Tour Of Qatar - 2nd to 7th Feb

[Sum_of_Marc]

I'll give you some guys who are faster than Boasson hagen in qatar

boonen, j.j haedo, ciolek, bennati, haussler, farrar, eisel, napolitano and chicchi

In terms of beating Boasson Hagen

Boonen probably, depends on his mood - but qatar seems to be his goto sprinters race, so yes
Haedo no
Ciolek potentially
Bennati yes, when on form
Haussler perhaps marginally
Farrar yes, should do
Eisel no
Napolitano unlikely
Chicchi no


Qatar should be interesting, the wind can often throw up some surprises - hence why it often benefits those doing the classics later in the season, but also why the route can allow them to sometimes do better than you might expect in such a flat stage.

It does look like Sky will be going for the TTT, but Im sure they wont be the only ones

 

[Anonymous]

Haussler perhaps marginally

I think Haussler v EbH would be amazing to watch. Id pay to see that.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

It does look like Sky will be going for the TTT, but Im sure they wont be the only ones

I bet Garmin puts quite a TTT team together

 

[auscyclefan94]

I didnt deny being biased...

Did i get the date wrong.. sorry.. its roughly right..

And whats all this about the tour of britain. I dont claim that the ToB is one of the leading races in the calendar, and i dont particularly get upset when you diss it. Thats your perogative (do they show the ToB in australia?), I would however say that the ToB is more fiercely contested than the Tour Down Under, and as such is probably a better race. at least there is some variation.

so first you said six, now you said two.. any minute you going to be saying EbH is the fastest..

like i say, im biased, but i also have a better knowledge of the lesser riders on the Sky team than i do of the lessar riders on other teams, so therefore i judge that the combination of Wiggins, Thomas, and their track experience, along with Stannard, and Downing (who proved down under how good a lead out he could start) that those for riders will produce a very good leadout for sky and as such its a very strong team and therefore EbH could do very very well.. Same as youre knowledge of australian riders is better than your knowledge of other riders so you are going to comment on that..

Stop getting so antsy...

Anyway, we will find out in a week or so, im sure I will eat my words with as much relish as you will. Its only opinion, stop getting in a paddy

where did I say 6 ? Yes I have seen the ToB before and saw last years edition. based on entertaining racing I would definetly go Tdu!

I understand what your saying. I was having a bit of fun with you on the biased part. Please explain about what those phrases are in bold?

On another topic dim, do you follow the tennis much? if Murray loses the Aus Open will he be a scot or a brit?

 

[auscyclefan94]

In terms of beating Boasson Hagen

Boonen probably, depends on his mood - but qatar seems to be his goto sprinters race, so yes
Haedo no
Ciolek potentially
Bennati yes, when on form
Haussler perhaps marginally
Farrar yes, should do
Eisel no
Napolitano unlikely
Chicchi no


Qatar should be interesting, the wind can often throw up some surprises - hence why it often benefits those doing the classics later in the season, but also why the route can allow them to sometimes do better than you might expect in such a flat stage.

It does look like Sky will be going for the TTT, but Im sure they wont be the only ones

Boonen - yes
haedo - probably not on 2nd thoughts
ciolek - definetly
bennati - yes
haussler - yes
Farrar - yes
Eisel - maybe
napolitano - maybe
chicchi - probably not on 2nd thoughts

i think if ciolek has decent form and milram can get their leadout right then ciolek has a very good chance to get a few stage wins and possibly overall. is their time bonuses?

 

[Anonymous]

On another topic dim, do you follow the tennis much? if Murray loses the Aus Open will he be a scot or a brit?

If he wins he will be a brit, if he loses a scot, at least in the eyes of the english press..

As one of scottish/irish heritige who spent over half his life in the celtic count(r)y of cornwall, i dont consider myself english anyway. For me win or lose, hes a Scot.. and the english and the press dont like him anyway..

 

[craig1985]

If he wins he will be a brit, if he loses a scot, at least in the eyes of the english press..

As one of scottish/irish heritige who spent over half his life in the celtic count(r)y of cornwall, i dont consider myself english anyway. For me win or lose, hes a Scot.. and the english and the press dont like him anyway..

Cornwall eh? Do they still use horse and cart there? As for this race, Boonen surely has to be the favourite, he loves this race. Also, IIRC, stage 5 will be the stage dedicated to Frederiek Nolf.

 

[stefrees]

the great thing about a new season is we'll see what happens! both being a year older, ciolek and ebh could be faster than last year.

ps im english and want murray to win, cant stand federer either

 

[Mellow Velo]

Dim: Just a point. I know you can't alter the thread title, but your dates are off.
Qatar is 07.02.2010 to 12.02.2010.
I got worried when I checked Eurosport's schedules and they were blank.
Anyhow, it mostly on ES 2, cos of the girlie tennis needing 6 hours or so coverage a day.

