Who is America's best GT shot?

[markene2]

John Devine could have been somthing....

 

[Francois the Postman]

I think we are in for a period of drought.

Join the club, most of us are.

With 3 titles at stake each year, which are usually split between the predictable dominant few, most of us are consigned to wait for a change between generations. With a bit of luck, that isn't a life sentence.

 

[max_powers]

Being a bit bigger than the avg cyclist will not hinder a talented phenom in a GT.

Big Mig (that's Miguel Indurain for the kids out there) made it happen.

Phinney has plenty of Cycling DNA to give it a go.

 

[theyoungest]

Being a bit bigger than the avg cyclist will not hinder a talented phenom in a GT.

Big Mig (that's Miguel Indurain for the kids out there) made it happen.

Phinney has plenty of Cycling DNA to give it a go.

Problem is, Phinney gets dropped as soon as the road goes uphill. Phinney is your new Hincapie, not your new Armstrong. Van Garderen is your GT hope, although I doubt he will ever reach Armstrong-like dominance.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I think TeeJay or Peter are the two best picks, at least for now. Not to win the Tour, but if they can win or content for the Tour of California, that may be enough to keep the drought from being too terrible.

Shame Saul Raisin retired so young. That photo of him in the hospital with his head all bandaged and tubes sticking out of him is still one of the saddest and most horrific I have ever seen. I'll let you guys find a larger version.

 

[kurtinsc]

Problem is, Phinney gets dropped as soon as the road goes uphill. Phinney is your new Hincapie, not your new Armstrong. Van Garderen is your GT hope, although I doubt he will ever reach Armstrong-like dominance.

It's not quite that bad, he can power through some short climbs without too much difficulty... but I agree he hasn't shown mountain chops at all, or even extended hills.

I'm still not positive he won't be a sprinter primarily... against a pretty solid tour of Qatar sprint field this year he got a 7th and 8th place on a couple of stages, ahead of some pretty big name sprinters. Now granted, he was much closer to his peak (for track worlds) then they were... but still a suggestive result.

 

[straydog]

Peter Stetina and Alex Howes supported TJ at Avenir when he lost by a second if I remember correctly....doesn't mean they won't be capable of something one day....especially Stetina in the mountains...but for all round GC form...hmmm

My original comparison of Phinney to Wiggins (and yes Wiggins probably did peak at 4th last year) I also stand by....He would have to lose a limb to get to the weight needed to keep with Schelck and Contador in the really big mountains....and i think that might impede his power somewhat

I stand by TJ....I think the Vuelta will be very interesting....and a damn site more interesting than it has been for a long while....

 

[theyoungest]

Peter Stetina and Alex Howes supported TJ at Avenir when he lost by a second if I remember correctly....doesn't mean they won't be capable of something one day....especially Stetina in the mountains...but for all round GC form...hmmm

My original comparison of Phinney to Wiggins (and yes Wiggins probably did peak at 4th last year) I also stand by....He would have to lose a limb to get to the weight needed to keep with Schelck and Contador in the really big mountains....and i think that might impede his power somewhat

I stand by TJ....I think the Vuelta will be very interesting....and a damn site more interesting than it has been for a long while....

For Americans, you mean?

 

[Clemson Cycling]

There are currently four big time teams based in the United States right now which also might keep us from avoiding the drought (thought RS might fold and BMC might move to SUI). I think even if RS folds Lance will continue with Trek-Livestrong which may be the second best U23 team right now. Garmin seems to be willing to invest in young American talent as well, while Columbia HTC has not followed in those footsteps. Tejay is about the best GC prospect around right now with a very impressive 3rd place finish in the Dauphiné on a team built around sprinters. He has proven he can climb and time trial with the best of them. Imagine what he could do if he went to a team that was concerned with something other then sprinting.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

trek livestrong u23 isn't one of the strongest u23 teams at all. they can't climb for sh*t just look at the ncup this year, where is america?? nowhere to be found except phinney in p-ru23 as soon as there are mountains they get dropped

 

[this_is_edie]

How old are these guys? Are they on a ProTour team now?

