2016 Tour de France, Info & Discussion

[el chava]

According to Procyclingstats this is the Cofidis lineup:
BOUHANNI, Nacer
BOZIC, Borut
COUSIN, Jérôme
LAPORTE, Christophe
LEMOINE, Cyril
JEANNESSON, Arnold
MATÉ, Luis Ángel
NAVARRO, Daniel
SOUPE, Geoffrey

No Edet or Rudy Molard, I guess they are wise to trust Bouhanni more than another hard fought 11th place for Navarro.

 

[MADRAZO]

Re: Re:

Arguing about who has the strongest team out of Sky, Moviestar and Astana is fun. Comparing the 3 teams to tinkoff is hilarious. Bertie should ride for free somewhere next year so he can have a rockstar team as well.

Tinkoff is without climber Jesper Hansen, who said they are bringing extra guys to support Sagan. Contador on his own this year..

Can you blame them tho? Sagan had won at least 2 stages last year with decent support, but it was 100% for Contador last year after the Giro. Very unwise decision in hindsight, but Contador will most probable prove to be stronger than 2015, but by how much?

Indeed it makes good sence to also support Sagan with a couple of riders, likely Bodnar and Gatto instead of focusing 100% only on Contador, and Contador will still also get plenty of help, Kreuziger, Majka, Valgren, Tosatto and likely Trofimov or Kiserlovski. And Bodnar, for instance might also end up being more useful for Contador than Jesper Hansen would be, should he need help on the flat, like for instance if he should take the jersey.

 

[veji11]

Re:

According to Procyclingstats this is the Cofidis lineup:
BOUHANNI, Nacer
BOZIC, Borut
COUSIN, Jérôme
LAPORTE, Christophe
LEMOINE, Cyril
JEANNESSON, Arnold
MATÉ, Luis Ángel
NAVARRO, Daniel
SOUPE, Geoffrey

No Edet or Rudy Molard, I guess they are wise to trust Bouhanni more than another hard fought 11th place for Navarro.

It's a normal balanced lineup :
- Bouhanni is the leader and has 4 guys working solely for him (Bozic, Lemoine, Soupe and Laporte from bottom to top of the sprint rocket)
- Navarro and Jeannesson are the mountain/punching guys who can do a top15 GC mostly alone or play for stages. They will fend for themselves once the road goes up.
- 2 generalist teammates in Cousin and Mate who can work early on the flat, on some hilly terrain and make breakaways if it was to become team policy (say if Bouhanni has to drop out).

 

[yaco]

Re:

Orica GreenEDGE

Michael Albasini (SWI)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Simon Gerrans (AUS)
Mathew Hayman (AUS)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Christopher Juul Jensen (DEN)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Rubén Plaza (ESP)
Adam Yates (GBR)

Imagine the three key riders will be Albasini,Matthews and A.Yates - Albasini and Matthews will go head to head with Sagan and will need luck - A.Yates some chance to win a stage.

 

[yaco]

Re:

Astana

Fabio Aru (ITA)
Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
Andrei Grivko (UKR)
Tanel Kangert (EST)
Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ)
Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
Diego Rosa (ITA)
Luis León Sánchez (ESP)
Paolo Tiralongo (ITA)

An extremely strong team - Aru is given every opportunity.

 

[StryderHells]

Re: Re:

Orica GreenEDGE

Michael Albasini (SWI)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Simon Gerrans (AUS)
Mathew Hayman (AUS)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Christopher Juul Jensen (DEN)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Rubén Plaza (ESP)
Adam Yates (GBR)

Imagine the three key riders will be Albasini,Matthews and A.Yates - Albasini and Matthews will go head to head with Sagan and will need luck - A.Yates some chance to win a stage.

All depends on how Yates goes GC wise but I can see Plaza, Juul Jensen and Durbridge given some license to get into some breakaways

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Orica GreenEDGE

Michael Albasini (SWI)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Simon Gerrans (AUS)
Mathew Hayman (AUS)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Christopher Juul Jensen (DEN)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Rubén Plaza (ESP)
Adam Yates (GBR)

Imagine the three key riders will be Albasini,Matthews and A.Yates - Albasini and Matthews will go head to head with Sagan and will need luck - A.Yates some chance to win a stage.

All depends on how Yates goes GC wise but I can see Plaza, Juul Jensen and Durbridge given some license to get into some breakaways

Can definitely see Plaza trying to get into breaks and Juul-Jensen is riding well but will need lots of luck - I suspect A.Yates will lose time in the first week to get into mountain breaks.

