Confirmed Tour Teams/Pre-Selections

[gustienordic]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/garmin-sharp-confirm-100th-tour-de-france-team

Garmin-Sharp for the 100th Tour de France: Andrew Talansky, Christian Vande Velde, Dan Martin, David Millar, Jack Bauer, Ramunas Navardauskas, Rohan Dennis, Ryder Hesjedal, Tom Danielson

Looks like a really strong team with plenty of potential for stage wins. There may be too many leaders though (Hesjedal, Martin and Talansky) to get any cohesion. My choice would be Hesjedal as sole leader, as as good as Dan Martin is, he won't be allowed the gaps in the break he's been allowed previously. Whereas if he supports Hesjedal and drops down the GC, the peleton may allow him to be in the breakaway and he can claim a few stage wins.

Good Team, Martin should go for stages with Navardauskas, Talansky & Hesjedal joint leaders- that would be a good idea I think.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Good Team, Martin should go for stages with Navardauskas, Talansky & Hesjedal joint leaders- that would be a good idea I think.

I know what you meant, but you really need to use punctuation more effectively if you want to actually write what you mean.

 

[Merckx index]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/garmin-sharp-confirm-100th-tour-de-france-team

Garmin-Sharp for the 100th Tour de France: Andrew Talansky, Christian Vande Velde, Dan Martin, David Millar, Jack Bauer, Ramunas Navardauskas, Rohan Dennis, Ryder Hesjedal, Tom Danielson

Looks like a really strong team with plenty of potential for stage wins. There may be too many leaders though (Hesjedal, Martin and Talansky) to get any cohesion. My choice would be Hesjedal as sole leader, as as good as Dan Martin is, he won't be allowed the gaps in the break he's been allowed previously. Whereas if he supports Hesjedal and drops down the GC, the peleton may allow him to be in the breakaway and he can claim a few stage wins.

Really can't agree with this. JV made it pretty clear he's gunning for a GC podium spot or at least top 5, but that seems unlikely to me. After Froome and Contador, there are so many other likely contenders: Porte, J-Rod, Quintana, Valverde, VDB, etc. Garmin's top 3 are solid riders, but there's no particular reason to believe any of them will best all those second tier contenders.

Since Farrar was left off the team, Garmin will not even try to win any flat stages, which is probably just as well. That leaves attempts at winning mountain or mountainous stages. Well, it's easy to say that so-and-so has a good shot at winning a stage, but the reality is that there are only a handful of such stages on offer in any GT, and a pretty large number of potential contenders (not to mention non-contenders who often end up winning it). Going into a GT, it's a fruitless exercise to pick mountainous stage winners.You would expect Froome to win at least one, if not several, mountain stages, and depending on his form, maybe the same for Contador. But after that, it's a crapshoot. Sure, Garmin has several riders who, if they get into the right break at the right time--or near the end are so far down in the GC that they are ignored--could win a stage. But a lot of luck goes into that.

You can't say that a team going into the TDF depending on a crapshoot is in a strong position.

 

[manafana]

The Garmin team looks really nice but just hoping Martin is issue free as July has not always been good month for him.

 

[taiwan]

Garmin will put one of a handful of guys in the top ten as usual. Top 5 if it's a good year. I reckon Takansky will be the one this year. Maybe Hesjedal and Martin will go for stages. It is a respectably deep team, good for the TTT also.

 

[Anderis]

Really can't agree with this. JV made it pretty clear he's gunning for a GC podium spot or at least top 5, but that seems unlikely to me. After Froome and Contador, there are so many other likely contenders: Porte, J-Rod, Quintana, Valverde, VDB, etc. Garmin's top 3 are solid riders, but there's no particular reason to believe any of them will best all those second tier contenders.

Perhaps before Giro 2012, not many believed Hesjedal could have finished on podium, let alone win. But the fact that he actually managed to do that shouldn't be a big surprise- he had already proven he could beat riders like Basso, Rodriguez or Kreuziger in big mountain.

