52nd Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta (18-22 February)

[Cycling111]

Seixas peaking too early? We’ll know in April

It shouldn't matter at this point in his career. But he'll be pressured to go to the Tour and for the podium stories.

 

[Didinho]

Just a bit too long for Ayuso but a strong 2nd place.

 

[Rou]

Damn. Seixas vs Ayuso.
What a battle!

 

[Netserk]

7.03 better than sexy paul

 

[Samamba]

Seixas peaking too early? We’ll know in April

It's definitely possible, it would be a typical youngster thing to do but that doesn't take anything away from how talented he is.

 

[RedheadDane]

Judging by the amount of layers Ganna is wearing, the "hot seat" is more like a cold seat.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Not quite by Ayuso +5s in 2nd.

 

[Cycling111]

3 LIDL riders in top 8. Ineos well, but Ganna should win by a larger margin without Remco.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Tip Top Ganna

 

[Rou]

Seixas peaking too early? We’ll know in April

Well, I heard he was 2 months away from home and doing heavy altitude prior to this race.
Don't know if he is close to peak form or he has room to improve.

 

[Netserk]

good route for ayuso, also had a slight advantage in moto

 

[Mayomaniac]

Has Almeida forgotten how to TT since he started training under the Solafraud?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Seixas will have to gap Ayuso on Malhao then, because it's hard to see two riders in between them in a sprint.

 

[pastronef]

what a ride by Seixas
and I even hoped Ayuso could win it. great performances in any case. I hope he wins the final GC

ps. Ineos duo Vauquelin and Arensman with a strong TT too

 

[Tim Cahill]

Even if Seixas has been eating and training right since birth and hit puberty early like a wrecking ball, the physical difference between a 19 and 25 year old is still big no matter what the person, there is always room for improvement.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Stage:

1	Ganna Filippo	INEOS Grenadiers	25	30		21.53,663	53.438
2	Ayuso Juan	Lidl - Trek	15	18		0.05,686	53.208
3	Söderqvist Jakob	Lidl - Trek	10	12		0.07,612	53.130
4	Seixas Paul	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	5	7		0.12,711	52.926
5	Arensman Thymen	INEOS Grenadiers	3	4		0.22,841	52.525
6	Vauquelin Kévin	INEOS Grenadiers		3		0.23,964	52.481
7	Küng Stefan	Tudor Pro Cycling Team		2		0.27,741	52.333
8	Álvarez Héctor	Lidl - Trek		1		0.35,69	52.025
9	Lipowitz Florian	Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe				0.41,981	51.784
10	Almeida João	UAE Team Emirates - XRG				0.42,765	51.754

Pretty powerful list. Congrats to Ganna.

 

[Rou]

Has Almeida forgotten how to TT since he started training under the Solafraud?

Nah, he is just getting older and wiser.
He knows he has 2 GTs to lead this year so he is starting the diesel slowly.

 

[Samamba]

It's not 'a few guys', the majority of current big names started getting big results in year 1 of their pro career, and Widar deliberately did one more U23 year than was necessary so should be more prepared than most big talents turning pro. So I think it's fair to say that if he isn't getting big results this year, the odds of him becoming one of the big names are already quite slim. Doesn't have to be at every race of course, but this Algarve is not impressive at all.

I actually think he's less prepared due to his dumb choice to do another u23 year. It should've been way more of a mix. He's done a very limited amount of pro races. I genuinly think he wasted like half a year, and just build up more pressure by dominating u23 scene.

The problem is that the year just started. Its his first week, like what are we doing here. One uphill finish where he blew himself up and a TT he didn't even try in. And we don't even know if he is a real GC rider, he's super small, it would be special if he was in modern cycling.

 

[Cycling111]

Hector Alvarez, third LIDL rider today, was better than the first UAE. LOL

I already said yesterday that the UAE time trial is overrated. For the level of riders they have, their results aren't that great.
They have a lot of work to do for the Tour's TTT.

 

[postmanhat]

Ayuso always starts the season in great form. If he can actually maintain it in a different environment, could be another one for the mothership?

 

[Tim Cahill]

Ganna saying he isn't in form yet, makes sense considering he was running on empty by the end of last spring.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I actually think he's less prepared due to his dumb choice to do another u23 year. It should've been way more of a mix. He's done a very limited amount of pro races.

The problem is that the year just started. Its his first week, like what are we doing here. One uphill finish where he blew himself up and a TT he didn't even try in. And we don't even know if he is a real GC rider, he's super small, it would be special if he was in modern cycling.

Less prepared than he should have been, but more prepared than he would have been had he turned pro 12 months ago - and also simply a year older and thereby more physically mature. So the baseline in terms of expectations for this year should be higher than it would have been for a hypothetical 2025 debut pro season.

 

[Netserk]

Seixas will have to gap Ayuso on Malhao then, because it's hard to see two riders in between them in a sprint.

yep, the 4 bonus seconds in intermediates change the tactics for the last day

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Even if Seixas has been eating and training right since birth and hit puberty early like a wrecking ball, the physical difference between a 19 and 25 year old is still big no matter what the person, there is always room for improvement.

Or you can go from winning in San Sebastián to getting dropped hard in LBL. Time will tell.

 

[Cycling111]

Well, I heard he was 2 months away from home and doing heavy altitude prior to this race.
Don't know if he is close to peak form or he has room to improve.

Both Ayuso and Seixas have been training at altitude before this race.

Almeida has been training in Portugal, so I assume he'll be training at altitude before the Giro.