Paris-Nice 2026, March 8-15

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Apr 30, 2011
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same or parallel roads to the crosswinds of last year at the start of the stage but too little wind
 
May 10, 2015
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Bora for Pithie maybe, or Lidl for Vacek.

No obvious favorite in the peloton so maybe nobody bothers pulling. But surely the last chance in this stage race for some of these.

Absolutely agree about that last part, but for lots of teams that chance was already gone when they didn't make the break.
 
May 10, 2015
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It is indeed Cofidis, doing a decent job right now, gap back to 1'20. I guess Coquard is one of the few sprinters that should be able to survive this.
 
Mar 19, 2009
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I'm just hoping Tarling isn't wasting his good form in the wrong race. Need him to do well in the classics for my CQ team..:)
 
Aug 4, 2014
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Sure, but also

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Interesting Map. Fairly suprising that there are no WT cyclists from Nariño, Valle de Cauca or Santander this year.

Seriously, though. If you are an aspiring pro would you continue to train in the coldest, wettest part of your land? Typical of coastal tropical climates, should you be smart enough to train near those warm waters; is that it rains late in the day. There are also rain shadows where it's dryer. General comparisons to tropical mega zones to coastal Belgium is only relevant when you hunt for cold rain, good beer and chocolate.

We trained in Malibu a few years back in early Spring. Not a shock to see Geraint and a teammate climbing hills there instead of where they came from. It rains and is cold in both places each morning. One gets warmer as the day goes on...
I mean, I guess my main earlier point was that there is really no escaping the rain in Colombia. It is, if you believe the rankings, the wettest country in the world -full stop-. As the above map shows, the cycling heartland is closer to the mountains (as with most places, I guess). Where it does usually, but far from always, rain late in the day. Also, mechanics's time is pretty cheap and they are plentyful, the bikes and components are free if you're in the WT, so most pros seem to ride outside often and take advantage of the ample mountain roads and the weather that is often bad, but hardly ever so bad that indoor training looks like a better alternative. And the pretty decent local race calendar, which is full of mountain climbs and descents, is also often hit by bad weather (and I doubt the bad weather protocol has ever been triggered).

Yes, as Squire said, this does not mean that all Colombians are good bad weather riders. But and I guess this would be my second and more applicable point, I would venture that, again, since there is pretty much no escape from the rain in Colombia, contra what some posters seem to assume, most Colombian WT pros are at least pretty used to riding in the rain and the cold.
 
May 10, 2015
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This is just perfect terrain for a strong break, they aren't catching them unless a team really hammers it on one of the uphill parts. Typical stage where you need to be super close to the break before the "harder" part of the stage starts/
 
May 10, 2015
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Cofidis seems done. SK Andersen doing something now again, but I think this is for the break.

EDIT: allright gap went down pretty fast now, but still they basically need to catch before the top of the last climb given it's downhill after that.
 
Sep 20, 2017
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Cofidis seems done. SK Andersen doing something now again, but I think this is for the break.

EDIT: allright gap went down pretty fast now, but still they basically need to catch before the top of the last climb given it's downhill after that.
I don't think this is coming back for a reduced bunch sprint, but if the climbers come out to play the break is in trouble.
 
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