Worst line up for the Giro

[toolittle]

Feillu or Gerdemann, it wont matter. None of them can make top 15

I am interested in which team is strongest more.

Thousand of races per year. None of teams could target on all the races.

Giro Italy is not the focus of strong teams those are looking for the tour.

 

[taiwan]

I am interested in which team is strongest more.

Thousand of races per year. None of teams could target on all the races.

Giro Italy is not the focus of strong teams those are looking for the tour.

Has to be Lampre IMO. Credible GC hope with Scarponi, 2nd/3rd best sprinter plus Ulissi, Niemiec and Hondo in support is a strong squad.

 

[toolittle]

Has to be Lampre IMO. Credible GC hope with Scarponi, 2nd/3rd best sprinter plus Ulissi, Niemiec and Hondo in support is a strong squad.

Those has less hope on the tour and pleased with Giro success

Geox-Tmc (No hope for tour)
Menchov

Katusha Team (Giro is good enough)
Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver

Lampre - ISD (Tour is too difficult)
Michele Scarponi

Saxo Bank (If can't start the tour)
Alberto Contador Velasco

Liquigas-Cannondale (Strong enough to have strong team in the tour and giro)
Vincenzo Nibali

 

[toolittle]

BMC´s new roster -

Chris Barton (USA), Chad Beyer (USA), Chris Butler (USA), Mathias Frank (SUI), Martin Kohler (SUI), Alexander Kristoff (NOR), Johann Tschopp (SUI), Danilo Wyss (SUI), Simon Zahner (SUI).


Still think that Tschopp and Frank will go for the mountains classification.

I think it is weakest possible BMC line up. Seem to put all the eggs to the Tour or Veulta

It semm to be a wise strategy.
A podium (even top 5) in Tour and loss in giro is better than Come Top 10 in both.

 

[Cimber]

I am interested in which team is strongest more.

Thousand of races per year. None of teams could target on all the races.

Giro Italy is not the focus of strong teams those are looking for the tour.

Strong teams will be able to target more than one big tour SBS, Astana and Liquigas will all do that

 

[taiwan]

SBS it targetting the Tour with Chris Anker Sorensen and a bunch of lawyers, NTTAWWT.

 

[Angliru]

Definitely BMC. Aside from Tschopp I don't see much hope for them.

-Acqua/Sapone has Garzelli and Napolitano
-AG2R has Nocentini and Gadret
-Euskatel in addition to Anton has Mikel Nieve who was Anton's primary support in the Vuelta and also won a stage there. If you don't recognize any of their riders it's because you haven't been paying attention (in the case of Nieve).
-Leopard has some decent names Rohregger, Wegman, Weylandt and Zaugg who have at least shown some ability in the past.

 

[K-0tic]

Definitely BMC. Aside from Tschopp I don't see much hope for them.

-Acqua/Sapone has Garzelli and Napolitano
-AG2R has Nocentini and Gadret
-Euskatel in addition to Anton has Mikel Nieve who was Anton's primary support in the Vuelta and also won a stage there. If you don't recognize any of their riders it's because you havent' been paying attention (in the case of Nieve).
-Leopard has some decent names Rohregger, Wegman, Weylandt and Zaugg who have at least shown some ability in the past.

Wegmann is just poor , sorry to say. Hasn't done anything for the last years. The whole team will just target some random stage victories but it will be very hard. Maybe Weylandt, but he will not ride the whole Giro.

 

[toolittle]

Strong teams will be able to target more than one big tour SBS, Astana and Liquigas will all do that

Let see what's going on.

Before the season, many person said BMC is weakest team and Vacansoleil is far better one.

If SBS & Astana target on both with strong team, let see what is the result.

After July, results will tell everything.

I will be ACF no.2

 

[Astana1]

BMC clearly...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wegmann is just poor , sorry to say. Hasn't done anything for the last years. The whole team will just target some random stage victories but it will be very hard. Maybe Weylandt, but he will not ride the whole Giro.

So the podium of the GP Big Mig (twice), Strade Bianche, the top 10-15 of the Worlds, 2x Frankfurt wins counts for nothing?

