Riders to watch in 2012

[Hugo Koblet]

I love these kind of threads.

It gives us something to discuss in the off season and of course it's fun to go back and look at everyone's predictions - so let's go back and look at the 2011 predictions (some have been edited so they don't take up that much space)! Hopefully noone will be offended

The good...

I'm expecting some things from Greg Van Avermaet this year!

Pretty decent - Avermaet had a quite good year!

Matthew Busche, the RadioShack rider who started cycling 3 years ago. Had some good results as neo-pro but I think he's much more than that.

Nice one. Busche definitely showed some great potential!

Van Avermaet, Oss, Kruijswijk, Castroviejo.

Although Oss didn't have a great season hrotha nailed it with the three other names.

Andrea Guardini (seems even faster than Nizzolo),
Wilco Kelderman (the next dutch supertalent),
Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (italys biggest climbing talent, will dominate the u23-climbs next season)
Danielle Ratto (huge young talent that could get a big breakthrough next season)

As far as I can tell, MADRAZO was the only one mentioning Guardini. Very nice prediction!

...the bad...

Coen Vermeltfoort should be interesting to watch

Yeah.. He should have been...

William Clarke will be a neo pro with the Schlecks team. Might be all domestique duties in his first year, but with an opportunity, definitely one to watch

Guess he just didn't get that opportunity...

...and the ugly!

Quickstep to have a good season, Chichi and Ciolek with Boonen leaves great possibilities in sprints.

If Quickstep had a good season it certainly wasn't for these riders!

machado(finally will ride his first GT i can't wait to see what he can do during 3 weeks)

nelson oliveira(imo he is a really huge talent and a GC guy in the making no doubt even better then machado imo)

peter velits(see if there is a confirmation on his GT GC talent)

nibali(giro vuelta double like contador in 2008 could be possible)

anton(giro vuelta doube again )

and antonio cardoso (he will ride the volta for himself and destroy every1 in the mountains) i hope that is enough to get him to a proconti team at least. one that rides a GT ofc.

Ouch.. Perhaps Parrulo regrets this post!?

maxim iglinsky.
i think he will win e3 prijs and will podium at the ronde.

riccardo ricco

igor anton

richie porte(already one of my favs)

janez brajkovic(bruyneel will do his job).expect the unexpected like contador in 2007.

david blanco.will surprise us in la vuelta.

Even more ouch! Sorry jens_attacks, but you were pretty way off!

Anyway, let's get to the 2012 riders to watch. It can be anyone from a continental rider to a neo-pro to an already established rider - here are a couple of mine:

Marco Marcato:
The eternal second. Only one win in 2011. I have a feeling that Marcato will step up in 2012 and finally start winning a bunch of races.

Nikita Novikov:
I was quite surprised when he signed for Vacansoleil but I think it's a perfect fit for the aggressive young rider. Definitely one of the most promising riders out there.

Arnaud Démare:
Already quite hyped but with good reason as Démare is one of the brightest young sprinting talents. I'm sure he'll have a great first season among the pros.

Enrico Battaglin:
Battaglin has already showed how good he is, but in 2012 he'll take another step up.

Tosh van der Sande:
Could easily be one of the big surprises in 2012.

Arthur Vichot:
Is developing into a very good one-day racer and hopefully his development will continue in 2012.

Rafal Majka:
A bit hyped on these forums already. 2012 will show you why.

Mikel Landa Meana:
One of the young riders who impressed me most in 2011. I'm of course talking about his amazing stage victory in Burgos. I have high hopes for him in 2012.

So.. who are yours?

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Kasheckin to come back in 2012 with fury! everyone will trumble under the kazakh thunder and if not, it is (as usual) everyone else fault

 

[El Pistolero]

Kasheckin to come back in 2012 with fury! everyone will trumble under the kazakh thunder and if not, it is (as usual) everyone else fault

Let's put that one already under the "ugly" category.

I expect something from Matteo Trentin and Stybar next year. Not something big, but a few small victories and some good placings in the spring classics perhaps.

