Primož Roglič falls and gets back up again
July 28, 2021 3:48 AM Subscribe
Primož Roglič, Slovenian cyclist who "used to be nobody", dropped out of this year's Tour de France after being injured in a crash. After his compatriot and rival Tadej Pogačar won the bronze medal in Men's Road Race in Tokyo, and Roglič was left far behind, fans and even Roglič himself (link in Slovenian) were doubting whether he was ready for the Men's Individual Time Trial. But he did well anyway.
The power of second chances, indeed. (Am I reading that right that he won the time trial by over a minute from the next rider, with riders 2-7 all in a tight range of less than 2 mins off Roglič? Wild...)
posted by chavenet at 4:11 AM on July 28, 2021
posted by chavenet at 4:11 AM on July 28, 2021
Another good story comes from the women's road time trial.
Annamiek Van Vleuten was within a few kilometers of a gold medal in the 2016 road race when she crashed heavily (watching it at home, I thought she might have died). She went on to be the most dominant women cyclist of the next few years.
Last weekend was her next shot at a road race gold, and late in the race, a pack that was reduced by terrain reeled in two escapees, and Van Vleuten attacked the pack, and crossed the finish line with her arms raised in triumph - unaware that one solo rider, Anna Kiesenhoefer, had crossed the line two minutes prior. (Reports were that the motorcycles had provided the field with incorrect information about the number of riders who had broken away, and their time gap.)
So, last night, she rode the time trial to a commanding victory - finally getting that Olympic gold.
posted by entropone at 4:26 AM on July 28, 2021 [9 favorites]
Annamiek Van Vleuten was within a few kilometers of a gold medal in the 2016 road race when she crashed heavily (watching it at home, I thought she might have died). She went on to be the most dominant women cyclist of the next few years.
Last weekend was her next shot at a road race gold, and late in the race, a pack that was reduced by terrain reeled in two escapees, and Van Vleuten attacked the pack, and crossed the finish line with her arms raised in triumph - unaware that one solo rider, Anna Kiesenhoefer, had crossed the line two minutes prior. (Reports were that the motorcycles had provided the field with incorrect information about the number of riders who had broken away, and their time gap.)
So, last night, she rode the time trial to a commanding victory - finally getting that Olympic gold.
posted by entropone at 4:26 AM on July 28, 2021 [9 favorites]
Wout van Aert is probably smarting.
The women's time trial fit nicely into a 90-minute viewing slot, I recommend you seek it on catch-up. The course was one lap of this (men's) double-lap course. Due to the starting order of the time trial, riders finish out of sequence to the fastest-to-slowest ranking. The early time to beat was Canada's Karol-Ann Canuel. Later arrivals pipped each other off the 3rd place seat, completing the course within seconds of Canuel's and eventually setting 10-13 within 2s of each other. When Amber Neben (USA) came in 70 seconds faster than South Africa's Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, that looked like it was going to stick. Then Switzerland's Marlen Reusser put in a solid time that was close to the Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten's huge ride, and not something the final rider home, her compatriot Anna van der Breggen, could do much about.
posted by k3ninho at 4:38 AM on July 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
The women's time trial fit nicely into a 90-minute viewing slot, I recommend you seek it on catch-up. The course was one lap of this (men's) double-lap course. Due to the starting order of the time trial, riders finish out of sequence to the fastest-to-slowest ranking. The early time to beat was Canada's Karol-Ann Canuel. Later arrivals pipped each other off the 3rd place seat, completing the course within seconds of Canuel's and eventually setting 10-13 within 2s of each other. When Amber Neben (USA) came in 70 seconds faster than South Africa's Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, that looked like it was going to stick. Then Switzerland's Marlen Reusser put in a solid time that was close to the Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten's huge ride, and not something the final rider home, her compatriot Anna van der Breggen, could do much about.
posted by k3ninho at 4:38 AM on July 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm a Roglic fan. He's a bit misunderstood because his face can be kinda grim when he's concentrating, and he can have a killer instinct on the bike, but he's opened up recently and there was a moment in one of the big races recently where he realized he was behind the pack and out of competition so he just rode along, smiling at the crowd, obviously enjoying the privilege of riding a bike to make a living. I havn't seen the TT yet, but this is one spoiler (that I knew i'd see by clicking into the post) I won't care about, i'm so happy for him.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:11 AM on July 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:11 AM on July 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
Wout van Aert is probably smarting.
Silver in the road race and three stage wins on the Tour (including the sprint on the Champs-Élysées) in the last, what, three weeks, will definitely take it out of you.
posted by sinfony at 7:27 AM on July 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
Silver in the road race and three stage wins on the Tour (including the sprint on the Champs-Élysées) in the last, what, three weeks, will definitely take it out of you.
posted by sinfony at 7:27 AM on July 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
By the way, Anna Kiesenhofer, who won the women's road race, is a professional mathematician who does "research on nonlinear partial differential equations which arise in mathematical physics, particularly geometric wave equations" and in her spare time rides bikes. (A little exaggerated, but she hasn't had a contract with a professional team since 2017.)
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:17 AM on July 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:17 AM on July 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
For more on the canonically-inscrutable Slovenian, I highly recommend Kate Wagner's (aka mcmansionhell) interview with Primož in Bicycling magazine.
TBH Kate's transition from architecture criticism to a bright new voice in cycling journalism has been a joy to watch and she probably merits her own post as well.
posted by turbowombat at 8:50 AM on July 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
TBH Kate's transition from architecture criticism to a bright new voice in cycling journalism has been a joy to watch and she probably merits her own post as well.
posted by turbowombat at 8:50 AM on July 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
on review, I just posted a link from the post. p'raps the mods can delete my shame?
posted by turbowombat at 8:58 AM on July 28, 2021
posted by turbowombat at 8:58 AM on July 28, 2021
Oh man, I stayed up waaay too late for this outcome - not even watching, just refreshing the results online as more riders rolled in. I was so bummed for Primož Roglič at this year's Tour and I was hoping for an Olympics redemption for him.
After weeks of watch the TdF, it's a bit of a shock not to see these guys in their "normal" team colors! I'm so used to seeing Rigoberto Uran in the pink of EF and Primož Roglič in the yellow of TJV, and it's delightful to see everyone in their national colors and uniforms.
Am I reading that right that he won the time trial by over a minute from the next rider, with riders 2-7 all in a tight range of less than 2 mins off Roglič? Wild...
Yes! He had a solid lead over Dumoulin, and then the next group of about five were pretty tightly packed. The fight for those remaining podium spots was intense. It's amazing that Wout van Aert was able to finish as high in the TT as he did after his silver and three brutal Tour stages just a few weeks ago. There's another guy who is wicked talented.
posted by Salieri at 11:32 AM on July 28, 2021
After weeks of watch the TdF, it's a bit of a shock not to see these guys in their "normal" team colors! I'm so used to seeing Rigoberto Uran in the pink of EF and Primož Roglič in the yellow of TJV, and it's delightful to see everyone in their national colors and uniforms.
Am I reading that right that he won the time trial by over a minute from the next rider, with riders 2-7 all in a tight range of less than 2 mins off Roglič? Wild...
Yes! He had a solid lead over Dumoulin, and then the next group of about five were pretty tightly packed. The fight for those remaining podium spots was intense. It's amazing that Wout van Aert was able to finish as high in the TT as he did after his silver and three brutal Tour stages just a few weeks ago. There's another guy who is wicked talented.
posted by Salieri at 11:32 AM on July 28, 2021
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posted by gakiko at 4:02 AM on July 28, 2021 [1 favorite]