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Richie Porte Discussion Thread.

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In which year will Porte win the GT Treble?

  • He will only manage the double

    Votes: 9 100.0%

  • Total voters
    9
Re: Re:

Cookster15 said:
yaco said:
dirkprovin said:
deValtos said:
Whoever is in charge of the decision to (potentially) not take Dennis is, in my opinion, a moron.

A wee bit melodramatic ?? Dennis is a superlative TTer, arguably in the top 2-3 in the world currently but despite his declarations of future GC aspirations; to date he really has never shown any real capacity to handle the really high stuff esp on a day to day basis. He's actually only ever finished 2 of the 6 GTs he's started so its hard to sell a conclusive argument that he'll be Richie's main man in the mountains.

He most certainly WOULD be of great value to Porte on the flat although Dennis himself is no great shakes with echelons. He COULD be of legitimate use in the hills (where Dennis HAS proven himself competent in other WT races) but there's just very little evidence to date that Dennis would necessarily prove a quality mountain domestique on a day to day basis

Agree with your summary - The base of the TDF squad rode the TDU - Porte has a big say in the selection of the TDF squad and IMO only needs two mountain domestics - Better to have 2 reliable mountain domestics, then have 4 unreliable mountain domestics - Porte needs more help on the flat which the team will provide - Much ado about nothing - Ultimately when you are in the high mountains its man against man.

Exactly. Should Movistar or Sky send riders up the road in the mountains Porte can ignore them. He only need mark Froome or Quintana's wheel. If Valverde thinks he can steal the TdF from his teammate then I think that is a risk Porte should take.
But I still think Froome is going to be at a higher level next month and questions remain if Porte can hold let alone improve on the great form he has shown so far this season together with his now proven ability to last three weeks as he managed well in 2016.

Porte ignore everyone except Froome in the Dauphine and you saw how that went. I wouldn't do that again. He bluffed, wanted to force Froome to work, but Froome called his bluff and out smarted him. He wasn't strong enough though, but that could easily change at the Tour.
And as for letting Valverde go, you also saw the result of that at the Dauphine. That created chaos. It was a crucial moment of the race. That move allowed Froome and Fuglsang to rode like that, it's a dangerous game to let go a move like that. Valverde will also be stronger at the Tour, and if he goes upfront it's a team move, he will not think too much about Quintana, believe me, nor will Unzue.
The smartest thing Porte could do is not to get the jersey too early. I think if he gets the jersey on stage 5 his team will be shattered already in Jura mountains, and if he hangs on, he will be buried in the Pyrenees.
 
Re: Re:

Zinoviev Letter said:
yaco said:
dirkprovin said:
deValtos said:
Whoever is in charge of the decision to (potentially) not take Dennis is, in my opinion, a moron.

A wee bit melodramatic ?? Dennis is a superlative TTer, arguably in the top 2-3 in the world currently but despite his declarations of future GC aspirations; to date he really has never shown any real capacity to handle the really high stuff esp on a day to day basis. He's actually only ever finished 2 of the 6 GTs he's started so its hard to sell a conclusive argument that he'll be Richie's main man in the mountains.

He most certainly WOULD be of great value to Porte on the flat although Dennis himself is no great shakes with echelons. He COULD be of legitimate use in the hills (where Dennis HAS proven himself competent in other WT races) but there's just very little evidence to date that Dennis would necessarily prove a quality mountain domestique on a day to day basis

Agree with your summary - The base of the TDF squad rode the TDU - Porte has a big say in the selection of the TDF squad and IMO only needs two mountain domestics - Better to have 2 reliable mountain domestics, then have 4 unreliable mountain domestics - Porte needs more help on the flat which the team will provide - Much ado about nothing - Ultimately when you are in the high mountains its man against man.

It's not man against man if a rider in yellow is isolated on a multi mountain stage. In those circumstances it's one man against the world. In the Tour as opposed to the Dauphine conservative riding by some of those in minor places might provide some assistance, but that's not something someone going to the Tour to win it should be banking on.

