85th Tour de Suisse (2.UWT) // June 12th - 19th 2022

[Hugo Koblet]

The inevitable post-race Remco discussion will be fun: If he wins, the competition was bad; if he doesn't win, he wasn't in top form.

It would be so much easier if we all just decided to agree that this is the final test: If he wins, he's the greatest ever; if he doesn't win, he'll never be the greatest. No explanations, no excuses, no discussion. Just this one batte to decide it all.

Anyway, Fuglsang will win this race.

 

[RedheadDane]

Anyway, Fuglsang will win this race.

Then I just hope that weird CdD curse he's been hit with doesn't apply to Switzerland.

 

[houtdffan]

The first MTF should favor Remco. A diesel climb.

I expect he will struggle on the second one, however

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The first MTF should favor Remco. A diesel climb.

I expect he will struggle on the second one, however

In that case he should decide quickly to ride his own pace and not kill himself, considering the ITT is the next day.

 

[Red Rick]

Moosalp is plenty hard.

 

[Riek s]

The only place he might suffer a bit is the final part of 13% on stage 7 and that will be more due to the lack of explosive sprint compared to the likes of Vlasov. not necesarily base climbing speed. Everything else should be well in his capabilities imo.

Well we will see how he fares. On saterday we might also get an id where he might have been based on the people who he dropped in Norway.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Evenepoel can be a contender if he limits the damage on those two tough MTFs.

A light version of Remco did 1800 of VAM for half an hour recently. Let's see who damages who

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Moosalp is plenty hard.

Yeah, there are huge elevation differences in the area with mountain settlements located beautifully 1000-1500 m above the Rhone valley and difficult climbs obviously leading to them. There's a big climate difference between hot Visp and cooler villages above.
But it's still nothing compared to a vertical relief of almost 4000 m (!) between Rhone and most imposing mountains in Valais Alps. Been there, excellent area for hiking, one of the best in Europe.

 

[hayneplane]

In that case he should decide quickly to ride his own pace and not kill himself, considering the ITT is the next day.

By that point in the race he should also know where he stands and what he can afford to lose and make up on the TT bike instead.

 

[perico]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/9-riders-to-watch-at-the-2022-tour-de-suisse/

Reading over the start list, it’s amusing that some people (cough Fotheringham) were slagging the Dauphine startlist as less than stellar. Here we have Remco, Thomas, Pinot, Yates, Vlasov and Martinez.

OK, Remco is the obvious draw, but he’s not even riding the Tour this year. Maybe Alasdair should realize the cycling world doesn’t revolve around Ineos. I mean... Thomas is a star as a former TDF winner, but he’s hardly being penciled in as someone to challenge Pogacar at his age.

At the Dauphine, you have inarguably one of the two best stage racers in the world who has won 3 Vueltas and the only one considered to have a legitimate shot at beating Pogacar. You have last years TDF runner up, as well. You got the Vuelta runner up who has finished 5th and 6th in the last two TDFs, and also last years surprise Top 5 in O’Connor. On top of that, you’ve got a former 4 time TDF winner.

Here you have a guy who isn’t riding the TDF, the guy who won the Tour 5 years ago, A guy who finished on the podium in 2014 and looked like a contender in 2019 until he hit his knee on the handlebars and dropped out. And a dark horse in Vlasov. Martínez is very interesting, but hardly a podium contender in July with one GT Top 10 in his history.

That’s not to say that the future potential of this Suisse start list isn’t greater, but unless Pinot shows up with knee pads, I don’t see a stronger list of contenders for July this year here than in the Dauphine.


I’m not slagging the quality of any of the riders, but this narrative of the weak Dauphine this year. Should be a fun race though and I’m curious to see how Remco goes at this altitude.

 

[Big Doopie]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/9-riders-to-watch-at-the-2022-tour-de-suisse/

Reading over the start list, it’s amusing that some people (cough Fotheringham) were slagging the Dauphine startlist as less than stellar. Here we have Remco, Thomas, Pinot, Yates, Vlasov and Martinez.

OK, Remco is the obvious draw, but he’s not even riding the Tour this year. Maybe Alasdair should realize the cycling world doesn’t revolve around Ineos. I mean... Thomas is a star as a former TDF winner, but he’s hardly being penciled in as someone to challenge Pogacar at his age.

At the Dauphine, you have inarguably one of the two best stage racers in the world who has won 3 Vueltas and the only one considered to have a legitimate shot at beating Pogacar. You have last years TDF runner up, as well. You got the Vuelta runner up who has finished 5th and 6th in the last two TDFs, and also last years surprise Top 5 in O’Connor. On top of that, you’ve got a former 4 time TDF winner.

Here you have a guy who isn’t riding the TDF, the guy who won the Tour 5 years ago, A guy who finished on the podium in 2014 and looked like a contender in 2019 until he hit his knee on the handlebars and dropped out. And a dark horse in Vlasov. Martínez is very interesting, but hardly a podium contender in July with one GT Top 10 in his history.

