Team sizes finalised for World Championship

[Alexandre B.]

Re: Re:

French team:

Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis)
Christophe Laporte (Cofidis)
Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis)
Geoffrey Soupe (Cofidis)
Arnaud Démare (FDJ)
William Bonnet (FDJ)
Yoann Offredo (FDJ)
Marc Sarreau (FDJ)
Adrien Petit (Direct Énergie)

The french should take a leaf out of the German book

You may be right, but the situation is different since France has 9 riders while Germany has 6.

Sorry if I am being dumb, but what is the German book - chosing one sprinter and go with him?

Choosing a strong field sprinter, a leadout/smaller group sprinter and some rouleurs. Meanwhile, the French have chosen two field sprinters that hate each other, and some pack fill.

They could have at least chosen riders like Chavanel, Roy, Turgot and Gallopin, with Coquard instead of either Bouhanni or Demare as a leadout/reserve sprinter. France might have a cohesive team then, but with the team listed, chances are Demare will have the FDJ guys leading him out on one side and Bouhanni will have the Cofidis guys leading him out on the other. If these two cause a crash sprinting against each other (which they will almost certainly do) the French selectors only have themselves to blame.[/quote]

I agree with one thing : it's a risky move, because you chose a team able to deliver a strong lead-out duty instead of a team who can control breaks (Great Britain and Norway will probably be those teams). Belgium and Netherlands have the teams to throw bananas all the way to the finish line. Especially Belgium.

I actually like those various tactics.

 

[RedheadDane]

My initial reaction seeing the French team:
Good luck with that!

Seriously, do they honestly expect that's gonna work? Well... guess we can't say they aren't optimistic.

 

[kottila]

Das BDR-Aufgebot:
John Degenkolb (Frankfurt/Giant-Alpecin)
André Greipel (Hürth/Lotto-Soudal)
Marcel Kittel (Erfurt/Etixx-Quick Step)
Tony Martin (Kreuzlingen/Etixx-Quick Step)*
Nils Politt (Hürth/Katusha)*
Marcel Sieberg (Bocholt/Lotto-Soudal)
Jasha Sütterlin (Freiburg/Movistar)*

Starred riders are also riding the ITT

 

[Alexandre B.]

Looks like the German book isn't more clear than the French one.

 

[Samamba]

What a surprise. They don't have the balls to leave Kittel at home.

 

[Billie]

Who's reserve? Sieberg broke his clavicle Saturday but still hopes to make it cause it's a clean fracture

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

What a surprise. They don't have the balls to leave Kittel at home.

Greipel is the designated leader though, which is a good thing.

 

[kottila]

There's seven names on the list and they only have six places for the RR and two for the ITT, so I gudss the reserve is on there. German readers should translate this http://www.rad-net.de/nachrichten/bdr-faehrt-mit-greipel-und-kittel-zur-wm;n_40231.html

 

[Billie]

Quick translation of the important parts:

Greipel is leader while Kittel is the joker. "This leaves us more tactical variance" says Udo Sprenger (vice-president of the BDR).

Andre Greipel is happy. "I thank those responsible for the faith in giving me the leadership role. With only 6 riders we are not in the favorite role, though if it goes our way we'll have a very good chance."

Then the 7 names and that they only have 6 places for the RR and 2 for the TT so one name must fall off for both events.

 

[PremierAndrew]

If they were able to convince Kittel to leadout Greipel should they be together, it's a sensible decision, as Kittel is obviously a better back up plan than Degenkolb should Griepel puncture/crash/get caught out in the echelons. But something tells me Kittel will end up riding for himself

 

[hrotha]

I'm curious as to what "tactical variance" bringing Kittel allows. Unless they count "Greipel crashing out or puncturing at the worst moment" as a tactic, I'm not seeing it.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Re:

I'm curious as to what "tactical variance" bringing Kittel allows. Unless they count "Greipel crashing out or puncturing at the worst moment" as a tactic, I'm not seeing it.

The race being a crawl for the first 200 km ? Yep unlikely. I think it's questionable whether Greipel will be there at the end either whereas Degenkolb could be a major contender

 

[MADRAZO]

Really makes no sence to bring Kittel if he is not the leader for a potential big bunch print. When bringing both him and Greipel they should ride for Kittel in the case that he is there in the end as he is clearly the fastest, and then have Greipel as plan B if Kittel is dropped, and then Degenkolb as plan C if both are dropped. If not trusting Kittels ability to sprint after a long potentially hard race, they should have just taken a solid leadout guy like Arndt instead. But of course if Kittel wants to do a leadout, he just has to leadout Greipel like he lead out Cavendish so often ind the Tour and then Greipel should win. I also doubt though that Kittel would like to leadout a slower rider if he is there and fells good in the end. Most likely the german team rightfully believes most in Greipels chance to be there in the finale (of the two) and since Greipel only wanted to go if he was clear captain, they have had to declare him that, depite it being a bit illogical.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Really makes no sence to bring Kittel if he is not the leader for a potential big bunch print. When bringing both him and Greipel they should ride for Kittel in the case that he is there in the end as he is clearly the fastest, and then have Greipel as plan B if Kittel is dropped, and then Degenkolb as plan C if both are dropped. If not trusting Kittels ability to sprint after a long potentially hard race, they should have just taken a solid leadout guy like Arndt instead. But of course if Kittel wants to do a leadout, he just has to leadout Greipel like he lead out Cavendish so often ind the Tour and then Greipel should win. I also doubt though that Kittel would like to leadout a slower rider if he is there and fells good in the end. Most likely the german team rightfully believes most in Greipels chance to be there in the finale (of the two) and since Greipel only wanted to go if he was clear captain, they have had to declare him that, depite it being a bit illogical.

