Strade Bianche 2013, March 2nd, 188 kms 1.1

[burning]

fixed
Interesting to see "Valverde" riding in Italia.....hmmmm
anyways-apart from Cance, Evans, Sagan & now Valpiti -I'm going to bet on my man Carlos Betancur to upset the World & win this race.

I think Valverde will withdraw before the race with some silly excuse

 

[Froome19]

There was almost zero wind this year. Not much for him to do.

The one stage where the echelons started to form he was stuck in one of the back groups, not where you would expect Cancellara. Also you would expect him to be there alert in the finale up there in the top 20 or so, not riding out the back. It just seemed a bit out of character. Though then again maybe he just had bad luck with the echelons and couldn't be asked to ride over with the peloton and risk crashing and I am reading too much into it..

 

[gruppeto993]

Yeah the cancellara we saw in qatar and oman didnt look promising. He usually tries something whatever the weathet even though he is riding for someone. Hopefully he is just trying to keep himself out of the spotlight

 

[woodenswan]

TJ Slagter to dominate

you're not picking T Dekker?! scandalous!

Cancellara is not in last year's form, normally he shouldn't have been invisible in Oman. No way he's going to dominate.

Sagan is the strongest puncheur in the race and he has good form unlike most opponents, he just has to keep the race together if Moser isn't there.

i wouldnt judge his form based on oman. he did what was expected of him. he did suffer in qatar though, he lost some time during that windy 1st stage as well. but again, that was his first race. truth be told, we have no idea about his form.

i still think those climbs are too steep for sagan. he is the biggest threat if it's a small sprint, so he will be attacked. if he hangs in there though.. that would justify the ronde hype

 

[serfla]

Yeah the cancellara we saw in qatar and oman didnt look promising. He usually tries something whatever the weathet even though he is riding for someone. Hopefully he is just trying to keep himself out of the spotlight

Cancellara's always in spotlight. He can't hide. Just like we're seeing in this discussion.
Maybe he was a bit behind on the Peninsula, but his goals are well-known.
He'll be marked on Saturday even if he's not targeting the race.

 

[Afrank]

The one stage where the echelons started to form he was stuck in one of the back groups, not where you would expect Cancellara. Also you would expect him to be there alert in the finale up there in the top 20 or so, not riding out the back. It just seemed a bit out of character. Though then again maybe he just had bad luck with the echelons and couldn't be asked to ride over with the peloton and risk crashing and I am reading too much into it..

I'm willing to bet this was the case, just some bad luck on the only stage he would have been able show himself on.
And the competition was much higher in Oman than it has been in the past, so it makes sense that he wouldn't show anything there either.

I think he'll be ready to do battle with Sagan and others in SB, if not by then, then definitely by RVV and PR. He's just keeping a low profile I think.

 

[The Hitch]

you would have expected to see him a bit more either in Qatar or Oman. It was in fact Qatar which got me most worried. Last year he was going very well there, this year he was chilling out the back.

Thats the problem when your only reffrence points are last year and this year.

A few years ago in Qatar Cancellara got dropped by his own teammates in the team time trial. This year at the same discipline he was pulling his team along just fine.

 

[Netserk]

From what I saw of Canc in Oman, he seemed to be in the form one would expect from him. I truly can't see any reason why he shouldn't be ready to Saturday form-wise.

 

[Ferminal]

Oman finished two weeks ago, pretty irrelevant. If anything coming from a low base there is better.

 

[phanatic]

Should be wet... Can't be dry in such a short time. At least I hope so.
CX/mtb/dirt experience may prove decisive.

Is Evans racing?

 

[barmaher]

There is a very very dry week forecast. How much snow fell at the weekend? I think the ground could be dry unless the answer is "a lot".

 

[Eshnar]

There is a very very dry week forecast. How much snow fell at the weekend? I think the ground could be dry unless the answer is "a lot".

a lot
But imho the surface will be dry by saturday.

 

[barmaher]

Ha yes. Snow dries quickly if temperatures get up to 11C and it is sunny.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

you're not picking T Dekker?! scandalous!

My faith in Dekker is waning lately. He started so bad again in Haut Var. It's hard to keep believing he'll do well some day.

 

[theyoungest]

My faith in Dekker is waning lately. He started so bad again in Haut Var. It's hard to keep believing he'll do well some day.

The only race he did reasonably well in after his return was a classic, the Amstel, so there could be some hope

 

[boomcie]

The only race he did reasonably well in after his return was a classic, the Amstel, so there could be some hope

I do not understand the wink in this context.

 

[Froome19]

Thats the problem when your only reffrence points are last year and this year.

A few years ago in Qatar Cancellara got dropped by his own teammates in the team time trial. This year at the same discipline he was pulling his team along just fine.

Ummm...I beg of you to tell me in recent years when has Cancellara had such an anonymous start to the season such as this year?

 

[maltiv]

Ummm...I beg of you to tell me in recent years when has Cancellara had such an anonymous start to the season such as this year?

2010. Ok, he won Oman, but mainly due to luck/EBH's pee break. He didn't do anything in Qatar that year either.

 

[Ferminal]

2011 too.

But because Oman is a full on climbers course this year and top GC riders show up apparently he's been terrible.

 

[Tom T.]

Personally, I don't see Sagan being there at the end. I think this race is too heavy for him, both in climbing and the rough surface of the white roads.

 

[Froome19]

2011 too.

But because Oman is a full on climbers course this year and top GC riders show up apparently he's been terrible.

Nothing about being terrible, just lets see where his form is. He has shown less than previous years and most of the other contenders bar Boonen have shown something so lets wait and see.

 

[SafeBet]

Ha yes. Snow dries quickly if temperatures get up to 11C and it is sunny.

Doubt it will get over 10 degrees for extended periods of time. Maybe a couple of hours per day, if it's sunny, which it's no sure thing.

Bear in mind that Italy has a very humid weather during fall and winter.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Roma Maxima course previews

 

[Ferminal]

Nothing about being terrible, just lets see where his form is. He has shown less than previous years and most of the other contenders bar Boonen have shown something so lets wait and see.

That's all we CAN do. He's had a two week break and it's still the start of the season with the target period another 2-4 weeks away. Whether or not he is good on the weekend will have been determined by his own desires (and health etc) rather than how good he was in Arabia.

 

[The Hitch]

Ummm...I beg of you to tell me in recent years when has Cancellara had such an anonymous start to the season such as this year?

Like I said, when he got dropped in the team time trial. Might even be a video on youtube of it if you dont believe me.