The Tour of Qatar = Rust in the Dust.
Not even a King of the Sand Dune competition, never mind mountains.
Where an Adelaide speed bump looks like Mount Everest.
Pray for wind........

 

[Anonymous]

Dim: Just a point. I know you can't alter the thread title, but your dates are off.
Qatar is 07.02.2010 to 12.02.2010.
I got worried when I checked Eurosport's schedules and they were blank.
Anyhow, it mostly on ES 2, cos of the girlie tennis needing 6 hours or so coverage a day.

i know.. i got 7-12 muddled up and ended up with 2-7, for some reason i was convinced qatar started on monday (which is why i started the thread, i wouldnt normally start a thread a week before a race)..

I think the fact that the OP cant change the thread title is stupid.

Girls tennis.. well at least thats something to look at in the adverts.

Cornwall eh? Do they still use horse and cart there?

In some areas yes, they also practice witchcraft, have incestous births, and scavenge treasure from sinking ships.

 

[St. Elia]

None of the early season races mean much built I'm hoping the tour of Oman will be more interesting. More hills then Qatar (not hard to do) but they missed all the really big ones, too early in the season I guess. Still it will be more interesting as pure sprinters should have a hard time wining it.

And dim you gt the dates wrong

http://www.tourofoman.omhttp://www.tourofoman.om

 

[maltiv]

I'll give you some guys who are faster than Boasson hagen in qatar

boonen, j.j haedo, ciolek, bennati, haussler, farrar, eisel, napolitano and chicchi

I'd agree with you if you remove everyone from that list except from Farrar.

 

[Anonymous]

And dim you gt the dates wrong

Yes i know.. If a mod can create a new thread, and then merge the threads together retaining the original title that will fix it.

 

[blaxland]

I think Haussler v EbH would be amazing to watch. Id pay to see that.

Darn straight ....what a battle................

 

[zapata]

I'll give you some guys who are faster than Boasson hagen in qatar

boonen, j.j haedo, ciolek, bennati, haussler, farrar, eisel, napolitano and chicchi

1. Boonen at his best should beat Boasson. 2. Haedo, don't think so. 3. Bennati should also be faster than boasson, normally. Last year he seemed to be sick or injured the year round, but really he's probably one of the fastest sprinters who is not cavendish. 4. Haussler, maybe, maybe not. Would be interesting to se haussler vs boasson, neither one being a pure sprinter.
5. Farrar probably. 6. eisel, no. 7. napolitano, no. 8. Chicchi, no. Although he was once rumoured to be faster than petacchi in training.

edit: forgot ciolek. I don't know what to make of him? One stage in the vuelta last year, nothing else? I think he's probably very talented, but don't know if he's delivered his full potential yet. I guess I'll rank him as about equal to haussler.

 

[taiwan]

Does anyone think Theo Bos might do anything? What role might he play? Seems strange to have him as part of Haussler's train, with Haussler not being primarily a sprinter. Also wasn't it rumoured that he left Rabobank because they wouldn't give him a train? The race is pan flat, he's got some experience now, other riders have responded well to moving to that team. Not the first time I've brought this up, but it'll be interesting to see him, among others, in this race.

 

[zapata]

Does anyone think Theo Bos might do anything? What role might he play? Seems strange to have him as part of Haussler's train, with Haussler not being primarily a sprinter. Also wasn't it rumoured that he left Rabobank because they wouldn't give him a train? The race is pan flat, he's got some experience now, other riders have responded well to moving to that team. Not the first time I've brought this up, but it'll be interesting to see him, among others, in this race.

Agree, I'm intrigued to see what he might do. In the sprint he should be very fast, and with the stages all flat and relatively short, it may be a good race for him.

 

[Buninyong Bunny]

I can't figure out why Bonnen always attacks this race as much as he does, but his dominance is well known. I wonder if the TTT to start will kill off the race, with Team Sky holding the ability to anoint the winner. I guess when we know the whole Quick Step team we will know for sure if this is still a target or not. As for Theo Bos he still seems to be learning the act of road sprinting, but this would be the idea race for he to go for; maybe Cervelo are just playing with us?

 

[Credive]

Boonen - yes
haedo - probably not on 2nd thoughts
ciolek - definetly
bennati - yes
haussler - yes
Farrar - yes
Eisel - maybe
napolitano - maybe
chicchi - probably not on 2nd thoughts

Ciolek managed to get a stage in the vuelta, impressive on champs elysees, 2008. Anything else since his u23 WC victory?
bennati - Might be the number 1 sprinter or completly anonymous as 2009
napolitano - Did anyone watch ToB last year?

I predict the sprints will be dominated by Boonen and Farrar

 

[sublimit]

if its a long grueling stage then Tyler F v EBH and maybe Hausller could surprise them by going a long way out.

an easier stage then Tyler Farrar every day.