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News in January
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| Forever the Best |
Posted on 18-01-2017 21:59
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ivaneurope wrote:
Riis123 wrote:
ivaneurope wrote:
Riis123 wrote:
ivaneurope wrote:
And here're the wildcards for the 100th Giro
Willier-Selle Italia
Bardiani CSF
Gazprom-RusVelo
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
What a disgrace, no Androni? Seriously? Its like RCS don't wanna there to be Italian teams, forget about they are much more qualified than CCC. Holy smokes some geniuses up there in that organisation that tries to kill Italian cycling.
Two doping strikes in 2015, forcing riders to pay-to-race. Not to mention that they had Pelizotti - the biggest doper of them all. Androni could blame themselves
Tristana also was involved, yet still invited.
I just don't get why you dont support your continental teams when the foreigners aren't better - in this instance, CCC are clearly a worse team. Bernal, Gavazzi, Torres etc. CCC offers nothing besides Hirt
Oh, sorry, did I touched a nerve?
It's their fault - not RCS's that Androni got shafted. Same goes for Nippo and their "leader" Cunego who is irrelevant sice 2007. I'm glad that national protectionism has ended in the Giro - it's time to end in the Tour as well (I want to see Caja Rural instead of Fortuneo or Delko) I would love to be irrelevant since 2007 if I win Giro di Lombardia and Amstel Gold Race in 2008 |
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 18-01-2017 21:59
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Rebellin is retired and Ponzi.. seriously? There really isn't no sporting argument here so its pretty useless to bring one forth, its obviously all political.
Now Androni will pull the plug and the manager of Nippo has said the same. Not really what you want when the team you are picking over those two on top of it are worse and are excluding one of the potentially most mercurial riders of this generation like Egan Bernal + a known commodity in Torres who did splendid in one of the hardest races on the calendar, in 2016 the Giro de Lombardia which RCS didn't have a problem inviting them to!
Damn, I wanted to see Bernal. I wish RCS was a bit more like ASO (did I just say that). Rant over, I guess. |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 18-01-2017 22:03
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Riis123 wrote:
There really isn't no sporting argument here so its pretty useless to bring one forth, its obviously all political.
Ah, i see you've joined us in the modern sporting world. Welcome 
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 18-01-2017 22:18
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What this does, however, is yet again highlight some serious failings of cycling as a sport. It is not up to the race organisers to look after a teams financial security. A race organiser should be solely responsible for organising races to a high standard. It should be upto the team to make sure it can keep it's sponsors and keep going.
What we have in cycling however is a sport dominated by a select handful of races. These big races draw the vast majority of media coverage and viewship. And this is what sponsors want. So we get the situation where the organisers become somewhat responsible for the security of teams. This is never going to be sustainable in the long term for teams.
Personally i'd like to see wildcards given on a pure sporting basis. Based on a balance of Ranking position and Rider suitability. So a high ranking PCT team will be first in line for the wildcard, provided they have a suitable rider selection (e.g. a team of mainly climbers wouldn't get a wildcard to roubaix, but a lower ranked team with a good cobbler would). Although of course this is a fantasy that would require huge re-structuring of the sport, which is very slowly happening (2019 could be interesting for wildcards as it sounds like a relegated team will get invites to all races and it's then upto them to turn it down).
Anyway, just some more general thoughts on Wildcards.
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| matt17br |
Posted on 18-01-2017 22:20
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Rebellin is retired
He rides for a Kuwaiti team! He's not retired yet 
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| ivaneurope |
Posted on 18-01-2017 22:45
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Riis123 wrote:
Rebellin is retired and Ponzi.. seriously? There really isn't no sporting argument here so its pretty useless to bring one forth, its obviously all political.
Now Androni will pull the plug and the manager of Nippo has said the same. Not really what you want when the team you are picking over those two on top of it are worse and are excluding one of the potentially most mercurial riders of this generation like Egan Bernal + a known commodity in Torres who did splendid in one of the hardest races on the calendar, in 2016 the Giro de Lombardia which RCS didn't have a problem inviting them to!
Damn, I wanted to see Bernal. I wish RCS was a bit more like ASO (did I just say that). Rant over, I guess.
Oh dear. That would have been destructive for any non-Italian team willing to join.
