The issue presented today was whether Marco Pantani was a rider capable of winning a Tour de France.
The Tour favors all-round riders who can 1) time trial and 2) climb. (eg: Hinault, Merckx, Roche, Lemond)
It does not lend itself to specialists (TTers only) or (pure climbers only) or (sprinters) It has lots of flat, rollers and 4-5 days of alpine mountains (5-6% gradiants). It has long TTs coming at the end when exhaustion is at its peak.
The Giro includes the Dolimites which are twice as steep as the Alps---on average and would be considered 'illegal roads' in the USA. (Lots of 10-14% grades that pitch up at 18+% from time to time.
Pantani won the TDF in 1998---a year where nearly half the field was made to quit due to police actions and arrests. So that race was not fair, nor a complete test.
In 1984 Giro Franceso Moser defeated Laurent Fignon on the very last day by just a few seconds---not too different than the 1989 loss to Lemond. However, that race dropped the Stelvio pass at the very last minute---Fignon alleges to fix the race for Moser who could not climb with Fignon.
Whatever, Francesco Moser is the type of rider capable of winning a Tour de France than a Giro, but he never did.
As amazing as it is that Pantani won a Tour, it is even more incredible to me that Francesco Moser never did.
Moser was a man for the Tour.
Ironically, Moser is still with us--and riding strong too. While Marco has passed leaving us a legacy of Lance Armstrong's Ferrari trained TDF victories.
Lance Armstrong was never seen as a man for the Tour. Nobody saw that coming, nobody. The 1999 comeback from cancer and his therapy is an absolute miracle of modern science---and that is what sport has become.
Tour victory #7 is a definite possibilty.
The Tour favors all-round riders who can 1) time trial and 2) climb. (eg: Hinault, Merckx, Roche, Lemond)
It does not lend itself to specialists (TTers only) or (pure climbers only) or (sprinters) It has lots of flat, rollers and 4-5 days of alpine mountains (5-6% gradiants). It has long TTs coming at the end when exhaustion is at its peak.
The Giro includes the Dolimites which are twice as steep as the Alps---on average and would be considered 'illegal roads' in the USA. (Lots of 10-14% grades that pitch up at 18+% from time to time.
Pantani won the TDF in 1998---a year where nearly half the field was made to quit due to police actions and arrests. So that race was not fair, nor a complete test.
In 1984 Giro Franceso Moser defeated Laurent Fignon on the very last day by just a few seconds---not too different than the 1989 loss to Lemond. However, that race dropped the Stelvio pass at the very last minute---Fignon alleges to fix the race for Moser who could not climb with Fignon.
Whatever, Francesco Moser is the type of rider capable of winning a Tour de France than a Giro, but he never did.
As amazing as it is that Pantani won a Tour, it is even more incredible to me that Francesco Moser never did.
Moser was a man for the Tour.
Ironically, Moser is still with us--and riding strong too. While Marco has passed leaving us a legacy of Lance Armstrong's Ferrari trained TDF victories.
Lance Armstrong was never seen as a man for the Tour. Nobody saw that coming, nobody. The 1999 comeback from cancer and his therapy is an absolute miracle of modern science---and that is what sport has become.
Tour victory #7 is a definite possibilty.