Rider of 2015
Who do you think is going to have a phenomenal season, someone like Kwiatkowski last year who changed from being a good, young GC racer into an all-rounder of supreme ability? Admittedly he hasn't got the Quintana factor in the GTs, but who on earth would have predicted him becoming World Champion, and showing Sagan his ar*e in some earlier races?
Personally I really like the look of Dillier, it will probably be too soon for him this year but I think he has a huge future.
Personally I really like the look of Dillier, it will probably be too soon for him this year but I think he has a huge future.
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Not one rider, but the Sky classics team...Fenn will rediscover his mojo, G and Stannard will be flying and Bradders will give us performances to remember at Flanders and Roubaix. Big breakthrough in all this will be Fenn.
Dan Martin will win something big again and Taylor Phinney will be flying by the end of the season.0 -
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Agree. He is a good shout, he was on the cusp of bigtime this year. What about some young uns you think will improve from just being decent team riders to being something special?0
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I think, in the classics, Vanmarcke is better than Sagan on all fronts bar the sprint finish. I'd back him to break the Boonen/Cancellara stranglehold over either of van Avermaet or Sagan.
Unfortunately, I think that with Boonen and Cancellara having the dual motivations of breaking records and the clock ticking on their careers it's not going to be a year for the outside favourites mentioned above.
I don't think Kwiatkowski will struggle with the rainbow bands, so long as he focusses on one-day racing and stage wins. Going for GC in mountainous races could ruin his season. That said, stage races like last year's P-N or Eneco would be fine. I hope Lefevre has a clear plan for him.
I think Dan Martin is more than capable of being King of the Ardennes with a Fleche Wallone, L-B-L double. Kwiatkowski for Amstel
Quintana will have too much guile for Froome and Nibali in a Tour that suits him perfectly. It won't be a spectacular, dominating victory but it will be alarmingly well-judged. Contador will likely be too fatigued come week 3 having probably won the Giro by a country mile.
In similar fashion to 2013, Carlos Betancur will have a storming Giro before once again eating ALL the pies (I really hope the second part doesn't happen).
In summary:
Cobbles: Cancellara or Boonen
Ardennes: Martin
GC: Quintana
Pie Eater: Betancur0 -
What do people think of Boom? I do not like or rate him at all but given his win off Nibali's efforts, he is talking confident and having moved teams as well he may have a renewed motivation and proper support behind him to actually place on the podium of the classics.Contador is the Greatest0
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Dombrowski having found his legs apparently and now moved to a team more suited to enabling him to perform for himself both of which give him motivation, I hope he has a stormer,
Chaves, Seb Henao, Yates bros and Dayer Quintana I am hoping can perform and give some great moments for the fans.
Valgren; look out for him. Total beast.
http://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/Mi ... en-Details
Teuns could be another to watch out for.
http://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/Dylan_Teuns
There was some young guy in the classics who people thought was promising but I forget his name (Jasper Stuyven I think).
For the classics talk above and Sep, don't forget Stybar who is definitely as strong as Sep but in a different way. Sep is very exciting though and great for the fans.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Yep Stuyven, performed well at the Vuelta as a sprinter but could be a really good Classics rider too. Boom was brilliant in the Tour but he flushes a bit hot and cold. Valgren could be excellent, I took your tip a few months ago ff and bought him in my auction draft for 2 years. Bikini Carlos I have a £2.50 EW on him for the Giro at 25/1, hopefully he can lay off the kebabs until June.0
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I don't think Boom has it over the distance (200km +). Otherwise he tends to look quite vicious. A few years ago at the ToB he was impressively dominant. I think that's his level.
Stuyven and Dillier looked promising last year. Teunissen (Lotto NL-Jumbo) is talked up by INRNG. Moreno Hofland and Yves Lampaert could develop nicely. I will be interested to see which way Valgren and Alaphilippe go - cobbles or Ardennes?0 -
Will be interesting to see who the lead sprinter is at TLJ this year with Hofland, Van Asbroeck, Martens, Bennett and Markus. None appear to be top notch.0
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Ramunas Navardauskas
Wilco Kelderman
Boom is class - 6 foot 3 and 70 odd kg of power - junior, u23 and senior cyclo cross world champion
His win on that stage was no flook - his handling is phenomenal
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I think Greenedge will get lots of wins this year with Caleb Ewan I think he will win lots of 'second rate' races and I hope the Yates brothers build on what they did last year.Interesting to see what Sagan and Kwiat do both will have added pressure, I imagine Kwiat will be marked having the stripes on his back and people now what he is capable of not taking anything away from his worlds win but I don't think Gilbert and Sagan could have won it the way he did as people would have jumped on them sooner.0
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Joelsim wrote:Will be interesting to see who the lead sprinter is at TLJ this year with Hofland, Van Asbroeck, Martens, Bennett and Markus. None appear to be top notch.
