Dauphine Libere

yourpaceormine
yourpaceormine Posts: 1,245
edited June 2012 in Pro race
So how do you see it panning out? A war of attrition between BMC and Sky?

Any other riders to watch - I can't see past Evans and Wiggins (and that isn't just rose tinted spectacles) for the GC.
Degeleknob (spelling?) for the sprint wins.
«1

Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Don't even know who's riding it tbh.
    _
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    yourpaceormine wrote:
    Degeleknob (spelling?) for the sprint wins.

    Great - the poor lad will be known as "Dangle-knob" for the rest of his career!

    Hard to know what BMC will do - their season is in the crapper already. I reckon Cadel has been told that if he can't win the Tour, at least would he try to win this? Either way, by the end of next week we should know what form Evans is in.

    Stage 3 looks like one of those days that could upset things - front-loaded with a few Cat 3 and 4s to get a break away and lumpy from there on. The favourites will be saving themselves for the TT on the following day and all of a sudden, a group of "non-contenders" are 10 minutes up the road.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    With a prologue and a 50+km TT and relatively benign mountain stages then it's going to be won by somebody who can TT very well...so Wiggins, Evans as favourites with Nibali, Brajkovic, Van Den Broeck as a possible outsiders. Personally I think that if Wiggins is at a similar level to this point last year then he should win (barring crashes etc).

    Remember that Evans was getting dropped by Wiggins/Rodriquez etc on the bigger climbs at the Dauphine last year and we all know what he did three weeks later so it's not always a great guage of form for La Grande Boucle.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Rogers has just won Bayern. Wiggins has a couple of big wins this season - if Sky send their "A" team, I reckon it must be Porte/Froome's turn for a win?
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    mroli wrote:
    Rogers has just won Bayern. Wiggins has a couple of big wins this season - if Sky send their "A" team, I reckon it must be Porte/Froome's turn for a win?

    Porte won Vuelta a Algarve earlier in the year with Wiggins help. I also wondered whether they'd give someone else the leadership but I just can't see it, Wiggins is likely to want to defend his win last year and Sky will want a final dress rehearsal for the Tour. Froome is apparently fit and well now after crashing and getting ill again earlier this year, so will be good to see how he goes though.

    Provisional start list here: http://www.cyclingfever.com/editie.html?detp=view&_ap=startlijst&editie_idd=MjI5MTM=
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • sagefly
    sagefly Posts: 295
    My informed prediction is that Rabobank will coast this race!!
    Turned out nice again!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    sagefly wrote:
    My informed prediction is that Rabobank will coast this race!!
    :lol:
    _
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,531
    Sky have built a strong squad for these one week stage races. BMC will be Evans or nothing.
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    I'd be happy for Wiggins to win again, but has anyone ever won P-N, Romandie and this, then gone on to win the Tour? Seems like it's going to be an unbelievable year for Wiggins or a 'what if' year. Same for Cav to be honest ( I realise there are other teams BTW!).
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    would be nice to see another Wiggo win but the problem with that is not since the EPO ere has a rider help on their June form and then gone on to win the Tour
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    sherer wrote:
    would be nice to see another Wiggo win but the problem with that is not since the EPO ere has a rider help on their June form and then gone on to win the Tour

    Agreed. Unless he's got so damn good and the course suits him so well that he can mix it even without being on top form. In all honesty I would expect that there will be a couple of riders targetting it specifically who will put the likes of him and Evans in trouble at times, but if Sky can control the mountains and nobody else goes for it then he could be right up there without having to go too deep.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/41991871@N ... otostream/
  • Gazzetta67
    Gazzetta67 Posts: 1,890
    Wiggins will win the Dauphine and the Tour this year thats IF he can stay upright and Froome does not "Outclimb" him at the tour :D
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    Evans. Will not go 100% all week before TDF.

    Nibali. Is very well coached and he as Evans will not go full on all the time but use it as a sharpener.

    Cobo. Is an excellent left field bet if he has the form he may give it a go, could podium.

    Dan Martin/Schleck. will suffer with long TT.

    Wiggins. Could be doing what Evans and Nibali are doing and keeping his powder dry, he has had a lot of hard races already, having said that he is capable of winning this, I worry that he may leave his best form behind before the TDF.

    Westra. Outside bet for a podium.

    Tony Martin. Maybe out to revenge Wiggins in the TT's but will suffer O/A with last weekends stages.
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    In a recent article Wiggins said that the former swimming guy who is part of his coaching team believes the old idea in cycling of only peaking once or twice is rubbish. So, Wiggo is now riding fewer races, but aiming to win them all. If he can do it, good luck to him. From what I've read in recent articles about the training they are doing in Tenerife I can see why the Sky guys are performing well. Although Wiggo won in Romandie, Porte and Rogers also placed in the top 10. Pretty impressive to be honest.

    If Cadel can get a result I'm sure he will. After a horrible season so far I'm sure he could do with a morale boost.
  • gattocattivo
    gattocattivo Posts: 500
    Wiggins is in better shape than when he won it last year, I'd say he's strong favourite
  • vanleapo
    vanleapo Posts: 150
    I've got a feeling that Sky will be working for Porte or Froome, as a payment up front for all the work they are going to have to do at the Tour.
    Would love to see Wiggins actually attacking on the climbs instead of riding defensively all the time.
    Tearfund Tour of Scotland 26th May to 1st June 2013
    http://www.justgiving.com/phil-godley
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    vanleapo wrote:
    I've got a feeling that Sky will be working for Porte or Froome, as a payment up front for all the work they are going to have to do at the Tour.
    Would love to see Wiggins actually attacking on the climbs instead of riding defensively all the time.

