FreitasPCM wrote:
Alaphilippe is way overpowered. Great work, another Ardennes triple nearly a decade after!
Yeah him and Sagan are the two highest AVG riders in the save, and imo SPR is the least important main stat as long as ACC is still high, so he's just so hard to beat.
The face of someone who knows they're about to cash in big on their next contract
After an already historic season, which isn't even half over to this point, Julian Alaphilippe is the talk of much of the peloton, and Patrick Lefevere is hoping to resolve contract discussions with the rider, who's contract runs up at the end of the season. Alaphilippe will no doubt be commanding a huge new contract in the new season and Lefevere is unsure if he has the budget to keep the Frenchman onboard. Often the case in the past, riders will have breakout seasons for the Quickstep team, and their contract demands will become too high, and they will move on to a new team. Lefevere is very good at finding cheaper replacements, and should Julian leave, I think there are several strong options he could bring in. Dan Martin, could return to his former team, as could Max Schachmann. Valgren and Mathieu Van Der Poel are both options as well. Van Der Poel has already admitted that riding for Lefevere with Quickstep would be a dream come true, and his number one choice. Lutsenko, Hanninen or Pidcock are also 3 younger options, who may not be able to fill Julians footsteps right away, but in a couple years time.
Alaphilippe has said he doesn't wish to make his contract situation public, but there have been numerous reports linking him to Total Direct Energie, who will want to have a major French rider as their leader next season, and they have also reportedly increased their budget to be one of the highest next season in order to do so.
Another one of Quicksteps leaders is rumoured to be leaving as Enric Mas, who won the Giro and Vuelta last season, is rumoured to be heading to Movistar, who would like a Spanish superstar to lead them, with the (eventual) decline of Valverde, and Mikel Landa also likely to be leaving at seasons end. Lefevere could very well leave his climbing squad as is, and focus more on classics, as he has usually done. Jungels can still lead Grand Tours, and is clearly capable of winning one week stage races. Padun, Lambrecht and Evenepoel are 3 young riders who could also fill Mas' spot. However, there are options on the market as well. Landa and Carapaz may both leave Movistar and could be solid options. Dan Martin not only could be a replacement for Alaphilippe, but for Mas as well, so perhaps that makes him the #1 target? Sam Oomen may leave Sunweb so that he can be a leader, instead of a support rider, and Kruijswijk and Buchmann would not be much of a downgrade either.
Mas was promised support riders if he did well in 2019, and after he did so, Lambrecht, Padun and other climbers were signed in the offseason, so Mas cant say he doesn't have support now. A move away from the Belgian team would likely be for better opportunities or a bigger contract, which a team like Ineos could afford.
It will be interesting to follow the transfer saga, as it develops. New contracts cant be signed until August 1st, so until then, nothing is official.
*Let us know in the comments below: what you would do, if you were in Lefevere's situation! Who should he sign/re-sign?*
Tamijo wrote:
Julian Alaphilippe crushed the Hilly Classics, congratulations
Thanks! He's just too good really!
-----
Also, just a note regarding the Transfer News, I will be taking peoples opinions into consideration, so please let me know what you think I should do (if you even care )
Let us know in the comments below: what you would do, if you were in Lefevere's situation! Who should he sign/re-sign?
I won't try to influence the processes or directions of the team, not that I don’t care just think it will be a better story if you take those decisions yourself.
Let us know in the comments below: what you would do, if you were in Lefevere's situation! Who should he sign/re-sign?
I won't try to influence the processes or directions of the team, not that I don’t care just think it will be a better story if you take those decisions yourself.
Fair enough, I appreciate the response anyway!
With a much quicker reporting style to my previous stories its more difficult to keep followers engaged/involved, so I thought this might be a fun way to try and do so.
I have enjoyed your story thus far, I refresh daily to see if there is an update. If I had my 2 cents, would be to keep a GC rider just for the veriety of races you can contend in.
noskillz153 wrote:
I have enjoyed your story thus far, I refresh daily to see if there is an update. If I had my 2 cents, would be to keep a GC rider just for the veriety of races you can contend in.
