Froome and Thomas left off Ineos TdF team

[Bruce K]

News this morning from multiple sources.

Froome kind of makes sense, Thomas not so much.

BK

[fignon's barber]

I saw that. Surprised about Thomas, not so much about Froome. They should have let Froome go to Israel Start Up the day he signed with them.

[jlwdm]

Not as strong a team for Ineos. I have always liked Kwiatkowski but he is not the rider he used to be either.

Jeff

[paredown]

Not enough "marginal gains" this season...

[Mike V]

Well everyone says they have too many captains. This years they don't.

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

Not as strong a team for Ineos. I have always liked Kwiatkowski but he is not the rider he used to be either.

Jeff

Politely disagree. They have such a strong bench that their B team can beat most every other team’s A line-up.

Lose a TDF winner? No problem, replace with the winner of the Giro.

I wouldn’t not bet against them with this new line-up. Actually I believe it narrows their focus and potentially makes them stronger.

[AngryScientist]

So i guess this means that the big rolling spectacle of the tour is a GO across France then?

Should be interesting!

[redir]

That is surprising about Thomas. I wonder what their thinking is on that one.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by Clancy

Politely disagree. They have such a strong bench that their B team can beat most every other team’s A line-up.

Lose a TDF winner? No problem, replace with the winner of the Giro.

I wouldn’t not bet against them with this new line-up. Actually I believe it narrows their focus and potentially makes them stronger.

Most teams, sure. But I think a Jumbo Visma rider has to be the favorite now, depending on how Roglic and Bernal are recovering from their Dauphiné crashes. Everyone has to narrow their focus with reduced team sizes - you can bring a leadout train, but then you can't have climbing domestiques. If you've got GC ambitions, leave your sprinter at home, etc.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by redir

That is surprising about Thomas. I wonder what their thinking is on that one.

I think they didn’t want an intra-team rivalry. It worked OK with Froome and a Thomas. Might not work as well given the new kid on the block. Bernal is the future of the team and their ambitions. Froome and Geraint Thomas not so much.

I’m not sure Froome ever comes back to his old level and Geraint Thomas is no kid anymore either, at least in terms of winning grand tours.

[redir]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I think they didn’t want an intra-team rivalry. It worked OK with Froome and a Thomas. Might not work as well given the new kid on the block. Bernal is the future of the team and their ambitions. Froome and Geraint Thomas not so much.

I’m not sure Froome ever comes back to his old level and Geraint Thomas is no kid anymore either, at least in terms of winning grand tours.

That's a good point. They did seem pretty cordial last year though.

[Keith A]

Here's a link to an article about this on VeloNews...
https://www.velonews.com/events/tour...paz-drafted-in

[jlwdm]

Originally Posted by Clancy

Politely disagree. They have such a strong bench that their B team can beat most every other team’s A line-up.

Lose a TDF winner? No problem, replace with the winner of the Giro.

I wouldn’t not bet against them with this new line-up. Actually I believe it narrows their focus and potentially makes them stronger.

Don't compare Giro winners to TDF winners.

Jeff

[Hindmost]

Kind of a no-brainer based on the Dauphine. With only two weeks to go it's decision time.

[mhespenheide]

I keep wondering: what’s up with Rohan Dennis? He proved last year that he can train on his own, and was ostensibly hired to fulfill the role Tony Martin has on Jumbo-Visma. But we haven’t seen him at any races this year (have we)?