Cycleman123 wrote:
I hope I dont utterly fail

Jesleyh wrote:

Even a bad preview is better than no preview

Ollfardh wrote:
Seems like my earlier question went unnoticed, so here it is again

How are the non-team riders doing at the moment?

Cycleman123 wrote:

Welcome to the Tour du Haut Var, where the sponsor expects a stage win, so the U25 boys will be eager to impress. The DS is more modest, he only expects a top 40 in the GC. 


                       

The Favourites	Ones to Watch
J. Van den Broeck (LTB)	N. Nuyens (GRM)
P. Rolland (EUR)	G. Thomas (SKY)
T. Van Garderen (BMC)	D. Moreno (KAT)
	T. Pinot (FDJ)
	N. Roche (STB)
	S. Gerrans (OGE)

The opening stage of the Tour du Haut Var might very well be one for the breakaway. If a group of good climbers can get away then it could be very hard for the peloton to catch them with the several bumps leading into the finish and starting a fair way back at the first trip around the circuit. As always however, the win is most likely to come from the peloton, and if it does then a puncher should take the win. The uphill finish may be too much for the sprinty-punchers though, and we might see someone like Simon Gerrans taking victory. If team U25 tries another team attack, they might actually make it if they make some sort of train for their leader.

Stage 2:

The second and final stage of the 2013 Tour du Haut Var finishes flat, however don't expect to see Nacer Bouhanni take the win . This is mainly because of the two short but steep category 1 climbs both at the start and near the finish. A long, steep, but surprisingly uncategorised climb is sure to split the peloton. The break will find it hard to get away, as the stage starts on a rather steep climb, but they'll find it rewarding as the KOM jersey will almost certainly goto someone in today's break. Again, the course suits a rider like Simon Gerrans, however he mightn't be able to keep up with the pace on the sharp hills. The race should be a battle of the above mentioned favorites, however any team that is in the lead group when we go flat has a good chance of victory. We could see a surprise win from Team U25 today, as if they can save riders and energy for the finish, their sprinters should be among the only survivors of that class. My theoretical money's on Tejay van Garderen though, how about you?

Thanks everyone for reading my first pre-race report, hope you liked it . As Jesleyh said, "A bad review's better than no review ", but does that apply to f****ng long ones?
Sorry if some things like photos stuffed up, I'm currently on holiday in Italy and am doing this on my iPad, the thing's deleted my work 6 times already so I hope this sticks
Thanks again, Cycleman123