That I readily acknowledge but I again stress that R.Dennis Esq is highly unlikely to be there to be of any assistance to Porte in such a situation. Valuable he could well be in other circumstances but far less likely to be so in the scenario you paint therefore I'd see him more as a "nice to have" on the TDF squad rather than a "must" inclusion
 
Re: Re:

dirkprovin said:
Zinoviev Letter said:
yaco said:
dirkprovin said:
deValtos said:
Whoever is in charge of the decision to (potentially) not take Dennis is, in my opinion, a moron.

A wee bit melodramatic ?? Dennis is a superlative TTer, arguably in the top 2-3 in the world currently but despite his declarations of future GC aspirations; to date he really has never shown any real capacity to handle the really high stuff esp on a day to day basis. He's actually only ever finished 2 of the 6 GTs he's started so its hard to sell a conclusive argument that he'll be Richie's main man in the mountains.

He most certainly WOULD be of great value to Porte on the flat although Dennis himself is no great shakes with echelons. He COULD be of legitimate use in the hills (where Dennis HAS proven himself competent in other WT races) but there's just very little evidence to date that Dennis would necessarily prove a quality mountain domestique on a day to day basis

Agree with your summary - The base of the TDF squad rode the TDU - Porte has a big say in the selection of the TDF squad and IMO only needs two mountain domestics - Better to have 2 reliable mountain domestics, then have 4 unreliable mountain domestics - Porte needs more help on the flat which the team will provide - Much ado about nothing - Ultimately when you are in the high mountains its man against man.

It's not man against man if a rider in yellow is isolated on a multi mountain stage. In those circumstances it's one man against the world. In the Tour as opposed to the Dauphine conservative riding by some of those in minor places might provide some assistance, but that's not something someone going to the Tour to win it should be banking on.

That I readily acknowledge but I again stress that R.Dennis Esq is highly unlikely to be there to be of any assistance to Porte in such a situation. Valuable he could well be in other circumstances but far less likely to be so in the scenario you paint therefore I'd see him more as a "nice to have" on the TDF squad rather than a "must" inclusion

I agree with you that Dennis isn't a climbing super-dom who would single handedly solve that problem. But BMC is a team with quite a few guys who can climb, so it's a bit weird that only two of them are scheduled to work for Porte.
 
Re:

Mayomaniac said:
Forgot about Bookwalter, he'd be a solid domestique in the mountains, not great, but still a solid workhorse.

He really is the type of rider who will give his all for his team leader, he's experienced, been on a Tour winning team and do remember him putting in some solid efforts for Evans when he won the Tour. If I had to take a guess I'd say the team looks like this.
Porte
Roche
Caruso
Van Avermaet
Bookwalter
Küng
Wyss
Schar
Moinard/De Marchi

I don't know why so many are hung up on Dennis going to the Tour, outside of a possible stage win in Düsseldorf I don't see why he would be on the Tour team. BMC already have enough flatland and rolling terrain grunt which in reality is where Dennis would be of most use, unless he was sent up the road on a mountain stage he would get dropped pretty quickly once Sky or Movistar upped the pace as he might have the potential one day to stick with the big kids but he's not there now. BMC are better off sending Bookwalter or even Moinard/De Marchi up the road in the break to offer some limited help when LRP arrives, Caruso will turn himself inside out for LRP, who knows which Roche will turn up but when on song he will be helpful. BMC will drop LRP off at the base of the climbs in good condition much like they did with Evans in 2011 and then it will be upto him, so far he's showed a lack of tactical nous which is what will really cost him and not the lack of climbing Doms.
 
Re:

deValtos said:
90% mano vs mano but then there's always that one stage where you get will lose the race without a team ... as evidenced incredibly clearly by Porte losing the Dauphine.

Also a team can prevent what happened to Dumo/Nibali/Quitana in the Giro where the 4-6th riders like Pinot/Zak/Pozzo were gaining random minutes in the last week despite not being necessarily stronger. Ofc in the end it did work out for them but it's always a little risky and doesn't happen when Poels is steamrolling out 400watts at the front of the group. I could easily see someone like Contador being 2:00 down and getting away because Porte is making Froome/Quintana for example. Just extra risks a team can prevent.