I really appreciate the reply, and glad that your first post can be in my story thread
This years route, is almost identical to the 1994 edition, which starts in Bologna with a prologue, and ends in Milan as is almost always the case. The 2nd half of the race is where most of the GC action will take place, with only one Mountain stage, and a 45km TT which will produce significant gaps. The 2nd half will not be very pleasant for the sprinters, with essentially only 2 flat days. Any GC contenders that peak for the first half will likely struggle immensely later on in the race.
With the race crossing into Slovenia, Roglic pretty much had to come to the Giro, and he should be the main favourite. He's the best overall rider, and Jumbo as always have one of the better squads in the race. Dumoulin will be his biggest challenger and despite Roglic's TT ability, should still be able to gain a bit of time on him (and massive amounts on most other GC riders). Formolo and Bardet could very well be the two best climbers in the race, but their TT lets them down somewhat. Last year Formolo finished 3rd in the GC, while Roglic was all the way down in 7th, so Formolo cannot be forgotten.
Yates, Nibali, Pinot and Landa will all be trying to get onto the podium as well, while the one star favourites will more likely just be hoping for a Top 5 or Top 10 placement.
Ciclamino Favourites
***
Viviani, Gaviria, Roglic
**
Ewan, Jakobsen, Formolo
*
Colbrelli, Degenkolb, Bennett, Moschetti
Viviani is the favorite to win the most stages, and in doing so should also be one of the favourites for the Points classification. Gaviria, Ewan and Jakobsen will be the other major sprinters at the race, and could all challenge for multiple stage wins. In the mountains, or even medium mountain stages, Roglic will be the favourite to take stage wins as well, but Formolo and Dumoulin will be up there as well.
Someone like Colbrelli or Degenkolb can get consistent results on the flat days, but if a medium mountain stage ends in a sprint, Viviani and the other sprinters could be dropped, although Viviani and Ewan are both quite strong on climbs compared to the average sprinter. Should Viviani or Ewan retire, Bennett who is teammates with Viviani could fill in, and Moschetti could also be a dark horse.
All in all, the Giro should be a great race, and with the absence of Froome, Thomas and Mas, the last 3 dominant GT winners, we should be in for a close and thrilling battle over the next 3 weeks!
Jungels finishing 12 seconds down on the stage winner
1
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
2
Nils Politt
Lotto - Soudal
+00:06
3
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:09
4
Giacomo Nizzolo
Team Dimension Data
+00:11
5
Benjamin King
Team Dimension Data
+00:11
6
Julien Duval
AG2R La Mondiale
+00:11
7
Edoardo Affini
Trek - Segafredo
+00:11
8
Gianni Moscon
Team Ineos
+00:11
9
Dmitriy Gruzdev
Trek - Segafredo
+00:11
10
Cameron Meyer
Mitchelton - Scott
+00:11
Stage 2
Martin wins in the uphill sprint
1
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
2
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
3
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
4
Thibaut Pinot
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
5
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
6
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
7
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
8
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
+00:00
9
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
10
Tim Wellens
Trek - Segafredo
+00:21
Stage 3
Roglic takes a "flat" stage
After the categorized climb Deceuninck put the tempo up, hoping to drop the sprinters, but they couldn't sustain the pace, which welcomed an eventual attack by Roglic, who was chased down by Decuninck, but to no avail.
1
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
2
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
3
James Knox
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
4
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
5
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
6
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
7
Simon Yates
Mitchelton - Scott
+00:00
8
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
9
Mark Padun
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
10
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
Stage 4
Roglic puts more time into the other favourites, on the first summit finish
With the breakaway winning the day, Roglic was the strongest of the GC men, with Nibali looking like a strong challenger for the podium. Dumoulin loses 45 seconds, and Jungels loses over 1minute to Roglic on the day. De La Parte is the new GC leader, as Jumbo opts to allow the jersey to slip from Roglic's grasp.
1
Victor De La Parte
Movistar Team
+00:00
2
Brice Feillu
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
3
Enrico Barbin
Bardiani - CSF
+01:23
...