We know what kind of race Wegmann works in. He's always been a bit of a bit part player in the Ardennes, but the slightly less hilly-but-still-quite-hilly classics are his terrain. He's done pretty well at them, even in his time at Milram. He hasn't been as good in the last couple of years as before, and there could be clinic reasons for that, or more likely Milram just weren't a very well-organised or strong team. He's had a mostly disappointing 2011, but he could still be very effective from a small bunch, and stages 3, 5 and especially 11 look like ones he could do a pretty good job, especially if he gets into the break on the latter. A top 3 on a stage like those is certainly doable because fewer people will be looking for it in a stage race than in the one-day classics, and if a break he gets into is allowed to go the distance he can be a threat.

 

[Christian]

If there is a break that goes through and Wegmann's in it he will be one of the favourites but it's still a long shot. Too bad he wasn't able to follow Malacarne and that other guy in Tirreno, that would have been a good chance

 

[K-0tic]

So the podium of the GP Big Mig (twice), Strade Bianche, the top 10-15 of the Worlds, 2x Frankfurt wins counts for nothing?

We know what kind of race Wegmann works in. He's always been a bit of a bit part player in the Ardennes, but the slightly less hilly-but-still-quite-hilly classics are his terrain. He's done pretty well at them, even in his time at Milram. He hasn't been as good in the last couple of years as before, and there could be clinic reasons for that, or more likely Milram just weren't a very well-organised or strong team. He's had a mostly disappointing 2011, but he could still be very effective from a small bunch, and stages 3, 5 and especially 11 look like ones he could do a pretty good job, especially if he gets into the break on the latter. A top 3 on a stage like those is certainly doable because fewer people will be looking for it in a stage race than in the one-day classics, and if a break he gets into is allowed to go the distance he can be a threat.

It's not that he never achieved anything, it's just that he didn't perform very well for the past 2 years, especially in grand tours. Poor is perhaps misplaced but if he has to gamble on breakaways in such a rough Giro then I'll doubt he'll show us something.

 

[royalpig180]

I think Vacansoleil is one of the weakest teams, though maybe not the weakest. Carrera is not going to do very well given the difficulty of the mountains on this years parcours, I think. (Brice) Feilu is an interesting addition, but we really haven't seen any flashes of potential since his tour stage win in Andorra in '09. The team is in desperate need of WorldTour points but I sure don't see them getting much here, except maybe some stage placings from breaks.

 

[royalpig180]

SBS it targetting the Tour with Chris Anker Sorensen and a bunch of lawyers, NTTAWWT.

+1
Hilarious and sooo true. Erm what does NTTAWWT mean?

 

[greatking88]

I think Vacansoleil is one of the weakest teams, though maybe not the weakest. Carrera is not going to do very well given the difficulty of the mountains on this years parcours, I think. (Brice) Feilu is an interesting addition, but we really haven't seen any flashes of potential since his tour stage win in Andorra in '09. The team is in desperate need of WorldTour points but I sure don't see them getting much here, except maybe some stage placings from breaks.

I see Carrara has been in Columbia recently doing altitude training with the likes of Uran, Carrara thinks he can do a top 10 in GC..Somehow I dont think so, Vancansoleil seem to have a v weak team in the Giro as well but for me BMC are the weakest..

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It's not that he never achieved anything, it's just that he didn't perform very well for the past 2 years, especially in grand tours. Poor is perhaps misplaced but if he has to gamble on breakaways in such a rough Giro then I'll doubt he'll show us something.

I think it's hard for anybody to flourish in the environment of Milram in the last two years. The team didn't look like it really had a focus or any objective other than to be a sort of placeholder for German cycling after Gerolsteiner and T-Mobile left.

I don't think getting in the breakaway on stage 11 is even close to a gamble. I think that's a stage where the break is likely to go all the way, and will probably be 20-strong. Getting in the break in a pan-flat stage to seek out the win, like Pineau managed last year, is gambling. Getting into the break on a stage after a major mountain stage but before more major mountain stages, but too tough for the sprinters, is very sensible if stagehunting is your goal. And stagehunting SHOULD be Leopard's goal at this race now Bennati's injured.

 

[Mambo95]

It's hard to see anyone who will feature in the teams of: BMC, Rabobank, Omega PL and Leopard.

Movistar would be on that list if Arroyo hadn't performed miracles last year. Sky have no real star, but I think they can do something.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It's hard to see anyone who will feature in the teams of: BMC, Rabobank, Omega PL and Leopard.

