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WHAT WILL FABIO ARU DO IN 2021?
Now it was clear to everyone that Fabio Aru was no longer a rider capable of reaching high rankings on a grand lap and we had already talked about it last week. One wonders now which runner the Sardinian really is today. At present, even a single-stage victory appears to be a pipe dream. And are we sure it can really be useful for a captain disguised as a wingman? No, it wouldn’t. Not now. And we’re not even sure he wants it: those who were used to fighting for big goals have a hard time accepting a cut of this magnitude. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I have no answers,” said the Knight of the Four Moors disconsolately. Giuseppe Saronni, an advisor to the United Arab Emirates, had given an answer a few hours earlier: “Aru has psychological problems. He lacks that character to react to difficulties, he immediately collapses ”. In the current triennium, Aru participated in five races in three-week stages: three he did not complete (Giro 2018, Vuelta 2019 and Tour 2020), in one he finished 23 (Vuelta 2018) and in another 14 (Tour 2019): ruthless numbers. He has not won since 2017, when he was still wearing the Astana jersey. The landing in the United Arab Emirates turned out to be a total failure for both parties. Aru signed a three-year contract worth € 3.2 million per season: he is still the fourth highest paid rider in the world behind Sagan, Froome and Nibali. An investment that was literally gone by the UAE team. However, the contract will expire at the end of the season and, needless to say, it will not be renewed. Let’s face it: there is no line to grab Fabio Aru, far from it. Nobody would be willing to support the current figures, it is assumed that the Italian, in any case, will have to face a strong reduction in economic claims. But, after all, it is a secondary aspect. First of all, you have to deal with reality: who would hire a broker who has been accumulating bad numbers in series for three years? It would be a real gamble … Last year Gianni Savio, Androni’s historic sports director, revealed that he would be fascinated by the possibility of being able to relaunch Fabio Aru, as he has done in the past with other runners who seemed lost. . Logically, it would be a matter of starting from scratch or almost, also in a Professional team: would the Sardinian be willing to return to the game from below and with humility? It is not certain that the winner of the Vuelta 2015 will receive attractive offers for 2021. And it is more than likely that he will start to tire of having to face days like today. Three years of agony is a long time. Therefore, the hypothesis of Fabio Aru’s retirement from cycling at the end of the season should not be ruled out.
PRIMOZ ROGLIC IN THE FAVORITE POSITION
Now that you have taken the yellow jersey, you can run on defense however you want. He is a walker-climber capable of imposing a clear selection in the time trial, but at the same time struggling to run and produce significant unevenness on the climbs. Today he has worked hard to gain the maximum number of seconds from those who chase the first group formed by the Slovenian and Pogacar, Bernal, Landa and Hirschi. He shot practically up to 300 meters from the finish line, canceling the possibility of winning due to a non-optimal starting position in the sprint. Together with Jumbo-Visma he was the master of this first week of the Tour de France. He wears the yellow jersey, but in the end he has a negligible lead in qualifying of just 21 ″ over Egan Bernal. The third week could smile at the Colombian, but surely this Roglic will be a tough nut to crack and it won’t be easy to get him out. Not forgetting the 36 km time trial of the Planche des Belles Filles. The truth is that now the tactical script should change. Roglic and Jumbo should confine themselves to containing the ‘dangerous’ leaks through the yellow jersey, leaving the initiative and possible attacks to rivals. The Slovenian is in the tactical position he prefers.
BUT EGAN BERNAL IS SCARED …
He is not at his best, but he has already advanced today compared to yesterday. If it grows day by day, with the many mountains to climb on the horizon, then it could again make a void as it happened in 2019. The Bernal is not yet the one that is progressing imposing an unsustainable pace, however it is second in the classification. general … A concern is represented by the team: Carapaz aside, the current Ineos is a distant relative of the battleship that monopolized the Grande Boucle until last season.
CAN TADEJ POGACAR WIN THE TOUR?
In modern cycling, as we are seeing, the gaps are now minimal and it has become more difficult than ever to dig large ruts in the great mountains. For this reason, losing 1’21 “as happened to the Slovenian in the fans stage can be decisive in the negative sense: he could regret those 81 seconds for a long time … In the Pyrenees the captain of the United Arab Emirates was the better on the climb, but we know that the Tour is long and it is not certain that it will also be in the Alps, the feeling is that he has progressed to the point of being able to play with Roglic and Bernal. The podium, however, is still the minimum objective.
BRAVO LANDA, MA
Today uphill was in the top four. In qualifying, however, he is tenth, well 1’42 “from Roglic and 1’14” from Guillame Martin’s virtual podium: that’s a lot. As brilliant as he is, Landa does not seem to be able to rise as the best climber on this Tour. But in the past it has already shown that it can surprise with surprise attacks from afar..
WHO WILL NOT WIN THE TOUR DE FRANCE?
Adam Yates, Valverde, Buchmann, Porte, Mas, Mollema, Dumoulin.
WHO PLAYS PODIUM?
Quintana, Uran, Bardet, Martin, Lopez, Landa. For now, it must be said, they are all one step below the three great favorites of the day before: Roglic, Bernal and Pogacar.
WHERE CAN DAMIANO CARUSO GO?
If you don’t have a bad day, the top 20 appears almost on the ice, but the top 15 is also one step away. Instead, the top 10 seems out of reach..
NOW THE DAY OF REST: EYE THE PADS …
Tomorrow the runners will be subjected to swabs to detect the presence of Covid-19. A far more terrifying and subtle enemy than any other opponent. We know that, by regulation, a team is obliged to withdraw if two riders test positive. We sincerely hope that the ranking is not altered by unwanted surprises..
THE DIRECTOR’S TOUR
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Photo: Lapresse
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