Reckon Durbridge, Gerrans, Hayman and Impey will do the grunt work.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

He has stated in multiple lead up interviews to the Tour that he won't ride GC and prolly gonna lose time on the flat stages or just rest up a bit more and being better later on. I think you can scratch the idea that he has to be in contention for the 3rd week, as much as I would like it. I think he will be a pure dom/try on 1-2 stages, but maybe Im not giving Valverde too much credit here. After all, he is not quite the master deceiver that Contador is, but I think he is speaking the truth, I don't think he has any intentions of helping Nairo out by being close in the GC. Rather, the best way to use him will send him in breaks/do some high intensity pulls when Nairo is one fire.

I hope they don't do that - I don't think it's the best way to use him. On any individual climb he's probably going to struggle to ride at a higher tempo than Landa, because his climbing in high mountains isn't at quite the same level. It's difficult to see how he could burn off the Sky train that way. But, his advantage over all the other super domestiques is his consistency - the fact that he could be a genuine threat to the podium going into the final week, means that he could do hard attacks which Froome couldn't just ignore. At the very least it would put Landa into the red as he closes the gap, leaving Froome vulnerable to a counter attack. If Valverde's already 20 minutes down, then Sky will just ignore him and focus on carry on riding at high threshold pace with their train - only responding when Quintana makes his move.

Valverde was very clear about that. He will not be a contender in the GC, and he will lose time on purpose in the first week. His main goal is training for the Olympics, then to help Nairo and maybe to grab a stage win

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

He has stated in multiple lead up interviews to the Tour that he won't ride GC and prolly gonna lose time on the flat stages or just rest up a bit more and being better later on. I think you can scratch the idea that he has to be in contention for the 3rd week, as much as I would like it. I think he will be a pure dom/try on 1-2 stages, but maybe Im not giving Valverde too much credit here. After all, he is not quite the master deceiver that Contador is, but I think he is speaking the truth, I don't think he has any intentions of helping Nairo out by being close in the GC. Rather, the best way to use him will send him in breaks/do some high intensity pulls when Nairo is one fire.

I hope they don't do that - I don't think it's the best way to use him. On any individual climb he's probably going to struggle to ride at a higher tempo than Landa, because his climbing in high mountains isn't at quite the same level. It's difficult to see how he could burn off the Sky train that way. But, his advantage over all the other super domestiques is his consistency - the fact that he could be a genuine threat to the podium going into the final week, means that he could do hard attacks which Froome couldn't just ignore. At the very least it would put Landa into the red as he closes the gap, leaving Froome vulnerable to a counter attack. If Valverde's already 20 minutes down, then Sky will just ignore him and focus on carry on riding at high threshold pace with their train - only responding when Quintana makes his move.

Valverde was very clear about that. He will not be a contender in the GC, and he will lose time on purpose in the first week. His main goal is training for the Olympics, then to help Nairo and maybe to grab a stage win

Do you have a link to where he said he will lose time on purpose in the first week?

 

[Alexandre B.]

Trek Segafredo

Fabian Cancellara (SWI)
Markel Irizar (ESP)
Bauke Mollema (NED)
Gregory Rast (SWI)
Fränk Schleck (LUX)
Peter Stetina (USA)
Jasper Stuyven (BEL)
Edward Theuns (BEL)
Haimar Zubeldia (ESP)

 

[May0maniac]

They are going for top 10 with Mollema and maybe for a stage win with another rider, in the end it's a pretty realistic goal, I don't think that they have the riders to aim higher.

 

[May0maniac]

Wow, Cannondale have already announced their team.
Matti Breschel, Lawson Craddock, Alex Howes, Kristijan Koren, Sebastian Langeveld, Ramunas Navardauskas, Pierre Rolland, Tom Jelte Slagter e Dylan Van Baarle.

 

[MatParker117]

Re: Re:

DOOOOOOON ALEJAAAAANDRO

Please give him his stage win at stage 2 and let him slave for Nairo the rest of the race.

I think he really has the potential to win it for Quintana, but to be effective he has to remain in contention himself as long as possible. Valverde setting the pace for Quintana on later climbs is probably not going to be that useful - it's not really his strength, and is probably not going to shed the Sky train. But Valverde attacking at the start of the third week, and forcing Froome to chase him down because he is still only 2-3 minutes down on GC is a very strong card to play - it could easily burn off Landa and Thomas, and force Froome to do work himself - setting up Nairo for a counter attack.

The question is whether Valverde has the form to remain in contention long enough to play that hand. He looked great at the Spanish nationals and has generally done better in his second GT of the year in the past, so it's certainly a possibility. It's just whether or not age is finally catching up with him.

Problem I see with that is before that you have to get rid of a perpetual motion machine, the best climber at the giro, a monument winner & his leaders countryman.

