Il Lombardia, 241KM, 13th October (WT)

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

If Valverde didn't party too much after his WC win it's his race to lose.

Don't worry he was back training on Wednesday as there is video from one of the coffee shops he and his friends stop at while out riding where they had a cake waiting for him.

Lombardia will be great this year if for no other reason that Valverde in the rainbow stripes.

A little caffeine goes a long way .

I can't believe that Valverde has never won that thing. Yet, he's a marked man, and the field is huge. He could overcome that at the WRRC. What;s the weather forecast? Rain like in Emillia would create havoc and inspire some to De Marchi the day.

In a small group finish, someone will have to attack with 800m to go and hope for the best. Yes, Valverde and his clone (he's racing it right?) are favorites, but a 100% Nibali can out-fox them. Not in the bag for The Don.

 

[Leinster]

I can't believe that Valverde has never won that thing. Yet, he's a marked man, and the field is huge. He could overcome that at the WRRC. .

m

Runner up twice? Once behind Purito, and once when nobody watched Dan Martin.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

If Valverde didn't party too much after his WC win it's his race to lose.

Don't worry he was back training on Wednesday as there is video from one of the coffee shops he and his friends stop at while out riding where they had a cake waiting for him.

Lombardia will be great this year if for no other reason that Valverde in the rainbow stripes.

A little caffeine goes a long way .

I can't believe that Valverde has never won that thing. Yet, he's a marked man, and the field is huge. He could overcome that at the WRRC. What;s the weather forecast? Rain like in Emillia would create havoc and inspire some to De Marchi the day.

In a small group finish, someone will have to attack with 800m to go and hope for the best. Yes, Valverde and his clone (he's racing it right?) are favorites, but a 100% Nibali can out-fox them. Not in the bag for The Don.

I think that caffeine does for most people, I'm not one of them. I can drink coffee or soda and go bed with no ill effects.

Yep he is marked, and I think has been since at least 2003. He does still have a few holes in his palmares. Now that he's won the WC Lombardia is the biggest hole. If it's raining he is less likely to win it as he doesn't like racing in bad weather. Of course with where he's from it's understandable.

I think his clone is racing it. It would make sense that he would be. If Nibali can get to 100% (which I'm not sure he can) he'd be the favorite.

 

[SHAD0W93]

After Sunday, that climb will forever be remembered as Il Muraut di Sormanot. Mark my words .

What does that mean?

 

[tobydawq]

After Sunday, that climb will forever be remembered as Il Muraut di Sormanot. Mark my words .

What does that mean?

Look at the endings of the words and compare them to those of a French rider, whom I have gotten the impression that Tonton favours a little.

 

[SafeBet]

Re:

Sunweb comes with Oomen as leader, despite them also fielding Matthews and Kelderman. Interesting that Kelderman now has to help Oomen.

They state it's Oomen's favorite classic and he wants to attain a really good result

He was already very good last year so I'm expecting big things on Saturday.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Sunweb comes with Oomen as leader, despite them also fielding Matthews and Kelderman. Interesting that Kelderman now has to help Oomen.

They state it's Oomen's favorite classic and he wants to attain a really good result

He was already very good last year so I'm expecting big things on Saturday.

I hope this doesn't mean Kelderman will be responsible for positioning Oomen

More likely it just means that Oomen will be the one who's protected until the Civiglio. And he should do great, he was top 15 at the Worlds despite being one of the most aggressive riders on the Igls.

 

[lmrt]

how come the finish is not like in 2016? i thought como and bergamo had a deal to alternate b/w cities for the start/finish. I was expecting a start in como and finish in bergamo.

The route is still very good though.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

how come the finish is not like in 2016? i thought como and bergamo had a deal to alternate b/w cities for the start/finish. I was expecting a start in como and finish in bergamo.

The route is still very good though.

Current route is a little bland. First significant riders will drop on Sormano, then it's always gonna happen on the Civiglio.

2016 Lombardia is the best classic route I have ever seen.

 

[Nirvana]

Re:

how come the finish is not like in 2016? i thought como and bergamo had a deal to alternate b/w cities for the start/finish. I was expecting a start in como and finish in bergamo.

The route is still very good though.

Como just offered more money and we know that is the most important thing for Vegni.
Anyway i've read just this morning on the italian forum that they are supposed to return in Bergamo next year.

 

[Ferminal]

Yep, that little roller is better than San Fermo, but 2016 was off the charts. Finish will probably play out pretty similar to RR.

 

[Climbing]

Alaphilippe didn't come to Italy, too tired for autumn classic after the hard season.
Lots of big guys looked on decent form between Emilia and Tre Valli, some we'll see tomorrow on Superga as well.
Let's hope for fireworks!

 

[Bardamu]

A shame, but it's been a long season and only if you're 100% you've a chance of winning at Lombardia.

