Originally Posted by
cthenn
These questions should have been asked in 2009. Before 2009, he raced 4 grand tours, finishing no higher than ONE HUNDRED TWENTY THIRD! Then in 2009, he's 4th? That's the year I questioned his "dramatic" improvement. You don't go from being 123rd to 4th in a few years normally... His results over the past few years have been consistent, but that jump in 2009 was crazy. And saying "he lost 6 or 7 kilos" and/or "he had to transform himself from a track rider to road racer" doesn't mean you go from pack fodder to Jersey contender. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it's one of the most astonishing rises from one disclipine to another.
Except that before 2009 he never really looked entirely serious about the road. Certainly not about stage racing. Prologues, the odd TT, one crazy and unsuccessful 150km solo break I seem to remember. It wasn't until after the 2008 Olympics that he really put the pursuit second and focussed 100% on his road career.