George Bennett and Paul Martens aren't sprinters. Hofland looks more like a classics specialist with a fast finish (like Boonen and van Avermaet) than a pure sprinter . If anything it should be van Asbroeck leading out Markus. Markus got close to Cav a few years back in Qatar, but that's about as promising as it gets. Won't expect many sprint victories from Lotto NL-Jumbo this year!0 -
Yes they don't really seem to have anyone for the sprints although that's what they appear to have brought TVA in for, they also used Hofland in sprints last year as well as Markus. TVA did well last year but a lot was in smaller races.
Derr wrong Bennett on my part.0 -
SpecialGuestStar wrote:His win on that stage was no flook - his handling is phenomenal
Sep would have won had he not punctured...0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:SpecialGuestStar wrote:His win on that stage was no flook - his handling is phenomenal
Sep would have won had he not punctured...
got to be in it to win it0 -
Sep will never be prolific on wins though, he hasn't got the finish which will mean he wins far fewer races than the likes of Boonen, Kwia, Gerrans and Gilbert. Great rider though.0
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I'm looking forward to seeing how Valgren performs this year after a very promising start to his career, likewise some of the other youngsters like Teuns, Cort Neilsen, Alaphilippe, Vervaeke and whether GvK can step up a level after some good patches last year.
I'm also keen to see a good, young sprinter called Lorenzo Manzin, only 20 and at FDJ. Next Bouhanni maybe.0 -
I personally don't think we'll see any upstarts just yet -
Cobbled Classics - Cancellara, I do wonder whether he is going to go all out this year and do Strade, E3, flanders and PR, if he is at his best then certainly the latter 3 of those races are his arena...
MSR - Sagan/Cav
GC - Froome/Bertie but I think Froome will be back to his bestBlog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com0 -
okgo wrote:I personally don't think we'll see any upstarts just yet -
Cobbled Classics - Cancellara, I do wonder whether he is going to go all out this year and do Strade, E3, flanders and PR, if he is at his best then certainly the latter 3 of those races are his arena...
Mentioned in the predictions thread - I'm fairly certain he's passed his best.
He's a lot smarter (can't imagine the pre-2010 Cancellara winning that particular tactical battle in RvV) which is compensating, but he can't drop riders for fun anymore.0 -
You may be right there, that said, if we are entertaining someone like Wiggins winning, maybe he still has enough, we'll see I guess.Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com0
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Rick Chasey wrote:okgo wrote:I personally don't think we'll see any upstarts just yet -
Cobbled Classics - Cancellara, I do wonder whether he is going to go all out this year and do Strade, E3, flanders and PR, if he is at his best then certainly the latter 3 of those races are his arena...
Mentioned in the predictions thread - I'm fairly certain he's passed his best.
This will be his final year as 'the one to watch' IMO. Which I find sad as I love watching him ride a bike, tis a beautiful thing. Would be great to see one last Boonen Vs Cancellara duel (if tax dodging allows) .
I would like to see Alex Dowsett and Matthias Brandle concentrating on the classics, in the coming seasons. Both have massive engines and aren't scared to grab a race by the scruff of the neck.“Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”0 -
okgo wrote:I personally don't think we'll see any upstarts just yet -
Cobbled Classics - Cancellara, I do wonder whether he is going to go all out this year and do Strade, E3, flanders and PR, if he is at his best then certainly the latter 3 of those races are his arena...
MSR - Sagan/Cav
GC - Froome/Bertie but I think Froome will be back to his best
I think Bouhanni is a good shout for MSR with the finish being 1km nearer the Poggio this year. He's faster than Sagan and can climb well as we saw last year.0 -
If everyone's in decent form then I can't see Cancellara being beaten in RVV. It is getting harder and harder for him though given that no one will give him any kind of help.
I could definitely see Sep or even Sagan winning Roubaix though.0 -
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Milton50 wrote:If everyone's in decent form then I can't see Cancellara being beaten in RVV. It is getting harder and harder for him though given that no one will give him any kind of help.
I could definitely see Sep or even Sagan winning Roubaix though.
Flanders suits Sagan a lot more than Roubaix.
A lot more.0 -
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Rick Chasey wrote:Milton50 wrote:If everyone's in decent form then I can't see Cancellara being beaten in RVV. It is getting harder and harder for him though given that no one will give him any kind of help.
I could definitely see Sep or even Sagan winning Roubaix though.
Flanders suits Sagan a lot more than Roubaix.
A lot more.
Why?
Sagan doesn't have that huge top end to live with the very best people up the climbs, as exhibited by Fabian last time. However he can hold a wheel on the flat, and can sprint so I think roubaix is a safer bet...Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Milton50 wrote:If everyone's in decent form then I can't see Cancellara being beaten in RVV. It is getting harder and harder for him though given that no one will give him any kind of help.
I could definitely see Sep or even Sagan winning Roubaix though.
Flanders suits Sagan a lot more than Roubaix.
A lot more.
Hmm. Maybe. But I still think he's got a better chance of beating Sep and Cancellara in Roubaix rather than Flanders.
MSR should be perfect for him but he's come up short so far. We'll see what he can do with a Saxo team around him this year.0
