Strong stamina and flat speed combined with an indefinable ability to deal with the fabled cobblestones is needed to have a chance in these races. There are two HC races that go over cobblestones, the E3 Prijs and the East Midlands Cycling Classic. The winners last year of these two races have moved up into the Protour. The fact that they have highlights the useful points this division of riders can give, despite a fairly limited schedule. Kuurne-Bruixelles-Kuurne and Stage 1 of the KBC De Panne Tour can give an early indicator of who is hot and who is not. Whilst after the dual HC races, there are three more one day oppurtunities in the Scheldprijs, Tro Bro Leon, and the GP Herning. Finally at the end of the year there is a nasty cobbled section on stage 7 of the Tour de Faso that gives the specialist cobblers one last go at glory with the time gaps gained enough to win the whole tour. This was exampled by a devastating attack by Neils Albert last year.
Most of the best cobblers have capabilities of either helping sprint trains or going after other victories themselves. They also have the chance of competing with Marcus Burghardt, Tom Boonan, Fabian Cancellara and Alessandro Ballan in the Protour Classics. Adam Blythe of 100% Me represents a fair chance in the Ronde de Vlanderaan and certainly the Paris Roubaix (where Blythe finished 5th last year) of upsetting the apple cart. Meanwhile Pieter Vanspreybrouk and Neils Albert will get a deserved shot at the big time in the Northern European Tour towards the end of the season.
10 riders : 1) Adam Blythe (100% Me): Strong cobbler who can sprint - leads 100% Me British cobbler duo with Geraint Thomas. 22 year old is surely due some big results this season. Blythe is not quite as stong on hills as others in this category.
2010: 2nd Scheldprijs and Halle Ingooigem, 5th Paris Roubaix, 4th E3 Prijs
2) Peiter Vanspreybrouk (Team IKEA) Leads the exceptional IKEA-Bianchi dual threat with Tour de Faso winner Neils Albert. Whilst Albert got slightly better results last year, one has to fancy that Vanspreybrouk will do more this time out.
2010: 3rd E3 Prijs, 4th Halle Ingooigem, 5th K-B-K, 5th EMCC.
3) Vladimar Gusev (Cillit Bang) Dropping down in class this year, will raise questions on how best to use such a rider. His biggest strength lies in the cobbles where the team also has David Kopp, Marc De Maar and Markus Eichler. Surprisingly Cillit Bang are not racing in the E3 Prijs race.
2010: 5th Erioca, 8th Het Volk, 9th Ronde VV
4) Leif Hoste(Bbox) Dependable experienced Belgian, may find younger riders eclipsing him this year. Nethertheless his results last year were very consistent and he will no doubt pop up with some useful results for his french team.
2010: Winner K-B-K and Halle Ingooigem, 3rd De Panne stage 1, Scheldprijs, and GP Henning 5) Bernhard Eisel (Bimbo Nutella): As a new team Bimbo have done well to attract the useful battling Eisel. Eisel seems to get trumped by Belgians a number of times, nethertheless seems to be there or thereabouts often.
2010: 3rd K-B-K, 3rd EMCC, 7th E3 Prijs 6) Gert Steegmanns (Vespa): Steegmanns will surely benefit from the drop in class if used in the cobbles, Vespa have a good replacement however in the Belgian Verbist who surely would do something in these ranks also. Difficult to assess Gert's chances on paper looks like a winner.
2010: 5th G-W, 9th P-R 7) Thor Hushovd (Milka): The mighty Thor may be a consistent top 10 finisher, Cobbles unfortunately rarely end in a sprint. Good chances overall in De Panne Tour however with a good ability over cobbles and extra oppurtunities to pick up bonus time in sprints.
2010: 10th Erioca, 9th G-W 8) Roger Kluge (Pokerstars) New kids on the block have creamed off some slightly below par cobblers to try for something. Klugealong with Frenchman Geslin and Belgian all rounder Van Impe lead their threat. 9) Roy Sentzens (Intesa): Serious top 10 candidate, backed up by a couple of other good candidates.
2010: 6th K-B-K, 8th E3 Prijs, 4th Faso stage 7, 7th Scheldprijs 10) Gianni Meersman (Highroad) Perhaps a slightly weaker candidate, but may sneak some top 10's for the Belgian team.
