2022 National Championships

[Mayomaniac]

Nizzolo? Even tho he doesn't seem to be really fast this year I wouldn't count him out.

Yeah, but the route does feature a significant amount of climbing + no real descent after the climb before the finish and Nizzolo hasn't been in that kind of shape to be competitive here.
The route: https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/484118

 

[Samamba]

Yeah, but the route does feature a significant amount of climbing + no real descent after the climb before the finish and Nizzolo hasn't been in that kind of shape to be competitive here.
The route: https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/484118

Hmm prime Nizzolo would be a favorite on this but yeah, Nizzolo is definitely not in his prime this year and teams will try to drop him.

 

[postmanhat]

Looking at the Italian NC, if it comes down to a (reduced) sprint it's gonna be hard to look past Albanese.

Is Albanese finally fulfilling his potential simply down to leaving Bardiani? I remember he had a couple of injuries, but he did nothing there for four years.

 

[SafeBet]

Is Albanese finally fulfilling his potential simply down to leaving Bardiani?

I don't know if that's the only reason, but sure a big part of it.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Hmm prime Nizzolo would be a favorite on this but yeah, Nizzolo is definitely not in his prime this year and teams will try to drop him.

Yeah, the Nizzolo that we saw winning Circuito de Getxo last year would be a favourite, but this year he has never shown that kind of shape.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

This year he won't be able to get 2nd by holding hands with Colbrelli
Jokes aside, he was actually shook by Colbrelli's climbing performance, according to himself he was hanging on for dear life when Colbrelli was pacing on the climbs.

Yes last year NC was when Colbrelli ridicolous level became clear. A bit like Viviani in 2018. Only the strongest, Masnada , could follow.

Avoiding crashes, there's no reason why Masnada is not a favourite this year. Question is if some of his QS teammates are there for support. Bagioli might but Cattaneo is probably heading to le tour

 

[Mayomaniac]

Yes last year NC was when Colbrelli ridicolous level became clear. A bit like Viviani in 2018. Only the strongest, Masnada , could follow.

Avoiding crashes, there's no reason why Masnada is not a favourite this year. Question is if some of his QS teammates are there for support. Bagioli might but Cattaneo is probably heading to le tour

Yeah, but Colbrelli was even more insane. Those were hard murito climbs and the heat was brutal (while Colbrelli has always been a beast in bad weather).
Yeah, I guess Bagioli will ride, he'll be another interesting card to play. I feel like Masnada needs numbers or the right moment when the other riders are watching eachother because he doesn't have an insane acceleration on short climbs. My guess is that Ballerini will probably work for them early on and probably also Malucelli (who apparently will join Quickstep in August, don't ask me why...)

 

[Bonimenier]

Yes last year NC was when Colbrelli ridicolous level became clear. A bit like Viviani in 2018. Only the strongest, Masnada , could follow.

Avoiding crashes, there's no reason why Masnada is not a favourite this year. Question is if some of his QS teammates are there for support. Bagioli might but Cattaneo is probably heading to le tour

Tragic how low the level of Italian cycling has sunk in recent years if Masnada is the favourite.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Tragic how low the level of Italian cycling has sunk in recent years if Masnada is the favourite.

Please watch il lombardia 2021 and watch Masnada drop Roglic

 

[RedheadDane]

Indeed… the are currently only 3 italians in the UCI top 50.. Colbrelli ( 18rd), Ulissi ( 28rd) and Trentin ( 43rd) .. all of three aged 32

Three young kids!

But, yeah... not a good sign when the guy who got a heart attack several months ago is the best ranked...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Riders like Bettiol and Ciccone are riders who should be in the UCI top 50.

 

[BR2]

There are some really good young Italian riders, especially Covi. I also would count in someone like Fortunato, although he's not a big name or someone who ranks high.
Among the middle aged there are Ganna, Formolo, Affini, Sobrero... so, mostly time trialers.
I think Italian cycling has some problems in their structure and development, but some riders are not offcially ranked were they should be in terms of quality because of for instance the races they do/ the teams they are in/ the position they have in those teams.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Luca Mozzato is the most underrated Italian rider, he's had an amazing season so far. If I were CEO of BEX or Lotto I'd sign him immediately. He's a points grabber who's great in those messy one-day races where you can grab loads of points. This year so far he scored 460 points. He's by far the best rider in his team this season.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Looking of the Dutch Champs website I came across the page where I presume Devils Elbow got the race lap image from and I can't help but notice separate images for the womens and mens races. On the header for the mens course it says 14km whereas the womens course says 14,3km. As far as I can see the route looks identical, so can someone tell me where the women get 300m per lap extra from?
https://nkwielrennen.com/parcourskaart-2/

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1538827743110082560

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/sergioyustos_/status/1538827743110082560/photo/1

Convenient schedule of what race on what day for me, especially since I’m not European and it is more difficult to keep track of all of them along with the time difference.

