Giro 2014 Route Rumours

[pastronef]

wild cards to be chosen between those teams

http://twitpic.com/dmstys

(no Scinto's Yellow Fluò team)

 

[Taxus4a]

The finale is really technical with a descent on small roads between pittoresque vineyards. The middle part is pure power on the way to Alba. I like this tt a lot more than the first one, they presented.

This is a good ITT for Quintana, he won the ITT of Basque country, so here he will lose time with some people, but just a little. There is just 14 kms to lose time for him.

But you must have your day, it is a good ITT for Intxausti as well, but he lose the rosaa and losed a lot of time in a similar ITT in the Giro.

By the way, how many wild cards are there, two?

For me, Caja Rural and Qubeka should go.

 

[Jux1893]

wild cards to be chosen between those teams

http://twitpic.com/dmstys

(no Scinto's Yellow Fluò team)

Wasn't expecting for Yellow Fluo not to be considered. For sure Bardiani and probably MTN, after San Remo win in 2013.

 

[Taxus4a]

Wasn't expecting for Yellow Fluo not to be considered. For sure Bardiani and probably MTN, after San Remo win in 2013.

Wasnt expected? there had two riders out last year, so it is normal.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yea, same as how CSF Group-Navigare were 'quarantined' in 2009, and how De Rosa-Stac Plastic (former LPR Brakes) and both Ceramica Flaminia (with Riccò) and CarmioOro-NGC (with Sella) were unwelcome in 2010. Of course, the quarantine of CSF and the uninviting of Ceramica Flaminia to please Armstrong (since Simeoni was riding for them) meant that Scinto's hitherto less well-known Italian ProContinental team got their shot at riding the Giro for the first time...

It always seemed if a team brought the race into disrepute by positive tests at the race/relating to the race and weren't on the "have to be invited" list, they'd be held out for a year. If Scinto keeps things going and they have a pretty good squad for 2015 then you may see them return, just as Colnago-CSF Inox did in 2010.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

snipped...

For me, Caja Rural and Qubeka should go.

I would rather have them going all in at the Vuelta.

If Colombia adds Samu perhaps they should go.

 

[jens_attacks]

i see it harder and harder for richie to win il giro. nairo and purito are the favourites i guess by far

about the wild-cards i won't even bother. a dark spot on giro's history. i don't remember such weak teams ready for an invitation. colombia, i won't even consider after they've done last year. tells you about the cycling crisis at lower level. i don't care who gets invited

 

[pastronef]

i see it harder and harder for richie to win il giro. nairo and purito are the favourites i guess by far

about the wild-cards i won't even bother. a dark spot on giro's history. i don't remember such weak teams ready for an invitation. colombia, i won't even consider after they've done last year. tells you about the cycling crisis at lower level. i don't care who gets invited

at least Bardiani is an Italian team, and they won a stage with Battaglin
MTN Qhubeka is another to deserve a wild card

You are right about Colombia

 

[staubsauger]

Bardiani-CSF, MTN Qhubeka and United Healthcare should be invited for me!

 

[Gloin22]

Bardiani-CSF, MTN Qhubeka and United Healthcare should be invited for me!

Who does UHC have ? No way ready for a GT.. Especially as they have more important race during Giro time..

Colombia has better climbers that could do much much better more than UHC could do.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

at least Bardiani is an Italian team, and they won a stage with Battaglin
MTN Qhubeka is another to deserve a wild card

You are right about Colombia

MTN.

What value will they add from a race perspective? A couple of bunch sprints involving Ciolek? Hardly exciting.....

 

[MatParker117]

i see it harder and harder for richie to win il giro. nairo and purito are the favourites i guess by far

about the wild-cards i won't even bother. a dark spot on giro's history. i don't remember such weak teams ready for an invitation. colombia, i won't even consider after they've done last year. tells you about the cycling crisis at lower level. i don't care who gets invited

If everyone's on top form it could be very, very close. If the Porte that crushed it at Paris-Nice and murderlated everyone bar his Team Leader on Ax 3 Domaines shows up we are in for a hell of a show.

