Have you seen Kim Kirchen?
The Luxembourg rider had been a force for several years, culminating in his stunning 2008 season where the Luxembourger won the Flèche Wallonne, took stages in the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour of Switzerland, the Tour de France and many other prizes.
Alive and well?
Kirchen was so good he even finished second in the final time trial stage of the 2008 Tour de France, just behind Fabian Cancellara but smashing the likes of Evans and Millar over 51km.
But this year he didn’t even finish the Flèche Wallonne, although it was his first race after a one month injury break. His highest position has been sixth place in Trofeo Deia, part of the early season Majorca races, his next best result a 20th place in a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.
What’s happened to this talented one day rider? He was very powerful in one day races and Tours alike, whilst he could not climb with the best in the highest mountains he was a regular contender in any hill race.
But today he seems to be pack fodder, although no doubt with a very comfortable salary from Katusha. Perhaps fate will determine that as soon as I write this he’ll bounce back, possibly winning the Tour of Switzerland.
What’s happened here, how can a rider go from such consistent success to mediocrity? Surprisingly Doris Day might be able to give a clue. Wait for the chorus…
I was wondering the same earlier in the season, during the classics. Someone claimed he'd been out of action for a protracted period with an infected saddle sore on the perineum. Didn't he have a history of back trouble when he was at Fasso/T-Mobile that was only solved when Stapleton took over? Perhaps he's struggling with that again.
Strong in the uphill finishes and he was even surprisingly strong in the Tour de France time trials. Almost identical to Stefan Schumacher in terms of style, no?