Zwift Tour for All - pro races - spoilers
bobmcstuff
Posts: 11,435
Think it might be only myself and Dorset Boy paying any attention, but hey, it's pro cyclists, racing, and I'm bored.
Yesterday was a flat route. The women's race was much more competitive than the men's, with Marianne Vos taking the win in a sprint after it came back together quite close to the end (a group was away with about a minute lead but they stopped working together and got caught at 3-4km to go).
The series is a team-based points approach, so teams are able to swap out riders between stages. Points are awarded at the finish but also at designated points such as sprints and KOM banners.
Teams include:
Mens: Alpecin-Fenix, Bahrain-McLaren, CCC Team, Cofidis, EF Pro Cycling, Groupama-FDJ, Israel Start-Up Nation, Mitchelton-Scott, NTT Pro Cycling, Rally Cycling
Womens: Canyon SRAM, FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Euroscope, CCC-Liv, Drops, Rally Cycling, Team TIBCO-SVB, Boels-Dolmans, Valcar - Travel & Service (yeah me neither), and Team Twenty20 (I thought that was a cricket thing?).
True to form, I didn't notice Cofidis were in it yesterday.
Today (Stage 2) is 5 laps of the Richmond Cobbled Climbs circuit, which has two punchy KOM climbs in quick succession https://zwiftinsider.com/cobbled-climbs/
It's going to be 46.2km with 629m elevation gain.
I believe that there will be points awarded for the sprints and the KOMs, so expect to see attacks every lap.
6th May - Stage 3 - Medio Fondo, 1 lap (point to point), 72.6km, 981m elevation. This is quite a hilly route featuring the Volcano KOM then finishing on the Epic KOM. I would expect this to follow a conventional "outdoor" race format with a break going and then teams working to make sure they can catch them on the climb.
7th May - Stage 4 Sand and Sequoias, 2 laps, 42.8km, 294m elevation. This is essentially a flat route because the Titans Grove KOM is not enough to seriously trouble these guys (although still expect to see them pushing big w/kg up it) and will likely be a bunch sprint.
8th May - Stage 5 Quatch Quest, 1 lap (point to point), 46.5km 1682m elevation. This is a serious climbing route, featuring the Epic KOM followed by the Alpe du Zwift (a recreation of the Alpe d'Huez in Zwift, including all 21 hairpins). It's fair to say that this is the Queen stage. This stage will surely be won by a true climber, and expect to see very fast times up the Alpe!
Available free to watch 14:00-16:00 on the GCN app and Eurosport. Yesterday I was moderately impressed by the production, it has come a long way and it's reasonably easy to keep an eye on the race.
Yesterday was a flat route. The women's race was much more competitive than the men's, with Marianne Vos taking the win in a sprint after it came back together quite close to the end (a group was away with about a minute lead but they stopped working together and got caught at 3-4km to go).
The series is a team-based points approach, so teams are able to swap out riders between stages. Points are awarded at the finish but also at designated points such as sprints and KOM banners.
Teams include:
Mens: Alpecin-Fenix, Bahrain-McLaren, CCC Team, Cofidis, EF Pro Cycling, Groupama-FDJ, Israel Start-Up Nation, Mitchelton-Scott, NTT Pro Cycling, Rally Cycling
Womens: Canyon SRAM, FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Euroscope, CCC-Liv, Drops, Rally Cycling, Team TIBCO-SVB, Boels-Dolmans, Valcar - Travel & Service (yeah me neither), and Team Twenty20 (I thought that was a cricket thing?).
True to form, I didn't notice Cofidis were in it yesterday.
Today (Stage 2) is 5 laps of the Richmond Cobbled Climbs circuit, which has two punchy KOM climbs in quick succession https://zwiftinsider.com/cobbled-climbs/
It's going to be 46.2km with 629m elevation gain.
I believe that there will be points awarded for the sprints and the KOMs, so expect to see attacks every lap.
6th May - Stage 3 - Medio Fondo, 1 lap (point to point), 72.6km, 981m elevation. This is quite a hilly route featuring the Volcano KOM then finishing on the Epic KOM. I would expect this to follow a conventional "outdoor" race format with a break going and then teams working to make sure they can catch them on the climb.
7th May - Stage 4 Sand and Sequoias, 2 laps, 42.8km, 294m elevation. This is essentially a flat route because the Titans Grove KOM is not enough to seriously trouble these guys (although still expect to see them pushing big w/kg up it) and will likely be a bunch sprint.
8th May - Stage 5 Quatch Quest, 1 lap (point to point), 46.5km 1682m elevation. This is a serious climbing route, featuring the Epic KOM followed by the Alpe du Zwift (a recreation of the Alpe d'Huez in Zwift, including all 21 hairpins). It's fair to say that this is the Queen stage. This stage will surely be won by a true climber, and expect to see very fast times up the Alpe!
