Tour Rider Selection and Roles

[Parrulo]

Movistar team:

Alejandro Valverde
Juanjo Cobo
José Joaquín Rojas
Rubén Plaza
Vasil Kiryienka
Iván Gutiérrez
Imanol Erviti
Vladimir Karpets
Rui Costa

so Piti and Cobo for GC and Costa and Rojas for stage wins?

 

[roundabout]

Cobo? What has he done in the last 9 months or so? How the hell did he make the team?

 

[Parrulo]

Cobo? What has he done in the last 9 months or so? How the hell did he make the team?

what had he done with geox prior to the vuelta?

A decent performance in burgos iirc but nothing other then that.

Ofc it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was a complete non factor at the tour

 

[jens_attacks]

well he's targeting the tour in full silence mode
i wonder what menchov did to be selected for le tour....

cobo no doubt he's ready to win the whole thing.vamos bisonte!

 

[roundabout]

what had he done with geox prior to the vuelta?

A decent performance in burgos iirc but nothing other then that.

Ofc it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was a complete non factor at the tour

He finished 3rd or something like that on GC and was second strongest on the MTF (better than Sanchez and Rodriguez).

This year, 10th out of 24 (I think) in the ITT, 3 and a half minutes behind and top 25 in a flat road race in the national championships. That's it. Doesn't exactly scream GC contender.

 

[cineteq]

Cobo? What has he done in the last 9 months or so? How the hell did he make the team?

He's training for La Vuelta...he might as well start doing it at the Tour

what had he done with geox prior to the vuelta?

 

[Duartista]

If Cobo fails to finish, which seems quite likely, David Arroyo will be entitled to feel rather hard done by.

 

[Havetts]

What the ****? Arroyo left out again? First he misses the Giro he wanted to ride, now the Tour. Man, that sucks..

 

[Frosty]

No one if they are smart. Stare down Argos, Sky and Lotto.

If they need to it will be Langeveld, Cooke and Lancaster (took that role for the Giro).

Sprints will be a big priority for GreenEdge so i cant imagine they will want many/any to be missed. Not saying they will be dominating the front or anything but i dont see them wanting to play too many games - they will have one or two men working with the other teams IMO.

 

[Publicus]

Cobo? What has he done in the last 9 months or so? How the hell did he make the team?

A good question. An even better question is why they expect him to build form for the Vuelta at the Tour.

“Apart from Alejandro, we have strong riders like Cobo, back in a grand tour after winning the Vuelta [2011] and into a race he really loves. I think he's coming in good form, I expect him to ride a good Tour and build to defend his title in the Vuelta later this year. Also, riders like Costa or Rojas, who are but progressing every single year and gaining importance inside the squad” said Unzué.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Sprints will be a big priority for GreenEdge so i cant imagine they will want many/any to be missed. Not saying they will be dominating the front or anything but i dont see them wanting to play too many games - they will have one or two men working with the other teams IMO.

Probably. I mean, Goss isn't the top favourite in a flattish sprint, obviously, but he is capable of winning and their personnel dictate that they will back him heavily as their best option. He can also compete in harder sprint stages and they have Gerrans for tougher finishes yet.

About the only tactical option they have which doesn't involve helping to bring the break back every reasonably flat day is trying to put someone in the break and hedging their bets that way. If they managed that it would let them keep their train fresh and, on the off chance the break stays away they have an awful lot of riders who'd be favoured in a breakaway sprint.

Lotto and Sky, with their GC ambitions, will be very pleased to have Orica and Argos in the Tour to do a load of the donkey work. Particularly with Garmin saying in advance that they aren't going to be pulling the peloton for Farrar.

 

[Wilba60]

Probably. I mean, Goss isn't the top favourite in a flattish sprint, obviously, but he is capable of winning and their personnel dictate that they will back him heavily as their best option. He can also compete in harder sprint stages and they have Gerrans for tougher finishes yet.

About the only tactical option they have which doesn't involve helping to bring the break back every reasonably flat day is trying to put someone in the break and hedging their bets that way. If they managed that it would let them keep their train fresh and, on the off chance the break stays away they have an awful lot of riders who'd be favoured in a breakaway sprint.

Lotto and Sky, with their GC ambitions, will be very pleased to have Orica and Argos in the Tour to do a load of the donkey work. Particularly with Garmin saying in advance that they aren't going to be pulling the peloton for Farrar.

Your point about hedging their bets and putting someone in a break is an interesting one. The two main guys to join any breaks would be Albasini and Gerrans but I doubt they would be given much latitude. Maybe O'Grady or Langeveld will try their luck.

 

[Wilba60]

What about Weening, what do others think his role will be during the Tour. His form in the hills of California and Switzerland has been excellent and he is climbing and not losing ground to the best in the mountains. It seems logical that he will be used to get exposure for the team in the mountain stages but would there be any chance they might set him for KOM, or will he try for a stage win in a mountain stage?

If Goss becomes the holder of the green jersey, OGE may need him to do a lot more work on the flat stages which may hurt him for the climbs. What do others think?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

What about Weening, what do others think his role will be during the Tour. His form in the hills of California and Switzerland has been excellent and he is climbing and not losing ground to the best in the mountains. It seems logical that he will be used to get exposure for the team in the mountain stages but would there be any chance they might set him for KOM, or will he try for a stage win in a mountain stage?

I would guess that they will let him ride for GC. All of the rest of the team is already there to try and take stage wins. Why not let him give it a go?

 

[greenedge]

OGE said GC was not their goal- though Weening could top 15. Even Impey could be used in breaks. I feel sad for Charteau, Arroyo and Nocentini not being chosen.

 

[karlboss]

Weening for a stage and maybe KOM. GC is a complete waste there is no exposure for a guy who finishes 10-20 everyday. To prove worthwhile for "why not let him have a go" he'd need to be an outside shot at a top 10...which he is in some one week races, not the tour. If he were to race for a stage and take 10 minutes then maybe ride for GC.

 

[Ferminal]

Winning a stage is also a lot harder than riding top30 GC.

 

[karlboss]

I'd wager the attempt at a stage is more visible too.

 

[Frosty]

Winning a stage is also a lot harder than riding top30 GC.

Quite possibly. I think this was the most anonymous top 30 i can remember

http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/rider_palm.asp?riderid=3912&year=2010&all=1&current=0

Best in a mountain stage was 26th.

 

[Frosty]

Your point about hedging their bets and putting someone in a break is an interesting one. The two main guys to join any breaks would be Albasini and Gerrans but I doubt they would be given much latitude. Maybe O'Grady or Langeveld will try their luck.

I dont know if the other teams will allow GreenEdge to get a man in the break. If a GreenEdger tries then Sky puts a man there or something, they wont want to do all the chasing. GreenEdge have looked good towards the end of stages in the Giro for instance so i cant imagine the other teams will let them do nothing all stage.

Suppose one thing for Weening going for GC is that it would give the team some experience of what it is like, helping them in the future when they have a serious contender. Then again, going for 15th isnt the same as having someone with a realistic chance of winning so i dont think it is that important. At the end of the day i think they will have someone going for GC but not in the most serious of senses.

 

[search]

Lloyd Mondory of AG2R has been replaces by Sebastien Hinault

must have happened one or two days ago but I didn't read it here so far