Nope, not behind a paywall.
Is his status tumbling in gravel? He’s still in 5th in the Lifetime Grand Prix standings.
You had one guy who’s dominant and one guy suck his wheel for 3rd. Hardly a tumble.
I don’t trust Payson’s “account” of what was said out there. Like a WT rider would tell a big group that the race was already over. Give me a break…
It was tongue in cheek, not a personal attack.
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I just assume that happens all the time in races near the front. Somebody is trying to stick with a pack it’s struggling and either takes a short pull or pulls through but eventually they just get dropped completely. At least that’s what happens to me. lol
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It can be both….but more often it is referred to as not willing to work and trying to get others to work so you can ride their wheels.
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It is - you have to be an Outside member to read the articles with the lock symbol
Here’s another perspective, from Brennan Wertz who came in 4th.
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You have to look at what these guys are at their core - competitors. Just because you leave the world tour (or turn it down) doesn’t mean you’re suddenly OK with losing no matter how big your mustache is or how many times you drink a beer after a race in the dust. I think just about everybody gets that - losing sucks real bad. But you have to own it. If the rest of the time you’re singing kumbaya and extolling the virtues of gravel riding, people are going to start calling BS when you finish with a different spirit.
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“Pete Stetina thought that carrying a hydration pack wasn’t in the spirit of gravel,
lol that’s hilarious if that’s actually what he said or implied during the race.
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I really think this is not the case. What distinguishes the top WT guys is the uncanny ability to burn matches and recover, the “average” numbers are almost meaningless.
Yeah, I don’t claim to know how he’d do in a WT situation, but just saying his endurance power numbers are up there at the elite WT level. I disagree that average (or NP) power numbers are meaningless, there is no way to hit those kind of numbers without having world class physiology. 300 watts NP for 6 hours at leadville altitude is (conservatively) equivalent to 330-340 watts at sea level. That’s in some rare air, even at the WT level. Also, keep in mind that leadville isn’t a steady state effort. While it’s much more steady than a typical MTB race, there is a bunch of climbing where he pushed well over 300 and a bunch of coasting as well. I’m not saying Keegan would jump in and immediately be the next TDF gc winner, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him at the pointy end of the peloton and maybe become a strong classics rider.
Yeah. Agree to disagree. I think he would be lucky to be top75 in classic races. It’s a lot easier to race in the weak local scene when you are the top dog. In Europe he won’t be anywhere close to the top and the pace will be out of his control. There’s no “riding my race”.
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