8
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+06:01
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+06:27
10
Thibaut Pinot
Groupama - FDJ
+06:27
11
Rigoberto Uran
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+06:42
12
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+06:42
13
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
+06:42
14
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+06:57
15
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
+06:57
16
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
+07:13
17
Mikel Landa
Movistar Team
+07:20
18
Simon Yates
Mitchelton - Scott
+07:20
19
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+07:20
20
Patrick Konrad
Astana Pro Team
+07:40
Stage 5
Ewan takes the first real day for the sprinters
1
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
2
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
3
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
4
Marc Sarreau
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
5
Mark Cavendish
Team Dimension Data
+00:00
6
Fabio Jakobsen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
7
Sacha Modolo
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
8
Zdenek Stybar
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
9
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
10
Nikias Arndt
Team Sunweb
+00:00
Stage 6
If not for Ewan, Viviani wouldve likely had a timegap in the sprint
1
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
2
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
3
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
4
Ilnur Zakarin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
5
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
6
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
7
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
8
Brice Feillu
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
9
Julien El Fares
AG2R La Mondiale
+00:00
10
Dylan Teuns
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
Stage 7
Pinot wins the sprint, from the favourites group
The pace was high all day, which saw all the sprinters dropped. By the end of the shortest non time trial stage of the race, only the top GC contenders were in the group at the head of the race, and Pinot with a group of a handful of others got away in the sprint, however there was no timegap counted until the 20th rider to finish, to the aid of slower riders like Dumoulin and Jungels in particular.
Quickstep used the wind as a chance to try and disadvantage other riders, and only a group of 28 finish at the front. The next group loses over a minute. Notable names include: Zakarin, Pinot, Landa, Formolo, Quintana, and the rest of the favourites.
1
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
2
Fabio Jakobsen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
3
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
4
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
5
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
6
Diego Ulissi
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
7
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
+00:00
8
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
9
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
10
Enrico Gasparotto
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
11
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
...
17
Simon Yates
Mitchelton - Scott
+00:00
...
29
Kristoffer Halvorsen
Team Ineos
+01:13
Stage 10
Ewan takes another stage
1
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
2
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
3
Fabio Jakobsen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
4
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
5
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
6
Zdenek Stybar
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
7
Max Walscheid
Team Sunweb
+00:00
8
Sacha Modolo
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
9
Mark Cavendish
Team Dimension Data
+00:00
10
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
Stage 11
Deceuninck get their first stage win of the race with Jakobsen
1
Fabio Jakobsen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
2
Mark Cavendish
Team Dimension Data
+00:00
3
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
4
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
5
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
6
Marc Sarreau
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
7
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
8
Sacha Modolo
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
10
Simon Yates
Mitchelton - Scott
+00:00
Stage 12
Ewan takes his 4th stage win of the race in the Ciclamino jersey
1
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
2
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
3
Mark Cavendish
Team Dimension Data
+00:00
4
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
5
Matteo Moschetti
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+00:00
6
Fabio Jakobsen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
7
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
8
Tiesj Benoot
Team Ineos
+00:00
9
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
10
Diego Ulissi
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
Stage 13
Teuns wins the hilly stage from a group of 15
1
Dylan Teuns
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
2
Primoz Roglic
Team Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
3
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
4
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
5
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
6
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
7
Gianni Moscon
Team Ineos
+00:00
8
Tiesj Benoot
Team Ineos
+00:00
9
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
10
Thibaut Pinot
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
...
15
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
16
Sam Oomen
Team Sunweb
+00:32
17
Mikel Landa
Movistar Team
+01:03
18
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+01:03
19
Sergio Luis Henao
UAE - Team Emirates
+02:16
20
Gorka Izagirre
Movistar Team
+02:16
Stage 14
All the heads of state come home together with Nibali grabbing the stage
Jungels made an attack 3km from the summit, but was caught on the descent, after his team put on a high tempo on the last 2 climbs of the day.
Great work, another Ardennes triple nearly a decade after!
Tour de Romandie (2.UWT) 2020
Giro d'Italia (2.UWT GT) 2020 Preview
