Worlds

[Sasquatch]

Yeah, that is two races.

Who beat him in one of them? Matthew Goss? Why isn't Gossy in the team? His results the last few months have been reasonble. He's another.

* First in Paris-Brussels
* Second in Stage 7 Eneco Tour behind Boassen-Hagen who went onto win Eneco. Farrar was behind him and we all know how Farrar has ridden this year.
* First in Stage 3 of Wallone
* First in Stage 5 of Wallone

Allan Davis

* Second in Stage 3 of Poland
* Second GP van Wallonie
* Second Paris-Brussels
* Fourth Vattenfall Classics

In the last two months, I think it's fair to say that Goss is in far superior form and that Davis was only selected based on reputation.

Like I say, if I was head of the team, I would have put in Goss and Porte and taken out Davis and Hayman.

WTF has Hayman done? He's another that was selected on reputation.

Australia want to develop the young cyclists? Then why don't they do just that and put the young ones in Porte and Goss in the team?

Goss has proven himself on many occasions and whilst Porte hasn't proven himself on the big stage, he's won about 8 races this year including a stage in the baby Giro and he is overlooked because he's not on a professional team?

The people in charge of selecting this team need to take a good hard long look at themselves. You don't select riders on reputation. You select them on form. No wonder Australia is crap and can't find wins when it comes to the Olympics and World's etc.

 

[il_fiammingo]

Yeah, that is two races.

Who beat him in one of them? Matthew Goss? Why isn't Gossy in the team? His results the last few months have been reasonble. He's another.

* First in Paris-Brussels
* Second in Stage 7 Eneco Tour behind Boassen-Hagen who went onto win Eneco. Farrar was behind him and we all know how Farrar has ridden this year.
* First in Stage 3 of Wallone
* First in Stage 5 of Wallone

Allan Davis

* Second in Stage 3 of Poland
* Second GP van Wallonie
* Second Paris-Brussels
* Fourth Vattenfall Classics

In the last two months, I think it's fair to say that Goss is in far superior form and that Davis was only selected based on reputation.

Like I say, if I was head of the team, I would have put in Goss and Porte and taken out Davis and Hayman.

WTF has Hayman done? He's another that was selected on reputation.

Australia want to develop the young cyclists? Then why don't they do just that and put the young ones in Porte and Goss in the team?

Goss has proven himself on many occasions and whilst Porte hasn't proven himself on the big stage, he's won about 8 races this year including a stage in the baby Giro and he is overlooked because he's not on a professional team?

The people in charge of selecting this team need to take a good hard long look at themselves. You don't select riders on reputation. You select them on form. No wonder Australia is crap and can't find wins when it comes to the Olympics and World's etc.

I agree on the reputation thing (I also agree on Devolder not being in the Belgian squad), but Davis did show form. That together with his experience in 260km races (top 10's in Sanremo, Hamburg, Paris-Tours, Wevelgem) and the fact of being a lightweight sprinter with climbing abilities really justifies his selection, IMO. The question is: could Goss replace one of the other 8 riders?

I don't see how a spot in the WC team could develop young cyclists. A young rider can develop by gradually competing in higher level races; not by taking a sudden start at the WC. This Porte guy is turning 25 in a few months and never competed in a European pro race. He is not the future of Australia's cycling. I think you're hopes are a bit irrealistic.

 

[Sasquatch]

What I'm trying to get at is in 3 years time we're going to have the Olympics!

Hayman and Davis will be 3 years older. Guys like Goss need their international representation now so when the Olympics do come around, they are prepared!

Davis has been in some alright form. I give him that. But there was at least one rider who should have been in front of him!

But still the team should be based on form!!!!!

 

[Ferdinand Artichoke]

It doesn't help the pro's by having it in January. It does them a great disservice.

Deluded
they wouldn't bother riding them if it was between the northern spring and autumn...

It sounds as though there are people who think the Aussie champion should just be decided on who has the most UCI points in November.

...but i like the idea of having a race that all Aussie roadies can go to to have a crack at being 'the one'.

Sport is a game that should be open for us all to play

 

[laurentiu46]

Looks like Spain will have to find somebody else for the TT,because it was announced that Hector Guerra tested positive for CERA before the start of the Volta a Portugal.
Or,they will have to compete only with JI Gutierrez.

Off topic:For the records,his Liberty teammates,Isidro Nozal and Nuno Ribeiro,the winner of the Volta,have also been caught.

 

[Bala Verde]

Looks like Spain will have to find somebody else for the TT,because it was announced that Hector Guerra tested positive for CERA before the start of the Volta a Portugal.
Or,they will have to compete only with JI Gutierrez.

Off topic:For the records,his Liberty teammates,Isidro Nozal and Nuno Ribeiro,the winner of the Volta,have also been caught.

It's a bloody disgrace that still half a team is found to dope

Anyway, back to the worlds...

Langeveld is the last dutchy to go to Mendrisio.

 

[Garry Allen]

road racing is more than the olympics. Australia is taking an u23 team. There is your development squad. If Richie Porte is not in a protour team now at the age of 25, he is not the right rider to take to the world championships this year and he is unlikely to be the right rider to take to the olympics in 3 years time.
Matthew hayman has been selected because he is a domestique. i would not have selected Matthew Goss or Chris Sutton or even Mark Renshaw. We are unlikely to be in the position where we will see sprinters lead out trains which is probably the reason that brett lancaster wasn't selected either. I think I would probably have selected Adam Hanson instead of Simon Clarke but I am not a national selector. Apart from Simon Clarke, I dont think I would have replaced any of the other riders.