Ben King is with Trek-Livestrong. Ian Boswell is 19, riding with bissell and joining trek-livestrong next year. Talansky is 23 and joining garmin next year.

I think the best bet is talansky - he turned major heads (including garmin) at Gila and then raced well in Europe with the USA National team.

 

[theyoungest]

There are currently four big time teams based in the United States right now which also might keep us from avoiding the drought (thought RS might fold and BMC might move to SUI). I think even if RS folds Lance will continue with Trek-Livestrong which may be the second best U23 team right now. Garmin seems to be willing to invest in young American talent as well, while Columbia HTC has not followed in those footsteps. Tejay is about the best GC prospect around right now with a very impressive 3rd place finish in the Dauphiné on a team built around sprinters. He has proven he can climb and time trial with the best of them. Imagine what he could do if he went to a team that was concerned with something other then sprinting.

? The squad HTC sent to the Dauphiné didn't have a single sprinter in it. Van Garderen could purely focus on his own GC.

 

[tgsgirl]

? The squad HTC sent to the Dauphiné didn't have a single sprinter in it. Van Garderen could purely focus on his own GC.

And he had convenient help from other another team as well. Let's not rewrite history, ok?

 

[crispy]

Cool to see some discussion of Ben King on here. I've raced with him and his dad. I've also been dropped by him on the local group rides many times, especially when the road goes uphill (and even back when he was a skinny hairy-legged 15 year old). Don't know if he'll make it to the big time but I think he has potential.

I remember when he won the junior national road race. He was off the front solo and on the last lap he apparently told his dad (who was in the team car) that he was totally dying. His dad told him to put his head down and keep pushing on and he ended up putting another 2 minutes or so on the field by the finish.

Oh, and watch out for his younger brother too who I think is 16 now and seems to be following in his brother's footsteps.

 

[kurtinsc]

trek livestrong u23 isn't one of the strongest u23 teams at all. they can't climb for sh*t just look at the ncup this year, where is america?? nowhere to be found except phinney in p-ru23 as soon as there are mountains they get dropped

What nations cup races have much in the way of climbing aside from l'Avenir?

Regioni? I don't think trek-livestrong had any riders at that race.

Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay? One of their riders (King) got 3rd.

What other races in that series could they have shown climbing legs at?

FYI... this is their schedule this year:

February 7-12: Tour of Qatar - Taylor Phinney top 10 in two stages.
February 14-19: Tour of Oman - no results.
March 24-28: Redlands Bicycle Classic - none in top 15.
April 18: Battenkill - Alex Dowsett 8th.
April 28 – May 2: Tour of Gila - Jesse Sergeant 15th (ahead of Lance )
May 17-23: Olympia Holland - Taylor Phinney won. Jesse Sergeant 4th. Tim Roe 8th.
May 30: Paris-Roubaix U23 - Taylor Phinney won. Ben King 6th.
June 15-20: Thüringen Rundfahrt - Tim Roe 2nd.
June 16-20: Nature Valley - Ben King 10th in TT, 1st youth, Iggy Silva 10th in RR, 1st youth
June 23-27: USA Cycling U23 Road National Championships - Ben King won
July 20-25: Cascade Cycling Classic - Ben King 9th in GC

Not sure how the nations cup events work.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

? The squad HTC sent to the Dauphiné didn't have a single sprinter in it. Van Garderen could purely focus on his own GC.

Yeah I probably should not have run those two sentences together. I guess I was trying to make the point that he might be better off moving to a team that is built for GC wins and not so much sprinting victories. The team they sent to the Dauphine was built for the GC and I am not going to deny that. Either way Tejay is a heck of a rider and I think he has a shot to do great things throughout his career.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I think it is unfair to say that Trek livestrong have no climbers. Tim Roe is going to be a very good climber for the future but he is aussie.

