The Tour Wild Cards

[theyoungest]

That said Johnny Hoogerland is probably crying right now, bless him. I guess he'll just have to go out and win Amstel then.

That'll make for some emo tv this afternoon, as he's riding Dwars door Vlaanderen...

 

[Moondance]

That'll make for some emo tv this afternoon, as he's riding Dwars door Vlaanderen...

Tiny, tiny tears is what he'll be crying. Look out for them.

I guess he'll at least be motivated to ride hard, something that was absent in Paris-Nice from all of Vacansoleil.

 

[staubsauger]

can't understand why not vacansoleil. they had so a strong team with bozic, hoogerland, felliu and the are always riding agressive and make the race energetic and interesting.

what have katusha shown from this since they're no longer tinkoff???? maybe i'm to patriotic, but in my opinion vacansoleil would have been the better choice. mainly in the giro cause kirchen will do the tdf aren't he?

but don't forget: the conti squads from belgium won't be at the tour, and diquigiovanni won't be too. and maybe even not cervelo AND bmc, cause sastre and evans have their focus on the giro.

so normally i expect vacansoleil to be in france.....

for the locomotive it's sad, no ardenne classics and no giro. thought he would have shown good perfomances there. tdf might more be brice and bozic's race....

 

[Moondance]

can't understand why not vacansoleil. they had so a strong team with bozic, hoogerland, felliu and the are always riding agressive and make the race energetic and interesting.

what have katusha shown from this since they're no longer tinkoff???? maybe i'm to patriotic, but in my opinion vacansoleil would have been the better choice. mainly in the giro cause kirchen will do the tdf aren't he?

but don't forget: the conti squads from belgium won't be at the tour, and diquigiovanni won't be too. and maybe even not cervelo AND bmc, cause sastre and evans have their focus on the giro.

so normally i expect vacansoleil to be in france.....

for the locomotive it's sad, no ardenne classics and no giro. thought he would have shown good perfomances there. tdf might more be brice and bozic's race....

Ummmm.... Ivanov won Amstel last year. They also have Rodriguez, Kolobnev (2nd behind Cadel at WC last year) and Kirchen, all of whom can do very well.

I'd say that they're miles ahead of Vacansoleil in terms of quallity for the hilly classics.

 

[hfer07]

I honestly believe the up coming decision is too precipitated, & the tour organizers should wait at least until the end of April to deliver it. I know they have some teams on paper/agreement to be untouched, but Vacansoleil is currently having the results to be worth considering for an invitation....

 

[TRDean]

I'll be blasted for this but here goes...I predict both Vacansoleil and Skil will be in the Tour...There, I said it...Just seems like something is going on...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Ummmm.... Ivanov won Amstel last year. They also have Rodriguez, Kolobnev (2nd behind Cadel at WC last year) and Kirchen, all of whom can do very well.

I'd say that they're miles ahead of Vacansoleil in terms of quallity for the hilly classics.

Rodríguez was also 3rd at the WC and 2nd at LBL, of course. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Katyusha are probably the team with the largest talent pool for the Ardennes, with those four. Plus Rodríguez has been top 10 in the Vuelta twice despite riding for a teammate, and Kirchen has been top 10 in the Tour twice, and from the looks of Tirreno-Adriatico Ignatiev is adding short, steep hills to his repertoire... yea, as far as the hilly classics and GTs are concerned Katyusha should definitely be recognised as worthy of an invite every time.

 

[theyoungest]

Rodríguez was also 3rd at the WC and 2nd at LBL, of course. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Katyusha are probably the team with the largest talent pool for the Ardennes, with those four. Plus Rodríguez has been top 10 in the Vuelta twice despite riding for a teammate, and Kirchen has been top 10 in the Tour twice, and from the looks of Tirreno-Adriatico Ignatiev is adding short, steep hills to his repertoire... yea, as far as the hilly classics and GTs are concerned Katyusha should definitely be recognised as worthy of an invite every time.

Ignatiev didn't work in the break, and just barely managed to stay ahead on the final climb... he's definitely not one for the Ardennes classics.

But you're right about the others, this is a very strong team for the hills.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

f you to dutch cycling?

i don't think leaving out some dutch pro conti teams from the FW and LBL is a big deal and says nothing about the ASO's treatment of dutch teams.

however, if as some have interpreted, this is an indication that they will be excluded from the tour, i say yes, that is a big f you to the dutch.

seriously, can they go to all of the trouble of organizing the tour start in holland, and then only invite one dutch team, which they are obligated to by contract?

they have to take one of either vacansoleil or skil shimano. my money is on vacansoleil. they will probably not give away a french team's spot, so i am guessing that bmc will not be in. since they have other priorities anyway, this is win win win for everyone.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Ignatiev didn't work in the break, and just barely managed to stay ahead on the final climb... he's definitely not one for the Ardennes classics.

But you're right about the others, this is a very strong team for the hills.

I don't necessarily think that Ignatiev has much chance of winning anything in the Ardennes - but after that display, teams will be much more wary of giving him much rope and may work harder on the front to avoid him getting that kind of gap, which could play into the hands of the other Katyusha riders. He's useful more as a tactical thing than as a genuine contender for victory, but he's still young and if he does add short and steep hills to his repertoire he'll be a terror.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

But how can you select Landbouwkrediet for LBL and Fleche Wallone and not Vacansoleil?

Just look at CQ ranking this and last year and the huge difference between the teams.
Landbouwkrediet does not deserve at all to be there

 

[Moondance]

But how can you select Landbouwkrediet for LBL and Fleche Wallone and not Vacansoleil?

Just look at CQ ranking this and last year and the huge difference between the teams.
Landbouwkrediet does not deserve at all to be there

Belgian race, Belgian teams.

