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Tejay
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was going to post during the tdf before tejay had a his bad day.
i was hopeful and thought he had a chance to be a top rider this season.
he's only 29 and just saw he's changing teams.

i still think he can become a gc contender, was wondering what y'all think - especially those that follow cycling a lot more than me...
Last edited by: stoobie: Aug 7, 18 17:53
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Re: Tejay [stoobie] [ In reply to ]
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There's hope! Geraint Thomas just won the Tour, he was often thought of as the guy who couldn't ever put it together or always had back luck, etc. He's also a couple of years older than Tejay. The only thing that is a bit suspect is his team, sort of a team where careers go to wind down.
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Re: Tejay [stoobie] [ In reply to ]
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No way. He can't hack it.

You can't even bother mentioning him in the same sentence as Gerraint, who has had a stellar career before the grand tour attempt with Olympic and World Championship medals and race wins.

Apples to bowling balls.
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Re: Tejay [stoobie] [ In reply to ]
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I think most reasonable people are hoping he can get back to a level where he can be a passable domestic on a team that's shooting for a gc finisher in the top 10.
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Re: Tejay [stoobie] [ In reply to ]
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I hope the change of scenery does him some good. He seems to be better at the week long stage races, so maybe a change in his race program will work out well.
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Re: Tejay [WILLEATFORFOOD] [ In reply to ]
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WILLEATFORFOOD wrote:
I think most reasonable people are hoping he can get back to a level where he can be a passable domestic on a team that's shooting for a gc finisher in the top 10.


"Passable domestique". Oh please. Enough with internet denizens all trying to impress each other with the most creative Tejay hate.

10 Grand Tour finishes in 12 starts. That stat alone puts him in pretty elite company, and should shush people who like to pontificate on "mental toughness." 3 in the top 10 GC. With 3 wins and numerous podiums in 7-day tours.

Dude's a reliable aerobic machine. Gonna be a Grand Tour GC contender? No. But pretty elite super domestique, at worst. He can sure be someone's Wout Poels and contend in TT and any 7-day event.

Far and away the best American male cyclist right now (though Phinney is showing signs of being fully back), and I'm inclined to think he's clean.

We Americans should support, rather than ridicule, our best, hardest-working talent.
Last edited by: trail: Aug 7, 18 22:33
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Re: Tejay [rubik] [ In reply to ]
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+1 and I really want him to be but the reality is as you said he can't hack it...

"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"
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Re: Tejay [trail] [ In reply to ]
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I don't think Tejay has the mentality to be a super domestique. He still has delusions of being a leader and can't quite bury himself for someone else.
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Re: Tejay [stonerider] [ In reply to ]
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seriously? what are you basing this on?
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Re: Tejay [stoobie] [ In reply to ]
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stoobie wrote:
....i still think he can become a gc contender, was wondering what y'all think - especially those that follow cycling a lot more than me...
Nope. He's a decent rider but never someone I seriously expect to be among the GC contenders at a grand tour. I think those who've said he's a contender in the last couple of years are either selling something or it's just wishful thinking because he's the best US hope at the moment. Wishful thinking is perfectly normal, in my case - keep imagining Dan Martin is in with a shot, but at least that has some chance of happening. Tejay, I really can't see it.
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Re: Tejay [trail] [ In reply to ]
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Making an honest assessment of Tejay's game is not "hate." Playing the "hate" card is a shut-down play -- a sign you have no serious argument.

Tejay started out great, but those top-5's were in his early years when nobody saw him as a threat. They were a long time ago. A long, long time ago in pro cycling years. I have pulled for him all these years . . . but nothing is more common than a hopeful, then disappointed, Tejay fan.

And Tejay has never impressed as a very capable or committed domestique in a 3-week tour. When he's most needed, he has tended to get dropped. He seems to be preserving his energy for himself. Easy for the top contenders to eliminate. It is commendable that he's still in the game, but saying that he's a good domestique or "super" domestique is just silly. He has never played that role very well. Maybe he's got the potential to turn that around . . . but we haven't seen it anywhere yet.

