Sky V Garmin 2011

[The Hitch]

I predict Goss winning quite a few stages this year though. Probably not as much as Greipel, but plenty. HTC wins are pretty much almost bunch sprints.

Dont forget Tony Martin time trials (any tt which doesnnt have Canc), Marco Pinnoti time trials, Peter Velits time trials, maybe TJVG time trials or Bert Grabsch time trials, team time trials.

How many tts did i see last year where about half the top 10 in a tt was THR.

 

[Mambo95]

If Uran and EBH deliver what is said they can this could be different story. Barring those two I dont't see they potential to take big wins, next year at least.

Rogers should be able to contend for the week long stage races with a TT (which he says he'll be targeting).

 

[Reverend_T_Preedy]

Do we really have to start this rubbish again?

I think Sky will do better this season than last due to changes in the rider rosters and also more experience riding together. With Uran and Rogers they should pick up some more victories. Hunt will strengthen their classics squad. If you add these guys to a fully fit EBH and a fit Gerrans then their chances of success improve dramatically. Don't forget Flecha either.

With the riders that Garmin Cervelo have they should win a lot of races. However, in my opinion, if they don't win one of the monuments (particulalry MSR, RVV or PR) then their season would be a massive, and I mean massive, failure.

 

[ingsve]

Do we really have to start this rubbish again?

I think Sky will do better this season than last due to changes in the rider rosters and also more experience riding together. With Uran and Rogers they should pick up some more victories. Hunt will strengthen their classics squad. If you add these guys to a fully fit EBH and a fit Gerrans then their chances of success improve dramatically. Don't forget Flecha either.

With the riders that Garmin Cervelo have they should win a lot of races. However, in my opinion, if they don't win one of the monuments (particulalry MSR, RVV or PR) then their season would be a massive, and I mean massive, failure.

I think that is massively underestimating how hard the competition is to win those races. They have a strong team for those races but they don't have the absolute favourite riders for them. Cancellara and Boonen will still be there and losing to either of them should never be seen as a failure. I expect Garmin to be a major part of those races and if they ride to the best of their ability without making any huge mistakes then they can't be blamed if another rider is stronger on the day.

 

[auscyclefan94]

2-1-1 - only counting the series win

Russ Downing won the team sky training ride in Majorca the other day.

2-1-2

Sky are still 0

 

[uphillstruggle]

Rogers should be able to contend for the week long stage races with a TT (which he says he'll be targeting).

Yeah he had a good year last year and hopefully will do the same this year. I suppose I left Rogers (and Flecha) out because even though TOC & Omloop are big races they are not THE races which I feel EBH and Uran could win.

With regards to Garmin and the classics it seems to me their major advantage is strength in depth. I f they play it right tactically they could win MSR, PR or RW.

 

[euanli]

How many are BMC?

I was exaggerating with the number of wins. But Vaughters does want to be the no 1 team. Which means wins wins wins wins.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I think that is massively underestimating how hard the competition is to win those races. They have a strong team for those races but they don't have the absolute favourite riders for them. Cancellara and Boonen will still be there and losing to either of them should never be seen as a failure. I expect Garmin to be a major part of those races and if they ride to the best of their ability without making any huge mistakes then they can't be blamed if another rider is stronger on the day.

Yeah I agree. Despite thier strength I'n depth, they don't have that boonen or cancellara. Certainly with thier squad a high place should be expected I'n p-r or rvv.

And msr there a number of teams who could 'expect' to win this...

 

[Matthijs]

Yeah I agree. Despite thier strength I'n depth, they don't have that boonen or cancellara. Certainly with thier squad a high place should be expected I'n p-r or rvv.

And msr there a number of teams who could 'expect' to win this...

Maybe it's better to say: with that strength in depth, they should win MSR, RvV or PR in something like the nextt 3 years. Or they should win a minor race like Omloop, GW, E3 or something and place top5 in two of those 3 monuments.
You can't just expect a team to win a monument right away. (Only quickstep was so succesfull recently a year with 2 second placings and a 3rd monument which their rider was obviously the 2nd best and people still call it a fail)

 

[auscyclefan94]

Yeah I agree. Despite thier strength I'n depth, they don't have that boonen or cancellara. Certainly with thier squad a high place should be expected I'n p-r or rvv.

And msr there a number of teams who could 'expect' to win this...

kinda similar to BMC. Unless ballan can find his form of 2007 & 2008 they will have a lot of really strong cobbled classics riders but no real big star.

