2013 Santos Tour Down Under: 20th Jan - 27th Jan

[mc_mountain]

Its Wilunga Hill, not Angrilu.

if it was Angrilu I'd be taklking about whether he'd be inside the time limit.

you know he lost 6+ mins on the same stage last year?

 

[auscyclefan94]

if it was Angrilu I'd be taklking about whether he'd be inside the time limit.

you know he lost 6+ mins on the same stage last year?

Did you watch the stage? He was caught behind a massive split up the road that went away over the top of the Wilunga Hill for the 1st time.

 

[mc_mountain]

Did you watch the stage? He was caught behind a massive split up the road that went away over the top of the Wilunga Hill for the 1st time.

I'm not sure what your point is, he wasnt up with the head of the race the first time they went over Wilunga in 2012. how does that dispute my position that it is unlikely he will be a major factor on the same stage in 2013.

perhpas you can help me out, do you think

a)meyer will be tough to be beat on stage 5 of tdu 2013
b)meyer wont be much of a factor on stage 5 tdu 2013
c)not sure i'll hedge my bets by hyping him and then saying hype for meyer is unjustified.

and in case I have misunderstood your position

d)i have a consistent view on how cam meyer will perform on the stage in question and it is this...

 

[buster1]

This will definately be the best edition of the TDU (not that some of the past have been great to watch). The Montacute stage will b very interesting and in my opinion more important than Willunga. I think it will probably have a solo winnner or very small group but the gain will be very minimal. It wouldnt surprise me if some contenders not on form ruin there race here and now though considering how close the final GC at the TDU always is.

Having grown up little more than a couple of Ks away I agree with a lot of what Tragic has to say. Corkscrew Rd is definately harder than Willunga but a lot shorter.

If your half decent down hill and get to the top of Corkscrew with a gap I cant see you getting caught. The desent is probably more difficult at the top and will b hard to organise a chase behind as you get closer to the bottom the road straightens out. Its a fast desent but the roads are good ( i think there relaying some of the surface at the moment) and its down hill all the way to the finish even the last couple hundred meters.

Willunga in my opinion will be similar to last year with a small group sprint meaning who ever out of that lead group can do well on Montacute should take GC out barring break aways. Stirling I dont think will have a major impact on GC but should be a good day of racing. The other days are typical TDU days flat and probably hot.

 

[Ferminal]

Anyone who is in good form can top5-10 Wilunga. Form is a much better indicator than ability at this stage of the season.

 

[CQmanager]

I dont get it. How can TDU be a WT race if the average stage length is about 100km and most of the stages are flat. Same will apply to other races and especially to those somewhere in China.

 

[Ferminal]

Which regulations does that breach? Those are two separate issues.

 

[will10]

I dont get it. How can TDU be a WT race if the average stage length is about 100km and most of the stages are flat. Same will apply to other races and especially to those somewhere in China.

1. Your maths is a bit off
2. It's January. No-one would come in they slotted in a 250km epic in the Aussie heat.

 

[Tragic]

I dont get it. How can TDU be a WT race if the average stage length is about 100km and most of the stages are flat. Same will apply to other races and especially to those somewhere in China.

Not sure of your point - so only epic grand tours/classics in Europe should be WT?

It's early season, the stages are actually ~130 km (except for the last day which is more of a criterium), 3/6 are hilly, the riders actually love this race.

What's the problem?

 

[ILovecycling]

I dont get it. How can TDU be a WT race if the average stage length is about 100km and most of the stages are flat. Same will apply to other races and especially to those somewhere in China.

Cos its Australia,not f***ing China

 

[Christian]

I don't think Argos would appreciate that.

Hey wow I completely missed that he signed for Argos! Good for him! When was this announced?

 

[auscyclefan94]

I'm not sure what your point is, he wasnt up with the head of the race the first time they went over Wilunga in 2012. how does that dispute my position that it is unlikely he will be a major factor on the same stage in 2013.

perhpas you can help me out, do you think

a)meyer will be tough to be beat on stage 5 of tdu 2013
b)meyer wont be much of a factor on stage 5 tdu 2013
c)not sure i'll hedge my bets by hyping him and then saying hype for meyer is unjustified.

and in case I have misunderstood your position

d)i have a consistent view on how cam meyer will perform on the stage in question and it is this...

You said he lost 6 minutes on the stage last year on Wilunga Hill. I said that was because he was caught behind a split and that was why he was so far behind. That does not change my stance that he will do well this year. Very straight forward.

 

[maltiv]

I dont get it. How can TDU be a WT race if the average stage length is about 100km and most of the stages are flat. Same will apply to other races and especially to those somewhere in China.

3/6 stages are hilly this year. That's pretty good and completely normal for a WT stage race. I could understand the complaint 2 years ago, but this year the parcours are great.

 

[Ferminal]

Hey wow I completely missed that he signed for Argos! Good for him! When was this announced?

A while ago, even before December I think. Definitely wasn't a last minute thing anyway.

 

[Leadbelly]

Has an obscure rider been picked for this year's race yet? and if they haven't, who do you reckon they should pick?

I can't for the life of me remember who they picked last year, but it was Madrazo in 2011 and Vichot the year before that.

 

[Pentacycle]

Has an obscure rider been picked for this year's race yet? and if they haven't, who do you reckon they should pick?

I can't for the life of me remember who they picked last year, but it was Madrazo in 2011 and Vichot the year before that.

In 2012 it was Wouter Mol. It's a good tradition if they keep it going, but I can't find anything about who they've chosen this year.

 

[PCutter]

In 2012 it was Wouter Mol. It's a good tradition if they keep it going, but I can't find anything about who they've chosen this year.

