[Rashadabd]

Watching this climbing heavy TdF has me thinking about this. Who are your top 10 or top 5 based mostly on current form? I think mine goes something like this:

1. Roglic (has it all, no real weakness)
2. Bernal (pretty much the same)
3. Froome (if he gets back to where he was he has to be top 3, if not...)
4. Dumoulin (same as Froome)
5. Geraint Thomas (not exceptional at any one thing, but always class at many things)
6. Simon Yates (a fighter and talented climber)
7. Quintana (probably wouldn’t be on this list before the revival he has experienced this year)
8. Pogacar (could easily end up higher given time and health)
9. Alaphillipe (not a textbook GC guy, but has shown he can do so many things well, similar to Valverde)
10. Evenpoel (too soon? Possibly, but he clearly has the goods)

Honorable mention: Uran, Lopez, Higuita, Pinot, Bora-Hansgrohe’s guys, and Bardet.

What say you?

 

[Mapei]

I'm impressed by Roglic and Pogacar but Alaphilippe is still my favorite rider in the race. There he was in today's stage, gamely playing the domestique.

 

[KoroninK]

Roglic
Pogacar (Very impressed by this kid)
Bernal
Pinot
S Yates
Valverde (for races he really wants at this point in his career)
Uran
Bardet



I think Enric Mas can develop into a top GC rider. He's learning how to race for GC and has a teacher in Valverde.
I'm putting D Martinez in this category as well.

Valverde is starting to transition from team/race leader to coach.

 

[Rashadabd]

Roglic
Pogacar (Very impressed by this kid)
Bernal
Pinot
S Yates
Valverde (for races he really wants at this point in his career)
Uran
Bardet



I think Enric Mas can develop into a top GC rider. He's learning how to race for GC and has a teacher in Valverde.
I'm putting D Martinez in this category as well.

Valverde is starting to transition from team/race leader to coach.

I like a lot of those guys too. I forgot about Danny Martinez. We’ll see what he does in the second half of the TdF. Mas and Soler definitely both have potential. I’m just not sure about where that team is headed.

 

[upstateSC-rider]

Roglic
Pogacar (Very impressed by this kid)
Bernal
Pinot
S Yates
Valverde (for races he really wants at this point in his career)
Uran
Bardet



I think Enric Mas can develop into a top GC rider. He's learning how to race for GC and has a teacher in Valverde.
I'm putting D Martinez in this category as well.

Valverde is starting to transition from team/race leader to coach.

I agree with the first 3 but Pinot seems a little too fragile, maybe it's just bad luck and hopefully he proves me wrong.
I really like Kuss also, tons of potential.

 

[Rashadabd]

I agree with the first 3 but Pinot seems a little too fragile, maybe it's just bad luck and hopefully he proves me wrong.
I really like Kuss also, tons of potential.

Sepp Kuss and Powless are definitely the best Americans right now (Woods is Canadian so close lol and way more accomplished). I can’t wait to see those two ride as race leaders soon. Agree on the potential.

 

[ogre]

I agree with the first 3 but Pinot seems a little too fragile, maybe it's just bad luck and hopefully he proves me wrong.
I really like Kuss also, tons of potential.

Agreed, and I'll add that in my book S Yates is a poseur who melts easier than the Wicked Witch of the West. Pogacar and Kuss are the best upcoming young talents.

 

[KoroninK]

I like a lot of those guys too. I forgot about Danny Martinez. We’ll see what he does in the second half of the TdF. Mas and Soler definitely both have potential. I’m just not sure about where that team is headed.

Movistar black listed an agent (Aquardo) so that does limit some riders to them. They are also doing basically a full rebuild and building around Mas and Soler. Mas seems to be more of your typical GC rider, while Soler is a bit more aggressive. I think with Movistar it's also trying to figure out how to transition to a team without Valverde and they likely are a little lost with that because they've been so over reliant on him for so long. They do at least have Valverde wanting to teach these young riders and the young riders wanting to learn. I've had it confirmed, by a very reliable source, that for this Tour Valverde has chosen to be guide, helper, protector, coach, teacher for Mas.

EF has some good young riders with Martinez, Powless, and Higuita. I'm not sure if Higuita is a GC rider yet or not. Time will tell. However, last year in an interview Higuita did saw he wants to be a Valverde type rider.

 

[KoroninK]

Kuss is good as well. I think if he wants to ride for GC he'll have to find a different team.

 

[azpeterb]

Kind of a side question.... but after 15 stages we can see who the TDF podium contenders are. My question is, assuming the GC standings are about the same heading into Saturday’s ITT, does anyone have superior TT skills to surpass Roglic in the standings? It’s a 36k ITT, gradual uphill the entire way finishing with a cat 1 climb. It could be a truly exciting ITT for fans to watch.

 

[JSR]

Pogacar beat Roglic by nine seconds in the 15.7km TT at Slovenian Nats. I’d say he’s in with a shout.

 

[Rashadabd]

Pogacar beat Roglic by nine seconds in the 15.7km TT at Slovenian Nats. I’d say he’s in with a shout.

Pogacar will need his best day to beat Roglic at all given that he is consistently among the world’s best TT guys. Uran used to be pretty good about five years or more ago, but hasn’t really been killing TTs for a while now. Dumoulin when healthy would be one of the favorites to win the stage but he’s a teammate and has been up and down so far. Tony Martin is a multiple time world TT champ, but like Dumoulin is on Roglic’s team. The real point though is that the likelihood of Pogacar or anyone beating Roglic by 40+ seconds or more in a TT for the TdF win is very slim barring a mechanical or crash.

 

[KoroninK]

Pogacar can beat Roglic in an ITT. However, I do think he'd need to be closer to get the yellow from him. If Uran is still in 3rd I can't see anyone who is close to him beating him as he is a competent TTer when he's on form. Lopez, Landa, and Quintana struggle in ITTs. I don't really know about Porte. Mas can do decent TTs for a GC rider when he's on form and might be able to get a spot or two on his TT. Obviously if on form Dumoulin has a chance to win the stage.


A thought on Van Aert. Although didn't watch at the time, but from what I've heard others say about Sean Kelly, it appears that Van Aert may be a Sean Kelly type of rider.