Yeah but had he just sat in he would have won. He was the strongest. No one could keep up with him when he went and if he did that on the final loop there would be no catching him and if they did the others would have towed Roglic. Roglic was gassed from the TdF. if he was not he would be able to jump on Alaphilippe. Or Roglic just does not have the jump of these guys in single day races. So he was never the man for this.

I doubt that. The field let him go. It stayed a giant group with the Belgians on the front and heavy sprinters like Michael Matthews still there. It didn't string out in ones and twos as guys tried to match the effort. Which is what happens when everyone's trying to keep up. Like when Alaphillipe went there were sirens going off and the field utterly detonated. When Pogacar went the field let the likes of Tiesj Benoot and Tim Wellens continued to lead the way methodically up the hill. The Slovenian plan was probably either hope that someone good went with Pogacar. But no one took the bait, and he was stranded out there alone.

He might have been able to go with Alaphillipe's punch up the final climb. Certainly could have made that first chase group. But I wouldn't claim "he would have won."

In retrospect the correct move would have been for both Poagacar and Roglic to have made the chase group. Then one of them could have committed to the chase 100% while the other sat back. Or better yet, put someone with Alaphillipe and one in the case group. That way they could both sit in.

But I think it's easier said then done to go with the Alaphillipe attack, even for Pogacar.

Yeah, if they kept their powder dry for the final lap, send one guy with Julian and the other guy hang out with the chasers, that would have been the perfect strategy, but looks like Roglic was not strong enough anyway to go with Julian, so it would have had to be Pogacar and maybe he was not strong enough (as you said). So then the two of them are in the chase group, but they are towing Van Aert....they would have had to drop Van Aert before top of climb. As long as Van Aert is around, basically no one will chase.

To the contrary, he might have watched J-V dismantle Ineos by going early and shedding those guys. If Pogacar doesn't get rid of Belgians or at least tire them out then he and Rolic have no chance. GvA could have gone and then you have a scenario to chase him or deal with WvA. Or if WvA has one person to do the work on flats and then it's game over in sprint. The underdogs have to be aggressive.

Disagree. They should have used Roglic for that move, not Pogacar, even if you say the move was the right one, they used the wrong guy. Or they could have saved it for the two climbs on the final loop. Doing it where Van Der Bruggen did it might have worked in the women's field, but not in this men's field. It was a bad use of their strengths at the wrong time.

Roglic was the designated leader, he has a better kick on flat finish. Pog’s job was to soften the field and get rid of WvA’s helpers in finale by making them chase. Bike racing 101.

He's on the start list for Fleche this week. He has won it previously, correct?

No Loulou in Fleche https://www.cyclingweekly.com/...astogne-liege-470570 (Yes, he has won the last two years.)

What is this "strongest" you speak of? This is bike racing.

The best racer won that race. The strongest was clearly Wout. Strongest team, strongest in the chase by far.

Pogacar was racing for his pal Roglic who was in the top ten, so not cooked. Maybe braized. Lots of cooked TdF guys dnf'd.

Tom Dom looked to be racing for his teammate as well.

No Fulgsang or Wout either. Lutsenko probably out since he tested positive for COVID and actually had symptoms.

That should make for an interesting bike race. Porte, Uran, and Dumoulin are all troopers, dragging their bodies from the TdF to Worlds, then the Fleche.

This is one where @dev may be able to bolster his point about Pogacar, since he might be a favorite to launch up the Mur in the absence of the elite puncheurs.

Tough to call, but my preliminary list:

Hirschi, Ulissi, Cavagna
Kamna, Caruso

Great picks.

And the entire country of Belgium is crying on Twitter about Roglic not riding for WvA after WvA helping him in the Tour.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Yeah, they can shut it. They're not on the same damn team for that one day.

But I truly believe Roglic's claim that he was on the limit. He did not look good...and he backed it up by rolling into the finish last in the group.

They need to get off his back. It was clear, he had little to nothing to give at that point. Hard to even hang with Wout at that point.

Interesting, no Alaphillippe? I was under the impression that he would be defending his title

As much as I'm enjoying all the racing going on, the condensed calendar must make for some tough choices.

See slow_bob's post above a bit. He just pulled out.

Think you are right - not as easy to win when you are heavily marked which he rightfully will be moving forward. LFF has seen a little of that as well after his big break out year. Classics racing is so team driven these days most of these guys (Sagan, WvA, Van der Poel, etc.) should be looking to team up with another contender as I just don't think there are many more days where the strongest guy can just run everyone off their wheels. If CCC wasn't such a train wreck and GVA was willing to work with someone, he and Trentin should be a lethal combo with a shot of one of them surviving the DQS machine each race. A lot was made of Oss joining up with Sagan, and I like Oss, but he is not a threat - he's a diesel engine. Not sure these types' egos work well with team tactics, but man they could win a lot more races overall in this era if they were willing to work in pairs/small groups.

WVA actually screwed that entire chase group - no one was going to work with him except Roglic who was cooked. He needed to either pull it back himself then hope he had the legs to still win the sprint or, as it happened, grab the silver. If WVA isn't there, they work together and have a real shot at catching LFF knowing LFF's sprint will be a little blunted and after 7 hours it's a real toss up.

Not sure how calculated the timing of LFF's attack was, but he brilliantly stayed hidden all day then attacked when WVA was in the lead group. He had to know that would only help his chances as no one was going to pull WVA to the line. Just not sure if he went at the moment due to WVA being up front or if everything just fell together at the spot he marked to attack from the beginning of the race.

Not sure if Nibali just was running out of gas and wanted a little "attack" coverage, but not sure why he decided to try it on an easy part of the easier climb. They still had their entire team at that point - seems like they should have saved those same tactics for the last climb.

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

And there's the problem that WVA is going to face this year (and likely every year) of his classics career. His sprint is so strong that no one will want to work with him. Much like Sagan for a few years, though Sagan tended to lose his edge in the sprint at the end of 250k so there were a few guys who were fine working with him (GVA, Kwiat). WVA doesn't seem to have that issue and so fewer riders are going to want to help tow him to the line.

Exactly why, just after the "chase" group crested the climb Sunday, I was screaming at WvA: sprint NOW, then time trial solo. By then it was his only chance.

I liked WvA's pushback on those criticizing Roglic, something to the degree of "I was there for a front row seat and saw how he was." A couple times it was obvious he could barely get back on after taking pulls. The winners of those races always say they basically have one bullet to use. And like Trentin last year and Alaphilippe the one before, Roglic came up empty in the finale.

Think Fuglesang Astana's man for Giro. Good lineup of races this week.

Not sure I agree that Kwiat and GVA were fine working with him. Kwiat in particular has always smartly made him do the lion's share of the work in order to have him flat at the end. In San Remo he also successfully baited Sagan to start the sprint too early allowing him to edge by when he faded. Sagan was still the fastest of the three after attacking and dragging them both to the line, he just went too soon and faded short of the line. Kwiat is a smart racer - he's not "working" with Sagan to bring him to the line for a heads up sprint - he's simply "working" him over.

WVA will be marked and will get the Sagan treatment unless he teams up with another threat. He seems willing to work with/for others so if he could find another talent with a similar disposition, I think it would be dangerous.

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

Here's to hoping that M vdP finds better form, so those two could continue their CX duels on the road