It's logical. Kittel has pretty much zero Classics experience.

 

[MADRAZO]

Re: Re:

Really makes no sence to bring Kittel if he is not the leader for a potential big bunch print. When bringing both him and Greipel they should ride for Kittel in the case that he is there in the end as he is clearly the fastest, and then have Greipel as plan B if Kittel is dropped, and then Degenkolb as plan C if both are dropped. If not trusting Kittels ability to sprint after a long potentially hard race, they should have just taken a solid leadout guy like Arndt instead. But of course if Kittel wants to do a leadout, he just has to leadout Greipel like he lead out Cavendish so often ind the Tour and then Greipel should win. I also doubt though that Kittel would like to leadout a slower rider if he is there and fells good in the end. Most likely the german team rightfully believes most in Greipels chance to be there in the finale (of the two) and since Greipel only wanted to go if he was clear captain, they have had to declare him that, depite it being a bit illogical.

It's logical. Kittel has pretty much zero Classics experience.

The logical thing would be not to bring him then. Kittel has one quality only, his sprint. To bring him but intending not to use that, should he be there in the end, makes no sence

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

My initial reaction seeing the French team:
Good luck with that!

Seriously, do they honestly expect that's gonna work? Well... guess we can't say they aren't optimistic.

Just wait for Bouhanni and Demare to take each other out in the sprint - I for one can't wait! :lol:

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Really makes no sence to bring Kittel if he is not the leader for a potential big bunch print. When bringing both him and Greipel they should ride for Kittel in the case that he is there in the end as he is clearly the fastest, and then have Greipel as plan B if Kittel is dropped, and then Degenkolb as plan C if both are dropped. If not trusting Kittels ability to sprint after a long potentially hard race, they should have just taken a solid leadout guy like Arndt instead. But of course if Kittel wants to do a leadout, he just has to leadout Greipel like he lead out Cavendish so often ind the Tour and then Greipel should win. I also doubt though that Kittel would like to leadout a slower rider if he is there and fells good in the end. Most likely the german team rightfully believes most in Greipels chance to be there in the finale (of the two) and since Greipel only wanted to go if he was clear captain, they have had to declare him that, depite it being a bit illogical.

It's logical. Kittel has pretty much zero Classics experience.

The logical thing would be not to bring him then. Kittel has one quality only, his sprint. To bring him but intending not to use that, should he be there in the end, makes no sence

I thought the reason behind choosing Kittel is that if, for some reason, it is a really easy race which is soft pedalled for long periods, you would want to have your fastest sprinter contesting the finish. They probably think it's worth using a place for that scenario, rather than just adding another guy to the leadout - especially when it would be a guy not necessarily used to working with Greipel.

Personally, I think Degenkolb will end up being their leader on the day. There are enough strong teams who will want to break the race early and make it hard, and he's the one rider they have that has proven he can put out a high quality sprint after 250+ km.

 

[MADRAZO]

Re: Re:

[/quote]
I thought the reason behind choosing Kittel is that if, for some reason, it is a really easy race which is soft pedalled for long periods, you would want to have your fastest sprinter contesting the finish. They probably think it's worth using a place for that scenario, rather than just adding another guy to the leadout - especially when it would be a guy not necessarily used to working with Greipel.

Personally, I think Degenkolb will end up being their leader on the day. There are enough strong teams who will want to break the race early and make it hard, and he's the one rider they have that has proven he can put out a high quality sprint after 250+ km.[/quote]

I agree completely. But then labeling Greipel as undisputed teamleader is kind of problematic if we end up getting the easy race where Kittel would be the best option in the sprint. Fine to have both starting but then they should decide leadership on the route and on how fresh Kittel feels in the end if he is there. The reason I think Greipel is appointed leader in advance is simply that he demanded it to start, but the reason that Kittel is there also I think is that the German selectors still know he is the best option in a sprint after a relatively easy race, and therefore theoretically should be the leader, despite them believing more in Greipel (given the big risk Kittel gets dropped). Its doubtful it will be easy and things can easily work themselves out with Kittel getting dropped and maybe Greipel too, but should it be the big sprint, it will be quite interesting to see what they will do and if they will stick with Greipel being the leader then also.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

My initial reaction seeing the French team:
Good luck with that!

