Weekly Cross Rankings – Fan Voting

Posted on October 10, 2012 by

The voting page for our weekly rankings is now open. The are instructions on the page, but it’s pretty straightforward. You rank 25 riders (1 being your highest rank) via a drop down menu. Riders are organized by first name and you can only rank each rider once.

The idea is to vote for your top 25, but if you cannot or only come up with 10 or 15, that’s okay. Each vote is worth a certain amount of points. A first place vote is worth 25 points, second 24, third 23, all the way down to 25th place, which is worth the most points. The points are tallied up and the rider with the most points is number one.

Voting will be open for 24 hours or so. This week is an anomolie because we had some glitches and got a late start. Voting will be open from 12pm EST on Wednesday, October 10th to 12pm EST on Thursday, October 11th. Future weeks will be open from Monday to Tuesday.

If you experience any issues, let us know and have fun. Remember, the overall votes count for 1/5 of each riders total ranking, so they’re important and can have a big impact. Plus, the more votes, the merrier.

Finally, the vote page will remain the same throughout the year and will get automatically updated with new riders each week. So, you can bookmark it for easy access.

Here’s the link: http://www.pavepavepave.com/top-25/vote/

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Weekend Preview: The Vuelta Begins

Posted on August 19, 2011 by and

Fotoreporter Sirotti

The Vuelta a España begins on Saturday. Like last year, it opens with a short and sweet Team Time Trial – 13.5 kilometers through Benidorm. This opening TTT is not where the race can be won, but it can be lost for a GC contender if his team’s performance puts him behind the 8-ball too early. Like last year, we can expect HTC to open their account early and win it. They’ll like if Cavendish can win a stage while wearing the leader’s jersey. Of course, they won’t have it easy, as GC teams will be looking to put time into each other over even the short course. Liquigas would love to be on top again, but this year’s squad doesn’t look as strong in the Team Time Trial as last year’s – even with Peter Sagan’s presence – due to Roman Kreuziger’s absence.

On the hot seat in the Team Time Trial is Katusha, who is ostensibly supporting Joaquim Rodriguez’s GC ambitions. Last year they finished mid-pack in the team time trial, but given their luck this year, Andre Tchmil may have to be riding alongside his hapless flock with spare bikes on his hunched shoulders.

Stage 2, on Sunday, can safely be considered one for the sprinters, many of whom are here to prepare for a flat World Championship course in Denmark in late September. While Cavendish looks like the top sprinter in the world, his recent media-teasing regarding HTC may weaken his concentration and uphold his tradition of needing a few stages to properly warm up for the sprints. Maybe we’ll see a re-run of the 2010 Tour, then, with Lampre’s Alessandro Petacchi grabbing an early win. However, it’s his third GT of the year – he must be tired by now. We lean toward Garmin-Cervelo’s Tyler Farrar for Stage 2, but young flaming hot Marcel Kittel of Skil-Shimano or even Peter Sagan might come out on top.

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Weekend Preview: Paris-Nice & Tirreno-Adriatico

Posted on March 11, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

This weekend will see the further development of two of the early season’s most important, colorfully-nicknamed stage races, Paris-Nice (the Race to the Sun) and Tirreno-Adriatico (the Race of the Two Seas). Conventional wisdom says that Paris-Nice is the race of choice for stage-race specialists, and Tirreno-Adriatico is the race of choice for those developing fitness for the one-day races throughout the rest of March and April.

Paris-Nice wraps up with two hilly stages, each of which offer two Category 1 climbs, two Category 2 climbs, and the potential for the General Classification to remain in flux until the finish line on Sunday. The changing GC began on Thursday’s Stage 5, when Andreas Kloden beat out Samuel Sanchez from a small group when the peloton fractured over a climb with 10k to go. It continued with today’s 27km time trial: Tony Martin, who lost some time to Kloden yesterday, won to take the race lead, with Bradley Wiggins (:20), Richie Porte (:29), Kloden (:46), and Jean-Christophe Peraud (:55) rounding out the top five of the GC. Samuel Sanchez, who started the day :10 back on Kloden, lost time in the time trial and currently sits 1:43 back on the GC. Don’t count Sanchez out just yet – his descending skills will come in handy on this weekend‘s stages. Expect this weekend to see some fireworks as the mountains and some sharp attacks test HTC’s ability to control the race and hold Martin’s lead. RadioShack seems the best positioned to take on HTC, with Kloden looming (at :46) and Levi Leipheimer (1:10) and Janez Brajkovic (1:32) both within striking range of Martin. Wiggins, only 20 seconds back on Martin, is also a threat. With regular speculation about the extent to which he’s suited for Grand Tours, his ability to gain time, rather than just limit losses, will be on trial.

