ruben wrote:
After last year I still had hope (6th in vuelta after a poor preparation after tour fall) for Gesink.. but now it seems definite, even with a perfect preparation his days of climbing well are completely gone.
It's a bit like Gerdemann. Still a good helper, but totally useless as a leader after breaking his leg.
1) It depends whether he's climbing slower than before or if it's his opponents who've increased their pace
2) With that weather he's probably in the worst conditions for him to perform well, can't expect too much...
3) "Like [Linus the-chemical-being] Gerdemann" ? Just tell me it's not what you mean for Gesink.
1) could be a bit of both actually. Gesink slower + others faster
2) yeah today is the worst for him because with the pin in his leg he suffers a lot more in the cold, he already said so last year.
3) you know what i mean, riders who break their leg usually don't tend to perform as well even after recovery anymore.
He's still 27 but it's looking bad for his aspirations as GT racer. Especially if you simply compare the images of his climbing. Vuelta 2009 going up with Valverde, Sanchez, Evans, Basso and putting them under pressure to today where he can hardly keep up with teammates Garate, Kruijswijk and Kelderman... finishing 4 minutes behind a certain V.Nibali, a rider he was superior to in 2009 in climbing and ITT
Think the weather was crucial. Like you said, a pin in the leg and this cold rainy weather is disastrous, as it hurts like hell. Maybe Gesink should stick to the Vuelta, and try to perform well there.