And this is what it baffles me with ASO's wildcard selection - always French teams. Seriously who wants to watch Fortuneo, who barely have GC rider (or rider for any of the classifications at all for that matter), or Cofidis if Bouhanni is not there? I ommit Direct Energie from the list solely on Tommy Voeckler - the last French rider to wear the yelow jersey for more than a day. I'd rather have team like Caja Rural who are on par with WT teams at the Vuelta. I won't be surprised if ASO invites all 4 French PCT teams at the Tour though Delko's place should be taken by Caja Rural or Wanty
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 22:39
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| Strydz |
Posted on 18-01-2017 23:59
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ivaneurope wrote:
And this is what it baffles me with ASO's wildcard selection - always French teams. Seriously who wants to watch Fortuneo, who barely have GC rider (or rider for any of the classifications at all for that matter), or Cofidis if Bouhanni is not there? I ommit Direct Energie from the list solely on Tommy Voeckler - the last French rider to wear the yelow jersey for more than a day. I'd rather have team like Caja Rural who are on par with WT teams at the Vuelta. I won't be surprised if ASO invites all 4 French PCT teams at the Tour though Delko's place should be taken by Caja Rural or Wanty
Would Caja Rural want the Tour invite? They don't really have the depth to stretch it out over 2 GT's in one season and I assume the Vuelta is the race they really want to perform in. Also you are being a tad harsh on Cofidis, they were active even without Bouhanni with Navarro finishing 3rd on 2 occasions and 2 more top 10's before he pulled out, Laporte also bagged 6 top 10's in a very good sprint field.
Anyway back to the topic I agree that ASO will most likely invite at least 3 French teams when in reality only 2 should get an invite which I doubt anyone on this board would complain about. This is why I find it odd that people are complaining about RCS only inviting 2 Italian teams, the only mistake in my opinion that RCS made was inviting CCC as they don't have a team to compete in a GT. If Androni and any other Italian team fold due to not getting a Giro Wildcard then it's not on RCS but more on the poor state of cycling sponsorship, it's not RCS's responsibility to prop these teams up.
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 00:35
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The Schleck Fan wrote:
ivaneurope wrote:
Oh, sorry, did I touched a nerve?
It's their fault - not RCS's that Androni got shafted. Same goes for Nippo and their "leader" Cunego who is irrelevant sice 2007. I'm glad that national protectionism has ended in the Giro - it's time to end in the Tour as well (I want to see Caja Rural instead of Fortuneo or Delko) I would love to be irrelevant since 2007 if I win Giro di Lombardia and Amstel Gold Race in 2008
Cunego was pretty solid until like 2013. He was a Top 50 rider in the CQ rankings until 2013 and only had 2 years he didn't get a Grand Tour Top 10 in the span from 2007-2012, and points wise I think 2008 was actually his best year.
But Im nitpicking... because everyone always seems to talk about Cunego like he was a terrible rider ever since the end of 2008.
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| Strydz |
Posted on 19-01-2017 02:42
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valverde321 wrote:
The Schleck Fan wrote:
ivaneurope wrote:
Oh, sorry, did I touched a nerve?
It's their fault - not RCS's that Androni got shafted. Same goes for Nippo and their "leader" Cunego who is irrelevant sice 2007. I'm glad that national protectionism has ended in the Giro - it's time to end in the Tour as well (I want to see Caja Rural instead of Fortuneo or Delko) I would love to be irrelevant since 2007 if I win Giro di Lombardia and Amstel Gold Race in 2008
Cunego was pretty solid until like 2013. He was a Top 50 rider in the CQ rankings until 2013 and only had 2 years he didn't get a Grand Tour Top 10 in the span from 2007-2012, and points wise I think 2008 was actually his best year.
But Im nitpicking... because everyone always seems to talk about Cunego like he was a terrible rider ever since the end of 2008.
That is true, it's really only in 2014/2015 that he went missing, people seem to forget that last year he was only a few points from winning the KOM at the Giro. He has been judged pretty harshly by cycling fans just because he was so good early on in his career that his other achievements after 2008 aren't rated that highly when in reality he has been pretty solid.
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 19-01-2017 04:59
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ivaneurope wrote:
And this is what it baffles me with ASO's wildcard selection - always French teams. Seriously who wants to watch Fortuneo, who barely have GC rider (or rider for any of the classifications at all for that matter), or Cofidis if Bouhanni is not there? I ommit Direct Energie from the list solely on Tommy Voeckler - the last French rider to wear the yelow jersey for more than a day. I'd rather have team like Caja Rural who are on par with WT teams at the Vuelta. I won't be surprised if ASO invites all 4 French PCT teams at the Tour though Delko's place should be taken by Caja Rural or Wanty
As Strydz said Laporte and Navarro are some very good riders on Cofidis. Direct Energie has Coquard too and Fortuneo actually have a good selection of breakaway riders which I don't mind watching. Only really Delko that don't deserve a spot.