Seriously, do they honestly expect that's gonna work? Well... guess we can't say they aren't optimistic.

Just wait for Bouhanni and Demare to take each other out in the sprint - I for one can't wait! :lol:

I dunno if they'll take each other out, but I'm pretty certain they won't be helping each other. My bold prediction is that they'll both end up in the lower part of top-10, or just outside top-10.


(Wouldn't it be fun, though, if the prove us all wrong? Prove that they've matured since they rode on FDJ together... Doesn't seem very likely.)

 

[pylarz]

Polish team:

Men's Elite RR:
Adrian Banaszek
Maciej Bodnar
Karol Domagalski
Łukasz Owsian
Maciej Paterski
Łukasz Wiśniowski

Men's Elite TT:
Marcin Białobłocki
Maciej Bodnar

Women's Elite RR:
Eugenia Bujak
Marta Lach
Katarzyna Niewiadoma
Katarzyna Pawłowska
Anna Plichta
Alicja Ratajczak

Women's Elite TT:
Katarzyna Pawłowska
Anna Plichta

U23 RR:
Alan Banaszek
Przemysław Kasperkiewicz
Szymon Rekita

U23 TT:
Przemysław Kasperkiewicz
Szymon Rekita

Junior Men's RR:
Mikołaj Konieczny
Szymon Krawczyk
Bartosz Rudyk

Junior Women's RR:
Aurela Nerlo
Karolina Perekitko
Wiktoria Pikulik
Nikola Różyńska

Junior Women's TT:
Aurela Nerlo
Wiktoria Pikulik

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

I agree completely. But then labeling Greipel as undisputed teamleader is kind of problematic if we end up getting the easy race where Kittel would be the best option in the sprint. Fine to have both starting but then they should decide leadership on the route and on how fresh Kittel feels in the end if he is there. The reason I think Greipel is appointed leader in advance is simply that he demanded it to start, but the reason that Kittel is there also I think is that the German selectors still know he is the best option in a sprint after a relatively easy race, and therefore theoretically should be the leader, despite them believing more in Greipel (given the big risk Kittel gets dropped). Its doubtful it will be easy and things can easily work themselves out with Kittel getting dropped and maybe Greipel too, but should it be the big sprint, it will be quite interesting to see what they will do and if they will stick with Greipel being the leader then also.

Yep, it is a bit of a strange decision declaring Greipel as leader already. I guess if it comes down to it and both Kittel and Greipel are left at the end, then one of them (probably Kittel) will just latch onto a different train and they will both sprint for it independently. Not the worst option and probably gives them as much chance of a medal (or perhaps even two!) as just adding another man in the leadout for Greipel.

Degenkolb is the other interesting one. Even if the race is relatively easy and soft pedalled, it will still be six hours in the saddle in very hot weather. Under those conditions it's not impossible that Degenkolb could put out the fastest sprint of the three of them. It would seem a waste to have him just doing the leadout.

 

[yaco]

Qatar gets unlucky with the weather and the race will be a crap shoot - I've already seen riders struggle to ride 150km in the heat - Add an extra 100kms and it's tough.

 

[carolina]

Portugal:

Elite RR: José Gonçalves (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Sérgio Paulinho (Tinkoff)
Elite ITT: Nelson Oliveira (Movistar)

U23 RR: César Martingil (Liberty Seguros/Carglass), Ivo Oliveira (Liberty Seguros/Carglass) and Nuno Bico (Klein Constantia)
U23 ITT: Ivo Oliveira (Liberty Seguros/Carglass)

Junior RR: Daniel Viegas (Bairrada), João Almeida (Bairrada) and Pedro Teixeira (ACDC Trofa)
Junior ITT: Daniel Viegas (Bairrada), João Almeida (Bairrada)

 

[deneb]

Italian team:

Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff)
Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani – Csf)
Jacopo Guarnieri (Team Katusha)
Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek - Segafredo)
Daniel Oss (Bmc Racing Team)
Manuel Quinziato (Bmc Racing Team)
Fabio Sabatini (Etixx-Quick Step)
Matteo Trentin (Etixx–Quick Step)
Elia Viviani (Team Sky)

Marco Coledan (Trek - Segafredo) (Reserve)
Filippo Pozzato (Wilier Triestina - Southeast) (Reserve)

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Italian team:

Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff)
Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani – Csf)
Jacopo Guarnieri (Team Katusha)
Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek - Segafredo)
Daniel Oss (Bmc Racing Team)
Manuel Quinziato (Bmc Racing Team)
Fabio Sabatini (Etixx-Quick Step)
Matteo Trentin (Etixx–Quick Step)
Elia Viviani (Team Sky)

Marco Coledan (Trek - Segafredo) (Reserve)
Filippo Pozzato (Wilier Triestina - Southeast) (Reserve)

Pippo gets a nice vacation in Doha.