Tour de Suisse (2.UWT), 9-17 June 2018

[Jagartrott]

Stage 6 is very weird. Furka is a very nice pass, almost 17 km with mostly fair gradients but a steep section towards the end and a very challenging descent on that side. You can make such a nice stage in that area: Gotthard (2100 m), Nufenen (2500 m), Furka (2450 m), finish in Realp. That would really kick ass - short, 3 2000m+ passes and hardly any valley.

 

[Sestriere]

Can Sunweb challenge BMC?

 

[tobydawq]

Absolute crap TTT by Astana!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Absolute crap TTT by Astana!

Absolute dogshit

 

[Cance > TheRest]

When you look at the startlist it's not a huge surprise though. Fuglsang is pretty much the best TT'er on the team, and his TT has been very mediocre in the last years.

 

[tobydawq]

But 51 seconds back with Nippo as the only team doing worse and being reduced to four man after no time?

That was horrible.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I really, really dislike Brian Nygaard.

BMC are really smashing it. BMC vs Sky in Tour?

 

[Netserk]

Re:

I really, really dislike Brian Nygaard.

BMC are really smashing it. BMC vs Sky in Tour?

Aye, he is such a blowhard. Rolf & Ritter don't need any supplement (I only heard the Dauphiné coverage).

 

[Jagartrott]

Küng is pretty much a truck. A very fast one. Taking km long pulls.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

B M C
Smoked it

 

[Valv.Piti]

Without Rohan Dennis... aight.

Scary! Porte has pretty much already won the race. Very predictable Suisse and Dauphine this year.

 

[tobydawq]

I wonder why the organisers don't get the glaring problems with TTTs.

Two weeks of GC racing in June down the drain.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

I wonder why the organisers don't get the glaring problems with TTTs.

Two weeks of GC racing in June down the drain.

They are not necessarily problematic if the route can compensate for the losses endured in the TTT. I agree this year's Tour de Suisse route is very bad in that regard, but I think Dauphiné had (still has) potential. It's just that Thomas is climbing surprisingly well there.

 

[luckyboy]

Congrats Richie Porte for the overall win!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

I wonder why the organisers don't get the glaring problems with TTTs.

Two weeks of GC racing in June down the drain.

They are not necessarily problematic if the route can compensate for the losses endured in the TTT. I agree this year's Tour de Suisse route is very bad in that regard, but I think Dauphiné had (still has) potential. It's just that Thomas is climbing surprisingly well there.

It is always problematic. The GC rider with the best team gets an extra 'free' minute or so, on top of being better surrounded the rest of the stages. As if riding for such a team wasn't beneficial enough as GC rider. The fact that it is possible to take back some time in other stages doesn't change that fact.

 

[Vasilis]

Re: Re:

I wonder why the organisers don't get the glaring problems with TTTs.

Two weeks of GC racing in June down the drain.

They are not necessarily problematic if the route can compensate for the losses endured in the TTT. I agree this year's Tour de Suisse route is very bad in that regard, but I think Dauphiné had (still has) potential. It's just that Thomas is climbing surprisingly well there.

It is always problematic. The GC rider with the best team gets an extra 'free' minute or so, on top of being better surrounded the rest of the stages. As if riding for such a team wasn't beneficial enough as GC rider. The fact that it is possible to take back some time in other stages doesn't change that fact.

Having a good TT team doesn't necessarily mean having a good mountain team. BMC basically only have an actual climber in De Marchi after their leaders van Garderen and Porte.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

I wonder why the organisers don't get the glaring problems with TTTs.

Two weeks of GC racing in June down the drain.

They are not necessarily problematic if the route can compensate for the losses endured in the TTT. I agree this year's Tour de Suisse route is very bad in that regard, but I think Dauphiné had (still has) potential. It's just that Thomas is climbing surprisingly well there.

It is always problematic. The GC rider with the best team gets an extra 'free' minute or so, on top of being better surrounded the rest of the stages. As if riding for such a team wasn't beneficial enough as GC rider. The fact that it is possible to take back some time in other stages doesn't change that fact.

Exactly. A rider can gain time because of factors 100% unrelated to his own abilities. They are always problematic

 

[Forever The Best]

What a bad route.
Stage 6 resembles the Grossglockner stages of Österreich Rundfahrt from the previous years and Klausenpass is the only hope of a good race and it can be good in right place but probably no one will attack because of stage 7 MTF the next day and they won't gain enough time on stage 7, wasting the Klausenpass.
And almost 20 kms of TTT, ugh.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Didn’t get to watch today, but read somewhere Astana was down to 4 pretty early, with only Kangert, Cort and Gatto able to keep up?

They must hope Valgren and Cataldo can help right the TTT ship at the Tour, because otherwise that is a real problem...... the TTT at the Tour is twice as long.

 

[Koronin]

So BMC's A team (minus Denis) put over a minute into Sky's B team while Sky's A team put about 35 seconds into BMC's B/C team. Interesting.

Good signs for Movistar with their TTT here. Also good signs from Bahrain in this TTT.

As for a TTT in a one week race, yes most of the time it does determine the outcome of the GC. However, remember last year's Catalonia. Movistar was given a 1 minute time penalty and Valverde ended up putting on a cycling clinic to win the Overall with Contador and Soler rounding out that podium.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

So BMC's A team (minus Denis) put over a minute into Sky's B team while Sky's A team put about 35 seconds into BMC's B/C team. Interesting.

Good signs for Movistar with their TTT here. Also good signs from Bahrain in this TTT.

As for a TTT in a one week race, yes most of the time it does determine the outcome of the GC. However, remember last year's Catalonia. Movistar was given a 1 minute time penalty and Valverde ended up putting on a cycling clinic to win the Overall with Contador and Soler rounding out that podium.

Yeah, and even after penalties, Valverde, Contador and Soler were in the top 4 of the TTT, and only 2 teams finished within a minute of the winner. Movistar got a 1 minute penalty, and still finished 3rd, the TTT was that long.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

So BMC's A team (minus Denis) put over a minute into Sky's B team while Sky's A team put about 35 seconds into BMC's B/C team. Interesting.

Good signs for Movistar with their TTT here. Also good signs from Bahrain in this TTT.

As for a TTT in a one week race, yes most of the time it does determine the outcome of the GC. However, remember last year's Catalonia. Movistar was given a 1 minute time penalty and Valverde ended up putting on a cycling clinic to win the Overall with Contador and Soler rounding out that podium.

Yeah, and even after penalties, Valverde, Contador and Soler were in the top 4 of the TTT, and only 2 teams finished within a minute of the winner. Movistar got a 1 minute penalty, and still finished 3rd, the TTT was that long.

True, but it still proves in certain situations a rider or several riders can make up a gap they lost in the TTT.

 

[May0maniac]

Bahrain did a pretty decent TTT, I guess their full A team will be able to limit their losses in the TTT.
Today the had Pernsteiner, a 54kg climber with a MTB background who's has very little experience in flat TTs (and TTs overall) and a neopro like Padun, who's really strong, but he never really was a TT specialist, their best possible team should be better than this.

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

Pretty big confidence boost for Richie today. BMC are solid and will keep him in the race at the Tour. Of course, he won't have the climbers that the other contenders have to help him, but he's used to that at this point.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wow, this is a 2009 level route.