I chuckle when people make sweeping statements - What team did Sky have at dauphine or Astana or Etix or Quick step - When it came to the end of the final stage all these teams had one support rider with their leader - It's not like they had a team of five or six riders on the last climb.
 
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Re: Re:

yaco said:
deValtos said:
90% mano vs mano but then there's always that one stage where you get will lose the race without a team ... as evidenced incredibly clearly by Porte losing the Dauphine.

Also a team can prevent what happened to Dumo/Nibali/Quitana in the Giro where the 4-6th riders like Pinot/Zak/Pozzo were gaining random minutes in the last week despite not being necessarily stronger. Ofc in the end it did work out for them but it's always a little risky and doesn't happen when Poels is steamrolling out 400watts at the front of the group. I could easily see someone like Contador being 2:00 down and getting away because Porte is making Froome/Quintana for example. Just extra risks a team can prevent.

I chuckle when people make sweeping statements - What team did Sky have at dauphine or Astana or Etix or Quick step - When it came to the end of the final stage all these teams had one support rider with their leader - It's not like they had a team of five or six riders on the last climb.

What sweeping statement?

And no, not all the teams had one support rider with their leader ... or else Porte would have won which is kind of the whole point.

Anyways one is usually fine, Sky just goes overboard to be super safe. Obviously they didn't bring the A-team this dauphine but if you'd seen the 2015/2016 TDF's then there were numerous stages where Froome was surrounded by 5 climbing doms all the way to the finish even.
 
Re: Re:

deValtos said:
yaco said:
deValtos said:
90% mano vs mano but then there's always that one stage where you get will lose the race without a team ... as evidenced incredibly clearly by Porte losing the Dauphine.

Also a team can prevent what happened to Dumo/Nibali/Quitana in the Giro where the 4-6th riders like Pinot/Zak/Pozzo were gaining random minutes in the last week despite not being necessarily stronger. Ofc in the end it did work out for them but it's always a little risky and doesn't happen when Poels is steamrolling out 400watts at the front of the group. I could easily see someone like Contador being 2:00 down and getting away because Porte is making Froome/Quintana for example. Just extra risks a team can prevent.

I chuckle when people make sweeping statements - What team did Sky have at dauphine or Astana or Etix or Quick step - When it came to the end of the final stage all these teams had one support rider with their leader - It's not like they had a team of five or six riders on the last climb.

What sweeping statement?

And no, not all the teams had one support rider with their leader ... or else Porte would have won which is kind of the whole point.

Anyways one is usually fine, Sky just goes overboard to be super safe. Obviously they didn't bring the A-team this dauphine but if you'd seen the 2015/2016 TDF's then there were numerous stages where Froome was surrounded by 5 climbing doms all the way to the finish even.

This is because other teams fail to make mountain days challenging enough - When you have a sunday ride until you get to the mountains, you allow Sky to set a blistering tempo on the climb - Ride at a higher tempo on the flat during these days and try to tire out the peleton - You may see a different ride up the climb - I have my doubts regarding the form of Sky's mountain domestics for the TDF - Thomas was underwhelming at Ruut De Suud, while Poels was invisible - I doubt Poels will ride the TDF - Actually Astana could set a brutal tempo if Aru and Fuglsang are in form - It could make for great racing.
 
Re: Re:

yaco said:
dirkprovin said:
deValtos said:
Whoever is in charge of the decision to (potentially) not take Dennis is, in my opinion, a moron.

A wee bit melodramatic ?? Dennis is a superlative TTer, arguably in the top 2-3 in the world currently but despite his declarations of future GC aspirations; to date he really has never shown any real capacity to handle the really high stuff esp on a day to day basis. He's actually only ever finished 2 of the 6 GTs he's started so its hard to sell a conclusive argument that he'll be Richie's main man in the mountains.

