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La Pomme Marseille - Bye for now!
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-01-2013 13:10
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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Great presentations 
Some interesting developments have occurred in 2012! |
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 03-01-2013 14:36
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8389
Joined: 08-09-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Morton is already a beast.  |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 03-01-2013 16:36
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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 Lampre - Merida
Leaders: 4/5
Scarponi still has a season or two left on his current level, so he'll surely target a third Giro title. Cunego might also go for one GT, plus the major hilly classics - in which he'll form a very strong duo with Palini. They even have a cobbles leader now, in the shape of Pozzato!
Depth: 4/5
Pozzato will probably find himself isolated rather quickly on the cobbles, and the team is likely to lose bucketloads of time in team time trials - but other than that, it's a very good squad. They'll be a force to be reckoned with in stage races and hilly classics.
Future: 4/5
Palini, Ulissi and Cattaneo are all superstars in the making. Anacona looks like Colombia's next big thing after Uran and Henao. Favilli reminds a bit of Sagan in terms of allround strength. I don't think I need to go on...
Overall: 4/5
 Lotto-Belisol Team
Leaders: 5/5
When you have three riders who are all among the five best in their respective areas, it's hard to give anything else than a 5/5. Vanendert and Greipel were both incredibly successful last year, and Van den Broeck proved himself as an excellent three-week rider by finishing fourth in the Tour.
Depth: 2/5
Having three leaders like that comes at an expense. Greipel will have a great sprint train, but Van den Broeck and Vanendert will have to do a lot of work by themselves. It might work, but it's a big risk to take.
Future: 2/5
Sealing a deal with neo-pro and extremely promising climber Tim Wellens was very, very important. The lack of youngsters in the team is alarming. They need to change that as soon as possible.
Overall: 3/5
 Movistar Team
Leaders: 2/5
A lot of responsibility lies on Valverde's shoulders. How the team's season goes depends to a bit part on whether he can repeat the success in shorter stage races and classics from last year. He's probably also motivated to take revenge in a Grand Tour, after crashing and losing time in the last Tour.
Another man in focus is Intxausti, after the Vuelta podium. Rumours say that he'll try to repeat that this year, while also trying the Giro. Another protected rider is Costa, who might actually win a big classic this year.
Depth: 3/5
They're focusing on classics and stage races, so they've obviously built their squad around races like that. The fact that they completely miss northern classics specialists and don't have a lot of sprinters doesn't really matter when you look at how the climbing core looks.
Future: 2/5
The amazing Quintana has improved fairly well since last year, and will probably get a few own chances this year. Jesus Herrada and Castroviejo will also be interesting to follow, but there aren't really any others.
Overall: 2/5
Edited by Pellizotti2 on 03-01-2013 20:23
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| roturn |
Posted on 03-01-2013 16:40
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Team Manager
Posts: 22246
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Wow. Karpets looking bad. 
Still like the way you do the presentation. Very many details.
Edited by roturn on 03-01-2013 16:41
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-01-2013 16:41
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Three more very strong looking teams |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-01-2013 19:06
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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You forgot the general mark for those final teams
Lampre with some real talent! |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 04-01-2013 23:16
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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@ roturn - Well, he started out pretty bad as well. I tend to think that he's pretty overrated. I think he was like 70-71 MO at the start, but he has really declined.
@ Ian - Fixed!
OmegaPharma - Quickstep
Leaders: 5/5
Boonen, Chavanel and Terpstra's results in the northern classics last year was almost enough for them to win the WT team ranking. Now they also have Cavendish...
The only thing that could make them stronger than this is a top climber, and they're apparently in talks with reigning Vuelta champion Joaquim Rodriguez - who still hasn't decided where he'll ride during the 2013 season.
Depth: 5/5
They'll be feared in classics, sprints and time trials this year. Probably the best team in all those areas. Much better than before in the mountains as well, with Velits being the most notable name. This is a scary, scary squad.
Future: 4/5
Van Keirsbulck, Trentin and Fenn are ready to take over when Boonen and Chavanel eventually start thinking about retirement. Brambilla, Verona and Serry will take care of the other races. They don't have an enormous amount of talents, but the ones they've picked out are all very promising.