Other riders of interest for top-ten spots include Garmin-Cervelo’s Andrew Talansky, and Cofidis’s Rein Taaramae, both of whom TT’ed well enough to hold on to top-ten spots. Considering that Taaramae had the strength and savvy to make it into the select move that gained time on Stage 5, look for him to make up a few more positions in the days to come.

Meanwhile, Tirreno-Adriatico sees a few lumpy stages for Saturday and Sunday – look for all-arounders to gradually take over top GC positions from the sprinters-with-fitness who have succeeded thus far. Garmin-Cervelo’s Tyler Farrar and Saxo Bank’s JJ Haedo took wins on Stages 2 and 3 while some others, including Mark Cavendish, spending some well-televised time in a “spot of bother.” Andre Greipel pulled out after the TTT on stage 1 due to a warmup crash that caused him to, in his words, “brake with his face,” but there’s still plenty of competition, with Liquigas’s Daniel Oss, Lampre’s Petacchi, HTC’s Renshaw – sprinting capably when Cavendish loses his wheel – and RadioShack’s Robbie McEwen contensting the sprints. Despite losing to Haedo on today’s Stage 3, Farrar looks the strongest, with a very capable Thor Hushovd as his leadoutman. Eyes are on the pair’s developing cooperation – they can be a devasting combination in next weekend’s Milan-San Remo and throughout the spring, and it looks like they’re beginning to click. They’re still fine-tuning, hwoever: Hushovd’s leadout today may have been a bit too dominant. Though he brought Farrar to the front with perfection, his final push through the twisting run-in to the finish left Farrar exposed and unprotected for 15 pedal strokes, forcing him to make a hard effort just prior to his sprint. Burning this extra match made the difference in the race – JJ Haedo was able to accelerate behind Farrar, Oss, Pettacchi, and Renshaw and come around Farrar to win by a bike length.

Farrar still holds the GC lead, but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday each feature some hillier terrain with some steep, short lumps toward the end that might offer attackers an opportunity to gain time late in the stage. With a time trial on Tuesday capping off the race, it’s likely that true all-arounders with enough power to attack on power climbs and defend in the final time trial will fill up the podium.

Join us on Sunday morning at 7:20 AM EST for The Feed Zone, where the Pavé crew offers live commentary and coverage of the final stage of Paris-Nice, and Stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico. Until then, let the speculation flow: who’s best suited to challenge Martin’s lead at Paris-Nice? Who will take over the race lead from Tyler Farrar in Tirreno-Adriatico? Tell us what you’re thinking and who you’re pulling for.

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Weekend Preview: Eneco, Utah, and Transfer Season

Posted on August 12, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

This weekend sees the culmination of two races on opposite sides of the globe, the Eneco Tour, and the Tour of Utah. Both wrap-up on Sunday.

The Eneco Tour has given flatlanders an opportunity to test post-Tour or non-Tour legs alike. Perhaps the biggest news coming out of Eneco was the prologue victory of Taylor Phinney. The youngster on BMC has had a topsy turvy start to his professional career, and he recently admitted to the newsmedia that for much of the year, he hadn’t worked very hard – his injuries, he claimed, had been a result of overstressing underprepared legs. However, he’s gearing up for his first Grand Tour, this year’s Vuelta a Espana, and his form is obvious: in the short 5.7km prologue, he beat out a host of big-name short-course time trialists including Edvald Boasson Hagen, David Millar, Lars Boom, Phillipe Gilbert, and Geraint Thomas.

