The Hegelian said:On Ewan in GT's, some points which are hard to refute:
*For all their effort and resources, apart from S.Yates' white jersey, Ewan's Giro stage win was Orica's only success across three tours. Unless you've got a Froome or similar, you need some insurance.
*In the Giro he sprinted very well, should have had 2 wins, and could have had more. To say that he is only an outside chance to win is basically not seeing reality.
*In the class of young guns coming through - Gaviria, Bennett, Groenewegen - Ewan is in the mix. Maybe on par with Groenewegen, ahead of Bennett and behind Gaviria. If I had any of them on my books, I'd be taking them to GT's expecting results.
*McEwan at 23 was still an amateur. Was maybe 27 or so when he won on the Champs Elysees. If you want to compare them, look at McEwan winning crits in the Commonwealth Bank Classic and ask yourself if you saw a 12 time tdf stage winner. I certainly didn't.
The Hegelian said:I wonder if the issue at stake isn't more connected with Orica over-egging the pudding with GC aspirations.
I think they should definitely build a team around Chaves for at least one, maybe two GT's. But going for 3 GT's overall with three different riders is questionable with the list they have. I'm not convinced the Yates boys have GT podiums in them ~ maybe they should target prestigious week long tours + hilly classics, and then work as climbing doms for Chaves in GT's.
Then you have at least one GT, maybe two where you can have some workhorses for Ewan and see what he can snag. If his improvement from this year to next mirrors last year to this, then I would be penciling in a few quality wins at least. And that's nothing to sneeze at for a team like Orica - better than an 8th overall by a Yatesy.
yaco said:Anyway Cort and Keukeliere will be missed. Keukeliere is an iron man who racked up nearly 90 race days, while Cort has continued to improve. Thought it was another bad decision by Orica to send Haig to Guangxi. 76 days is too much for a second year pro. Power should have ridden this race to build up his endurance. Ewan's form was disappointing but was given no favours from his team.
yaco said:I suspect Keukeliere leaving was a combination of riding for a Belgium team and the arrival of Trentin. Nothing to do with money. And Haig will not travel to Australia this summer.
yaco said:I suspect Keukeliere leaving was a combination of riding for a Belgium team and the arrival of Trentin. Nothing to do with money. And Haig will not travel to Australia this summer.
yaco said:It seems that with the new arrivals in Trentin, Nieve, Meyer, Bauer and L. Hamilton along with Albasini, Power and Edmondson staying that Orica will go in with 24 riders which seems to be par for the course for WT teams. I suspect this is not enough riders, especially when you factor in injuries and WT races which overlap. Think smart teams will target some WT races which will have diminished fields.
yaco said:Reckon teams will struggle with 24 0r 25 riders. Less riders per race but the calendar is still long.
Haig stays in Andorra for the winter. During the snowy periods training is 1hr of cycling indoors and three hours of skiing. I will never understand why the riders dont spend January in Oz and maybe even December.
yaco said:Believe the National RR should be the number one target fir Orica in the first two months of the year. Its been four years since they win the title which isnt helped when riders like Scotson and Borbridge won titles. This is more important than GC at TDU.
greenedge said:Ewan's come 2nd before, there's no reason to suggest he can't win with team support and a hard race. Agree about it not being disastrous if they don't win the RR though, but they do need to be visible at the TDU.
I think Gerrans should be the overwhelming favourite for the RR, so it'll be interesting to see ORS plan around that.
yaco said:Durbridge was by far the strongest rider in the 2017 RR. Only pig headed thinking by the D'S cost him the win. He got in the break, tracked every attack and could have ridden in the last 30km, except he had to sit up and wait for Gerrans. And then we had the most selfish act of 2017 when Gerrans expected Durbridge to bring back Scotson's attack in the last km. An inform Durbridge who can ride his own race is a class above the other riders.
TDU is an interesting dilemma for Orica. Should get at least one stage win through Ewan but do they target GC. An on song Porte is close to unbeatable for GC. Hearing Orica is considering one of the Yates for GÇ, though nothing is set in stone.
One thing Orica needs to do in 2018 is make sure all the GC riders and management are on the same page. There is no need for big public announcements of targets for key riders. Keep it in-house and allow things to unfold.
yaco said:Think the Meyer option for GC is off the table because of the Commonwealth games. Doubt Ewan will get 4 stages in the 2018 TAU, as Sagan will come better prepared.