69th Paris-Nice 2011~March 6 to 13 (WT) 1.307k

[stefrees]

Astana looks scary...

Di Gregorio
Kiserlovski ------> In shape
Kreuziger
Vino

Would like to see di gregorio get a decent result, especially on the last stage

 

[will10]

Di Gregorio has not progressed for years, perhaps he will finally break through this season.

 

[Ryaguas]

Di Gregorio has not progressed for years, perhaps he will finally break through this season.

But He could be a quite good domestique for the mountains... Vino and Martinelli have a pretty nice eye for this kind of guys... there in Astana he will be more relaxed w/o the pressure of the team and his country... also he is still young...

 

[Christian]

Johnny Hoogerland out of Paris-Nice, to be replaced by Rob Ruijgh:

http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-paris_nice_rob_ruijgh_remplace_hoogerland_malade-13100.html

 

[theyoungest]

Paris-Nice is more difficult than T-A?

Learn to read.

 

[Frosty]

Interesting parcours and line-up. To add to other names that i havent seen on the last few pages - im not reading the whole thread! - Tony Martin is a great tt'er, is in form and can climb. However, given the number of climbs in this im guessing he will lose time somewhere along the line. Peraud did well at the meditteranean race and maybe can keep with the leaders on the climbs and do a good tt to finish high up. He did well last year. Le Mevel was doing well last year until falling on the descent into Nice. Be interesting to see how well he can do this year, especially as he is on a new team.

 

[roundabout]

Le Mevel broke the trapezoid bone in the Tour Med so it's not likely that he will do well.

 

[Frosty]

Le Mevel broke the trapezoid bone in the Tour Med so it's not likely that he will do well.

Ah ok cheers for that. Looks like he finished the 1st stage of the tour du haut var not far behind the leaders but maybe its a bit early to expect him to do well in paris-nice.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

No, I just don't follow Gesink like at all except in the races I watch. But Rabobank usually favors their Dutch riders over other nationalities. God knows why Freire is still with Rabo, but he seems to do well.

to be fair to rabo they've always supported and ridden for Friere. The team on a whole does favor dutch riders, but that is because a lot of the most talented dutch riders are at rabo and simply deserve the support (gesink, boom, langeveld, bos etc).

@mw
LLS seems to really love PN, and he does well there.
And TA is not that easy, ideally TA is better for ardennes prep then PN. Short little steep climbs are gonna be more decisive then some think.
And Geisnk uses TA mainly as training to improve on the sudden steep ramps and explosivness.

 

[El Pistolero]

Learn to read.

"The Paris-Nice course doesn't seem difficult enough to make a real difference either, so he might as well do the Tirreno."

My reading skills are fine.

Perhaps Gesink can't make a difference in Paris-Nice, but the likes of Contador(I know he doesn't race here) sure as hell can. Paris-Nice is pretty mountainous this year hence the likes of Phillipe Gilbert skip it in favour of T-A. Ergo the course is pretty difficult for a stage race in this time of the year.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

"The Paris-Nice course doesn't seem difficult enough to make a real difference either, so he might as well do the Tirreno."

My reading skills are fine.

Perhaps Gesink can't make a difference in Paris-Nice, but the likes of Contador(I know he doesn't race here) sure as hell can. Paris-Nice is pretty mountainous this year hence the likes of Phillipe Gilbert skip it in favour of T-A. Ergo the course is pretty difficult for a stage race in this time of the year.

ummmmmm
it has been more for climbers in the past.
PN is relatively easy compared to recent years.

Riders ride TA purely because it has many short steep hills, perfect prep for the coming month.

 

[kurtinsc]

..................."As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of involving Rabobank or Robert Gesink approaches 1. In other words, Godwin put forth the sarcastic observation that, given enough time, all discussions—regardless of topic or scope—inevitably wind up being about Rabobank and Robert Gesink

Blatant plagiarism of godwins law. I call foul. Obviously doing that shows that you are a Nazi and Gesink strongly resembles Hitler (sans facial hair).

 

[El Pistolero]

ummmmmm
it has been more for climbers in the past.
PN is relatively easy compared to recent years.

Riders ride TA purely because it has many short steep hills, perfect prep for the coming month.

I'm not saying TA is a bad choice for Gesink, but look at earlier editions of P-N. It used to be easier. The likes of Boonen could win half the stages with ease there. Now they all skip it in favour of TA.

PN is for the GT contenders, TA more for the classic specialists.

 

[theyoungest]

PN is for the GT contenders, TA more for the classic specialists.

Tell that to Andy Schleck, Basso, Nibali, Gesink, Scarponi, etc. The GT contenders are more or less evenly distributed between the two stage races. Tirreno is better to work on your punch, Paris-Nice is better for echelon riding, long relatively easy climbs, rain, cold, and suffering in general.