Phinney held the race lead through two sprint stages, both won by Omega Pharma Lotto’s Andre Greipel – credit Phinney with guts for reeling in 6th- and 7th-place finishes in both stages to keep the race lead. With a time trial victory as well as the ability to stay at the pointy end of the race in the closing kilometers, it’s seems apparent that Phinney’s talent runs deep and that his potential could turn in any of several directions. With a Grand Tour in his legs, next year should be an exciting year for Phinney, and I wouldn’t rule him out for a fine showing in some semi-classics.

Phinney’s leader’s jersey was taken by Phillipe Gilbert on a spikey Stage 3, and today’s 14.7-km time trial saw rainy, difficult conditions that didn’t offer Phinney an opportunity to ride himself onto the podium – especially with this weekend’s Stages 5 and 6 lurking. However, Phinney’s ride is already an impressive top-ten showing for the youngster, and notable riders keeping him company on the GC are Gilbert, Boasson Hagen, Millar, and QuickStep’s Dries Devenyns – coming off of several impressive top tens in Tour stages. Not bad company to keep.

Moving across the globe, the Tour of Utah has gotten underway, in one of the United States’ few international professional races. The first three installments have included a short uphill prologue and two mildly hilly road stages, and this weekend’s final three stages are a circuit race, an individual time trial, and a road stage with a 20km finishing climb. With a good number of Tour de France riders on the start list, the final climb should be a good glimpse at who’s coming out of the Tour strong, and who’s coming out of it tired. Look for American riders to put on some fireworks on their home soil, and look for riders with expiring contracts to take one last shot at securing employment for next year. With an uncertain layout of ProTour teams – with HTC folding, Lotto looking elsewhere after the QuickStep/Omega Pharma merger, and rumors of Vacansoleil losing its ProTour license due to subpar showings – it’s possible that the market is contracting.

Elsewhere in transfer news is the report that Thor Hushovd has not been named to Garmin-Cervelo’s team for the Vuelta a Espana. Given that Thor’s signed to BMC, it doesn’t come as a surprise – and neither does news that Cadel Evans isn’t too keep on taking Thor to the Tour in 2012, prefering a full squad built around his GC aims. Which leads me to wonder if Thor Hushovd could be a bit better about choosing his teams – earlier this year, he claimed that Credit Agricole (his team from 2000 to 2008) inhibited his Classics development, and after two years at the Cervelo Test Team, found himself dissatisfied at the post-merger Garmin-Cervelo. Is Thor headed into another sticky situation of power struggles and support dissatisfaction?

But most importantly, does Cadel Evans really consider Hushovd a sprinter? I’m of the opinion that anybody who still calls Hushovd by “the S-word” hasn’t paid attention for the past several years.

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Weekend Preview – West-Vlaanderen, Murcia, and l’Eroica

Posted on March 4, 2011 by


Fotoreporter Sirotti


Here’s a preview of some of this weekend’s events:

1. In Belgium, Radio Shack’s Jesse Sergent heads into the weekend as the leader of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen after a dominating team performance in today’s Prologue. The Shack finished 1,2,3, and 5 over the 7-kilometer circuit, an impressive ride by the team’s C-squad.

So Sergent goes into Saturday’s Stage 1 wearing the leader’s “frites” jersey (assuming the organization hasn’t changed its jerseys from 2010). His closest non-Shack competitor is Team Spidertech’s Svein Tuft in fourth-place, 20 seconds behind the New Zealander.

Saturday’s stage is generally flat, a day suited to sprinters such as Saur’s Jimmy Casper, Lotto’s Adam Blythe, Quick-Step’s Francesco Chicchi, and last-year’s winner, Cofidis’ Jens Keukelaire.

Sunday brings the Flemish Ardennes and a hillier parcours, one that will test the sprinter’s legs—and Radio Shack’s ability to control the race. Casper and Keukelaire have both won the overall title and know what to expect; but two other former winners—Landbouwkediet’s Bobbie Traksel and An Post’s Niko Eeckhout—might be better options for the stage win. The two best bets to break Radio Shack’s grip on GC are Leopard Trek’s Robert Wagner and HTC’s John Degenkolb—they both can sprint, handle the climbs, and are within shouting distance of Sergent after today’s short ITT.

