Nationality:
Date of birth: 04.04.1984
Weight: 70kg
Size: 1m86
Co-Leaders:
Spoiler
GUSTAV LARSSON
Nationality:
Date of birth: 20.09.1980
Weight: 77kg
Size: 1m94
Spoiler
JOHANN TSCHOPP
Nationality:
Date of birth: 01.07.1982
Weight: 61kg
Size: 1m75
Free Element:
Spoiler
MARCEL WYSS
Nationality:
Date of birth: 25.06.1986
Weight: 64kg
Size: 1m77
Sprinters:
Spoiler
MARCO BANDIERA
Nationality:
Date of birth: 12.06.1984
Weight: 67kg
Size: 1m74
Spoiler
MATTEO PELUCCHI
Nationality:
Date of birth: 21.01.1989
Weight: 74kg
Size: 1m82
Goals:
- Get into the top 25 of the GC
- Get at least 1 top 10 finish in any stage
- Get into the top 10 of the KoM classification
- Get into the top 15 of the Team classification
Our team leader. Definitely the best climber of our team, and among the best 5 of the world. The opposition is heavy, but we trust in 'Nibbles', and know that he can do a great job in his home country. Of course, as Italian, he just had to race this race.
Sprinter
Andrea Guardini
Among the best sprinters in the world. Of course, Cav & Greipel are on another level, but in a pure sprint, Guardini can be in the Top 5. The sprinters line-up isn't that great in this year's Giro, so a win might be possible. Andrea is horrible on hills though, that can be a problem for us.
Free Role
Jani Brajkovic
A very good stage-racer. Wanted to do Tour - Vuelta at first, but decided to switch to the Giro. We're very happy that he's okay with that, the Giro is an important GT for us, since we've quite a lot of Italians. Brajkovic is a great TTist as well, which grants him a free role, so that he can try to get a Top 10 in the GC as well. He will be usable in the TTT as well. Still, he has to work for Nibali occasionally.
Helpers
Paolo Tiralongo
Paolo is a great mountain domestique, possibly the best of the world, although I admit that we're a bit biased in that. He's 35 years old, which makes his abilities extremely impressive. He will be a helper for Nibali the whole time. He will please Nibbles, no doubt.
Borut Bozic
He will be the leadout for Guardini. He's the only guy that's not helping Nibbles, but Guardini instead. In stages with some hills, Borut can ride for himself, and can possibly get a Top 5 if it gets a mass sprint.
Frederik Kessiakoff
One of the best TTists of the world. He can score serious points for us in the 55km TT, and can help the team majorly in the TT. He's a good climber as well. With Frederik, the Swedes finally have a rider to be really proud of.Edited by Jesleyh on 02-05-2013 11:50
Last year Joaquin came agonizingly close of winning Giro. This year competition will be fiercer, but he himself will be stronger too.
Dani Moreno
Role: Support Rodriguez in his quest of Maglia Rosa / stage win
Dani Moreno supported Purito in last year's campaign at Giro, being his most trusted domestique, and he will try to do so again this year.
Giampaolo Caruso
Role: Support Purito
Caruso is our Italian in the squad, he is one of our most valued domestiques, and will surely help the cause a lot. He's a perfect rider to go into breaks and cause pressure on other teams.
Vladimir Gusev
Role: Support Purito / General Domestique / TTT
Vladimir Gusev is a general domestique, helping both our sprinter, GC leader and the team in the TTT.
Alexander Kristoff
Role: Sprints / TTT
Alex Kristoff knows his chances are limited at Giro, but will be looking for a stage win across the whole Giro. He will also play vital role in the TTT.
Denis Menchov
Role: Support Purito / TTT
Denis's best days are over, but he is still great climber and will do everything to help Purito achieve the best position at the end.
Manuele Boaro Alberto Contador Roman Kreuziger Sergio Paulinho Michael Rogers Daniele Bennati
An Italian race, so we wanted some Italians in our team. Boaro is a perfect domestique while Bennati can hopefully still do something in the sprints. It will be all for Alberto Contador in the mountains, where Kreuziger, Paulinho and Rogers should give him the support he needs.
Edited by Ollfardh on 03-05-2013 09:28
With the Tour and the Vuelta in mind, Lotto is sending mostly a sprinter's squad to the Giro, hoping to score some stage wins. Bart De Clerq is a free agent, looking for mountain stages to score points in.
Edited by Ian Butler on 02-05-2013 13:39
My tactic was to bring up the best TTers with Evans and Van Garderen. Will be tight fight between me and TMM in Team Time Trial. Also,i hope Phinney can sprint well
Scarponi is Lampre´s choice to lead in the Giro. The 33 year old Italian is looking to win his second Giro and will have the full backing of the Lampre team.
