Hot racing coming up in Australia

[Jspear]

I was expecting more from Michael Woods today and overall in the GC....will be interesting to see what he says the problem was. He seemed pretty confident about his form earlier this week.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Surprised Richie doesn't go for flèche wallone

It's much steeper. Also just because he looks this good against this competition doesn't mean he'd look/do that well on the Mur De huy against the best.

Of course, all I said was have a go. Valverde sprinting at full ball up the flèche will always be a different proposition. You wouldn't know until he gets there though

I know...he does well in week long races. He'd probably have to sacrifice his ambitions there to train specifically for FW.

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

Surprised Richie doesn't go for flèche wallone

It's much steeper. Also just because he looks this good against this competition doesn't mean he'd look/do that well on the Mur De huy against the best.

Of course, all I said was have a go. Valverde sprinting at full ball up the flèche will always be a different proposition. You wouldn't know until he gets there though

I know...he does well in week long races. He'd probably have to sacrifice his ambitions there to train specifically for FW.

He'd go ok, Porte has put decent time into Henao, Gerrans and Evans amongst others on Wilunga. Valverde is about the only one he probably won't beat with form like today IMO unless Gilbert finds his 2011 form.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

I was expecting more from Michael Woods today and overall in the GC....will be interesting to see what he says the problem was. He seemed pretty confident about his form earlier this week.

He was out of position earler so had too much time to make up..Cannondale didn't do well keeping him near the front imo

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Surprised Richie doesn't go for flèche wallone

It's much steeper. Also just because he looks this good against this competition doesn't mean he'd look/do that well on the Mur De huy against the best.

Of course, all I said was have a go. Valverde sprinting at full ball up the flèche will always be a different proposition. You wouldn't know until he gets there though

I know...he does well in week long races. He'd probably have to sacrifice his ambitions there to train specifically for FW.

He'd go ok, Porte has put decent time into Henao, Gerrans and Evans amongst others on Wilunga. Valverde is about the only one he probably won't beat with form like today IMO unless Gilbert finds his 2011 form.

Martin and Alaphilippe

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

I was expecting more from Michael Woods today and overall in the GC....will be interesting to see what he says the problem was. He seemed pretty confident about his form earlier this week.

He was out of position earler so had too much time to make up..Cannondale didn't do well keeping him near the front imo

Yeah....I still feel like he could have done better than he did. Today he was almost there...just out of reach of the front group of 7. Then he lost just over a minute.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

I was expecting more from Michael Woods today and overall in the GC....will be interesting to see what he says the problem was. He seemed pretty confident about his form earlier this week.

He was out of position earler so had too much time to make up..Cannondale didn't do well keeping him near the front imo

Yeah....I still feel like he could have done better than he did. Today he was almost there...just out of reach of the front group of 7. Then he lost just over a minute.

Too old and riding for JV. No hope here ...

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

[quote="

It's much steeper. Also just because he looks this good against this competition doesn't mean he'd look/do that well on the Mur De huy against the best.

Of course, all I said was have a go. Valverde sprinting at full ball up the flèche will always be a different proposition. You wouldn't know until he gets there though

I know...he does well in week long races. He'd probably have to sacrifice his ambitions there to train specifically for FW.

He'd go ok, Porte has put decent time into Henao, Gerrans and Evans amongst others on Wilunga. Valverde is about the only one he probably won't beat with form like today IMO unless Gilbert finds his 2011 form.

Martin and Alaphilippe

I would say he's on par, maybe minus Martin's finishing kick.

 

[Cookster15]

Australia doesnt have very good internet.
Its backward in a lot of ways.

Yes overall that is true compared to places like Korea. But Australia is a geographically big but sparsely populated country which is not good economics for fast internet. But it depends more on what connection you have. Same for people streaming from the US.

 

[StryderHells]

maybe the UCI or organisers would do something if they realised how unpopular this race is outside of the venue its staged at - its little wonder the TV coverage is so poor, there's simply no demand for it.

even in Australia nobody cares about it or knows its on but for the people who live in the town that its raced around

the points system is a joke that this is awarded the same points as monuments and other big european races - what has the UCI been smoking to come up with this?

I can see why the forum has boycott the race in protest.

If that is the case then why do I know a heap of people who travel from other states to stand roadside and watch the race? All you have to do is look at the rides logged on Strava to see how many interstate cycling fans are in Adelaide during the TDU. It's not a main stream sport in Australia but the event is well attended by many more people than just the people who live in South Australia.
As to the WT points system. No arguments from me on that one, it's a shambles

 

[StryderHells]

Re:

With all of the whining on this thread why bother watching at all if it's that bad ? The same things are said year after year. Everyone knows what sort of race it is, Go watch replays if you think the whole thing is pointless. Australians enjoy it for what it is. It's too hot, too many UCI points, not enough climbs. Tune in for the Cadel Evans race for more of the same : it's not hard enough, it's too short. The answer is simple : click fade to black.