I can see some simillarities here. If Hesjedal was able to beat Rodriguez on Giro 2012, with less ITT and time bonuses, why couldn't he beat Rodriguez here, where there is more ITT and there are no time bonuses (which is very bad for Purito?). Why couldn't he beat Valverde who never shined in France? Why couldn't he beat unproven GC contender Quintana? Why couldn't he beat Porte, who will be a domestique?

Martin has a superb season so far and Talansky is developing very, very quickly recently. I think both of them can surprise as well. Especially if you consider, that it's never the case that all of 1st tier and 2nd tier contenders are in the optimum shape for the race and can survive all 3 weeks without crashes, illnesses and so on.

 

[Team Argos-Shimano]

Team Argos-Shimano

During the Tour de France presentation we have announced our TDF selection and launched the Team Argos-Shimano Express, that will be looking for stage wins.

Last week we launched the video of the Team Argos-Shimano Express. But there is a lot of work behind it. Our sprint train was built step-by-step, and an important part of our team is science. Trainer and coach Adriaan Helmantel and scientific expert Teun van Erp explain the science behind our train. You may never have seen such an inside view as this before!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWve4g83CVI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUiQbUrSsZLXw0cUFd_pFe2A

What do you think of this video?

 

[taiwan]

So...

The train for Kittel will go Timmer-De Kort- Veelers-Kittel

Degenkolb will.do the sprint in hillier stages?

 

[Roderick]

So...

The train for Kittel will go Timmer-De Kort- Veelers-Kittel

Degenkolb will.do the sprint in hillier stages?

I'm already excited about the upcoming battle between Sieberg and Timmer at the 1,5k mark

 

[theyoungest]

I can see some simillarities here. If Hesjedal was able to beat Rodriguez on Giro 2012, with less ITT and time bonuses, why couldn't he beat Rodriguez here, where there is more ITT and there are no time bonuses (which is very bad for Purito?). Why couldn't he beat Valverde who never shined in France? Why couldn't he beat unproven GC contender Quintana? Why couldn't he beat Porte, who will be a domestique?

Yeah. But on the other hand, why couldn't all of them beat Hesjedal? He's not clearly better than any of them.

I think the hilly TT is better for Rodriguez than for Hesjedal, actually.

 

[Anderis]

Yeah. But on the other hand, why couldn't all of them beat Hesjedal? He's not clearly better than any of them.

That's it. He may beat them, they may beat him. They're all so close in terms of potential that it will all depend on in what form they will be in the race, which is impossible to predict.
The fact is that Hesjedal IS able to finish in top5 with right circumstances. How can you achieve anything big in the sport if you're not an optimist who targets an optimistic goal? Optimistic, but possible to achieve.

I think the hilly TT is better for Rodriguez than for Hesjedal, actually.

Yeah, I've checked this and this is actually more hilly than I expected (almost no flat). This will be certainly good for Rodriguez, but I still think Hesjedal won't lose any time to Purito if he is in good shape in 3rd week. He might just not gain as much as on a flat ITT.

 

[theyoungest]

Yeah, I've checked this and this is actually more hilly than I expected (almost no flat). This will be certainly good for Rodriguez, but I still think Hesjedal won't lose any time to Purito if he is in good shape in 3rd week. He might just not gain as much as on a flat ITT.

Hesjedal himself isn't a great time trialist in hilly TTs. Rodriguez has made big strides. I think that if anything, Rodriguez is likely to gain time on him.

Climbs like the Ventoux, that's where Hesjedal will need to gain time. That kind of echelon climb isn't good for Purito.

 

[manafana]

So...

The train for Kittel will go Timmer-De Kort- Veelers-Kittel

Degenkolb will.do the sprint in hillier stages?

yeah id assume this much, also means opqs won't be alone trying to chase down a break.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I'm already excited about the upcoming battle between Sieberg and Timmer at the 1,5k mark

Fighting for 2nd behind Tony?

 

[Anderis]

Hesjedal himself isn't a great time trialist in hilly TTs.

Did he ever ride one while being in contetion for GC? I can't recall any.

