Cycling 2013

[bennocelt]

I've less question marks than this years winner - I still keep coming back to him going into the 2011 veulta without a contract offer from Sky, and therefore Sky's superdooper analysts can't have been that impressed with his "numbers" (doesn't make him dirty, just needs proper explanation imo)! You can't say wiggins didn't look human during last years tour, or this year so far. The course was built for him with the amount of time trialling. He can be a bit of a tool and/ or contradictory, but I want to believe he is clean.

There is logic to the argument that great performances were so easy/ relatively cheap with epo and blood transfusions, that training methods and methodologies never properly moved with the times, and sky are the first ones to make the advances. But there's no good just talking a good game in this sport anymore - be open about the methods even with a loss of results/ rivals catching up, or accept the innuendo.

I am happen to like Wiggins a lot and hope he was clean, but hasnt he had a severe loss of form since the win?

[Mr A]

He has- but I think that's more down to temperament, injuries and a big problem with descending. I think he also had major issues previously after a very successful olympics- he seems to lose it a bit after major highs. Wiggins does not help himself with his constant ability to contradict himself- he seems to say whatever he thinks people want to hear at any given moment. But for the moment I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Macy]

The other thing about Sky is- if their training etc is so much better than that at other teams, why hasn't Mick Rogers brought that to Saxo and allowed them to apply it too?
Think he's said they've a long way to go in implementing the methods. I've also heard it mentioned that Riis is a bit old school, and is slow to make changes (which kinda makes you wonder about Stephen pushing Nico that direction). I've also heard it said that Moviestar are taking on board a lot of new methods and sky see them as a big threat (I don't know whether Dowsett is an influence or not), but given that organisations history, that doesn't really inspire confidence tbh.


I am happen to like Wiggins a lot and hope he was clean, but hasnt he had a severe loss of form since the win?
Partied too hard, and as Mr A said, he's gone that way after every success. Even his first year with Sky didn't go great, after the high of the top 4 in the Tour with Garmin. He's also not getting any younger. I do generally like him as well, just don't be giving out about being a celebrity whilst hanging out on stage with Weller and that!

[Stuttgart88]

I think an issue with Wiggins is that he has to emaciate himself to get TdF fit, getting down to 6% body fat. This leaves him highly vulnerable to colds and infections. I think his luck ran out in a very cold Giro this year and he came down with a heavy cold which when added to his suppressed immune system became a chest infection. See, told you I wasn't a doctor.

I'd be inclined to believe in Wiggins. He's basically a super TTist and normal enough climber. Last year's course was perfect for him. Someone like Cancellara is just to big to perform on anything other than a TT or flat stage but Wiggins lost a lot of weight to be competitive in the mountains. I think I read he can only sustain that weight for a month or two.

[Mr A]

Great to see Martyn Irvine back- he's on the start list for the Volta a Portugal. Meanwhile Philip Deignan will be looking to continue his excellent season at the Tour of Utah.

[Mr A]

Philip Deignan rumoured to be in talks with Sky: http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/philip-deignan-looks-set-for-move-back-to-worldtour-currently-speaking-to-team-sky/

Meanwhile Philip Lavery is also doing Burgos with Cofidis, hoping to earn a contract there. Hopefully Irvine, Deignan and Lavery all have good races.

[Macy]

Philip Deignan rumoured to be in talks with Sky: http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/philip-deignan-looks-set-for-move-back-to-worldtour-currently-speaking-to-team-sky/
I've conflicting emotions already! :)

Would be a great move for him, as although he'll be a domestique (at least initially, who knows where he could go with all their secret innovative techniques), at least they're a team that appreciates that role.

[Mr A]

Another decent result for him- 6th overall in the Tour of Utah. That'll certainly help his negotiating position. Lavery seems to have done OK in Burgos. Can't find results from Portugal.

Looking forward to the Vuelta. Martin has confirmed he'll lead Garmin there and at next year's Giro.

[Dodge]

3 grand tours in a row for him? He'd hardly do a 4th with another Tour?

[Macy]

3 grand tours in a row for him? He'd hardly do a 4th with another Tour?
Would it be possible he'd go there with no GC ambitions? It's a bit early to be talking about the Giro as well for me - I would've thought he'd be focussing on the Ardennes classics, and could he hold top form from there for a GC challenge in the Giro? It'd be great to see him start the Giro here regardless of how it ends up going for him though.

[Mr A]

I think the only reason the Giro is mentioned so early is because it's visiting Ireland and he must want to be part of that. On the other hand the Irish stages look unlikely to suit him from what I recall.

[Dodge]

I completely forgot about the Giro starting here! Yeah, could easily just be a marketing move by Garmin.

[Macy]

And whoever's asking the questions as well. Journalists asks will you be at the Giro as it's starting Ireland etc. I guess it's still not closed off that he can produce over 3 weeks for a GC bid, but if he can, you'd think Giro and Vuelta courses would tend to suit him better with less time trialling and perhaps the best time trialling GC contenders not necessarily there.