 

[joy118118]

What nations cup races have much in the way of climbing aside from l'Avenir?

Regioni? I don't think trek-livestrong had any riders at that race.

Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay? One of their riders (King) got 3rd.

What other races in that series could they have shown climbing legs at?

FYI... this is their schedule this year:

February 7-12: Tour of Qatar - Taylor Phinney top 10 in two stages.
February 14-19: Tour of Oman - no results.
March 24-28: Redlands Bicycle Classic - none in top 15.
April 18: Battenkill - Alex Dowsett 8th.
April 28 – May 2: Tour of Gila - Jesse Sergeant 15th (ahead of Lance )
May 17-23: Olympia Holland - Taylor Phinney won. Jesse Sergeant 4th. Tim Roe 8th.
May 30: Paris-Roubaix U23 - Taylor Phinney won. Ben King 6th.
June 15-20: Thüringen Rundfahrt - Tim Roe 2nd.
June 16-20: Nature Valley - Ben King 10th in TT, 1st youth, Iggy Silva 10th in RR, 1st youth
June 23-27: USA Cycling U23 Road National Championships - Ben King won
July 20-25: Cascade Cycling Classic - Ben King 9th in GC

Not sure how the nations cup events work.

Taylor Phinney is good. But there is a lot of good talents in U23. He didnt win against other U23 riders in Thueringen Rundfahrt. so let's keep cool-headed on him.

 

[shouldawouldacoulda]

I think it is unfair to say that Trek livestrong have no climbers. Tim Roe is going to be a very good climber for the future but he is aussie.

Agreed. Tim is BIG talent, and a real hidden gem. He has a good head on him and has been mentored well by Patty Jonker. You don't win the GC at Jelajah Malaysia (when you are 19) without being able to climb very very well.

But as this is a 'next great American GT rider' thread, maybe we shouldn't talk about him

 

[shouldawouldacoulda]

I'm curious why you guys seem to be so skeptical about America's GT chances.

In the grand scheme of things the US isn't a good launch pad for developing Tour style riders.. when you are coming up your racing is pretty crit heavy and one day race heavy. Historically your most talented Tour riders develop later in life - with the exception of guys who pretty much go to Europe as juniors - case in point Tejay V, and in the past Lemond.

Your current and past GC guys developed later in their 20's: Armstrong, Lepheimer, Horner, VdV - in the past Hampsten, Landis or failed to develop at all -> Danielson.

I wouldn't be so pessimistic about your young riders. I see a bunch of guys oozing talent and potential: Tejay V, Phinney, C Lewis, B King, P Gaimon, Boswell, Talansky, Howes, Stetina etc etc.

You have Leipheimer, Horner and VdV for the next couple of years. I think Zabriskie could be Garmin's next breakout surprise.

These guys will fade out over the next 1-5 yrs... and during that phase out you will have the new crew starting to really show if they have it or not. Tejay will certainly be the earliest guy to show his big tour capacity...

No one has mentioned Ted King - he's only in his 2nd yr in Europe so who knows how he will develop?

All in all you have so much potential in the hopper I'd be pretty optimistic if I was American. Especially since your grass roots and development system isn't particularly geared to turning out tour riders.

 

[Denkoff]

Vande Velde i think

 

[Clemson Cycling]

That Boswell kid is going to make some noise in the next 5 years. The kid can climb.

 

[jaylew]

trek livestrong u23 isn't one of the strongest u23 teams at all. they can't climb for sh*t just look at the ncup this year, where is america??

In fairness, the US did win the Nations Cup in the juniors, though. I agree the climbing talent does look a bit light right now but you never know how these guys are going to develop.

 

[tgsgirl]

In fairness, the US did win the Nations Cup in the juniors, though. I agree the climbing talent does look a bit light right now but you never know how these guys are going to develop.

Do you mean this year? It isn't over yet is it, Tour de L'Avenir still to come.

 

[jaylew]

Juniors is over. One more race for U23.