I support Tejay, but part of supporting somebody is telling them the truth. I wouldn't lie to him. He's not a contender. Unless his mode of operation changes dramatically, he's not a reliable domestique. I think he can win some one-week races so long as none of the top 12 GC contenders are present. That's not hate. That's reality. Can he be expected to beat Froome, Thomas, Bernal, Landa, Quintana, Yates, Porte, Bardet, Nibali, DuMoulin, Martin, Uran head-to-head . . . ever? No, he can't. It's not realistic or kind to ask him to.
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Re: Tejay [buzz] [ In reply to ]
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See the Post from @FlashBazbo in this thread. He sums up my feelings perfectly.
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Re: Tejay [trail] [ In reply to ]
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Well, Phinney, TVG, and Lawson Craddock will be on a team together...they could actually have a nice TTT.
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Re: Tejay [Andres] [ In reply to ]
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Andres wrote:
There's hope! Geraint Thomas just won the Tour, he was often thought of as the guy who couldn't ever put it together or always had back luck, etc. He's also a couple of years older than Tejay. The only thing that is a bit suspect is his team, sort of a team where careers go to wind down.

Indeed, the careers of Wiggins, Hesjedal, Vande Velde, and Uran certainly wound down on Slipstream. And of course you're right, that organization doesn't seem to utilize the same toolbox as Sky when it comes to creating grand tour contenders.
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Re: Tejay [TJV] [ In reply to ]
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rubik wrote:
Apples to bowling balls.

LMAO. I like that.

Trail wrote:
Far and away the best American male cyclist right now (though Phinney is showing signs of being fully back), and I'm inclined to think he's clean.

We Americans should support, rather than ridicule, our best, hardest-working talent.

here, here. the guy is a fine rider, if he never does another thing, he's done well.
personally, since we're all TJ's internet-based managers, I wish he'd drop the GC idea and be a stager.
he's got some skills, he could win some stages.
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Re: Tejay [trail] [ In reply to ]
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trail wrote:
WILLEATFORFOOD wrote:
I think most reasonable people are hoping he can get back to a level where he can be a passable domestic on a team that's shooting for a gc finisher in the top 10.


"Passable domestique". Oh please. Enough with internet denizens all trying to impress each other with the most creative Tejay hate.

10 Grand Tour finishes in 12 starts. That stat alone puts him in pretty elite company, and should shush people who like to pontificate on "mental toughness." 3 in the top 10 GC. With 3 wins and numerous podiums in 7-day tours.

Dude's a reliable aerobic machine. Gonna be a Grand Tour GC contender? No. But pretty elite super domestique, at worst. He can sure be someone's Wout Poels and contend in TT and any 7-day event.

Far and away the best American male cyclist right now (though Phinney is showing signs of being fully back), and I'm inclined to think he's clean.

We Americans should support, rather than ridicule, our best, hardest-working talent.

Thanks, T. You saved me some typing. Two 5th places in TdF and he’s still a stiff. Geez. Anyhow, good move to EF. He’ll race happy there.
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Re: Tejay [trail] [ In reply to ]
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trail wrote:
WILLEATFORFOOD wrote:
I think most reasonable people are hoping he can get back to a level where he can be a passable domestic on a team that's shooting for a gc finisher in the top 10.


"Passable domestique". Oh please. Enough with internet denizens all trying to impress each other with the most creative Tejay hate.

10 Grand Tour finishes in 12 starts. That stat alone puts him in pretty elite company, and should shush people who like to pontificate on "mental toughness." 3 in the top 10 GC. With 3 wins and numerous podiums in 7-day tours.

Dude's a reliable aerobic machine. Gonna be a Grand Tour GC contender? No. But pretty elite super domestique, at worst. He can sure be someone's Wout Poels and contend in TT and any 7-day event.

Far and away the best American male cyclist right now (though Phinney is showing signs of being fully back), and I'm inclined to think he's clean.

We Americans should support, rather than ridicule, our best, hardest-working talent.

He is in what the top 5 or 10 American stage racers of all time? Top 10 American Grand Tour riders?

Sure he will never win a grand tour and maybe over hyped, but he is a seriously good cyclist. I think most world tour pros would kill for his results.
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Re: Tejay [stoobie] [ In reply to ]
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stoobie wrote:
i still think he can become a gc contender, was wondering what y'all think - especially those that follow cycling a lot more than me...

If the team he was moving to was Sky, I'd say so. As it isn't, he can't.
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Re: Tejay [Thorax] [ In reply to ]
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The dude is a seriously strong cyclist. He's a solid climber and an elite time trialist. He's one of the best one week stage racers in the world. He's not Chris Froome, but he's hardly pack fodder. I think he has more results in his future. 29 isn't exactly ancient in cycling terms.

I think people hate on him because he folded repeatedly in week three of Grand Tours. Folding in week three is common in lots of other GC guys, I wouldn't single out Tejay for that. Also, he was overhyped early in his career and tended to come off as a bit arrogant in interviews.