Also keep an eye out on Jelle and Dennis Vanendert

Oh, and Boonen will win a Monument

 

[hrotha]

Definitely agree about Majka, Démare and possibly Vichot. I'll add Madrazo (he finally started to deliver the goods this year, but his peaks were interrupted by injuries or illness, so he should improve a lot with one more year in his legs, extra confidence in his possibilities and some continuity), Vanmarcke (without Hushovd, he should be a little higher in the hierarchy), Silin (breakout season, I can see it), Simon Clarke (same as Silin) and Intxausti (he impressed me this year, I didn't expect him to be so good the few times he had it in him mentally and physically).

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Definitely agree about Majka, Démare and possibly Vichot. I'll add Madrazo (he finally started to deliver the goods this year, but his peaks were interrupted by injuries or illness, so he should improve a lot with one more year in his legs, extra confidence in his possibilities and some continuity), Vanmarcke (without Hushovd, he should be a little higher in the hierarchy), Silin (breakout season, I can see it), Simon Clarke (same as Silin) and Intxausti (he impressed me this year, I didn't expect him to be so good the few times he had it in him mentally and physically).

I certainly agree with you on Vanmarcke (I'm a big fan) and Simon Clarke. I think Clarke could be one of the big winners in this whole Greenedge thing. I don't really know that much about Silin but he's been around for a few years already. Hope he can get a break through next season.

 

[Panda Claws]

Gilbert

10 chars

 

[Parrulo]

Ouch.. Perhaps Parrulo regrets this post!?

actually that was posted before contador was cleared and said he would ride the giro so saying anton or nibali could win the giro or the vuelta or both wasn't that far fetched at the time, anton not racing the giro for GC and both anton and nibali being completely out of shape at the vuelta where imo they would have dominated the likes of cobo and froome wasn't something i took into consideration tbh mostly in the case of nibali where he usually peaks at the right time.

then peter velits i said "see if he can confirm his GC talent", so far he couldn't but he had some good performances in the tour so the guy certainly wasn't a complete fluke.


see machado ride 3 weeks and what he can do? we saw, what did we learn? he can't peak for the right race if his life depended on it and must improve his climbing as his time trial is already good enough.

antonio cardoso, well he didn't destroy every1 in the mountains on the volta but he was clearly the strongest at the torre stage but didn't attack because his team mate mestre was in the lead with the time gained. also performed good enough to get signed by a PC team that will almost certainly ride a GT next year like i said(caja rural)

the nelson oliveira part was stupid i must admit as the guy really hasn't show any signs of being able to get over a speed bump with even the third best climbers the entire year, i will give you that one.

but other then that i don't see how my post is all that stupid when put into perspective, i wasn't really predicting much i was just saying i wanted to see to get some answers.

as for next year, vanmarcke, both venenderts, henao, costa, machado (yes again, maybe he learned something this year), landa and some others are really guys i want to see what they can do

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

I think Kiserlovski really will ashow what he is made of this year

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Parrulo:

I'm sorry if you feel offended, that certainly wasn't the purpose (as I wrote as well). I just thought it would be fun to show some of the old predictions. And no, you probably don't regret that post (and shouldn't) but again, it's all just for fun.

 

[Parrulo]

Parrulo:

I'm sorry if you feel offended, that certainly wasn't the purpose (as I wrote as well). I just thought it would be fun to show some of the old predictions. And no, you probably don't regret that post (and shouldn't) but again, it's all just for fun.

nah you didn't offended me, i actually thought the post sounded a bit cranky but i was too lazy to edit it as i just woke up

one coffee and some cookies later and i am back to my usual good mood lol

 

[Richeypen]

Really hope that Kennaugh can step it up next year.

 

[markene2]

Kiserlovski: He has been good at Paris Nice until his crash. And the vuelta. Think he will show something more in next year.

Andrey Zeits: Got 15th in Dauphine. He seems like a talent.

Sergio Henao: No explenation needed.

Thibaut Pinot: The french climbing hope.

Janez Brajkovic: I just have a feeling that he will do good with a proper team behind him.

And here is who i hope will continue doing good.

