Who is going to bag all Five monuments next?

[Shebeen]

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/monuments-men-classics-sweep-hard/

it's very hard to complete this set. It was done in the 50s and the 70s, Sean Kelly came achingly close in the 80s (2nd in Flanders when he already had the other four).

PhilGil got two 3rds at MSR, but couldn't crack it when it was the missing piece of the puzzle.

Is it even possible in today's peleton? MvdP and Pog now have three each, but the final two will be difficult to pull off.

Is it worth a rider focussing a season on?

[Shebeen]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_monument

 

https://www.procyclingstats.com/statistics/monuments/most-wins

EM the beast

[lechatnoir]

11 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_monument

 

https://www.procyclingstats.com/statistics/monuments/most-wins

EM the beast

Cycling back in EM's day was a different thing, so comparisons are tricky, but it's obvious he was on another level. He won sprints (ok, not against today's specialists), he won in the high mountains (there were specialists), he had the hour record, he won all the monuments and emphatically as well.

Clearly, Pog and Remco are on another level, but Merckx was a few steps even higher.

[Frosty]

I would vote: Unlikely to happen, as “Never” is a long time.

Between MvdP and Pogačar:

I think MvdP stands a better chance given that he’s done all 5 monuments; we know what he’s capable of. 6th at LBL, 10th at Lombardia but 6 minutes down. This could be his missing one due to the nature of the course.

[Bub Marley]

I think Pog is the most likely to win. Paris Roubaix will be his biggest challenge. I think he will win MSR because of that uphill before the finish. He almost did it this year and I’m confident that there will be a year where he will manage to get the gap he requires. And then hold it on the descent. Paris Roubaix is a different story though. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tackles this when he’s older, and maybe he’s not focused on the Grand Tours. Perhaps put on a few kilos and get a bit more muscular. This will be a challenge for him.

 

MVDP for will struggle to win Lombardia because it has proper climbs and not just minor hill bumps. I think its more likely Pog will win at Paris Roubaix versus MVDP at Lombardia.

[dev null]

The competition at the top is just to fierce for any single rider to dominate.

[lechatnoir]

38 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

I think Pog is the most likely to win. Paris Roubaix will be his biggest challenge. I think he will win MSR because of that uphill before the finish. He almost did it this year and I’m confident that there will be a year where he will manage to get the gap he requires. And then hold it on the descent. Paris Roubaix is a different story though. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tackles this when he’s older, and maybe he’s not focused on the Grand Tours. Perhaps put on a few kilos and get a bit more muscular. This will be a challenge for him.

 

MVDP for will struggle to win Lombardia because it has proper climbs and not just minor hill bumps. I think its more likely Pog will win at Paris Roubaix versus MVDP at Lombardia.

+1 for Pog when he's older. For now, I'd guess that the classics season is a side-hustle for him, with TdF being the biggest prize. 

I'm not too clued up on Lombardia, but I've read the route varies and some flavours suit certain rider types, so somewhere, perhaps a route will suit VDP...? PR is cast in stone (literally) so Pog knows what to aim at - gain some mass and hammer... seems so simple

[Vetplant]

MvdP vs Pog:
I think MvdP might consider focusing an entire season to building towards those "final-2" monuments to complete the set. The inverse of what Pog needs to do, which is to build muscle mass, MvdP will need to give up some of his Classics Power to be an excellent climber to knock off the final two. 

Out of the options provided, I think MvdP has the higher probability of reaching 5. Pog CAN do it, but he needs a lot more luck than MvdP does.

WvA:
Even though WvA only has 1 monument, which is MSR, he has the one that is very tricky one to get. I think Wout is actually more balanced and have less adaptation required to be ready for the various challenges of the remaining monuments.

-Flanders he lost in a photo finish to MvdP in 2020. (Within Reach)
-Roubaix, 2nd in 2022, 3rd in 2023. (Within reach)
-LBL, 3rd in 2022. (Within reach)
-Lombardia...... loading:

"The Giro di Lombarida is definitely an option this year," van Aert told Wielerrevue. "If I want to be successful there, I need specific preparation with a training camp at altitude. And I noticed that it is difficult to make three peaks of form during the road season." The Italian monument is the only one van Aert has not raced until today, but that may change in 2023.

PS.He won on the Mont Ventoux stage, so he can climb. (LBL and Lombardia)

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

I would vote: Unlikely to happen, as “Never” is a long time.