Last year we saw the Jack Wolfskin duo of Dominique Cornu and Kai Reus really stamp their mark on this division. It was clear that having a super Time Trialler who can climb hills successfully was a recipe for success. The problem is that Time Triallers are in high demand in the ProTour too, so any kind of ability on the Time Trial is to be treasured. Most of the very best like World TT champ David Zabriske, Michael Rogers, Fabian Cancellara, Taylor Phinney and Jerome Coppel are in the Protour for example. Perhaps it is unsurprising that Wild Cards for Protour Time Trial events have been left vacant. That being said there are several key Time Trial events in the Continental tour.
The Isle of Man Time Trial and the Duo Normand were dominated by the previously mentioned duo, however several names will look to fill the void. Though the best rewards for a Time Triallist would be to use the TT for stage race glory. Look for early indicators of this type of rider in the Tour of Wellington (where the TT is a little short) and certainly the Volta a Algarve. From there the European season really gets into gear and the 4 days of Dunkirk, Bayern Rundfaht and the Tour of Belgium all have routes flat enough for a good Time Trialler to take advantage of the TT for classification. Also the Tour of the Channel Islands may interest a Prologue specialist. The two HC stage races that feature crucial to GC TT's are the Post Danmark Rundt and the Tour of Missouri.
10 guys to watch against the clock:
1) Mikhail Ignatiev (Wiggle): With the promotion of Jack Wolfskin, Ignatiev will left to prey on the Continental Tour TT. Ignatiev has everything in his favour and he is more than capable of taking more gains on hilly stages, making him a strong favourite for the Tour of Missouri. The only question mark is Ignatiev is such a key rider for Wiggle how many Time Trials will he race? Likely to race in the IOM TT and the Tour of Missouri at least.
2010: Win Bayern Rundfahrt stage 4, 3rd Isle of Man TT, 2nd Duo Normand
2) Bradley Wiggins (Pendleton)
Pendletons British pair Wiggins and David Millar should go well, Millar popped up in several ProTour top 10s' last year. Whilst Wiggins weighed in with several good continental results last year also . Good enough to beat Ignatiev maybe not, but where Ignatiev isn't thats where we shall see these two take some wins. Big favourites for the Duo Normand. Watch out for the Pendleton duo at the Post Danmark Rundt, Tour of the Channel Islands and their 'home' Isle of Man TT also.
2010: Win Tour Belgium stage 3, 6th Isle of Man TT, 2nd Duo Normand
3) Ian Stannard (100% Me)
Gained a lot of useful experience on the ProTour last year and is now ready to go it alone for 100% Me. Should go well in the Isle of Man TT at least, though lack of ability on hills should eliminate from GC battles on Time Trialling alone in most cases.
2010: 6th Chrono de Herbiers, part of good Virgin Media Team Trialling squad
4) Zakkari Dempster (Quiksilver-Kraft)
Did not go as well as he should have in TT's last year with one exception in the Tour of Wellington where Zakkari beat some really good TTers. Better on hills than Stannard but certainly no Ignatiev. Quiksilver have indicated that Dempster will have limited oppurtunities for overall GC glories, perhaps challenging in the post Danmark Rundt and along with Jose Guitierrez will target victory in the Duo Normand.
2010: Win ToW stage 6, 10th Isle of Man TT, 5th Duo Normand 5) Haijun Ma (Cillit Bang)
Cillit Bang's heavywieight TTer will get some top 5's but can he step onto the podium?
2010: 5th Isle of Man TT, 5th Tour of Wellington stage 6 6) Miles Olman (Bimbo Nutella)
In terms of pure TT ability, Olman should get some good results in shorter tests. Bimbo have entered him in several key TT races and will work hard to get Olman over climbs and on lengthy stages. 7) Michael Elizen (Highroad)
Could go well in selected races as is tough enough to survive selections in GC battles as well as a more than capable TTer. Watch out out in Volta a Algarve and 4 days of Dunkirk 8) Stef Clement (Team Pokerstars)
Middle of the road results last season, Pokerstars however will be expecting big things of their best stage racer.
