2014 UCI Road championship teams (Ponferrada, Spain)

[DFA123]

Froome, somewhat surprisingly, will not be doing any time trialling. Is this an audacious bid to win the Rainbow Jersey with his new found sprinting prowess?

It would be fun to see Froome try a seated attack on one of the last climbs and then try to time trial away to the finish. He'd probably get caught and passed on the descent though.

 

[Wigwan]

Maybe he lasted longer because he did less work...

Contador worked to get Valverde and Rodriguez back to the first group when Italy splitted the peloton.

 

[greenedge]

He did? haha
He really went deep that day for his nation... If his domestiques went that deep during the races he would never win lulz
Bet Froome did 2 or 3 times more work than him at least.

No, Froome was the leader on the day, the only two riders who did work for GB were Cavendish and Rowe.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Happy that the Yates brothers are in, I wonder if they will be given some freedom, I can't see Swift being good enough with the likes of Gerrans, Valverde and co there.

Why not? He's proved in can handle the distance (see MSR) and the hills (see Basque Country) and can sprint with all but the very best sprinters (throughout his career). He's got a decent team, too. There's bigger favourites, sure, but I can absolutely see Swift being able to compete.

Good to see Adam and Simon. Thought Thwaites was unlucky.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Why not? He's proved in can handle the distance (see MSR) and the hills (see Basque Country) and can sprint with all but the very best sprinters (throughout his career). He's got a decent team, too. There's bigger favourites, sure, but I can absolutely see Swift being able to compete.

Good to see Adam and Simon. Thought Thwaites was unlucky.

Yes I agree, on paper Swift is the right choice to be leader but I just can't see him featuring, maybe it's just my own opinion but he does flatter to deceive an awful lot. I hope he proves me wrong as an inform Swift could get a medal on this course.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I like to see Froome having a serious go at the Worlds instead of being a filler.

Orica's TTT lineup:

Luke Durbridge, Svein Tuft, Michael Hepburn, Brett Lancaster, Jens Mouris, and Damien Howson

For me the favorites.

 

[Netserk]

No Impey?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

No Impey?

I think this is a big season goal for Orica and the team has been "known" for some time.

A returning Impey wouldn't change it unless one of the other guys drops in form or gets injured.

 

[nuvolablu]

Italy

RR(9+2 reserve)

Nibali
Aru
G.Caruso
D.Caruso
Formolo
De Marchi
Colbrelli
Zardini
Visconti
Quinziato
Bennati

ITT : Malori, Cataldo

Pozzato is out

 

[LaFlorecita]

Italy

RR(9+2 reserve)

Nibali
Aru
G.Caruso
D.Caruso
Formolo
De Marchi
Colbrelli
Zardini
Visconti
Quinziato
Bennati

ITT : Malori, Cataldo

Pozzato is out

No Pippo

 

[jens_attacks]

lol and pippo could have won this easily...all hope now in angel late attack

 

[montani3semper]

They are so wealthy/They are so smart

How come they owe so much? How come they are unemployed? (& unemployable!)...........The Italians w/o their workhorses Tossato, Paolini, & Tiralongo?...

 

[trevim]

Funny how Froome can be more loyal to GB, being Kenyan and spending so much time there, than Contador is to Spain. And don't come with the "race doesn't suit him" excuse. It doesn't suit Froome either, in fact it suits Contador more. And Froome will go for it purely as a domestique something Contador is not humble enough to do.

Nah, Contador is simply fed up with the Valverde/Rodriguez drama.

 

[whittashau]

How come they owe so much? How come they are unemployed? (& unemployable!)...........The Italians w/o their workhorses Tossato, Paolini, & Tiralongo?...

Italy won't need workhorses with all the teams wanting a sprint finish. What they do have is a ****load of good climbers to make it selective on the later climbs.

 

[Pentacycle]

Nah, Contador is simply fed up with the Valverde/Rodriguez drama.

And TBH Spain lacks a top favourite when there's a sprint, which is the most likely scenario. If Freire would still be riding Contador would have worked for him. Oscarito would've been THE rider to watch on this course.

 

[shalgo]

Italy

Pozzato is out

That's crazy. Did they make that decision before his results over the last week?

 

[trevim]

That's crazy. Did they make that decision before his results over the last week?

I think they made the decision considering Pozzato is Pozzato. He's not dedicated enough to the sport to lead one of the best teams. Good call by Cassani.

 

[jaylew]

Italy

RR(9+2 reserve)

Nibali
Aru
G.Caruso
D.Caruso
Formolo
De Marchi
Colbrelli
Zardini
Visconti
Quinziato
Bennati

ITT : Malori, Cataldo

Pozzato is out

Not impressed. I'll be surprised if they wind up on the podium.

 

[fauniera]

That's crazy. Did they make that decision before his results over the last week?

It's the right decision. Pozzato wouldn't win anyway, probably not even podium, and he wouldn't be a help for the team either. The team now is excellent for making the race hard, which is exactly what they need to do. Oh, and today Pippo couldn't even hold Albasini's wheel in the sprint. So how should be be able to beat Gerrans?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Italy

RR(9+2 reserve)

Nibali
Aru
G.Caruso
D.Caruso
Formolo
De Marchi
Colbrelli
Zardini
Visconti
Quinziato
Bennati

ITT : Malori, Cataldo

Pozzato is out

Very good team, will be fun to watch. Still would have liked to see Pirazzi involved, but hey can't have everything in life.

Also, hopefully Malori can get on the podium, but it will be really tough.

 

[May0maniac]

Italy

RR(9+2 reserve)

Nibali
Aru
G.Caruso
D.Caruso
Formolo
De Marchi
Colbrelli
Zardini
Visconti
Quinziato
Bennati

ITT : Malori, Cataldo

Pozzato is out

No Trentin seems very strage to me, i can understand the Pozzazo thing but Trentin knows how to win races.

 

[MartinGT]

Why not? He's proved in can handle the distance (see MSR) and the hills (see Basque Country) and can sprint with all but the very best sprinters (throughout his career). He's got a decent team, too. There's bigger favourites, sure, but I can absolutely see Swift being able to compete.

Good to see Adam and Simon. Thought Thwaites was unlucky.

For me I would have dropped Millar and had Thwaites in or even Moses on stand by, but no. Good old BC bum slapping Millar right until the end.

He has had a gash season, is a cr@p road captain, but lets give him one final swangsong.

Its a course that suits Thwaites or Moses too

 

[Akuryo]

No Trentin seems very strage to me, i can understand the Pozzazo thing but Trentin knows how to win races.

Pretty much. But they took Bennati with them. Strange move. But maybe, because Bennati has more experience. Other than that, they are pretty similar riders: Certainly have a lot of speed at the end and get quite well over hills.

 

[l.Harm]

Pretty much. But they took Bennati with them. Strange move. But maybe, because Bennati has more experience. Other than that, they are pretty similar riders: Certainly have a lot of speed at the end and get quite well over hills.

Has Bennati won a race recently? My guess is he's going purely as a domestique, while Trentin could win from a smaller group.

 

[nuvolablu]

In the original plan Trentin was supposed to be leader with Nibali, but after the canadian races he realized his form wasn't good enough and withdrawn himself from the final selection. His role is now taken by Colbrelli but Italy will mostly try to make the race hard for Nibali

Bennati is a great helper, one of the best in the world in protecting the leader and keeping him in the best positions