 

[Jono L.]

Deluded
they wouldn't bother riding them if it was between the northern spring and autumn...

It sounds as though there are people who think the Aussie champion should just be decided on who has the most UCI points in November.

...but i like the idea of having a race that all Aussie roadies can go to to have a crack at being 'the one'.

Sport is a game that should be open for us all to play

I never said any of that. I said it does the pro's a great disservice being in january. I didn't say it should be held in any other fashion, at any other time of the year, just don't be surprised if whoever wins in january isn't deemed good enough to ride worlds in september

 

[Bala Verde]

JJ Cobo replaces Hector Guerra, who is about to get a 2yr time out because he has been caught sticking his hand in the cooky jar.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Langeveld is the last dutchy to go to Mendrisio.

Maybe Weening to replace Gesink.
Kroon as the only team leader won't work =/

Hoogerland as 2nd captain?

 

[Bala Verde]

Maybe Weening to replace Gesink.
Kroon as the only team leader won't work =/

Hoogerland as 2nd captain?

I'd rather take LtD.

Hoogerland would be a great second capt... he has proven his form.

 

[ak-zaaf]

I'd rather take LtD.

Weening is showing good form.
Plus I love him as a classics-domestique ever since I saw him get totally psycho at Boogerd in LBL because he was riding in the wind for like 2 seconds

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I'd go for weening too...
He seems to have the form.

I'd actually like to see boom have a free role

 

[Bala Verde]

Tough as nails and a mentality that is seemingly unbreakable. Is he Irish, or German?:

RG: 18-9-2009 19:35 In ieder geval iedereen enorm bedankt voor alle steun!Nog 2dagen Vuelta en dan op naar het WK!Dat weekje rust zal me goed doen!Knie is Ok�!

2 days to go in the Vuelta, 1 week rest, and then the Worlds...

How many 23 year olds have that attitude again?

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Gesink sure has a lot of heart. Big things await him in the coming years.

 

[Kazistuta]

6 Saxo Bank riders form the Danish squad:

Matti Breschel
Jacob Fuglsang
Nicki Sørensen
Chris Anker Sørensen
Lars Bak
Anders Lund

Clearly they'll (we'll) be rooting for Breschel and Fuglsang, both of them showing decent form in La Vuelta. Breschel proved last year that he can contend and IMO is our best bet for cracking into top10.

But at least this team won't have any problems working together

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I think the course will prove too much for breschel. I think Fuglsang could have a good ride.

 

[Kazistuta]

If the hills on the course is anything like the "climbs" of Tour De Suisse, I think Breschel can cope. If not, I agree that Fuglsang is the best bet, but I'm just not so sure that he's able to be as strong after 250+ km.

 

[issoisso]

This is a course for climbers. Make no mistake, this is Duitama 1995 all over again.

Of course, there's always the chance that the pace is very low for some abnormal reason

 

[Kazistuta]

Kinda strange that a lot of countries have picked their hillsprinters then (and naming them as team leaders)??

Boonen, Davis, Freire, Breschel, Paolini, Bazayev, Kroon, Cancellara, Boasson Hagen, Duque & Ciolek- neither of them can be considered ""anything else" than great one-day riders, definitely not climbers...

As usual, the difficulty of the WC route probably only will reveal itself on raceday

 

[issoisso]

Kinda strange that a lot of countries have picked their hillsprinters then (and naming them as team leaders)??

The only sprinters who are team leaders are Breschel and Hagen, simply because their teams have no one else.

 

[laurentiu46]

Well,looking at cycling in our days,when a 100-men bunch arrive together at the base of the final climb in a mountain stage,i think they wanted to be assured,just in case it might come down to a sprint.
Still,the course is pretty hard,and if Spain or Italy will harden the pace,most of those sprinters will be dropped.

Wait for Melbourne 2010 and Copenhagen 2011. Those are for sprinters,and imagine the composition of the teams,probably all of them will have trains to set up the finale. The climbers will have to shift their focus towards the Vuelta GC in the next two years,good news for Unipublic.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Kinda strange that a lot of countries have picked their hillsprinters then (and naming them as team leaders)??

Boonen, Davis, Freire, Breschel, Paolini, Bazayev, Kroon, Cancellara, Boasson Hagen, Duque & Ciolek- neither of them can be considered ""anything else" than great one-day riders, definitely not climbers...

As usual, the difficulty of the WC route probably only will reveal itself on raceday

no they didn't... Australia will be riding for gerrans and evans.
Friere is not leader, I expect Valv to have that role
Cancerella and Boasson are team leader because there is one else, and on a whole they are pretty strong (far stronger then the likes of breschel)
Boonen is dreaming if he wants to win. Gilbert will be at the very least a co-leader.
Kroon was co-leader with Gesink.. 2nd at AGR... he is a level higher then the likes of breschel (on this course i mean) i'd say. who else do they have in terms of leading the wc team?
ANd I expect cunego to be the leader for italy, not paolini.

the sprinters capable of winning on this course is very limited. I'm almost certain a good climber will win.

 

[issoisso]

Boonen is dreaming if he wants to win. Gilbert will be at the very least a co-leader.

Carlo Bomans picks the belgian team's riders and he says he only selected riders for the RR who agreed without question to work 100% only for Gilbert and for no one else.

 

[il_fiammingo]

What to think about Kolobnev? Nobody is talking about him. He did an anonymous Vuelta, so no idea how his form is. But the last 2 WC's he really animated the race. The course should suit him.