Cycling 2011

[Macy]

Gotta say, Cobo yesterday was one of those things that'd make you go "hmmmmm".

Good performance from Martin - a winter working on the time trialling, he could be a genuine GC contender.

[Dodge]

And I dunno Macy, he's always beena good climber and for the first time ever is the protected rider. Obviously his previous teams don't help

Froome is the 'break out' star but I'd be confident in him too.

I'd like to see Mrtin finish in the top 10. Top 10 and a stage win is a great, great GT performance

[Macy]

And I dunno Macy, he's always beena good climber and for the first time ever is the protected rider. Obviously his previous teams don't help

Always been a good climber, except the period when he wasn't with his current organisation!

Froome is the 'break out' star but I'd be confident in him too.

I'd like to see Mrtin finish in the top 10. Top 10 and a stage win is a great, great GT performance

Yeah, I'd still have faith in the "clean" teams like Sky and Garmin. I'd never be 100% shocked either, but I wouldn't buy "they're all doping" like the goons on some forums.

Hard to see Martin make top 10 - no real long climb left for him to make up the time. Time trialling is something that's technique though, that could be worked on - half the 6 minutes he lost and he's solid top 10.

[Dodge]

Don't forget his stoopid 40 second penalty too.

Defo been a good tour for him regardless of where he finishes, but Top 10 has a lovely ring to it.

(BTW I remember Sean Kelly on eurosport 2 years ago about Deignan (on the day he was in the break) saying "Top 10 doesn't matter. if you're not on the podium then its not a major achievement. Now if he wins this stage, and finishes top 10, then he can say he's had a great performance"

Vaughters made a comment about Martin last week on that subject saying Dan would rather win a stage and finish 20th in every other stage than finish top 5 on every stage - he's a born winner"

I think that shows the difference between Roche and Martin tbh

[Macy]

I had forgotten that time penalty actually - and agree regarding the comparison to Roche.

[Mr A]

Leopard Trek and Radioshack to merge and become Radioshack Nissan Trek.. not sure where this will leave Deignan.

[Dodge]

jaysus I forgpt cobo wsas 2nd on that Piepoli stage a few years gao (when Ricco was going nuts)

All benefit of doubt out the window...

[Macy]

jaysus I forgpt cobo wsas 2nd on that Piepoli stage a few years gao (when Ricco was going nuts)

All benefit of doubt out the window...

Even the ex-pro's are on the case - Jean Francois Bernard . I believe that Kelly was a bit barbed during the eurosport commentary too.

[Mr A]

Martin takes 2 points with a 4th place today.

Wiggins letting me down badly.. thought he was going to be my second grand tour winner bet in a row to come in. Oh well, as long as he stays in the top three I'm still ahead.

[Dodge]

Martin had another go today. Ended up 4th, and up to 11th overall. A few cracked. Roche finished 17th on stage but up to 14th overall. Martin is 16 seconds behind Chris Anke Sorenson in 10th

Brilliant finish to the stage. Froome rode away from Cobo and looked like reding into overall lead. Cobo cam back and caught him with 50 metres to go and then passed him. Frrome dived up the inside of final turn to snatch the stage win

He's now only 13 seconds down on Cobo (and he lost about 40 seconds last week riding for Wiggins!)

[Mr A]

Good day for Martin and Roche.. sitting 13th and 16th now. They're also confirmed for worlds.. http://twitter.com/#!/irishcycling/s...89519493652481

Seems like there's a lot of people having doubts about Cobo... http://twitter.com/#!/irishcycling/s...86306695663617

[Macy]

Having trouble squaring my doubts about Cobo and not doubting Froome - sky don't even seem that convincing on his "numbers" to be honest.

[Mr A]

Another brilliant won for Gilbert in Quebec. Deignan was in two breaks where he did a bunch of the work, 36th in the end.

[Dodge]

Just to follow up on the rankings and the quest for Olympic places. With only the Giro di Lombardia and the Tour of Beijing left, Ireland are now in 15th place in the national rankings.

Those within reach are
13 Denamrk 285
14 Kazakhstan 234
15 Ireland 219
16 Slovenia 219
17 Slovakia 208
18 Colombia 175
19 Portugal 163

Not sure why Ireland is placed above Slovenia but we are. Impossible to call, but will be very tight for Ireland unless Martin or Roche can dig a result out of Lombardia
--

Martin is ranked 18th individually BTW

[Dodge]

Roche confirms he's riding Tour of BEijing, Giro di Lombardia, as well as the World Championships

[Mr A]

Brammeier to join Quick Step

[Mr A]

A lot more to come on this story: Italian newspaper reveals details of Ferrari investigation

Armstrong, Menchov and Scarponi implicated to varying degrees.

[Mr A]

Deignan joins United Healthcare.

Bit of a step backwards in one way, but if they use him as a team leader it could be interesting.

[Macy]

Bit of a step backwards in one way, but if they use him as a team leader it could be interesting.

Probably means no grand tours, but iirc they were in a good few decent european races, as well as the US ones. If he's a leader and/or given some freedom it could work out to be a great move for him.

[Dodge]

With radioshack and HTC folding, jobs were at a minimum. A couple of other Europeans have been linked with them recently

An Post's Andrew Fenn has just won bronze for GB in the World U23 road race. Irish lads involved in crash with 2k to go