2010: 9th Isle of Man TT, 10th Duo Normand, 8th Bayern Rundfahrt stage 4 9) Javiar Aramendia (Team LEGO)
Up and coming Team LEGO's best TTer.
2010: 5th Tour of Missouri stage 3, 10th Duo Normand 10) Hayden Roulstan (Bbox)
Better known as a Lead out man, but never the less can put in a strong Time Trial.
2010: 3rd Tour of Belgium TT, 6th Tour of Missouri
Edited by Smowz on 18-04-2010 19:11
Wegmann, Valverde, Trofimov are just some of the names that have gleemed so many results from the numerous hilly classic and stage racing options. Whilst some good puncheaurs have moved onto the Protour, Grand Tour commitments have meant that the ProTour teams simply could not afford the luxury of some of the best riders. They will not escape the likes of Ginanni and Ignatiev in some of the key races next year however.
In the Continental Tour there are 5 key HC Classics to watch out for starting in the opening Bloemfontain Classic in January. After the cobbled Classics there is the Philideliphia International which is sure to attract a strong field, the San Sebastion Classic in Spain, the important Italian race Giro del'Emilia and the season finale the Japan Cup. In addition three of the HC stage races give opportunities for a staying climber to go well including the Tour Down Under which will be a battle with the sprinters up Willunga Hill. Also watch out for the World's View Challenge and the Tour of Britain.
On a slightly lower level there are numerous one day classics such as the Giro di Lago di Garda, Gp Ploay, Subilda Naranca and hilly tours such as the Tour of Luxembourg and the Euskel Bizickla for hilly specialists to plunder.
1) Ricardo Ricco (Bacardi-Colt)
Valverde, Kessler, Wegmann and Trofimov will not race in Continental races this year. But look out for Ricco. Bacardi have paid a big wage and expect Ricco to pay them back with fine Hilly Classic performances.
2) Stefan Schumacher (UBS)
Schumacher has bags of potential if he were to really exert himself in hilly races. The problem for Schumacher has been a lack of motivation to do well in these types of races - again this year he will not go to Giro d'Emillia or the Japan Cup. However should feature in several other races.
2010 Winner Tour de Luxemboeurg
3) Francesco Ginanni (Vespa)
Ginanni was one of the most consistent performers last year and should go better this time with some of his toughest competitors moving onto protour teams. If he covers the right move climbs hills as well as anyone.
2010: Winner GP Llodio, Etoile Bessages, 2nd Profende van Drenthe. Tre Valli Varasine, Giro del Lazio
4) Gilbert (Pendletons)
No wonder Pendletons were so keen to bring Gilbert back in. Winner of two very strong races last year Gilbert is definitely the man for the big occasion. One day hilly races his big speciality. Surprisingly however Gilbert will not be at some of the sites of his best performances last time out.
2010: Winner Philedelphia, Tre Valli Varesine, 2nd San Sebastion Classic 5) Pozzato (Mercedes)
Genuine pro tour quality. Pozzato is particularly good at winning from a small group. Mercedes overwhelming number one rider look for Pipo to deliver. 6) Cleays (LEGO)
Lego have brought in some riders to really make the difference and many expect them to go really well this year, especially in punchy hill terrain. 7) Ponzi (Wiggle)
Wiggles pair of Italians will have a busy schedule this year in the hilly stuff and they both possess devestating attacking ability. Ponzi has slightly better all round ability. 8) Efimkin (Milka)
Could be the surprise package, Milka have worked Alex Efimkin hard over the winter so that he can perform with the big hitters. No doubting his climbing ability winning the hilly basque second string tour last year showed this.
2010: Winner Euskel Bizikla, 3rd San sebastion Classic 9) Flugel (IKEA)
Ikea will no doubt be targetting stage races more than one day classics. So look for Flugel to be their joker in the few one day races they do race.
2010: 2nd FB Ras, 3rd GP Llodio 10) Roche/Martin (100% Me)
Dan Martin has been in training with the successful 100% Me outfit, the Irish duo will be a threat again this year, particular in stage races that focus on hills.
