Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, July 29, 2011
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Fotoreporter Sirotti
The “second half†of the season gets underway this weekend, with Pro Tour races in Spain and Poland. For some, the weekend is the last bit of racing before a well-deserved post-Tour break; for others, it begins the final build-up to the Vuelta a Espana and the autumn classics.
Saturday’s Clasica San Sebastian will see several Tour de France stars attempting to close the month with a victory in Spain’s more important single-day race. A race traditionally won and lost in the final hour (the last of two trips over the Jaizkibel and Arkale come with 38 and 2.7-kilometers to go, respectively), look for the winner to be a rider who can climb, descend, and handle himself in a small group sprint.
The defending champion and Tour de France stage winner, Luis Leon Sanchez—now riding for Rabobank, tops the start list. Sanchez is a rider perfectly built for a race like la Clasica as he can climb with the best on the Jaizkibel, open gaps on the climb’s speedy descent, and handle himself tactically in the finale, traits he used last year to win the event. Riding with Rabobank, Sanchez also comes to the race supported by a strong team including 2009 Clasica-winner Carlos Barredo and 3-timre World Champion Oscar Freire.
Coincidentally, Sanchez’s toughest challenger shares a surname and the color orange, as Euskaltel’s Samuel Sanchez takes the line hoping to win his Basque team its first Clasica. After a top-10 finish, a stage win, and the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France, there’s little reason to doubt the Spaniard’s chances.
As for Movistar’s Jose Joaquin Rojas, the Spanish Champion also enjoyed a solid Tour de France, challenging for the green jersey despite failing to win a stage. La Clasica would be a terrific win for the young sprinter—if he can make it over the Jaizkibel with the lead group. And don’t forget Katusha’s Joaquin Rodriguez. He won two stages at the Dauphine in June, but took July off to prepare for the rest of the summer.
Belgium’s eyes will be watching Philippe Gilbert, a man who can’t seem to help himself from lighting-up every race he enters. At some point, Phil’s going to need a rest, but one would be foolish to discount the Omega Pharma-Lotto rider’s chances in a race with a short climb less than 3-kilometers from the line. A San Sebastian victory would add yet another win to what has already been a dream season for the new King of Belgium. And while you’re at it, keep your eyes on Gilbert’s teammate and Tour stage-winner, Jelle Vanendert, a rider who showed he knows how to handle himself in one-day classics this past April.
Belgium’s other important team will be relying on a Frenchman Saturday, as French Champion Sylvain Chavanel hopes Spain will treat him better than France did this past July. Fully-healed from his first week crashes at the Tour, Chavanel rode an aggressive third week, but came up empty in the end. His aggressive style makes him well-suited to a race like la Clasica—especially if other more-favored riders spend too much time marking one another. Vacansoleil’s Thomas De Gendt is someone to watch as well; the Belgian displayed some incredible form during that last weekend of the Tour and is certainly unafraid to ride aggressively. The same can be said of BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet, the most successful non-Tour rider of the month.
As for Garmin-Cervélo, Thor Hushovd’s a trendy pick following his two Tour stage wins—the logic being, if he can make it over the Aubisque he can make it over the Jaizkibel. That said, I think Ryder Hesjedal’s a better pick for Saturday. At HTC-HighRoad, Peter Velits warrants a mention, while Sky’s Rigoberto Uran should bounce back after a rough final week of the Tour. As for Leoprd Trek, while the Schlecks are indeed racing, I expect a busy week of post-Tour events will leave them too flat to contend Saturday.
Last but not least, there’s the curious case of Lampre’s Damiano Cunego, a rider who just can’t seem to find an identity right now. After finishing second in the Tour de Suisse and seventh at the Tour de France, the Little Prince might have forgotten that he’s better-suited to races such as San Sebastian—or is he? Perhaps Saturday will give us our answer.
In the end, as tempting as it is to pick Gilbert, I see a Spaniard making it four wins in a row for the host nation, with Samuel Sanchez getting Euskaltel its first win in the team’s “home†race. Cunego will take second, and Movistar’s Rui Costa will finish third.
Heading north—and east—the Tour of Poland starts Sunday, with a challenging parcours and seven days of racing that has atracted a talented list of men looking to build form for the rest of the season. A race usually dominated by sprinters but won by an all-rounder, this year’s event features the last two winners in Garmin-Cervelo’s Dan Martin and BMC’s Alessandro Ballan. Of the two, Martin’s the best bet for a repeat, as the “new and improved†course features some serious climbing in the latter half of the week.
