Breaking down how Matteo Jorgenson fought off repeated attacks to win his second consecutive Paris-Nice title & what the action at Tirreno-Adriatico showed us about the rest of the spring
If Jonas is at the start of Catalunya next Monday, along with Primoz, Adam Yates, and Ayuso, it should be a good opportunity to see whether your opinion that Ayuso has usurped the older guard plays out on the road, and will also provide an indication of who the favorite is heading into the Giro (Roglic or Ayuso).
I think we got our answer today (or at least an indication), with Ayuso winning stage 3 in a photo-finish with Roglic, and putting him (Juan) at the top of the GC board, six seconds ahead of Primoz. There were many riders from the "older guard" holding their own, but Ayuso showed just how much talent and grit he has, winning this long stage. However, the replays of the stage finish show Ayuso fighting with everything he had (even collapsing in the snow for several minutes in exhaustion), while Primoz looked like he barely raised a sweat. Cool, calm, and collected all the way. It's going to be a blast watching this season when we throw Tadej and Jonas into the mix, as well!!
A good win by Ayuso, but poor tactical mistake on Roglic’s part not to shut the gate after the lefthand penultimate corner (that is, move straight to the barriers on the right of the road to ensure no gap between himself and barriers, given the final righthand turn), thereby providing Ayuso with an opening between Roglic and the barriers, and forcing Roglic to take the longer route around the final corner to try to pass Ayuso, which he almost did.
But yes, agree Ayuso has stepped up his performances this year. We don’t have long to wait for another opportunity to see who has the best form, with an 8.8km uphill finish at 6.4% on stage 4.
I entirely agree~ Primoz could have, and should have finished Ayuso. Primoz is usually so clever when it comes to these finishes, I was surprised by the result. Today he didn’t make the same mistakes! Congrats to him on stage 4!!
It ended up being a good decision by Visma to have both Jonas and Jorgenson competing for GC since Jonas had to drop out of the race after the 5th stage.
I wonder why Pidcock was 49th in the Tirreno-Adriatico TT. He was 6th in last year's Tour de Suisse TT.
Spencer your articles continue to be the best in the business. I just read an article on another site, one that gets a lot of praise and recognition, and it was full of typos. I wondered if it was AI assisted. All the images were static too. You are the most professional! Thank you.
If Jonas is at the start of Catalunya next Monday, along with Primoz, Adam Yates, and Ayuso, it should be a good opportunity to see whether your opinion that Ayuso has usurped the older guard plays out on the road, and will also provide an indication of who the favorite is heading into the Giro (Roglic or Ayuso).
He (Jonas) is not going to be! Just announced
Cataluyna could really compelling contenders. Thanks for pointing this out.
I think we got our answer today (or at least an indication), with Ayuso winning stage 3 in a photo-finish with Roglic, and putting him (Juan) at the top of the GC board, six seconds ahead of Primoz. There were many riders from the "older guard" holding their own, but Ayuso showed just how much talent and grit he has, winning this long stage. However, the replays of the stage finish show Ayuso fighting with everything he had (even collapsing in the snow for several minutes in exhaustion), while Primoz looked like he barely raised a sweat. Cool, calm, and collected all the way. It's going to be a blast watching this season when we throw Tadej and Jonas into the mix, as well!!
A good win by Ayuso, but poor tactical mistake on Roglic’s part not to shut the gate after the lefthand penultimate corner (that is, move straight to the barriers on the right of the road to ensure no gap between himself and barriers, given the final righthand turn), thereby providing Ayuso with an opening between Roglic and the barriers, and forcing Roglic to take the longer route around the final corner to try to pass Ayuso, which he almost did.
But yes, agree Ayuso has stepped up his performances this year. We don’t have long to wait for another opportunity to see who has the best form, with an 8.8km uphill finish at 6.4% on stage 4.
I entirely agree~ Primoz could have, and should have finished Ayuso. Primoz is usually so clever when it comes to these finishes, I was surprised by the result. Today he didn’t make the same mistakes! Congrats to him on stage 4!!
It ended up being a good decision by Visma to have both Jonas and Jorgenson competing for GC since Jonas had to drop out of the race after the 5th stage.
I am glad to see Jorgenson win the GC!
I wonder why Pidcock was 49th in the Tirreno-Adriatico TT. He was 6th in last year's Tour de Suisse TT.
Spencer your articles continue to be the best in the business. I just read an article on another site, one that gets a lot of praise and recognition, and it was full of typos. I wondered if it was AI assisted. All the images were static too. You are the most professional! Thank you.
Jorgenson is riding like a veteran tactician. Big 5th place for Tudor!
Super happy for Magnus, hopefully Ineos can give him some leadership opportunities… and Matteo 💪🏼