2012 Criterium du Dauphiné

[dlwssonic]

I actually think the parcours is pretty nice and balance. But we won't get to see aggressive racing from the tdf favourites.

 

[Mellow Velo]

I'm hoping for a good result for Van Garderen, maybe another podium position in this race!

He'll be looking fine until the Joux Plane.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Jurgen Van den Broeck has no idea where he is conditionally. Has trained as much as last year, but less intensive. So he might come up short during the Dauphiné. His ambition is top 10 in the tour, podium would be nice but is realistic with the amount of ITT km's. Has never trained as much on his ITT as now, but will never become a specialist.

 

[maltiv]

He'll be looking fine until the Joux Plane.

He's a pretty good descender though (I think?) so in that case he'd be able to limit a lot of the damage. Particularly if it's Wiggins descending in the front...

 

[jens_attacks]

He's a pretty good descender though (I think?) so in that case he'd be able to limit a lot of the damage. Particularly if it's Wiggins descending in the front...

not gonna happen
sky will do on joux-plane what they did on allevard last year.there won't be many guys left at the top,tejay will lose at least 3 minutes if they go again that fast.and they will.

 

[Bavarianrider]

I think van den Broeck in theory has good potential to do well in TTes. So when he says he trained a lot on his TT bike, i think he could show some real improvement. If so he's areal thread for the Tour podium.

 

[Lanark]

The last time they did the Joux-Plane in the Dauphiné the top-5 climbers finished within 8 seconds. This isn't the end of a three week Tour, I wouldn't expect big differences on that climb alone.

 

[Mellow Velo]

The last time they did the Joux-Plane in the Dauphiné the top-5 climbers finished within 8 seconds. This isn't the end of a three week Tour, I wouldn't expect big differences on that climb alone.

Except TVG continues to show us that he isn't quite a top 5 climber.
When he blows, it's usually significantly.
I would say he could easily cover any potential losses, with the uber-long ITT, but he is also up against climbers who are better trialists.
Plus, he'll be Cadel's main mountain man.
He'll have to do his job and see how well he hangs in, afterwards.

All things considered, I can't see him in the top 5, let alone podium.

 

[maltiv]

not gonna happen
sky will do on joux-plane what they did on allevard last year.there won't be many guys left at the top,tejay will lose at least 3 minutes if they go again that fast.and they will.

Hopefully they'll save EBH so he can hold Wiggins' hand in the descend I remember on the final stage last year EBH was dropped after working a lot when the TV coverage started in the middle of the ascent of Glandon yet he somehow caught up with the peloton on the descend, must have taken 2-3 minutes...

I don't think he has that form this year though, he's been sick after Tour of Norway. But I guess Wiggins has a lot better mountain domestiques this year anyway.

 

[Bavarianrider]

I hope somebody opens a thread for the prologe, soon

 

[will10]

Where did this myth about Wiggins being a poor descender come from?

He's no Nibali but he's no Andy either.

 

[maltiv]

Where did this myth about Wiggins being a poor descender come from?

He's no Nibali but he's no Andy either.

He did some truly horrible descends in the Vuelta last year, and those descends were really easy as well. He couldn't have looked more uncomfortable. I think he was even dropped on the small descend before Angliru...But I'm pretty sure he has improved since then.

 

[Havetts]

Left huge gaps in the Volta Catalunya stage 2 descent as well..

 

[hatcher]

Where did this myth about Wiggins being a poor descender come from?

He's no Nibali but he's no Andy either.

He was awful in the Vuelta, and admitted to being nervous about falling due to his collarbone. Whether he's over it or not I'm not sure, but it's definitely something the likes of Nibali should test out given the chance. He's a very good bike handler, so it shouldn't be an issue, unless it has become a mental thing.

 

[hatcher]

Left huge gaps in the Volta Catalunya stage 2 descent as well..

We saw that from a heli shot though, didn't we? Very hard to tell what was going on.

 

[theyoungest]

Except TVG continues to show us that he isn't quite a top 5 climber.
When he blows, it's usually significantly.
I would say he could easily cover any potential losses, with the uber-long ITT, but he is also up against climbers who are better trialists.
Plus, he'll be Cadel's main mountain man.
He'll have to do his job and see how well he hangs in, afterwards.

All things considered, I can't see him in the top 5, let alone podium.

When he got 3d in the Dauphine, he limited his losses on the Alpe d'Huez pretty well... actually, that course was pretty similar to this year, with only one really decisive climb, and a crazy long TT. This is the type of race where he should shine, when there's multiple real climbing stages he's in trouble.

 

[phanatic]

I actually think the parcours is pretty nice and balance. But we won't get to see aggressive racing from the tdf favourites.

It seems the real imbalance with the Dauphine is the high level of the field with the low level of the competition.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

what time doe sthe prologie start and where's starting order?

 

[LaFleur]

what time doe sthe prologie start and where's starting order?

Is there even a true start list yet? Haven't seen one..

 

[Bavarianrider]

The last rider starts as early as 14:35 Central Europe time

 

[Bavarianrider]

It's interesting that it actually starts with a little climb right away.

 

[Lanark]

It could be a 50cm ascent, there isn't anything in that profile that shows how high it is.

 

[LaFleur]

It could be a 50cm ascent, there isn't anything in that profile that shows how high it is.

That could just be the ascent and descent of the starting platform to show Schleck what he will be dealing with.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

It's interesting that it actually starts with a little climb right away.

:facepalm:

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

The last rider starts as early as 14:35 Central Europe time

so the race is almost finished?