|
Giro d'Italia Discussion
|
| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 09-12-2017 12:48
|
Team Manager
Posts: 31706
Joined: 08-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
It's time for the Giro d'Italia! The first Grand Tour of the season, and surely the most open Grand Tour the ManGame has seen in a number of years. More on that coming up.
Who will follow in the footsteps of Pluchkin last year, Schleck, Phinney, Ricco and of course Cunego before that? Well the field guarantees that we will have a new Giro winner. There are only two former Grand Tour winners in the field even, and one of them is Frank Schleck!
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | | 2016 |  Pluchkin |  Alarcon |  Madrazo | | 2015 |  A. Schleck | Madrazo |  Cunego | | 2014 | Cunego | Pluchkin | Madrazo | | 2013 |  Phinney | Madrazo |  Spilak | | 2012 | Ricco | Sella | Pozzovivvo | | 2011 | Cunego | Sella | Nibali | | 2010 | Cunego | Pellizotti | Ricco | | 2009 | Cunego | Sella | Pellizotti | | 2008 | Cunego | Ricco | A. Schleck | | 2007 | Cunego | Di Luca | Simoni |
The race lead switched around early, with Van Stayen taking the opening stage, and losing the jersey to Guarnieri who won the 2nd stage. Gazelle won the TTT but that saw Enger take the lead for Aker - splits and crashes having also made their mark early on. Pluchkin then moved in to the race lead after the first mountain stage. But it was Alarcon who won the first two summit finishes - closing the gap on the Moldovan, having been dropped by his Red Bull teammates in the TTT.
Henao took a mountain stage, Kruijswijk escaped away for 2 of the downhill finish mountain stages, while Van Stayen, Guarnieri and Howard all made their way to 2 sprint stage wins. With 5 stages to go, Pluchkin led Alarcon by 33 seconds, and Madrazo by 1'13. Regular attacks by Dall'Oste had seen him build a strong lead in the KoM competition, which he added to all the way up to the final stage. It won him the competiton, despite the challenge from an aggressive Olivier in the final week - that did gain the Dutchman a stage and good GC position.
Alarcon took a 3rd stage win on Stage 18, finally taking the race lead - gaining a 42 second advantage on Pluchkin. He had shown himself to be the best climber in the race, but sadly for him, there was a time trial still to come. Pluchkin finally won a stage and with it, the Giro victory.
So let's have a first at-a-glance look at the 23 teams in the field, and who their strongest riders are expected to be.
| | GC | Sprint | Other |  | Aegon - Lavazza | Olivier | Groenewegen | Villella |  | Aker - MOT | Galta | Enger | Laengen |  | Ayubowan! | Monsalve | Petit | Carthy |  | eBuddy | Brambilla | Grosu | Aru |  | Evonik - ELKO | Vosekalns | Liepins | Siskevicius |  | Ferrero - Samruk | Henao | Modolo | Ignatiev |  | Festina - Dexia | Vasyliv | Coquard | Kastrantas |  | Gazelle | Formolo | - | Kruijswijk |  | Hugo Boss | Alarcon | - | Carapaz |  | Iberia - Team Degenkolb | - | Zabel | Gougeard |  | Jayco - Cobra9 | Morton | - | Durbridge |  | Moser - Sygic | Velits | Vesely | Giogieri |  | Nemiroff - ABBYY | Scarponi | Ulanowski | Prevar |  | Pendleton's | Nibali | Roelandts | Keannugh |  | Podium Ambition | Talansky | Ewan | Yates |  | Porto - Prio | Reis | Avelino | Fiedler |  | RBC Pro Cycling | Bonnin | Howard | Boivin |  | Spotify - Haglöfs | Abal | Ahlstrand | Lövkvist |  | Strava | - | Guarnieri | Dockx |  | Team Puma - SAP | Bongiorno | Ciolek | Sütterlin |  | Tinkoff Sport Academy | Ignatenko | Porsev | Boev |  | Vesuvio - Accumalux | König | Van der Lijke | Kirsch |  | Wiesenhof-Andritz | Cattaneo | - | Schädlich |
This is their route:
8 Flat
4 Hill
6 Mountain (6 MTF)
3 Time Trial (TTT, ITT, M ITT)
Week 1: It all starts rather easy
Spoiler A 6km prologue will decide about the first leader followed by two stages for sprinters with some difficulties though already!
