Pro-cycling thread

Fair point and they have also just named the squad and Sosa is included. Young fairly young team.

He's leader for California

A stage win and a top ten on GC would be a great result for them based on that team, but both are stretch goals I’d say.

What is Kittel up to these days?

Not much. He was meant to ride Yorkshire at the weekend but pulled out.

I'm trying to remember why his 2018 season didn't exactly happen and why he's pretty much been invisible since.

It is difficult to see anything beyond a Roglic/Yates showdown for the Giro, possibly with Dumoulin in the mix. Sadly, I think Nibali will do well for a top 5 finish.

Write off Nibali at your peril.

Astana have had a stellar season so far, so I’d expect to see Lopez in the mix too. He’s backed by a strong team too, arguably stronger than Mitchelton and Jumbo-Visma.

Would love to see Nibali competing. As an italian friend says, 'he always behaves very correctly'.

In general, the difficulty of the stages, notably the particularly long mountain stages, will probably make for an exciting race. stage 16 is inhuman.

stage 16 is inhuman.

It’s not in isolation. I did the GF Marco Pantani in 2007 or 2008 and it did both the Gavia and the Mortirolo and got round.

It’s what comes before and after that takes it up a few levels.

I worry about Kittel. I hope that depression doesn't get the better of him, he's a great rider and a decent man.

Why are ITT (the dullest) stages always on a weekend?

He's seemed like he's had a bit more pep so far this season. Not enough to see off Tao and Sivakov admittedly but presumably he's still building up like Froome and co.

Expect Lopez will be up there. The time trialling will suit Dumoulin and he’s shown he can limit his losses on the Mortirolo etc.

You’d expect the winner to podium yo come largely from those four but I wouldn’t completely write off the young Ineos Grand Tour robots.

This might interest some of the older riders on here. I had lunch with John Patston yesterday, he was a big name in UK cycling back in the day and still holds the record for London - Brighton - London on a tandem, 4 hours and three minutes. He's 73 now, still riding and had just done three hours in the gym before he met us.

http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureurfiche.php?coureurid=109949

We watched the David Millar time trial film in the evening, whatever you think about Millar the film is worth seeing.

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Was your italian friend being sarcastic?

No, it was said in the context of him not being particularly popular in Italy.

Giro Podium should be Roglic, Yates and Dumoulin(Not necesarily in that order). Too many TT km's for Lopez to feature in the top 3 but Astana have pulled average GC riders to titles in the past. I agree with never writing off Nibali as many did in 2016 when Kruijswijk looked to have wrapped it up but feel he'll be targeting stages.
Should be some exciting racing, good list of in form sprinters and plenty of GC and breakaway specialists to mix it up.

Really, I wasn't aware of that. Thanks

statement on my future

2019-05-09

"On my request Team Katusha-Alpecin and I mutually decided to an early termination of my current contract.

It was for me a long decision process where I raised a lot of question about how and where I want to go as a person and athlete and what is really important to me. I love cycling and my passion for this beautiful sport is never gone but I also know what it requires from me and what I need to be successful. I believe that everyone has his strengths and weaknesses and that it is an ongoing process to deal with them within a team to be strong and successful. In the last two months I have had the feeling of being exhausted. At this moment, I am not able to train and race at the highest level. For this reason, I have decided to take a break and time for myself, think about my goals and make a plan for my future.

At this point I´d like to thank the team for the last 1,5 years and their support. Especially I´d like to thank the team staff. From the bottom of my heart I can say that they are the best and hardest working people that I´ve ever seen. I´m sorry that I couldn´t fuel your passion with more wins and results. I´d like to thank the sponsors and partners as well that keep believing in the team with their support and knowledge.

I´ve taken this decision based on my experience that changes lead you to new paths and opportunities. Despite all the insecurities I´ve got confidence that I ultimately will find new chances and challenges. From now on I will put my happiness and joy above everything and seek ways to find this also in my future. I´m very excited about what is going to come. I would like to ride and race again in the future and I have to work out a plan to be able to reach this goal.

This is the biggest challenge of my career and I´m accepting it."

Sad but not unexpected news about Kittel.

Any reason to watch TdY or Romandy?

Last two stages of TdY are worth watching. I’d not bother with Romandie.

Ta