Fredrik Kessiakoff: Very good to see a scandinavian to do good in the GC. Hope we will see some more from him.

Andrey Kashechkin: Highly unlikely that he will get good again. But i still hope.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Brajkovic is still going to have people picking him as a young breakthrough rider in his 30s.

Y'know, in 2 years time.

 

[markene2]

Brajkovic is still going to have people picking him as a young breakthrough rider in his 30s.

Y'know, in 2 years time.

Might be, but we all remember how good he did the first week in the Vuelta 06.
So he has potential.

 

[maltiv]

I think Pinot will top 10 a GT already next year and also get some stage victories in races like P-N and Dauphine.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Might be, but we all remember how good he did the first week in the Vuelta 06.
So he has potential.

True, I can understand how a performance 5 years ago would make 2012 the big year for him.


Might actually be, but well, can't see it./

 

[markene2]

True, I can understand how a performance 5 years ago would make 2012 the big year for him.


Might actually be, but well, can't see it./

Nice sarcasm

 

[gilbertador]

I have 2 main predictions:

EBH to have a big year in the classics, hes had 2 lots of bad luck in the past 2 years but im sure he will come good with the confidence from 2 tdf wins behind him

Kessiakoff, he will podium one of vuelta and giro if he competes, without the loss of form in the vuelta he was on course for a top 5 with ease and would have been battling with Wiggins for 3rd



also...Sagan to win 2 big classics, tdf stages and the worlds...

Kittel and Guardini win 5 GT stages between them

An epic Evans - Contador TDF battle ....

Scarponi to join the GT winners club after he proves himsefl to be more consistent than Rujano, Gadret for 3rd! (This is of course the Giro)

Rodriguez to win la fleche wallone



Bad seasons for Kloeden, Horner, Levi, Voigt, Nuyens, Boonen, Menchov and Henao

 

[Fus087]

Vanmarcke, van Avermaet, Offredo: All three may show something big in the classics. And would also go for Geraint Thomas - if he isn't too focused on the Olympics. We'll see about him.
But the other three: At least one of them will at least podium in Milano-San Remo, E3-Prijs, Gent-Wevelgem or the Ronde.

 

[maltiv]

Vanmarcke, van Avermaet, Offredo: All three may show something big in the classics. And would also go for Geraint Thomas - if he isn't too focused on the Olympics. We'll see about him.
But the other three: At least one of them will at least podium in Milano-San Remo, E3-Prijs, Gent-Wevelgem or the Ronde.

He clearly is. As stated in this interview he will focus almost solely on the track, in fact he won't even participate in the cobbled classics.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Gediminas Bagdonas if he does actually get a ride on a bigger team. If he doesn't, well, it's hard to see how he could have a much better season at the Conti level than he had this year. I really want to see him at some bigger races.

Phil Deignan is hardly an up and coming young prospect, but it will be interesting to see how he does as a team leader at United Health Care. After his excellent 2009, 2010 was a write off due to illness and then he spent last year recovering some form and working as a climbing domestique. Hopefully he'll get back to his 2009 form.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

He clearly is. As stated in this interview he will focus almost solely on the track, in fact he won't even participate in the cobbled classics.

Oh for God's sake, what a waste of talent. He's a professional cyclist. The cobbled classics are vastly more important than any number of track medals. I understand that it makes some sense, given that Olympic success will mean more to the British general public, but it still irritates me.

 

[maltiv]

Oh for God's sake, what a waste of talent. He's a professional cyclist. The cobbled classics are vastly more important than any number of track medals. I understand that it makes some sense, given that Olympic success will mean more to the British general public, but it still irritates me.

I agree, he had turned into a really good rider on the road and will effectively lose a year. Can't believe how anyone with chances to win RVV can skip it in order to prepare for riding around in circles inside. If he's so focused on the olympics he could try to go for the road race instead, not like Cavendish will actually keep up there anyway.

 

[hrotha]

I disagree. The Olympic Games are a big deal for a trackie. He's young, there'll be another cobbled season in 2013.

 

[wirral]

Bart de Clercq gets a couple of nice wins this season