Yes, Landbouwkrediet have noone for both races, neither really do Topsport Vlaanderen, but at least it'll keep some extra local flavour. Granted, the local flavour could also have been provided by Leukemans.... But that's a choice the ASO makes, and you can't really fault them for it.

If Saur makes it into le Tour over teams like BMC or Vacansoleil, we might not agree, but at least we can comprehend their reasons for it, and admit they do have a point.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Belgian race, Belgian teams.

Yes, Landbouwkrediet have noone for both races, neither really do Topsport Vlaanderen, but at least it'll keep some extra local flavour. Granted, the local flavour could also have been provided by Leukemans.... But that's a choice the ASO makes, and you can't really fault them for it.

If Saur makes it into le Tour over teams like BMC or Vacansoleil, we might not agree, but at least we can comprehend their reasons for it, and admit they do have a point.

yeah I agree.

Imagine some better teams replacing skil for AGR. Though Skil are unlikely to do anything there, it wouldn't seem right.

 

[theyoungest]

But how can you select Landbouwkrediet for LBL and Fleche Wallone and not Vacansoleil?

Just look at CQ ranking this and last year and the huge difference between the teams.
Landbouwkrediet does not deserve at all to be there

I say: Leo van Vliet, scrap the Amstel Gold invite for Landbouwkrediet and Topsport Vlaanderen. Let's have Van Vliet-Elshof and Jo Piels there!

(ok, they're continental teams, but still)

 

[Michele]

But how can you select Landbouwkrediet for LBL and Fleche Wallone and not Vacansoleil?

Just look at CQ ranking this and last year and the huge difference between the teams.
Landbouwkrediet does not deserve at all to be there

Probably it means Vacansoleil and Skil won't be invited at next Tour?
Vacansoleil has got a wild card for Giro...

 

[ak-zaaf]

Vacansoleil has got a wild card for Giro...

No, they don't. Even the start in Holland wasn't enough for a second Dutch team.
I for one am all about Italians in the Giro, so I don't really care. The Tour isn't as French as the Giro is Italian so I hope VAC gets an invite for that.

 

[dolophonic]

They should get invited to something...!

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

They should get invited to something...!

Maybe ASO plan to invite them to the tour, and as a result don't feel obliged to invite them at other races. I mean there are a lot of quality teams wanting wild cards, they can't please everyone.

 

[Michele]

No, they don't.

I donno why I was sure they were.

 

[Francois the Postman]

Maybe ASO plan to invite them to the tour, and as a result don't feel obliged to invite them at other races. I mean there are a lot of quality teams wanting wild cards, they can't please everyone.

Yeah, I saw it also as a sign that they were still in with a shot, for that very reason.

I find it very hard to believe that Vacansoleil would be snubbed for both the Tour and these "secondary" prized invites, given how little controversy there would be to ditch one of the other minor teams on the list for the classics.

I'm ready to eat my hat, but if Vacansoleil hasn't made too much noise about this, they might have been given the hint of an "explanation" behind closed doors.

If not, and they get neither, given the amount of sponsorship money that has gone too ASO, and their attitude and results in the early season.. wow.

I presume all that would then add up to having to settle for the Vuelta in the Autumn as the consolation prize. Given how they pretty much made most of those stages worth watching from very far out, and should be an automatic based on that alone.... getting stuffed with "just" that would be a colossal snub, and probably the end of Vacansoleil's prominent financial support for ASO races throughout the year.

So I'm quietly hopeful now. And have a hat and pepper ready, just in case. It is a French organisation after all.

But if they were in, I would expect ASO to keep the others sweet in other places. This fits perfectly in my playbook, so far.

And the Giro isn't a snub, IMO.

 

[Moondance]

Maybe ASO plan to invite them to the tour, and as a result don't feel obliged to invite them at other races. I mean there are a lot of quality teams wanting wild cards, they can't please everyone.

Interesting theory... I think you might be onto something. Give BMC the classics (for which they're most suited for anyway) and let Vac into the Tour.

You just got my hopes up again... Just pray that you haven't raised my expectations for nothing or I'll be ****ed

 

[ak-zaaf]

I'm ready to eat my hat, but if Vacansoleil hasn't made too much noise about this, they might have been given the hint of an "explanation" behind closed doors.

Nope. =/

After missing out on invitations to the Giro d’Italia and the Walloon classics double of la Flèche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Vacansoleil team manager Hilaire Vanderschueren is calling for politicians to step in to make sure that the Dutch team secures a wildcard for July’s Tour de France.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/3577/Vacansoleil-boss-calls-for-political-help-with-tour-wildcard.aspx

 

[Francois the Postman]

Nope. =/


http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/3577/Vacansoleil-boss-calls-for-political-help-with-tour-wildcard.aspx

Reaching for the pepper...

 

[craig1985]

Prudhomme said two teams (he didn't say who) are not going to get an invite because of "sercurity" reasons, so I'm willing to bet 10 euro that one of those teams not invited will be Footon. ASO have blacklisted them so far for all their races.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Interesting theory... I think you might be onto something. Give BMC the classics (for which they're most suited for anyway) and let Vac into the Tour.

You just got my hopes up again... Just pray that you haven't raised my expectations for nothing or I'll be ****ed

haha just don't take it out on me. But surely they can't snub Vasc. for everything. This would be backwards progress, when in reality this team has been moving forward. I mean they have secured more quality riders this season (Felliu brothers), been getting lots of great results and victories, and have even sponsored some ASO races. Not getting any wildcards - especially the Tour - would be very poor form on the ASO's behalf. Let's hope they show some integrity and invite Vasc.

Nope. =/

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/3577/Vacansoleil-boss-calls-for-political-help-with-tour-wildcard.aspx

Not sure this is the greatest approach by Vasc.