2. Meanwhile, the newly-shortened Vuelta de Murcia started today with Rabobank rookie Michael Matthews taking his second win of the season over Sky’s Russell Downing and Davide Appolonio. Condensed from five days to three due to budgetary constraints, Murcia’s looking to ASO’s Criterium International as the model for success: a flat stage, a difficult day in the hills, and a short time trial to wrap things up.

Geox-TMC brings the strongest squad to Murcia with Denis Menchov, Carlos Sastre, and Fabio Duarte. Menchov is the best candidate to earn the team’s first GC victory of the season, but Duarte’s an up-and-comer worth keeping an eye on. Saxo Banks’ Alberto Contador is another candidate for the win; he’s skipping Paris-Nice this year, perhaps to avoid any controversy with the ASO while his fate is being determined. Last but not least, Euskaltel’s Igor Anton deserves mention as well—he’ll give Menchov and Contador a run for their money.

3. But this weekend’s best action begins tomorrow in Italy, with the fifth running of the Montepaschi Strade Bianche—known affectionately as “l’Eroica”. Eroica’s jagged profile covers 190 kilometers of Tuscan roads around Siena, almost 58 of which are paved with white gravel—the famous Tuscan strade bianche. Several teams of classics stars take the line in Gaiole in Chianti tomorrow morning, many of whom will head to directly to Tirreno-Adriatico next week.

Italian favorites include Androni-Giocattoli’s Emanuele Sella—fresh from his win in Thursday’s Giro del Friuli—along with Francesco Ginanni and Roberto Ferrari. BMC brings an in-form Alessandro Ballan with George Hincapie, Cadel Evans (a proven L’Eroica contender), and Greg Van Avermaet—Ballan’s the likely captain of the team, especially considering the form he displayed in last week’s Giro di Sardegna.  Farnese Vini puts it’s hopes in Giovanni Visconti—the winner of last weekend’s GP Insubria-Lugana and a favorite for the overall at Tirrreno-Adriatico. Lampre’s Damiano Cunego was a last minute addition—the Sardegna stage winner is no doubt looking for his first big win of 2011. But my top pick for the win this year is Liquigas’ Daniel Oss—a rider perfectly suited to the demands of l’Eroica and another who’s shown impressive form over the past ten days.

Along with BMC, two more American teams come to l’Eroica looking to take the win. HTC-High Road brings Michael Albasini, Bernhard Eisel, and Marco Pinotti, but Peter Velits might be the best of them. Mark Cavendish is taking the start as well, perhaps an early attempt to turn himself into a classics contender. As for Garmin-Cervélo, Ryder Hesjedal comes to the race as one of the most consistent riders in l’Eroica’s history. The Canadian has made the strade bianche a special stop on his program—he heads directly to Paris after the race to take the start Sunday in Paris-Nice. Hesjedal lines-up beside Tyler Farrar, an interesting candidate (with Cavendish) should a large group remain intact all the way to the line.

And last but not least, two of the season’s biggest favorites for the cobbled classics are making the trip as well: Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Philippe Gilbert and Leopard Trek’s Fabian Cancellara. Gilbert’s an intriguing option. He underwhelmed at last week’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and would like to rebound with a good performance here. As for Cancellara, he has the bulk of Leopard’s classics squad backing him and seemed to be coming along quite nicely at the Tour of Oman. And with Andy Schleck—a top finisher in the past at l’Eroica—competing as well, there’s more than one option for Leopard.

In the end, I see the race coming down to Ballan and Oss, with the Liquigas rider getting his first major win as a professional. Team Type 1’s Jure Kocjan will win the sprint for third. You heard it here first!

Share your weekend picks below—look for a special Paris-Nice preview tomorrow.

And don’t forget to join us for live coverage and commentary during tomorrow’s l’Eroica. Assuming we can find a live stream, we’ll be here moderating a live forum.