Martin 2010 winner World's View Challenge
Edited by Smowz on 18-04-2010 19:13
Whilst there will be numerous attacks on the Continental Tour expect a lot of bunch gallops also as there are numerous top quality sprinters around. Whilst Boonan and Bennati are perhaps the best around most of the rest of the very best are plying their trade for Continental teams. This underlines the importance placed on such riders.
The sprinters are rewarded with two specialist races that are flat enough for a field the be pulled together in a bunch at the Dutch Food Valley Classic and the Vattenfalls Classic. There are also several mini classics that often attract quality fields such as the Paris Tours, the Down Under Classic , Abergavenny Criterium and the Giro del Piemente. It will be interesting to see what kind of fields some of the new races such as the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, Gp Montreal and the Scandenavian Race Uppsala pull in. These races are expected to be won by sprinters but watch out for attacking riders who will still try and pull it apart.
Sprinters are valuable because a good one will pull in results in stage races too. Occasionally a stage race is flat enough for a sprinter to conceivably win the GC. The Tour of Ireland, Circuit Franco - Belge and the Tour de Picardie will suit a sprinter who can survive medium hill climbs.
10 of the fastest:
1) Ben Swift (100% Me)
The ever improving Brit, who took a lot of victories last year in stage races. Perfect for stage racing as Ben survives hills well. His team are blessed with no less than 3 excellent sprinters, so look for them to mix and match as the season goes on.
2) Napolitano (Unicredit)
Winner of last year's Giro del Pimento, Daniele should be difficult to beat especially at home races. Unicredits undoubted star man also went close in the Vattenfalls classic last year so slightly surprising that Unicredit have chosen not to race it this year. Indeed Daniele's big sprinting results may have to come from stage races this year.
3) Mohs (Team Pokerstars)
In terms of pure sprinters one day races Mohs was very consistent last year. He won the prestigious Vattenfalls Classic and the Down Under Classic, Mohs was also 3rd in the Dutch Food Valley Classic. Pokerstars may seem to be a Cobbled Classics team, but will also carry a real threat with the German sprinter who should get great value out of his race days.
4) Goss (Bacardi-Colt)
Goss, completes Bacardi's trio threat and was up there in several good sprinters races last year. Matt will have been frustrated to miss out on the Down Under Classic and he was also close in the Abergavenny Criterium, Paris Bruxelles and Paris Tours. It will be interesting to see how Goss is deployed this season with a new team. 5) Van Heerden (Pendletons)
Paris Bruxelles champion Jaan Van Heerden is Pendletons reliable sprinter who pretty much guarantees victories in stage races at some point. Only 25 years old, look for continued consistent riding this year. 6) Vantomme (Highroad)
Highroads star man, though looks a little short on cobbled ability is going to be a danger to the established sprinting hierarchy. 7) Ciolek (LEGO)
Experienced sprinter, from many people's dark horse team LEGO, should snag some victories, though usually misses out on the biggest of races. 8) Hushovd (Milka)
The best of the pure sprinters at Cobbles too. Thor can also Time Trial well and holds himself together on hills, so watch out for Thor in flattish stage races with a Time Trial. Backed up by a formidable sprinting team with Jimmy Casper and Juan Pablo Forero. 9) Davis (Quicksilver)
Never quite as fast as the very best, but at this level should be a threat, especially on home turf. 10) Van Avermart (Bimbo Nutella)
Last years second placed rider in the Dutch Food Valley Classic, will not be involved in that one and may be used as back to Eisel in cobbled races instead. Still pops up and takes stage race victories from time to time.
Edited by Smowz on 18-04-2010 19:16
Whilst the most legendary mountains stages generally appear in the Grand Tours, there are several nice climbing stages and races in the Continental Tour. Whilst the majority of the lengthy American stage races may suit more of an all rounder there are some to suit the out and out mountain climbers.
The big two targets for any climber will probably be the Tour de Langkawi with stage 6's climb up the Genting Highlands the focus of the GC battle. Here teams will try and get a thin climber safely through the other 6 flat stages in the best condition to tackle this climb. There is also the Spainish one day shark toothed profile of the Urkiola which will certainly be tackled by the best climbers in the Continental Tour.
