Pro-cycling thread

Possibly an understatement.

The TdF 2022 winning team has been announced:

Is that a trident I see?

they are a dead cert for the Lanterne Rouge prize with that tactic and then clean up at the post-tour crits.

How dare you. Movistars trident was the bestest tactic ever, they were just unlucky

Who needs the tour when you've a Vlog revenue stream.

vlogsssssss

multiple you peasant

When will vloggers die?

Vloggers never die. They just move to TikTok.

Bauke Mollema beating Tom Dumoulin in the elite Dutch national TT wasn’t expected.

Well he's TT* world champion

* mixed relay

DSM not bringing Anderson to the TDF and posting a passive agressing parting message about him is hilarious.

what a poorly managed team, they have chased away oodles of talent within a few years span.

Do you have a link to this passive aggressive parting message?

https://twitter.com/Domestique___/status/1539660035206197248

Velonews article here

part I find passive aggressive: “We have seen in the past how important it is to have a fully committed team for the biggest goals. The team we have selected are motivated to go all towards the same goal”

I don't think it's any surprise that a rider who isn't going to be riding for a team the following season misses selection for the Tour. That happens all the time.

I don't know the circumstances behind Anderson's unhappiness with the team, but it's been an open secret for some time that he wants to leave. If he's not prepared to commit to the team's goals for the race, then of course he's not going to be selected. That would happen in any team.

It's clear that the way DSM operate doesn't work for everyone, but some riders clearly thrive in that environment. Take Bardet for example, he's looked back to his best since he joined the team. What is interesting, to me at least, is that those high profile riders who've left in recent years, have not gone on to better things. Hirschi looks a shadow of the rider he was two years ago, Benoot is now little more than a super-domestique for Van Aert and Roglic.

One more thing; for all the criticism the team gets, they are not one of the WT teams at risk of relegation so clearly are getting enough results to satisfy their sponsors and earn UCI points.

Is there an inside line on what is so 'bad' with DSM? Training, policies, attitudes?

loads on twitter, you should know better

plus I thought Bardet wanted to leave too?

i thought Hindley would be a post-DSM flop too and didnt include him in my fantasy Giro :(

Can you Google it for me please?
I don't use Twitter. I just wait for someone else to link to the good bits here. Easier. More time efficient.

Watch the giro 2020 behind the scenes doc sunweb/dsm put out on YouTube. Very strange atmosphere in the team, and you’ve got to assume they published the flattering bits.

The big thing is they put riders on a plan and that's it. No outside doctors, no outside coaches no outside nutritionists. Everything is planned out, nothing is left to interpretation or whims of the moment. I think the younger riders seem to really benefit from it but then find it restrictive when they have more experience. As @andyp said though, lots of riders leave and never rediscover their previous form.

Bardet gave an interview somewhere where he said that at AG2R he felt responsible for lots of stuff other than just the racing (influencing his own training, tactics, other riders etc) and at DSM he feels free because he opens his plan and it's all there for him so mentally the load is much reduced.

Interesting thanks. And @snoops I'll watch that

I'm not surprised they don't re discover it. Even for me, the sheer sacrifice and dedication to be on the top is mind-blowing. You have to be all in, it takes its toll mentally. Froomes years of consistent wins are really something.

Søren Kragh AnderSEN!

He is a bit of an odd ball. still sleeps with a teddy bear eg.

There's been rumours of him wanting to leave for years, but I think covid slowed those plans.
He is sounding very professional about the break up in Danish media fyi. No negative words or anything. Just saying he is sad to miss the your in Denmark.
And I think that is actually the main thing I don't understand. Why would you not bring a Danish rider to the Danish your start? He would give sooo much publicity in Denmark and he is by far the most aggressive and exciting rider they have.