dlwssonic said:BMC has a chance to win the TTT. Their team looks superb. Maybe one of them can go for the overall too.
Mellow Velo said:Yes and if BMC win half the races that you tip them to win, then they will win 50% of the races they enter, this season.
just some guy said:To be fair though in this case in probably is a race in 2 between Sky and BMC unless Garmin send some of their engines.
El Pistolero said:Lol, Quickstep will win the TTT. They've won a few TTTs here in the past and now they have a much better team for time trials.
El Pistolero said:Lol, Quickstep will win the TTT. They've won a few TTTs here in the past and now they have a much better team for time trials.
just some guy said:Not this year they won´t
will10 said:Depends on who they send to Qatar obviously. They've also got some terrible TTers. Do you know their Qatar squad other than Boonen?
Something to do with the race being in Qatar, and shipment costs being too high.Dancing On The Pedals said:Do they get to use TT bikes for this? I can't remember which early season races don't allow TT bikes... (something to do with the smaller teams being at a disadvantage?)
El Pistolero said:Do you think someone like Cavendish will be in form already for the Tour of Qatar? I doubt it. Their team isn't that special, they'll certainly be up there for the podium, but they're not as unstopable as you seem to imagine. Same goes for BMC, guys like Gilbert and Hushovd won't be in top shape yet.
roundabout said:I wouldn't be surprised to see QS punching above their weight should they send a "weaker" team
will10 said:Guys like Leipheimer aren't going to ride Qatar. It's a buildup race for the classics, so it's much more likely to see a classics type squad than a typical 'big engines for GTs' squad.
i.e. I think it's more likely that we'll see folk like Steegmans, Vandenbergh, Van Kiersbulck, Brammier, Fenn etc. than Martin, Leipheimer or Peter Velits.
Swede1 said:I actually like the Qatar and Oman races. The winds make them exciting. Boonen's sprint win last year was pretty sweet with the reduced peloton and the crazy wind. I'm just waiting for a full on sandstorm to hit the peloton during a stage. Now that would cause some gaps. Somone like Wouter Mol would win by 4 hours out of pure luck.
LabMonkey said:With just a few days till this race starts I though I would bump it back to the first page.
Another sprinter showdown ahead - we all know the big boys will fight it out.
But, what about the smaller teams - who are the main guys to look out for from the likes of Bridgestone Anchor, Champion Systems, FDJ-Bigmat and RTS?
Dekker_Tifosi said:Garmin usually does well in TTT's too. But they don't sent their specialists to Qatar..only Dekker. And then some fast men, eg Hunter, Fischer, Farrar, Rathe.. Vansummeren will be a help in the TTT as well.
But there's no Millar, no Zabriskie, etc