Overall: 5/5
 Orica - GreenEDGE
Leaders: 3/5
Goss, Gerrans and Albasini all leave an amazing season behind, hoping to repeat those results this year. The latter two are unlikely to, as the competition in the Ardennes should be back to normal level this year. Goss is probably capable of continuing to line up prestigious victories, though.
Depth: 3/5
An overwhelming part of the squad possess at least a decent kick of speed, showing how sprinter-oriented they are. Not good at all on the climbs, but okay at everything else. They were last year's second best team, so clearly this mix works pretty well.
Future: 2/5
Durbridge, Hepburn and Matthews are unquestionably some of the brightest prospects in the whole world, but they're more or less all the team has in this department. Meyer and Keukeleire will be interesting to follow, but they're never going to be superstars.
Overall: 3/5
 Radioshack - Trek
Leaders: 4/5
Schleck must bounce back from an extremely poor 2012 and start showing his quality again this season. Together with mainly Kiserlovski, his goal will be the GTs. But even if he fails miserably once again, they've got Cancellara to rescue them - just like he did last year.
Depth: 3/5
A very, very meager squad. On the other hand, one of high quality. The riders are well spread over the different areas, leaving no major achilles heel. The only "problem" will be that the riders will have to race a lot.
Future: 2/5
The big name on this front is Jungels, who has made the move up from the feeder team. Next to him, only a few others: the amazingly allround Gallopin, a slowly progressing Bennett, the rather unknown but very good Nizzolo and the strong timetriallist Sergent.
All incredibly talented, but very few. Slim but strong is clearly the philosophy in the team this year.
Overall: 3/5
Edited by Pellizotti2 on 04-01-2013 23:40
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 16:11
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| SSJ2Luigi |
Posted on 04-01-2013 23:21
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World Champion
Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
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Joaquim Rodriguez - who still hasn't decided where he'll ride during the 2012 season.
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| andy222c |
Posted on 05-01-2013 11:49
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Sprinter
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So... Frank Schleck is out because of doping, or has he just changed team? Great presentation once again! Omega Pharma Quick Step looks terrifying. They'll be tough to run over
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 05-01-2013 11:51
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
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Tiago Machado.  |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 05-01-2013 12:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Omega Pharma look very strong indeed |
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| ste_18 |
Posted on 05-01-2013 15:08
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1430
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Omega is surely one of the best team, nice to see Lampre so strong with many talents for the future. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 07-01-2013 20:35
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
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@ andy - Mr. Xipamide is currently serving a ban.
@ Miguel - Pretty accurate compared to how he is irl, according to me. Not really a top climber.
@ s68 / s18 - Indeed, OPQS are looking very good.
Had a busy weekend and couldn't find any time for more teams. Here's the final part of the WT teams, and thus the last of these detailed presentations. I haven't thought of a way to introduce the PCT teams yet, but it's going to be a bit simpler - as I want to start racing again!
 Team Saxo - Tinkoff
Leaders: 4/5
The two main leaders; Contador and Breschel, are both very motivated to strike back after a year they want to forget. I'm going to say already now that they're the winners of this year's Tour and Ronde. Kreuziger, Roche and a few others will take their opportunities in the other climby races.
Depth: 3/5
Breschel seriously lacks support for the northern classics, but apart from that - it looks good. Especially the line of climbers is very impressive this year.
Future: 2/5
Chernetskiy, Kump and McCarthy will be able to hold the team up when the current leaders go into retirement, but them aside it's a little meager. More or less all the current important riders are still fairly young, luckily.
Overall: 3/5
 Sky Professional Cycling Team
Leaders: 4/5
The top score disappeared along with Cavendish. Wiggins and Froome are both top tier materiel, but the next best riders; Henao and Uran, aren't quite there yet. They're still more than strong enough to compete for the team throne I think.
Depth: 5/5
They've got perfect helpers for all terrains. The only problem is that the absolute leader for the non-stage races is missing. A classics specialist is probably on their shortlist for next year.
