Itzulia Basque Country 2021, Spain, April 5 - April 10

[tobydawq]

Oh yeah. If he has a Valter legs, he will do even better here...

This is low-altitude and steep

 

[RedheadDane]

Oh yeah. If he has a Valter legs, he will do even better here...

Atilla Valter needs his legs!

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Maybe you need to hope that ASO buys Izulia Basque Country in the near future.

And relocate & rebrand it as Tour de la Planche des Belles Filles?

 

[ice&fire]

And relocate & rebrand it as Tour de la Planche des Belles Filles?

Just relocate to the French Basque Country. And replace the yearly stage to Arrate for Larrau or La Pierre St Martin.

 

[Lequack]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1377664027183173635

View: https://twitter.com/deceuninck_qst/status/1377664027183173635?s=20

 

[Red Rick]

Hirschi just there to intimidate lesser man with nothing but his jawline.

 

[Blanco]

UAE is mighty strong

 

[Lequack]

Hirschi just there to intimidate lesser man with nothing but his jawline.

Next to Majka with a mohawk.

 

[Red Rick]

Next to Majka with a mohawk.

Majka wants to maximize Poggers 'hair through helmet gains'

 

[Anderis]

I like this picture.

It seems as if every single rider is standing behind the other one, while simultaneously all being at the same distance from a viewer.

 

[Lequack]

Yes they're really stacked.

 

[hayneplane]

UAE team is super strong in theory but only Pogacar and McNulty have shown any real form this season so far.

 

[Lequack]

UAE team is super strong in theory but only Pogacar and McNulty have shown any real form this season so far.

Hirschi finished with the lead group of stage 7 of Catalunya last week, so he seems to be going good

Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2021 Stage 7 results

Adam Yates is the winner of Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2021, before Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas. Thomas De Gendt is the winner of the final stage.

www.procyclingstats.com

 

[Red Rick]

Realistically I think team strength is only really importnat on the final stage and Poggers can just solo that.

 

[Earns1985]

Realistically I think team strength is only really importnat on the final stage and Poggers can just solo that.

From the rider startlist it looks for me a bit of a pretaste what we can expect for the Tour de France this year.
Pogacar vs. Roglic vs Ineos.
Ok, Roglic team will be better at the tour and one has to add Thomas and Porte to the Ineos team.
But otherwise?
From the route I agree with Red Rick, that the last stage is the only one where team strenght will be an important factor. At all the other stages there will only be action at the last mountain.

 

[hayneplane]

From the rider startlist it looks for me a bit of a pretaste what we can expect for the Tour de France this year.
Pogacar vs. Roglic vs Ineos.
Ok, Roglic team will be better at the tour and one has to add Thomas and Porte to the Ineos team.
But otherwise?
From the route I agree with Red Rick, that the last stage is the only one where team strenght will be an important factor. At all the other stages there will only be action at the last mountain.

Even there team strength is important in case of crashes and mechanicals particularly with the narrow steep climbs where getting team cars up to the rider in need quickly can be an issue.

No Wout is obviously a handicap for Roglic and Pogacar will have probably his strongest squad of the entire season at his disposal in this race as when it comes to the Tour some will either be absent or have the Giro in their legs.

 

[Lequack]

Apparently no Chris Harper (unless you count Vingegaard), replaced by Pfingsten. Not the strongest team, compared to UAE.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Apparently no Chris Harper (unless you count Vingegaard), replaced by Pfingsten. Not the strongest team, compared to UAE.

Hopefully instead of Roglic hidden behind his powerful teammates as long as possible we will see a more offensive version of him.

 

[Lequack]

Hopefully instead of Roglic hidden behind his powerful teammates as long as possible we will see a more offensive version of him.

Well this yea's Paris Nice was already a bit different.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Well this yea's Paris Nice was already a bit different.

Yes but there should be more fun here: after all his rivals will be Pogacar, Yates and co.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Realistically I think team strength is only really importnat on the final stage and Poggers can just solo that.

Team strength didn't help in the final of last TdF though:

 

[Red Rick]

Team strength didn't help in the final of last TdF though:

The real Tour win is the memes we became along the way

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Now for an unexpected statement, but I feel sorry for Sepp Kuss. Like, this race embodies steep climbs that justify Sepp effort more than any other race on the calendar - even the TT finishes on a steep climb - he's clearly on good form as shown in Catalunya, and he doesn't even get to start.

Like, what's the point in deploying him at all if you aren't going to use him in a race which would seem tailor-made for him, as it is historically all about stages that finish on the steep climb? Is that little descent from Usartza to Arrate really so much of a deterrent?

 

[CyclistAbi]

In Kuss defense, Steep wanted to go. Instead they forced him to participate in UAE and at Catalunya.

No mas, Free Kuss!

 

[bajbar]

Kuss, Kruiswijk and Bennet are getting A LOT of opportunities to lead the team - more than one might expect on a team with Roglič and WvA. But so far they were not very good at making anything out of those chances. The only one who truly shined so far is Vingegaard. Sooner or later the managment will realise they prefer having better support for the riders that actually win things (and so that Paris-Nice stage 8 scenario plays out diferently with a better squad) than having those three fighting for some anonymous top 15 result. In my oppinion the team currently only has two riders who can (and do) win the biggest races in the world. And they should so everything to make that possible. As it is now, they are sending Wout and Primož to races with the B-team so that the others can "get their chances". Questionable tactics at best.