 

[SafeBet]

Indeed… the are currently only 3 italians in the UCI top 50.. Colbrelli ( 18rd), Ulissi ( 28rd) and Trentin ( 43rd) .. all of three aged 32
Only Ganna in TT saves italian cycling from disaster..

I find it a bit disingengenuous to post such statistics without mentioning the context.

Italian classic riders have been hit by bad luck, illness and injuries for the past year and a half, but I believe they are generally at a good level.
Colbrelli is a Roubaix winner who will likely never ride at professional level again for his heart issues.
Bettiol is a Flanders winner with a chronic disease who prevents him from being at top level consistently (and he got COVID the moment he started looking himself again).
Moscon almost won Roubaix a few months ago, then caught a virus earlier this year and has struggled to regain form.
Masnada podiumed Lombardia a few months ago, then caught mononucleosis and it's a miracle he's already on his bike.
To me this would look like a great core of classic riders if healthy, especially if you add solid riders like Trentin, Ulissi, Nizzolo, Formolo, Rota, Albanese. They just need to catch a break from bad luck.

Some of the youngsters have been very unlucky as well. Bagioli keeps getting ill but has shown flashes of brilliance. Battistella is a former U23 World Champion who crashes every other race.
Then you have Covi, Oldani and Mozzato who are finding their niches. Dainese just won a Giro stage and I think he would be at a whole different level if not for DSM.

The real problem for italian cycling is stage racing. Nobody under 35 looks remotely close to contend for a WT stage race.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Looking of the Dutch Champs website I came across the page where I presume Devils Elbow got the race lap image from and I can't help but notice separate images for the womens and mens races. On the header for the mens course it says 14km whereas the womens course says 14,3km. As far as I can see the route looks identical, so can someone tell me where the women get 300m per lap extra from?
https://nkwielrennen.com/parcourskaart-2/

The route through Drijber is different for the women.

 

[RedheadDane]

Meanwhile the "Teams are announcing crazy long lineups" thing is starting over at FB - and presumably other social media as well.
Okay, so far I've only seen Ag2R, but Ag2R for the French nationals is... something else.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Riders like Bettiol and Ciccone are riders who should be in the UCI top 50.

I find it a bit disingengenuous to post such statistics without mentioning the context.

Italian classic riders have been hit by bad luck, illness and injuries for the past year and a half, but I believe they are generally at a good level.
Colbrelli is a Roubaix winner who will likely never ride at professional level again for his heart issues.
Bettiol is a Flanders winner with a chronic disease who prevents him from being at top level consistently (and he got COVID the moment he started looking himself again).
Moscon almost won Roubaix a few months ago, then caught a virus earlier this year and has struggled to regain form.
Masnada podiumed Lombardia a few months ago, then caught mononucleosis and it's a miracle he's already on his bike.
To me this would look like a great core of classic riders if healthy, especially if you add solid riders like Trentin, Ulissi, Nizzolo, Formolo, Rota, Albanese. They just need to catch a break from bad luck.

Some of the youngsters have been very unlucky as well. Bagioli keeps getting ill but has shown flashes of brilliance. Battistella is a former U23 World Champion who crashes every other race.
Then you have Covi, Oldani and Mozzato who are finding their niches. Dainese just won a Giro stage and I think he would be at a whole different level if not for DSM.

The real problem for italian cycling is stage racing. Nobody under 35 looks remotely close to contend for a WT stage race.

Fausto was 3rd in Romandie ahead of guys like O'connor , Caruso, Woods, Kelderman, Kuss

 

[Mayomaniac]

I find it a bit disingengenuous to post such statistics without mentioning the context.

Italian classic riders have been hit by bad luck, illness and injuries for the past year and a half, but I believe they are generally at a good level.
Colbrelli is a Roubaix winner who will likely never ride at professional level again for his heart issues.
Bettiol is a Flanders winner with a chronic disease who prevents him from being at top level consistently (and he got COVID the moment he started looking himself again).
Moscon almost won Roubaix a few months ago, then caught a virus earlier this year and has struggled to regain form.
Masnada podiumed Lombardia a few months ago, then caught mononucleosis and it's a miracle he's already on his bike.
To me this would look like a great core of classic riders if healthy, especially if you add solid riders like Trentin, Ulissi, Nizzolo, Formolo, Rota, Albanese. They just need to catch a break from bad luck.

