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Froome not part of Sky Tour squad!

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Mar 11, 2009
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It's clear that Sky wants more than just a podium finish for Wiggo from this tour, if they are taking Hendy and EBH then it must be in order to go for stage wins. I'd be surprised and impressed if either of those two could win out in a full TDF bunch sprint against on-form Cav, Thor, Farrar, Boonen and co, but both should have a good shot at a win from a breakaway in the second or third week.
 
May 6, 2009
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Does anybody really think EBH can beat Cav? Only way he wins Green is by doing what Hushovd does and goes on long raids in the mountains picking up points.
 
Feb 28, 2010
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issoisso: Optimistic to think EBH is better than Hendy in a bunch sprint?

EBH can't beat Cav in a flat bunch sprint. I don't think anybody can. At least not if Cav is in the shape he was last year. And I don't think EBH will be a real contender for the green jersey this year, but he can win stages and gain experience.

In the hilly stages with a bunch sprint I think EBH can compete with Thor and Freire who both are fairly good climbers to be sprinters. At least a lot better than Cav and McEwen.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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MagnusW said:
issoisso: Optimistic to think EBH is better than Hendy in a bunch sprint?

Yes.

craig1985 said:
Does anybody really think EBH can beat Cav? Only way he wins Green is by doing what Hushovd does and goes on long raids in the mountains picking up points.

Which is perfectly valid, as the points jersey is a consistency jersey, not a sprinters' jersey. If Hagen manages to take green doing that, fair play to him. Takes tremendous quality to do it.

Some people have the idea that it's a competition for sprinters because at the Tour de France the racing is usually so controlled and narcotic that sprinters end up contesting a ton of stages and thus winning it :)
 
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JRanton said:
How accurate do you think the Giro line-up is?

Well we will find out in a few days ;)

Wiggins < definate*
Sutton
Possoni < definate*
Froome < definate*
Cioni <definate*
Carlstrom <highly likely - paired up with Cioni in Romandie just before
Barry
Hayman
Stannard <90%

*according to the information we have.

Sutton, Barry, Hayman are the only three i havent seen anything strong on, but those three together makes perfect sense.
 
craig1985 said:
Does anybody really think EBH can beat Cav? Only way he wins Green is by doing what Hushovd does and goes on long raids in the mountains picking up points.
I don't think he will even try to get the green jersey. Way too demanding to have to try getting good results every single day at his age. Remember though that if he should try to do it, he would also get some points in the time trials.

I haven't really watched the stage profiles too much, but if there are any stages that are too tough for the pure sprinters and yet will end up in a bunch sprint, EBH (or freire) will get them for sure. Remember, he won two bunch sprints in Giro last year, both in rather hilly stages. Too bad there was one guy in front on both occasions.

Also, EBH is way faster than Henderson based on results this year. Henderson isn't even faster than Sutton, really.
 
issoisso said:
Yes.



Which is perfectly valid, as the points jersey is a consistency jersey, not a sprinters' jersey. If Hagen manages to take green doing that, fair play to him. Takes tremendous quality to do it.

Some people have the idea that it's a competition for sprinters because at the Tour de France the racing is usually so controlled and narcotic that sprinters end up contesting a ton of stages and thus winning it :)

Well, that and the simple fact that the TdF biases the scoring system to help them win it.

At the Giro and the Vuelta, each stage pays the same points, 25-20-16-14-12 then 10 down to 1.

At the Tour:
A flat stage pays 35-30-26-24-22 and then 20 down to 1
An intermediate stage pays 25-22-20-18-16 and then 15 down to 1
A mountain tage pays 20-17-15-13-12 and then 10 down to 1
A time trial pays 15-12-10-8-6 and then 5 down to 1.

Hence, GC candidates are often in the reckoning for the points jersey in the Giro and Vuelta (di Luca this year in the Giro, Valverde held it for a few days in both 2008 and 2009 in the Vuelta), but not in the Tour.

I got into a lot of arguments with people at the Tour who felt that Thor was somehow cheating, or that the system needed overhauling if he was losing to Cavendish in the bunch sprints but winning the jersey.

Sample exchange:
"Cav's clearly the best sprinter, so how is Hushovd wearing the best sprinter's jersey?"
"It's not the best sprinter's jersey, it's the points jersey, and Hushovd has more points"
"But if Cavendish is the better sprinter, surely they should change the points system to reflect that, it seems stupid to win six stages and still not win the jersey"
"Well, hasn't he gained enough attention by winning six stages?"
"He should be rewarded for being the best sprinter"
"He's got his reward, he's got six stage wins, including the Champs-Elysées"
 
Sep 10, 2009
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I would be very surprised if Michael Barry does not get on the Tour squad - with all his years of experience and service to others it would be a bit of a shocker if they did not give him that opportunity to finally ride his first TDF.

People do not give him anywhere near the credit he deserves, he is a classy rider in his own right who has had success with the Canadian National Team at worlds and the olympics and is a 1st class peleton engine. When even Jens Voigt says "When i see Barry go to the front I know it is going to hurt", you know you are doing your job right.

I sincerely hope he gets considered for the Tour squad, he is an all-around domestique who can power the flats and climbs well too.
 
ethnik said:
I would be very surprised if Michael Barry does not get on the Tour squad - with all his years of experience and service to others it would be a bit of a shocker if they did not give him that opportunity to finally ride his first TDF.

People do not give him anywhere near the credit he deserves, he is a classy rider in his own right who has had success with the Canadian National Team at worlds and the olympics and is a 1st class peleton engine. When even Jens Voigt says "When i see Barry go to the front I know it is going to hurt", you know you are doing your job right.

I sincerely hope he gets considered for the Tour squad, he is an all-around domestique who can power the flats and climbs well too.

The problem for Barry is that Sky is a british team and the Tour is the most high profile race for the home audience and because of that I feel that they will probably take any chance they can to get british riders into the Tour team. So when it comes down to the role of peloton grunt I think the british riders like Geraint Thomas has the advantage.

I agree though that Barry would be the perfect choice if there was no politics involved.
 
JRanton said:
I thought that was a possibility but with Arvesen, Flecha and Thomas all likely to ride the Tour there doesn't seem to be room for him.

Oh and no need for the attitude. It's a cycling forum so expect people to speculate a little bit.

No attitude...I was simply saying my observations were not armchair DS-ing. I was reading the forum after all, I knew what to expect.
 
595RED said:
That was a prereq in Hendi signing on that he got a Tour start.

I doubt that there are any such promises. If we are to believe Sky then the riders where heard regarding how they wanted the Tour places to be given out (which was the sliver of truth behind the "riders choosing team"-debacle.) I find it hard to believe that anyone of them would agree that being given a promise is a valid reason to be chosen.
 

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