[Mr A]

Roche will be one of three riders with 'support', but Kreuziger will lead the team at the Vuelta. I guess if he goes well early they'll focus on him more.
http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/nicolas-roche-to-be-supported-by-saxo-tinkoff-at-vuelta-but-roman-kreuziger-is-leader/

[Dodge]

Brilliant stage win by Nico today. Tactically perfect and with the legs to match

http://balls.ie/cycling/video-nicolas-roche-wins-stage-2-in-the-vuelta-despana/

Oh and Dan Martin wants to be World Champion
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/15322/Dan-Martin-Interview-My-ambition-is-to-be-world-champion-Im-not-going-to-stress-about-GC.aspx

[swinfordfc]

Congrats to Nico Roche and it has been a great year so far for Irish cycling ..... congrats again

[Mr A]

Over the moon for Nico. Superb win. Since San Sebastian I thought his form was good.. if he maintains it and Saxo back him he could finish very well indeed.

[Macy]

Managed to avoid the result for the afternoon until the ITV highlights. When he made the move I was thinking "please not another second", so pretty much in line with what he said post stage! Brilliant win, great to see him have the killer instinct.

A few interesting things post stage as well about the Tour. Him saying the plan was never for him to be there in the high mountains for bert, he had a different, specific role for the medium mountains, with Kreuziger and Rogers the designated high mountain domestiques. Maybe it wasn't, notwithstanding to distaste of working with Riis, such a rubbish move for him afterall. Also, relations between him and Kreuziger seem ok, with Kreuziger tweeting pics of the jerseys and that last night.

Also, more on Deignan going back to the World Tour, no confirmation yet it's Sky, but Sky don't annouce signings during the season. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/deignan-in-talks-with-worldtour-team

[Mr A]

Good news: Roche now leads overall by 17 seconds and appears to be in the form of his life. He also holds the mountains jersey and the combined jersey while holding second in the points category. Magnificent stuff.

Bad news: Martin had to withdraw after yesterday's crash. Nothing too serious, will hopefully be able to get himself in top shape for the worlds.

[swinfordfc]

Bravo Nico - fair play ... i take it all back about you :)

[Mr A]

Roche rode brilliantly again.. looks like he lost the jersey by a second though.. waiting for confirmation.

But disappointing he didn't have more support from Saxo in the end.

[Mr A]

Damn.. confirmed he lost it by a second. 4th on the stage. If he could have taken third or finished a second faster he would have held the jersey.

[Dodge]

Mad how goals change. Roche finishing 4th on a stage like that would usually be seen as a great result. Yesterday we were kinda disappointment

Today is huge though and I expect the big boys to come out strong

[Mr A]

Roche 7th today (provisional, I've seen a few different results posted). Was only able to follow on Twitter but he was dropped repeatedly and fought back every time. Only conceded 22 seconds to Nibali- that's a very good performance. Now 3rd overall.

Horner won solo.. at 41. With a very dodgy history. And an attitude to doping as late as last year he was defending Armstrong. That doesn't smell good at all.

Meanwhile Fernando Alonso is to rescue the Euskatel team who previously looked doomed. He's great friends with Contador, so that could be interesting to see how that develops.

[Dodge]

Horner has always bugged the **** out of me. he's a godd time trialist too. If Nico is still 3rd after the time trial he has a great chance of a podium. Will still be tough

[Mr A]

Roche usually suffers the day after a rest day and his time trialling is suspect so it could be very tough. On the other hand he has put in some decent TTs this year and is in the form of his life, while the course includes a 3rd cat climb so won't be all about the specialists. Instinct is he'll slip[ back a bit but hopefully not.

[Mr A]

Roche 4th after first split.. same time as Nibali.. he's flying.. hopefully he can keep it going. (Note: Health Warning- a lot of first splits have been wrong)

[Mr A]

Roche 5th at second time check. Same time as Valverde. Nibali 11 sec faster than Roche

[Mr A]

Roche 5th +1:48 .. Nibali to come though will probably bump him down a place. Super, super stuff though.

Horner will probably drop back though.

[Mr A]

Roche now second on the GC.

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 41:22:22
2 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:33
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:46
4 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard
5 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 0:02:33
6 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:44
7 Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:02:55
8 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 0:03:35
9 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:03:46
10 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha 0:03:56

[Dodge]

back leader of the combination jersey too. Great ride. Who knew actually training with a TT bike would help...

[Schumi]

back leader of the combination jersey too.

He'll have worn all four jerseys on a stage now. That must be pretty unusual.

[swinfordfc]

Now is the big question - can he maintain this till sunday week?

