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2015 Tour Down Under (20 to 25 January)
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 07:49
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| ianrussell |
Posted on 22-01-2015 09:06
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Enjoyable skirmish that with a perfectly timed regrouping and decisive counter punch from Dennis. Looks like we'll get a decent 4 to 6 way battle up Willunga 
I'm going to go with Evans for nostalgia's sake. |
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 22-01-2015 09:12
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It'll be very interesting to see BMC's strategy on Willunga hill, I'm supporting Cadel, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Sanchez, Geshke, Pozzovivo or Dumolin stole the win while everybody looks at each other, but I usually get these things wrong. 
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| roturn |
Posted on 22-01-2015 09:14
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Interesting finish and strong BMC performance.
Dumoulin also in a good form it seems, while it`S surprising to see Fernandez as best Movistar rider. Had expected Izagirre there or even Lobato eventually. Obviously though he is going to rest for another stage win tomorrow.
I still hope Evans can take over the GC, but it won`t be much easier without a team order.
Jack Haig indeed impressive. He had a really good consistent development the last seasons and should be a very good rider on WT level next year when joining Orica. |
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 22-01-2015 09:28
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Grand Tour Specialist
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They actually said before the race that they expected Fernandez and Izaguirre to be the protected riders which kinda surprised me as well. Good job on his part though, I didnt expect much more than simple helper duties from his this year. |
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| ianrussell |
Posted on 22-01-2015 10:07
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Classics Specialist
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Jack Haig's fine performance is up on Strava https://www.strava.com/activities/244...5734805558
21km/h and 470 watts up the final 9% climb. |
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| Roextro |
Posted on 22-01-2015 10:08
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Small Tour Specialist
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Very internesting stage today, hoping Michael Rogers can hold his gc position or even move up hopefully
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 22-01-2015 11:19
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Tour de France Champion
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Evans is certainly going out with a Bang, Willunga will make interesting viewing |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 22-01-2015 11:48
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Tour de France Champion
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valverde321 wrote:
Strydz wrote:
baseballlover312 wrote:
Yeah, that jersey looks so good. NOT. It is still disgusting.
It's better than any of the older Gamin jerseys
No, its worse than literally all of them, except maybe the most recent version they were using for the past year or two. But even then I'd argue Black and Lime green are never a good combo, as its reminds me of those knockoff "glow" jerseys you can get online instead of the "real" jerseys (for north American sports)
In terms of teams with good jerseys, Garmin and Liquigas/Cannondale always had some of the better ones, and the one they have now that they've merged is awful.
Atleast if they wanted to use the Black/Lime green colour scheme they could have done something closer to the Cannondale cyclocross team which has a much better jersey.
Completely agree. I remember the 2012 Garmin Jersey and 2009 one being the finalists in the PCM Daily's favorite jersey.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 22-01-2015 12:30
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Grand Tour Champion
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Good to see Ruben Fernandez already inside the top ten in his first race on a WT team. Spanish cycling needs someone to hope for.
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| Strydz |
Posted on 22-01-2015 12:52
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Team Leader
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baseballlover312 wrote:
valverde321 wrote:
Strydz wrote:
baseballlover312 wrote:
Yeah, that jersey looks so good. NOT. It is still disgusting.
It's better than any of the older Gamin jerseys
No, its worse than literally all of them, except maybe the most recent version they were using for the past year or two. But even then I'd argue Black and Lime green are never a good combo, as its reminds me of those knockoff "glow" jerseys you can get online instead of the "real" jerseys (for north American sports)
In terms of teams with good jerseys, Garmin and Liquigas/Cannondale always had some of the better ones, and the one they have now that they've merged is awful.
Atleast if they wanted to use the Black/Lime green colour scheme they could have done something closer to the Cannondale cyclocross team which has a much better jersey.
Completely agree. I remember the 2012 Garmin Jersey and 2009 one being the finalists in the PCM Daily's favorite jersey.