Some of the youngsters have been very unlucky as well. Bagioli keeps getting ill but has shown flashes of brilliance. Battistella is a former U23 World Champion who crashes every other race.
Then you have Covi, Oldani and Mozzato who are finding their niches. Dainese just won a Giro stage and I think he would be at a whole different level if not for DSM.

The real problem for italian cycling is stage racing. Nobody under 35 looks remotely close to contend for a WT stage race.

I agree with you.
What do you think are the reasons for the lack of stage racers? Structural problems or clinic related stuff?

 

[Mayomaniac]

There are some really good young Italian riders, especially Covi. I also would count in someone like Fortunato, although he's not a big name or someone who ranks high.
Among the middle aged there are Ganna, Formolo, Affini, Sobrero... so, mostly time trialers.
I think Italian cycling has some problems in their structure and development, but some riders are not offcially ranked were they should be in terms of quality because of for instance the races they do/ the teams they are in/ the position they have in those teams.

Pretty much this, most of the interesting younger riders who have made it to the pro ranks are now coming from the track or have been coached by the NT since the junoir ranks (for example Tiberi). Those coaches actually have a plan to develop the riders long term, while most of the junior and u23 teams still try to get as many wins in small races out of them as possible.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I find it a bit disingengenuous to post such statistics without mentioning the context.

Italian classic riders have been hit by bad luck, illness and injuries for the past year and a half, but I believe they are generally at a good level.
Colbrelli is a Roubaix winner who will likely never ride at professional level again for his heart issues.
Bettiol is a Flanders winner with a chronic disease who prevents him from being at top level consistently (and he got COVID the moment he started looking himself again).
Moscon almost won Roubaix a few months ago, then caught a virus earlier this year and has struggled to regain form.
Masnada podiumed Lombardia a few months ago, then caught mononucleosis and it's a miracle he's already on his bike.
To me this would look like a great core of classic riders if healthy, especially if you add solid riders like Trentin, Ulissi, Nizzolo, Formolo, Rota, Albanese. They just need to catch a break from bad luck.

Some of the youngsters have been very unlucky as well. Bagioli keeps getting ill but has shown flashes of brilliance. Battistella is a former U23 World Champion who crashes every other race.
Then you have Covi, Oldani and Mozzato who are finding their niches. Dainese just won a Giro stage and I think he would be at a whole different level if not for DSM.

The real problem for italian cycling is stage racing. Nobody under 35 looks remotely close to contend for a WT stage race.

Grazie

 

[SafeBet]

I agree with you.
What do you think are the reasons for the lack of stage racers? Structural problems or clinic related stuff?

Structural problems mainly. General lack of resources and investments in cycling, no Italian WT teams, old school mentality in the u23 / Jr teams...
The way I see it, things have improved since Cassani was named the Italian NC, with a focus on different disciplines and young riders having a chance to compete abroad and in Italian professional races with the NT. But this process requires time and continuity.

There might be some clinic related issues as well, but I don't think we have enough info to make any clear assumption about it.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Structural problems mainly. General lack of resources and investments in cycling, no Italian WT teams, old school mentality in the u23 / Jr teams...
The way I see it, things have improved since Cassani was named the Italian NC, with a focus on different disciplines and young riders having a chance to compete abroad and in Italian professional races with the NT. But this process requires time and continuity.

There might be some clinic related issues as well, but I don't think we have enough info to make any clear assumption about it.

Yeah, I also think Italy should invest a lot in the MTB racing (mainly in the junior ranks and below) because it's more fun for kids and a lot less dangerous to ride than on open roads. Way more parents will have less of a problem with their children riding offroad, compared to them having to train on open roads...

I think the lack of a WT team is a bit of an excuse, just look at how many young prospects got ruined by Lampre, when they were still a WT team. They knew how to develop sprinters and classics guys, but were just horrible at developing young stage racers...

 

[postmanhat]

GB course is fairly flat so no climbers, and no TDF participants, but hopefully enough attacking riders to make it a good race;

Cavendish
Hayter
Turner
Tulett
Swift
Swift
Wright
Walls
Stewart
Doull

Askey and Leo Hayter are riding the U23 time trial, so sill presumably be allowed to enter as well?

Women;

Georgi
Henderson
Shackley
Smith
Nelson
Barnes