Available free to watch 14:00-16:00 on the GCN app and Eurosport. Yesterday I was moderately impressed by the production, it has come a long way and it's reasonably easy to keep an eye on the race.
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Innsbruckring 04/05/2020
Women's results:
1. Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv)
2. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope)
3. Leah Dixon (Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank)
Women's team ranking:
1. Canyon-Sram Racing 70
2. Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 68
3. T20 59
4. Valcar-Travel & Service 54
5. FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 48
6. Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 44
7. CCC-Liv 39
8. Rally Cycling Women 28
9. Drops 50 -
Innsbruckring 04/05/2020
Men's results:
1. Freddy Ovett (Aus) Israel Start-Up Nation
2. Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis
3. Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix
Van der Poel really messed up his sprint IMO, he looked comfortable and set to win, but went way too late and couldn't come round before the line. Notable that he made an effort to be there at the end this time, compared to previous exhibition races he's done on Zwift, which shows he was a bit more invested this times. Once he gets the hang of sprinting in Zwift he will be very dangerous.
Men's team ranking:
1. Israel Start-Up Nation 88
2. EF Pro Cycling 68
3. NTT Pro Cycling 63
4. Alpecin-Fenix 62
5. Cofidis 38
6. Rally Cycling 34
7. Bahrain McLaren 25
8. Mitchelton-Scott 20
9. CCC Team 12
10. Groupama-FDJ 50 -
Stage 1 highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5HatvO4Fqs 0 -
I want to see if the pros start their races on Zwift like the rest of us do - ie is it balls out from the start for a few minutes before it settles down?
MVDP just said how hard Zwift racing is.0 -
I bet they don't. I wish amateurs didn't either!0
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Oooh Zwift animation of the draft effect! Would be cool if you could show that in the game...0
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Greg van Avermaet and Van der Poel in the men's race today. Valgren too.
Durbridge as well - glad Kirby isn't commentating...0 -
Good info re the draft.
MVDP putting down crazy power to break away, but going to get pulled back.0 -
Yeah he's been pulled back now by a group of 4.
Gogl, Zukowsky, GVA, Schultz back with VDP, and a chasing group about 13s behind that.
Really nice to see GVA and VDP taking it seriously.0 -
They're going to hit Libby Hill very shortly - big watts coming up.0
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Rider from EF has bridged up. Not sure who. Few other riders in the gap as well, inc Impey.0
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10, 11, 12 w/kg going up 23rd Street in the front group.
Schultz takes the KOM points.0 -
The power they put out up these climbs is insane.0
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VDP off the front again. Chased down by GVA.
Apparently VDP put out over 1500 watts yesterday during the sprint!0 -
Schultz, Craddock GVA, VDP, Zukowsky, Gogl. 50s off the front, looks like it will be between them.
Valgren 11s off the front of them, can't see him staying away with the 2 climbs coming up.0 -
Valgren 8s, 3.2km to go...
Good use of the super tuck there.0 -
This is decent actually.0
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It's a genuinely good race isn't it.kingstongraham said:This is decent actually.
Helped by the big name riders actually going for it.
Gap has been up and down, was down to a handful of seconds but now out to 8s again - 1.2km to go.0 -
GVA big move! Is it too little too late? VDP follows.0
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Valgren caught!0
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1. Gogl
2. GVA
3. VDP
Not sure when Gogl got away, I missed that! I think GVA and VDP were marking each other and ignored everyone else.0 -
Another good race and exciting finish.
Gogl from GVA from MVDP at the end. All averaging around 5 wkg for the duration.0 -
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Gogl saying it was full gas at the start as well.Dorset_Boy said:I want to see if the pros start their races on Zwift like the rest of us do - ie is it balls out from the start for a few minutes before it settles down?
MVDP just said how hard Zwift racing is.
Also talking about how the team has worked on tactics for this racing.
Women's coming up now (they are alternating the order each day so yesterday the women went first, today the men). The women are on the same route as the men every day.0 -
Women's with 26.4km still to go, Moolman Pasio has been active apparently. Seems to have been some big attrition in the last 5k as a clip from 31k to go showed a very big group, we are down to 10ish now, with riders coming in and out.0
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Group of ~10 are 4+ minutes up the road with 4.1km to go, so the winner will be from them.
They are just coming into the 2 KOM climbs followed by the climb to the line, so I am expecting it to all go to pieces now0 -
Strung out but no big gaps over Libby Hill (maybe 2 off the back). Quite cagey. I reckon it'll all happen on the drag to the line.0
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Now down to 6. Attritional. Vos, Kessler, Moolman Pasio, Doebel-Hicko, Faulkner, Stephens with 25s now. 1.3k to go.0
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Moolman Pasio on a flier with 600m to go0
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