Pro-cycling thread

Alaphilippe looks to be in phenomenal shape, has a great sprint, great descending, great climber.

He'll also have the full support of the French team.

And Valverde with the Spanish. Eugh.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/olympic-cyclist-kristina-vogel-left-paralyzed-by-june-accident-a-1227200.html#ref=rss

You think him, and not the likes of Bardet and/or Pinot (for example)?

Definitely - he's clearly in form, has a good sprint and a track record of winning one day races. Both Bardet and Pinot would be useful assets for the French team, but they aren't regular winners so you'd give them a free role with the brief that if Alaphillipe is in contention on the final climb then it's all in for him.

Finished in Wales last year didn't it?

I wouldn't expect Pinot to be much help in the descending, and Bardet needs a big win this year, so not sure he would be the most helpful.
Pierre Latour would have been good for their team, but he's probably still going to be out with broken vertebrae...

Vuillermoz and Gallopin (assuming they’re selected) will be a big help.

All depends whether they’re motivated to pull for someone who’s only a teammate for 250km per year.

I think Pinot’s descending is far better than you think. He had one, high publicity, off day but has managed to finish GTs in the top ten since.

I don’t think the French team is riven with cliques in the way that, say, the Italian team used to be, and they can ride as a cohesive unit. Alaphilippe is by far their best chance of a medal, so going all in for him would seem to be their best option. That said, using Bardet or Pinot to cover breaks in the second half of the race would make sense as then they can let other teams lead the chase.

The French National Team has been very cohesive in the past ten years, especially at u23 and junior levels. I’m sure they are mature enough to ensure that their race strategy is suited to their strongest chance of a medal rather than a free for all.

He does appear generally improved since 2013, but his descending is a weakness that he has admitted himself that he's worked on, with Innsbruck having at least 9 fast paced descents, he's not going to be the most help downhill.

It's nowhere near as bad as Kirby makes out, but if Valverde, Nibali, Roglic, and Alaphillipe are with him descending the final 2 climbs for example, with all of them going balls to the wall to win their first WC, he's getting dropped.

Biggest omission from a team is Michael Matthews, was ready to go all in to help his mate and occasional training partner Richie Porte, but left out. In an interview with cyclingnews he said he hoped it was because of his ability on the longer climbs and not a misconception he doesn't work for his team

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/vuelta-a-espana/simon-yates-began-vuelta-espana-undercooked-worlds-mind-393777

I think we are all watching Simon suitably impressed with his riding in the Vuelta, all the while waiting to see whether he has a Giro-style blow up in the final week. Good to know he and Adam are fully targeting the Worlds, while Froome and Thomas say they aren't going as they are tired.

Any thoughts who might join them? Stannard looks in good form, and there is both Swifts to think about. Cummings seems to have forgotten how to ride a bike this year. Tao?

Also how much time is Yates likely to ship tomorrow?

Tao, James Knox, probably James Shaw, wouldn’t take Connor Swift as he'll be dropped early. How many riders have we qualified, eight?

To answer this, yes, we'd get 8 riders for the team, so it'll look something like this I'd imagine;

Simon Yates
Adam Yates
Stannard
Carthy
Kennaugh
Tao
Knox
Cummings or Dowsett

Dennis to take the TT today?
Quintana to loose some more time and Valverde to make up some more time.

Didn't Yates crack a day after the TT in the Giro? I wonder if he wont go so deep, although he doesn't have Froomedog and Windmills ready to pounce so will be a bit more relaxed?

He showed signs of cracking the day after, everyone sniffed blood and he capitulated totally the day after that.
I don't reckon he's burnt as many matches this time round, so if he can do well for today and tomorrow, 2 flat stages to recover and smash it on the last mountain day, then he's got a good chance.

Though Vuelta's 'flat stage 19' lol

Lleida > Andorra. Naturlandia
14/09/2018 - Stage 19 - 154,4 km - Flat

I think there are 3 stages left that might be a test for the GC guys and there’s still time to be gained/lost.

The ITT today is one of them. I think Valverde and Kruijswijk will gain time over Yates and Quintana.

Tomorrow’s stage with its uphill finish will be a chance for Lopez or Quintana to try and do something, however I’m not sure Quintana has what it takes.

Same goes for the flat stage 19

There’s four GC stages left; today, tomorrow and Friday and Saturday’s stages in the Pyrenees.

I was about to say that the stage 20 was not long enough and the final climb not hard enough for GC guys to make any significant moves but now that I look at it, you're right! - there's a lot that could happen on a climb like that

Elite Men’s Road Race:
Hugh Carthy
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Pete Kennaugh
James Knox
Ian Stannard
Connor Swift
Adam Yates
Simon Yates

Elite Men’s Time Trial:
Alex Dowsett
Tao Geoghagen Hart

That’s a decent team, with most riders showing decent form in recent weeks. A medal should be the goal.

@umop3pisdn hoping Tao smokes Dowsett for the twitter bants...

36Tfront32Trear on todays stage