Official thread: Tour de Romandie

[BigBoat]

Astana/ Garmin did not have their big men doing this TTT, its to help see which non-big shot is strong to ride the Tour.

Having the top TT men makes 90% of the TTT ability. "tuning up" fully on the medical program has not happend yet either. But Lance and Levi are over at the Gila Tour.

 

[benpounder]

Disagree.

Both Garmin and Astana (along with HighRoad, Saxo, and only a few others) make a point in training camps to ride TTT echelon. It doesn't matter whether or not the top riders are at a particular race, it is the mechanics of the team time trial. A team in this discipline is only as strong as the weakest rider. But even that weakest rider can allow the strong to recover if they are on the front for only 10 seconds.

What I saw today were two bike length gaps between second/third/fourth on a regular basis. If the strong guys are riding too fast for the weaker riders, then the weaker riders have to use all their energy just to hang on! That does not have anything to do with who are the top riders on any particular team, it has to do with lousy tactics.

 

[vv777vv]

look at the starting list http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/apr09/romandie09/?id=startlist

these are mostly tier 2 or 3 riders from Astana & Garmin who aren't TTT regulars. (maybe Zubeldia and Farrar are tier 1 riders but they're more of a climber & sprinter rather than TTist)

Saxo & Columbia on the other hand has a lot of TT powerhouse - world champs and national champs and most of the core TTT members, so it's no surprise at all.

 

[benpounder]

Did any of you see the race?

Time stops when the fith rider crosses the line. Why the H__l are they finishing in pairs only to wait for the fifth guy to catch up?

 

[Baggins27]

I expect Garmin to be strong at the Giro TTT and will be very surprised if they are not top three.


I was a bit surprised at their performance yesterday (less so Astana's) but then as a couple have said, they didn't have their top guys there and I think that mostly explains it.

 

[Mellow Velo]

He isn't participating. After all the injuries and bad luck last months he is now resting. The form is on the up finally after Basque Tour, but the classics came too soon to be in top shape. Next race is Catalunya.

He'll find it hard to race there.
Catalunya has been cancelled this year. Insufficient funds.

 

[Escarabajo]

I saw the results today. Valverde could not take the win. Good for Kreuziger who is starting to show that he can be a great rider for the Grand Tours.

I could not avoid to notice the result the results from my fellow compatriot who is 22 years old, Rigoberto Uran. He is now fifth. What's up with him. I looks like He is being benched from the Grand Tours for some reason. Hec, He was even benched for the first part of this semester. I see a great promise in him but riding in these high profile teams is not helping him. It would probably help if he was spanish or Italian, then I am sure he never would have been benched that way.

I just venting my frustrationa little bit.
Thanks.

 

[ingsve]

I'm sure he'll get to ride one GT this year. He's still only 22 though as you say and is only just at the age where some riders make their GT debut. Many riders are even several years older before doing their first tour.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

If I am not mistaken, Uran was quite inconsistent over the last years.
Which might very well be due to his age but would explain why he was benched more often.
As for the GTs, I guess it is better to wait a year more and to assure that a GT isn't too much for him than having him ride one just for the sake of having ridden a GT.
He's only 22 years old and still has a lot of time to ride GTs...

 

[Epicycle]

If I am not mistaken, Uran was quite inconsistent over the last years.
Which might very well be due to his age but would explain why he was benched more often.
As for the GTs, I guess it is better to wait a year more and to assure that a GT isn't too much for him than having him ride one just for the sake of having ridden a GT.
He's only 22 years old and still has a lot of time to ride GTs...

He had a very bad crash at the Deutschland Tour in August 2007 and took a long time to get healthy. Maybe he will ride the Vuelta this year.