Giro 2014 Field Speculation

[Vino attacks everyone]

Quintana only a bit over 50%? Let's be real for a minute: Porte's quiver full of marginal gains notwithstanding, Quintana is going to utterly crush this field; it is going to be the best show since RoboBasso.

RoboNairo?

 

[Red Lobster]

RoboNairo?

Let's talk about it again at the end of May! Has a ring to it ...

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Well if Quintana's form is anything like in the Tour and he's attacking smart and not from too far out, then he's going to win by minutes and minutes.

 

[the sceptic]

lets not forget that little Ritchie only went full gas on one climb in the tour last year. He is going to be a different beast now.

 

[CycloAndy]

So Froome is going to get Henao, Nieve, Wiggins, Kennaugh, Thomas, Eisel, Boasson-Hagen, Siutsov

Thats a bit unfair when Porte will be left with Cataldo, Deignan, Kiryienka, Knees, Lopez, Stannard, Swift, Pate

Porte knows well that he has to prove himself to get the best domestiques on his team. If he does well this year he will get better doms next year. I'd still class Cataldo, Kiri and Knees as world class doms and Lopez is still a decent climber.

My predictions are:
Froome, Henao, Nieve, Porte/Wiggins, Kennaugh, Siutsou, Thomas, Stannard/Eisel, EBH for the tour

Porte, Cataldo, Lopez, Deignan, Kiriyenka, Knees, Puccio, Pate, Swift for the Giro.

 

[Afrank]

If Porte wasnt at Sky he'd be at Orica where he would have Chaves, Santaromita and Weening. Not much better ..

And the Sky team, I expect Dombrowski there.

Dombrowski will likely got to California.

 

[b.broadhurst]

Porte knows well that he has to prove himself to get the best domestiques on his team. If he does well this year he will get better doms next year. I'd still class Cataldo, Kiri and Knees as world class doms and Lopez is still a decent climber.

My predictions are:
Froome, Henao, Nieve, Porte/Wiggins, Kennaugh, Siutsou, Thomas, Stannard/Eisel, EBH for the tour

Porte, Cataldo, Lopez, Deignan, Kiriyenka, Knees, Puccio, Pate, Swift for the Giro.

That is a beautiful tour squad.

 

[movingtarget]

Don't think Porte will ever be in pink, Quintana and Rodriguez are too punchy for him.

And then there is the matter of the time trial where Porte should make good time on both. I don't see Rodriguez as a GT winner. He was in a good position to win the 2012 Giro and could not beat an underdone Contador in the 2012 Vuelta when the race was his for the taking. Great all round rider but I see another podium coming up not a win. Quintana will be harder to beat and I also think Uran has to be considered. I still think Porte is a good chance even if the Sky Tour squad will be much better but for most teams it usually is.

 

[hfer07]

robonairo?

wo,wo,wo,wo ---stop it right there with that robobvllsh!t

he is simply "the one"

 

[greenedge]

So Froome is going to get Henao, Nieve, Wiggins, Kennaugh, Thomas, Eisel, Boasson-Hagen, Siutsov

Thats a bit unfair when Porte will be left with Cataldo, Deignan, Kiryienka, Knees, Lopez, Stannard, Swift, Pate

Have you seen their results


Porte will ride the TDF for Froome too.

 

[JRanton]

If Porte wasnt at Sky he'd be at Orica where he would have Chaves, Santaromita and Weening. Not much better ..

And the Sky team, I expect Dombrowski there.

It's not on his schedule at the moment.

 

[JRanton]

Porte knows well that he has to prove himself to get the best domestiques on his team. If he does well this year he will get better doms next year. I'd still class Cataldo, Kiri and Knees as world class doms and Lopez is still a decent climber.

My predictions are:
Froome, Henao, Nieve, Porte/Wiggins, Kennaugh, Siutsou, Thomas, Stannard/Eisel, EBH for the tour

Porte, Cataldo, Lopez, Deignan, Kiriyenka, Knees, Puccio, Pate, Swift for the Giro.

I read somewhere that Swift won't ride the Giro. Zandio will probably ride it.

 

[Sykhrzon]

They don't need a tired Porte in their Tour squad. Sky's team will probably look likes this.

Leader: Froome
Lieutenant: Kennaugh
Road captain: Wiggins
Mountain doms: Heano, Nieve
Flat/cobblestone doms: Thomas, Stannard
All-rounder doms: Both of the Belarusians

Porte's Giro team:
Porte, Lopez, Cataldo, Puccio, Knees, EBH, Swift, Pate or Dombrowski, Zandio

 

[Afrank]

Even tired, Porte should be able to do a fine job as a domestique for Froome. With Froome having other climbers like Henao and Nieve at his disposal this year, they won't need Porte to do as good a job as he did last year.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

They don't need a tired Porte in their Tour squad. Sky's team will probably look likes this.

