So buy more riders..??

What will that change..you can't out control the controller??

Attack more..send more riders up the road? Have more leaders? All sound like things already done..Lotto tried it..Movistar tried it.

Take just this race as an example..how would more money have changed the outcome?

Interested in some views on this?

Thomas was the strongest rider in the tour..in my view he would have won this race even if he was on a different team.

Lotto tried it, Movistar were not even at the Tour... They are targeting the Vuelta...

 

What would happen if you had an endless budget is you would buy Bernal, you would buy Kwaito, you would buy Thomas, would would buy Roglic, you would buy Terpstra. 

 

But to do that you need very, very deep pockets.

[Vetplant]

Thomas was the strongest rider in the tour..in my view he would have won this race even if he was on a different team.

Sorry, this might come across as nitpicking, but it is a general comment on your entire post:

 

So you say that if Thomas was in Team Dimension Data this yeae he would have taken the yellow jersey to Paris?

 

I highly doubt it, and I think a couple of people would agree with me.

 

Deep pockets give you so much more than just the best riders, you can get the best of everything:doctors, meds, lawyers, TUEs, training equipment, nutrition, support staff, hotel accommodation.

 

Money isn't everything, but it is way more important than your post made it out to be.

[nochain]

Lotto tried it, Movistar were not even at the Tour... They are targeting the Vuelta...

 

What would happen if you had an endless budget is you would buy Bernal, you would buy Kwaito, you would buy Thomas, would would buy Roglic, you would buy Terpstra.

 

But to do that you need very, very deep pockets.

Yes but that just shifts the power to another team..so you still have dominance?

Bernal is the only rider in that lineup that I think is exceptional..the rest was made into what they are over time.

These riders are good at what they do because they train like that..they train for a job.Surely Sunweb can do the same?

But then again what will more pacesetters change?

Drafting up a climb is drafting..the color of the jersey in front of you make no difference.

Good example of making a difference is Bernal when Froome dropped..that probably kept him on the podium.But Thomas did not have the need for t3ge in this tour..same goes fir Roglic and Tom.

['Dale]

@nochain,

 

Team strength is integral to individual success especially in decisive moments like the team time trial and the high mountains. When there's 7 riders in the final phase of a summit finalè, and 3 riders are on the same team, the value of tactical options available is massive, not to mention the psychological benefits.

 

The number of time trial national champions within the Team Sky outfit is worth noting.

 

All this places Dumoulin's performance in perspective.

He is a fantastic GT challenger and will inevitably wear yellow into Paris, barriing illness or injury.

['Dale]

PS Road cycling is a team sport. Quite a game of chess. The stronger your pieces. Viola!

[Butterbean]

My my sensitive tonight aren't we

Not at all... I took up cycling and the surrounding interests post Lance, so I am neither disillusioned nor spurned regarding cyclists' creative pharmaceutical and chemical exploits...

 

But I would love you to explain how your observation leads us to believe G has won this tour doped up? Since 11 years ago he was able to finish second last... Go ahead.

[dev null]

Froome is very far from retiring and still good enough for 2 or 3 grand tour victories imo.

 

Thomas will probably get a much improved contract from Sky... apparently it will be be about £.3.5 a year. 

 

My guess is that Froome and Thomas will have to negotiate with Brailsford to decide which one will win the TdF 2019 .... the other one can get the Giro.

 

They will have to give the Vuelta to Bernal as he is too good to be a domestique again. 

 

 

If you push Bernal too hard now he will fail. He is still too young to handle the pressure of being a team captain. He has talent, but it must be nurtured. Look at what happened to Van Garderen when they also said he had heaps of talent as GC rider.

[HeadDown]

Sorry, this might come across as nitpicking, but it is a general comment on your entire post:

 

So you say that if Thomas was in Team Dimension Data this yeae he would have taken the yellow jersey to Paris?

 

I highly doubt it, and I think a couple of people would agree with me.

 

Deep pockets give you so much more than just the best riders, you can get the best of everything:doctors, meds, lawyers, TUEs, training equipment, nutrition, support staff, hotel accommodation.

 

Money isn't everything, but it is way more important than your post made it out to be.

This. Money is power. Lawyers rule.