2017 worlds

2456720

Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,216
    RichN95 wrote:
    British teams:

    MRR: Owain Doull, Pete Kennaugh, Adam Blythe, Mark Christian, Jon Dibben, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Scott Thwaites.

    No hope


    I'd say Swift is an outside bet. He's shown reasonable form at MSR on several occasions and would have a chance in a reduced sprint finish after a long race. He was also showing some decent form in the first couple of stages of the Tour against the big sprinters prior to his crash. I certainly wouldn't put him in the favourites but that's a reasonable squad (though weaker than for many years).
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,216
    I struggle seeing beyond Belgies, a Slovak or a Pole for the RR

    Aussies or maybe Alaphillipe?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    I struggle seeing beyond Belgies, a Slovak or a Pole for the RR

    Dutch team is quite strong.
  • Going off season long form, I'd have said Kwia would be a strong candidate; but he's probably cream crackered. How did he go in ToB? Any flashes of early season greatness, or was he an also ran?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    I struggle seeing beyond Belgies, a Slovak or a Pole for the RR

    Dutch team is quite strong.
    And the Italians have some guys in good form - Ulissi, Trentin, Moscon
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Pross wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    British teams:

    MRR: Owain Doull, Pete Kennaugh, Adam Blythe, Mark Christian, Jon Dibben, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Scott Thwaites.

    No hope


    I'd say Swift is an outside bet. He's shown reasonable form at MSR on several occasions and would have a chance in a reduced sprint finish after a long race. He was also showing some decent form in the first couple of stages of the Tour against the big sprinters prior to his crash. I certainly wouldn't put him in the favourites but that's a reasonable squad (though weaker than for many years).


    Nah.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    Guys, it's not gonna be a sprint finish.

    Think a bit hillier than flanders/Brabantse Pijl
  • I'm holding out for the hope of afters between Biggles and Kristoff
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,224
    How many sprinters does it take for it to constitute a sprint?

    I'm waiting for the punchline.
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,224
    I'm holding out for the hope of afters between Biggles and Kristoff
    2 of the 3 riders in the Norwegian team capable of riding 270km in the p!ssing rain with a headwind 80% of the time... and they're not going on about not working together. That'll be doing wonders for team morale.
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,551
    Guys, it's not gonna be a sprint finish.

    Think a bit hillier than flanders/Brabantse Pijl

    Pip?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    dish_dash wrote:
    Guys, it's not gonna be a sprint finish.

    Think a bit hillier than flanders/Brabantse Pijl

    Pip?

    Yeah, I'm just not sure he's got a fast enough finish (having said that), given the position of the final climb.

    Kwia would be bang on for this.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    /\ I agree, I think reduced bunch kick. It's a lot of times up that hill, some people are going to come unstuck.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    Obviously if it's wet, it's a different cast list.

    Sagan is surely the favourite again; as he is for basically anything that isn't either plan flat or 3,000m+ of climbing.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,216
    Guys, it's not gonna be a sprint finish.

    Think a bit hillier than flanders/Brabantse Pijl

    Surely unless it is won solo there'll be a sprint finish (as in many versions of Flanders)?

    My expectation is a small group sprint or at least a small lead group making it nearly to the finish, someone might always clip off the front in that situation. Somewhere between 10 and 20 riders, Classics specialists but the ones who can sprint pretty well (and who have been mentioned above generally). It may be hillier than Flanders or Brabantse Pijl but with those races it is a combination of the narrow, twisty roads; cobbles and gradient of the climbs that help split it up rather than the actual amount of elevation. I'm not sure how the Worlds route compares on any of those but I'm guessing that with the size of field and mix of inexperienced riders that it is unlikely to be as technical. Just look at Amstel Gold, that's got a few hills but in 2016 there was a big group at the end (even though 2 managed to clip off by 4 seconds) and in 2015 it was a reduced bunch sprint. Even LBL usually has a bit of a bunch left and it's only the actual uphill 1km finish that stops it being a sprint.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    I guess I mean bunch finish, ala Madrid 2005, ala Copenhagen in 2011.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,216
    True, but I don't think anyone has really predicted that. Most are going for a Sagan / Kwia / Matthews type rider.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    It's quite technical I think, which will slow it down.
  • "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • FocusZing
    FocusZing Posts: 4,373
    Cheers for the schedules.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    Sky's TTT team: Froome, Thomas, Kwiatkowski, Moscon, Kiryienka, Doull

    I think they are taking it seriously
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    Provisional Men's elite ITT start list.