That says more about the taste of the PCM Daily community than the quality of the jersey because the 2009 one was godawful
Hells 500 Crew and 6 x Everester
Don Rd Launching Place
Melbourne Hill Rd Warrandyte
Colby Drive Belgrave South
William Rd The Patch
David Hill Rd Monbulk
Lakeside Drive Emerald
https://www.everesting.cc/hall-of-fame/ |
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| Strydz |
Posted on 22-01-2015 12:56
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roturn wrote:
Interesting finish and strong BMC performance.
Dumoulin also in a good form it seems, while it`S surprising to see Fernandez as best Movistar rider. Had expected Izagirre there or even Lobato eventually. Obviously though he is going to rest for another stage win tomorrow.
I still hope Evans can take over the GC, but it won`t be much easier without a team order.
Jack Haig indeed impressive. He had a really good consistent development the last seasons and should be a very good rider on WT level next year when joining Orica.
Haig is a real talent and now he has moved on from his MTB focus to exclusively road he will really shine, between him and Power there is some nice GC talent coming through in Oz cycling.
Also good to see Fernandez showing up
Hells 500 Crew and 6 x Everester
Don Rd Launching Place
Melbourne Hill Rd Warrandyte
Colby Drive Belgrave South
William Rd The Patch
David Hill Rd Monbulk
Lakeside Drive Emerald
https://www.everesting.cc/hall-of-fame/ |
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| vismitananda |
Posted on 22-01-2015 13:41
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Domestique
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I guess Rohan Dennis can keep the Jersey beyond Wilunga Hill.
-Pain is temporary, Quitting lasts forever-
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 22-01-2015 13:46
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5075
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Rohan Dennis is such a weird rider. Most of the time he seems like a TT-specialist who cant climb at all, and then sometimes, he climbs extremely well.. Of course its in Australia and its so early in the season, but still. |
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| Malkael |
Posted on 22-01-2015 14:42
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Sprinter
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Stage 4 - Glenelg to Mount Barker (144.5KM)
(Click image to enlarge)
Although the parcours will not be pizza pan flat, the 2015 Tour Down Under continues with a stage which should, on paper, be contested by the sprinters. Will Marcel Kittel finally snatch that elusive stage victory? Or will one of his rivals beat the odds to upset the favourite once again?
Beginning in the popular beach-side suburb of Glenelg, Stage Four sends the peloton on a 144.5 kilometre-long scenic detour to Mount Barker. Never before used by the race organisers as an arrival city (stage finish) before, the Tour Down Under and Mount Barker are set to shake up the race with yet another virgin finish.
Travelling close to the South Australian coastline for the 45 kilometres, the peloton will have to be wary to the threat of crosswinds. Current forecasts suggest a south-westerly wind between 13-16 kilometres per hour will be present in the area, meaning the riders can expect a mild cross-headwind.
(Click image to enlarge)
Once the riders ascend Sellicks Hill and pass the Category Two rated King of the Mountains point located at the summit they will begin heading eastwards to Strathalbyn. The resulting turn inland should see the peloton sheltered from the wind in the valleys of the surrounding hills.
After reaching Strathalbyn the riders will begin heading northwards towards our finish in Mount Barker, but not before taking a detour westwards to Meadows and Echunga via Macclesfield in the process. En-route to Meadows via Macclesfield Road, the peloton could potentially find themselves briefly exposed to crosswinds as they climb upwards and leave the protection of the valley.
The peloton should be relatively protected again once they descend in to Meadows and the riders should reach Echunga without difficulty, although they might desire the assistance a tailwind would give them. After reaching Echunga the riders will climb Church Hill Road and then descend down to Flaxley Road, once again potentially exposing themselves for a short period.
(Click image to enlarge)
Flaxley Road will bring the peloton along the valley and straight to our finishing line in Mount Barker, where the sprinters can expect to find the perfect finish. The approach to the finishing line will be practically dead straight for the final two to three kilometres, with the road sloping downwards slightly towards the finishing line as well.
Although the German has struggled to win a stage at the Tour Down Under for the past two editions of the race, Giant Alpecin's Marcel Kittel will still be the outright favourite for many. Speaking after the conclusion of Stage Three, the German mentioned that Giant Alpecin's priorities had to turned now to first and foremost protecting Tom Dumoulin's position in the General Classification; is it a tactic to reduce the expectation thrust on Kittel's shoulders?