I agree he's likely clean.
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Re: Tejay [chaparral] [ In reply to ]
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chaparral wrote:
trail wrote:
WILLEATFORFOOD wrote:
I think most reasonable people are hoping he can get back to a level where he can be a passable domestic on a team that's shooting for a gc finisher in the top 10.


"Passable domestique". Oh please. Enough with internet denizens all trying to impress each other with the most creative Tejay hate.

10 Grand Tour finishes in 12 starts. That stat alone puts him in pretty elite company, and should shush people who like to pontificate on "mental toughness." 3 in the top 10 GC. With 3 wins and numerous podiums in 7-day tours.

Dude's a reliable aerobic machine. Gonna be a Grand Tour GC contender? No. But pretty elite super domestique, at worst. He can sure be someone's Wout Poels and contend in TT and any 7-day event.

Far and away the best American male cyclist right now (though Phinney is showing signs of being fully back), and I'm inclined to think he's clean.

We Americans should support, rather than ridicule, our best, hardest-working talent.

He is in what the top 5 or 10 American stage racers of all time? Top 10 American Grand Tour riders?

Sure he will never win a grand tour and maybe over hyped, but he is a seriously good cyclist. I think most world tour pros would kill for his results.


Here’s a line that a Belgian swanny told the top American U-23 cross rider a few years back when celebrating that he was the top American at one of the world cups, “Being [the] best American is like being the smartest person on the short bus.” Does that mean being top 5/10 is the middle to the back of that bus?
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Re: Tejay [Ohio_Roadie] [ In reply to ]
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Ohio_Roadie wrote:
Does that mean being top 5/10 is the middle to the back of that bus?

chap' was talking "all-time Grand Tour." That's a very short bus for the U.S.. But it's a party bus. I'd throw back at the Belgian swanny that the last Belgian GT winner was, I think, de Muynk in '78. Since then the U.S. has Lemond (3), Hampsten, and Horner. And of course 8 more if you want to throw in the sanctioned d-bags.

If terms of non-sanctioned U.S. GT riders you pretty much have to slot Tejay in behind the above three. And All-in-all Tejay will have a superior career to Horner. Horner just had that magical Vuelta.
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Re: Tejay [FlashBazbo] [ In reply to ]
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FlashBazbo wrote:
Making an honest assessment of Tejay's game is not "hate." Playing the "hate" card is a shut-down play -- a sign you have no serious argument.


Yeah, but every "tejay thread" on the Internet is basically full of Americans making "honest assessments" of Tejay that are mostly negative at best and vitriolic at worst.

We get it. He never made the jump it looked like he might have after placing 5th twice in the TdF. He won't be Chris Froome. Bummer. Can we move past that at some point?


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And Tejay has never impressed as a very capable or committed domestique in a 3-week tour.



He was very good in 2012 with Evans. Since then the only 2 times I think he had any clear opportunity to act as domestique in a GT was the 2016 TdF and the 2018 TdF. In 2016 he didn't distinguish himself in support of Porte, but also didn't obviously "race for himself." This year the race went south for both Tejay and Porte so early that there really wasn't any opportunity to show much.

Other than those, who at BMC was he supposed to be domestique for? Dennis? Sanchez?

Last edited by: trail: Aug 8, 18 18:09
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Re: Tejay [Ohio_Roadie] [ In reply to ]
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Ohio_Roadie wrote:
Here’s a line that a Belgian swanny told the top American U-23 cross rider a few years back when celebrating that he was the top American at one of the world cups, “Being [the] best American is like being the smartest person on the short bus.” Does that mean being top 5/10 is the middle to the back of that bus?

Well, I believe the short bus metaphor is not about the size of the bus, but that intellectually challenged children ride on it. Hence the "smartest" person on it. So 5/10 is still at the very front of the American short bus. He is a damn fine one week stage racer.
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Re: Tejay [chaparral] [ In reply to ]
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In other news.........

Sep Kuss had a hell of a ride yesterday in the Tour of Utah. Held off BMC with Tejay and EF with Joe D and Mike Woods trying to bridge up on Mount Nebo. They couldn't catch him. This kid went from club team to conti to world tour team in 3 straight years. Another American rider who looks like Euro material.

It will be interesting to see if he can hold on in Snowbird.
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Re: Tejay [McNulty] [ In reply to ]
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Fantastic ride by both Sepp Kuss and Powles, going 1-2 on the stage, hopefully they will both develop into fine euro pros.
Also and honorable mention to mention to Kyle Murphy who got 3rd yesterday right behind those 2.
He was just racing crits in NYC 3 years ago and has made a fine jump.
Last edited by: trener1: Aug 13, 18 13:23
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