Outside of this the Mt Hood Cycling Classic and Vuelta Chihuahua are more focussed on having a great pure mountain man than the other stage races in the Americas. Meanwhile Malaysia gives us the lower profile Jelijah Malaysia which is almost a carbon copy of the Langkawi. In Europe the Tour of Slovenia doesn't have a Time Trial to frustrate our climibing fraternity and the new Romanian Mountain classic is sure to attract some interest.
10 to watch: 1) Alarcon (IKEA): Jose Alarcon could well be IKEA's ace in the hole, attacking mountain specialist has the ability to win in Langkawi is his stamina high enough? Could be the star climber of the year.
2) Serpa (Pirelli): The highly paid Serpa will deliver some strong consistent results, will new team Pirelli get their moneys worth. Good prospects in Langkawi and either Portugal or Burgos.
3) Marquez (Sport Lisboa) Last years Igeora 2nd place (to the irrepressable Valverde), Marquez leads Sport Lisboa's impressive talents who where up there in last years Vuelta Espana too. The problems for Sport Lisboa is getting these guys too actually win races. Surely will be the team to beat in Langkawi and the mexican Vuelta Chihuahua.
4) Kohl (UBS): Fighting Austrian sometimes a follower rather than an instigator but really gutsy. Given the best climbers will be deployed elsewhere look for Kohl to shine in pure climbers races. 5) Samwel (Bimbo Nutella): Exciting talent from Kenya, this guy climbs and has the legs to hold on, best not mention Time Trials. 6) Lopez Garcia (Santander): Santander have some Strong time triallers/ good climbers. This guy doesn't bother with wind tunnels he just climbs mountains and hills very well indeed. 7) Delgado (Quiksilver): Pure climber out of South America, these guys don't come cheap - nethertheless Yeison is at home on the really mountainous stuff and few are better. Will be looking for a top 5 in the Tour de Langkawi genting highlands climb. 8) Gil (LEGO): Too much pressure on Koldo last year, this year he should settle and deliver. 9) Matteo Carrara (Petronas): Italian climber, Petronas main man for the Genting Highlands 10) Vitor Rodrigues (Bimbo Nutella): Portuguese climber, attracted to up and coming Bimbo Nutella's youth based squad.
Edited by Smowz on 18-04-2010 19:18
Whilst there is no Grand Tours in the Continental tour of great significance, there is enough call for all round racers to make a difference the overall impact for the trade teams.
The longest HC categorised race the 11 stage Volta a Portugal has two tough mountain top stages , two nasty hill top finishes and a nasty 32 km Time Trial at the end. This calls for some good all round skills in all three categories to survive such a test. Interestingly that goes on simultaneously with the shorter 5 stage Vuelta a Burgos giving squads an interesting tactical decison to ponder. The Vuelta a Burgos is a scaled down Volta a Portugal with 1 mountain top finish, a hilly stage and a mid race 16 km TT to make the difference. Alejandro Valverde won the Vuelta a Burgos last year over a strong field underlining that these types of races indicate the very best of the Continental tour riders. It also perhaps indicates that the Volta with more stages may be less attractive the very strong riders like Ricardo Ricco for example who need to save their energies!
Another good stage race is the Tour de San Luis at the beginning of the season in Argentina. This is perhaps slightly skewed towards a good climber, as there is only a short flat 16 km TT on stage 3 of the 7 stages. This will come after the toughest mountain climb on stage 2 and after the time trial there are two lumpy ones to decide the GC.
Outside of these races, there are some well supported short stage races that should appeal to a rider of all round characteristics. These include the Giro del Trentino, Corsica International, the Ringerike GP and the Vuelta Castilla y Leon. Due to having a short amount of stages these races look like they will attract top quality fields. There are some longer races going from the 7 stage Herald Sun Tour and Tour of Japan all the way up to the monsters that are the 12 stage Vuelta a Tachira, 15 stage Vuelta a Columbia and ambitious 21 stage Tour of America. These types of races will to a varying degree drain a rider but someone has to win them and some teams certainly have built their teams with these races in mind.
Finally, there are two wild cards apiece awarded to teams to go to the Grand Tours. Ikea take there useful stage racers to the Tour de France, Franco Pellizotti's stage racing Wiggle team may have chances in the Vuelta a Espana, Santanders all Spanish squad also should go well here.