Hahaha! So true!

The one race that should get more coverage and surely nobody could complain about the parcours over the last few years in the Sun Tour, the scenery is far more interesting than what we have at the TDU and the course design has really stepped up but unfortunately we won't get anywhere near the same coverage of it.

 

[Red Rick]

People underestimate how low the form curve of the non-ozzy's is here

 

[Lupi33x]

maybe the UCI or organisers would do something if they realised how unpopular this race is outside of the venue its staged at - its little wonder the TV coverage is so poor, there's simply no demand for it.

even in Australia nobody cares about it or knows its on but for the people who live in the town that its raced around

the points system is a joke that this is awarded the same points as monuments and other big european races - what has the UCI been smoking to come up with this?

I can see why the forum has boycott the race in protest.

If that is the case then why do I know a heap of people who travel from other states to stand roadside and watch the race? All you have to do is look at the rides logged on Strava to see how many interstate cycling fans are in Adelaide during the TDU. It's not a main stream sport in Australia but the event is well attended by many more people than just the people who live in South Australia.
As to the WT points system. No arguments from me on that one, it's a shambles

Hardcore enthusiasts will go of course, but the rest of mainstream Australia has no idea this event is on.
Sporting news is dominated by the tennis and a couple of other colonial sports.

 

[Lupi33x]

Re: Re:

With all of the whining on this thread why bother watching at all if it's that bad ? The same things are said year after year. Everyone knows what sort of race it is, Go watch replays if you think the whole thing is pointless. Australians enjoy it for what it is. It's too hot, too many UCI points, not enough climbs. Tune in for the Cadel Evans race for more of the same : it's not hard enough, it's too short. The answer is simple : click fade to black.

Hahaha! So true!

The one race that should get more coverage and surely nobody could complain about the parcours over the last few years in the Sun Tour, the scenery is far more interesting than what we have at the TDU and the course design has really stepped up but unfortunately we won't get anywhere near the same coverage of it.

No doubt if the Sun Tour became a WT race the whole of Australia would embrace it. The rest of the world however will likely still be indifferent.

 

[Lupi33x]

One thing I find very annoying is the time splits on the coverage is old school based on the motorbikes sign boards.
There's no GPS or computer splits. So backward and it affects the enjoyment of the coverage.

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

With all of the whining on this thread why bother watching at all if it's that bad ? The same things are said year after year. Everyone knows what sort of race it is, Go watch replays if you think the whole thing is pointless. Australians enjoy it for what it is. It's too hot, too many UCI points, not enough climbs. Tune in for the Cadel Evans race for more of the same : it's not hard enough, it's too short. The answer is simple : click fade to black.

Hahaha! So true!

The one race that should get more coverage and surely nobody could complain about the parcours over the last few years in the Sun Tour, the scenery is far more interesting than what we have at the TDU and the course design has really stepped up but unfortunately we won't get anywhere near the same coverage of it.

No doubt if the Sun Tour became a WT race the whole of Australia would embrace it. The rest of the world however will likely still be indifferent.

You don't think fans around the world would tune in for stages like Falls Creek and Kinglake?

 

[Lupi33x]

Re: Re:

With all of the whining on this thread why bother watching at all if it's that bad ? The same things are said year after year. Everyone knows what sort of race it is, Go watch replays if you think the whole thing is pointless. Australians enjoy it for what it is. It's too hot, too many UCI points, not enough climbs. Tune in for the Cadel Evans race for more of the same : it's not hard enough, it's too short. The answer is simple : click fade to black.

Hahaha! So true!

The one race that should get more coverage and surely nobody could complain about the parcours over the last few years in the Sun Tour, the scenery is far more interesting than what we have at the TDU and the course design has really stepped up but unfortunately we won't get anywhere near the same coverage of it.

No doubt if the Sun Tour became a WT race the whole of Australia would embrace it. The rest of the world however will likely still be indifferent.

You don't think fans around the world would tune in for stages like Falls Creek and Kinglake?

No doubt it will have slightly more appeal, however the season, the time zone and the fact the local scene is dominated by Australian riders with the European pros sending C teams and out of season limits interest.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

1 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team 3:40:13
2 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:20
3 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott
4 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
5 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia 0:00:23
7 Rafael Valls (Spa) Lotto Soudal
8 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
10 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac

I know McCarthy usually does really well in TDU, but I'm surprised to see that he managed to finish with Ulissi and Chaves. He must have progressed evn further this year.

Also, what is the largest GC winning margin in TDU's short history?