[Macy]

Who knew actually training with a TT bike would help...
And a bit of self belief too. Also, as the doping conspiracy* theorists are ramping up, an up and down course and out of the GC contenders none that have TTing as their real speciality also helped. Brilliant performance none the less, as even with those factors, he previously would be losing 4 or 5 minutes to Martin or Cancellara. Really hopeful of a podium for him now - key stage is that Tour de France-esque one, which is kinda different to the normal Veulta stages. Amazing performance whatever happens from here.

*I'm pretty cynical about cycling performances, but I wandered into The Clinic to see how his performance went down. Christ on a bike, the whack jobs twist everything to suit that a rider is doping. One of them suggested he'd transformed from a sprinter to a tdf mountain domestique since going to saxo, ignoring his previous GC results and the fact he was pretty rank in the high mountains of the Tour! There's been no exceptional improvement, bar the TT. His results on the climbs are remarkably similar to his previous results on the very same climbs!

[Dodge]

The big reasons for Roche's results being better in this Vuelta are

a) the field is remarkably weaker than in previous years IMO. No Wiggins, Froome, Contador. Of the young guys Mollema and Martin crashed. Rodriguez never really gets going until half way through the race. The only genuine GC challenger in the race is Nibali and he's leading (and should win comfortably). If Roche was to win, it would be no real different to Hesjedel winning the 2012 Giro.

b) his confidence is sky high after that win (on a one mountain parcours, it should be noted, not the long up and down days to come).

His record in the Vuelta is 13th, 7th, 16th and 12th and that was with a poor team behind him

[Mr A]

Yeah, the clinic is a fooking Zoo. I'm very cynical also, but some of those guys can't accept that any cyclist ever is clean. Like you say, everything is taken as evidence of doping.

[Macy]

Just to clarify, I have no doubts about Roche. There's been nothing exceptional, and even his TT was within what you'd expect considering one of the factors of moving was to work on that area. Great performance - veulta has been a success for him whatever happens from here on in!

[nigel-harps1954]

Philip Deignan officially confirmed move to Sky team.

[swinfordfc]

Philip Deignan officially confirmed move to Sky team.

Thats great news

[Dodge]

All the "experts" think he'll be part of Richie Porte's team for the Giro. Him being an Ulsterman should mean he gets a fair bit of publicity from the opening weekend

[Macy]

Delighted for him. Although must admit to being slightly disappointed that he only got a 1 year deal - sky have chewed up and spat out a few riders since their formation (Russel Downing the prime example).

[Mr A]

Roche up to 5th as Saxo repeat their Tour De France feat and split the peloton in crosswinds. Great stuff, and super to see the team going all out to back him. He closed the gap in the green jersey competition too as he came in 10th.

How that one bad day in the cold messed thing up though :(

[Mr A]

Roche holds out today despite not being on a good day and ends up 5th. Very good performance from him and he has racked up some nice UCI points as well. Hopefully he can carry the form into Lombardia and the Worlds. Pity he had that bad day in the cold. But reassuring that he isn't on top form every day.. looks human at least.

Meanwhile Brameier has been going pretty well in Belgium while I think Lavery has been solid enough with Cofidis to date.

Felix English, Peter Hawkins, Philip Deignan, Sam Bennett and Daniel Martin all doing the Tour of Britain this week. Pity to see Ronan McLaughlin miss out on selection.

[Mr A]

Bennett just lost out on a stage win to Ciolek (winner of Milan SanRemo) earlier this week. Has been rewarded with a place on the worlds team- http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/15492/Ireland-confirms-team-for-elite-world-road-race-championships-Bennett-and-Brammeier-to-join-Roche-and-Martin.aspx

Martin, Roche, Brammeier, Bennett. Deignan unfortunately misses out as he crashed at the Tour of Britain.

Edit: Just read back through this thread and what a year it has been! Not over yet either :)

[Mr A]

Martin on the attack today at the Tour of Britain, but it's Sam Bennett that wins the stage! Nice!

[Dodge]

Brilliant win for Bennett. That was very hilly and the "peleton" was down to 15 a the end

Matt Brammeieir won a race in Belgium too

[Mr A]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=roTUPh-jh2s

Bennett's win.

[Mr A]

Another super result for Sam Bennett as he takes second in a bunch sprint to Cavendish. Excellent effort and he beat some serious class. Big things ahead for this lad.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-L076cK4Zw

[Mr A]

13th for Roche at the Worlds TT. Excellent stuff. Really looking forward to the Road Race.

[Real ale Madrid]

Brian Cookson is the new President of the UCI - he has ousted PMQ by 24 votes to 18 in this mornings vote in Italy. Rumours were abound on twitter this morning that Cookson allegedly offered €25k to the Greek delegate in return for its backing.

It's funny and as great as it is to get rid of McQuaid - I have the same feeling about cycling now than i did when Tommy No Bobs took over Cork City from Arkaga. It's like delaying the impending doom.