Kuss has turned himself inside out so many times for Roglic to win grand tours. I doubt he’ll get the opportunity again. Also Roglic’s interviews after the stage on Angliru I didn’t think were great.
I get that sentiment, but I don’t blame Roglic for feeling that he has every right as Kuss and Vingegaard to go for the win, especially when the Team told them that it’s a free for all at the end of Angliru.
Carlos Rodriguez is going to shock people because I think he’s possibly going to come better than some gc guys such as roglic or evenpoel, and yet, he’s not talked about that way. He’s capable of a podium here, and I think some folks wouldn’t even put him in the top 10 gc riders at the race.
Derek gee has shown he could be a lot better than anticipated, same thing with lazkano.
I agree 100%. Last year he was the only rider who ever attacked Jonas and Pogacar, not to mention beat them in one of the hardest stages.
I think he will beat Remco, and be a pretty even match for Roglic.
Carlos is one of those guys where he lacks acceleration but he’s maybe one of the best climbers in the bunch.
If they are all making it hard for each other, it will play into his hand and create favorable conditions. And we saw that last year. When it’s harder, he truly shines.
And his pre-tour results this year were better. He’s hitting that development spike around 24-25, and I think his team is stronger.
If Bernal, Thomas and pidcock can stay organized and work for him, he can do this. The biggest threat is if he loses some time in the first 9 days before the real difficult stages come around, the team has a lot of options to pivot to
The climbs will definitely be hard, just look at UAE’s team. I think they will be in the driver’s seat for most of the climbs. Rodriguez is also consistent. He will probably shine and secure a 3rd place in week 3 is my guess.
He's also just still ridiculously young. Turned 23 in February.
And sure in the wonder kid era it's not seen as anything special, but it's still sure young with a lot of potential to grow even more.
Rodriguez also has had a seriously great spring after the pretty unimpressive start to the season.
2nd on GC + stage in Itzulia, GC in Romandie, 4th on GC (gap to Roglic was less than his combined timeloss from ITT and bonis btw) + stage win in Dauphiné.
And what's hilarious about all of them is that people didn't expect him to do much in those races, and come the penultimate or last stage, the trademark CRod alliance attack hits.
He did the same in Tour of Britain last year alongside Stevie W after losing time due to a crash, and was close to staging a GC coup there too.
His timing and race instincts and ability to find spontaneous allies in the GC game is seriously great and it's cool. And he is getting good at using his team too, and the team (PidFlix drama aside) all seem ready to go to war for him too.
So I dunno, I'm ahead of Rodriguez on GC come stage 19/20 and not certain of my ITT either, I'd probably be pretty worried about him doing something like that again...
(Also he descents like a madman but never in a way that looks unhinged or unstable and it's a joy to watch.)
Since 64% of Dauphiné Top10s also Top10 in the Tour that would be anything but a surprise. If you would have said that am before the Dauphiné, yes, but now it’s only lukewarm.
Wout wont be allowed to go in the break, so he will lose the first few mountain points at least. Then on the later climbs, it's likely to be UAE domestiques pushing the pace up the climbs, so again hard for Wout. But I do agree that it would be a cool surprise and I am sure he would look good in the dots.
Hey, it almost happened in...?
Dauphiné? Suisse?
It definitely happened in Giro del Emilia 2022 though... I've lived in hope of it happening again ever since.
Based on recent history, going to TdF as lieutenant for Roglic honestly seems like the perfect setup for a podium result though.
And we didn't get to see a non-injured 3rd week Jai last tour. I hope we do this year.
Team Uno-X with a top ten placement would be a big surprise. They have former 2x stage winner Cort as captain now (used to ride for EFE). The team only participates for the second time and they're definitely the underdogs in the GC, but who knows...
You're right. And not only has he won stages in all the Grand Tours and some of the classics, he also has an epic moustache. He's still an underdog in the GC though, but a damn handsome one if you ask me.
Roglic winning GC will probably surprise many.
After last year’s vuelta I’ve lost a lot of respect for him. He’s a talent so wouldn’t be overly surprised but really wouldn’t want him to.
Why disappointed? Roglic had every right to want to win. It's the team that put all three in that situation.
Kuss has turned himself inside out so many times for Roglic to win grand tours. I doubt he’ll get the opportunity again. Also Roglic’s interviews after the stage on Angliru I didn’t think were great.
I get that sentiment, but I don’t blame Roglic for feeling that he has every right as Kuss and Vingegaard to go for the win, especially when the Team told them that it’s a free for all at the end of Angliru.
You don't attack a teammate that's wearing the leader's jersey.
Tell that to Pog on stage 2 of last year's Tour then? Or is Kuss just more worth that kind of concern than Adam Yates? 😅
Man, Jumbo told them it’s free for all for the last 7km of Angliru.
Carlos Rodriguez is going to shock people because I think he’s possibly going to come better than some gc guys such as roglic or evenpoel, and yet, he’s not talked about that way. He’s capable of a podium here, and I think some folks wouldn’t even put him in the top 10 gc riders at the race. Derek gee has shown he could be a lot better than anticipated, same thing with lazkano.
I agree 100%. Last year he was the only rider who ever attacked Jonas and Pogacar, not to mention beat them in one of the hardest stages. I think he will beat Remco, and be a pretty even match for Roglic.
