2013 Speculation (and confirmation) thread - rider schedules and parcours

[velosiped]

Sky's lineup for TDU: EBH, Sutton, G, Hayman, Eisel, Rowe, Stannard.

I'm very surprised EBH is going, after Beijing he said that he'd start the 2013 season later since he had as long a season as one can have in 2012 (start in TDU, end in Beijing). I don't know if he's changed his mind or if he's being "forced".

I really think he should have started in Qatar or Oman instead. Not only are they better preparation for the classics, but they'd also bring more opportunities to get victories. In TDU there are lots of Australians who for some reason peak for the TDU (only to get the rest of the season ruined - see Matthews every year) so it's hard for foreigners to do much.

No chance in hell that he can compete with Boonen and Cancellara on the long cobbles this coming spring.
An early form would give him a peak that could help him win races like omloop and M-SR; obtainable victories at this point of his career.

[LaFlorecita]

Alberto: San Luis and then the big surprise Tour of Oman

[DominicDecoco]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2013-tour-of-flanders-route-presented

Disappointing.

[Ryo Hazuki]

same as last year? that route was great. although maybe too hard

[DominicDecoco]

I really didn't find it that great. It missed 'something'.. It wasn't bad, mind you, just don't see the change of the route as an upgrade from the previous route.

[maltiv]

No chance in hell that he can compete with Boonen and Cancellara on the long cobbles this coming spring.
An early form would give him a peak that could help him win races like omloop and M-SR; obtainable victories at this point of his career.

Indeed. Actually EBH is going for both TDU and Qatar, which is quite unusual. Seems like Sky thinks he needs a lot of racing to get into shape. I guess they're basing it on the fact that EBH just got better and better throughout 2012 with a lot of racing in his legs. It might work, but it might also just lead to a way too early peak..

Peaking for M-SR wouldn't be such a bad idea though, it's the classic he has by far the greatest chance of winning imo.

[Ryo Hazuki]

he doesn't stand a chance of winning any classic. by now we can savely say he doesn't have the engine.

[Vino attacks everyone]

he doesn't stand a chance of winning any classic. by now we can savely say he doesn't have the engine.

atleast not the cobble classics. In the WC it looked like he could be a contender for races like AGR and San Sebastian perhaps

[Ryo Hazuki]

atleast not the cobble classics. In the WC it looked like he could be a contender for races like AGR and San Sebastian perhaps

the wc can't be compared to any classic, it's a circuit at the end of a year. classics are way harder on endurance

[Froome19]

No chance in hell that he can compete with Boonen and Cancellara on the long cobbles this coming spring.
An early form would give him a peak that could help him win races like omloop and M-SR; obtainable victories at this point of his career.

After watching his immense strength at Plouay and then the World Champs if he can be in form for the Classics (something he has struggled to achieve) then I would not put it past him to mix it with the big boys. Not to say I believe he will do it, but EBH's strength when on form sometimes just astounds me and seems to be a bit reminiscent of Cancellara.

[Froome19]

he doesn't stand a chance of winning any classic. by now we can savely say he doesn't have the engine.

Based on what exactly?

When have you seen him truly be on form in the classics in recent years?
All I have seen when it comes to Classic type races is his perfomances at Plouay and the Worlds last year etc. The ardennes are certainly something he should consider this year imo.

[Ferminal]

Plouay is not exactly the best indicator, do not see Grega Bole being talked up as an L-B-L contender. Its only relevance to any monument is M-SR.

[maltiv]

Based on what exactly?

When have you seen him truly be on form in the classics in recent years?
All I have seen when it comes to Classic type races is his perfomances at Plouay and the Worlds last year etc. The ardennes are certainly something he should consider this year imo.

He wasn't too bad in RVV this year. Was up there on all climbs, but lost a lot of energy after being hindered by the Vansummeren crash, leaving him dangling between two groups. When things got back together he was up there again with the Sagan group. In the sprint for 4th, however, he somehow managed to sprint so badly he was caught by the peloton and finished 19th. Or perhaps he simply didn't care about sprinting for a top 10 position. Either way, it was a decent performance for a 24 y.o, particularly considering how much energy he lost due to the crash.

[Froome19]

Agreed and I do not think I would really use it as a definitive indicator but the manner of his victory suggested he was streets ahead of the field. Take Cancellara's win at Strade Bianche no one would suggest that SB can be compared to Flanders or Roubaix but nevertheless his dominance made a win in one of those two seem rather probable.