The 4th stage then offers a 30km TTT and hence a good team support will be vital.
It`s not guaranteed the TTT`s winner will get a lot of GC points though. Too difficult the next stage with lots of hills and also the last 2 "sprinter" stages this week are all but pan flat.
Week 2: Starting big, ending calm
Note: Stage 8 replaced by the below, due to narrow roads:
Spoiler 3 consecutive uphill finishes will finally see the GC riders. Also the 11th stage is very mountaineous and after the race half a first picture of the final GC can probably be made.
The last 3 stages are potential sprinter stages of for the breakaway. A few days to relax for the GC.
Week 3: Lots of mountain passes
Spoiler Hardly any flat bits in the last week. It starts with a very tough mountain stage over many Cat. 1`s and even though the next 2 stages are not mountain rated, it`s hardly stages to really relax.
Then the decision for the Giro title to be made on the stages 18-20. 3 times ending in the height. First two long climbs to be passed with the final being on the Etna. Then a mountain time trial on the Plan de Corones and a final up and down all day stage ending on top of Passo Fedaia.
The final stage then without any climb but I think it`s enough by then and the winner can celebrate on this day while the (remaining) sprinters can go for a last stage victory.
There are 32 ProTour riders with 80+ Mountain, and only 10 are here. But more striking is this: There are 10 riders with 84+ Mountain, and only 1 is here!
| | MO | HL | TT | ST | RS | RC | AC | | Alarcon | Jose | 84 | 73 | 66 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 78 | | Velits | Peter | 83 | 76 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 68 | | Morton | Lachlan | 83 | 76 | 73 | 79 | 78 | 78 | 66 | | Henao M. | Sergio Luis | 82 | 71 | 71 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 73 | | Cattaneo | Mattia | 82 | 70 | 79 | 76 | 80 | 80 | 70 | | Nibali | Vincenzo | 81 | 76 | 76 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 58 | | Monsalve | Yonathan | 81 | 76 | 72 | 79 | 80 | 77 | 73 | | Galta | Fredrik Strand | 81 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 79 | 77 | 62 | | Abal | David | 81 | 70 | 77 | 74 | 77 | 76 | 73 | | Reis | Rafael | 80 | 73 | 76 | 78 | 76 | 78 | 63 | | Carapaz | Richard Antonio | 80 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 64 | | Talansky | Andrew | 79 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 69 | | Brambilla | Gianluca | 79 | 76 | 70 | 75 | 73 | 76 | 63 | | Olivier | Daan | 79 | 76 | 69 | 76 | 80 | 77 | 71 | | König | Leopold | 79 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 72 | 67 |  Bongiorno | Francesco | 79 | 75 | 68 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 69 |
Best in the mountains, second here last year, a former Vuelta winner, and with a teammate in Carapaz, Jose Alarcon will start as the race favourite. Next up are Peter Velits and Lachlan Morton, who will have the advantage on Alarcon in the hills. Velits has a best GT result of 5th at last season's Vuelta, the up and coming Morton has a best result of 15th at the 2015 Tour. Another looking for a big step up will be Mattia Cattaneo, who was 24th in that race - and this will be his first big Giro attempt.
This is also a chance for those who have a longer history of GT attempts. Vincenzo Nibali and Sergio Henao finished 4th and 5th last year, while Nibali podiummed in 2011. David Abal has finished 5th in a Grand Tour twice. Of the others, Yonathan Monsalve has one Grand Tour Top 10, Fredrik Stranda Galta has one Grand Tour Top 30. Daan Oliver finished 9th here last year.
