2017 Tirreno-Adriatico, March 8-14, WT

[johnymax]

Re: Re:

Hell of a ride by Spilak. He was arguably the strongest today. Apparently there was a headwind on the last climb and he was exposed to the wind by far the most time of any rider in the last 13km. Judging by his performances in Algarve and here, I can tell he is going to have a very strong year. He is way better than last year and arguably the best he's ever been in this time of year. He'll be fighting for the win in Pais Vasco and Romandie if he rides them.

Quintana has become a master tactician in my opinion. He knows perfectly when to use his decisive attack. Expected but a good win for him. Thomas also very strong. Good rides for Uran, Dumoulin, Roglic, Castroviejo and Bernal.

I've had big hopes for tomorrow's stage. It'd be better if there was rain but I still believe the last 30km can induce some aggressive racing.

Yes, I'm really happy for Spilak, it was sunny but rather cold, that kind of weather also suits him pretty well (just look at his performance on the Rettenbachferner in 2015).
Let's hope that we'll see him in peak shape for Romandie and maybe also for the Tour de Suisse.

Or even better peak for the Giro. He changed his usual schedule by doing T-A instead of P-N. Maybe it's time to do another change and ride the Giro. I don't care for GC, just go stage hunting. Just do the freaking Giro already!

 

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

Yes, I'm really happy for Spilak, it was sunny but rather cold, that kind of weather also suits him pretty well (just look at his performance on the Rettenbachferner in 2015).
Let's hope that we'll see him in peak shape for Romandie and maybe also for the Tour de Suisse.

Ahhhhhh...the '15 Rettenbachferner stage (or Reichenbachferner as Kirby calls it )...what a great memory .

Great performance for Spilak today. He fell a little short, but what an effort that was. Dumoulin was very strong too. Yates, Thomas, great rides. And Quintana is one notch above the rest: nice win for him.

TJVG, I'm not surprised. For Nibali and Aru, I'm having major concerns now: we're two months away from the Giro and they don't show anything at all.

Tomorrow's stage should be a good one. There're quite a few riders in the mix for a podium...Hang on Tibopino ! For the win, it looks like Quintana has it.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

Whats up with Thomas???

Froome 2

He will be a tough cookie for the Giro

Way too much climbing for him to threaten an in form Quintana. I personally think it's a shame he apparently wants to be a GT rider. Could have been a solid guy for the classics and short stage races. But noooo, he has to lose weight to perhaps one day win a Tour...

Classics are good, but Grand Tours are >>> classics and Thomas realizes that.

Boonen, Cancellara, Sagan >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Quintana, Geraint Thomas

You are both missing the point ...it not whether one race is better than the other
It which Thomas has a better probability of wining

I can see that he will never win a GT ....at best he could podium...he cant climb like Froome , Quintana, etc over 3 weeks

However he could have several PRs in his palmares...pity

Several?!!! He's no Boonen, you know... He's 31 years old, and hasn't got any PR, or Ronde, or other Monument. One Roubaix would highlight his career, let alone several

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

Hell of a ride by Spilak. He was arguably the strongest today. Apparently there was a headwind on the last climb and he was exposed to the wind by far the most time of any rider in the last 13km. Judging by his performances in Algarve and here, I can tell he is going to have a very strong year. He is way better than last year and arguably the best he's ever been in this time of year. He'll be fighting for the win in Pais Vasco and Romandie if he rides them.

Quintana has become a master tactician in my opinion. He knows perfectly when to use his decisive attack. Expected but a good win for him. Thomas also very strong. Good rides for Uran, Dumoulin, Roglic, Castroviejo and Bernal.

I've had big hopes for tomorrow's stage. It'd be better if there was rain but I still believe the last 30km can induce some aggressive racing.

Yes, I'm really happy for Spilak, it was sunny but rather cold, that kind of weather also suits him pretty well (just look at his performance on the Rettenbachferner in 2015).
Let's hope that we'll see him in peak shape for Romandie and maybe also for the Tour de Suisse.

Or even better peak for the Giro. He changed his usual schedule by doing T-A instead of P-N. Maybe it's time to do another change and ride the Giro. I don't care for GC, just go stage hunting. Just do the freaking Giro already!

He's not too keen on riding a gt for gc and I kinda understand that, if you're world class in hard one week long stage races (with bad weather/rather low temperatures) targeting a few of those as your main goal is reasonable.
That said, I always thought that the 2013 Giro with all that rain and bad weather would have been the perfect gt for him, that would have been his chance to get top 5 on gc in a gt.

 

[whittashau]

I miss the old Nibali.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

Whats up with Thomas???

Froome 2

He will be a tough cookie for the Giro

Way too much climbing for him to threaten an in form Quintana. I personally think it's a shame he apparently wants to be a GT rider. Could have been a solid guy for the classics and short stage races. But noooo, he has to lose weight to perhaps one day win a Tour...

Classics are good, but Grand Tours are >>> classics and Thomas realizes that.

In your opinion

 

[slosada]

Re:

Uran has already been spotted in the last positions of the peloton. He has completely lost it.

Any comments afterwards?

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

Uran has already been spotted in the last positions of the peloton. He has completely lost it.

Any comments afterwards?

Get back to me when he doesn't finish the CRI as 167th out of 169. Then I'll start celebrating.

