Tour de Romandie 2014 "spoiler"

1356717

Comments

  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    Porte.............................not good
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Kittel 3rd. Beautiful shot if they cane get a photo of that.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    Kittel in third.
    Correlation is not causation.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    So Big Tone is about to start.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Froome out the blocks.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Castro looking very fast here. Hope he keeps this up.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    They're on a fietspad!
    Correlation is not causation.
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    Kwiato takes the win, Denis again showing he's a prologue contender in 2nd.
    Correlation is not causation.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Castro looking very fast here. Hope he keeps this up.


    aaand he didnt

    Just come back from keeping Nario company training in Colombia, if IIRC
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Kwaitek is such a boss. Still only 23. Very stylish as well.

    DSC_247720copy.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    Kwaitek is such a boss. Still only 23. Very stylish as well.

    I remember when he first came on the scene thinking he looked so classy on the bike. He's now racking up the substance to go with the style.
    Correlation is not causation.
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    Wow. Didn't expect Kwiatowski to win a prologue. That sets the race up pretty well in my opinion.
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    Looks like the Simplonpass is out. Can't find much more about the profile for tomorrow unfortunately.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,069
    They are doing the last 90 kms of the original stage, so a 2nd category climb with about 20 kms to go.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,228
    Top 10 anyone?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Top 10 anyone?

    1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:06:23
    2 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin Sharp 0:00:04
    3 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano 0:00:04
    4 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:04
    5 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:04
    6 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:05
    7 Matthias Brändle (Aut) IAM Cycling 0:00:07
    8 Jesse Sergent (NZl) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:08
    9 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin Sharp 0:00:09
    10 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:00:09
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,163
    TMR wrote:
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?

    It's a prologue. Sprinters traditionally do well in prologues as they are short punchy efforts.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,228
    TMR wrote:
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?

    Sprinters are usually good at prologues.

    No surprise there.
  • TMR wrote:
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?

    Sprinters are usually good at prologues.

    No surprise there.

    Kittel a handy TT rider in his younger days as well (2x World Junior, 2 x German U23). Not long enough for Martin
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    TMR wrote:
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?

    Sprinters are usually good at prologues.

    No surprise there.

    Except that TM is the World TT champion. World TT champions tend to be better at TTs than non-World TT champions.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Joelsim wrote:
    Looks like the Simplonpass is out. Can't find much more about the profile for tomorrow unfortunately.

    Did Sky lobby the organisers?
    Contador is the Greatest
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,163
    TMR wrote:
    TMR wrote:
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?

    Sprinters are usually good at prologues.

    No surprise there.

    Except that TM is the World TT champion. World TT champions tend to be better at TTs than non-World TT champions.

    There's a world of difference between the 6 minute effort for this prologue and the 40-50 minute effort of the time trials Tony Martin dominates in. Different riders have different power profiles which is why they are better at different aspects of cycling. Martin likely has the traditional "time-trialist" power profile where the rider is relatively better at long sustained efforts, see here for more info: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/arti ... -profiling
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,228
    TMR wrote:
    TMR wrote:
    Kittel beat Martin? WTF?

    Sprinters are usually good at prologues.

    No surprise there.

    Except that TM is the World TT champion. World TT champions tend to be better at TTs than non-World TT champions.

    As discussed earlier in the thread, Tony Martin doesn't have a great record for prologues.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Very normal physique Kwiatek has as well. Definitely room to lose some if he wants to duke it out with Contador on the long GT climbs. Will be getting a nice pay rise next year. Got 6 wins already as well - 2nd to Valverde who has 8. Contador has 8.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    Also on Martin, lost to Phinney in Dubai on a short TT back in February. 4th place, 22 secs down. Though he blamed the wind and having to go last.
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    It's weird, Cycling News describe it as a 'hilly TT' whereas the profile is flat with a slight downhill just after the start. It did look quite twisty, which you would think suited the sprinters more than the pure TTers.
    Mind you all this talk of won and lost, Kittel and Martin had the same time...........
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    “This is a surprise, actually,” Kwiatkowski said in a press release. “I was in good shape after the Ardennes but I wasn’t sure how I would feel today. I’m really happy with what I did. That was the first time I was sitting in the hot seat for so long. I think a few seconds advantage with such good competition here at Tour de Romandie is something special. I knew the course really well and think I did it perfectly, every moment of the race. I didn’t go too fast on the first part. I was trying to save myself for the end. I was on the limit on the finish line. I think I did everything as I was supposed to and it was also think it was good to start earlier, because I knew the weather forecast was going to change. It is hard to say what I will do from here in the yellow jersey. I will look day-to-day in how I can defend my GC lead. Today was a short prologue and I don’t know how recovered I will truly feel from the Ardennes Classics in the next days. This will be my last race before a period of rest after the first part of the season. But as for the team and our GC chances, Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team came here with good riders. Tony Martin, Thomas De Gendt, and Rigoberto Uran for example. So, we can see what cards we can play and we are looking forward to the next stages.”

    Note that he raced all three Ardennes races.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Turfle wrote:
    Glad we saw all of Schurter's ride.

    Saw this when I was offline on my phone this evening.

    FYI this is his debut for Orica and it is quite an unusual story.
    viewtopic.php?f=40002&t=12923442&p=18745432&hilit=Schurter#p18745432

    “My heart remains in mountain biking, but my dream has always been to race at least once in my life at the Tour of Switzerland. And this could be the right year. First, though, I had to test myself in a race less demanding. So that explains my participation in the Romandie.”
    Contador is the Greatest