10 Best stage racing teams 1) Taaramae/Larsson (IKEA)
One of the favourites for promotion, difficult to argue with when they have two regular top 5 stage racers on show. Taaramae and Larsson are well suited to some of Cont Tours best stage races as they can Trial and climb mountains AND hills. Look out for this team in the Tour de San Luis and the Vuelta a Burgos.
2010:
Taaramae: 1st Tour de San Luis, 2nd Castille y Leon, 4th Vuelta a Burgos
Larsson: 3rd Vuelta a Portugal, 4th Tour of Utah
2) Abal /Madrazo/Cobo (Santander)
Santander will benefit from a greater volume of important stage races in the Continental Tour. Santander were based a lot on Alejandro Valverde last year so more will be expected of others this year, Loan star Abal in particular can deliver.
3) Pellizotti/ Niemiec/Velits/Anton (Youtube)
Attention Youtube are a stage racing team this year a four pronged assault on stage races that will yield some good results in Youtubes overall position. Youtube have made no secret that stage racing is their ultimate goal. Franco Pellizotti is backed up by a squadron of three good racers for the longer races.
4) Perez Sanchez (UBS)
The big transfer to get goals, Perez sanchez certainly is capable - can he live with the hype? 5) Lloret (Petronas)
Evans has gone, so where will Petronas deploy excellent racer Manuel Lloret. Lloret was dependable last year, though often lacked a decisive edge over his rivals. There is no doubting this riders consistency however.
2010: 1st Tour of Japan, 2nd Giro del Trentino, 2nd Vuelta a Burgos 6) Van den Broeck (Sport Lisboa)
Sport Lisboa know their way around stage races, they were prominent in even the Vuelta d'Espana last year. Trouble is their top climbers fell to pieces in Time Trials when asked. Van Den Broeck is welcomed in with open arms. 7) Kritsky/Petrov (Tinkoff)
Petrov was in and around Continental Tour stage races last year, Tinkoff have declared that he will be racing the daddy of all stage races the Tour of America his experience will make him a favourite there. Kritsky will perform well too. 8) Evans (Yamaha)
Wily old fox Evans will sniff out something for the Yamaha boys. Cadel will want last moment of glory before retiring. 9) Kirchen (Bacardi-Colt)
Ricco's limited stage racing opportunities means Kirchen is Bacardi's man for stage racing and he showed last year that on occasion he can deliver. 10) Rohregger/Kessiekoff (Telenor)
Telenors useful duo expect some good little top 5s from these two
Edited by Smowz on 18-04-2010 19:20
Here goes, though very difficult to predict of course. Looking at things this way certainly I have to acknowledge that I possibly overestimated some teams and underestimated others. The breakdown of racing is somewhat different to last year, so it could be that I have read things wrong. Anyway here his my stab at the top ten:
1) Ignatiev - Ignetiev to be this years Cornu
2) Taaramae - Stage racer continues to get better and better
3) Swift - 100% Me number one sprinter crafty manager usually gets the best out of his men.
4) Ricco - highest paid rider will surely deliver, is competition with other punchaers going to be too hot?
5) Abal - Climbs mountains and Time Trials with the best, consistent podium man for sure.
6) Schumacher - will the German be deployed effectively
7) Pozzato - hilly man who sprints well
8) Blythe - The best of the Cobblers, could dominate division.
9) Ginanni - consistent Italian puncher
10) Pellizotti - Will be up there in every race he goes for.
My reading is that Ignatiev will be pretty much unbeatable in Time Trials on the tour and therefore given his more than capable all round ability will take a lot of small stage race wins as well as the IOMTT. Rein Taaramee is surely the best stage racer and therefore should be around the top 3 of stage races. Swift I am not so sure, sprints seem random, but swift did well last year so I will count on SN to pick out the right races for him.
The hilly riders division I found hard to fathom. Last year Valverde was awesome, though Ginanni was very strong also (actually I now think he is better than steegmanns). This year I see Schumacher and Pozzato amongst others making it difficult to dominate I could be wrong.
