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Santos Tour Down Under Stage 2 Mt. Barker to Rostrevor 116.5km

So this stage sees the first time GC contenders for the Tour Down Under will show their hands.

Here is your profile:

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The forecast is for a dry, hot and sunny day, with temperatures reaching 31 degrees Celsius. Windy enough, too. With winds blowing from the south to south-east at around 20km to 30km/h.

The stage is a rolling stage through the suburbs of south Adelaide. It is not until the last 20km of the stage that things get interesting. There will be a quick sharp ascent of Corkscrew Road, which crests 7km before the finish, followed by a long descent all the way to the chequered flag. The climb is 3.7km long and the gradient hits 10%.

If we can forget the missing 190km, the fact that contenders are not fully cooked, the conditions and the strength of the field, this is not too dissimilar to Milan San Remo. So defending champion Simon Gerrans is an obvious starting point when it comes to finding a winner. With last year’s TDU runner-up Alejandro Valverde sidestepping the race this year, it is left to men who finished ahead of him in last year’s World Championship, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Philippe Gilbert to attempt to unsettle the Orica Greenedge leader. EBH will be hoping to get away in a select group in the final climb, and rely on his sprint at the end. World champion Gilbert will be one of those expected to put in a searing dig on the Corkscrew Road, with a solo to victory more than possible if he can get 5 seconds at the top.

Others who have shown their hand in tough classics are likely to be fancied by many onlookers. Gasporotto, Visconti, Slagter, Rojas, Ponzi and Iglinskiy can all be fancied to go well.

The climb will surely be too much for Gorilla Greipel, and it looks like former MSR winner and Bros frontman is in bad form.

I think Gilbert will win, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Astana have a big say in proceedings.

A race (or at least 20km) to savour.
 
theyoungest said:
I think Geraint Thomas will win, just to p.ss you off ;)
After all he has won the grand amount of 0 road stages in his career, so that's a great prediction :p

It wouldn't **** me off though, I like G, I just think he is massively overrated. He has done nothing to justify this hype, except from being British and everyone all of a sudden expecting Brits to become master-climbers out of nowhere when they reach 26 years.
 
Oct 23, 2011
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I think Thomas is mainly hyped on the cobbles without any results there right? not so much for climbing without showing any results there. Though, he seems to be both explosive, judging from prologue and lead-out performances and able to climb a little bit; who knows what will happen this year, now that he's focusing on again. :)
 
maltiv said:
After all he has won the grand amount of 0 road stages in his career, so that's a great prediction :p

It wouldn't **** me off though, I like G, I just think he is massively overrated. He has done nothing to justify this hype, except from being British and everyone all of a sudden expecting Brits to become master-climbers out of nowhere when they reach 26 years.
Yes, there's 30 or more riders in this race with as big a chance as him, but that's the Anglophone bonus on Anglophone websites.
 
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theyoungest said:
Yes, there's 30 or more riders in this race with as big a chance as him, but that's the Anglophone bonus on Anglophone websites.


And you know what's best ? If I read correctly it wasn't even mostly / at all users from Britain hyping him....

I am sure Dekker_Tifosi and Jens_attacks are no really from UK, are they ? :rolleyes:
 
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Gilbert to go head to head with Gerrans for the win, I don't think I have to say who I think will come out the victor. ;)
Also hoping Ponzi can get another high placing.
 
Gloin22 said:
And you know what's best ? If I read correctly it wasn't even mostly / at all users from Britain hyping him....

I am sure Dekker_Tifosi and Jens_attacks are no really from UK, are they ? :rolleyes:
I don't mean on this forum, I mean in general previews of this race. On this forum, I hyped him myself ;)

Jens_attacks will hype anyone whom he suspects is on some kind of program.
 
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Gloin22 said:
And you know what's best ? If I read correctly it wasn't even mostly / at all users from Britain hyping him....

I am sure Dekker_Tifosi and Jens_attacks are no really from UK, are they ? :rolleyes:

Your Sky sensor is almost as good as Flo's Contador one.
 

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Squire said:
How's Machado's sprint and descending skills?

Not that it would matter that much anyway, as he'll probably attack 3km before the hill and be exhausted at the bottom of it.

He won't need sprint

He won't be exhausted because he is at a whole new level this year

bettiniphoto_0095761_1_full_600.jpg



ALLEZ MACHADO!!!
 

iZnoGouD

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Hugo Koblet said:
That sounds nice. Perhaps he'll even get his first win in 5 years then? Oh well, one can only dream.

It will happen this year in this race i feel it, believe me
Everything is poiiting to that direction, i even bet money on him, if anyone here wants easy money just bet on Machado for overall, he is at 17.00 in bet365 the more you bet the more you win
 

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Pentacycle said:
grafiekgroot.php


It's not very accurate, but it'll give you an idea what type of rider can win here.

hmm if it was longer it would be so much better for Machado, the way it is i can't see him not attacking before that climb :D
 
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iZnoGouD said:
It will happen this year in this race i feel it, believe me
Everything is poiiting to that direction, i even bet money on him, if anyone here wants easy money just bet on Machado for overall, he is at 17.00 in bet365 the more you bet the more you win

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More seriously :p I think tbh Machado does stand a chance here. It'll be hard to see him win the GC, but he definitely has a chance imo.
 

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