Leader: Froome
Lieutenant: Kennaugh
Road captain: Wiggins
Mountain doms: Heano, Nieve
Flat/cobblestone doms: Thomas, Stannard
All-rounder doms: Both of the Belarusians

Porte's Giro team:
Porte, Lopez, Cataldo, Puccio, Knees, EBH, Swift, Pate or Dombrowski, Zandio

Sir Wiggo is worthless as a road captain imo, but he will take the physical role of say Rogers.

Anyway the role is overrated in races with team radios anyway.

 

[42x16ss]

Sir Wiggo is worthless as a road captain imo, but he will take the physical role of say Rogers.

Anyway the role is overrated in races with team radios anyway.

The problem is that Sky doesn't have anyone left who really knows anything about cycling now that Sunderland, Yates, Julich and Rogers are gone apart from possibly Eisel, who doesn't seem to be a certainty for either Tour or Giro.

From all reports Failsford was in a panic the day of the TDF that Garmin blew the peloton apart and Porte and the rest of the doms were caught on the wrong side of the split because noone knew how to react in that situation.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Snipped..

From all reports Failsford was in a panic the day of the TDF that Garmin blew the peloton apart and Porte and the rest of the doms were caught on the wrong side of the split because noone knew how to react in that situation.

Road captaincy had very little to to with the situation.

Thomas injured
Vasil "dead"
Kennaugh in the ditch

and little Ritchie was used as dom in the first 30km or so.

Yates or anybody else would have been powerless anyway.

 

[42x16ss]

Road captaincy had very little to to with the situation.

Thomas injured
Vasil "dead"
Kennaugh in the ditch

and little Ritchie was used as dom in the first 30km or so.

Yates or anybody else would have been powerless anyway.

I'm not talking about the split forming, I'm talking about the reaction. Brailsford had no idea how to handle it. An experienced road DS would have told Froome to sit in on the Movistar train and Porte to sit up and relax for the next day.

Instead, Porte tried to chase back on and spent 15mins holding the lead group at around 1:30 - 2mins. Then they rode on the front of the chase group until they realised the day was over.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I'm not talking about the split forming, I'm talking about the reaction. Brailsford had no idea how to handle it. An experienced road DS would have told Froome to sit in on the Movistar train and Porte to sit up and relax for the next day.

Instead, Porte tried to chase back on and spent 15mins holding the lead group at around 1:30 - 2mins. Then they rode on the front of the chase group until they realised the day was over.

Agree about the Porte call when he was done. But the key element of the action with the split and panic, no amount of road captains could have prevented it imo.

 

[janraaskalt]

Dombrowski will likely got to California.

He was dropped from the Haut Var line-up after Deignan broke his collarbone. Likely to replace Deignan in the route to (and including) the Giro?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

lets not forget that little Ritchie only went full gas on one climb in the tour last year. He is going to be a different beast now.

he went full gas in most of the climbs and came up short most of the times as well

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

They don't need a tired Porte in their Tour squad. Sky's team will probably look likes this.

Leader: Froome
Lieutenant: Kennaugh
Road captain: Wiggins
Mountain doms: Heano, Nieve
Flat/cobblestone doms: Thomas, Stannard
All-rounder doms: Both of the Belarusians

Porte's Giro team:
Porte, Lopez, Cataldo, Puccio, Knees, EBH, Swift, Pate or Dombrowski, Zandio

lol @ anything posted here. you are literally clueless about cycling aren't you. just throwing around some titles you have no idea what they are? lieutanant? wtf is a lieutanant in cycling? a road captain? wiggins? oh god I can't hold my tights laughing at this

 

[42x16ss]

Agree about the Porte call when he was done. But the key element of the action with the split and panic, no amount of road captains could have prevented it imo.

A good road captain will position his leader so that missing the split will never happen. Ekimov did it for Lance, Rogers did it for Wiggins and Contador, Terpstra does it for Boonen. A perceptive road captain who can read the race will rarely allow their leader to be caught out and with the loss of Rogers they don't have this. Don't believe me? Look at Sky's results in the classics, if they aren't riding on the front controlling the race themselves they're stuffed.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

A good road captain will position his leader so that missing the split will never happen. Ekimov did it for Lance, Rogers did it for Wiggins and Contador, Terpstra does it for Boonen. A perceptive road captain who can read the race will rarely allow their leader to be caught out and with the loss of Rogers they don't have this. Don't believe me? Look at Sky's results in the classics, if they aren't riding on the front controlling the race themselves they're stuffed.

We completely disagree about the complexity of this particular stage version hundreds of other "normal" race situations.

And Sky's failure in the classics have little to do with road captains and much more to do with planning, execution and above all the people they ride for (cobbles classics).

 

[barmaher]

lol @ anything posted here. you are literally clueless about cycling aren't you. just throwing around some titles you have no idea what they are? lieutanant? wtf is a lieutanant in cycling? a road captain? wiggins? oh god I can't hold my tights laughing at this

Is that not a bit unfair? Although Lieutenant is not a typical cycling term, I think he meant second in line for GC leader.

I don't think his team is too far off. Sky will probably laughably nominate serial crasher GT as their "road captain", and may go with Kennaugh and Wiggins as backup for GC, should anything go wrong with Froome.