    I don't think that is particularly the nature of Wiggins or Evans although the post world champ Evans is bolder than the pre World Champ one.

    Wiggins will look to make his gains in the TT's and concentrate on marginal/no losses on the climbs by just grinding up and holding wheels. I doubt there will be much in the way of panache from him but if it gets him the jersey then chapeau to him
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Difficult to speculate about a race which is all about speculating and extrapolating performances in June to July.

    It all gets a little meta if you look at it that way.
    _
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Contador hasn't won this one. Must be a _ _ _ _ _ _ _

    Lol, good race. He came 2nd in 2010 and won on l'Alpe. TT monsters this race though. Look out for Coppel.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Contador hasn't won this one. Must be a _ _ _ _ _ _ _

    Lol, good race. He came 2nd last year and won on l'Alpe. TT monsters this race though. Look out for Coppel.

    The Alpe stage that Bertie won in 2010 was a good one, Brajkovic won in the TT and Contador tried but couldn't find a way to drop him on the Alpe. Brajkovic looked like a potential world beater....but has done very little since.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Seriously 2010 was a superb race.
    Contador wins the prologue on a great course visually.
    e756a7651c3abb5d02ca5c229964c721-ge.jpg
    St1 sprint, Bole
    St2, sprint, Heado
    St3, long, hard, eventful TT, Brajkovic wins
    St4, Vogondy solos to win, with Sicard (remember him...) in 2nd
    610x-38-4.jpg
    St5, Navarro solos for rare win
    610x-39-1.jpg
    St6, great fight on the Alpe
    1 Alberto CONTADOR ASTANA 4:31:01
    2 Janez BRAJKOVIC TEAM RADIOSHACK
    3 Sylvester SZMYD LIQUIGAS-DOIMO + 0:17
    4 Jérôme COPPEL SAUR-SOJASUN + 0:24
    5 Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO + 0:40
    6 Christophe MOREAU CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1:17
    7 Christophe RIBLON AG2R-LA MONDIALE + 1:18
    8 Samuel SANCHEZ EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
    9 Nicolas VOGONDY BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM
    10 Christopher HORNER TEAM RADIOSHACK + 1:26
    610x-12-3.jpg
    St7, Ebh wins solo on a great finishing circuit
    dauphine_2010_st7_BOASSON_ATTACKS.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    I'd forgotten about EBH's win on the final stage...same course as Hinault won the 1980 Worlds on if I remember rightly.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • BelgianBeerGeek
    BelgianBeerGeek Posts: 5,226
    Reckon both Sky and BMC will be cagey and use the Dauphine to test team set-up etc and keep their powder dry for TdF. Cadel in particular has a lot to lose - a crash on a reckless sprint for instance would be fatal to his defence of the No 1 jersey number.
    Incidentally, IMO this is probably Wiggo's greatest hangup - he is sometimes too hesitant and cautious. I don't think he'll gamble on this Dauphine for pretty much the same reasons as Evans.
    Maybe a race for the young and impetuous?
    Ecrasez l’infame
  • richard wants a baum
    richard wants a baum Posts: 744
    Considering how strong the Sky team is it would seem that they are taking it seriously, Wiggins won it last year without any obvious issues to his form and i cant see him holding back this year. The thing about peaking at various points of the season is an interesting one. Cycling isn't swimming, 23 days on the bike isn't like preparing for one swim meet every couple of months the endurance required is totally different. I think riders could peak at different times through the year but Wiggins hasn't seemed to drop of at any point, could come home to roost in the 3rd week of the Tour?
    Take care of the luxuries and the necessites will take care of themselves.
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    Sky interest me as they ride as a mixture of 'La course en tete' and Anquetil. :D
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    2009 was a far more interesting race.
    Cadel left his Tour there; breaking his mold and his legs, by attacking and trying to drop Valverde and his new super domi, from Astana, every time the road went up.

    This year's parcour looks extremely watery and very heavy in terms of trialing.
    Be interesting to see if it can avoid being another dud, given this route.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,719
    Froome for me... mainly because he is leading my road.cc fantasy team !
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    This year's parcour looks extremely watery
    There's a good novelty idea - put in a couple of tri stages! Though I'm sure no real top cyclist would ever want to do triathlons ;-)
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,259
    bompington wrote:
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    This year's parcour looks extremely watery
    There's a good novelty idea - put in a couple of tri stages! Though I'm sure no real top cyclist would ever want to do triathlons ;-)
    Until the Giro has a pedalo prologue round the canals of Venice it will be a chipper to me
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    RichN95 wrote:
    bompington wrote:
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    This year's parcour looks extremely watery
    There's a good novelty idea - put in a couple of tri stages! Though I'm sure no real top cyclist would ever want to do triathlons ;-)
    Until the Giro has a pedalo prologue round the canals of Venice it will be a chipper to me
    Genius, I think that might have been what I was searching for but couldn't quite reach

Categories