Classics should be really good as there are some teams who have a lot of strength in numbers (BMC, Garmin, Sky, Katusha) & then have Boonen & cancellara who's teams are not as good but on their own they are the strongest. You also can't forget Devolder who is on vacansoleil.

 

[blaxland]

kinda similar to BMC. Unless ballan can find his form of 2007 & 2008 they will have a lot of really strong cobbled classics riders but no real big star.

Classics should be really good as there are some teams who have a lot of strength in numbers (BMC, Garmin, Sky, Katusha) & then have Boonen & cancellara who's teams are not as good but on their own they are the strongest. You also can't forget Devolder who is on vacansoleil.

Agree Auscyclefan94 i am also looking forward to seeing if any other teams can derail Qiuckstep(Boonen) and Leopard(Cancellara)As you said BMC/Garmin/SKY/KATUSHA all have a great opportunity...Bring on the classics.

 

[royalpig180]

Agree Auscyclefan94 i am also looking forward to seeing if any other teams can derail Qiuckstep(Boonen) and Leopard(Cancellara)As you said BMC/Garmin/SKY/KATUSHA all have a great opportunity...Bring on the classics.

Y'all forgot TGBM. We all know he's gonna get more wins than Garmin and Sky combined .

 

[Anonymous]

HTC 1
Sky 1
Garmin 0

 

[kurtinsc]

HTC 1
Sky 1
Garmin 0

Just pro tour?

HTC had the Cancer Council Classic as well. Garmin has the Aussie ITT and Aussie RR champs. HTC has the New Zealand RR too.

So yo could say:
HTC: 3
Garmin: 2
Sky: 1

 

[Anonymous]

Just pro tour?

HTC had the Cancer Council Classic as well. Garmin has the Aussie ITT and Aussie RR champs. HTC has the New Zealand RR too.

So yo could say:
HTC: 3
Garmin: 2
Sky: 1

Well nobody counted the cancer classic last year when sky won it, so we dont count it this year.
1-1-0

 

[ingsve]

IMO, this is the ranking so far: http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/VictoryRankingTeam.asp?year=2011

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

IMO, this is the ranking so far: http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/VictoryRankingTeam.asp?year=2011

Current standings in the three way squabble:

Garmin: 7
Sky: 2
HTC: 2

Of course, these are all early season warm up races, so they don't tell us all that much about how the important races will go. But still, Garmin have racked up a lot of wins already.

 

[euanli]

Again, given the riders they inherited there would be no excuse not for raking them in.

 

[Roland Rat]

Current standings in the three way squabble:

Garmin: 7
Sky: 2
HTC: 2

Of course, these are all early season warm up races, so they don't tell us all that much about how the important races will go. But still, Garmin have racked up a lot of wins already.

Does that include the training ride in Mallorce that was annulled?

 

[El Pistolero]

Does it matter? A win in Paris-Roubaix for example would be better than the entire season of Sky last year.

Quality over quantity.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Does that include the training ride in Mallorce that was annulled?

CQ appear to be counting it, and that's good enough for me.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Does it matter? A win in Paris-Roubaix for example would be better than the entire season of Sky last year.

Quality over quantity.

Of course, quality counts for more than quantity.

But that doesn't mean that quantity counts for nothing. Particularly for teams that are set up to win a lot of sprints. And also for teams which are set up to win a lot on their national calender.

 

[El Pistolero]

Current standings in the three way squabble:

Garmin: 7
Sky: 2
HTC: 2

Of course, these are all early season warm up races, so they don't tell us all that much about how the important races will go. But still, Garmin have racked up a lot of wins already.

Nats don't count though.

So it's more like 5 for Garmin which is still good. Winning the TDU is a pretty good thing for the sponsors.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Nats don't count though.

They used to count back when there were UCI ratings and CQ count them.

It's easiest to stick with a body like for CQ when assessing quantity, because otherwise you'll get all kinds of squabbling about what counts and what doesn't. So Nats count but Crits don't. And a stage in Gabon counts just like the Ronde, for purposes of quantity!

 

[FignonLeGrand]

Garmin are built for sprints and finishing 3rd/4th/5th on cobbles races, whereas sky are utterly overloaded with nearly GC men.

Garmin are built for sprints, but they don't have a quality sprinter. Seems an odd strategy, no? Farrar cannnot win against a high class peleton, and whilst Thor Hushovd is admittedly a high class winner but now seems to be more of a one day winner.

Garmin are built for winning TTT's and yet usually lose them to HTC. They'll win a classic and lots of lower grade races, dont expect to see them winning a TDF sprint any time soon . . .