 

[Leinster]

Any word on a replacement?

He couldn’t win at less than 100%, but I would think even having him there would improve the chances for Jungels or Mas or at a stretch dePlus.

 

[Bardamu]

I don't see Jungels winning it, Mas might have a chance if he is in form but he hasn't done anything of note in a one-day race yet.

 

[Leinster]

Nobody saw Jungels winning Liege either. But I definitely don’t see him winning Lombardia if he doesn’t have a threat like Alaphilippe covering attacks behind him.

 

[GuyIncognito]

I see Jungels' win at LBL like Frank Schleck's at Amstel: nobody chased until it was too late because he'd never won a major one day race, so he won. And as a result of the win he's now too high profile to allow space so it'll never happen again.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

I see Jungels' win at LBL like Frank Schleck's at Amstel: nobody chased until it was too late because he'd never won a major one day race, so he won. And as a result of the win he's now too high profile to allow space so it'll never happen again.

The reason Jungels won was that he was

- super strong
- teammate of Alaphilippe
- nobody was gonna close the gap for Valverde and Alaphilippe

In any case, I think Jungels is simply too weak of a climber to win Il Lombardia.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

I see Jungels' win at LBL like Frank Schleck's at Amstel: nobody chased until it was too late because he'd never won a major one day race, so he won. And as a result of the win he's now too high profile to allow space so it'll never happen again.

The reason Jungels won was that he was

- super strong
- teammate of Alaphilippe
- nobody was gonna close the gap for Valverde and Alaphilippe

In any case, I think Jungels is simply too weak of a climber to win Il Lombardia.

Add one more, Valverde didn't have any teammates left and he couldn't chase because he was cramping before Jungels attacked in the first place. However, I don't see Jungels winning Lombardia. He's not a strong climber and Alaphilippe isn't there. Also there are plenty of strong riders the question is what form is everyone in.

 

[Tonton]

Blah, blah, blah. Valverde under-prepared was really close to participating in a sprint finish today...scary. Tomorrow is a big race, I hope that things go my way, but on Saturday there are so many greats eyeing the big prize: Can Valverde beat them all?

All of these climbs are Valverde territory. Who will have the b@lls to Attack or the patience to let Valverde or his team chase? Today, as usual, too many seem to be happy with a placing, don't go for broke. And they will be reinforced, considering that Pinot did so much work and didn't win.

In that light, only Nibali can beat The Don, if he's on his game. Woods will attack once, Uran one-day-race can attack and will watch and possibly take advantage of inertia, only France can save the World .

Valverde is dangerous, if he's not 100%, dig on Sormano, cut his legs off. FDJ will try. The other teams should help, but I see a lot of calculations.

 

[Koronin]

Blah, blah, blah. Valverde under-prepared was really close to participating in a sprint finish today...scary. Tomorrow is a big race, I hope that things go my way, but on Saturday there are so many greats eyeing the big prize: Can Valverde beat them all?

All of these climbs are Valverde territory. Who will have the b@lls to Attack or the patience to let Valverde or his team chase? Today, as usual, too many seem to be happy with a placing, don't go for broke. And they will be reinforced, considering that Pinot did so much work and didn't win.

In that light, only Nibali can beat The Don, if he's on his game. Woods will attack once, Uran one-day-race can attack and will watch and possibly take advantage of inertia, only France can save the World .

Valverde is dangerous, if he's not 100%, dig on Sormano, cut his legs off. FDJ will try. The other teams should help, but I see a lot of calculations.

Well he's very good at down playing his chances. Interesting I went and looked up his number of race days for this year. Movistar has managed to get him to Lombardia with less than 85 race days. He had less than 80 race days at the Worlds.

Sunday should be interesting. Who's on or near form, who's at the end of what they've got for the season. Until the race starts we really won't know.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Bardet is due for a win, he hasn't won all year, as far as I remember.

Wondering it the route is too tough for Matthews? - He was in stellar form in Canada.

 

[The Hegelian]

Woods.

Just looks in great form, and has been knocking on the door for a massive breakthrough one day win.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

Bardet is due for a win, he hasn't won all year, as far as I remember.

Wondering it the route is too tough for Matthews? - He was in stellar form in Canada.

Matthews will probably struggle against pure climbers on the Civiglio, he’s probably there to position Oomen on the rolling hills before the real action. Still worth protecting to some extent in case something crazy happens or they race like wimps.

Woods is a real dark horse. If he can come third without support at worlds, he’s capable of winning here with an actual team.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Woods.

Just looks in great form, and has been knocking on the door for a massive breakthrough one day win.

Yeah you'd think Woods will have to be in the mix at the end. Can't see Jungels winning. Woods or Bardet would be a good result for some consistent performances so far.