    Albania
    HALILAJ Redi
    SEFA Ylber
    ZHUPA Eugert

    Argentina
    SEPULVEDA Eduardo

    Australia
    DENNIS Rohan

    Austria
    BRÄNDLE Matthias
    POSTLBERGER Lukas
    ZOIDL Riccardo

    Azerbaijan
    SADOV Elchin

    Belgium
    CAMPENAERTS Victor
    DE PLUS Laurens
    HERMANS Ben
    LAMPAERT Yves

    Belarus
    KIRYIENKA Vasil
    SAMOILAU Branislau
    SUITSOU Kanstantsin

    Colombia
    PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson

    Czech Republic
    BARTA Jan

    Denmark
    HANSEN Lasse Norman
    MADSEN Martin Toft

    Eritrea
    BERHANE Natnael
    DEBESAY Mekseb
    KUDUS Merhawi
    TESHOME Meron

    Spain
    CASTROVIEJO Jonathan
    DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David
    HERRADA Jesus
    IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka

    Estonia
    TAARAMAE Rein

    France
    GOUGEARD Alexis
    ROUX Anthony
    VACHON Florian

    Great Britain
    CUMMINGS Stephen
    FROOME Chris

    Germany
    ARNDT Nikias
    MARTIN Tony
    POLITT Nils
    SUTTERLIN Jasha

    Guyana
    BURROWES Jermaine

    Hong Kong, China
    CHEUNG King Lok

    Ireland
    ROCHE Nicolas

    Italy
    MARCATO Marco
    MOSCON Gianni
    PASQUALON Andrea

    Kazakhstan
    BIZHIGITOV Zhandos
    GRUZDEV Dmitriy
    LUTSENKO Alexey
    ZEITS Andrey

    Lithuania
    KONOVALOVAS Ignatas

    Luxembourg
    JUNGELS Bob
    KIRSCH Alex

    Morocco
    HADDI Soufiane

    Mexico
    MARTINS SANDOVAL Uri
    PRADO Ignacio

    Netherlands
    CLEMENT Stef
    DUMOULIN Tom
    KELDERMAN Wilco

    Norway
    HAGEN Edvald Boasson
    VANGSTAD Andreas

    New Zealand
    BOND Hamish

    Pakistan
    KHAN Awais
    MUHAMMAD Arsalan Anjum

    Poland
    BIALOBLOCKI Marcin
    BODNAR Maciej
    KWIATKOWSKI Michal

    Portugal
    COSTA Rui
    OLIVEIRA Nelson

    Romania
    TVETCOV Serghei

    South Africa
    SMIT Willem Jakobus

    Russian Federation
    BELKOV Maxim
    EVTUSHENKO Alexander
    ZAKARIN Ilnur

    Rwanda
    NDAYISENGA Valens

    Singapore
    TAN Gabriel
    TEOH Yi Peng

    Slovenia
    ROGLIC Primoz
    TRATNIK Jan

    Switzerland
    HOLLENSTEIN Reto
    KUNG Stefan

    Sweden
    LUDVIGSSON Tobias

    Syrian Arab Republic
    JASER Nazir
    WAIS Ahmad Badreddin

    Ukraine
    GRIVKO Andrey
    RYBARUK Kostyantyn

    USA
    HAGA Chad
    ROSSKOPF Joseph
    VAN GARDEREN Tejay


    Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racin ... j4AqStb.99
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    RichN95 wrote:
    Sky's TTT team: Froome, Thomas, Kwiatkowski, Moscon, Kiryienka, Doull

    I think they are taking it seriously

    With that team selection in the TTT and the hill in the ITT it is not beyond the bounds of possibility for Froome to end up with two Grand Tours and two World championships
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    What's the TTT route? Is it different?
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    ie Looks less technical, less city centre (ie possibly more wind/rain swept), and no wicked hill at the end (although quite a nasty one in the middle)
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    edited September 2017
    Ignore
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    The hill in the RR doesn't look that bad on the profile and is a long way from the finish, would have thought many of the sprinters would be able to hold on?
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,238
    okgo wrote:
    The hill in the RR doesn't look that bad on the profile and is a long way from the finish, would have thought many of the sprinters would be able to hold on?

    11 times up it though.

    I'd be pretty surprised.

    Cav etc couldn't even hold on to the group 9 times up Box during the olympics, and this is a little harder than that.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Anyone who's got an interest in it not being a pure sprint finish should be able to make it hard enough across 11 goes up it to drop most of the pure sprinters, I'd have thought?