Will concentrate on shorter stage races after disappointing Tour
Michael Rogers has given up any ambition of winning the Tour de France, with the Australian believing that he no longer has the ability to challenge for three week races.
The HTC Columbia rider went into this year’s race determined to ride strongly, and was motivated by a superb season which included wins in the Vuelta a Andalucia and the Tour of California. He got off to a solid start with 14th in the prologue, was fifteenth overall heading out of the Alps, but then crumbled in the Pyrenees. Rogers exited the final mountain stages back in 37th overall, one hour seven minutes behind Alberto Contador, and has accepted that he has to forget dreams of a future podium slot in the race.
“I made a lot of sacrifices this year and gave my best shot to the Tour,” he said in a frank TV interview with Fox Sports. “In hindsight I was in too good a condition too early. Winning California was very positive and I am very proud of the win, but I paid the price big time here.
“I will concentrate on the shorter stage races, I think. Races of one week. I tried everything this year but I have to accept the fact that I don’t recover in that last week like some of the other guys do. If you really analyse my season, I perform well in those one week stage races, where in that first week I recover each day really well.”
Rogers finished ninth overall in the 2006 Tour de France and looked like a possible future contender for the win. He crashed out of the 2007 edition while being en route to taking the yellow jersey, then afterwards suffered a bout of Epstein Barr virus.
He battled back the following year to finish as runner-up in the Tour of Missouri and Sachsen Tour, as well as third in the Eneco Tour of the Benelux and fifth in the Olympic road race. Those results raised hopes that he would get back on track as a Grand Tour contender and seventh overall in the Giro d’Italia was a positive sign. However, despite those wins in California and Spain this year, he’s decided that Grand Tours are beyond him.
“There’s not many riders who can perform well. There’s only a handful of guys who can do it,” the 30 year old said. “I can accept that I am not one of them. I can still have a great career winning shorter stage races.”
Of course, Rogers had an important role in this year’s race; he helped Mark Cavendish to four stage wins, and is likely to be one of his engines on today’s final stage to Paris. Cavendish has taken fourteen Tour stage wins thus far, and Rogers believes that the Briton will go on to be the most successful sprinter in the history of the race.
Looking a little later in the season, Rogers has a chance to compete in the world championships on home soil in Australia. He is a triple winner of the world time trial championships and while he is highly unlikely to beat Fabian Cancellara, he may decide to aim for a medal in the event this year.