[Froome19]

He wasn't too bad in RVV this year. Was up there on all climbs, but lost a lot of energy after being hindered by the Vansummeren crash, leaving him dangling between two groups. When things got back together he was up there again with the Sagan group. In the sprint for 4th, however, he somehow managed to sprint so badly he was caught by the peloton and finished 19th. Or perhaps he simply didn't care about sprinting for a top 10 position. Either way, it was a decent performance for a 24 y.o, particularly considering how much energy he lost due to the crash.

Indeed but I think it was clear he was not at his best in the spring. His performance at MSR was just plain dour for starters..

Edit: Btw I was saying that there is no evidence to say that EBH can not dominate the classics from his previous performances, so we cant use them to discount them in the future.

[Dazed and Confused]

He wasn't too bad in RVV this year. Was up there on all climbs, but lost a lot of energy after being hindered by the Vansummeren crash, leaving him dangling between two groups. When things got back together he was up there again with the Sagan group. In the sprint for 4th, however, he somehow managed to sprint so badly he was caught by the peloton and finished 19th. Or perhaps he simply didn't care about sprinting for a top 10 position. Either way, it was a decent performance for a 24 y.o, particularly considering how much energy he lost due to the crash.

agree, its a little too early to write off EBH as a contender for the top cobbles races.

[maltiv]

Indeed but I think it was clear he was not at his best in the spring. His performance at MSR was just plain dour for starters..

Yes, he wasn't at his best, that was clear in G-W and E3 etc where he normally should've been up there (even if he doesn't have an "engine" as Ryo would say). However, his performance in MSR was more due to horrible positioning than anything else. 1 km ahead of Poggio he was amongst the top 10 of the group together with Löfkvist, but going into Poggio, the two of them somehow managed to fall all the way back to the very back of the group. Poggio is quite small, so at that point they were screwed. EBH said afterwards that he wasn't really tired, but couldn't pass riders either as the climb was too small and thus he was caught out by the split.

With a team to help him position himself, instead of a team that is waiting for Cavendish 20 minutes behind, he could've had a chance. But obviously he should've been able to position himself in such a small group by himself...

[theyoungest]

Indeed. Actually EBH is going for both TDU and Qatar, which is quite unusual. Seems like Sky thinks he needs a lot of racing to get into shape. I guess they're basing it on the fact that EBH just got better and better throughout 2012 with a lot of racing in his legs. It might work, but it might also just lead to a way too early peak..

Peaking for M-SR wouldn't be such a bad idea though, it's the classic he has by far the greatest chance of winning imo.

Meh, he'll have to deal with Sagan, who can better handle the distance, and is probably slightly faster. He isn't going to drop Sagan on the Poggio or the descent.

You tend to blame every race he doesn't win on the team, but to me he's just a good rider who isn't great at anything. And that's a problem, in today's highly specialized peloton.

[maltiv]

Meh, he'll have to deal with Sagan, who can better handle the distance, and is probably slightly faster. He isn't going to drop Sagan on the Poggio or the descent.

You tend to blame every race he doesn't win on the team, but to me he's just a good rider who isn't great at anything. And that's a problem, in today's highly specialized peloton.

I didn't say EBH was the favourite, just that it was the classic he had the greatest chance of winning. Using this "x rider can't beat y"-rider argument makes no sense, really. The same was used in worlds last year - but guess what, Sagan was no where near the front. Even if Sagan in fact is better at both sprinting and climbing, that doesn't mean he'll beat him. There are lots of other variables in cycling...daily form, punctures, positioning, tactics etc. Being better "on paper" doesn't get you anywhere!

The team could've helped him in MSR last year to a better result, but it was his own fault that he did such a poor job in positioning. And no, I'm not retarded - the team was excellent in e.g. P-R and RVV, but he wasn't good enough

[Ryo Hazuki]

Based on what exactly?

When have you seen him truly be on form in the classics in recent years?
All I have seen when it comes to Classic type races is his perfomances at Plouay and the Worlds last year etc. The ardennes are certainly something he should consider this year imo.

based on every classic race in which he blew up(which are all of them!. I remember msr this year vividly, but I'm sure maltiv has a 100 excuses of why he failed there