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Weekend Preview – Vuelta, Semi-Classics, Britain, and Univest

Posted on September 11, 2009 by

A jam-packed weekend of racing awaits–here’s a preview:

The Vuelta’s three “hellish days” began today with the first of three consecutive summit finishes. Congrats to Ryder Hesjedal for winning Garmin it’s second straight stage–and the first for a Canadian. (Does anyone else think the organizers goofed by having a KOM less than 100 meters from the finish line?) The climbing continues Saturday with another summit finish, this time atop the infamous Sierra Nevada. Sunday offers more pain, with one of many super-steep climbs the Vuelta organizers seem to have a knack for finding: the Sierra de la Pandera. By Monday, we should have a clearer idea of whom will occupy to top few steps of the podium in Madrid.

Today’s racing left Valverde in the Golden Jersey, with 5 riders still within 1:03 of his lead. Needless to say, the next two days should provide some of the most dramatic racing of the year. Danielson and Gesink appear to be the biggest animators, with Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, and Damiano Cunego looking primed to add fireworks of their own. Tune in if you have the time.

This weekend also marks the return of big-time racing to Northern Europe, with the annual fall semi-classics Paris-Brussels and Grand Prix de Fourmies. Paris-Brussels is without Robbie McEwen, the winner of the last 4 editions. Nick Nuyens, the last rider to win it before McEwen’s string of dominance, takes the line this year eager to add another win to his record. It would be a nice end to a season in which Nuyens has failed to deliver the big classic win his team has been seeking. He’ll have ample support; Rabobank’s bringing along a squad that also includes Juan Antonio Flecha, Matthew Hayman, and Sebastian Langeveld.

Other riders to watch in these races? Last year’s Fourmies, winner Giovanni Visconti, takes the line with Team ISD, perhaps hoping to make the final cut for Worlds. Luca Paolini and Stefano Garzelli line-up for Acqua & Sapone hoping for the same. Liquigas makes the trip too, with Ghent-Wevelgem runner-up Aleksander Kuschynski leading the way along with Frederik Willems. French teams are naturally bringing some talent with BBox and Cofidis starting Thomas Voeckler and Christophe Kern respectively both days. FDJ comes with Christophe Le Mevel, Frédéric Guesdon, Anthony Geslin, and Yauheni Hutarovich forming the core of its contingent. Agritubel takes the start with Belgian Kevin Ista, Nicolas Jalabert, and Romain Feillu.

And don’t forget Quick Step and Silence-Lotto. With most of their best riders racing in Spain right now, Sylvain Chavanel leads the cause for Quick Step with Greg Van Avermaet doing the same for Silence. The usual line-up of Belgian and French Continental Teams are taking part too, with the best being Top Sport Vlaanderen with Jan Bakelants, Ben Hermans, and Nikolas Maes.

Moving Northwest, the Tour of Britain begins this weekend as well, with last year’s winner Geoffroy Lequarte returing to defend his title supported by a strong Agritubel team including Brice “Don’t Call Me Richard Virenque” Feillu. The real favorite has to be Edvald Boassen Hagen, with a strong Columbia -HTC contingent of riders able to deliver him the victory. The question is whether or not management will let them. Remember the Tour of Poland? Remember how close he came to the win with seemingly little or no help from his team? Think it’s a coincidence considering he was probably in the midst of negotiations with Team Sky?

Other riders with British ambitions are Tour-hero Brad Wiggins, Nicholas Roche, and Joost Posthuma. Pippo Pozatto’s there as well, no doubt hoping to fine tune his fitness for Worlds and Paris-Tours. For one last wild card team, watch team Joker Bianchi from Norway. Lars Petter Nordhaug and Alexander Kristoff have shown incredible talent over the past few weeks; they could pull a surprise.

Finally, the Univest Grand Prix takes place this weekend, bringing top-flight UCI racing the Southeastern Pennsylvania. Top amateur and elite squads including Trek-Livestrong and Felt-Holowesko Partners will showcase the riders of the future. I’ll be riding the Cyclosportif tomorrow and hopefully sticking-around for the rest of the day’s action.

All in all, there’s something for everyone this weekend. Who are your picks? Which race(s) will you be watching? Share your comments below.

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