cio93 wrote:
Marcel Kittel wins the first Oman stage, Appollonio and Bouhanni on 2 and 3. Neither Goss nor Sagan in Top10.
According to his words, Sagan served as the leadout for Viviani in the first stage and same should happen in the second one, if Viviani will feel okay. I sense some changes in Sagan preparation, maybe winning everything in the first three months is not the goal anymore, that could be good for classics.
Well he didn't win everything in the first months Last year he had a very decent prep, almost perfect I'd say.
However I think too we will see improved version of Sagan this year in the classics
Yeah, he did not win all, i was mainly speaking about what was the goal, he and team wanted to strike in every stage with him, while now he is in Oman to lead Viviani in some stages.
And i hope he will be at least the same like last year in the classics, just better tactics wise (and there will be not Nibali, who was always first in the line - MSR tiny fail...) Edited by Avin Wargunnson on 12-02-2013 08:42
cio93 wrote:
Marcel Kittel wins the first Oman stage, Appollonio and Bouhanni on 2 and 3. Neither Goss nor Sagan in Top10.
According to his words, Sagan served as the leadout for Viviani in the first stage and same should happen in the second one, if Viviani will feel okay. I sense some changes in Sagan preparation, maybe winning everything in the first three months is not the goal anymore, that could be good for classics.
Stage 2 is basically made for Sagan, I doubt Viviani even has a slight chance today. It's not that far off from a MSR profile.
The categorized climb in the end is 1,8k@8%, looks like it might be something for Gilbert or another attacker without sufficient chase and the long downhill, but I hope Degenkolb and Sagan to battle it out.
Edited by cio93 on 12-02-2013 10:24
Yeah, the finish is tailor made for him, so it will be interesting to see what will be the outcome, maybe Sagan talking about helping Viviani again is some sort of PR crap.
Wow that final climb must have destroyed the pack for both Nibbles and Froomebot to be in the top 10 in a bunch sprint. And yet bizarrely guys like Impey and Soupe were in that group. It must have been a really strange stage.
Yeah if Sagan has learned how to use his attacks more aggressively then this is going to be one hell of a season. Particularly with the changes in Amstel Gold, which could now be ideal for him.
CountArach wrote:
Wow that final climb must have destroyed the pack for both Nibbles and Froomebot to be in the top 10 in a bunch sprint. And yet bizarrely guys like Impey and Soupe were in that group. It must have been a really strange stage.
Nibbles and Froomey both gained some time on the peloton, so it wasn't from a mass sprint.
Gallopin, Elmiger and Nibali lost 5 seconds to Sagan, Stybar and Froome 7 seconds and the peloton led by Bandiera finished at + 11s.
Last year he had a very decent prep, almost perfect I'd say.