Sprinters to watch include Garmin-Cervelo’s Heinrich Haussler, Quick-Step’s Tom Boonen (making his first post-Tour start), Katusha’s Filippo Pozzato (remember him?), Saxo Bank’s Juan Jose and Lucas Haedo, HTC-HighRoad’s John Degenkolb, Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Adam Blythe, and Vacansoleil’s Romain Feillu. Look for these men to rule the day on Stages 1, 2, 3, and 7.
As for men capable of winning the race overall, Martin’s biggest challenges should come from Liquigas’ Vincenzo Nibali and Peter Sagan (perhaps the race’s truest all-rounder), Lampre’s Michele Scarponi, Katusha’s Danilo DiLuca, HTC-HighRoad’s Konstantin Sioutsou, Radio Shack’s Tiago Machado and Matt Busche, and Movstar’s Vasil Kiriyenka.
And don’t rule out the race’s home talent, as several teams bring Polish riders hoping to impress their home fans. Saxo Bank’s Jaroslva Marycz and Rafael Majka, Radio Shack’s Michael Kwiatkowski, Lampre’s Przemzslaw Niemiec, and Vacansoleil’s Michal Golas are the best bets for a stage upset, with Majka an outside bet for a high overall finish (he finished third in the Best Young Rider competition in May’s Tour of California).
In the end, while Garmin and Dan Martin might have the strongest team, Peter Sagan has the single best domestique in Vincenzo Nibali. Sagan showed in the Tour of California and Tour de Suisse that he’s able to handle himself when the road goes up—I expect him to win at least two stages and the overall in Poland.
Share your picks and comments below.
Pavé would like to thank Handspun, Clément, and Laekhouse for supporting our coverage of the 2011 Tour de France
Fotoreporter Sirotti
Prior to the 2011 Tour de France, we were asking ourselves some questions about what we could expect from the fast finishers in this year’s edition.
Would Mark Cavendish continue his reign of terror? Could perennial podium men like Tyler Farrar and Andre Greipel steal stage wins? Would would be the surprise sprint winner of this year’s Tour? Who would be the surprise sprint contenders of this year’s Tour? How would sprinting rolleurs fare?
Mark Cavendish – Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cavendish had another banner Tour de France, roping in 5 stage wins and winning the Points Competition. The latter is, perhaps, a sign that he’s maturing a bit as a rider, not only capable of sprints that punctuate uneventful stages, but rather, able to compete throughout a stage with big points offered in intermediate sprints. Furthermore, his win on Stage 5 should be considered among his most impressive ever, considering the bumpy parcours and challenging finish that dispatched with most of the “pure” sprinters.
Andre Greipel and Tyler Farrar both deserve credit for finally opening their Tour de France account. Farrar’s came on Stage 3, one day after his Garmin-Cervelo team took their first Tour win, in Stage 2’s Team Time Trial – fitting for a team so focused on collective success and selfless teamwork. Farrar’s win, however, owes some credit to the alchemy of a rare HTC meltdown and Garmin-Cervelo finally getting a successful sprint train in order – as well as Cavendish getting bumped into the wind on a tricky left-hand corner in the final kilometer. Greipel’s Stage 10 win, meanwhile, finally gave him the world-class win that he’s long felt he’s deserved, and unlike Farrar’s win, came against Cav in a head-to-head sprint.
J.J. Rojas of Movistar has doubtless had an impressive summer, taking the Spanish National Championship before setting off on a quest for the Green Jersey victory. We’d tapped him to possibly steal a sprint win from one of the bigger teams, but didn’t expect him to put up such a fight for the Green Jersey. Kudos to Rojas, who has put himself on the map.
Norwegian opportunists Thor Hushovd and Edvald Boasson Hagen, in my opinion, can hardly be called sprinters. Despite their ability to compete in bunch sprints, they’re both best described else-wise. Hushovd is a high-powered rolleur (not, as some have said with raised eyebrows, “a sprinter winning a mountain stage”). Though he’s not the best pick for a day-long breakaway, he’s got the juice to perform admirably in them, as indicated by his Time Trial palmares (U23 champion, two-time Norwegian champion). And Boasson Hagen – well, Boasson Hagen is still developing, but showing an ability to ride well in technical, hilly sprint finishes, as well as day-long breakaways with elevation renders him more than a sprinter in my book. Hushovd and Boasson Hagen took both two stages, hedging their bets against superior sprinters with long, impressive performances.