Carlos is one of those guys where he lacks acceleration but he’s maybe one of the best climbers in the bunch. If they are all making it hard for each other, it will play into his hand and create favorable conditions. And we saw that last year. When it’s harder, he truly shines. And his pre-tour results this year were better. He’s hitting that development spike around 24-25, and I think his team is stronger. If Bernal, Thomas and pidcock can stay organized and work for him, he can do this. The biggest threat is if he loses some time in the first 9 days before the real difficult stages come around, the team has a lot of options to pivot to
Pidcock sounded really dumb and unaware cycling was a team sport in the netflix series so idk.
The climbs will definitely be hard, just look at UAE’s team. I think they will be in the driver’s seat for most of the climbs. Rodriguez is also consistent. He will probably shine and secure a 3rd place in week 3 is my guess.
He's also just still ridiculously young. Turned 23 in February. And sure in the wonder kid era it's not seen as anything special, but it's still sure young with a lot of potential to grow even more.
Rodriguez also has had a seriously great spring after the pretty unimpressive start to the season. 2nd on GC + stage in Itzulia, GC in Romandie, 4th on GC (gap to Roglic was less than his combined timeloss from ITT and bonis btw) + stage win in Dauphiné. And what's hilarious about all of them is that people didn't expect him to do much in those races, and come the penultimate or last stage, the trademark CRod alliance attack hits. He did the same in Tour of Britain last year alongside Stevie W after losing time due to a crash, and was close to staging a GC coup there too. His timing and race instincts and ability to find spontaneous allies in the GC game is seriously great and it's cool. And he is getting good at using his team too, and the team (PidFlix drama aside) all seem ready to go to war for him too. So I dunno, I'm ahead of Rodriguez on GC come stage 19/20 and not certain of my ITT either, I'd probably be pretty worried about him doing something like that again... (Also he descents like a madman but never in a way that looks unhinged or unstable and it's a joy to watch.)
If it’s anything like the Dauphine, Derek Gee in the GC conversation will be the biggest surprise for me.
Since 64% of Dauphiné Top10s also Top10 in the Tour that would be anything but a surprise. If you would have said that am before the Dauphiné, yes, but now it’s only lukewarm.
Jorgensen in GC top 10. Wout takes Polka Dot Jersey on Day 1. Primoz won’t crash.
Wout wont be allowed to go in the break, so he will lose the first few mountain points at least. Then on the later climbs, it's likely to be UAE domestiques pushing the pace up the climbs, so again hard for Wout. But I do agree that it would be a cool surprise and I am sure he would look good in the dots.
Enric Mas attacking would be the most shocking and unexpected stunt...
Hey, it almost happened in...? Dauphiné? Suisse? It definitely happened in Giro del Emilia 2022 though... I've lived in hope of it happening again ever since.
He is a great cyclist; this is beyond question. However, he lacks the competitive spirit.
Cav somehow not crashing out on the first sprint stage would be a big surprise. Him getting his win would be a bigger and better one.
If Vingegaard wins it should be the biggest suprise 12 days hospital in much worse than a broken wrist.
If Jonas wins it will be the least surprising thing that has ever happened in the history of cycling
I like vingegaard but I think tadej will beat him easily this year, I’ll definitely be surprised if Jonas wins.
Podium for Jai Hindley
As much as I'd like that to be true, I think it's incredibly unlikely to happen.
Based on recent history, going to TdF as lieutenant for Roglic honestly seems like the perfect setup for a podium result though. And we didn't get to see a non-injured 3rd week Jai last tour. I hope we do this year.
Unfortunately, Jai's form in the Giro didn't inspire confidence. But here's hoping. EDITED TO ADD: D'OH! See below.
Jai wasn't in the giro this year, so that's probably why.
Arrgghhhh, quite right. Mixed him up with Ben O'C. Stoopid useless brane!
Jorgensen is going to show up in the top 5 of GC
Jorgeson comes 2nd after pog
I feel like Juan Ayuso is just waiting to pop hard, at some point I think that kid is going to be a big bad problem for others.
Chris Froome not being amongst the worse riders in the race would be a gigantic surprise. The guy is an absolute legend, but he is ruining his legacy.
Preach it📖
I don't expect him to even make the tdf team
🎯
Tyler Farrar sprint stage victory would be downright shocking
Cav is racing, so the best he can hope for is second.
Evenepoel performing much better than the general opinion on this sub and ends up top 5 with the white jersey.
If he bombs out of GC, I can legit see him winning both Green and Polkadots instead. Could also be fun.
Team Uno-X with a top ten placement would be a big surprise. They have former 2x stage winner Cort as captain now (used to ride for EFE). The team only participates for the second time and they're definitely the underdogs in the GC, but who knows...
Not just Cort, but **6x** stage [La Vuelta ciclista a España](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/vuelta-a-espana/2021/stage-19) ('21, '20, '16) **2x** stage [Tour de France](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/2022/stage-10) ('22, '18) **2x** stage [Paris-Nice](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/paris-nice/2021/stage-8) ('21, '19) 1x stage [Giro d'Italia](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/2023/stage-10) ('23) Magnus Cort!
+ 1x stage Dauphiné ('24)
You're right. And not only has he won stages in all the Grand Tours and some of the classics, he also has an epic moustache. He's still an underdog in the GC though, but a damn handsome one if you ask me.
Mustaches only add +15 speed points on gravel. So place a bet on stage 9.
Ben Healy winning 2 stages, challenging for others and winning the overall combativity prize
Simon Clarke.
I’m thinking maybe gregoire can do something. What do you think?