I don't think Formolo is riding for GC. When he transferred to UAE he specifically said he would focus on one day racing, which is a good thing considering his ceiling as a GT rider seems limited.
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I'd say that Laegen climbs really well for a big, 80kg heavy guy, that's why I'd put him on the Tour team, he can help on all terrains. I guess it's gonna be between him an Marcato, who brings more experience for the flat stages.Polanc is 100% doing the Tour. He is trusted by Pogacar and became close friends. Yet I would love Jan getting his usual free role in the Giro and going for stages / pink jersey as he usually does.
Bystrom and Laengen could very well round-out the line-up in the Tour. Two powerhorse for protecting Pogacar in the flat stages (Laengen also can climb a bit) and give Kristoff a little support if needed.
Bohli does much more sense in the Giro, he climbs worse than Mareckzo so does not make any sense to send him to TdF, where UAE is not going to control flat stages.
Do we classify guys like Dombrowski, Formolo, Conti, Polanc... as GC riders? Inclined to say yes, but they could finish 84th as well.
He hasn't. It just depends on the fans and whether they want to talk about him or not. He is still being considered for the Tour team.Not if they're all riding on the same team! At a guess, Dombroswki is the most likely to ride for GC at the Giro, Pogacar and Aru at the Tour. The rest will domestique/stage hunt.
What's happened to Sergio Henao? He's almost disappeared since leaving Sky
Looks like hardly anyone will target the Vuelta. But maybe a lot of teams / riders will nonetheless take aim at it if their Tour / classics plans have not worked out and they are desperate for attention (especially the teams in immediate need of sponsors). Otherwise I'd say it looks like an easy win for any serious rider who wants it.
He's a GC man and isn't riding as a domestique. Pogacar apparently also said he wasn't riding for GC. I guess we'll see who is trying to fool the opposition. But both have the abilities to ride for GC, and both have the freedom to do so.Bardet has said he does not want to go for GC in the Tour and it sounded convincing to me. What do you think? (Of course he could always end up doing it when things go well in the first part.)
This Tour heavily favors the climbers.
This is one of the first tours that I see a lot of mountains from the beginning. Usually there is a a lot of flat where the climbers are punished and pummeled. This time is the other way around. The make up of the teams should be affected because of this. On top of that you have the pandemic which held up the warming period of a lot of the riders. Some riders need to get up to form rather quickly. Smaller, skinnier, younger, riders are favored IMHO. Riders like Bardet and Pogacar might find themselves ahead from the beginning.
I think we'll see both of them riding the Ardennes classics after the WC, LBL would be interesting with both of them in great shape and FW looks like a good race for Roglic.Jumbo-Visma is not yet certain about Dumoulins and Roglic' program at the end of the season. They both might ride the Vuelta as well.
I think we'll see both of them riding the Ardennes classics after the WC, LBL would be interesting with both of them in great shape and FW looks like a good race for Roglic.
I expect to see very few riders doing Tour-Ardennes and the Vuelta, you're gonna hit the wall durning the Vuelta if you try to hold your shape for so long and it's pretty late durning the season.
Maybe those who haven't a new contract before the Vuelta will try it, if bad luck makes you drop out of the gc at the Tour and you end up with great legs at the end you might as well trythe Giro and end the season earlier.
I would certainly say he's a GC rider. Whether he's really good at it, remains to be seen.Not sure to what extent we can consider him a GC-rider, but Karl Fredrik Hagen will ride the Giro this year. After his 8th place in last years Vuelta, I'd say another top 10 would be a success. Especially considering his time trial abilities aren't all that great.
He'd have to go into the TDF well underdone looking to peak in week 3. Otherwise it's just a recipe for burnoutOne of the team managers was saying something about it not being possible to do Tour, Ardennes, Vuelta. The only rider who is actually saying he is fully planning on doing Tour, Ardennes, Vuelta is Valverde. He may be one of the very few who can actually pull it off. Although he's not racing (or not supposed to be racing) the tour for GC and is supposed to be using the Tour to get ready for all the races that come after it.
He'd have to go into the TDF well underdone looking to peak in week 3. Otherwise it's just a recipe for burnout
() between brackets, presumed in a supportive role.
Tour: Bernal, Froome, Thomas, Roglic, Kruijswijk, Dumoulin, Mollema, Pogacar, Higuita, Lopez, Mas, Valverde, Quintana, Uran, (Formolo), Pinot, Bardet, (Aru), Landa, Buchmann, Woods, Zakarin, (Gaudu), Barguil, Porte, (Kämna), (G Bennett), G Martin, D Martin, (Pozzovivo), Alaphilippe, (Poels)
Giro: Nibali, Carapaz, Carthy, Fuglsang, Evenepoel, Knox, Soler, Ciccone, Majka, McNulty, De Plus, Tolhoek, (Foss), Konrad, CF Hagen
Vuelta: Valverde, Mas, Pozzovivo, Costa, Aru
Unconfirmed: A Yates, S Yates, Kelderman, Hart, Sosa, Sivakov, Nieve, O'Connor, Dunbar, Madouas, Martinez, Vlasov, Latour, Oomen...
I would certainly say he's a GC rider. Whether he's really good at it, remains to be seen.
Also, i would have liked Vanhoucke to do the Giro. I know he's not exactly a GC rider, but he seems to have taken a next step earlier this year, with a top 10 in Andalucia GC. In the U23 he was one of the best pure climbers in his age bracket. But not very consistent. Regardless, it's strange that they would send Goossens to the Giro instead of him.