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Cobo and Felline are in the Geox squad. De la Fuente and Duarte seem to be in better form though, judging by Sabatini/Emilia.la.margna said:cobo
felline
fuglsang
zaugg
are they starting? might be a candidate
Zinoviev Letter said:There is little or no case to be made for Mollema being a stronger climber, certainly not one stemming from the Vuelta. Better GT GC rider yes, better climber certainly not. Martin attacked on pretty much every mountain stage at the Vuelta, sometimes attacking on the penultimate climb as well as the final one, won a MTF, and still beat Mollema up to the top as often as Mollema beat him sitting with the favourites. If you are as good or better while riding in a considerably less optimal manner (because you want the win not time), you are stronger. At full gas on a good day for each, Martin is a stronger climber.
Mollema's advantage over Martin came from the Time Trial and to a lesser extent from one single bad day. That bad day represents his advantage in consistency, which is actually less than I'd have put it at before the Vuelta. Martin was surprisingly consistent for a rider with a reputation for challenging for a win one day and being in the autobus the next. He had one bad day and even that wasn't a disaster. However, he was dire in the Time Trial and unless he improves drastically at that, will never be as good a GC rider because a marginal advantage as a climber doesn't compensate for the stupid sort of time he gave away against the clock.
If Martin can improve his time trial, the Vuelta convinced me he can be a GC rider. But that's a big if. If I was part of Garmin management, I'd have him spend the entire period between the end of Catalonia and the end of the Giro, when his allergies screw up his competitiveness going around and around some indoor track on a time trial bike. With David Millar hitting him with a stick every time he gets out of optimal position. He'll never be a very good time triallist because his build is all wrong, but there's absolutely no reason why he can't learn proper technique.
Zinoviev Letter said:Yes, I agree, particularly about the aesthetically dire but strangely endearing riding style. Whatever about Mollema having an explanation, because he took up racing pretty late, Martin has absolutely no excuse for it. His dad was a pro and his uncle was renowned for his beautiful peddling style. Grace on a bike sure as hell isn't genetic.
I pretty much find myself cheering for these guys in most races they are in. Fortunately they are both young and will both improve. I just hope that Martin sorts out his time trialling so that he isn't giving away time hand over fist and that Mollema figures out how to turn his strong performances into wins. It would be nice if he started with Lombardia, but that's probably a bit too much to hope for!
Tei6chai said:I'm baffled by the options listed in the poll at the top of this thread.
For what it's worth, here's Davide Cassani's RAI (Italian State Broadcaster) ratings:
Gilbert *****
Nibali ****
Hernandez ****
Mollema ****
Uran ****
Fernandez ***
Visconti **
Marcato **
Lovquist **
Betancourt **
Basso *
Paolini *
Martin *
S. Sanchez *
Cunego *
Much more realistic in my view
The Hitch said:Would that be Fuji Hernandez as one of the mega favourites?
Tei6chai said:Oops ... thinko
Got confused between the bookies table shown on screen and Davide Cassani's modifications in the audio commentary.
There should be no Hernandez. It's supposed to be M. Fernandez
The Hitch said:Well then whose the Fernandez 3 lines down?
Tei6chai said:Gilbert *****
Nibali ****
Hernandez ****
Mollema ****
Uran ****
Fernandez ***
Visconti **
Marcato **
Lovquist **
Betancourt **
Basso *
Paolini *
Martin *
S. Sanchez *
Cunego *
Much more realistic in my view
Yep, like I said, a 'thinko' ... I just got confused while transcribing from one virtual desktop (with the RAI video recording on) to another virtual desaktop (with the browser on).The Hitch said:I know that Daniel Moreno is Fernandez, but there is both a Hernandez and a Fernandez in your list.
so I was asking if the Hernandez with **** was Moreno, who was the Fernandez with ***
Edit: i now see youve changed Hernandez to Fernandez and Fernandez to J. Rodriguez.
The Hitch said:BTW why do you refer to Moreno by his mothers surname but Sanchez and Purto by their fathers one?
Missing the Movistar and Euskaltel (except Sanchez) blocks. Both teams will have at least 1 guy up there in the top 10, I should think.Tei6chai said:I'm baffled by the options listed in the poll at the top of this thread.
For what it's worth, here's Davide Cassani's RAI (Italian State Broadcaster) ratings:
Gilbert *****
Nibali ****
M. Fernandez ****
Mollema ****
Uran ****
J. Rodriguez ***
Visconti **
Marcato **
Lovquist **
Betancourt **
Basso *
Paolini *
Martin *
S. Sanchez *
Cunego *
Much more realistic in my view
Zoncolan said:Nobody came close