Tour of the Basque Country 2012

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Glad I was wrong about that "false flat" Samu and Purito went IN.

Looks like today's TT features the same steep hill as yesterday ....again towards the end. That could make for some surprises.

 

[search]

Well luckily the parcours isn't a typical TT.

yeah, I already took that into account, otherwise it would be even worse

 

[theyoungest]

Well luckily the parcours isn't a typical TT.

But even in mountain TTs Kiserlovski kind of sucks.

Rodriguez might even hold on to a podium spot, which is good. I hate these races where, as someone said before, some TTers who haven't shown their face for a week suddenly make their way to the podium (like Gesink in Pais Vasco last year )

 

[Trofinios]

I got a feeling that Nordhaug could do well on todays course, pushing a good tempo on the short climbs and not losing that much on the more flat sections. Maybe it was indication in CI that his time-trialing is improving when he finished 16th on the short TT.

 

[manafana]

Todays final stage of tour of Basque

Stage 6 - Tour of Basques

Its a challenging tt yet the form should stay true.


One again im going big and i dont mind two big bets on the tt matchebts, two 4/7s Sam sanchez such a talented lad, can ride solid tt, kiserlovski will no doubt be tired from todays antics up the road, nordhaug broke free of henao he is doing well in the colder weather with his allergies under control.

10pts Sam Sanchez to beat Kiserlovski 4/7 BetVictor
10pts Nordhuag to beat Henao 4/7 BetVictor

5pts The Field v T.martin 2/1 VC Bet

Tony Martin has said he is not sure about this tt he has done bit recon, their are some crazy hills at start and finish, it may also rain making things more tricky, his head might not be in this as he see's other races as more important targets for him. He should not even be odds on favourite this is a 2/1 bet on something that shouldnt be more than evens
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[Ryo Hazuki]

That's the first time I've heard anyone say that TBH, and I haven't noticed it myself.

did you open your eyes today? purito already dropped in that small downhil with samu. it's common knowledge he sucks in downhils

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I got a feeling that Nordhaug could do well on todays course, pushing a good tempo on the short climbs and not losing that much on the more flat sections. Maybe it was indication in CI that his time-trialing is improving when he finished 16th on the short TT.

yes he's a pretty good itt rider but I don't know about how well he downhils and steers

 

[MADRAZO]

Todays final stage of tour of Basque

Stage 6 - Tour of Basques

Its a challenging tt yet the form should stay true.

One again im going big and i dont mind two big bets on the tt matchebts, two 4/7s Sam sanchez such a talented lad, can ride solid tt, kiserlovski will no doubt be tired from todays antics up the road, nordhaug broke free of henao he is doing well in the colder weather with his allergies under control.

10pts Sam Sanchez to beat Kiserlovski 4/7 BetVictor
10pts Nordhuag to beat Henao 4/7 BetVictor

5pts The Field v T.martin 2/1 VC Bet

Tony Martin has said he is not sure about this tt he has done bit recon, their are some crazy hills at start and finish, it may also rain making things more tricky, his head might not be in this as he see's other races as more important targets for him. He should not even be odds on favourite this is a 2/1 bet on something that shouldnt be more than evens
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God I miss my betvictor acount. Their compiler must be the worst cycling compiler for many years. Too bad acounts will be closed quickly when you win.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

what do you guys think about scarponi? this course couldn't be any better for him. especially in the rain now and he's pretty good itt too

 

[Cancellator]

Maybe Horner can move up a few places. Go papy!

 

[Trofinios]

what do you guys think about scarponi? this course couldn't be any better for him. especially in the rain now and he's pretty good itt too

I think Scarponi has a decent shot at the podium. He won't reach Sanchez and Martin will probably surpass him, but then there is fight for the 3rd spot, and Scarponi is imo one of the riders along JVDB, Horner, Kiryienka, Costa, and maybe J-Rod, that will challange for that spot. Scarponi should be highly motivated for a good result considering his somewhat lackluster performance in T-A.

 

[manafana]

God I miss my betvictor acount. Their compiler must be the worst cycling compiler for many years. Too bad acounts will be closed quickly when you win.

yeah seems come with one sided matches then price them 4/7 5/4.

 

[Trofinios]

Easy...it does not look

I guess one shouldn't always make predictions without a good knowledge of the course. Compare the above profile with the official one:

Tough beginning, Martin could struggle finding a rytm on this course.

Seems like it could be a really interesting TT with small time differences for a podium place.

 

[cineteq]

The course doesn't seem ideal for pure a time-trialier, so I doubt Rogers, who is 2 minutes behind J-Rod, will reach a top 10 position for GC. Horner is in 10th position now, 44 seconds behind.

@mickrogers
Wow, I've never seen a TT course like that before #technical #paisvasco

 

[wirral]

Looks like that final climb is at 16.5 km is another 400m at about 10% as well.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Any predictions for the winning time?
I say maybe 26:25 Average ca 43km/h
Or might it even be slower?

 

[Eyeballs Out]

I think whatever happens today you can probably ignore the result for future reference. Throw in the non-typical course with the weather and surprises are inevitable. Choice of equipment is going to be key (will they be on road bikes ?)

For a TT though it should be entertaining for a change and the time splits will be weird

 

[Marco Pantani]

Well the way i see it, Martin has 13 flat kms to turn things around. And that won't be enough to take a minute out of Rodriguez or Sanchez.

I'm not counting out Rodriguez for the overall vcitory, but to me, the most likely outcome would be...

1.Sanchez
2.Rodriguez
3.Martin

The way for VdB onto the podium should be too long.

 

[cineteq]

Pinotti is reporting that Tony crashed during recon...still a rumor though

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Pinotti is reporting that Tony crashed during recon...still a rumor though

That would be crap! I was looking forward to seeing what he could do on this track.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Pinotti is reporting that Tony crashed during recon...still a rumor though

Damn. However, i don't think it is something serious. Cause on his homepgae he writes about his course inspection this morning. He doesn't mention anything there about a crash, though. so maybe it wasn't too bad.

 

[FF'Wilco]

From Pinotti's twitter:

Marco Pinotti ‏ @marcopinotti
Reco of the TT in #paysvasco. Hard to remember such a hard&nasty start of TT. Rumours that Tony Martin has crashed during his reco.

 

[Trofinios]

@mickrogers
Wow, I've never seen a TT course like that before #technical #paisvasco

There you have it. Very hard to predict today. The middle section where riders like Martin and Rogers should gain some time isn't that long, 8-9k.

Short steep climbs, technical, best suited for Sanchez and Scarponi?

 

[cineteq]

The more recon reports I see, the more I want to see this TT...
THIS COULD TURN OUT TO BE THE QUEEN STAGE!!!!!

 

[Kvinto]

Isn't Michalel Rogers a technical tter himself?