2012 Speculation (and confirmation) thread - rider schedules and parcours

[Ryo Hazuki]

he will be a helper for tour or a helper in the vuelta. he's not going to be a leader in ahy gt with at least 4 guys higher up the ladder: horner, kloden, frank and andy for sure

 

[theyoungest]

Tour of Turkey 2012 to have a stage finish on a climb of 8 k at 10%

 

[Parrulo]

he will be a helper for tour or a helper in the vuelta. he's not going to be a leader in ahy gt with at least 4 guys higher up the ladder: horner, kloden, frank and andy for sure

but all those 4 guys will be doing the tour and horner will prolly also peak in may for the ToC and we all know andy won't race the vuelta so that only leaves frank and kloden ahead of him and maybe fugslang which may ride the giro and the tour so prolly won't ride the vuelta.

he may have a shot at being at least a free rider there which i would say is good enough if we take into account his results this year and how he failed to peak at the right time for both GT's he rode.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

radioshack definetely won't win the tour in my book so then all 4 of those guys but at least the schlecks and kloden will be carried over to the vuelta to win that one

 

[Parrulo]

radioshack definetely won't win the tour in my book so then all 4 of those guys but at least the schlecks and kloden will be carried over to the vuelta to win that one

i highly doubt andy will take the vuelta seriously so that only leaves frank and kloden

 

[trevim]

i highly doubt andy will take the vuelta seriously so that only leaves frank and kloden

C'mon Monfort, Fugslang, Zubeldia and maybe even Popovych and Zaugg are all ahead of Machado in the GT ranking of the team. His only chance to lead the team will be on those 2nd category stage races he'll be riding. No way he's gonna be sole leader in the Vuelta or even a co-leader if he doesn't show signs of improvement.

 

[Parrulo]

C'mon Monfort, Fugslang, Zubeldia and maybe even Popovych and Zaugg are all ahead of Machado in the GT ranking of the team. His only chance to lead the team will be on those 2nd category stage races he'll be riding. No way he's gonna be sole leader in the Vuelta or even a co-leader if he doesn't show signs of improvement.

monfort and fugslang surely but zubeldia is old and popo hasn't show anything on a GT in ages and just cus zaugg won the GdL lets get ahead of ourselves i highly doubt he will ever reach a result as good, besides fugsland will prolly ride the giro and the tour so he won't be at the vuelta and monfort will also be at the tour so the vuelta won't be his main focus

and guess why he is racing all those second tier week long races on the first half of the season? thats right to see if he shows some improvement as he will prolly get a free role at all of them, besides i never said he would be the sole leader or even co-captain, i said maybe he could get a free role to do his best on his own

 

[theyoungest]

monfort and fugslang surely but zubeldia is old and popo hasn't show anything on a GT in ages and just cus zaugg won the GdL lets get ahead of ourselves i highly doubt he will ever reach a result as good, besides fugsland will prolly ride the giro and the tour so he won't be at the vuelta and monfort will also be at the tour so the vuelta won't be his main focus

In the 2008 Vuelta, Zaugg finished 11th. Including the following stage result:

Vuelta a España, Stage 13 : San Vicente de la Barquera - Alto de L'Angliru (209.5 km) 13/09/2008

1. [ESP] CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto AST 5h52'35" 70
2. [ESP] VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro GCE 42" 40
3. [ESP] RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin GCE 58" 25
4. [USA] LEIPHEIMER Levi AST 01'05" 15
5. [ESP] SASTRE CANDIL Carlos CSC 01'32" 10
6. [NED] GESINK Robert RAB 01'56" 7
7. [ESP] MOSQUERA MIGUEZ Ezequiel KGZ 02'18" 5
8. [SUI] ZAUGG Oliver GST 02'28" 3
9. [ITA] CUNEGO Damiano LAM 02'43" 2
10. [ESP] MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel GCE 03'01" 1

If I had to choose between him and Machado as team leader for the Vuelta, I'd know whom to pick. But Bruyneel seems rather fond of Machado, almost like with Brajkovic.

 

[will10]

Tour of Turkey 2012 to have a stage finish on a climb of 8 k at 10%

Finally, Tour of Turkey using the terrain they have properly.

