2011 Cycling thread.

[Titleist]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Wiggins, Anton, Menchov, Rodriguez, Haedo, Kittel, Sagan, Van Avermaet, and Van Summeran.

GC wise that team has the potential to be a monster! And the younger fast men could be real strong.

Also Gilbert won't just be battling Thor but also Evans, who is very strong in the Ardennes.


It seems like it could be 40C+ in Spain the next few days...can't wait to see if someone actually melts on Sierra Nevada.

[rufus]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Like I said, starting it early, it's gonnabe super-hot. it's already blazing during the time it normally ran.

They should move the Vuelta back to the early spring like it used to be, and move the TOC to this time period. A one week tour before the Worlds, no one would be dropping out early to train.

[rufus]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

56 year old Ned Overend wins the Mt. Washington hillclimb ahead of 50 year old Tinker Juarez.

Funny story, last year the day after the hillclimb, I was driving along West Side Road here in town, a popular bicycle route, and saw this guy riding his bike with some major dreads sticking out of his helmet. I thought, "that guy looks just like Tinker Juarez", and then, about a half mile down the road, I realized the hillclimb had been the previous day, and that probably was Tinker Juarez out for a little loosen up ride.

[brianvf]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Vincenzo NIBALI [24] LIQ
Tony MARTIN [10] THR
Joaquin RODRIGUEZ [22] KAT
Igor ANTON [20] EUS
Juan Jose HAEDO [6] SBS
Peter SAGAN [8] LIQ
Robert WAGNER [2] LEO
Jurgen VAN DE WALLE [2] OLO
Daniel MARTIN [6] GRM

I pretty much eliminated the sprinter role from my team and went heavy on the GC & climbers.
Nibali, Rodriguez, and Anton should all figure highly in the overall and maybe T.Martin and D.Martin can surprise.
Sagan is thrown in for the stage wins and Van de Walle in case Van den Broeck hasn't fully recovered from his TdF injuries and Omega lets him ride free.

[Titleist]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

And Kittel starts to pay back the heavy investment! Tomorrow looks a day for Sagan, though Bennati could make it over, maybe Freire, fingers crossed for Kittel.

[sagard]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Do you think they will let Sagan do anything for himself? Or is he going to be blocking wind all three weeks?

[Titleist]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

I think they'll give him an amount of freedom, if there isn't a GC threat, like on today's stage.

[Probert]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Nice that the break won today. The climbing in both Spain and Colorado starts tomorrow.

[sagard]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

I guess I won't be disappointed about not getting Cav this time.

[Titleist]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Yeah, that noise you heard was my team blowing up...Cav quits, Anton loses 1:35, Kruzwik (I can't spell his name) loses 3 minutes in a mechanical yesterday...I'm just here for the stage wins, go Kittel!

[Probert]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

There was something wrong with my TV today the announcers kept saying it was Levi on the attack in Colorado.

[MattS]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

There was something wrong with my TV today the announcers kept saying it was Levi on the attack in Colorado.

Maybe he finally figured out that wheel sucking doesn't get him any wins???

[Titleist]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Excellent riding from Liquigas in La Vuelta! 4 man TT down the decent with Sagan and the Shark. The group took a bout 15 sec from Purito and Chava and about 20 more from the rest but they messed up the sprint. The one passenger, Lastras forced Sagan to sprint for the win (and time bonus) and Nibs got out "Sprinted" by Agnoli so not bonus for him.

Also it looked like Bottle was back to his old habits yesterday and let Van Gederen ride away for the win and about a 30 sec lead going into the TT.

[Titleist]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Really George from Velogames, Marcel Kittel for 2 points?!? Well the stage win today makes it all good. Plus a huge crash taking out Farrar, Nibs, Scarponi among others.

[sagard]

Re: 2011 Cycling thread.

Really George from Velogames, Marcel Kittel for 2 points?!? Well the stage win today makes it all good. Plus a huge crash taking out Farrar, Nibs, Scarponi among others.

I have more a problem with the 20 for Anton, which I gladly paid. Or the large amount for Menchov. Should have just stick with Nibali. He looks great.