Finally I have not idea how the cobbled races will go, Blythe looks so strong though will he do what Burghardt did in the Protour last year and Gert Steers did in the Continental?
Edited by Smowz on 18-04-2010 20:45
Very nicely done... I do think there are some mistakes along the way.
Firstly I don't think Adam Blythe is the best cobbler in the CT. Mainly because his hilly stat isn't superb, and a lot of cobbled races are also slightly hilly.
I believe that Gusev is by far the best cobbler, with Vanspeybrouck being no. 2
Blythe for 3rd and Steegmans just behind in 4th.
I don't quite see why Wiggins is the 2nd best TT'er in the CT, while Stannard, Dempster and Olman should be atleast as good. If it comes down to the other stats then Gustav Larsson must be ahead of Wiggins easily.
Looking at the hilly riders I think you are hugely overestimating Claeys. He has got a great hilly stat, but a shitty endurance and he can't climb either. Hassan Ben Nasser should be in his place I think, but I think that Ponzi might be in the top 5 though I don't know who to take out. Probably Gilbert. Maxime Monfort, Kim Kirchen and Chris Froome will probably also sneak into the top 10 instead of Efimkin, Flügel and Roche.
Thor Hushovd should really be in the top 5 of the sprinters I think. He is very endurant in comparison to many CT sprinters, and where is Mark Cavendish? He must surely be in top 5 also. Peter Kennaugh must also be in top 10 atleast.
In Swift, Cavendish and Kennaugh I do have a strong sprint team - as you say, it can be a bit of a lottery - but Im optimistic that it will work out well. You can just never quite tell.
In terms of cobbles, I think Id agree with Blythe just above Vanspeybrouck, but Gusev has harder to tell. Gusev would probably be favourite if he can drop his main rivals, but doesnt have much by way of a sprint.
And yeh in the hills, it ought to be Roche/Froome rather than Roche/Martin.
Edited by SportingNonsense on 18-04-2010 22:19
I enjoyed writing it gave me an insight as to what to look for in the races even ones I am not involved in!
I am not sure I got the guys in the right order all of the time I tried to factor in lots of things and probably looked for something different to what I should have done.
In Gusev's case for example I understand Waghlon does not intend on riding the E3 Prijs - where as I am fairly sure that along with riding the Protour races Blythe will be present everwhere there is a cobblestone in the CT.
I also tried not to include more than one rider from the same team or with the exception of Hushovd a rider in more than one list. I tried to figure out which a rider was more likely to specialise in. Taaremae and Larsson will probably contest and do well in the Duo Normand for example but they will likely be more present in all round stage races rather than just the Time Trials. Ricco I guess could race in Giro del Trentino but probably will race mainly hilly races!
What I found quite interesting was whilst the CT stage racers and Time Triallers are a long way behind the Protours best in terms of depth - there is strength in mountain goats, hilly men and sprinters.
Wiggo: I keep making that mistake thinking Wiggo is managing the team with Wiggle in its name and also Wiggins is riding for Pendletons!!! Why can't Wiggins ride for Wiggle and be managed by Wiggo?
Great Preview, even if people think there are some mistakes (like Evans not being #1 ), it looks like you did more than enough research anyway and for new members it gives us a good idea on the game.
Great preview although I'm astonished that sn leaked our race programmes and i'm pretty sure gilbert is riding the races he was most successful in last year. although i'm glad you rate wiggins so well
wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
Great preview although I'm astonished that sn leaked our race programmes
I didnt
wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
although i'm glad you rate wiggins so well
On time trials alone, it could be a slight overrate though, as Stannard comfortably beat Wiggins in their head to heads last year (Worlds and British Champs)
wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
Great preview although I'm astonished that sn leaked our race programmes
I didnt
wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
although i'm glad you rate wiggins so well
On time trials alone, it could be a slight overrate though, as Stannard comfortably beat Wiggins in their head to heads last year (Worlds and British Champs)
Then how can smowz make comments like that. I haven't posted my race schedules anywhere, only my goals.
and yeah, there are a few tters better, but wiggins and millar should pick up good gc rides
and i'm pretty sure gilbert is riding the races he was most successful in last year. although i'm glad you rate wiggins so well