Future: 5/5
Boasson Hagen, Boswell, Dombrowski, Edmondson, Henao, Uran... It's both scary and a little sad to see all these amazing youngsters in one team. If all of these stay with the team, the next few years wont be fun for the other teams...
Overall: 5/5
 Vacansoleil - DCM
Leaders: 3/5
Rujano is the only standout name in a squad that includes a lot of just below top level names. A late blooming Firsanov will help him take care of the mountains together with Marczynski. The dynamic duo Leukemans and Flecha will also be fun to follow - helping each other out on the cobbles.
Depth: 4/5
Surprisingly, their strongest field apart from the sprints, is climbing. Mainly the shorter hills, but still. The weakest area is probably the cobbles, although Marcato alone should be able to take care of much.
Future: 4/5
They've picked up pretty much the best of the Dutch youth, with the Van Poppel brothers being the front figures. Especially the younger one, who's quite amazing at just 19 years. A very young squad overall, with a majority of the riders yet to reach their maximum level.
Overall: 4/5
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 07-01-2013 20:41
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
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I wasn't talking about his mountain stat, but his TT stat. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 07-01-2013 20:46
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
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Sky look awesome, they are going to take some stopping |
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 07-01-2013 20:53
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5194
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Pellizotti2 wrote:
Future: 5/5
Boasson Hagen, Boswell, Dombrowski, Edmondson, Henao, Uran... It's both scary and a little sad to see all these amazing youngsters in one team. If all of these stay with the team, the next few years wont be fun for the other teams...
You forgot Kennaugh, Puccio and Rowe (sad smiley because Sky is overpowered a little )
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 07-01-2013 21:28
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8389
Joined: 08-09-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Like Cataldo's stats.  |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 11-01-2013 06:11
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World Champion
Posts: 14236
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Oh my, Sky and OPQS should be banned for being so overpowered. I like Stybar being a 79 hill, that is an incredible improvement.
Anyway fantastic job with these previews, i like them much and now i am even more sure i voted right in the awards. 
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| Daggen |
Posted on 11-01-2013 07:44
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Sprinter
Posts: 1849
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Go OPQS! |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 11-01-2013 17:13
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World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Christmas holiday ended this week, so I'm back to studying. Hence the lack of reports in the last few days. Feels like math and physics are the only things I do nowadays...
@ fcancellara - I just pointed out the most obvious ones, as it would take up too much space to name them all.
@ Freitas - Yeah, he's pretty good. I like it as well, as he's one of my favourite riders.
@ Avin - I thought you'd like Stybar's stats!
Also, really great to hear that I got your vote. Wasn't sure that I'd get any with (mainly) Petronas to compete with!
Decided to go for a (very) brief preview of the PCT teams. Hope you'll enjoy it anyway.
The big exclamation mark is obviously Katusha's presence. After being thrown out of the WorldTour, they now look set to dominate this division - even though their superstar Rodriguez has left.
Vini Fantini are also looking strong, led by a slowly declining Danilo di Luca and Andrea Guardini's replacement: Francesco Chicchi. Other notable names are Mauro Santambrogio, Oscar Gatto and Fabio Taborre.
Those two are a level above the other teams, according to me. Cofidis with Taaramae, Europcar with Rolland & Voeckler and Androni Giocattoli with Pellizotti will all probably contend for a top 5 spot, but I doubt more.
Two teams you might find a little more interesting than the others are the brand new IAM Cycling and the merged project Netapp-Endura.
 IAM Cycling
They've formed a great base to build on in the future. Many quite young riders with high capacity. Also smart not to go for an absolute superstar, and instead focus on the depth. A bright future is ahead for them.
 Team NetApp - Endura
It's hard to end up with a weak squad when you take the best riders from two different teams. A quickly improving Leopold König will lead the team this year, with Tiernan-Locke gone to Sky. Huzarski, Barta and the many sprinters will also have lots of room for own results.
All that remains now is a presentation of the La Pomme squad. Hopefully the racing will resume this weekend.
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