Morton, Galta, Reis, Carapaz and Olivier are also eligible for the U25 jersey, as are 78 MO riders Formolo, Vosekalns and Kirsch.
| | FL | HL | RS | RC | SP | AC | | Ahlstrand | Jonas | 74 | 67 | 73 | 79 | 83 | 82 | | Ciolek | Gerald | 75 | 66 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 79 | | Avelino | Óscar | 71 | 64 | 66 | 77 | 83 | 78 | | Grosu | Eduard | 73 | 73 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | | Howard | Leigh | 76 | 68 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 79 | | Groenewegen | Dylan | 73 | 66 | 71 | 85 | 82 | 81 | | Guarnieri | Jacopo | 76 | 66 | 76 | 83 | 82 | 81 | | Coquard | Bryan | 73 | 65 | 74 | 84 | 82 | 83 | | Roelandts | Jurgen | 75 | 71 | 74 | 82 | 81 | 80 | | Enger | Sondre Holst | 73 | 69 | 73 | 77 | 81 | 78 | | Zabel | Rick | 74 | 69 | 70 | 79 | 81 | 79 | | Vesely | Daniel | 73 | 68 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 80 | | Van der Lijke | Nick | 73 | 75 | 71 | 78 | 80 | 79 | | Petit | Adrien | 76 | 65 | 72 | 78 | 80 | 78 | | Van Poppel | Danny | 72 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 80 | 78 | | Ulanowski | Maciej | 73 | 58 | 66 | 71 | 80 | 77 |
Of the top sprinters in the race, Howard and Guarnieri each have 2 Giro stage wins, and 1 TdF win too. Avelino has a Vuelta stage win, while Roelandt's has been a prolific Vuelta stage winner in the past. Ahlstrand and Ciolek should be the quickes though, while Groenewegen and Coquard will aim to come into the race as it goes on with their strong recovery. For the hillier stages, Grosu, and Van der Lijke have the strongest hill/sprint combo.
| | FL | HL | TT | RS | PL | | Fiedler | Jacob | 79 | 68 | 83 | 76 | 82 | | Durbridge | Luke | 73 | 67 | 81 | 74 | 81 | | Schädlich | Lucas | 70 | 64 | 80 | 71 | 80 | | Gonzalez Salas | Mario | 70 | 60 | 80 | 76 | 80 | | Sütterlin | Jasha | 71 | 65 | 80 | 77 | 80 | | Nascimento | Rodrigo | 71 | 69 | 80 | 75 | 64 | | Olman | Miles | 68 | 57 | 79 | 68 | 79 | | Hepburn | Michael | 71 | 66 | 79 | 77 | 79 | | Cataford | Alexandor | 74 | 70 | 79 | 75 | 79 | | Haugard | Phan Age | 72 | 60 | 79 | 77 | 79 | | Ligthart | Pim | 72 | 58 | 78 | 66 | 78 | | Dumoulin | Tom | 71 | 68 | 78 | 76 | 78 | | Jungels | Bob | 72 | 68 | 78 | 75 | 78 | | Oliveira | Nelson | 72 | 73 | 78 | 74 | 78 | | Boom | Lars | 75 | 75 | 78 | 76 | 78 |
These guys have an important role to play for the first 4 stages, with the Prologue and then the TTT. Fiedler will start as favourite for the opening stage, while Jayco are all in for the TTT with 5 77+ time triallists in their squad. Also a threat for the opening stage are Stoltz (80 PL) and Coquard (79 PL).
| | FL | MO | HL | RS | SP | AC | | Siskevicius | Evaldas | 70 | 73 | 78 | 72 | 71 | 75 | | Prevar | Oleksandr | 72 | 71 | 78 | 70 | 67 | 73 | | Gougeard | Alexis | 70 | 62 | 77 | 71 | 59 | 68 | | Villella | Davide | 72 | 64 | 77 | 74 | 65 | 80 | | Konrad | Patrick | 72 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 62 | 69 | | Formolo | Davide | 72 | 78 | 76 | 76 | 69 | 71 | | Bol | Jetse | 75 | 68 | 76 | 70 | 62 | 67 |
With a particular eye on Stage 5, breakaways, and some of the later hill stages too, these riders will be looking to mix it up with the GC riders on the hills.
