2014 World Tour Races.

[monty1104]

Paris-Nice
Stage 7. Mougins - Biot Sophia Antipolis

Sorry about missing yesterday, left work and drove straight to Melbourne so didn't have time to get this done. The past 2 nights have seen Carlos Betancur win both stages, and now take the overall lead from Geriant Thomas by 8".

Tonight's stage see two Cat 1. climbs. Both climbs are not so steep, however are rather long climbs. They both come in the first half of the stage so shouldn't have a huge bearing on the outcome of the race. Given this, I see it as a sprint finish. It is slightly uphill at the end (about 4.5% over the last 2 km if my math and estimations are correct), which could discount some riders.

My tip; Tony Gallopin. He is a quick rider that isn't fazed by a hill finish. Degenkolb and Thomas also should be fine on this type of finish too.

 

[monty1104]

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 4. Indicatore - Cittareale

Stage 2 saw Matteo Pelucchi of IAM win a really laboured sprint. The sprint opened up quite early and it was a real race of attrition by the end. Marcel Kittel crashed out just inside the final 3km. He chucked a great tanty, picking up his bike and throwing it at the road.

Stage 3 saw Peter Sagan win a great uphill sprint from the likes of Gilbert and Kwiatkowski. Kwiatkowski now leads overall due to OPQ's great TTT race.

Stage 4 is the first of the uphill finishes. Look for all the big hitters to give a real go at the stage win here. Sky will be Sky and try to smash the race to bits to set up either Porte or Wiggins for the win. There are plenty of other riders who should be able to go with them though. Hopefully we will see some fireworks, but given there are hills tomorrow, I wouldn't count on anything huge.

My tip; Rigoberto Uran. In good form and if he takes the stage, he should move up to first (from second). Contador will be looking to limit loses as much as possible so he can go into the ITT as close as possible to the leaders and make up time there.

 

[alfy!]

Stage 4 of the Tirreno-Adriatico was very good last night, the finish was superb.

 

[monty1104]

Geez, Contador and Quintana really look a cut above the rest. They barely looked like they got out of 2nd gear until the last 200m or so.

 

[monty1104]

Paris - Nice
Stage 8. Nice - Nice

Last night saw a really smart finish by Tom Jelte Slagter, who took his second stage victory of the race. In the last km, he saw himself hit the front of a diminished peleton a couple of times. He just turned off, let someone pass him and then wheel suck all the way to the end, where he managed to kick on the line and take the win. Super smart finish.

Tonight is the final stage of Paris-Nice. Carlos Betancur leads Rui Costa by 14" and barring any major mishap, he should win the race over all.

My tip; for the stage victory, I'll back Tom Jelte Slagter to make it 3 stage wins for the race.

 

[monty1104]

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 5. Amatrice - Guardiagrele

Last night saw a(nother) really smart finish to a stage, this time by Tinkoff-Saxo as a team. Roman Kreuziger led the race up the final climb, allowing Alberto Contador to just ease his way up the mountain, not using any energy. When Kreuziger was eventually caught, only Scarponi, Quintana, Porte, Moreno and Contador really had anything left. Contador kicked at the end and Quintana followed. Those two looked so much more at ease going up hill than the rest of the riders, it really was ridiculous. At no stage did they look in trouble.

Tonight sees an undulating stage with a couple of categorised climbs in the last 30km. The 17km downhill section does open this race up for a number of climbers, and should make for an interesting race. Look for Tinkoff-Saxo to try and retain the race lead, however they will come under pressure from a few teams looking for some glory.

My tip; Cadel Evans. He is well behind in the GC race and is of no threat at all to Contador. His moves will not be marked. The long downhill with the kick uphill at the end of the stage suits Evans to the tee.

 

[ben_1301]

Bertie's back! This bodes well for the tour.

 

[monty1104]

Well done to Carlos Betancur for winning the 2014 Paris-nice race. Special mention to Tom Jelte Slagter for 2 stage wins, and Artur Vichot, whose stage 8 win put him up to 3rd overall.

 

[monty1104]

Sorry for the lateness and crapness of the following preview, I totally forgot about it TBH.

Tirreno-Adriatico
Stage 6. Bucchianico - Porto Sant'Elpido.

Tonight stage is a sprinters' wet dream; almost a pan flat stage at sea level. Look for a battle of the big gun sprinters tonight.

My tip; Peter Sagan. He just looks more interested in winning than others right now.

 

[monty1104]

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 7. San Benedetto del Tronto (ITT)

Last night was a throwback to the halcyon days of the HTC team, with Cav winning and his lead out man (Alessandro Petacchi) coming in second. The race was somewhat affected by a crash towards the end of he race though, so some sprinters were caught out, most notably Andre Greipel and the whole Lotto-Belisol team. Having said that, OPQ was dominant in the final three km and probably would have taken the stage anyway.

