The Olympics should represent the best athletes at their best. Tour riders are far too burnt at the end of the tour to give their best efforts in the olympics. This is why the tour should only occur every 3 years out of 4.
The Olympics should represent the best athletes at their best. Tour riders are far too burnt at the end of the tour to give their best efforts in the olympics. This is why the tour should only occur every 3 years out of 4.
that's why Wout Van Aert is coasting this year, Olympic Gold is his main goal.
Winning another stage at TdF changes nothing in his life. Winning Olympic gold otoh...
The Olympics should represent the best athletes at their best. Tour riders are far too burnt at the end of the tour to give their best efforts in the olympics. This is why the tour should only occur every 3 years out of 4.
that's why Wout Van Aert is coasting this year, Olympic Gold is his main goal.
Winning another stage at TdF changes nothing in his life. Winning Olympic gold otoh...
good point. ask Carapaz or Roglic which they prefer on their palmares
Yeah, not really. In cycling, winning at the olympics is not nearly as prestigious as in other sports. A grand tour, world championship, or even a big classic like Paris Roubaix are more prestigious career highlights.
Realistically I think only the tour de france is actually a bigger deal than the Olympics. Like in the cycling community people care about some of the other grand tours and single day classics, but let's be real, Tour de france and the Olympics are the only races that non cycling people would ever hear about if you won.
The Olympics should represent the best athletes at their best. Tour riders are far too burnt at the end of the tour to give their best efforts in the olympics. This is why the tour should only occur every 3 years out of 4.
This is false. Often riders leave the Tour incredibly fit. A bigger problem is when there is a big gap between the two or maybe a crazy travel schedule (like going to China). In this case, they are right there already.
Also, TdF is the biggest event in cycling just like World Cup is the biggest event in soccer.
A lot (maybe most) of the GC guys wouldn't necessarily do well on a single-day race with a course like Paris. So the athletes who come out of the tour most blown apart in terms of form aren't really a factor. Guys like Wout who are candidates for the olympics are going to be in great form after the tour and are monitoring their efforts on days when they don't need to work.
Very course dependent, but I don't think its a factor for Paris.
So you are saying there is really only one event type for cycling. All tour riders are capable of excelling in a one day classic. This means runners are pathetic, why not cancel all marathons this year so those runners can compete in the 100 at the Olympics.
Yeah, not really. In cycling, winning at the olympics is not nearly as prestigious as in other sports. A grand tour, world championship, or even a big classic like Paris Roubaix are more prestigious career highlights.
Tell Greg Van Avermaet that.
He won Gold in Rio 2016 and Paris-Roubaix in 2017.
Paris-Roubaix? Literally no one but hard core cycling fans care about this race in an olympic year. Its like being the Boston marathon winner. Sure, good, but you aren't olympic champion.