 

[Ferminal]

Bardiani and MTN are locks.

NetApp have very little to offer as they will most likely be doing the Tour (they can't do B2B GTs so if they do the Giro it means a hole for a very poor team to do the Tour).

The same is true for IAM although maybe they have a bit more squad depth.

So Caja Rural or Colombia.

Honestly I'd be happy if they didn't pick any of them and left it at 21 teams.

 

[janraaskalt]

Bardiani and MTN are locks.

NetApp have very little to offer as they will most likely be doing the Tour (they can't do B2B GTs so if they do the Giro it means a hole for a very poor team to do the Tour).

The same is true for IAM although maybe they have a bit more squad depth.

So Caja Rural or Colombia.

Honestly I'd be happy if they didn't pick any of them and left it at 21 teams.

I agree on Bardiani and MTN. Also, RCS and ASO should get together to see to which Grand Tour NetApp and IAM will go; you are right: they should not go to both Giro and Tour.

I see no point in sending Caja Rural to the Giro. The Vuelta is theirs and that's it. So, Colombia is the reserve team if both NetApp and IAM will ride the Tour.

UnitedHealthcare has nothing to offer to a GT. Novo Nordisk team is a joke on PCT level.

 

[staubsauger]

Wanty might have been a more decent 3rd choice in fact.

Or CCC because of Rebellin.

 

[Ruudz0r]

Hoping for Bardiani (who are probably 99.9% sure), MTN and Colombia.

I dont think Colombia did that bad last year, they attacked a lot, Duarte got 2nd and 5th in a stage, and Pantano got 3rd in a stage. The high mountains got cancelled which was not in their favor and they had bad luck they missed Chaves due to injury, I think he would have been their best man. They seem to have a weaker squad though for 2014, but I still hope they get an invite and hopefully Duarte can leave his problems behind and shine next year.

I would also like to see MTN in the Giro I think they can set up a decent squad (Ciolek, Meintjes, Pardilla, Gerdemann, Sbaragli, Augustyn, Stauff, Grmay and Thomson or Konovalovas/Teklehaimanot/Reimer or Kudus but he is probably to young). Would be a better squad then some WT teams will send.

IAM and NetApp should just go for the Tour and Caja for the Vuelta. The 2 American teams are to weak.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

I see no point in sending Caja Rural to the Giro. The Vuelta is theirs and that's it.

I'd welcome them if they're serious about this. Not too many better candidates on that list, apart from Bardiani.

Colombia has Duarte, of course. Both would be good choices, considering what RCS has to work with...

 

[GP Blanco]

Novo Nordisk team is a joke on PCT level.

Inviting Novo Nordisk could make sense from some sort of social awareness perspective but indeed they have by far the weakest riders.

 

[Netserk]

Hoping for Bardiani (who are probably 99.9% sure), MTN and Colombia.

I dont think Colombia did that bad last year, they attacked a lot, Duarte got 2nd and 5th in a stage, and Pantano got 3rd in a stage. The high mountains got cancelled which was not in their favor and they had bad luck they missed Chaves due to injury, I think he would have been their best man. They seem to have a weaker squad though for 2014, but I still hope they get an invite and hopefully Duarte can leave his problems behind and shine next year.

I would also like to see MTN in the Giro I think they can set up a decent squad (Ciolek, Meintjes, Pardilla, Gerdemann, Sbaragli, Augustyn, Stauff, Grmay and Thomson or Konovalovas/Teklehaimanot/Reimer or Kudus but he is probably to young). Would be a better squad then some WT teams will send.

IAM and NetApp should just go for the Tour and Caja for the Vuelta. The 2 American teams are to weak.

Totally agree with this!

 

[MADRAZO]

I agree with most that the wild cards should go to firstly Bardiani, Italian Team with many young talented italians like Battaglin, Bongiorno, Locatelli and the always entertaining Pirazzi. Bardianis wild card must be certain.