Full Startlist:
|
| |
|
|
| viking90 |
Posted on 09-12-2017 12:59
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3836
Joined: 24-01-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
Wow, our top 10 goal could be in reach!
And Ahlstrand one of the strongest, will we see a strong Spotify train in some stages? 
Looking forward to this! |
| |
|
|
| Croatia14 |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:19
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9137
Joined: 13-03-2013
PCM$: 2100.00
|
This is as good as it gets! Alarcon and Velits to hopefully score big for their teams. This startlist brings Roman a lot closer to the title (though Coquard has a pink jersey shot) and Hugo Boss almost to safety (if he delivers).
|
| |
|
|
| cio93 |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:26
|
World Champion
Posts: 10616
Joined: 29-10-2007
PCM$: 500.00
|
Well that would've been an interesting race for Herklotz...we'll see a lot further into the season whether that would've been worth the race days. Maxed, he could be a win contender 
(shamelessly copying 90% from the MG watch post)
After last year's successful race by Nerz who secured our Top 10 goal, we return to the Giro with the same goal but a different leader. Bongiorno came in 27th in 2016 after a lacklustre race in support of Nerz, but I am hopeful he can step up in his home GT when wearing our #1 bib.
Certainly a repeat of 10th place will be tough, but with minimal flat TTing and some difficult hilly stages, it's a tailormade route.
The startlist looks promising in this regard, with a few bad days in the hills for riders like Cattaneo or Abal and some daily form luck it might just be achievable.
Ciolek won't find many stages to his liking here, but this was the only GT option for him with the Tour being reserved for Demare and the Vuelta having an interesting clash with Norway which we hope to exploit (and tough mountain stages right at the start).
Despite being a favorite, we do not expect any result from him with quite some elevation changes in nearly all flat stages, so if he can contest a couple of sprints for podiums we're content. For this reason and the TTT, we haven't given him any designated domestiques, so hopefully he'll find good wheels.
The rest of the team is designed to give us a good TTT, where hopefully Bongiorno as the tied 4th best TTer won't get dropped along the way. 80, 77, 76 and 3x68 should see us in a midfield position, and it's honestly the best lineup we can field without bringing more leaders here.
Maybe Sütterlin can do a good prologue, potentially on the podium, and get into white for a few days. Heider and Bevin are okay-ish support for Bongiorno in the mountains, but again that is about the best we can offer.
For the overall, I'd certainly like to see Alarcon getting redemption for last year's heartbreak finale.
|
| |
|
|
| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:26
|
Team Leader
Posts: 6178
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
Yes!
Impressive to see so few top climbers here, even with the Liechtenstein clash. This could pay huge dividends for Hugo Boss. I'm not sure if I'm happy with not bringing Machado, but I'm hoping our guys deliver enough punctual results to make that decision worthwhile.
I'd love Fiedler to win the prologue and take pink, which would be sweet. Then Avelino for the flats, Reis for a top10 and perhaps even the TTT, should provide some minor results here or there.
Jayco has a good chance with that sweet TTT lineup, while I suspect SotD won't be too happy about seeing Velits so high up in favourites' ranks.
Thanks for the preview SN, awesome work as always. Good luck everyone!
|
| |
|
|
| knockout |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:29
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8237
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
|
What's up with all those great previews this week?
As in most GTs we don't have a very strong team available. However I like to believe that the weak startlist is a bit in our favor. Vosekalns will start his first GT as maxed riders and he might have a shot at a top 20. The startlist is so weak that Alarcon looks like the dominant favourite in a startlist that is weaker than some PCT startlists from last year. Velits being here with Lecuisinier at the Vuelta can swing the title fight. i dont have a high opinion of him but in this case he should be a top 5 favourit next to guys like Monsalve, Henao and Morton. of course this will also have big implications to the relegation fight where some teams might get huge unexpected shunks of points like Abal or Monsalve. Also Cattaneo could push Wiesenhof out of the 100% dependency of Taaramae. Lots of riders who shouldn't compete for podiums but might have a once in a career opportunity now.
Lots of good sprinters here, must say I'm glad that I didn't bring Van Stayen. Liepins obviously without any chances.
