2018, 72nd Tour de Romandie, April 24th - April 29th, WT

[SafeBet]

Re: Re:

Not too happy about Fabbro entering the breakaway today, I'd have prefered to see a rested Fabbro going all out in the MTT.

He had a mechanical soon after entering the break and then sat up. I doubt he used much energy.

 

[SafeBet]

So Thomas De Gendt has now won stages in:

Giro d'Italia
Tour de France
Vuelta a Espana
Paris-Nice
Volta a Catalunya
Tour de Romandie
Tour de Suisse
Critérium du Dauphiné

He should go for a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia next year.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

So Thomas De Gendt has now won stages in:

Giro d'Italia
Tour de France
Vuelta a Espana
Paris-Nice
Volta a Catalunya
Tour de Romandie
Tour de Suisse
Critérium du Dauphiné

He should go for a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia next year.

Lol, durning the interview he said that Itzulia and Down under are next, he wants to win a stage in every single one of the actual WT stage races.
And thanks for the information about Fabbro, I just saw the final of the stage, so I assumed that he had spend more time in the breakaway.

 

[yaco]

Due to the interesting route for Romandie it was always likely one or more breaks would get away - When you have semi-mountainous stages as so-called sprint stages, along with a reduced number of sprinters, then there is no certainty sprinters will get to the final - Then combine this with a MTT on stage three which could blow the race away, then it's likely stage 4 will be a breakaway day and who knows what will happen in stage 5.

 

[kev1n]

Re: Re:

Cummings is a bit of an enigma, isn't he. Doesn't come across as a likeable character to me at all.

I read he has been filling in for races instead of taking his scheduled break

I'm not sure what he needs a break from. There are only 6 riders who have done less racing than him and 4 of those are out with fractures (Cavendish, Thwaites, Eisel & Debesay).

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Due to the interesting route for Romandie it was always likely one or more breaks would get away - When you have semi-mountainous stages as so-called sprint stages, along with a reduced number of sprinters, then there is no certainty sprinters will get to the final - Then combine this with a MTT on stage three which could blow the race away, then it's likely stage 4 will be a breakaway day and who knows what will happen in stage 5.

Stage 4 is literally the queen stage. Expect some great racing and not just a break sailing away

 

[Forever The Best]

Re: Re:

Due to the interesting route for Romandie it was always likely one or more breaks would get away - When you have semi-mountainous stages as so-called sprint stages, along with a reduced number of sprinters, then there is no certainty sprinters will get to the final - Then combine this with a MTT on stage three which could blow the race away, then it's likely stage 4 will be a breakaway day and who knows what will happen in stage 5.

Stage 4 is literally the queen stage. Expect some great racing and not just a break sailing away

Indeed. 3 1C climbs with a descent finish with also 2 2C climbs. (Though Suen might be 3C in GTs)

 

[phanatic]

Re:

De Gendt does what he does. Textbook De Gendt win.

He always seems to win big. Missed the stage unfortunately, but it makes for a nice story.

 

[Robert5091]

Stage 3 9.9 km ITT uphill - moment of truth!

A few hairpins but not too bad - map at https://www.tourderomandie.ch/stage/3eme-etape/#map

Two years ago, the climb featured in the 4th stage as part of a 15.8 kilometres climb at 5.3%. It was on the menu twice – once as the ultimate haul up to the line. That day, Chris Froome climbed to victory.

The first slopes are removed and as this was the least demanding part of the climb, the riders now face a long-busting chrono-race of 9.9 kilometres with an average gradient of almost 8%.

Watch highlights of Dawg from 2016 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLO9wbDQSf8

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Due to the interesting route for Romandie it was always likely one or more breaks would get away - When you have semi-mountainous stages as so-called sprint stages, along with a reduced number of sprinters, then there is no certainty sprinters will get to the final - Then combine this with a MTT on stage three which could blow the race away, then it's likely stage 4 will be a breakaway day and who knows what will happen in stage 5.

Stage 4 is literally the queen stage. Expect some great racing and not just a break sailing away

Race will be split wide open after the MTT - So it could be a cagey affair You can still have two races in one as is often the case in stage races.

 

[The Barb]

Re:

Bernal is basically a mix between Contador, Purito and Valverde. Scary boy.

Nicely put.

God I so hope Bernal smashes this time trial and confirms the hype even more.

For the good of the race it might be best if Porte takes a narrow lead, leading the others to attack him on the climb and descent of the queen stage. That situation has great potential.

But still, I'd prefer Bernal to just blow everyone away.

Isn't it absurd how quickly the mantle as "the next big thing in Colombian cycling" passes! Miguel Angel Lopez had it for, what, 18 months max. (And that's not to denigrate him ... he may well win multiple Grand Tours ... but Bernal's versatility makes his ceiling so much higher).

 

[DNP-Old]

This is made for the likes of Roglic, Thomas and perhaps even Dennis. Very regular, no outlandish percentages.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re:

This is made for the likes of Roglic, Thomas and perhaps even Dennis. Very regular, no outlandish percentages.

This is way too hard for Dennis. It looks like a battle between Porte and Roglic, with Thomas and Bernal the biggest challengers to me. I'm really looking forward to see Bernal here.

 

[Laplaz]

Buchmann to surprise people and to top5 this stage.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Think Latour could surprise here.

 

[rune1107]

Re:

Think Latour could surprise here.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

This is made for the likes of Roglic, Thomas and perhaps even Dennis. Very regular, no outlandish percentages.

It’s a real climb.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re:

Buchmann to surprise people and to top5 this stage.

That's a good call. He's my pick for a surprise as well.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

This is made for the likes of Roglic, Thomas and perhaps even Dennis. Very regular, no outlandish percentages.

This is way too hard for Dennis. It looks like a battle between Porte and Roglic, with Thomas and Bernal the biggest challengers to me. I'm really looking forward to see Bernal here.

If Dennis wants to be serious about his GC focus in the Giro, he'll have to show it today. He won't see a lot of climbs that'll suit him more.

 

[Red Rick]

Porte vs Roglic vs Bernal I think.

I don't believe in Dennis, not today and not for Giro GC. Romandie+Giro is a terrible combination anyway.

 

[DNP-Old]

Castroviejo (backing him for a good result as well) doing a reconnaissance of todays climb - I think. Beautiful place.

 

[Red Rick]

What's the guess for today? 27 to 28 minutes for the winner today?

Seems very similar to the 2016 Giro MTT, apart from a short bit of false flat at the start.

 

[Netserk]

Aye, that sounds plausible. Maybe past 28 minutes.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Castroviejo (backing him for a good result as well) doing a reconnaissance of todays climb - I think. Beautiful place.

I've thought about Castro as well - but surely it's too tough for him, he should be outdone by the pure climbers

 

[rune1107]

Just need to know what you peeps think before i place a bet today:

Dennis to beat Castroviejo
Ion Izaguirre to beat Rui Costa
Van Garderen to beat Kangert

??