 

[AlexNYC]

Re: Re:

Do you have a link to where he said he will lose time on purpose in the first week?

http://www.laopiniondemurcia.es/deportes/2016/06/05/valverde-estaria-ciclismo-39-anos/742856.html

Ha dicho que se va a tomar el Tour con más tranquilidad, pero no me lo creo.
Sí, ya verás como sí, esta vez va a ser diferente. El año pasado estaba Nairo Quintana pero también tenía que estar yo allí por si acaso pasaba algo y buscar el podio, pero este año Nairo va como líder indiscutible y la primera semana habrá corredores como Imanol Erviti y Ventoso que estarán a su lado arropándolo. Yo estaré atrás, más tranquilo, y si llega un corte, me quedo y cedo tiempo, sin ningún problema, incluso mejor, porque el objetivo es estar fresco en la montaña para ayudar a Nairo. Aparte, mi cuerpo me lo va a agradecer de cara a las olimpiadas.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Wow, Cannondale have already announced their team.
Matti Breschel, Lawson Craddock, Alex Howes, Kristijan Koren, Sebastian Langeveld, Ramunas Navardauskas, Pierre Rolland, Tom Jelte Slagter e Dylan Van Baarle.

Rolland will likely not lose any time in the flat but there's no improvement from the climbing support since his Europcar years.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Do you have a link to where he said he will lose time on purpose in the first week?

http://www.laopiniondemurcia.es/deportes/2016/06/05/valverde-estaria-ciclismo-39-anos/742856.html

Ha dicho que se va a tomar el Tour con más tranquilidad, pero no me lo creo.
Sí, ya verás como sí, esta vez va a ser diferente. El año pasado estaba Nairo Quintana pero también tenía que estar yo allí por si acaso pasaba algo y buscar el podio, pero este año Nairo va como líder indiscutible y la primera semana habrá corredores como Imanol Erviti y Ventoso que estarán a su lado arropándolo. Yo estaré atrás, más tranquilo, y si llega un corte, me quedo y cedo tiempo, sin ningún problema, incluso mejor, porque el objetivo es estar fresco en la montaña para ayudar a Nairo. Aparte, mi cuerpo me lo va a agradecer de cara a las olimpiadas.

Thanks. I'll believe it when I see it though! Still not convinced it's the best tactic for Quintana, because Sky will just ignore him if he's so far behind in the last week. Good for Bala though, he'll have a great chance to pick up a stage - maybe even challenge for the polka dots!

 

[Moviestar]

Quite a shocker, no Castro in the team. Especially with his decent results the past days/weeks. Unzue counts on Moreno as extra mountain sherpa to Quintana in the third week, but i highly doubt that will be the case by then. Jesus Herrada also a bit dubious with already 50 racedays so far.

 

[Valv.Piti]

"My timeline has just lit up. Feeling an awful lot of pressure all of a sudden"

Froome with a funny tweet.

 

[ILovecycling]

Unzue makes the same mistake all over again, he underestimates first week...

 

[Christian]

Re:

Trek Segafredo

Fabian Cancellara (SWI)
Markel Irizar (ESP)
Bauke Mollema (NED)
Gregory Rast (SWI)
Fränk Schleck (LUX)
Peter Stetina (USA)
Jasper Stuyven (BEL)
Edward Theuns (BEL)
Haimar Zubeldia (ESP)

Stetina is a bit of a surprise - would have maybe been better to wait for the Vuelta, but the sponsor must have wanted an American in there. Theuns is also a bit of a surprise. I hope some of them go into breaks, especially Stuyven and Theuns. I have no idea what shape they're in but in theory I'd say they make for good breakaway riders. Would be nice to see ol' Frankie on the attack again as well, like in last year's Vuelta

 

[blaxland]

Re:

Orica GreenEDGE

Michael Albasini (SWI)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Simon Gerrans (AUS)
Mathew Hayman (AUS)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Christopher Juul Jensen (DEN)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Rubén Plaza (ESP)
Adam Yates (GBR)

When will Orica/greenedge learn you cant have both Mathews and Gerrans in the same team.these guys only ride for themselves.I guess we will see another 2nd/3rd on a stage where as one of them could possibly win a stage or two.roll eyes at Matt white bad choice again.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

Unzue makes the same mistake all over again, he underestimates first week...

Maybe, but first week looks a little bit more mountainous than last year.

 

[May0maniac]

I just realized that Richeze is riding, that's bad news for the other teams with a sprinter.
Sabatini lacks a bit of top speed, but with Richeze as a leadout man Kittel should be even stronger and they also have a guy who can steal a few points on the harder stages when Kittel gets dropped.

 

[Netserk]

I'm unsure if Kittel will sprint for the intermediate points in the first few days. If I'd have to guess, I think he'll concentrate 100% on yellow and stage wins at first.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

I'm unsure if Kittel will sprint for the intermediate points in the first few days. If I'd have to guess, I think he'll concentrate 100% on yellow and stage wins at first.

Probably, but if he's as dominant as he used to be and Richeze is able to snatch a few points on the "harder" sprint stages he still has a shot with the new points system.