Pozzato is the second choice for Lampre. His goals will largely be a free role to look for Stage wins and even the KOM jersey. But if necessary he will also step in to help Scarponi.
Selwink wrote:
I have PM ed both, Vacansoleil hasnt been on since, but FDJ is also taking long. If they havent made their presentation this monday, then we open the squads up
Thats too much. Give them time until tommorows morning. They had about week or something...
Jakstar22 wrote:
Pinktay3 is my brother and atm he is at a friends house and has been for a few days. I will make sure he does it when he gets home today.
Okay, do you know when he will be back? He has already given me his squad, that can be found in the first post
He is back. If you PM him or something he will do what he can
If there is a Grand Tour and he participates, he is the favorite. He is probably the best rider on the world if it comes to mountaineous terrain. In the time trial, he probably belongs to the top-10 of the world. With almost 100kms in the time trial, this could be an advantage for him.
***
Christopher Froome, Vincenzo Nibali
Christopher wasnt a known rider until the Vuelta of 2011. In that year, he ended at a surprising second behind Cobo. After his 2nd place in the Tour last year, he wanted to compete in all 3 GTs. He is probably not the best in the mountains, but he can gain a lot in the time trials.
Vincenzo has decided to set himself for the Giro this year. He will be one of the favorites, since he is not only a very good climber, but also very strong in the time trial. He will also get the support of many Italian cycling fans, coming to the race. His squad support is one of the strongest this edition.
Bradley used to be a track rider. He won many medals on the Olympics on the track, but has now decided to focus on the road and climbing. He has one of the best tts in the world, which always makes him a danger.
Ryder was not the most known rider in the GC, until last year. That year, he won this race. He beat Rodriguez in the last time trial, making him the winner. His ambition is to win the Giro again, but with such a strong field, this seems like an impossible task.
Joaquim lost last years Giro due to the TT. He can gain a lot in the mountains, but he must be careful not to lose to much time in the many time trial kilometres. He has got a strong squad to support him however, so he feels confident for a victory this year
*
Samuel Sanchez, Robert Gesink, Alejandro Valverde, Cadel Evans
Samuel has had a very bad year in 2012, where he suffered many injuries and lost many Basque companions. For this Giro however, he got a fully Basque squad with him. Samuel goes up and down mountains with ease, but has to pay attention in the TTT. In the ITT, his problems wont be that big
Robert had a decent year in 2012, even though he failed in his season goal, the Tour. He did however win the Amgen Tour of California and he finished 6th in la Vuelta. This year, he decided to aim on the Giro as he thinks he would stand more chance there. Being a good TTist and climber, this parcours suits him well.
Alejandro Valverde has surprisingly decided to aim on the Giro. Last year, he drove both the Tour and Vuelta. He disappointed in the Tour despite a stage win, but finished 2nd in the Vuelta, behind Contador. He is not the biggest favorite, because there are almost 100 time trial kilometres which definitely don’t suit him.
Cadel Evans was the first Australian winner of the Tour de France in 2011, beating the Schlecks. Last year was a big disappointment for him, not even finishing in the Top5. Even though he sees this a bit as a preparation for the Tour, he could still do well. His very good time trial could help him with setting a result.
Odds:
Alberto Contador 2.15 Christopher Froome 2.60 Vincenzo Nibali 3.20 Bradley Wiggins 4.40 Ryder Hesjedal 5.20 Joaquim Rodriguez 5.80 Samuel Sanchez 7.25 Robert Gesink 10.60 Alejandro Valverde 17.50 Cadel Evans 25.00 Another rider 8.50
Mark is probably the best sprinter in the world, and he participates in this years edition of the Giro. He has brought a squad based on him, making it possible he wins every single flat stage. He must however worry in the mountains, both for finishing in time and the points on the finish in those stages.
***
Alberto Contador, Matthew Goss
Many stages have mountaineous profiles, so the climbers also might have a shot at the red jersey as well. The best climber participating is Contador. He will hope to get many points on the mountain finishes to not only bring home pink, but also the red jersey.
Matthew Goss is a sprinter and his team is based around him and more stage wins. Goss might not be the best sprinter on the pure flat, but on the hillier stages, he has an advantage over the most sprinters, who are only good on flat. He could gain his red in this kind of stages.
Andre Greipel, John Degenkolb, Vincenzo Nibali
Andre Greipel is on the flattest sprints the biggest rival of Mark Cavendish. He took 3 stages on the tour of 2012, without winning the green. He could earn some points in the hillier stages, and with his team is very strong. He does rely on the real flat though.