 

[search]

Did he ever ride one while being in contetion for GC? I can't recall any.

in Pais Vasco 2010 and 2012.

he was ~2 1/2 minutes behind in overall classification in the end so I would consider that as "riding for gc", although it was mainly a preparation race for him of course

 

[Roderick]

Fighting for 2nd behind Tony?

The only thing Tony will do at the 1,5k mark is looking over his shoulder where the **** Steegmans is gone

 

[Normandy]

You watch, Gilbert will look good in the Vuelta just in time for the Worlds and do nothing in the Tour like last year. I would have preferred GVA to have gone. A great team man and could not even make the squad.

As i don't have access to internet everyday, I only just saw this article today. It seems to contradict what BMC said last weekend on team selection and everything for the super strong Cadel. If he is not sure of his form, why everything sacrificed for him?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-says-tour-de-france-build-up-is-improved-on-2010

 

[movingtarget]

As i don't have access to internet everyday, I only just saw this article today. It seems to contradict what BMC said last weekend on team selection and everything for the super strong Cadel. If he is not sure of his form, why everything sacrificed for him?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-says-tour-de-france-build-up-is-improved-on-2010

Probably because since the Giro, he has not raced. He won't know how the legs will react after the Giro. No one ever does as he has been resting for the Tour. That's why they have the back up plan with TJVG. BMC only have TJVG and Evans for the overall. Can't see anyone else in the team winning a stage unless Gilbert suddenly improves. All Evans said was that his recovery period was better than in 2010 when he rode both races. The team will be giving everything for both riders. It won't be TJVG's job to tow Evans along. BMC have other riders for that.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

The only thing Tony will do at the 1,5k mark is looking over his shoulder where the **** Steegmans is gone

Hiding behind Trentin's backside, I imagine.

 

[Roderick]

Hiding behind Trentin's backside, I imagine.

Steggels can't hold a wheel , not even if he's glued to it

 

[Warhawk]

Probably because since the Giro, he has not raced. He won't know how the legs will react after the Giro. No one ever does as he has been resting for the Tour. That's why they have the back up plan with TJVG. BMC only have TJVG and Evans for the overall. Can't see anyone else in the team winning a stage unless Gilbert suddenly improves. All Evans said was that his recovery period was better than in 2010 when he rode both races. The team will be giving everything for both riders. It won't be TJVG's job to tow Evans along. BMC have other riders for that.

Yeah, I doubt we see a repeat of what happened on La Toussuire this time around, unless Tejay loses some serious time. Not that he won't be doing some work for Cadel insofar as they're both with the other contenders, just that if Cadel drops, I don't think they make the decision to have Tejay drop with him. So Cadel's still the leader, he's just on a bit shorter leash. The important thing is figuring out how good Cadel's form is as early as possible, so that if it's not very good they can avoid damaging Tejay's chances.

It's not very easy for a team to split their eggs between a couple of baskets and come away with a good result to show for it, but I suspect they learned enough last year to at least have a good shot at making it work.

 

[movingtarget]

Yeah, I doubt we see a repeat of what happened on La Toussuire this time around, unless Tejay loses some serious time. Not that he won't be doing some work for Cadel insofar as they're both with the other contenders, just that if Cadel drops, I don't think they make the decision to have Tejay drop with him. So Cadel's still the leader, he's just on a bit shorter leash. The important thing is figuring out how good Cadel's form is as early as possible, so that if it's not very good they can avoid damaging Tejay's chances.

It's not very easy for a team to split their eggs between a couple of baskets and come away with a good result to show for it, but I suspect they learned enough last year to at least have a good shot at making it work.

You could say the same about Porte and Froome. If Froome fails how much work will Porte have already done for him. It's unavoidable for riders like TJVG and Porte as they are so important in the mountains. Evans is usually very consistent from the start when he is in form. He will find the first week harder this year you would think, at least the first few days but then the break he had might settle his legs. If Evans is tiring in the second week, well it's all over and BMC will know that. I don't believe VG will be attacking as he suggested. Neither of the BMC riders are good enough to do that with the tempo Sky usually sets. I think they will reacting not attacking and if TJVG is reacting better to attacks than Evans in the early mountain stages, BMC will make the switch I think. First TT will also be a good indicator.