 

[Parrulo]

In the 2008 Vuelta, Zaugg finished 11th. Including the following stage result:

Vuelta a España, Stage 13 : San Vicente de la Barquera - Alto de L'Angliru (209.5 km) 13/09/2008

1. [ESP] CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto AST 5h52'35" 70
2. [ESP] VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro GCE 42" 40
3. [ESP] RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin GCE 58" 25
4. [USA] LEIPHEIMER Levi AST 01'05" 15
5. [ESP] SASTRE CANDIL Carlos CSC 01'32" 10
6. [NED] GESINK Robert RAB 01'56" 7
7. [ESP] MOSQUERA MIGUEZ Ezequiel KGZ 02'18" 5
8. [SUI] ZAUGG Oliver GST 02'28" 3
9. [ITA] CUNEGO Damiano LAM 02'43" 2
10. [ESP] MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel GCE 03'01" 1

i don't think coming 11st in a GT and 8th on a hard MTF comes even close to winning a monument so even if he repeats that performance or even manages a top 10 i wouldn't rate it as highly as his lombardy win

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

i don't think coming 11st in a GT and 8th on a hard MTF comes even close to winning a monument so even if he repeats that performance or even manages a top 10 i wouldn't rate it as highly as his lombardy win

what does a lombardy have to do with being a gt leader?

 

[Parrulo]

what does a lombardy have to do with being a gt leader?

uh? i was just comparing the importance of those results . . .

 

[trevim]

monfort and fugslang surely but zubeldia is old and popo hasn't show anything on a GT in ages and just cus zaugg won the GdL lets get ahead of ourselves i highly doubt he will ever reach a result as good, besides fugsland will prolly ride the giro and the tour so he won't be at the vuelta and monfort will also be at the tour so the vuelta won't be his main focus

and guess why he is racing all those second tier week long races on the first half of the season? thats right to see if he shows some improvement as he will prolly get a free role at all of them, besides i never said he would be the sole leader or even co-captain, i said maybe he could get a free role to do his best on his own

I mentioned Zaugg because he was already a better climber than Machado before Lombardia and with this win his status on the team may be a bit higher.

About Popovych and Zubeldia you're right, they haven't shown a lot but they have some status on the team that Machado hasn't.

 

[greenedge]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/horner-begins-2012-preparations-early

In this it talks about how horner wants to do more stage races ( even earlier in the season ). He has said he is weighing up whether to do T-A or Paris Nice. I personally feel he would be better at P-N if only because the climbs are not as punchy. However he might go to to T-A because of his view that he can only be dropped by Contador.

Zaugg showed very good form at the Vuelta working for Fuglsang/ Monfort. I would not choose him as a GT leader but he is a good climber ( who i tipped if he was in a break at GDL to win, though even that still underestimated him ). Maybe with Bruyneel he ould target GC in the Vuelta. However i understand Bruyneel wanting to try develop Machado as a GT leader. He is however very fragile ( just like Brajkovic ). Bruyneel has to get his climbing up a bit more and also time his form better, whilst also not running him into the ground. I think Popo and Zubeldia are good domestiques who can challenge for a top 10 in a weaker GT ( Vuelta ). Popos' best domestique work was in 07 for Contador. Zubeldia has a good ITT and is still strong.

 

[greenedge]

i highly doubt andy will take the vuelta seriously so that only leaves frank and kloden

He might if Bruyneel wants him to and if he is serious about the WC.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I would pick machado over zaugg, popo (this guy accepted he was a domestique a long time ago). I'm fond of him, giving the chance I wouldn't mind giving him a free role at either the giro / vuelta depending on my other riders of course. That being said he needs to start performing a little better.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The best thing for Machado is for them to take another leader. Tell him he's free to do what he likes, and he'll start behaving like he did back at Boavista and start to ping off the front like a Portuguese Vino. Given the non-starter that has been his GC bids so far he'll probably be more successful AND more likable.

Machado used to be one of the most entertaining riders in the world to watch. I feared Bruyneel would beat that out of him. He's on the way.

 

[Parrulo]

I would pick machado over zaugg, popo (this guy accepted he was a domestique a long time ago). I'm fond of him, giving the chance I wouldn't mind giving him a free role at either the giro / vuelta depending on my other riders of course. That being said he needs to start performing a little better.

