Enric Mas Rising Star

[Akuryo]

Re:

Supposedly Viviani is riding the Giro and the Vuelta - So it seems Mas will get more support at the TDF.

I highly doubt that. DQS has at least 3 kind of good sprinters for 2019 and Viviani is the best of them. I dont think Hodeg/Jakobsen will be the main guy for them in their second season in July, so after the departure of Gaviria, Elia Viviani will ride the Tour. There is no question about that. They have always been a team that tries to accomplish multiple agendas in a GT, most of all winning stages! They may send more helpers for Mas than they would've without his second place in the Vuelta but Viviani, Richeze and at least one more "lead out guy" will be on the roster for the Tour de France.

 

[MADRAZO]

Re: Re:

Supposedly Viviani is riding the Giro and the Vuelta - So it seems Mas will get more support at the TDF.

I highly doubt that. DQS has at least 3 kind of good sprinters for 2019 and Viviani is the best of them. I dont think Hodeg/Jakobsen will be the main guy for them in their second season in July, so after the departure of Gaviria, Elia Viviani will ride the Tour. There is no question about that. They have always been a team that tries to accomplish multiple agendas in a GT, most of all winning stages! They may send more helpers for Mas than they would've without his second place in the Vuelta but Viviani, Richeze and at least one more "lead out guy" will be on the roster for the Tour de France.

I agree that they will send Viviani and some helpers for him even though they will have Mas riding for GC. Both because they will also want a stagewin or more with Viviani, but also because they simply don't really have much mountainshelpers they could use instead. Mas best helpers will be Jungels and Alaphilippe no matter if Viviani starts and they can also help in Vivianis train, and besides those there are not much to come for in the mountains. Its not like riders like Capecchi or Knox would make much difference so no need to waste spots on them. They might chose to pick a rider like Devenyns or Serry that can climb and TTT decently instead of someone a bit more suited to help Viviani with Mas there, but again they would then also be of some help for Viviani. The most important thing for Mas will also just be to be well protected on the flat and have a decent TTT, and he should get that even with the team also riding for Viviani.

 

[Breh]

It's very unlikely Alaphilippe will have to work for anybody.

 

[Salvarani]

Viviani will have at least 3-4 guys for his lead-out, if he goes. They cant have Alaphilipe ride as just a helper. Maybe in later stages if Mas has a good chance to actually win it, he will support. Thats 6-7 guys already, with Mas. Jungels? Or will he get leadership at Giro? The last 1-2 spots I guess will be to make up the team.

I really think Mas dont need to have a lot of help in the mountains also, other than 1-2 riders. If the team protect him on the flat and they have a good TTT. It will be up to Mas to then follow the sky-train and attack when he can on the end of stages. If he has the legs.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

Viviani will have at least 3-4 guys for his lead-out, if he goes. They cant have Alaphilipe ride as just a helper. Maybe in later stages if Mas has a good chance to actually win it, he will support. Thats 6-7 guys already, with Mas. Jungels? Or will he get leadership at Giro? The last 1-2 spots I guess will be to make up the team.

I really think Mas dont need to have a lot of help in the mountains also, other than 1-2 riders. If the team protect him on the flat and they have a good TTT. It will be up to Mas to then follow the sky-train and attack when he can on the end of stages. If he has the legs.

I think the plan will be, to drop Mas off at the last climb.

 

[yaco]

I am repeating what Viviani stated in an article in CN - Mas may have two helpers - QS can still win stages with riders like Alaphalippe/Gilbert/Lampaert.

 

[Nirvana]

Also Gazzetta in the paper edition some days ago reported that Viviani won't ride the Tour because his big objective is World Championship so he'll go to the Vuelta to be ready for it.

Like i've already said some days ago it's crazy to have him as leader in Yorkshire but he thinks that he can win and Cassani supports him so...

 

[MADRAZO]

Re:

It's very unlikely Alaphilippe will have to work for anybody.

He will likely help a bit in the leadouts as he has done before, if Viviani is there, and if he is not in a breakaway for sure he can help a bit in the mountains too if it becomes relevant. Its not like he will ride GC so ofcourse he can and will help a bit in the stages he is not trying to win himself if its needed. But most of the time Mas will likely do fine on his own.

 

[rghysens]

Re:

Also Gazzetta in the paper edition some days ago reported that Viviani won't ride the Tour because his big objective is World Championship so he'll go to the Vuelta to be ready for it.

