If you are one of the best TT riders – what else makes you a TdF winner?

I don’t know much about road racing but I’m pretty sure that Lance, Cadel & Wiggo dominated the TT in their winning tours. Makes sense as that and the hills is where you make the time.

So what else besides winning the TT makes a rider a Tour winner? Is it just a matter of putting a great team around a the best TT rider? Have their been riders who have dominated the TT but not won the tour?

as you say, being good in the mountains, lasting the 3 weeks, having a good team around you.

Your team

It just strikes me as amazing that someone can win in such different events at world level – ie track / TT / TdF. So I too thought it must be the team cause everyone’s a specialist these days.

Or good at TT and managing the politics of the Peleton

ahem.. peloton

TT is a sign of individual power as is getting up a hill fast

A great team around you will protect you [ so you can draft them] but generally the strongest rider wins.
Not sure if anyone crap at TT has ever won…not one in the modern era I can recall…anyone?

Indurain started this approach of win big n the TT, be near the front /defend in the hills

Sparatacus, Boardman and others have been TT specialists with no hope of winning the Tour.

I doubt Wiggo could win on the track these days tbh but he would be “competitive”

Wats per kilogram basically…the higher you have the better you are for Grand Tours…for track you need raw power and some stamina …see hoys thighs for example 😯 I reckon I could take him on a longish ride…how good would he be over say 50 miles anyone know?

anorexia 😀
it’ a joke, don’t go mental

ahem.. peloton

Yeah, that too.

Good strong team willing to work for you also being good at climbing.

One of the less manageable things you need is a certain amount of good fortune. See LL Sanchez today? See Armstrong ever fall off and hurt himself badly in any of his wins?

To a certain extent you can make your own luck by good positioning, by an attentive team, by quality mechanics, by diplomacy, but a certain amount of godd fortune goes along with every tour win.

So if you got rid of drafting… (yeah I know not possible.. but I’m just saying..) Wiggo would probably still win as he was the strongest this year?

Sideburns!

/end of thread.

So if you got rid of drafting…

You would have nothing to see.

Time trials as part of a single day at the Olympics are exciting.

Time trialling all the way around France? I’d rather watch anything else. They are bloody boring to do, never mind watch.

It’s the sampson effect.. cut off his burns and watch him fade

Samson? Still time to edit…

Recovery, you have be up there day after day to win the tour.

Matt

Not sure if anyone crap at TT has ever won…not one in the modern era I can recall…anyone?

Pantani, he was awful in the tt.

Not sure if anyone crap at TT has ever won…not one in the modern era I can recall…anyone?

2008 Carlos Sastre.

Though he did a phenomenal TT in that race, he was considered a climber through and through. It possibly helped his cause that there were fewer TT KM’s in that years race than is usual.

Some of it is down to the course. This year it was all about the best time trialler who could also climb. Previous years its been about the best climber who could also time trial

Round here Sampson make conservatory and window blinds. Blinding him would have the same effect.

A good Dr.

Pantani, he was awful in the tt.

but he was **** good at cocaine though.

the other thing that makes a big difference is which races you target, and the targets of your opponents – Contador tried to win the cycling triple crown (giro, tour, vuelta) and came a cropper, the giro mashed him for the tour

nowadays if you don’t focus your season around the tour you aren’t going to win it, give sky their due, they planned the season well