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How many WT riders were at the start? Cheap points, but yes.. still points (for others).
Toughest part of the seasonNow we go into a deep meditative state for 2 weeks.
Time to start working on that 2023 teamNow we go into a deep meditative state for 2 weeks.
Or maybe create a second team that you run on the side. I think I will do one with a strategy that I discarded, Evenepoel, van Aert and maybe even Pogacar, a few others and 25 zero pointers...Time to start working on that 2023 team
Oh phew! Much better. What in the world had me internalize that incorrect fact? Well, last rider on my team, I guess I got 'teams to be suspect about' vibes and short-circuited something.Good thing for you that he isn't riding for Lotto then
Too bad it's DSM instead.
Rank | Team | Points |
1 | Eyeballs Out | 150 |
1 | Nakazar | 150 |
3 | DJ Sprtsch | 112 |
3 | shalgo | 112 |
Rank | Team | Total |
1 | Eyeballs Out | 40 |
1 | Nakazar | 40 |
3 | DJ Sprtsch | 28 |
3 | shalgo | 28 |
Speaking of Lotto, one factor I did not consider is the fight for points amongst the less successful teams whose WT licence could be under threat. Could play in to my favour with some riders as both Kron and Vermeersch look like their schedules include lower ranked races this year, where they might have a greater chance of success. Beginning to wish I hadn't opted against Ivan Sosa or Muhlberger now, as Movistar might employ similar tactics?
You were joint first a week agoJoint 5th is the highest placing I have achieved yet.
Clement Berthet (114, 2) – I always like the potential of a ‘switch to road cycling’ experiment, whether it’s from another sport (Roglic, Woods, Evenepoel) or from another discipline (Evans, MvdP, all the trackies and crossers, too many to list). But that also comes with some uncertainty – Bora’s various experiments over the past couple of years haven’t borne fruit, and guys like, say, Ondrej Cink dipped in and out pretty quickly. Berthet was someone who I figured had done enough in his first year since switching from MTB to show that he had a solid baseline and wouldn’t flame out. He got some respectable placings early in the season, then several more after switching from the troubled Delko to Ag2r’s setup in August. His highest result wasn’t anything to shoot fireworks off about (14th in Poland), but it was at the only WT race he did. On top of that, he finished every race except Turkey and a small 1.1 race, and made it to the end of a bunch of late-season one-day races in groups that were respectable enough to be a few minutes behind the leaders but not enough to up his CQ price. Keep that consistency and up the level a bit as he becomes more accustomed to the peloton, and I’m hopeful of a 300+ point campaign, which I’d be happy with.
There are so many interesting French prospects coming through with mountain bike backgrounds.
Clément Berthet - OK for me he was not a super standout in MTB: Good but not exceptional. Anyway, allegedly he has some very impressive physical numbers and when he went on camp with Delko on La Plagne , he was pretty much the best uphill immediately according to his agent, Le Mevel! As a consequence, they signed him on a 4-year deal. He broke his collarbone in Turkey, but as you said a very decent first-year on the road and I think he can develop further in 2022 - Interesting profile.
Axel Zingle - I already wrote about him above in some posts, but I forgot to add that when he won his bronze medal at the junior European MTB championships back in 2016 he came on the radar for many. In 2018 after he won silver at the U23 MTB French champs, Rod Ellingworth contacted him and invited him to a small internship with SKY, so this is a kid that has been monitored by the biggest teams in the world. Finally some good vision from Cofidis in signing him. -
Victor Koretzky - By far the best MTB rider of this group, let's see if that also translates to the road, as he in all honesty is a bit older than the others on this list. Junior world MTB champ and U23 silver medalist at the Euros among his many merits. I swear I haven't even noticed he sign a contract with B@B - but the statement about him reads and I quote - Victor is of the caliber of Van Der Poel or Pidcock , ha.ha . Pineau'ss troops are certainly not modest, I say less could do, but OK he will be interesting to follow as well.
Finally, Clement Champoussin was a really good MTB rider as a junior, --- junior French Champ in 2016, and 5th at the Euro Championships. Can he continue his growth from 2021? Besides O'Connor, he is probably AG2R strongest card for stages-races in 2022.
There’s live coverage (youtube). Link in the general news thread!I don't know if the 2.2 Classica Valencia 1969 race is televised, but if so Sunday
That's great news that this 2.2 race is going to be broadcast! A nice appetizer.
The startlist is up on PCS as well - folks might wanna check it out as there are several ProTeams there, like TotalEnergies, Caja Rural, Bardiani, Eolo, Arkea, etc. I've got a rare rider in Iuri Leitao, 15 big points up for grabs!
And heck, while we're at it, startlists are up for Mallorca as well, so might as well start taking a look at the European racing ahead!
I've got:
Ivan Sosa
Jai Hindley
Cian Uijtdebroeks
Matthew Walls
Carl Fredrik Hagen
Amund Jansen
Kaden Groves
Antonio Tiberi
Iuri Leitao
Sacha Modolo
Hmm, a mixed bag. I'd be happy to see some top 10s on the flatter races from Walls, Modolo and Leitao... not sure if Groves is still just a stage sprinter or if he can contest the one days yet. Sosa could feature in the hilly ones if he's in some form, and Jansen and Tiberi can sometimes make selections depending on the race. Not expecting anything from Hagen and Hindley, and very curious to see whether Cian does anything in his pro debut.
They've got startlist up for Marseillaise as well it looks like, though at a glance I don't have anyone. Well, slow start to the season!