Like i've already said some days ago it's crazy to have him as leader in Yorkshire but he thinks that he can win and Cassani supports him so...

The 2018 italian championships weren't easy either, and he still won it.

 

[roundabout]

Re:

Also Gazzetta in the paper edition some days ago reported that Viviani won't ride the Tour because his big objective is World Championship so he'll go to the Vuelta to be ready for it.

Like i've already said some days ago it's crazy to have him as leader in Yorkshire but he thinks that he can win and Cassani supports him so...

It's not *that* crazy. I also think that the difficulty of the route is not outside of his capabilities.

 

[Nirvana]

Re: Re:

Also Gazzetta in the paper edition some days ago reported that Viviani won't ride the Tour because his big objective is World Championship so he'll go to the Vuelta to be ready for it.

Like i've already said some days ago it's crazy to have him as leader in Yorkshire but he thinks that he can win and Cassani supports him so...

The 2018 italian championships weren't easy either, and he still won it.

They were described as not easy by Cassani only for PR reasons but actually they were, there was only a 2 kms false flat and a 300 meters long wall in a 33 kms circuit with wide open roads. The race was easier than 2016 when the circuit was shorter, the wall was repeated more times, there were narrow roads and there was real climbing up to Ponte di Legno in the first half before entering in the circuit.
And the race was even served to him on a silver plate with how developed in the last two laps after Bahrain give up controlling the race and became a free for all.

 

[Nirvana]

Regarding his capabilities to survive in harder races i think in this forum are generally overrated, last year in Sanremo after surviving the Poggio (and they didn't go all out) he was totally worn out and finished dead last of the group in the sprint, in Gent Wevelgem he survived Kemmelberg but then he was easily beated by Sagan that in a flat stage sprint he's very likely to lose against him. For sure is better than some years ago when he wasn't able to finish inside the time cut at the Giro after being dropped right at the start of Arezzo stage but there is only one performance from him that can be considered more a durable sprinter's one: http://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=425&y=2018

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah Viviani is a pure sprinter. Simple as that. 0 classics potential whatsoever, and there's no chance in hell he's gonna make the final selection.

Italy has might as well choose Antonio Nibali as their team leader.

 

[tobydawq]

He couldn't even sprint properly in Milano-Sanremo because it had been too tough for him, so maybe relax a little. In Doha he also managed to cramp up right before the sprint.

Edit: I hadn't seen Nirvana's post before posting this.

 

[yaco]

Surely an in-form Trentin or Moscon will be Italy's leader at the World's.

 

[roundabout]

Re:

Regarding his capabilities to survive in harder races i think in this forum are generally overrated, last year in Sanremo after surviving the Poggio (and they didn't go all out) he was totally worn out and finished dead last of the group in the sprint, in Gent Wevelgem he survived Kemmelberg but then he was easily beated by Sagan that in a flat stage sprint he's very likely to lose against him. For sure is better than some years ago when he wasn't able to finish inside the time cut at the Giro after being dropped right at the start of Arezzo stage but there is only one performance from him that can be considered more a durable sprinter's one: http://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=425&y=2018

I think the Worlds this year are easier than some people think.

 

[Robert5091]

Is n't this the Enric Mas thread?

 

[Akuryo]

Going back to the original topic of this thread, I just read on the front page that Jungels is going for GC (another top 10 at best but still) in the Giro. That basically tells us that Mas will be the sole leader for the Tour regarding their plans for gc. I hope he still does the Tour as a helper for Enric though!

 

[Akuryo]

Tour confirmed.

 

[Bakkie]

If i was QS, i trying first to win Giro or Vuelto, before tour.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

If i was QS, i trying first to win Giro or Vuelto, before tour.

Redundant because he probably has a bigger chamce in the Tour than the Giro considering fields and routes

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

If i was QS, i trying first to win Giro or Vuelto, before tour.

Redundant because he probably has a bigger chamce in the Tour than the Giro considering fields and routes

Agreed. With the GC fields in the Giro and Tour this year, he has a better shot at the Tour.

 

[Breh]

Re:

If i was QS, i trying first to win Giro or Vuelto, before tour.

I see what you did there

 

[Akuryo]

Two more days until he starts his season. First race, so I wont expect too much but these days every DQS rider seems to grab a win. Like every year. So yeah, why not Mas, too? Looking at the startlist, it is not very packed im terms of big guns this year...

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvHs5xtnStj/

Jungles is savage :lol: