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Who will be the most helpful domestique at the 2015 TDF ?

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Who will be the most useful domestique at the 2015 TDF ?

  • Morabito (Pinot)

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • Sagan (Contador)

    Votes: 22 15.8%
  • Porte (Froome)

    Votes: 15 10.8%
  • Thomas (Froome)

    Votes: 50 36.0%
  • Fuglsang (Nibali)

    Votes: 7 5.0%
  • Valverde (Quintana)

    Votes: 12 8.6%
  • Majka (Contador)

    Votes: 17 12.2%
  • Hesjedal (Martin/Talansky)

    Votes: 2 1.4%
  • Vuillermoz (Bardet/JCP)

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 12 8.6%

  • Total voters
    139
Re:

Armchair cyclist said:
Sagan as a domestique? :confused: I don't expect to see that happen at all. If he can't get finish line points, he will try till he knows what points he can get at the intermediate, and then roll along at his own pace. He is essentially in competition with Contador, as there are so many team members to look after there conflicting requirements.

Oleg will be in the team car doing whatever it takes to motivate Sagan to run himself into the ground for his "sponsor".
 
Scarponi and Taramae will be really good. They will help Nibali so much, and although Fugslang is chief lieutenant, I think every team should have at least 2 strong teammates if they have a bad day - Sky have Poels and Thomas, Tinkoff has Majka and [insert name here] and Movistar has 2 riders which will not be Bala because he will not be a team mate. So I think Scarponi.
 
Nov 29, 2010
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Crikey I'd forgotten Taramae was on Astana completely. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

Also regarding Saga, Tinkoff made it clear he wants Sagan to help out Contador though I'm sure he'll still be sprinting etc but it's not just a free role.
 
a) I'm going to assume that it will be a dom of one of the big four and that their importance lies in protecting their leader against his most obvious weakness. Thus it's going to be someone who protects either Quintana or Froome in the first week. Stannard and G seem the most likely under those assumptions. I'll go for G as he's a much more all round rider and will be important from start to finish.

b) Please note that the argumentation in a) is simply a justification of my a priori bias
 
I certainly don't consider Valverde and Sagan as domestiques and they really shouldn't be. They are maybe the most unique and talented riders in the world and they should have a free role. If their teammates are in good position for the win towards the end, sure, give some help. If the circumstances are right they could do some work in the first two weeks, too, but otherwise they both should just do their thing.
 
Re:

johnymax said:
I certainly don't consider Valverde and Sagan as domestiques and they really shouldn't be. They are maybe the most unique and talented riders in the world and they should have a free role. If their teammates are in good position for the win towards the end, sure, give some help. If the circumstances are right they could do some work in the first two weeks, too, but otherwise they both should just do their thing.

Yes, they should do their thing. But as long as "the thing" isn't harming the team leader. So Sagan might as well sprint at the end of stages, when Contador has enough support from other people. But he will not be able to ride away on cobbles, leaving Contador vulnerable to attacks and if (or when) there is no one else around, he should work for his team leader. Same for Valverde. Will he be allowed to go on, let say, Mende stage, if by doing this, he would put Quintana in trouble, but at the same time drag Bertie and Froome with him...
 
Going to go with Porte on this one. If he's fully recovered Froome+Porte just has to be up there with Quintana+Valverde. Would go for Valverde but I do feel he's more like the Spanish Gadret (bit unfair considering how much he pulled for Costa back in his first Suisse win, but still). Kinda tipping him to finish ahead of Quintana on GC...We'll see.

Oh and sprinting-wise I'll echo everyone that said Renshaw. Cavendish+Renshaw has been the most ridiculously effective sprint train pairing I've seen. I couldn't tell you the names of many other leadout men of sprinters of days gone past (Steegmans for Boonen maybe?), but I'll never forget just how many wins these two got.
 
Nov 16, 2011
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Remove Valverde - he is riding for himself. Not enough to win but a high GC placing is what he wants to win the Worldtour points this year. He won't allow Quintana to get in his way.
 
Oct 22, 2009
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The value of a solid domestique in the first week is under-estimated. You may not see them in the mountains, but their value is massive in terms of closing gaps and protecting the leader. Not sure who, but yeah, Boom is a reasonable choice.
 
Re: Who will be the most helpful domestique at the 2015 TDF

I think that in this Tour the best dom will be one, who can be a weapon in an unconventional attacking move (either in wind, cobbles or mountains) deciding the race, rather than someone who just covers his leaders weak side.
While Porte has showed he can completely decimate the field before Froome takes off, it is of little use if other leaders can more or less match Froome for strenght (which I believe will be the case).
Valverde looks like an obvious choice but is he ready to bury his chances of high overall placing for Quintana's victory. I don't think so.
Rather more likely it is someone from Astana or Tinkoff, specially as their leaders are the most likely to make such an attack if one is needed. Fuglsang or Majka or some other from those two teams.
 
Cancellara. For Mollema, obviously, as he will make sure Mollema has a +10 minutes lead going into the 2nd week, by splintering the peloton on the cobbles and winning the TTT for his team ;)
In all seriousness, GThomas is the best domestique one can have. His only weakness is short/steep climbs.
 
Today was a Chance for the doms to show their stuff. Saxo were really strong and clearly Sagan will be a major player for the cobble stage. Etixx were the strongest and Uran is in an ideal position. G and Stannard were where they needed to be. Sky were weaker than both Saxo and Etixx, but over the three weeks their team obviously looks more balanced than Etixx's to compete for GC. To be honest, I think Sky were happy just to be in the front group and look after Froome. Stannard and G did a bit of work in the final stages, but Stannard was clearly struggling in the last 5k. The battle on the cobbles looks like it will be very intruiging. Obviously, Movistar and, in particular, Astana were the big losers today.
 
Re:

Tank Engine said:
Today was a Chance for the doms to show their stuff. Saxo were really strong and clearly Sagan will be a major player for the cobble stage. Etixx were the strongest and Uran is in an ideal position. G and Stannard were where they needed to be. Sky were weaker than both Saxo and Etixx, but over the three weeks their team obviously looks more balanced than Etixx's to compete for GC. To be honest, I think Sky were happy just to be in the front group and look after Froome. Stannard and G did a bit of work in the final stages, but Stannard was clearly struggling in the last 5k. The battle on the cobbles looks like it will be very intruiging. Obviously, Movistar and, in particular, Astana were the big losers today.

Logically Movistar just don't have anyone for the cobblestones so the other three should gain more time on Quintana. As someone else said Sky got the best return on their investment of only two domestiques for their leader in the front group. Not impressed with BMC though. With six men they should have gained 2.30 on the second group.
 

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