John Degenkolb is focusing on the Giro this year. This edition contains many pan-flat stages without an uphill finish. John can gain many points in the pure flat stages, but in the hilly stages he can also make a difference with the other sprinters.
Vincenzo Nibali is one of the strongest climbers, not only here, but of the entire planet. He can gain many points in the mountain stages and the hillier stages. He still has to watch for other GC-contenders, but in the downhill finishes, he is the obvious favorite.
*
Elia Viviani, Alexander Kristoff, Christopher Froome, Samuel Sanchez
Elia Viviani is the sprinter and 2nd rider of Cannondale. He is a very young and talented sprinter. In the flat stages, all the Italians will cheer for him, which might give him such a boost he can beat the other sprinters. He doesnt consider himself as favorite however.
Alexander Kristoff has so far been in a very good form this year. He is a good sprinter on the flat and also very useful in the TTTs. The Russian might however end in trouble because the rest of his Katusha team is here to support Rodriguez.
Christopher Froome is like Nibali a very strong climber who can take many points on the mountain finishes. In the Vuelta he showed he can also handle the shorter climbs as well, which could give him a great advantage in those stages.
Samuel Sanchez is another good climber. He can gain many points in all mountaineous stages, but also he can handle a downhill very well. Even though he hasnt got the strongest support, he is a good sprinter for the flat mass sprints.
The odds
Mark Cavendish 2.10 Alberto Contador 2.85 Matthew Goss 2.90 Andre Greipel 3.75 John Degenkolb 4.10 Vincenzo Nibali 4.85 Elia Viviani 7.40 Alexander Kristoff 8.15 Christopher Froome 12.40 Samuel Sanchez 17.50 Another rider 6.00
Thomas is probably the leader of this years Vacansoleil. This squad is probably not strong enough to aim on the General, and since De Gendt proved to be a good climber on stage 20 to the Stelvio last year, he is the top favorite for this competition
***
Pieter Weening, Ivan Basso
Weening is the only rider to get a free role in the Orica-GreenEdge squad. Being in breakaways suits him very well and has already brought him many successes. His biggest successes were the stage win in the Tour of 2005 and wearing pink for a few days in 2011.
Ivan Basso already won the Giro in both 2006 and 2010, but he will probably not be strong enough for the general this year. Since he still is the best climber of this squad, the maglia azzurra seams a very realistic target for him this edition.
**
John Darwin Atapuma, Stefano Pirazzi, Johnny Hoogerland
John Darwin rides for Wildcard team Colombia-Coldeportes. He is quite a strong climber in this team without a real target for the GC. Since there is nothing to achieve there, the focus lies on being in breakaways and obviously on the blue jersey.
Stefano Pirazzi is the best climber of Bardiani Valvole, but not a threat to the GC riders. He was born as a baroudeur and this is very important for the competition. He will probably seen in front a lot, and if not, one of his team mates will take his place.
Johnny Hoogerland was also born as baroudeur. He probably rides for the team that suits him most in this case: Vacansoleil. If De Gendt fails in his achievement or competes for the GC, Hoogerland will try to take the maglia azzurra to the Netherlands.
Fabio Duarte is the second rider of Colombia-Coldeportes in this preview. Like Atapuma, he has no ambitions for the GC. He goes, together with his young squad, for stage wins and many points for the maglia azzurra, hopefully enough to bring it to Colombia.
Franco Pellizzotti is a very interesting rider. He was a very dangerous contender for the GC. Then he turned out to be doped. He returned after 2 years of suspension and ater he returned, he immediately won his first race: the Italian championship. This will give him much support.
Stefano Garzelli is like Basso a former Giro winner. He is still a very decent rider and might very well be good enough to keep up in the mountains. Since Vini Fantini aimed on a strong Santambrogio, he will get a free role to compete for the blue jersey.
Sandy Casar is in a free role for FDJ in this edition of the Giro. Last year, he almost won a stage and competed for the blue jersey. This year, he aims for this again, but he has many rivals and he declines by the year. He is very popular among the cycling fans.
The odds
Thomas de Gendt 2.75 Pieter Weening 3.45 Ivan Basso 4.40 John Darwin Atapuma 4.90 Stefano Pirazzi 5.55 Johnny Hoogerland 6.20 Fabio Duarte 6.75 Franco Pellizzotti 7.80 Stefano Garzelli 9.75 Sandy Casar15.00 Another rider 2.10
Team Saxo - Tinkoff 
Roman Kreuziger 
Sergio Paulinho
Michael Rogers
Lotto Belisol 
Ag2r - La Mondiale
Carlos Alberto Betancur