This year’s Tour had an array of B-level sprinters including Roman Feillu, Denis Galimzyanov, Sebastien Hinault, and Borut Bozic. Of them, Feillu drew the most attention with his reputation for kamikaze sprinting, and had the best performances with a handful of top-five sprints including 2nd behind Farrar on Stage 3. Galimzyanov’s 6th place on Stage 7 and 4th on Stage 11 were the best Katusha could muster. Hinault’s four top-tens were respectable, while Bozic could only muster two 8th places and a 10th – not the Tour that Vacansoleil was hoping for, and you can’t help but wonder if he and Feillu could have wrangled some superior results if they’d worked together a bit better.
If you hadn’t even noticed that I hadn’t mentioned Alessandro Petacchi yet, it’s because of Petacchi’s invisible performance during the Tour de France. He had an excellent Giro, having found some climbing legs after altitude training with Michele Scarponi, but his anonymous Tour was a far cry from his 2010 Green Jersey victory. If he’s targeting Worlds, he’ll probably need to ride the Vuelta, but will three Grand Tours fatigue him too much?
Did we miss anybody? Chime in below with your thoughts on sprinters’ performances in this year’s Tour de France.
Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, July 28, 2011
Seen any cool links we missed? Share ’em in the comments below!
Pavé would like to thank Handspun, Clément, and Laekhouse for supporting our coverage of the 2011 Tour de France
Fotoreporter Sirotti
It’s no secret that we here at Pavé have a special place in our hearts for classics hardmen. How did those whose careers are defined on the pavé, hellingen, and April rain fare in this year’s Tour de France?
Winnaars / Winners
1. Philippe Gilbert – After setting our hearts a-fluttering all spring, Gilbert didn’t disappoint with his Stage 1 win. Its predictability took nothing away from its beauty and power, and netted him the maillot jaune until his entire Omega Pharma Lotto squad spontaneously combusted in the TTT. Still, he soldiered on, attacking in the finale of several stages and even fighting for the Green Jersey all of the first week. The only disappointment, if it can be called that, is his failure to win on Stage 4, which many said was tailor-made for Gilbert and happened on his birthday.Â
2. Jelle Vanendert – The breakthrough performance of the OPL squad perhaps belongs to Vanendert more so than to Gilbert. Until his stage win and Polka-dot defense, Vanendert was known more as the loyal super-domestique to Gilbert’s campaign in the Ardennes. And now, a Sporza poll in Belgium rated Vanendert’s stage win as the favorite moment of the Tour, winning 43% of the vote. It will be interesting to see how the future Lotto-sans-OmegaPharma squad will look like, given that they have signed Vanendert and compatriot Jurgen Van Den Broeck – will this classics team begin eyeing Grand Tour General Classification success?
3. Johnny Hoogerland – Hoogerland may not have won a stage, nor a leader’s jersey in the end, but we tip our starched Zuid-Bevelander hats to his indefatigable spirit. Even after crashing onto a barbed wire fence, he re-mounted his bike after a change of bibshorts, and was awarded the Polka-dot jersey at the end of the stage. His heroics earned him great fame and a legion of fans, and we hope that we will fully recover so that he can animate next year’s Classics season.Â
4. Cadel Evans – That’s right: we consider Evans a classics man. And no, we didn’t just make this up after this year’s stirring GC victory. Even back in the days, Evans was a convincing challenger in classics such as Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and of course Fleche Wallonne (which he won in 2010). Add to this leading attacks in the Giro di Lombardia, and that surprise win at the Worlds, and we think Evans is a legitimate classics contender with good attendance record. If anything else, his commanding win on Stage 4 – at the cost of Gilbert, Contador, and even Thor Hushovd – shows a man who knows about placement in a hectic finale, and how to time a good bike throw. The question is of course whether he will continue his narrow focus in the future, at the cost of his form in the spring classics season.Â
5. Thor Hushovd – Hushovd may not have netted a prestigious spring classics win yet, but surely his stint in yellow and commanding stage win proves that he’s one of the few versatile riders who can contend and win all year long. His Tour was a phenomenal success, as he admirably sold both his strength on powerclimbs (in defense of his yellow jersey) and his tactical savvy and one-day experience (with wins on Stages 13 and 16) to potential team interests for 2012. How will thing play out next year after what had been a disappointing spring for the defending world champ? Plenty of squads are eager to hire him, and after this Tour, he has the luxury of choice.