 

[HelloDolly]

OK maybe not several PR for Thomas ....but at one it would a hell of a lot more than a GT

 

[huge]

Re:

Nibali said he is still in mid- preparation and he's happy with what today showed him.

Might be. But pretty disappointing honestly.
I didn't expect him to beat Quintana today (after a poor display last Sun at GP Larciano), but almost 2 mins down?

Anyway. It's 2 months to the Giro, therefore today's performances, both his and Quintana's, tell us very little of what is going to be in May.

No one mentioned him. What about Aru 4 mins down?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

OK maybe not several PR for Thomas ....but at one it would a hell of a lot more than a GT

Thomas also prioritised track over the classics earlier in his career. I like the guy, but I find his keenness to prioritise minor league stuff like track and things he can't win like GTs incredibly irritating. He looks like he might end up a huge underperformer in talent to palmares terms.

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

Nibali said he is still in mid- preparation and he's happy with what today showed him.

Might be. But pretty disappointing honestly.
I didn't expect him to beat Quintana today (after a poor display last Sun at GP Larciano), but almost 2 mins down?

Anyway. It's 2 months to the Giro, therefore today's performances, both his and Quintana's, tell us very little of what is going to be in May.

No one mentioned him. What about Aru 4 mins down?

Aru's performance is a bigger question mark, he was strong in the Arabian races, so him having such a meltdown was a big surprise.
On the other hand you also have to say that even in 2014/15 he only started performing well in Catalunya and that he never was someone who was in great shape all season long, so it's hard to tell.
Edit: On twitter he's mentioning health problems as one of the reasons why he performed poorly.

 

[deValtos]

Nibali often has pretty dismal/unimpressive performances but then steps up in GTs. I wouldn't worry about him at all. He's done this enough in past years I'll trust him at this point.

Aru is concerning though ...

 

[ThePirate81]

Solid ride by Adam Yates.
I consider him as the big favourite for tomorrow's stage,he needs to gain some time against better chronomen like Pinot,Castro,Dennis,Dumoulin,Roglic and Thomas.

 

[Tank Engine]

Re: Re:

OK maybe not several PR for Thomas ....but at one it would a hell of a lot more than a GT

Thomas also prioritised track over the classics earlier in his career. I like the guy, but I find his keenness to prioritise minor league stuff like track and things he can't win like GTs incredibly irritating. He looks like he might end up a huge underperformer in talent to palmares terms.

As a fan of G and the classics, I'm with you on this. I'd love him to win P-R or Flanders, but he's always been a jack of all trades and that makes the monuments a real lottery. Boonen and Cancellara have always been in a different league. Winning P-N was a huge win for him. G would be in a pretty good position to win in T-A this year if Sky hadn't had such a disaster in the time trial (I know that they wouldn't have let him go on stage 2, but making up 20 seconds on Nairo in the final time trial would be realistic). I'd prefer him to win classics, but maybe the one week stage races are the best bet for him.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Re: Re:

Nor was it his first Giro

Makes the transformation even more engineered.

Not at all he actually got worse to start with at Sky, probably due to his illnesses

Oh, right, his "illness." Flumicil cured that I believe.

Nope Praziquantel , but this isnt the Froome thread so thats enuf from me

Fake news.

 

[del1962]

Re: Re:

Fake news.

You Donald Trump in disguise

 

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

Fake news.

You Donald Trump in disguise

You can't trust the media, they are the enemy. All these reports are fake. The other riders were props, dragged uphill hanging on fishing lines. Pinot won the stage, but no one reports it. It's a disgrace. Oleg just confirmed that the race was rigged. And Obama doctored the broadcast. Tibopino will Make France Great Again!

I don't see the ITT swing things that much, so tomorrow is big. Yates is safe IMO. The fight is for third.

 

[Beech Mtn]

Re: Re:

Fake news.

You Donald Trump in disguise

You can't trust the media, they are the enemy. All these reports are fake. The other riders were props, dragged uphill hanging on fishing lines. Pinot won the stage, but no one reports it. It's a disgrace. Oleg just confirmed that the race was rigged. And Obama doctored the broadcast. Tibopino will Make France Great Again!

I don't see the ITT swing things that much, so tomorrow is big. Yates is safe IMO. The fight is for third.

Careful, you're starting to make Tibopino sound like Marine Le Pen. Next thing we know, he will refuse to cover his head and lead a protest against the UCI helmet rule.

 

[sQiD]

Hmmm... that pink section will delicious tomorrow !

 

[Jungle Cycle]

GVA ftw

 

[spiritualride]

Re: Re:

Whats up with Thomas???

Froome 2

He will be a tough cookie for the Giro

id say this climb sort of suited him a bit, the steep stuff in the giro will be his downfall

Most of the climbs in the Giro aren't very steep though this year right? Lots of 4-6% average gradients if I remember right.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Hmmm... that pink section will delicious tomorrow !

It's 800m at 14.3% And they do it twice. First time at 25 km to go.

Then 2300m with 8.2% average - 13km to go.
And 700m with 11.6% average - 9km to go.

This is gonna be fun. It can be too tough even for Avermaet and Sagan.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Man, this stage could be great. Unfortunately, of the GC guys we can only rely on Yates to want to take some time.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I have missed such a stage in T-A, they need to have a muro-stage every year. And they need to bring Purito Rodriguez out of retirement.