General News Thread

[Ryo Hazuki]

Novo Nordisk take over continental team "Team Type 1" with the longterm goal to get to TdF (source Danish Newspeddlers) with a team consisting solely of riders with Diabetes.

blabla. bull**** as always

 

[Devilen]

why is it bull**** for a continental team to have as a goal to get to TdF in a couple of years? honestly interested in your reason for calling it out as such. It seems like a fairly regular long term goal for teams (specially if they got either very known persons or big money behind them)

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

why is it bull**** for a continental team to have as a goal to get to TdF in a couple of years? honestly interested in your reason for calling it out as such. It seems like a fairly regular long term goal for teams (specially if they got either very known persons or big money behind them)

because they've said so for so many years(tt1) and there will never be a diabetes team in the tour. it would be a joke, unless they suddenly become competitive riders, which they won't.

 

[El Pistolero]

because they've said so for so many years(tt1) and there will never be a diabetes team in the tour. it would be a joke, unless they suddenly become competitive riders, which they won't.

Skil-Shimano 2009. Or was it 2010? Anyway, you get my point.

 

[The Hitch]

lemond simply believes any rider with bigger capacity than him is doped.

Btw which guys did lemond accuse of doping ?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

So gadret leader for tour

That seems most likely.

They have two established GC riders. One is Italian and one is French. It seems pretty obvious where they will send them.

They also have some guys who are potential GC riders, Betancur most obviously. But they won't go into the Tour or Giro as absolute leader over Pozzovivo or Gadret. Betancur will additionally be leader in the hilly classics.

There are few different pressures on them though that will effect team selection. Both Gadret and Pozzovivo have generally ridden the Giro before. But I don't think they can send them both there, because (a) they are a French team and (b) Gadret is unlikely to embrace the idea of being a domestique.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

gadret won't ride the tour. he hates that race. he will go in giro as a "leader", just as pozzo and betancurt will have free role. ag2r are never team of leaders, just bunch of free guys

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

gadret won't ride the tour. he hates that race. he will go in giro as a "leader", just as pozzo and betancurt will have free role. ag2r are never team of leaders, just bunch of free guys

But what are Ag2r's options? Do you really think that they will send their two GC riders and best potential GC rider all to the Giro? And just let them all do their own thing?

That might keep all the riders happy, and you are right that Ag2r have been pretty bad at working for a leader, but it's also insanity for a French team that exists only because of the value of the Tour to their sponsor.

 

[The Hitch]

Lets not totally forget Dupont. Like GAdret he totally sucked balls last year (and my dirty mind assumes it may have been a bit of a team problem) but this was the guy who 2 years ago was as a domestique dropping Nibali and Scarponi and kreuziger.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Lets not totally forget Dupont. Like GAdret he totally sucked balls last year (and my dirty mind assumes it may have been a bit of a team problem) but this was the guy who 2 years ago was as a domestique dropping Nibali and Scarponi and kreuziger.

We've also forgotten Peraud, who like Dupont did nothing last year, but did manage a Tour top 10 two years ago.

I suppose they could bring Appollonio, Dumoulin and a pretty strong stage hunting team.

 

[Ferminal]

Peraud is 36 though, plus his top10 was crash assisted. Best he can hope for is top10s in one week races.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

But what are Ag2r's options? Do you really think that they will send their two GC riders and best potential GC rider all to the Giro? And just let them all do their own thing?

That might keep all the riders happy, and you are right that Ag2r have been pretty bad at working for a leader, but it's also insanity for a French team that exists only because of the value of the Tour to their sponsor.

there is peraud.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

But what are Ag2r's options? Do you really think that they will send their two GC riders and best potential GC rider all to the Giro? And just let them all do their own thing?

That might keep all the riders happy, and you are right that Ag2r have been pretty bad at working for a leader, but it's also insanity for a French team that exists only because of the value of the Tour to their sponsor.

I think so, yeah, because Gadret has been pretty much confirmed to ride the Giro in an interview, and Pozzovivo and Betancur as well. They need points more than anything else, so why not focus on the "other" GTs?

As for the Tour, I guess they'll focus on stage hunting and bunch sprints.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Today the route of the Bayernrundfahrt gets presented.
It will be totally boring as usual, i am sureure

 

[Bavarianrider]

And the organizer didn't disapoint
The Queen Stage has the only significant mountain of the Tour. And on this mountain no other the Gerald Ciolek won the mountain finish in 2008 I guess that tells you something baout that Quenn stage

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I think so, yeah, because Gadret has been pretty much confirmed to ride the Giro in an interview, and Pozzovivo and Betancur as well. They need points more than anything else, so why not focus on the "other" GTs?

As for the Tour, I guess they'll focus on stage hunting and bunch sprints.

That's a fair point, but on paper, Ag2r should not be relegation contenders in 2013. They have an unrecognisably stronger team, improved for every type of race bar Time Trials (which they will still be pretty bad at).

 

[Libertine Seguros]

And the organizer didn't disapoint
The Queen Stage has the only significant mountain of the Tour. And on this mountain no other the Gerald Ciolek won the mountain finish in 2008 I guess that tells you something baout that Quenn stage

I hate to say it, but your home race probably wins the award for the race that has the most potential to put out a good route and does the least with it.

 

[trevim]

Why the hell would Gadret ride for Pozzovivo? I like 50kg climbers as much as anyone but Pozzo isn't the most reliable rider around. Actually, I would made him ride the Tour. He should do well on a mountain parcours. Let Team Gadret lead the Giro with Betancourt stage hunting.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

That's a fair point, but on paper, Ag2r should not be relegation contenders in 2013. They have an unrecognisably stronger team, improved for every type of race bar Time Trials (which they will still be pretty bad at).

I think betancurt will score major points. possibly top ten wt rankings.

 

[cineteq]

I think betancurt will score major points. possibly top ten wt rankings.

Who? If you meant Carlos Betancur, I see him more on the top 25 WT ranking.

 

[greenedge]

@Ryou Hazuki: I doubt that Betancur could top 10 in the WT.

Watch out for Chainel next year in some cobbled races (pity Elmiger left) and Appollonio (along with CJ Sutton) who suffered this year from having Cav, Swift, EBH and to an extent Rowe above them in sprints, not to mention the GT focus.

 

[Bavarianrider]

I hate to say it, but your home race probably wins the award for the race that has the most potential to put out a good route and does the least with it.

True. It's just awful, year after year it's the same boring route

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

@Ryou Hazuki: I doubt that Betancur could top 10 in the WT.

Watch out for Chainel next year in some cobbled races (pity Elmiger left) and Appollonio (along with CJ Sutton) who suffered this year from having Cav, Swift, EBH and to an extent Rowe above them in sprints, not to mention the GT focus.

why not? already this year he scored major points everywhere and acqua had perhaps the s***iest program of any pct team.

 

[ILovecycling]

Froome:

"I’ll start in Algarve in February, I’ll probably do Tirreno-Adriatico in March and I’ll put everything on the Tour"

Froome,Alberto and Andy.All for TA,it should be a great race.When the route will be released?

 

[The Hitch]

Froome:


Froome,Alberto and Andy.All for TA,it should be a great race.When the route will be released?

So wiggins to get back to back Pn's