As for tonight, it is a super flat 9.2km time trial. Given that Contador has a 2'08" gap on his closest rival (Nairo Quintana) only disaster will cause him to lose the title from here. He probably won't win the stage though as he will be taking it easy around corners to guarantee he doesn't crash.

My tip; Home country bias is affecting my tip here, but I'll back Luke Durbridge to take the stage.

 

[monty1104]

Tirreno - Adriatico wrap up
Good win by Adriano Malori, took stage 7 by 6" over Fabian Cancellara. Overall, the race was won by Alberto Contador, who is showing very ominous form at this stage of the season. Him, along with Nairo Quintana really looked a cut above the rest when it came to climbing. Obviously it is still quite early season, but the form of these two will cause others to think twice about their own preparations.

 

[alfy!]

A good guide to the Spring Classics: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cyclingnews-guide-to-the-2014-spring-classics

Orazio2Joe, I'm not too sure if you are typing these previews just for this site but perhaps your time would be better spent discussing the results only. Doesn't seem like your great write ups are getting much love.

 

[monty1104]

A good guide to the Spring Classics: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cyclingnews-guide-to-the-2014-spring-classics

Orazio2Joe, I'm not too sure if you are typing these previews just for this site but perhaps your time would be better spent discussing the results only. Doesn't seem like your great write ups are getting much love.

Pretty much just for the site. I don't mind doing this though, it means I've got to be on the ball and never miss at least watching the highlights of each race.

 

[monty1104]

Milan - San Remo

Welcome one and all to the first of cycling's five monuments; Milan - San Remo. This year's edition will follow a different route to the past few years. The riders will be riding the route used pre-2008 due to landslides closing the climbs of the Pompeiana and Le Manie. This should mean a much larger bunch at the finish, which will favour the sprinters, as long as they get there.

This graph shows the number of riders in the front group at the finish line. The blue columns represent the race route similar to tonight's route. There is a clear difference between that route and the route used in the past 6 editions.

Riders to watch; I would love to say Simon Gerrans, however he has withdrawn due to illness. Taylor Phinney has also withdrawn. Given the race route, you'd have to say it is set up for sprinters. Now even though the climbs don't look too difficult, let's not forget this is the longest single day racing of the year. The race hits the base of the Cipresa after 266km of racing Riders will struggle up this and the Poggio if the pace is high. Sprinters who can climb a bit will be the ones in the box seat here. Sagan, Demare, Kristoff, Boasson-Hagen, Degenkolb and Vichot can all get over hill a lot better than the two obvious quickest sprinters in the race; Cavendish and Greipel.

Having said that, there are a number of teams that will want to see no sprinters whatsoever; Trek, Belkin and BMC will think they have a good chance with Cancellara, Mollema and Gilbert respectively. If they are to win though, they can not be in a group with sprinters, as they will not be quick enough. With a race length of 294km, tactics are king here. Sprinters will be trying to get themselves over the Poggio with the lead group. Teams with no spinters will try and shake all the sprinters off as best as possible. This is a race where really any type of rider can win.

My tip; Edvald Boasson Hagen. This guy is a great rider, and has the whole Sky team backing him tonight (though it isn't the strongest team ever assembled), a luxury he isn't often afforded. He will want to make the most of it.

Through all of this write up, I haven't even mentioned Gerald Ciolek, the defending champ. I honestly don't think he can win, but then again, I didn't think he would win last year (I don't think I was alone there). Time will tell, but it's safe to say this is MTN Qhubeka's biggest day of racing for the year. Good luck to them, I think they'll need it.

 

[chargers 09]

Pretty much just for the site. I don't mind doing this though, it means I've got to be on the ball and never miss at least watching the highlights of each race.

I've read all of em'. Great work.

 

[monty1104]

Cheers. About to do one for Volta Catalunya in the next hour or so.

 

[monty1104]

Milan - San Remo Wrap up
Well last night was yet another enthralling edition of Milan-San Remo. The usual race pattern eventuated, with 7 riders heading out on a suicidal long range attack, almost from the get go.

Once the riders hit the Cipresa, the action really began. Sagan asked De Marchi to really put his foot on the gas going up this hill to put the hurt on the gun sprinters. What he didn't count on though was the hyper aggressive Vincenzo Nibali. The Shark shot past the Canondale pair going up the Cipresa and absolutely smashed it on the way down. Unfortunately for him, there was no one able to assist him, so he was caught by the peleton. Once the race crested the Poggio, there was only about 30 riders left, including most of the sprinters (though Greipel was struggling so much he was a non-factor). The final push for the line was one of the slowest sprints you're ever likely to see on the flat, due to the 299km in the legs of the riders. Luca Paolini led the peleton and his team mate, Alexander Kristoff, through the last km or so. With about 300m to go, the sprint kicked off, with Cavendish and Ben Swift looking likely. In the last 100m, Kristoff, having been swamped earlier, broke through and ended up winning by a bike length from Cancellara and Swift. Great finish to a great race. Highlights are on the SBS site if you missed it. I'd really recommend having a look at it.

