Tirreno - Adriatico: Stage 1, Marina di Carrara - 16.8km, TTT

[jens_attacks]

i didn't know that tirreno is an objective for basso.definitely he's the big favourite now.i also expect di luca to grab a stage win.

the TTT:
1.htc
2.liquigas
3..................

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Tirreno organization made a mistake allready. The presentation with all the big riders was without Gesink. How foolish of them.

Cyclingnews.com followed up by mentioning Gesink twice as 1 of the big names in the Tirreno preview and then Cadel continues by saying Gesink is a favourite for the win. Obviously all the other riders might as well go home because this race has allready been won

Honestly I don't see how Gesink will win this. Rabo will lose in the TTT. They should be satisfied with a top10 I guess and there are no MT finishes. Allthough there are some testing stages I find it hard to predict an overall win by one of the pure climbers.

I really hope those long hilly stages will be fun to watch, but besides that I'm not that positive about this race. I hope I'm wrong though.

Ofcourse they won't win.

And the riders who they ask these questions just name someone in form. They don't really care who the favorites are. They just name some well known riders to get rid of the question.
You here no rider tipping a potential suprise f.ex

 

[auscyclefan94]

Keep pumping up Gesink, D_T.

 

[El Pistolero]

It's a miracle Cancellara even occasionally wins time trials. Apparently he can't take corners, and he can't climb

Obviously I was just kidding about the two Rabo guys beating Cancellara. As usual Dekker_T takes the point way too far.

The poor Rabo boys start first tomorrow, and directly after they've finished their time will get crushed by HTC.

Cancellara has won time trials? No way.

 

[auscyclefan94]

What do they base the start times on?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Keep pumping up Gesink, D_T.

The fun part is, I didn't.

Just said he did defeat Cancelalra in the time trial in Oman, which is a simple fact.
Did not say anything else. Did not say he'll win the tirreno or any of the sort (on the contrary even). Did not say I expect Gesink to be some sort of match to Cancellara in any TT either (again, on the contrary). Did not say anything else which could be considered 'pumping up' someone. That's what YOU usually do before every race with BMC riders in it (Kristoff, Evans, Ballan)

Nice try though

 

[Cobblestoned]

Looking forward to tomorrow.
I love TTT - this shows the whole beauty of the sport.
It's so aesthetic if a team really has skills and has practiced TTT.

And of course the course has to suit a TTT. Not like TdF 2009. That was a joke - at least the first half on some tiny and wrecked roads.
That was a real disappointment.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

This is flatter than flat. Meaning high speeds and thus probably low differences in time.

Still enough to make an impact in a race that IS about seconds...

 

[ak-zaaf]

If he ever performs after 180km that is. Some riders never can.

I'm seriously starting to worry about that =/

 

[whittashau]

Marangoni... I've never even heard of the guy. Their TTT lineup has suffered a bit with the recent transfers.

He's a good TTer. He was 4th in the Italian national championship time trial race last year.

 

[ansimi]

Ofcourse they won't win.

And the riders who they ask these questions just name someone in form. They don't really care who the favorites are. They just name some well known riders to get rid of the question.
You here no rider tipping a potential suprise f.ex

And the riders with some media savvy try to tip a favourite as somebody with the same nationality or language as the journalist or the audience of the media.

 

[Kwibus]

Ofcourse they won't win.

And the riders who they ask these questions just name someone in form. They don't really care who the favorites are. They just name some well known riders to get rid of the question.
You here no rider tipping a potential suprise f.ex

Oh really?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I'm seriously starting to worry about that =/

As long as he keeps thinking cross is a good way to prepare and that 7/8h trainings are no good and that 5h is long enough, he'll keep sucking, I guarantee you that. Boom doesn't like long endurance training, and that's his great weakness.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And the riders with some media savvy try to tip a favourite as somebody with the same nationality or language as the journalist or the audience of the media.

Exactly, like the Schlecks tell Sporza that VDB is the greatest talent and 'his time will come'. And then tell the dutch press that Gesink is the new GT threat, and then tell the Slovaks that Sagan will dominate...

etc etc etc

 

[jens_attacks]

Exactly, like the Schlecks tell Sporza that VDB is the greatest talent and 'his time will come'. And then tell the dutch press that Gesink is the new GT threat, and then tell the Slovaks that Sagan will dominate...

etc etc etc

isn't VDB dead?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

i'm just too lazy to type the 2 or a J (jvdb or vdb2)

 

[Christian]

Exactly, like the Schlecks tell Sporza that VDB is the greatest talent and 'his time will come'. And then tell the dutch press that Gesink is the new GT threat, and then tell the Slovaks that Sagan will dominate...

etc etc etc

lol other dutchies seem to like it though:

hmm interesting. Frank must rate gesink to some degree to name hi a favorite. Yet I've rarely heard baby schleck even acknowledge gesink's existance.

I've also heard they said on Japanese TV that Arashiro would be their biggest rival to TdF dominance

 

[hfer07]

I'm going with a close match between HTC & Liquigas-outsiders I see Garmin & Leopard doing good too.

BTW the start list is top class-damn

 

[Mellow Velo]

Let me see.
Shall I read all of DT's posts about RaboGesink, or go and watch that nice Rai Sport 2, who are currently showing a bit of Tirreno anti-pasto......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

There's nothing to read, I'm not hyping them up. I'm not ACF. Go watch the Rai sport thingie

 

[The Hitch]

HTC going second probably isn't great for them.

Then again in the recent Giro and Vuelta TTTs they went fairly early from memory and it didn't seem to matter. Just means they'll have to go full gas rather than pacing themselves.

Cav said that at the Vuelta tt, their warm up lap, just before the start, was a mere 20 seconds off the time they got when they crossed the line a second time a half hour later.

To put it another way, their warm up time right before the thing, would have got them into 3rd.

So your right they could do it pacing themselves.

 

[Kazistuta]

He's a good TTer. He was 4th in the Italian national championship time trial race last year.

Ehmm...no he wasn't, that was Montaguti.

Marangoni finished 9th - not exactly promising. I would definitely not peg him for a crucial force in the Leakygas TTT team.

 

[cyclingfanatik]

So is this the race where we finally see the long awaited Cav vs Greipel battles start, a preview of the main event saturday week, or do we have to wait for San Remo itself for that?

I doubt it. No way Cav has lost those extra 10kg's by now. He wont do much w/o a perfect HTC train.

 

[c&cfan]

I doubt it. No way Cav has lost those extra 10kg's by now. He wont do much w/o a perfect HTC train.

yes! you are the man! cav never won 2\3 of all his wins without is leadout train right? (2008 and 2010 as the best example. in 2009 he was okay the whole year and didnt had to go all out for it.)

hope that gilbert can take a stage.. and then going easy until the end, so he has the excuse "i raced more" in lombardia. lol

for the GC, i dont know.. almost all of the hard ones are made for gilbert and riders like him. still, i dont know if they have what it takes. that area of cyclists is almost dead.

so.. it depends how fabian is. if he isnt that good, them maybe basso (regularity) nibali (with a win in a breakaway because the pursuiters had basso on their wheel. then suffer until the end.) and maybe evans. he can do it. hard man. gesink also.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Remember how Cav did at Tirreno-Adriatico last year? When he lost 10 minutes on stages won by such noted climbers as Daniele Bennati?

On the one stage he did manage to not disappear off the back of the péloton before the broadcasters went on air he managed to crash.

I will be very, very surprised if he is that poor again though.