He most certainly WOULD be of great value to Porte on the flat although Dennis himself is no great shakes with echelons. He COULD be of legitimate use in the hills (where Dennis HAS proven himself competent in other WT races) but there's just very little evidence to date that Dennis would necessarily prove a quality mountain domestique on a day to day basis

Agree with your summary - The base of the TDF squad rode the TDU - Porte has a big say in the selection of the TDF squad and IMO only needs two mountain domestics - Better to have 2 reliable mountain domestics, then have 4 unreliable mountain domestics - Porte needs more help on the flat which the team will provide - Much ado about nothing - Ultimately when you are in the high mountains its man against man.

I disagree with a lot of what you said, but one particular thing that occurred to me is that surely Porte will choose a fellow Australian rider as a domestique!?
 
Re: Re:

yaco said:
deValtos said:
yaco said:
deValtos said:
90% mano vs mano but then there's always that one stage where you get will lose the race without a team ... as evidenced incredibly clearly by Porte losing the Dauphine.

Also a team can prevent what happened to Dumo/Nibali/Quitana in the Giro where the 4-6th riders like Pinot/Zak/Pozzo were gaining random minutes in the last week despite not being necessarily stronger. Ofc in the end it did work out for them but it's always a little risky and doesn't happen when Poels is steamrolling out 400watts at the front of the group. I could easily see someone like Contador being 2:00 down and getting away because Porte is making Froome/Quintana for example. Just extra risks a team can prevent.

I chuckle when people make sweeping statements - What team did Sky have at dauphine or Astana or Etix or Quick step - When it came to the end of the final stage all these teams had one support rider with their leader - It's not like they had a team of five or six riders on the last climb.

What sweeping statement?

And no, not all the teams had one support rider with their leader ... or else Porte would have won which is kind of the whole point.

Anyways one is usually fine, Sky just goes overboard to be super safe. Obviously they didn't bring the A-team this dauphine but if you'd seen the 2015/2016 TDF's then there were numerous stages where Froome was surrounded by 5 climbing doms all the way to the finish even.

This is because other teams fail to make mountain days challenging enough - When you have a sunday ride until you get to the mountains, you allow Sky to set a blistering tempo on the climb - Ride at a higher tempo on the flat during these days and try to tire out the peleton - You may see a different ride up the climb - I have my doubts regarding the form of Sky's mountain domestics for the TDF - Thomas was underwhelming at Ruut De Suud, while Poels was invisible - I doubt Poels will ride the TDF - Actually Astana could set a brutal tempo if Aru and Fuglsang are in form - It could make for great racing.

But you have to have a strong enough team to make mountain days challenging ? You seem to be contradicting yourself...Porte doesn't need mountain Dams just follow wheels you said but then who is going to blow the race apart .No body wants to risk having their doms blown away by the top of the second climb on a stage like the final one of the Dauphine
 
Re: Re:

Ruby United said:
yaco said:
dirkprovin said:
deValtos said:
Whoever is in charge of the decision to (potentially) not take Dennis is, in my opinion, a moron.

A wee bit melodramatic ?? Dennis is a superlative TTer, arguably in the top 2-3 in the world currently but despite his declarations of future GC aspirations; to date he really has never shown any real capacity to handle the really high stuff esp on a day to day basis. He's actually only ever finished 2 of the 6 GTs he's started so its hard to sell a conclusive argument that he'll be Richie's main man in the mountains.

He most certainly WOULD be of great value to Porte on the flat although Dennis himself is no great shakes with echelons. He COULD be of legitimate use in the hills (where Dennis HAS proven himself competent in other WT races) but there's just very little evidence to date that Dennis would necessarily prove a quality mountain domestique on a day to day basis

Agree with your summary - The base of the TDF squad rode the TDU - Porte has a big say in the selection of the TDF squad and IMO only needs two mountain domestics - Better to have 2 reliable mountain domestics, then have 4 unreliable mountain domestics - Porte needs more help on the flat which the team will provide - Much ado about nothing - Ultimately when you are in the high mountains its man against man.

I disagree with a lot of what you said, but one particular thing that occurred to me is that surely Porte will choose a fellow Australian rider as a domestique!?

