Zurich 2024 - World Championship Road Race

[DJuice]

56 minutes ago, madmarc said:

I'm not happy !! - Where the hell am i supposed to find the money to buy a V4rs WC limited edition. 

First they make these things so damn expensives and then they go out and win the WC - What were they thinking 🤑

Buy the WC edition!

[SwissVan]

32 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

Tadej proved, again, that this season he has no equal. The race result is a fitting summary to his dominance and the culmination of what I would certainly deem to be a generation-defining season. 

Long may he reign.

The guy is so good it becomes unbelievable.

i mean how can 1 guy amongst all the worlds elite level cyclists be so much better than the others ?

 

[mecheng89]

5 minutes ago, SwissVan said:

The guy is so good it becomes unbelievable.

i mean how can 1 guy amongst all the worlds elite level cyclists be so much better than the others ?

 

He outwitted them, and somehow had the legs to back it up. He took a huge gamble, and you know the saying. 

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

He outwitted them, and somehow had the legs to back it up. He took a huge gamble, and you know the saying. 

I get where SwissVan is coming from, 1 guy dominating the season, given the sketchy history of doping in cycling it does make a person question this dominance. 

For cycling's sake i hope he is clean, cycling does not need another doping scandal. 

[Underachiever]

1 hour ago, mecheng89 said:

Tadej proved, again, that this season he has no equal. The race result is a fitting summary to his dominance and the culmination of what I would certainly deem to be a generation-defining season. 

Long may he reign.

Pity he did not race Olympics!!

[Vetplant]

2 minutes ago, SwissVan said:

The guy is so good it becomes unbelievable.

i mean how can 1 guy amongst all the worlds elite level cyclists be so much better than the others ?

 

I am a strong believer that the result would have been different if Wout was there. 

Tadej would have been brought back and Remco would have gone off into the distance.

Would you have said the same? Or is your scrutiny reserved for Tadej only?

[W@nted]

1 hour ago, mecheng89 said:

He outwitted them, and somehow had the legs to back it up. He took a huge gamble, and you know the saying. 

He also outwitted them in the Giro and the TdF... Look, I am a huge fan, but jeez, he is on another level. The way he rode the guys in the break off his wheel is just crazy. 

I think he might be the reason some guys retire a bit early. He raised the level above the "normal" pro level this year.

[W@nted]

4 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

I am a strong believer that the result would have been different if Wout was there. 

Tadej would have been brought back and Remco would have gone off into the distance.

Would you have said the same? Or is your scrutiny reserved for Tadej only?

I do not think so. After 250km, everyone were on empty legs. But Tadej still managed to stay away. Wout might have helped to chase, but I doubt the end result would have been different.

[W@nted]

That said, MvdP was crazy strong last year during worlds. But to dominate during grand tours and worlds, 2024 has been special for Tadej!

[Vetplant]

8 minutes ago, W@nted said:

I do not think so. After 250km, everyone were on empty legs. But Tadej still managed to stay away. Wout might have helped to chase, but I doubt the end result would have been different.

I respect your difference of opinion, and we will never know.

IMHO, Wout in his prime would have been strong enough to be in the fight alongside Remco, which means one of them could have committed to chasing Tadej while the other one rested at the back to launch themselves. The chasers were catching Tadej when they were separated in groups of 2, but their collective chase collapsed the moment they came back together.

[W@nted]

2 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

I respect your difference of opinion, and we will never know.

IMHO, Wout in his prime would have been strong enough to be in the fight alongside Remco, which means one of them could have committed to chasing Tadej while the other one rested at the back to launch themselves. The chasers were catching Tadej when they were separated in groups of 2, but their collective chase collapsed the moment they came back together.

I agree, I think it would have been closer and maybe left  Evenepoel with some matches left in the end to attack. Would love to see the big 4 (Pog, Evenepoel, MvdP and Wout) next year all on peak form.

[W@nted]

What happened to Roglic and Pidcock though?

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Sadly, if there's one thing cycling has taught us over the years is that if looks too good to be true, then it probably isn't true. Excuse my jaded viewpoint but we've been down this rocky road far too many times to just except that someone is so much more talented or physiologically different to the rest. The only consolation is that if he's on rocket fuel, so are the rest and his octane is just better. Impressive ride nevertheless, to hold the worlds best at under a minute for so long must have been a mind f*$k of note.

On that note, I enjoyed the women's race more than the men's this year. It had far more excitement, even with Vollering being a total plonker and riding her team mates off meaning the Dutch missed the podium altogether 🙈

[sias]

4 minutes ago, BuffsVintageBikes said:

even with Vollering being a total plonker and riding her team mates off 

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that! 

[Titleist]

Pogi didn't win the race, the others lost it while looking at one another deciding who will ride in front. He took a huge gamble and the bickering helped him. He was the only one who was willing to take the risk to see how it plays out.

[SwissVan]

1 hour ago, Vetplant said:

I am a strong believer that the result would have been different if Wout was there. 

Tadej would have been brought back and Remco would have gone off into the distance.

Would you have said the same? Or is your scrutiny reserved for Tadej only?

Once bitten twice shy, I’ve been down this road with he who may not be mentioned before.

I believe that there was enough horsepower in the peleton to bring him back as soon as he broke away and that the other top contenders mucked it up by letting him get away. Although it could be said that the gamble to let him go nearly paid off at the end…..but the other top contenders suffered the usual roadie rubber neck syndrome of looking backwards instead of forwards