 

[monty1104]

Volta a Catalunya - Preview
Welcome to the Volta a Catalunya. Based in the North East region of Spain, this race, typical of all Spanish stage races, is super hilly. Look fo a lot of top riders to be present in preparation for the Giro in a couple of months.

Riders to watch: Which riders will be present you may ask. Well here is a shortlist of the top riders; Dan Martin, Ryder Hesjedal, Joaquin Rodriguez, Daniel Moreno, Nairo Quintana, Igor Anton, Alberto Contador, Rigoberto Uran, Thomas de Gendt, Chris Froome, Mikel Nieve, Richie Porte, Carlos Betancur, Laurents Ten Dam, Jakob Fuglsang, Sammy Sanchez, Ivan Basso, Thibaut Pinot, Chris Horner, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Thomas Voeckler, Haimar Zubeldia and Luis Leon Sanchez. As you may or may not have noticed, the race is dominated by Spanish speakers. It shouldn't really matter, it is just a point of interest.

My tip; Given his great recent form, it is hard to look past Alberto Contador. In Tirreno - Adriatico, him and Quintana were so far ahead of the rest it is ridiculous. Having said that, not ITT and lost of hills will work in Quintana's favour, and also helps out Joaquin Rodriguez, who is a ridiculously bad time trialist.

 

[monty1104]

Volta a Catalunya
Stage 1. Calella - Calella

Not sure why it isn't letting me add in the stage profile. I've tried 2 different images and neither are working!

Anyway, the first stage of this race really doesn't give the riders a day to ease into anything. 2 cat 3 climbs split by a nasty cat 1 climb is what the riders have to look forward to tonight. The summit of the final climb comes about 19km from the finish, and it is downhill most of the way from there. I'd expect a select group to cross the summit of the climb and then press forward on the downhill.

My tip; Usually on stage finishes like this, I'd default to Nibali or Evans being part of the action, if not going for the stage win. Given they're not here, I'll actually have to think about this one. I'm going to tip Thomas Voeckler. If there is one guy in this field that knows how to attack, and knows how to descend, it's him. Maybe by the end of the season, I'll actually get a tip right too

 

[monty1104]

Volta a Catalunya Stage 1 Wrap up.
As usual for a stage race, there was a long, early breakaway which was brought back towards the end of the stage. The final sprint of the stage ended up as a bunch sprint. The peleton was being led in so quickly by Canondale and Orica Green-Edge that the motorbike in front of the peleton almost got airborne trying to keep pace. The sprint was led out by OGE, looking for a win by Leigh Howard. They went a bit early however and were overtaken by Luka Mezgec (lol, who?) from Giant Shimano in the last 100m. Mezgec managed to hold onto the lead and win the stage

 

[monty1104]

Volta a Catalunya
Stage 2. Mataro - Girona

Tonight's stage has 2 categorised climbs, but has another 2 shorter climbs towards the end that are uncategorised. Judging on last night's finish, This should also end up in a bunch sprint, but don't be surprised if we do see a solo winner, or ever a small group finish ahead of the peleton.

My tip; Given that I think it will be a bunch sprint, my money is on Samuel Dumoulin, in a field that is desperately short of good sprinters. Given the parcours though, it is understandable.

 

[Hellgood]

Mezgec again!

 

[monty1104]

Mezgec again!

Lol, who!

 

[monty1104]

Volta a Catalunya Stage 2 wrap up.
Well, once again it was a Luka Mezgec victory. He took it on the line, coming from way back! Ferrari came in 2nd and Howard rounded out the podium. The last 4km were pretty good though, the lead up was so quick, I don't think I've ever seen a peleton as strung out as it was. Contador actually led the peleton in the final km, just to try and keep out of trouble, and he kept the pace right up. The two Thomases (De Gendt and Voeckler) both lost time on this stage.

 

[monty1104]

Volta a Catalunya
Stage 3. Banyoles - La Molina

Tonight's stage is a brute. A 10km Cat 1 climb, a 21km HC climb and the stage finishes on a 5.3km cat 1 climb with an average gradient of 6%. Through the whole stage there is barely a flat section for any respite. Having said tall of this, tomorrow's stage is even harder, so some riders might be simply looking to limit time losses in with the idea of winning tomorrow's stage by a bigger margin.

My tip; Alberto Contador. He showed last night that he is in this race to win it. When in this mindset, and in this form, he is close to unbeatable.