The opening prologue is a very interesting stage for me. Stoltz has a chance to grab a pink jersey which would be so dope. Tied 3rd best prologue stats gives really realistic chances for that! Interestingly, Stoltz got the 151 start number. This is probably the first time in MG history that a 68 OVR rider for the xx1 number in a GT. Even more hilarious is that Alarcon has a higher start number. 
I really fancy the chances of my Siskevicius gamble to work out. No favourites with a higher hill stat as 76 is there and he is the best specialist. Hopefully, he can grab that expected stage win
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
| |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:31
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
That is a great startlist But the pressure to deliver is big. Top-5 has to be minimum goal. Even though our TTT train will probably disadvantage Morton  No real support and the tendency to crash, there are some concerns in addition to those damn TTT flaws..
Anyway. Surely a startlist that could have way way stronger in terms of premium climbers. Please don't let me down again.
Great preview. Really the GT I'm looking forward to the most.
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 03:55
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| alexkr00 |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:33
|
World Champion
Posts: 13561
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 400.00
|
Last year we turned our season around with Il Giro. And we need another big one this year as well, but with Henao gone, Grosu will have some big shoes to fill in. Also, I think this is the first time we get to the Giro without a single victory in the season.
The most interesting thing for me at this Giro will be to see if Majka can make it three stage wins in three consecutive tours. It would be a fantastic sign of consistency for a rider like him.
Last year Brambilla was 11th and Aru 15th. So two riders in the top 20 is my GC aim here. And it's not a very unrealistic one. I'd be more than fine with one of them going for the KoM jersey as well
Grosu hasn't impressed so far although he did show some good signs in certain stages throughout the season. With less big names here, the sprint finishes might not be as crowded as they were in Qatar and Paris - Nice which could result in better positioning by him and perhaps a stage win.
|
| |
|
|
| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:37
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7366
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
A little short of help but I'd be very pleased if Nibbles can get another 5th place here. Some sprint results from Roelandts would be welcome too. This has the potential to be a very intriguing battle given the lack of top stars.
|
| |
|
|
| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 09-12-2017 13:40
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4190
Joined: 13-09-2015
PCM$: 400.00
|
Wow! This must be the worst GC line-up in a GT ever 
Given his perennial bad luck it would nice to see Morton winning it, but i guess that with Moser's season, Velits will win "easily". 
|
| |
|
|
| SotD |
Posted on 09-12-2017 14:04
|
World Champion
Posts: 12631
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
|
This is a huge opportunity for Moser to create a gap, that we cannot close.
We are extremely reliant on Coquard performing at top level, and for Vasyliv and Kastrantas to perform well above their value.
I always knew that the Giro would be the easy GT, but I couldn't get Lecuisiniers racedays to add up, if he wasn't going to the PTHC GC races. So I have to cross my fingers that the Giro/California/Liechtenstein trio will bring me a higher total output than Moser. Otherwise, I think it could be "Game Over" for us.
Great preview btw. That's a joy to read.
|
| |
|
|
| Ollfardh |
Posted on 09-12-2017 15:35
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15026
Joined: 08-08-2011
PCM$: 11500.00
|
Very sad we couldn't defend our mountain jersey here due to budget problems. Best of luck to all teams though!
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
|
| |
|
|
| Roman |
Posted on 09-12-2017 16:19
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4279
Joined: 29-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
A really nice preview, thanks SN! But...
Velits being top 3 favourite?! What an amazing surprise. I have expected somehow worse startlist here, but this is way better than expected. Surely the biggest chance of Velits' career to score a really big result. It is quite funny startlist though, no real top names present here, and Alarcon could also somehow suffer in hilly stages and time trials, in any case he is the clear favourite here though.
On the other way Vesely will have a hard time to achieve anything major here, probably shouln't send him here, as an additional support for Velits would be more than welcomed, just Giogieri to help.
A really nice preview, thanks SN!
@SotD Will have a hard time to score anything in Liechtenstein, Hirt is not good this year yet.