Porte will chose who he thinks will do the best job for him ...Australian or no ...well he will if he is wise man
 
Re: Re:

Ruby United said:
yaco said:
dirkprovin said:
deValtos said:
Whoever is in charge of the decision to (potentially) not take Dennis is, in my opinion, a moron.

A wee bit melodramatic ?? Dennis is a superlative TTer, arguably in the top 2-3 in the world currently but despite his declarations of future GC aspirations; to date he really has never shown any real capacity to handle the really high stuff esp on a day to day basis. He's actually only ever finished 2 of the 6 GTs he's started so its hard to sell a conclusive argument that he'll be Richie's main man in the mountains.

He most certainly WOULD be of great value to Porte on the flat although Dennis himself is no great shakes with echelons. He COULD be of legitimate use in the hills (where Dennis HAS proven himself competent in other WT races) but there's just very little evidence to date that Dennis would necessarily prove a quality mountain domestique on a day to day basis

Agree with your summary - The base of the TDF squad rode the TDU - Porte has a big say in the selection of the TDF squad and IMO only needs two mountain domestics - Better to have 2 reliable mountain domestics, then have 4 unreliable mountain domestics - Porte needs more help on the flat which the team will provide - Much ado about nothing - Ultimately when you are in the high mountains its man against man.

I disagree with a lot of what you said, but one particular thing that occurred to me is that surely Porte will choose a fellow Australian rider as a domestique!?

LRP has said on multiple occasions that he picks the core group of riders he races with this season so we pretty much already know who those riders are, he has chosen the riders he feels offer him the best support and atmosphere and from all available evidence nationality has nothing to do with it, outside of the Australian races LRP are Dennis haven't raced together. Unless the BMC hierarchy pull rank I don't see Dennis at the Tour, they already have GVA who can snag a stage win but the rest of the team is all for LRP.
 
Re: Re:

[/quote]Porte ignore everyone except Froome in the Dauphine and you saw how that went. I wouldn't do that again. He bluffed, wanted to force Froome to work, but Froome called his bluff and out smarted him. He wasn't strong enough though, but that could easily change at the Tour.
And as for letting Valverde go, you also saw the result of that at the Dauphine. That created chaos. It was a crucial moment of the race. That move allowed Froome and Fuglsang to rode like that, it's a dangerous game to let go a move like that. Valverde will also be stronger at the Tour, and if he goes upfront it's a team move, he will not think too much about Quintana, believe me, nor will Unzue.
The smartest thing Porte could do is not to get the jersey too early. I think if he gets the jersey on stage 5 his team will be shattered already in Jura mountains, and if he hangs on, he will be buried in the Pyrenees.[/quote]

Stages 1 and 5 might be the best opportunities of the entire race for Porte to gain time on Froome and the rest of his rivals. He should be doing his best to gain time here, even if it means moving into yellow. Why not just give the jersey away on stage 6 or 7 to a Voeckler type of rider? It is only your responsibility if you want it to be. Sure, you run the risk of creating another Oscar, but T-Mobile and CSC suffered just as much as Phonak in that scenario. If a semi dangerous rider is twenty minutes up the road, then there is just as much pressure on Sky, Moviestar etc as there is on Porte and BMC. Much better that Porte be half a minute up on Froome after stage 5 then be half a minute behind, especially as his form might tail off as the three weeks go on, whereas some of his rivals might peak in week 3.
 
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"When we started planning for the Tour de France in December last year, these were the nine riders we had in mind"

Well, that explains the selection then. Ignore any changes that happened in the season and go with people you picked back in december?

I guess it's not a bad team but I don't think your selection should be made 7 months before the race ...
 
Re:

deValtos said:
"When we started planning for the Tour de France in December last year, these were the nine riders we had in mind"

Well, that explains the selection then. Ignore any changes that happened in the season and go with people you picked back in december?

I guess it's not a bad team but I don't think your selection should be made 7 months before the race ...
I read it it's what they've been hoping for to be able to assemble today.
 