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 06:05
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trekbmc wrote:
ivaneurope wrote:
And this is what it baffles me with ASO's wildcard selection - always French teams. Seriously who wants to watch Fortuneo, who barely have GC rider (or rider for any of the classifications at all for that matter), or Cofidis if Bouhanni is not there? I ommit Direct Energie from the list solely on Tommy Voeckler - the last French rider to wear the yelow jersey for more than a day. I'd rather have team like Caja Rural who are on par with WT teams at the Vuelta. I won't be surprised if ASO invites all 4 French PCT teams at the Tour though Delko's place should be taken by Caja Rural or Wanty
As Strydz said Laporte and Navarro are some very good riders on Cofidis. Direct Energie has Coquard too and Fortuneo actually have a good selection of breakaway riders which I don't mind watching. Only really Delko that don't deserve a spot.
Thats spot on. The other teams are definitely qualified, McLay mixed it up in the sprints as well for Fortuneo last year and Direct and Cofidis has 2 of the better sprinter around in the world. That ivaneurope doesn't even mentions Coquard, but Voeckler, is very odd. |
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 06:07
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ivaneurope wrote:
Riis123 wrote:
Rebellin is retired and Ponzi.. seriously? There really isn't no sporting argument here so its pretty useless to bring one forth, its obviously all political.
Now Androni will pull the plug and the manager of Nippo has said the same. Not really what you want when the team you are picking over those two on top of it are worse and are excluding one of the potentially most mercurial riders of this generation like Egan Bernal + a known commodity in Torres who did splendid in one of the hardest races on the calendar, in 2016 the Giro de Lombardia which RCS didn't have a problem inviting them to!
Damn, I wanted to see Bernal. I wish RCS was a bit more like ASO (did I just say that). Rant over, I guess.
Oh dear. That would have been destructive for any non-Italian team willing to join.
Correct me if Im wrong, but didn't Bora get a wildcard for 2016? Sure as hell Delko didn't get one since Bora took their wildcard which renders your point pretty moot.
Thats 3/1 which is the most balanced way of giving wildcards. The Giro should definitely have done the same from a sporting perspective. Any cycling fan who isn't Polish simply shouldn't defend them handing a wildcard to CCC above better domestic teams. Heck, you could invite 3-4 foreign pro conti team better than CCC. |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 19-01-2017 07:37
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Hirt will show you guys how crazy you are for ruling CCC out of the game. 
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 12:24
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Quintana oficially confirmed to race Giro and Tour this season. His calendar until Giro will be Mallorca, Valencia, Abu Dhabi, Tirreno and Asturias
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 12:25
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Also Valverde's calendar has been defined. He will start his season in Mallorca as Nairo, then will race Murcia, Almeria, Andalucia, PN, Cataluña or Pais Vasco before the Ardennes. After that, Tour and Vuelta
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 12:30
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Aquarius97 wrote:
Quintana oficially confirmed to race Giro and Tour this season. His calendar until Giro will be Mallorca, Valencia, Abu Dhabi, Tirreno and Asturias
So Froome will win the Tour more easily than normal as Quintana will be knackered and then have no competition at the Veulta.
Looks like the Giro will be the only Grand Tour worth watching this season.
"Ringo is exactly right", Shonak - 8 September 2016
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| roturn |
Posted on 19-01-2017 13:09
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It just means Froome wins the Tour, which would have had happened anyway.
Then Chaves beats Froome in the Vuelta, which would have had happened anyway. 
Giro should have most impressive startlist by the look of it with Nibali, Quintana, Pinot (and Aru?) going for it. König also aiming for the Giro podium.
Wonder where the Yates brothers are going. Guess one at least leading in the Tour for podium. And then there`s the always try and often fail top3 riders such as TVG, Porte, Majka. |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 19-01-2017 13:22
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I believe Adam will be going back to the Tour, unless Orica makes a change and decides to send Chaves given the ever decreasing field there. Simon i'd hope would also attend in a free role to attack and play foil for Adam. Hell, if Orica went all-in with Yates, Yates and Chaves they could get two podium spots i bet
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 19-01-2017 16:30
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ringo182 wrote:
Aquarius97 wrote:
Quintana oficially confirmed to race Giro and Tour this season. His calendar until Giro will be Mallorca, Valencia, Abu Dhabi, Tirreno and Asturias
So Froome will win the Tour more easily than normal as Quintana will be knackered and then have no competition at the Veulta.
Looks like the Giro will be the only Grand Tour worth watching this season.
Have you always been like this?  Seems it has gotten worse lately. Really annoying to read posts such as that... Aint nobody is winning 2 GTs in a row easily.
Considering everything, Orica would be stupid not to send Chaves to France IMO. Matty White is very competent to I expect him to do that. |
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| Ton1Mart1n |
Posted on 19-01-2017 16:54
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https://www.cyclin...bike-race/
The boys are back together 
“When it’s hurting you, that’s when you can make a difference”
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