Lined up behind the hulking German will be a number of sprinters eager for a chance at victory. Orica – GreenEDGE could be a major player thanks to their General Classification ambitions resting on Daryl Impey. While 22 seconds down on race leader Rohan Dennis, the South African could improve his position by claiming some of the bonus seconds available during Stage Four.
IAM Cycling have been involved in all three stages through Heinrich Haussler and Jarlinson Pantano. With Pantano arguably too far down the General Classification to currently prioritise protecting I suspect the Swiss team will look to set up Australian National Champion Haussler for a crack at the stage victory, with the lumpy parcours potentially playing in to his hands.
Similar to Orica – GreenEDGE, Cannondale - Garmin could be similarly motivated to pursue the stage victory and bonus seconds on offer. With their best placed rider Nathan Haas disappointingly sitting 19th in the General Classification and the team without a victory so far, Stage Four presents itself as a decent opportunity for redemption.
As the fastest finisher on Stage One behind the surprisingly victorious breakaway, Lampe – Merida's Bonifazio Niccolo could be a strong contender for the stage victory. The Italian team could have one eye on keeping Ethiopian Grmay Tsgabu's position in the General Classification protected ahead of Old Willunga Hill, but one should rarely pass up a decent chance at claiming the stage honours.
Two sprinters whose teams may, understandably, be pre-occupied protecting their General Classification contenders are Gianni Meersman of Etixx – Quick-Step and J.J. Lobato of Team Movistar. With Etixx's Maxime Bouet and Movistar's Ruben Fernandez equal on time with fourth placed Richie Porte, both sprinters are a threat but may have to fight for the victory without assistance.
Down a rider due to Campbell Flakemore's unfortunate forced withdrawal due to a post-stage injury (Stage 2), BMC have just four riders to assist with protecting Rohan Dennis and Cadel Evans. So BMC's General Classification rivals will be hoping for a long hard day of chasing the breakaway, while BMC will be hoping the teams of the sprinters are eager to get involved.
Should the wind speed exceed the current weather forecast then we could be in for an interesting start to the day.
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| roturn |
Posted on 22-01-2015 14:51
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Nice preview of the next stage. Just made the odds for it.
Apparently I don`t expect Kittel to win this one. He will be some minutes behind concentrating on the Adeladide stage to win that one.
Will be another Lobato/Impey and eventually Meersman/Haussler stage with those bumps. Alternatively a breakaway with no danger for the GC could make it. |
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| Roextro |
Posted on 22-01-2015 14:55
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Agree with roturn about the finish, I would say Lobato is favourite over Impey, Kittel will probably take Adelaide - Adelaide but until then dont think he has a chance of any other stage |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 22-01-2015 18:11
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World Champion
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God, I love your previews Malkael. I don't know many people, who are even commentators for cycling, who write like that. Congrat's, and thanks for the previews. |
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| Strydz |
Posted on 22-01-2015 18:44
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Team Leader
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Riis123 wrote:
Rohan Dennis is such a weird rider. Most of the time he seems like a TT-specialist who cant climb at all, and then sometimes, he climbs extremely well.. Of course its in Australia and its so early in the season, but still.
Well he is still only 24 so I guess he is still working himself out, I doubt he will ever be a GT contender but could see him developing into a 1 week stage race type of rider.
Hells 500 Crew and 6 x Everester
Don Rd Launching Place
Melbourne Hill Rd Warrandyte
Colby Drive Belgrave South
William Rd The Patch
David Hill Rd Monbulk
Lakeside Drive Emerald
https://www.everesting.cc/hall-of-fame/ |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 22-01-2015 19:23
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Tour de France Champion
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Miguel98 wrote:
God, I love your previews Malkael. I don't know many people, who are even commentators for cycling, who write like that. Congrat's, and thanks for the previews.
+1
Outstanding stuff Malkael!
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 22-01-2015 19:29
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Shonak wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:
God, I love your previews Malkael. I don't know many people, who are even commentators for cycling, who write like that. Congrat's, and thanks for the previews.
+1
Outstanding stuff Malkael!
Absolutely. You could have your own cycling blog with that stuff, a bit like Inner Ring but then more previews |
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