 

[El Pistolero]

Tell that to Andy Schleck, Basso, Nibali, Gesink, Scarponi, etc. The GT contenders are more or less evenly distributed between the two stage races. Tirreno is better to work on your punch, Paris-Nice is better for echelon riding, long relatively easy climbs, rain, cold, and suffering in general.

Scarponi, Basso and Nibali are Italians. Andy never does anything other than soft peddle anyway, so obviously it doesn't matter what he rides.

 

[theyoungest]

Scarponi, Basso and Nibali are Italians. Andy never does anything other than soft peddle anyway, so obviously it doesn't matter what he rides.

Ah, Italians don't count, sorry.

And Andy Schleck is a cyclist, not a salesman. So he pedals rather than peddles.

 

[federalski]

Not seen him mentioned but I hope Maxime Monfort can do well here, I quite liked him and though these type of races would be good for him before he signed up at HTC to work for Cav.
With the shackles off I'd like to see how he shows, though he has Fugslang and Voigt in the team who may be preferred...
With a decent showing at Oman in his legs he may be a decent outsider.

 

[El Pistolero]

Ah, Italians don't count, sorry.

And Andy Schleck is a cyclist, not a salesman. So he pedals rather than peddles.

Italians ride Italian races. News shock.

Italian teams, Italian races.

American teams, American races(HTC sending Cav to Cali instead of the Giro LOL)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

"The Paris-Nice course doesn't seem difficult enough to make a real difference either, so he might as well do the Tirreno."

My reading skills are fine.

Perhaps Gesink can't make a difference in Paris-Nice, but the likes of Contador(I know he doesn't race here) sure as hell can. Paris-Nice is pretty mountainous this year hence the likes of Phillipe Gilbert skip it in favour of T-A. Ergo the course is pretty difficult for a stage race in this time of the year.

Gesink choses the Tirreno because of, usually, better weather and it is a more suitable approach to the Ardennes, with mostly short(er) hills.

 

[Martina]

Astana looks scary...

Di Gregorio
Kiserlovski ------> In shape
Kreuziger
Vino

Sport Director Alexandr Shefer: "We are aiming for stage victory with Vinokourov, and we will count on Kiserlovski and Kreuziger for the general classification. With these two riders, we can at least hope for a place on the final podium."

source: http://astana.lu/news_x.php?ID_news=248

+ chances of RK?
"@nealhenderson working on @Roman86_K lactate. The outcome is interesting"

source: http://yfrog.com/hsldcglj

 

[El Pistolero]

Gesink choses the Tirreno because of, usually, better weather and it is a more suitable approach to the Ardennes, with mostly short(er) hills.

I'm not saying Gesink is making a bad decision, but I would rather see him ride P-N though. He could win it now with Contador not racing.

But Paris-Nice is certainly more difficult now than few years back.

Last 3 years have been pretty mountainous, but it used to be easier.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Just looked at every profile, and now I really don't see what the GC riders are searching here. Doesn't look like a hard edition of PN compared to the previous years. Time trial will decide and the rest looks like group sprints to me

 

[theyoungest]

Just looked at every profile, and now I really don't see what the GC riders are searching here. Doesn't look like a hard edition of PN compared to the previous years. Time trial will decide and the rest looks like group sprints to me

That final climb in stage 5 is 8 km at 8%, 10 kms from the finish... could be a group sprint, but with a very small group.

 

[El Pistolero]

Just looked at every profile, and now I really don't see what the GC riders are searching here. Doesn't look like a hard edition of PN compared to the previous years. Time trial will decide and the rest looks like group sprints to me

Stage 5, 6 and 8 look like group sprints to you?

There's really only 2 sprint stages.

Paris-Nice isn't the Tour. Action from the big boys usually starts early in the stage. Contador, for example, has done multiple attacks from 50km to go at Paris-Nice, etc.

The time trial isn't flat either.

I can see climbers getting away on stage 3, 4 and 7 as well. Sprinter teams aren't that strong in Paris-Nice.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Stage 5, 6 and 8 look like group sprints to you?

There's really only 2 sprint stages.

Paris-Nice isn't the Tour. Action from the big boys usually starts early in the stage. Contador, for example, has done multiple attacks from 50km to go at Paris-Nice, etc.

The time trial isn't flat either.

I can see climbers getting away on stage 3, 4 and 7 as well. Sprinter teams aren't that strong in Paris-Nice.

stage 6 is the time trial dude...

That leaves stage 5, with a nice climb, but also downhill to the finish so probably 5/6 men sprint
And the final stage, which often finished in a group sprint also, (a lot depends on the wind). The rest -> mountains too far from the finish or too easy.
So like I said, the time trial will decide and the favorites who fail will fall off one by one, but all in all not even close to the previous 3/4 editions.

Oh and appearently, you don't know the difference between the group sprint, and the peloton sprint.
You think I expect peloton sprints? honoustly? come on, the difference is subtle but very very clear.