 

i would edit it, but then i won't have any Roxette tracks to post

1 hour ago, Bub Marley said:

 

 

MVDP for will struggle to win Lombardia because it has proper climbs and not just minor hill bumps. I think its more likely Pog will win at Paris Roubaix versus MVDP at Lombardia.

This is the great unknown! Also, while Pog has that TdF distraction, MvdP also has that mtb/cx distraction too.

1 hour ago, dev null said:

The competition at the top is just to fierce for any single rider to dominate.

one would think so, but maybe like fed/nadal/djoke a few could share the victories between them.

1 hour ago, lechatnoir said:

+1 for Pog when he's older. For now, I'd guess that the classics season is a side-hustle for him, with TdF being the biggest prize. 

I'm not too clued up on Lombardia, but I've read the route varies and some flavours suit certain rider types, so somewhere, perhaps a route will suit VDP...? PR is cast in stone (literally) so Pog knows what to aim at - gain some mass and hammer... seems so simple

Pog going for PR would be an awesome thing to witness, but how it would actually work on race day? 

1 hour ago, Vetplant said:

MvdP vs Pog:
I think MvdP might consider focusing an entire season to building towards those "final-2" monuments to complete the set. The inverse of what Pog needs to do, which is to build muscle mass, MvdP will need to give up some of his Classics Power to be an excellent climber to knock off the final two. 

Out of the options provided, I think MvdP has the higher probability of reaching 5. Pog CAN do it, but he needs a lot more luck than MvdP does.

WvA:
Even though WvA only has 1 monument, which is MSR, he has the one that is very tricky one to get. I think Wout is actually more balanced and have less adaptation required to be ready for the various challenges of the remaining monuments.

-Flanders he lost in a photo finish to MvdP in 2020. (Within Reach)
-Roubaix, 2nd in 2022, 3rd in 2023. (Within reach)
-LBL, 3rd in 2022. (Within reach)
-Lombardia...... loading:

 

WvA is the joker in the pack. he could quite conceivably pick this off systematically. and by extension ditto for pidcock who has zero.

 

This is one helluva interesting scenario. I'd like some rich geezer(or company) to put out a SOLID reward challenge for this. Like a $5m dollar prize purse, to make it worthwhile.

[lechatnoir]

27 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

<snip>

WvA is the joker in the pack. he could quite conceivably pick this off systematically. and by extension ditto for pidcock who has zero.

 

I wonder how TPid would do... he's a lightie (56kg) and there are gaps between cobbles that are bigger!! I realise he's a great MTBer and CXer, but PR isn't those... I'm curious. He should enter!!

[DieselnDust]

Nice topic to discuss.

do we have all the right riders In the poll?

I can’t Pidcock winning more than 1 or 2. maybe we need more riders in that mix to give this thread the legs it deserves 

[Underachiever]

3 hours ago, Bub Marley said:

I think Pog is the most likely to win. Paris Roubaix will be his biggest challenge. I think he will win MSR because of that uphill before the finish. He almost did it this year and I’m confident that there will be a year where he will manage to get the gap he requires. And then hold it on the descent. Paris Roubaix is a different story though. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tackles this when he’s older, and maybe he’s not focused on the Grand Tours. Perhaps put on a few kilos and get a bit more muscular. This will be a challenge for him.

 

MVDP for will struggle to win Lombardia because it has proper climbs and not just minor hill bumps. I think its more likely Pog will win at Paris Roubaix versus MVDP at Lombardia.

Snap!

[jcza]

Pog has a chance but will battle with MSR and PR. 

WvA if he changes teams. 

MvP - Lombardia is a problem. 

Remco - not sure he'll survive the cobbles of Roubaix. 

The next youngster.............don't know his name yet. 

[Shebeen]

7 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Nice topic to discuss.

do we have all the right riders In the poll?

I can’t Pidcock winning more than 1 or 2. maybe we need more riders in that mix to give this thread the legs it deserves 

 

Pidcock is indeed a long shot, but who else?

If you select AN Other, then tell us who you think?

there's guys like Kristoff/Stuyven/ Sags who are on the board but not really realistic to make it that far

[edgarblount]

9 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Nice topic to discuss.

do we have all the right riders In the poll?

I can’t Pidcock winning more than 1 or 2. maybe we need more riders in that mix to give this thread the legs it deserves 

Agree...Josh Tarling...Georges van Aert...Raymond van der Poel (Mathieu's future son)

[Shebeen]

Alaphillipe is not mentioned

He is just 1 from 21 in monument starts, but with 8 top 5 he could take some away from the others on the list.