Then MTN also deserves to be there with Ciolek and also Pardilla able to do well and some decent/interesting riders also in for instance Gerdeman and young Meintjes

Finally Columbia did decently last year and would have done better if not for the cancelled stages, and Duarte is a interesting rider for the race. Would be nice if they could sign Samuel Sanchez also though but even without him the team is the best possibility for the last wild card and should get it

IAM and Netapp will get TDF tickets almost certainly and is not good enough to send strongt teams to both races and Caja Rural will also have most focus on the Vuelta, so the choise should be simple enough. The Vuelta and The Giro is easier to combine though so I would prefer Caja Rural to IAM or Netapp since they would propably send a team including the captains Arroyo and Txurruka and the italian sprinters Lasca, Vigano, and only save someone like Madrazo for the Vuelta that is not used to ride GTs. Still I would prefer Columbia with Duarte more exiting than Arroyo, and since Caja Rural can still get the Vuelta

Novo Nordisk has nothing at all to do in a GT and also United Healthcare is not really good enough.

 

[Afrank]

Hoping for Bardiani (who are probably 99.9% sure), MTN and Colombia.

I dont think Colombia did that bad last year, they attacked a lot, Duarte got 2nd and 5th in a stage, and Pantano got 3rd in a stage. The high mountains got cancelled which was not in their favor and they had bad luck they missed Chaves due to injury, I think he would have been their best man. They seem to have a weaker squad though for 2014, but I still hope they get an invite and hopefully Duarte can leave his problems behind and shine next year.

I would also like to see MTN in the Giro I think they can set up a decent squad (Ciolek, Meintjes, Pardilla, Gerdemann, Sbaragli, Augustyn, Stauff, Grmay and Thomson or Konovalovas/Teklehaimanot/Reimer or Kudus but he is probably to young). Would be a better squad then some WT teams will send.

IAM and NetApp should just go for the Tour and Caja for the Vuelta. The 2 American teams are to weak.

Pretty much agree with Ruudz0r here.
Bardiani for me is as certain as Androni, too many great, and young, Italians for them not to get a invite.

Then MTN should be able to field a squad easily good enough for a GT. Plus it'd be pretty cool to see the first African pro conti team at a GT. And with IAM and Netapp likely going to the Tour, they're the next best for a wildcard.

And Colombia while they sucked overall this year, they got better toward the end of the Giro. It'd be nice to see them get a second chance and see if they can create some carnage in the mountains.

 

[slosada]

This is a good ITT for Quintana, he won the ITT of Basque country, so here he will lose time with some people, but just a little. There is just 14 kms to lose time for him.

But you must have your day, it is a good ITT for Intxausti as well, but he lose the rosaa and losed a lot of time in a similar ITT in the Giro.

By the way, how many wild cards are there, two?

For me, Caja Rural and Qubeka should go.

Quintana didn't win that ITT, Tony Martin did, but we get your point.
In absolute terms, yes, Quintana would lose less time in this ITT than in the flat one, but I guess the first climb is not steep (~3.4%) for him to match specialists. The 1st descent is only technical in the middle (6 corners) the rest is all about terminal speed (where Quintana lags behind)
Then you get 16 or 17 Km flat, and after that, I think Nairo shouldn't lose more time.

Regarding the wildcards, I'd like to see Colombia and most likely they'd have specific obligations to attack in Oropa, Montecampione and Panarotta stages, when other teams will be riding conservatively.

I don't think the US teams are willing to go to the Giro with AToC at the same time.
Finally, what would happen if MTN, IAM or NetApp get invited to both Giro and Tour?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

snipped...

I don't think the US teams are willing to go to the Giro with AToC at the same time.
Finally, what would happen if MTN, IAM or NetApp get invited to both Giro and Tour?

Then they will likely field a B team at the Giro.

 

[slosada]

Then they will likely field a B team at the Giro.

And is that better a B team than a committed Colombia?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

And is that better a B team than a committed Colombia?

imo no. Other interest may be in play. Dunno.