UAE Tour 2022, February 20 - February 26

[SHAD0W93]

Philipsen to surprise and go in the break tomorrow.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Very strong performance by Bissegger to beat Ganna on such a power course. Dumoulin also strong.
Very good performance by Pogacar on this course: it seems that his submaximal oxygen effort hasn't been affected by corona.
Other title contenders (Ameida, Vlasov) also went well there. Yates' good ride has to be noted - the guy will be flying uphill and may be Pog's most dangerous rival (as usually there).

 

[AlfaLum]

Will be interesting to see Dumoulin on saturday, even though thats still not a real climbing test like the ones he will have to face in the Giro, and this is much better suited for him. It was already clear that his TT was back at a very high level after the Olympics.

For now I am going to say that he will be able to stick with the others on Jebel Jais tomorrow. But he will loose time on Jebel Hafeet on the best climbers (Pogacar, Yates, Vlasov and I am also gonna go for Almeida)

 

[Lequack]

Ganna average 570W in the final 2kms

 

[johnymax]

No big surprises today. Ganna not winning is a small one of course, but Bissegger is a powerhouse on these flat and short TTs. Excellent times for Vlasov and Yates. They'll both be serious challengers to Pogačar in my opinion. Among the GC riders I'm somewhat disappointed in Mader's time, but I have no idea what are his expectations for the race and in what condition he is in currently. Apparently not good.

 

[KenFiamingo]

Not seen the race and only had the time splits to judge on and your comments but relative to expectations/their standards I am impressed by:

• Demare - looking ready for the classics

Demare was and will never be ready for the classics, IMO

 

[rghysens]

Demare was and will never be ready for the classics, IMO

His teamcar begs to differ.

 

[Escarabajo]

The only big surprise is Vlasov IMHO. How can we merge this peloton with the one from Algarve and throw the same 32 km TT?

 

[Carols]

I just finished watching the race. Congrats to Bissegger!

But I thought Big Tom made a Really nice comeback and showed he's not done with this sport. Tomorrow we get a preview of whether he can climb . Pogi also impressed, he's happy and had a really nice ride!|

Kirby blathering about things he is obviously clueless about continues to Annoy me. Those were Arabian horses wearing polo guards which are used widely throughout the horse world on many breeds to protect the legs and provide support to the tendons and ligaments. Wearing them in no way makes them 'polo ponies'. I've wrapped plenty of horses that never saw the game of polo!

 

[Escarabajo]

But why ? Which are your arguments ? Can we also limit the mountain stages to one mountain stage ? Or limit it to just one climb ? Not to influence or falsify the result. You forget that the number of time trials and the length of the time trials have already been reduced enormously in recent years. Why not doing the same with mountain stages or sprint stages ? Besides time trials, hilly rides are the most natural form of cycling. Where the best come forward anyway. Now it's the case that if you're not a climber you can't win a grand tour anymore. And still very difficult to win a small round.

The reason is to keep the gaps smaller and have more contenders to the title. Cycling has changed in the last 20 years. It is not my decision. I agree with some of that and disagree with other things that they have done. But it is what it is. I certainly want to see better mountain stages but at the same time I don't want to see Indurain type rider killing the spectacle so early in the race. With the marketing, social media, and commerciality that cycling has today that is a big No-No.

Now you can disagree with the organizations or not, that is not my problem. As I told you, it is what it is. You would be barking at the wrong tree.

 

[AlfaLum]

The reason is to keep the gaps smaller and have more contenders to the title. Cycling has changed in the last 20 years. It is not my decision. I agree with some of that and disagree with other things that they have done. But it is what it is. I certainly want to see better mountain stages but at the same time I don't want to see Indurain type rider killing the spectacle so early in the race. With the marketing, social media, and commerciality that cycling has today that is a big No-No.

Now you can disagree with the organizations or not, that is not my problem. As I told you, it is what it is. You would be barking at the wrong tree.

Yeah let’s be fair here, most of us on this forum are die hard cycling fans, which is in itself already a race that facing the danger of extinction. But probably even among the bigger fans half of them loose interest when a race is decided early on.

Cycling is the most interesting when you have both multiple contenders until the final stage and have spectacular races where you can see the best riders go head-to-head. Very long ITTs in a stage reduce the excitement of the overall stage race. So it makes sense that the number of long TTs is very much limited when compared against a time where we needed to listen to the radio to get some information about the race. Times are changing.

 

[tobydawq]

Dumoulin must be happy to have beaten de mijnwerker.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Will be interesting to see Dumoulin on saturday, even though thats still not a real climbing test like the ones he will have to face in the Giro, and this is much better suited for him. It was already clear that his TT was back at a very high level after the Olympics.

For now I am going to say that he will be able to stick with the others on Jebel Jais tomorrow. But he will loose time on Jebel Hafeet on the best climbers (Pogacar, Yates, Vlasov and I am also gonna go for Almeida)

Yes. Dumoulin may be the leader after tomorrow (if Pog doesn't steal bonuses, that is). I expect a selected group of abound 10 strongest riders there. Saturday will be more of a test for Dumo so we will see.

As for Yates, in terms of peak w/kg he's one of very few who can rival Pogacar during climbs 20-30 minutes long (assuming no cumulative fatigue effect). Maybe I could add Roglic and that's all.

 

[repre]

Hindley will attack tomorrow

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Not Bissegger happen.

 

[tobydawq]

Not Bissegger happen.

Excellent pun!

 

[Red Rick]

I believe they finish a few 100m later on the climb tomorrow than in 2019?

Jumbo isnt that stacked here, I think tomorrow Pogacar or Almeida will simply attack

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I believe they finish a few 100m later on the climb tomorrow than in 2019?

Perhaps, but it looks to be in the same place as last year, when he-who-must-not-be-named-Chris Harper won there.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Not Bissegger happen.

Very good. The other pun has gone past its sell by date. GCN presenters won’t know what to do.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Maybe Tom Dumoulin can make the impossible come true here, and win UAE Tour. I, however, think Pogacar will be stronger in these two MTF stages.

I hope we will see nice battles tomorrow and on Sunday. Pogacar will want to defend his title, and Dumo, Vlasov and Adam Yates (and few others) are super-motivated to win this stage race. I remember, Pogi is only unbeatable at TdF. He is beatable at any other race.

 

[KZD]

Bissegger with another superb TT, he is probably already on par with Ganna and Van Aert on these kind of short efforts.

Dumoulin really strong but UAE team has the upperhand on GC with Pogačar and Almeida really close to him

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Maybe Tom Dumoulin can make the impossible come true here, and win UAE Tour. I, however, think Pogacar will be stronger in these two MTF stages.

I hope we will see nice battles tomorrow and on Sunday. Pogacar will want to defend his title, and Dumo, Vlasov and Adam Yates (and few others) are super-motivated to win this stage race. I remember, Pogi is only unbeatable at TdF. He is beatable at any other race.

No chance that Tom Dumolin can win this race

 

[hayneplane]

Demare was and will never be ready for the classics, IMO

I was specifically thinking of MSR as you are right that he has not threatened a top placing in any of the cobbled classics before

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

There was time that Leknessund pummeled Bissegger in ITT's. And then he joined DSM...

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I believe they finish a few 100m later on the climb tomorrow than in 2019?

Jumbo isnt that stacked here, I think tomorrow Pogacar or Almeida will simply attack

Jebel Jais is quite shallow, steady and fast climb with a lot of aero drag. This makes it easier to stay on wheels and should suit a powerful guy like Dumo. No single contenders ahead, a selected group should finish together and fight in a mini-sprint (Pogi likes it).