Re:

deValtos said:
"When we started planning for the Tour de France in December last year, these were the nine riders we had in mind"

Well, that explains the selection then. Ignore any changes that happened in the season and go with people you picked back in december?

I guess it's not a bad team but I don't think your selection should be made 7 months before the race ...

That's how teams who are aiming for the GC work, they work out who they think will be best for the race and work out the racing programs from that, Sky, Movistar, Trek would of all done similar things so what BMC have done makes sense. Some things might change as the season progresses so you change the programs of certain riders but the majority of these riders have been racing together all season with success so the plans they layed out have worked so far, outside of Bookwalter I don't see anyone else who should of been in the squad.
 
Re: Re:

StryderHells said:
deValtos said:
"When we started planning for the Tour de France in December last year, these were the nine riders we had in mind"

Well, that explains the selection then. Ignore any changes that happened in the season and go with people you picked back in december?

I guess it's not a bad team but I don't think your selection should be made 7 months before the race ...

That's how teams who are aiming for the GC work, they work out who they think will be best for the race and work out the racing programs from that, Sky, Movistar, Trek would of all done similar things so what BMC have done makes sense. Some things might change as the season progresses so you change the programs of certain riders but the majority of these riders have been racing together all season with success so the plans they layed out have worked so far, outside of Bookwalter I don't see anyone else who should of been in the squad.

i would have had Bookwalter in there instead of Moinard who won't offer much in the mountains. Bookwalter on the other hand has been great over the years on the flat and intermediate stages which is where Porte seems to have more trouble sometimes. Bookwalter also did well for Evans. Caruso will do well for Porte, Roche probably not as well in the mountains but he's there mainly as the road captain. Quinziato has also been very good over the years in a similar role to Bookwalter and I was surprised he went to the Giro instead of the Tour. Maybe age is catching up with him and BMC thought there were better options or maybe they thought he would be good support for Dennis and TJVG and decided to share out the best domestiques over both races.
 
Re: Re:

movingtarget said:
StryderHells said:
deValtos said:
"When we started planning for the Tour de France in December last year, these were the nine riders we had in mind"

Well, that explains the selection then. Ignore any changes that happened in the season and go with people you picked back in december?

I guess it's not a bad team but I don't think your selection should be made 7 months before the race ...

That's how teams who are aiming for the GC work, they work out who they think will be best for the race and work out the racing programs from that, Sky, Movistar, Trek would of all done similar things so what BMC have done makes sense. Some things might change as the season progresses so you change the programs of certain riders but the majority of these riders have been racing together all season with success so the plans they layed out have worked so far, outside of Bookwalter I don't see anyone else who should of been in the squad.

i would have had Bookwalter in there instead of Moinard who won't offer much in the mountains. Bookwalter on the other hand has been great over the years on the flat and intermediate stages which is where Porte seems to have more trouble sometimes. Bookwalter also did well for Evans. Caruso will do well for Porte, Roche probably not as well in the mountains but he's there mainly as the road captain. Quinziato has also been very good over the years in a similar role to Bookwalter and I was surprised he went to the Giro instead of the Tour. Maybe age is catching up with him and BMC thought there were better options or maybe they thought he would be good support for Dennis and TJVG and decided to share out the best domestiques over both races.

Quinziato is retiring at the end of the season and wanted to do the Giro one last time
 
Re: Re:

StryderHells said:
movingtarget said:
StryderHells said:
deValtos said:
"When we started planning for the Tour de France in December last year, these were the nine riders we had in mind"

Well, that explains the selection then. Ignore any changes that happened in the season and go with people you picked back in december?

I guess it's not a bad team but I don't think your selection should be made 7 months before the race ...