 

[Lupi33x]

Re: Re:

1 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team 3:40:13
2 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:20
3 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Scott
4 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
5 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Nathan Earle (Aus) UniSA-Australia 0:00:23
7 Rafael Valls (Spa) Lotto Soudal
8 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
10 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac

I know McCarthy usually does really well in TDU, but I'm surprised to see that he managed to finish with Ulissi and Chaves. He must have progressed evn further this year.

Also, what is the largest GC winning margin in TDU's short history?

73 seconds

 

[DFA123]

Based on the limited evidence here, it's Chaves rather than Porte who I think is going to be the real deal this year. Chaves is clearly nowhere near top form but still looks strong; it seems his base level has gone up from previous years - not quite at Sagan or Valverde levels yet - but in the past he has been completely off the radar in his first few races each season, now he's at the front even though he lacks any real kick.

Porte always starts the season strongly, and then is on a pretty steep downward trajectory towards the end of his main GT. Looks like more of the same here.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Pozzovivo has spectacularly exploded. He was sixth-seventh on the road (with McCarthy) when Porte put the hammer down. He finished 20th.

 

[Lupi33x]

Re:

Based on the limited evidence here, it's Chaves rather than Porte who I think is going to be the real deal this year. Chaves is clearly nowhere near top form but still looks strong; it seems his base level has gone up from previous years - not quite at Sagan or Valverde levels yet - but in the past he has been completely off the radar in his first few races each season, now he's at the front even though he lacks any real kick.

Porte always starts the season strongly, and then is on a pretty steep downward trajectory towards the end of his main GT. Looks like more of the same here.

Porte looks the goods last year until he broke his shoulder at the Olympics. He didnt really have a downward trajectory until that happened.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Based on the limited evidence here, it's Chaves rather than Porte who I think is going to be the real deal this year. Chaves is clearly nowhere near top form but still looks strong; it seems his base level has gone up from previous years - not quite at Sagan or Valverde levels yet - but in the past he has been completely off the radar in his first few races each season, now he's at the front even though he lacks any real kick.

Porte always starts the season strongly, and then is on a pretty steep downward trajectory towards the end of his main GT. Looks like more of the same here.

Porte looks the goods last year until he broke his shoulder at the Olympics. He didnt really have a downward trajectory until that happened.

I'm not sure about that. It seemed to me he was getting worse throughout the Tour relative to the other GC riders. He started the Tour well and was on fire for the first week and a half. Then his TTs were pretty poor there by his best standards, and he was losing seconds here and there consistently in the final week. It helped him that Sky riding such a controlling tempo prevented anyone from actually attacking and blowing the race apart. I suppose that at least stopped him from having the usual awful day.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Based on the limited evidence here, it's Chaves rather than Porte who I think is going to be the real deal this year. Chaves is clearly nowhere near top form but still looks strong; it seems his base level has gone up from previous years - not quite at Sagan or Valverde levels yet - but in the past he has been completely off the radar in his first few races each season, now he's at the front even though he lacks any real kick.

Porte always starts the season strongly, and then is on a pretty steep downward trajectory towards the end of his main GT. Looks like more of the same here.

Very much agree on the first part; I also do think Chaves will be a force to be reckoned with. He isn't in great form by any stretch of the imagination now, thats pretty obvious to me, but training in Australia and being scheduled to ride the TdU for Orica must still have motivated him a bit I'd assume. It will be fun to watch him and Froomey go at it. I'd still be on Froome, but mostly because I think Orica are being smart about it and isn't overdoing it. First and foremost, these races are prep - getting 2nd overall is a huge bonus for Chaves and Orica here.

I don't know if I agree on Porte, he was, along with Froome, the best on the super hard Finhaut-Emosson. Maybe he faded slightly, but thats to expect for some riders, but nothing more than that IMO.

 

[Lupi33x]

Re: Re:

Based on the limited evidence here, it's Chaves rather than Porte who I think is going to be the real deal this year. Chaves is clearly nowhere near top form but still looks strong; it seems his base level has gone up from previous years - not quite at Sagan or Valverde levels yet - but in the past he has been completely off the radar in his first few races each season, now he's at the front even though he lacks any real kick.

Porte always starts the season strongly, and then is on a pretty steep downward trajectory towards the end of his main GT. Looks like more of the same here.

Porte looks the goods last year until he broke his shoulder at the Olympics. He didnt really have a downward trajectory until that happened.

I'm not sure about that. It seemed to me he was getting worse throughout the Tour relative to the other GC riders. He started the Tour well and was on fire for the first week and a half. Then his TTs were pretty poor there by his best standards, and he was losing seconds here and there consistently in the final week. It helped him that Sky riding such a controlling tempo prevented anyone from actually attacking and blowing the race apart. I suppose that at least stopped him from having the usual awful day.

his wheel was rubbing in that last mountain stage hence why he lost time there
he was finishing the tour strong otherwise, if he were a better bike handler he may have finished second, even with that puncture he still had falls