All things Team Qhubeka NextHash

[Shebeen]

I say this with no attack or anything but you have no idea. The next answer to you is no, I am not going to spill the beans you want but there are reasons why LM is where he is at and its not what you are typing. 

 

Everyone is guilty of doing it, but its easy from the couch to look in and make assumptions why a rider is not performing and blame "X or Y" and yes, some things cannot be splashed on public forums or shouldn't be. 

 

 

ah you such a TEASE!

 

I don't think anyone is really pointing fingers in malice, but we all want our boytjie to perform! I don't think armchair experts need to apologize if they're "out of touch", the data we have out there is the results, and they're not looking good. His career trajectory has fallen off a cliff, BUT he didn't just become bad - he could get back there.

 

another common denominator is UAE - Aru also moved there and went "backwards". So while it is easy to say DDD got it wrong with LM, we just don't know!

[Ispeed_V]

I can't help feeling there is something amiss in DD management. They have massive talent but somehow manage to get the worst out of that talent.

 

Maybe they're emphasising the Qhubeka angle too much and not the win win win angle. Maybe that works for sponsorship and funding but it may drop them out of Pro Tour racing.

 

Either way I actually don't know enough to know what the problem is - I love following them and would love to see them perform to their potential (but am getting a little frustrated!).

 

Think you have hit the nail on the head.

 

If you take the recent Tour of Turkey and the fact that their inform sprinter (Gibbons) gets told that he has to ride in support of Cav and Renshaw and then gets told to sit up when he is in the mix, then you have to wonder?

[Eldron]

Think you have hit the nail on the head.

 

If you take the recent Tour of Turkey and the fact that their inform sprinter (Gibbons) gets told that he has to ride in support of Cav and Renshaw and then gets told to sit up when he is in the mix, then you have to wonder?

I also wondered about the decision to muzzle Gibbons when the race is only a come back race for Cav. That and Gibbo is the form rider!

[DieselnDust]

I also wondered about the decision to muzzle Gibbons when the race is only a come back race for Cav. That and Gibbo is the form rider!

 

 

Yip completely ass decision right there. Maybe the sponsors have too much sway over who gets the support.

[dsw]

Think you have hit the nail on the head.

 

If you take the recent Tour of Turkey and the fact that their inform sprinter (Gibbons) gets told that he has to ride in support of Cav and Renshaw and then gets told to sit up when he is in the mix, then you have to wonder?

 

Has it been confirmed that he was told to sit up when in the mix or is it only speculation?

 

I have heard that Gibbons was not 100% due to illness and also saw Cav doing quite a bit of work in front of the bunch for the team (Gibbons?)  during certain stages of the ToT.

[Cheese]

Tom Slagter on the move for DD in the final 40km with a strong group.

I think he came in the top 10 last year so the race suits him.

[Jakkals.]

At least they visible at the back of the peloton. 

[J Wakefield]

If it was just LM that had a drop in performance, I suspect there would be less of a fuss. The drop in team results is not just for this season, is it? This leads to questions of a common cause, eg problems with one or more of the following: organization (management etc), coaching or lack of "marginal gains".

 

And rightfully so these questions need to be asked, they underperforming a lot by any WT standard and its not good to see. As a SA team at heart I really want them to perform and succeed.

[J Wakefield]

Obviously you know more than we do and perhaps Louis has private reasons for falling below the public’s expectations

But he’s a pro sportsman and I’m pretty sure we the opinionated hubbers would rather see him achieving his goals than questioning his performance. So maybe it’s time he let us know in some way without divulging too much to set the record straight

Of course he has the right to keep quiet and it’s to be respected but then we as fans have the right to wonder and speculate however wildly and inaccurate

 

One thing is certain, we all wish him success

 

Agree, I would love him to perform beyond everyones expectations. 

[J Wakefield]

ah you such a TEASE!

 

I don't think anyone is really pointing fingers in malice, but we all want our boytjie to perform! I don't think armchair experts need to apologize if they're "out of touch", the data we have out there is the results, and they're not looking good. His career trajectory has fallen off a cliff, BUT he didn't just become bad - he could get back there.

 

another common denominator is UAE - Aru also moved there and went "backwards". So while it is easy to say DDD got it wrong with LM, we just don't know!

 

Spot on and correctly noted. However it took until now to figure out an underlying issue with Aru and hence his surgery. I thought as with many last year that this or that was the reason for his drop in performance. Without blowing smoke up my ass and having 1st hand information, it was totally the opposite of what I personally thought watching on TV last year. We all guilty at speculation or what we see but sometimes there are underlying issues and some riders or teams choose to or not to announce stuff.

 

Sometimes riders don't progress for whatever reason while the peloton does. So are they worse? No, the peloton is better. 

[Jakkals.]

Sounds like omerta

[Gen]

Spot on and correctly noted. However it took until now to figure out an underlying issue with Aru and hence his surgery. I thought as with many last year that this or that was the reason for his drop in performance. Without blowing smoke up my ass and having 1st hand information, it was totally the opposite of what I personally thought watching on TV last year. We all guilty at speculation or what we see but sometimes there are underlying issues and some riders or teams choose to or not to announce stuff.

 

Sometimes riders don't progress for whatever reason while the peloton does. So are they worse? No, the peloton is better.

A quick off topic bit.

 

How is Aru doing after the surgery.. everything a success?

[T-Bob]

Tom Slagter on the move for DD in the final 40km with a strong group.

I think he came in the top 10 last year so the race suits him.

 

Holy cow. Totally forgot they signed him. He was a talent and it was a gamble but hopefully he can get his career back on track. A few years back he was a great rider to watch. 

[J Wakefield]

A quick off topic bit.

 

How is Aru doing after the surgery.. everything a success?

 

Its still early but he is good and he is on the bike easy so for now a good success but I believe time will be the answer with this type of thing.

[Pure Savage]

Sometimes I wonder if they riding on the BMC’s or the buffalo bikes [emoji848]

[tubed]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/fleche-wallonne-2019/results/

 

Loved watching the last km of this race, at the bottom of the climb there are many riders from a good selection of teams all in with a shout, at the end we will probably only remember Alaphilippe and Fuglsang, the rest were so close but none of them count.

 

Sure its not a win for DD, but Gasparotto was right in there at the end, 10th, its the difference between a good couple of pedal strokes at the right time when Fuglsang went and being blocked by someone going backwards in front of you. The difference are so small, the results so big.

 

Unlucky for Kreuzinger.

 

Looking forward to Leige.