Movistar would be on that list if Arroyo hadn't performed miracles last year. Sky have no real star, but I think they can do something.

With no real leader (Arroyo can get into the top 10, but little more without circumstance like last year), I expect to see Vasil Kiryienka back in his 2008 mode of being in the breakaway a lot, especially in the mountains, and animating a lot of stages. I also think Ventoso could get some good placements in sprints and maybe even a stage, especially on the few flatter stages in weeks 2 or 3 where he will be likely to have got over the hills better than most sprinters.

 

[taiwan]

Apart from Arroyo, Bruseghin might have been capable of a top ten if it wasn't for his implication in matter of the clinic. Pardilla is a nice rider for a hilly parcours and may be worth watching, although I'm not sure what type of climbs he favours or how he'd be over 3 weeks. Ventoso is indeed an ideal sprinter for this type of course, and Kiryienka is more than capable of a stage win, maybe Samoilau too, who has had good results at the Giro before.

I think they're another team with no major GC threat or rival to Cavendish, only they're a cut above in terms of quality.

Team Ronin

Excellent analogy!

 

[Mambo95]

With no real leader (Arroyo can get into the top 10, but little more without circumstance like last year), I expect to see Vasil Kiryienka back in his 2008 mode of being in the breakaway a lot, especially in the mountains, and animating a lot of stages. I also think Ventoso could get some good placements in sprints and maybe even a stage, especially on the few flatter stages in weeks 2 or 3 where he will be likely to have got over the hills better than most sprinters.

Kiryienka I like a lot, but he's not a 'star' and I'm not sure about Ventoso in this kind of company.

To me, Movistar at the moment seem like Team Ronin. Samurai who have lost their master (and are now just waiting for him to return)

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Pardilla made the podium of the Volta a Portugal last year. He was 3rd to the Alto da Torre (long, gradual. They went via Manteigas and Piornos, so 20,3km, 6,3%. It's harder from Seia, at 31,3km, 5,1%) and 10th to the Alto da Senhora da Graça (8,2km, 7,1%). That's over 11 days and is pretty tough, but Pardilla looked to have targeted it to some extent and Xavier Tondó - who won the race overall in 2007 - ran out of gas after 2 weeks in his first 2 attempts at GTs.

He won comfortably on the Puerto de la Morcuera (9,2km, 6,6%) in the Vuelta a Madrid last year. He was 41 seconds back on Riccò on the Großglockner (Franz Josefs Höhe)(19,5km, 6,5%) - and 53 seconds back, together with teammate Sella, on the Kitzbüheler Horn (7,7km, 11,7%). 3rd on the Alpe di Pampeago (7,7km, 9,9%) and 6th to San Martino di Castrozza (13,7km, 5,5%) in the Giro del Trentino - beating the likes of Vino, Basso and Scarponi on Pampeago, though they would have been in Giro training mode. Back in his Burgos Monumental days he also managed a top 5 on the climb of Lagunas de Neila (approx. 7km, 9,0%).

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Kiryienka I like a lot, but he's not a 'star' and I'm not sure about Ventoso in this kind of company.

To me, Movistar at the moment seem like Team Ronin. Samurai who have lost their master (and are now just waiting for him to return)

I'm not disagreeing with you on Movistar as a team, but you simply said who would feature, not who was a star, or in what way they would feature. Few would argue that Kiryienka didn't "feature" in the 2008 Giro or Vuelta, so it was in that sense that I was offering him up as a suggestion for somebody from Movistar who would feature in the race.

 

[theyoungest]

Kiryienka I like a lot, but he's not a 'star' and I'm not sure about Ventoso in this kind of company.

To me, Movistar at the moment seem like Team Ronin. Samurai who have lost their master (and are now just waiting for him to return)

You seem to be somewhat focused on the amount of "stars" as an indicator of team quality. Unless it's about Sky.

 

[Angliru]

Kiryienka I like a lot, but he's not a 'star' and I'm not sure about Ventoso in this kind of company.

To me, Movistar at the moment seem like Team Ronin. Samurai who have lost their master (and are now just waiting for him to return)

Excellent analogy! Tishiro Mifune would be proud!