MinnMan

Also, Carapaz

diphthong

yah. name checked/repped in a same forum thread tonite by myself...

https://www.bikeforums.net/professio...scussions.html

diphthong

i don't either but the waves keep coming and we've got 7-12 guys vs the usual 2-3 assimilating every year. i'm down with it. can you imagine if remco
was healthy and ready to go for the tdf? holy f. he, mvdp, wout, martinez, kuss, mas, higuita, bernal, sivakov, pogacar, carapaz, the bora boys...

makes me not care about the old guard of thomas, froomie, quintana, nibbles, porte, valverde, fuglsang, landa, pinot, aru et al. the kids are definitely the future.
they have arrived and the ship has landed. holy bleep. i think we are in for some special races cause these guys are phenomenal.

roglic will be 31 in october.

AlgarveCycling

It's a real shame about Remco this year, I watched him on a couple of stages at the Volta ao Algarve that he won earlier this year and met him at the start (just to say hi to at the team bus with my wife who is from his town and he seemed happy to respond to someone wishing him well from 'home') - he is a very special talent.

The superkids have arrived in numbers for sure. It doesn't look like there will be a slow transition, it could be very quick. I think Froome not racing the Tour this year is sad but his form is not there, he'll be the first to accept that. Thomas is a surprise, dunno what happened there with his form but the Giro could be good for him this year. The Vuelta could be Froomes swansong and best hope for a last big win. Next year, this crop of youngsters are going to be hard to beat.

MinnMan

Evenepoel already weight-bearing (walking gingerly with crutches)

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...a-crash-464019

vane171

Maybe cycling is different from tennis, there the pro tennis stalwarts were being doubted year after year and yet, no young wave replaced them so far. And some young upcoming stars are damn sharp but they just lack the even staying power which is needed to place oneself in front ranks or replace the old icons.

How many times I have seen a brilliant tennis from young and upcoming stars that bumps off even tennis great names in the grand slam first round or give them big run for staying in, yet as years go, they don't make it. Even surprise winning one grand slam tournament doesn't mean that what follows is stardom and replacement of the stalwarts, from what I have seen over the years.

ZHVelo

Sometimes these amazing athletes do wonders. Wasn't it Wayne Rooney that got fit for a World Cup in just a few weeks after breaking his metatarsal.

USAZorro

But results matter also. Rooney isn't a great example, imo. van Vleuten would be my "best example" for an athlete coming back after a very serious injury.

Skullo 

I was up on the mountain in 18 when Sepp won Utah.His acceleration on climbs was impressive then.I think he will prove his worth. A world class team has him in the TDF for good reason.

one4smoke

I'm still leaning toward Evenepoel, although it will be interesting to see how the crash and broken pelvis will affect him. Mentally I think he'll be fine, just the physical detriment of the injury I'm concerned about.

Kuss is proving to be a more than legitimate contender to be considered as one of the three in the original post.

van der Poel has really been quiet so far. I wonder if all those that were really high on him are still feeling the same way?

Flip Flop Rider

Pogacar turns 22 today. Could be good for a while

PJay120

Looking back at TDF 2020: maybe putting a lot of focus on a young guy is not so bad, but you have to pick the right young guy!

Hopefully, Bernal just had a relatively bad day, or month for TDF.

Pogacar looked suspiciously good.

hrdknox1

Sepp Kuss. I've seen him climb in the Tour of Utah......very impressive. He never looks tired.

canklecat

This TdF showed there's so much young talent the future of the grand tours is in good hands... legs.

I really expected this TdF to be disappointing but instead it got better with each stage.

Dunno if it's the end of the patron of the peloton paradigm, which was already pretty much dead anyway. But the future for the podium looks very young. I suspect teams will mostly want veterans as team captains/enforcers to ensure the young and aggressive domestiques stick with the program to support the designated leader.

Which might have made a difference with Ineos this year, if they'd at least kept Geraint Thomas as a road boss to keep the team cohesive when Bernal was struggling.

That's always going to be the risk with the rookies. They may be strong enough physically and mentally when everything is going well, but might crack when things go awry. That's where a veteran road boss can be helpful.

ZHVelo

https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/thomas-pidcock

Destroyed the Ciclistico Italia, former winners include Sivakov and Vlasov.

aclinjury

There is Pogacar, then there is everyone below.

Doge

He has yet to have his name is pronounced the same by all announcers. That should be a requirement of being the next big thing.

one4smoke

I will admit that Pogacar's performance in the TdF was outstanding, and that TT was nothing short of phenomenal. But how does he stack up with the 3 the OP was about??


IMHO, race after race, Kuss has been the most impressive so far. His body of work as a whole, has been amazing.


One can only wonder what Evenepoel would've done if not for the Lombardia crash. No doubt he would've won that race and had 5 race wins this year. Would it have been 5 consecutive? I can't remember. If so, even more amazing!


Even though MVDP won the Tour of Flanders, other than that he's really hasn't been that impressive this year. But, his career is just getting started really.


So, I'd have to give "most impressive" to Kuss at this point. But long term I still believe Evenepoel will be the biggest name ...if no major repercussions from the crash.

OBoile

How many races has Kuss won this year? Are you seriously trying to say he's been better than Pogacar? Or Evenepoel or MVDP who both have multiple wins one of which was a monument? Kuss has been a pleasant surprise as a super-domestique, but if he was at Pogacar's level, he'd be tour champion. He isn't. I'm pretty sure Kuss would trade seasons with any of these guys (minus Evenepoel's crash/injury) in a heartbeat.

one4smoke

When were talking most impressive, "better" is very subjective here. Kuss has won stages, but his job hasn't been to win a race. I think it's very obvious that if not for working for Roglic, he would be a / the GC contender for Jumbo Visma. He certainly has shown he has what it takes.


No doubt, he has a ton of ability. Is he at the level of Pogacar? Impossible to know at this point since their jobs have not been the same.


But again, to me, he has been the most impressive thus far.

OBoile

I can't believe you think being a good domestique is more impressive than winning multiple races including the GC in stage races and/or monuments (not to mention the guy who actually win the Tour). As others have said above, Kuss really has no business being on your list. the others are both younger and have had significantly better careers. If you want to include a 3rd young rider, why not Wout Van Aert who's also been more impressive and is a couple of days younger than Kuss?

one4smoke

As mentioned in other posts, I didn’t include van Aert because he was already established when I originally started this topic.

Kuss can accomplish whatever the others you’ve mentioned have if he chooses to go that route.

Agree to disagree on which up-and-comer has been most impressive.

aclinjury

Remco Evenepoel - he has not proven that he can climb and TT with the best. Pogacar has. Before the TdF, Pogacar has beaten Roglic in the Slovenian TT championship

Sepp Kuss - he is a super domestic, and an opportunist stage hunter. He can't TT like Pogacar nor even Evenepoel. And he's 4 years older than Pogacar.

van der Poel - he's destined to be a classics guy. Will never be GC guy.

USAZorro

Pogacar, Van der Poel, Van Aert, Evanpoel, Hirschi, Almeida, Bernal, Mas, Kuss, McNulty (no doubt I'm missing some). Not all are GC types, but there's certainly a potentially bright future there with room for a lot of exciting days in the saddle.

MinnMan

Alas, van der Poel just ended his season with a bad crash....

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...e-panne-473339

No word on injuries yet