That's how teams who are aiming for the GC work, they work out who they think will be best for the race and work out the racing programs from that, Sky, Movistar, Trek would of all done similar things so what BMC have done makes sense. Some things might change as the season progresses so you change the programs of certain riders but the majority of these riders have been racing together all season with success so the plans they layed out have worked so far, outside of Bookwalter I don't see anyone else who should of been in the squad.

i would have had Bookwalter in there instead of Moinard who won't offer much in the mountains. Bookwalter on the other hand has been great over the years on the flat and intermediate stages which is where Porte seems to have more trouble sometimes. Bookwalter also did well for Evans. Caruso will do well for Porte, Roche probably not as well in the mountains but he's there mainly as the road captain. Quinziato has also been very good over the years in a similar role to Bookwalter and I was surprised he went to the Giro instead of the Tour. Maybe age is catching up with him and BMC thought there were better options or maybe they thought he would be good support for Dennis and TJVG and decided to share out the best domestiques over both races.

Quinziato is retiring at the end of the season and wanted to do the Giro one last time

Fair enough. The same reason Sanchez wants to do the Vuelta.
 
Sanchez doing the Tour would not have stopped him doing the Vuelta ...and I read in Spanish article that his retirement is NOT definite

As I said earlier it seems at BMC that the riders dictate the terms and not the team

Not so at SKY ...there is no discussion at SKY of who will decide or this or that person wants this or that
At SKY you go where you are told....and Kwaito former World Champion and monument winner does not say I am aiming for a stage win and the team a top GC

No its all in with their very best riders for Chris Froome for the Tour

Can anyone really say that at BMC ....
If BMC are serious about Porte ...no one would chase stages and the best climbers would be at the Tour
I do think Caruso and Roche are good climbers but only 2 ....what if one crashes or gets ill ?..

and what about those stages that start with a climb like the last stage of the Dauphne .....De MArchi,Wyss & Moinard were dropped immediately

You could have it that Porte is alone again in yelllow..becasue that is when we have a problem ...when Porte is in yellow and he could take it by stage 14

One or 2 more of Sanchez ,Hermans, TJvG and Dennis ( don't believe he is not good enough after wining 2 TTs in the race of truth ) would at least be there on some mountain stages
 
Re:

HelloDolly said:
Sanchez doing the Tour would not have stopped him doing the Vuelta ...and I read in Spanish article that his retirement is NOT definite

As I said earlier it seems at BMC that the riders dictate the terms and not the team

Not so at SKY ...there is no discussion at SKY of who will decide or this or that person wants this or that
At SKY you go where you are told....and Kwaito former World Champion and monument winner does not say I am aiming for a stage win and the team a top GC

No its all in with their very best riders for Chris Froome for the Tour

Can anyone really say that at BMC ....
If BMC are serious about Porte ...no one would chase stages and the best climbers would be at the Tour
I do think Caruso and Roche are good climbers but only 2 ....what if one crashes or gets ill ?..

and what about those stages that start with a climb like the last stage of the Dauphne .....De MArchi,Wyss & Moinard were dropped immediately

You could have it that Porte is alone again in yelllow..becasue that is when we have a problem ...when Porte is in yellow and he could take it by stage 14

One or 2 more of Sanchez ,Hermans, TJvG and Dennis ( don't believe he is not good enough after wining 2 TTs in the race of truth ) would at least be there on some mountain stages

Oh right I thought Sanchez was retiring for sure as he came out of retirement once already. But I do agree that the three riders from the Dauphine that you mentioned are the weak point of the team. Oss probably should have been in there with Bookwalter and Sanchez. Moinard has seen better days and Sanchez even though a veteran is a better rider especially in the mountains. TJVG is yet to convince me as a domestique plus the fact he already has the Giro in his legs, for me that is a good non selection. Dennis crashed in the Giro and the TDS and he is fit to ride but I would rather see how he goes in the Vuelta before throwing him in the madness and stress of the Tour. The team still doesn't really know how he will do in a GT cause he crashed out of the Giro. Incredible TT rider but he will have to drop some weight to do better in the mountains but BMC seem to think he can make the the transition and if not to a GT rider then at least for one week stage races where he has already showed signs of improvement.
 
Dennis was hurt pretty bad from the crash in the Giro and wasn't of much assistance to Caruso in the Tour de Suisse. We'll see if he's fit in time for the Vuelta.

I think the key for Porte is to avoid mishaps in the flats. He can keep up with the Sky train in the mountains.
 

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