Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2019, March 25-31

[movingtarget]

De Gendt does what he does. Why some people are still surprised by these types of wins, I'm not sure. Good field, should be a decent race.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

He sure did his thing today - chapeau De Gendt! 2min 48 sec over everyone else is a lot.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) should see a sprint finish - unless the peloton is still bored and does n't want to chase the break The stage starts 13.05 CET (I expect Greipel is going to go out 100% to win, though as we're in España, ol' man Valverde might well surprise us all )

Mataró - Sant Feliu De Guíxols 166.7 km

:lol: Well Valverde did win a field sprint at Catalonia last year. Although I'd expect this one to be for the actual sprinters.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

He sure did his thing today - chapeau De Gendt! 2min 48 sec over everyone else is a lot.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) should see a sprint finish - unless the peloton is still bored and does n't want to chase the break The stage starts 13.05 CET (I expect Greipel is going to go out 100% to win, though as we're in España, ol' man Valverde might well surprise us all )

Mataró - Sant Feliu De Guíxols 166.7 km

The profile does not look like a sprint finish. Or is this one of those exaggerated profiles?

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

He sure did his thing today - chapeau De Gendt! 2min 48 sec over everyone else is a lot.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) should see a sprint finish - unless the peloton is still bored and does n't want to chase the break The stage starts 13.05 CET (I expect Greipel is going to go out 100% to win, though as we're in España, ol' man Valverde might well surprise us all )

Mataró - Sant Feliu De Guíxols 166.7 km

The profile does not look like a sprint finish. Or is this one of those exaggerated profiles?

Movistar on their twitter feed today with a few comments about today's stage said that tomorrow is for the sprinters.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

He sure did his thing today - chapeau De Gendt! 2min 48 sec over everyone else is a lot.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) should see a sprint finish - unless the peloton is still bored and does n't want to chase the break The stage starts 13.05 CET (I expect Greipel is going to go out 100% to win, though as we're in España, ol' man Valverde might well surprise us all )

Mataró - Sant Feliu De Guíxols 166.7 km

The profile does not look like a sprint finish. Or is this one of those exaggerated profiles?

Movistar on their twitter feed today with a few comments about today's stage said that tomorrow is for the sprinters.

I was never going to join one of those dating sites where you post 'pics', but if I can use profiles that are this exaggerated then perhaps I will :lol:

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Im not worried about De Gendt at all. There's two relatively big mountan stages that should be more than enough. Its not just some unipuerto stages, even though the gradients arent overly high.

Yes, they are lucky De Gendt can't climb.

Thats a pretty bad argument considering its 7 years apart now. Lets wait and see.

 

[Leinster]

Re: Re:

The profile does not look like a sprint finish. Or is this one of those exaggerated profiles?

It's late March. All the sprinters who can't get over a 5%/5km Cat 3 30km from the finish are in Belgium for the next month.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

The profile does not look like a sprint finish. Or is this one of those exaggerated profiles?

It's late March. All the sprinters who can't get over a 5%/5km Cat 3 30km from the finish are in Belgium for the next month.

I think Phil Bauhaus will disagree with that.

But the finish should be a good deal uphill.

 

[search]

Re: Re:

The profile does not look like a sprint finish. Or is this one of those exaggerated profiles?

It's late March. All the sprinters who can't get over a 5%/5km Cat 3 30km from the finish are in Belgium for the next month.

I think Phil Bauhaus will disagree with that.

But the finish should be a good deal uphill.

Hodeg even more so. But if the pace is not super high they should stand a chance, I think.

The finish is 600m at 5%. Straight road though, quick run-in. Even Kittel has won plenty of those.

 

[Valanga]

Re: Re:

Im not worried about De Gendt at all. There's two relatively big mountan stages that should be more than enough. Its not just some unipuerto stages, even though the gradients arent overly high.

Yes, they are lucky De Gendt can't climb.

Thats a pretty bad argument considering its 7 years apart now. Lets wait and see.

TDG himself doesn't deem it realistic to win the GC. He'll fight for it out of respect for the jersey, but the mountains are too steep for him.

Zijn leiderstrui in Catalonië gaat De Gendt verdedigen, zonder zich de minste illusie te maken over zijn klassement. "De bergen zijn hier te steil. Als ze willen, rijden de echte klimmers à la Bernal me er gewoon af. Woensdag ben ik mijn leidersplaats kwijt. Maar ik ga er wel voor koersen, uit respect voor de trui."

https://www.demorgen.be/sport/thoma...-solo-straf-hiervoor-betalen-ze-mij-bdbc003b/

 

[Robert5091]

It looks like it will be a Formula 1 type start today - wait for the green!

 

[Robert5091]

So there's a sprint with time bonuses only 7.8 km from the finish? Strange decision.

 

[Lequack]

There is a strong wind today, about 40kmh in some parts.

Unfortunately it will be mostly headwind and then tailwind and the end, no real chance of crosswinds.

 

[Velolover2]

Bole looked strong yesterday. This stage should suit him even better with a bit of uphill drag. He is my choice.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

For those that don't know, Gregaard (Wilsly) is a climber/stage race rider, and a neopro.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Im not worried about De Gendt at all. There's two relatively big mountan stages that should be more than enough. Its not just some unipuerto stages, even though the gradients arent overly high.

Yes, they are lucky De Gendt can't climb.

Thats a pretty bad argument considering its 7 years apart now. Lets wait and see.

Not really. He's one of the most gifted riders in the peloton. More so than many so called top GC riders. He finished 3rd in the Giro in 2012, without any real preparation for GC (while he even lost 1.5 minutes due to a flat tyre in a mountain stage right before the finish). It's just that riding in the peloton, fighting for positioning in front, being attentive etc, just doesn't interest him. He just lacks the will and commitment to be a GC rider. He's stubborn and once he convinced himself that GC was nothing for him, he kept doing what he enjoyed most. Since that Giro, he hasn't even tried to ride a GC ever again.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Dawg down

 

[Salvarani]

Re: Re:

That gonna hurt tomorrow...

 

[Laplaz]

Poor dawg

 

[Lequack]

If there's one thing about Froome it's that he always braves on from these crashes, a true rider.

 

[Velolover2]

Froome should skip this race and target Yorkshire + California combo if possible to get in shape.

Can't remember if those two races overlap.

 

[spalco]

Big ouchy for Froome, that looks painful.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

There's a race going on but it's not going to stop the tv producer showing Froome regardless of how little relevance he has to it

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Dawg down

He is back. On track for the fifth Tour.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

The boss wins the sprint