That’s not to say that the future potential of this Suisse start list isn’t greater, but unless Pinot shows up with knee pads, I don’t see a stronger list of contenders for July this year here than in the Dauphine.


I’m not slagging the quality of any of the riders, but this narrative of the weak Dauphine this year. Should be a fun race though and I’m curious to see how Remco goes at this altitude.

fair points.

I think the general consensus is that by Jumbo sending their two main guys to the Dauphine, there is no real possibility of any real competition or uncertainty. And, so far that has proven true.

meanwhile at tds there are lots of quality teams in line to do battle. Yates, Martinez and Thomas present a formidable depth for one team but there are unknowns with Remco and Bora headed by Vlasov. and when you think that Jumbo’s competition may be TGH at Dauphine, a rider who lost virtually two minutes to Remco in one mountain climb a couple of weeks ago…well…

And what does it matter who is or is not racing the TDF? Are we not comparing the racing excitement between the competition at these two races?

 

[Netserk]

Martinez is a podium contender for the Tour though.

 

[Escarabajo]

I like those two mountain finishes. I didn't know that they were that hard.

 

[hayneplane]

fair points.

I think the general consensus is that by Jumbo sending their two main guys to the Dauphine, there is no real possibility of any real competition or uncertainty. And, so far that has proven true.

meanwhile at tds there are lots of quality teams in line to do battle. Yates, Martinez and Thomas present a formidable depth for one team but there are unknowns with Remco and Bora headed by Vlasov. and when you think that Jumbo’s competition may be TGH at Dauphine, a rider who lost virtually two minutes to Remco in one mountain climb a couple of weeks ago…well…

And what does it matter who is or is not racing the TDF? Are we not comparing the racing excitement between the competition at these two races?

The startlist quality for the Dauphine is diminished by the simple fact that the 2 strongest are on the same team so unlikely to slug it out head to head.

The Vuelta runner up (Mas) has a much better palmares in 3 week races than 1 week stage races.

The very top end quality I.e. Roglic is in the Dauphine but far more guys who have won world tour stage races and have some form this season (Vlasov, A.Yates, Remco, Martinez) are going to Suisse.

 

[gunara]

It feels like this race just won't ever start , we keep trying to find something interesting in the Dauphine with no alternative for days

 

[topt]

I think in TdS and TdF, Daniel Felipe Martinez of Ineos could be quite dangerous for the final GC victory. He had a great 2022 until now, and certainly has further improved since Liege.

I think he is the favourite for Suisse, and has good chances for the final GC podium in Paris. If Pog has a problem, and Primoz is not 100%, then Martinez could even win in Paris. I guess, for him Dauphine and Itzulia were just the beginning. He is probably a possible GT winner - maybe even for the Tour.

Martinez is so bad at descending (and everybody knows it) that he cant win a GT

 

[StryderHells]

Martinez is so bad at descending (and everybody knows it) that he cant win a GT

Surely that’s something that can be fixed, Pinot was a terrible descender but FDJ worked on it with him and now he’s a capable descender, you’d think Ineos with all that attention to detail would have helped him with it by now.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I like those two mountain finishes. I didn't know that they were that hard.

The race designers have said it is the hardest edition of this century so far. But that's not just due to the two MTFs.

 

[staubsauger]

The race designers have said it is the hardest edition of this century so far. But that's not just due to the two MTFs.

Let's hope it's been raced properly then!

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

There is not a single flat stage in Switzerland. The mountain stages are at least as tough as in the Dauphiné.

I also estimate the field of participants to be slightly higher for Switzerland. In the
Dauphiné you have to wait until the penultimate stage, maybe even the last stage, before the favorites show something.
While I am convinced that in Switzerland we will also see spectacle in the hill stages

 

[Pantani_lives]

They don't have Swiss cheese, so I'll use ice cream cones.

Vlasov, Martinez
Evenepoel, Mäder
Fuglsang, Thomas, Lutsenko, Izagirre
Pinot, Yates, Schachmann, Higuita, Costa, Woods

[Edited]

 

[staubsauger]

They don't have swiss cheese, so I'll use ice cream cones.

Vlasov, Martinez
Evenepoel, Mäder
Fuglsang, Thomas, Lutsenko
Pinot, Yates, Schachmann, Higuita, Costa

Arensman on paper has a very good TT & climbing combination as well. The only question is how stable his shape's gonna be after the Giro d'Italia!

Since eventually DSM fielded him for the Tour de Suisse, he can't be completely toast I suspect.

 

[KOM]

Its DSM I wouldnt give them the benefit of the doubt

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Tomorrow's climbs:

Pfannenstiel (not from the side they used to do in Züri Metzgete)

Küsnachter Berg

4.5k from a climb like that to the line, this might be too hard even for the likes of Hirschi considering they do five laps.

I really like most of these stages, but the pacing, with the two MTFs and the TT all coming at the end, might hurt the racing on these mid-mountain days. Even so, I do expect some GC action tomorrow.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Evenepoel wants to save energy until the MTF and TT stages

Let's hope if he doesn't attack himself, that others will try to attack him, so that this doesn't turn into a snorefest like Dauphiné.