@knockout Velits will be at Vuelta too. 
|
| |
|
|
| fjhoekie |
Posted on 09-12-2017 16:34
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4368
Joined: 25-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Win goal... Scarponi should be able to pull it off...
Should possibly have sent Pluchkin to this one though, seems like my goal has scared away all others, which was not quite what I had intended. Without Pluchkin though, it's obvious we're just here to hunt for a stage win, and possibly a KoM jersey.
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
| |
|
|
| roturn |
Posted on 09-12-2017 16:36
|
Team Manager
Posts: 22043
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
|
Nice to have the first gt of the year.
Thanks a lot SN.
A bit outside top 10 GC on paper. Though Olivier hopefully repeats his performance of last year. Maybe a 3rd week stage and KoM as well.
Groenewegen and Villella looking good for couple of very good stage results, so point wise should see some chances.
Also Boom always one for a stage breakaway.
I actually cheer for Nibali. Too many years of shit AI with low acceleration. Looked better last year and maybe his chance.
And Moser with great chances towards the title here. |
| |
|
|
| dev4ever |
Posted on 09-12-2017 22:20
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2276
Joined: 13-03-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Super excited for this with a startlist even weaker than expected. This is a race that will either break or make Alarcon's season. A fail here and we are unlikely to stay up.
What a race for the title battle aswell, Velits easily one of the top favourites here. Superb preview SN!
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 09-12-2017 22:57
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 17833
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
ProTour debut for Podum Ambition, it's only taken us until our 5th season to do so. We are very very excited for this one. Mostly because we've been promised molte belle regazze by the organisers... Plus we get to drive our McLaren team car through the Italian alps... Oh right, there's a bike race...
Talansky the headliner, and actually is in with a shot at a good GC here. Can hold his own in the Mountains and of those highlighted in the preview he is the best Hill rider, and won't give up masses in a TT. Top 10? I'd be extatic with a Top10 in our first ever PT race. I mean, i'll be extatic if Talansky finishes the race but that's not the point.
Ewan is next up of our "leaders". He'll gain invaluable XP here and good testing against some of the best in busieness. Thought he'd made the preview highlight, certainl he's got all the attributes to be right amonst the bunch finishes. Getting to the end of Stage 21 will do for me, a fighting one or two finishes along the way. Could he win a stage? I might faint if he does...
Yates is also here to test himself at a higher level, and gain them sweet XP's. Can go stage hunting on the intermediate days. If he gets into a break or two i'll be happy. Although ultimately i don't expect much from Simon here.
Stoenchev, the ever patient forgotten workhorse of our team, finally gets some recognition in coming here. XP gains and culture for him.
Ivanov, would be good to see him attacking for a break in the mountains. But probably won't see him for 21 days.
De Boss, another XP beneficiary. Our best breakaway rider so far this year, so hopes he'll at least try on a couple of days.
Docker and Soupe as freelance sprinters/we had to send a full team might as well go and support Ewan. No idea what they'll do, probably nothing but cash the appearence fee.
We're here. We're multicolored. We're heading straight to the local bar to avere fortuna
(21 days of beautiful Italian gifs, enjoy!)
|
| |
|
|
| Heine |
Posted on 10-12-2017 06:02
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4470
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
As I hoped this field looks a lot weaker than I believe the 2 other GTs will be. Should give a better result for Mattia than he usually gets.
This plays right into Moser/Velits hands however, should be a podium for him and conitnue their excellent season.
Other than that it will be interesting to see Alarcon in the mountains, if he can destroy they field here this should be his race
Naturally a good sprint field considering the number of flat stages, rooting for Ahlstrand and Zabel here.
I hope Cattaneo and Schädlich have a good day on the prologue and gets us some free points from there
|
| |
|
|
| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 10-12-2017 10:06
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5568
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
|
Looking forward to seeing if Milos Borisavljevic will be able to help Cattaneo to a good GC. Also hoping he has his chance in the breakaway!
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 10-12-2017 11:01
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7422
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Just saying, been looking forward to this!
Hope for everyone's riders to deliver good results, at least most will find the GC easier than they expected.
Thanks for a great preview.
|
| |
|