The best thing for Machado is for them to take another leader. Tell him he's free to do what he likes, and he'll start behaving like he did back at Boavista and start to ping off the front like a Portuguese Vino. Given the non-starter that has been his GC bids so far he'll probably be more successful AND more likable.

Machado used to be one of the most entertaining riders in the world to watch. I feared Bruyneel would beat that out of him. He's on the way.

ya i agree with both this posts. machado needs to start performing, the talent is there but at 26 he needs to start behaving like a mature rider (hitting peaks at the right time and learning how to ride in the peloton)

 

[Vicelard]

Guys,
Just read Horner's interview.
Sounds like he's not going to ride the ardennes classics?

I hope he does. In 2010 he was one of the strongest with 3 top 10.

Also hope he comes in Europe again in september, he's the strongest american for the WC.

 

[maltiv]

The route and some of the teams for Glava Tour of Norway (2.1) next year has been released. The WorldTour teams will be Sky, Garmin, GreenEdge and Lotto. Edvald has already guaranteed that he will be there and while the route is quite hilly, it should suit him well. As expected it doesn't seem as if they've included any MTF's. Too bad, because Norway has a lot of spectacular climbs.

Perhaps most surprising is that BMC doesn't want to go - a decision Hushovd was not happy with at all. Obviously a big loss for the organizer that the greatest Norwegian cyclist, if not athlete, of all time will not be starting the first big stage race in his home country.

 

[auscyclefan94]

The route and some of the teams for Glava Tour of Norway (2.1) next year has been released. The WorldTour teams will be Sky, Garmin, GreenEdge and Lotto. Edvald has already guaranteed that he will be there and while the route is quite hilly, it should suit him well. As expected it doesn't seem as if they've included any MTF's. Too bad, because Norway has a lot of spectacular climbs.

Perhaps most surprising is that BMC doesn't want to go - a decision Hushovd was not happy with at all. Obviously a big loss for the organizer that the greatest Norwegian cyclist, if not athlete, of all time will not be starting the first big stage race in his home country.

Did Hushovd actually say he wasn't happy? When is the race?

 

[maltiv]

Did Hushovd actually say he wasn't happy? When is the race?

He said that, but who knows, he might actually feel that it doesn't fit well with his schedule. It's from 16-20th of May so it runs simultaneously with the Giro and ToC. Not a good timing for a race, the race organizers actually wanted it to be between 1. and 5th of june I think, in which case they'd only be competing with Tour of Luxembourg. UCI didn't want that though...

 

[theyoungest]

The route and some of the teams for Glava Tour of Norway (2.1) next year has been released. The WorldTour teams will be Sky, Garmin, GreenEdge and Lotto. Edvald has already guaranteed that he will be there and while the route is quite hilly, it should suit him well. As expected it doesn't seem as if they've included any MTF's. Too bad, because Norway has a lot of spectacular climbs.

Perhaps most surprising is that BMC doesn't want to go - a decision Hushovd was not happy with at all. Obviously a big loss for the organizer that the greatest Norwegian cyclist, if not athlete, of all time will not be starting the first big stage race in his home country.

Hushovd is Norway's greatest athlete of all time? In my personal opinion your greatest athlete ever is Johann Olav Koss, and objectively it's probably Bjørn Dæhlie (edit: or indeed Bjørndalen)

Wonder if the Tour of Norway will still invite the team that provided last year's winner

 

[Christian]

I mentioned Zaugg because he was already a better climber than Machado before Lombardia and with this win his status on the team may be a bit higher.

Zaugg had a free role at LEOPARD TREK because they didn't have much depth. They were stretched thin in quite a few good races, that is how he got a free role at the Tour of Poland or Dauphiné for example. In both races he put in good attacks but didn't win so they went unnoticed by the general public. If you look at their Giro line-up it looks like he had a free role too, maybe they even hoped for a top-10.

Unfortunately now with the larger team and stronger riders I fear he is back to his old domestique status. It will be interesting to see how they will approach the end of the season, as Andy and Fränk have already voiced their interest in the Worlds, I could imagine others such as Fuglsang and Monfort would like to figure as well. So maybe he will get some chances there again, with part of the team not focusing on personal results, but preparation for the Worlds

the greatest Norwegian cyclist, if not athlete, of all time

What about Ole Einar Bjorndalen??

 

[Vicelard]

Bjørn Dæhlie > all

Aksel Lund Svindal is also on top of the list.