It fizzled out a bit last year. Originally it was something a local Adelaide club started with Vichot and it got a lot of press, then everyone wanted to join in and I think the club felt it had been taken over over the top of them, so they pulled back and it became less focussed and became more about people on Twitter talking about the rider and congratulating him on being the obscure pro rather than people actually being at the race/Adelaide to support the rider on the side of the road to the point that Mol commented last year it was a bit disappointing. He got lots of tweets and not much real love.

If they did it again this year, I'd vote for Christopher Juul-Johnson from Saxo due to his tweets since heading to Australia - he even posted a photo of a snake he caught while out riding with Robbie McEwen and Jonathan Cantwell....he's getting into the full Aussie experience.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I think part of it was also that while it got a lot of press with Vichot, it was likely to be a flash in the pan thing as long as people expected to be as big as it was with Vichot again. It wasn't as big with Madrazo as it was with Vichot either, but Madrazo having his distinctive look and style meant that the task was easier because the pro in question was so easily recognisable, so it was memorable for the riders even if it wasn't on the level it was with Vichot in 2010 (plus the nerdy look makes Madrazo seem like a bit of an underdog even where he isn't, which makes him easy to support). I can see why it would be a bit disappointing for Mol because after the first couple the riders kind of start to have expectations of the campaign as well, whereas Arthur Vichot really didn't know what to expect in 2010. It's a shame it couldn't keep on at the same level, but I think it could easily have dropped away a lot more in 2011 if it hadn't been that Madrazo was quite a sympathetic and recognisable character, and once it gets to the stage where it's all very organised, the pro is chosen and said pro knows what to expect, the mainstream media picks up on the campaign, it's all sanitised and then you get all these fans cheering for a rider they were told to cheer for, rather than the organic groundswell of support for a less well-known rider along the lines of the initial campaign with Vichot.

 

[movingtarget]

I think part of it was also that while it got a lot of press with Vichot, it was likely to be a flash in the pan thing as long as people expected to be as big as it was with Vichot again. It wasn't as big with Madrazo as it was with Vichot either, but Madrazo having his distinctive look and style meant that the task was easier because the pro in question was so easily recognisable, so it was memorable for the riders even if it wasn't on the level it was with Vichot in 2010 (plus the nerdy look makes Madrazo seem like a bit of an underdog even where he isn't, which makes him easy to support). I can see why it would be a bit disappointing for Mol because after the first couple the riders kind of start to have expectations of the campaign as well, whereas Arthur Vichot really didn't know what to expect in 2010. It's a shame it couldn't keep on at the same level, but I think it could easily have dropped away a lot more in 2011 if it hadn't been that Madrazo was quite a sympathetic and recognisable character, and once it gets to the stage where it's all very organised, the pro is chosen and said pro knows what to expect, the mainstream media picks up on the campaign, it's all sanitised and then you get all these fans cheering for a rider they were told to cheer for, rather than the organic groundswell of support for a less well-known rider along the lines of the initial campaign with Vichot.

Yeah once the media gets hold of it it is finished. There is no reason there can't be more than one. Fans should just follow a young rider, maybe each city could support a lesser known rider and maybe include some sort of competition for the fans. Maybe select the rider at the start of each stage before the media hype starts. Even cycling clubs could adopt a rider to cheer for ?

 

[LaFlorecita]

It fizzled out a bit last year. Originally it was something a local Adelaide club started with Vichot and it got a lot of press, then everyone wanted to join in and I think the club felt it had been taken over over the top of them, so they pulled back and it became less focussed and became more about people on Twitter talking about the rider and congratulating him on being the obscure pro rather than people actually being at the race/Adelaide to support the rider on the side of the road to the point that Mol commented last year it was a bit disappointing. He got lots of tweets and not much real love.

If they did it again this year, I'd vote for Christopher Juul-Johnson from Saxo due to his tweets since heading to Australia - he even posted a photo of a snake he caught while out riding with Robbie McEwen and Jonathan Cantwell....he's getting into the full Aussie experience.

What Jensen not Johnson

 

[argyllflyer]

I dont get it. How can TDU be a WT race if the average stage length is about 100km and most of the stages are flat. Same will apply to other races and especially to those somewhere in China.

Average stage length is 126km.

 

[theyoungest]

What Jensen not Johnson

Well, there you go. He's so obscure, no one knows his actual name.

 

[Gloin22]

Both C.Meyer and Matthews not in GreenEdge Tour Down Under squad. ''Slight'' surprise.

Daryl Impey
Jens Mouris
Luke Durbridge
Matt Goss
Simon Clarke
Simon Gerrans
Stuart O’Grady

 

[Wilba60]

Both C.Meyer and Matthews not in GreenEdge Tour Down Under squad. ''Slight'' surprise.

Daryl Impey
Jens Mouris
Luke Durbridge
Matt Goss
Simon Clarke
Simon Gerrans
Stuart O’Grady

Goss must be serious about the TDU this year as Impey is his main lieutenant and we haven't seen or heard of him since his crash last year. He did have a great year last year and hopefully is in fast form at the moment. Mouris has been doing plenty of racing here in Australia, so confident he is going to be strong and fit.

It is a surprise though with Meyer and Mathews, both looked really good yesterday in the National Championships. It is obviously a tough selection at the home WT race, so Goss must be convinced he is up for a stage win or two. Nice lead out for him when you consider Durbridge, O'Grady, Mouris and Impey will be forging the way. I like Clarke with Gerrans as well, will make Gerrans a bit more dangerous through the hilly sections.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

I'd think they would contest sprints with Matthews and have a shot at the GC with Meyer.... weird.....