6. Sammy Sanchez – Like many Euskal riders before him, Sanchez started as an Ardennes specialist before becoming the GT contender we know him to be today. He has had a few near-wins, notably in this year’s Fleche Wallonne where he finished 3rd. Formerly considered an excellent uphill puncher, recent races has seen him completely screw up the finale of races that he should have won – like this year’s Paris-Nice. Conversely, his climbing in the high mountains have improved significantly. Sanchez had his best TdF ever, with one stage win in Luz Ardiden and overall win of the climbers jersey overshadowing his meltdown on the Galibier. We may not see as much of his aggression in the classics in the future if he decides to narrow his focus. And by all measure, Spanish cycling fans are known to have little appreciation of one-day classics.
7. Marcus Burghardt – Eyebrows were raised when BMC brought a squad of rolleurs to support Cadel Evans’ GC hopes – they seemed to be engineering another collapse in the high mountains. However, through committed teamwork, BMC’s trick worked, and Evans credits Burghardt’s classics savvy with helping him through the chaotic first week and a half. The palmares of a committed domestique all live on their teammates’ scorecards – Burghardt supported Evans to a Stage 4 victory, time in the Polka Dot jersey, and a Tour in which he only spent one day outside of the top 3 of the GC. Considering the trend of building classics-like stages into Grand Tours, other GC contenders should take note, and bring more riders like Burghardt.
Verliezers / Losers
1. Tom Boonen – Boonen came to the start line of the TdF with a lot of expectations on his still-young shoulders. He did win Gent-Wevelgem, but given how brightly his star had shone for as long as we could remember, a spring classic season without a classic win is a failure (few riders can win Gent-Wevelgem and have a season still be called a failure). Perhaps it was also the size of his contract, inviting snarky comments from the ever-reliable Patrick Lefevere. Boonen himself has said that he prefers to not engage in field sprints anymore, so one has to wonder his strategy for the Tour de France. Is it long-distance stage-hunting? Who in their right mind would let Boonen keep a one-minute advantage in the last 30 km of a stage? In the end we never did find out what his strategy really was, as he crashed out with severe concussion in the first week. But regardless, this TdF was a big bust for Boonen, who hasn’t finished a single edition since 2007 when he won Green.Â
2. Sylvain Chavanel – For years the darling of French hope, last year’s edition was a banner year for Chavanel: Two stage wins and two stays in yellow. This season’s classics season was also a breakthrough season for him, with a near-win in de Ronde even having been out all day in long breaks and (moto)pacing behind a ridiculously strong (and strongly marked) Fabian Cancellara. Chavanel’s 2011 Tour was disrupted by an early-Tour crash – though he didn’t abandon the race, he spent several promising stages in anonymity. His Bastille Day attack, and his pursuit of Edvald Boasson Hagen on Stage 17 both looked a bit lacking. The good news for fans of Chavanel is that his form appears to be on the rise again, and he’s confident that he will ride strongly in the upcoming Clasica San Sebastian.
 3. Alberto Contador – Like Evans, Contador has definitely made his mark in the spring classics, including a near-win in Fleche Wallonne in 2010 (when he was trounced by a patient Evans), and tactical support of then-teammate Alexandre Vinokourov in Liege in 2010. The defending TdF champ left with no stage wins and a mere 5th place on the GC. Given that he has claimed exhaustion to be the main reason of his sub-par performance – this is the first GT that he didn’t enter and win since 2007 – his attendance record may drop sharply in the future.Â
4. Fabian Cancellara – We’re a bit confused by Cancellara’s Tour de France, which was spent in relative anonymity. Unlike in previous years, this year saw no poetic descending and no inspired yellow jersey defense. It’s likely that he was simply committed to Leopard-Trek’s GC hopes of Andy and Frank Schleck – in fact, reports are that his Stage 20 Time Trial, in which he finished 1:42 behind winner Tony Martin, was taken at a moderate pace so that he could communicate with Andy and Frank in the follow car and point out the best lines for their benefit. Committed domestique work, we understand, but the GC race played out such that Cancellara doesn’t get the praise that Marcus Burghardt receives.
5. Bjorn Leukemans – We all know that gravity is a greater enemy in the high mountains of the grand tours than it is in the classics parcours. For this reason, we tip our helmets to regular classics top-tenner Leukemans for daring to dream that he would survive, and valiantly trying, even if he failed to survive the fast-and-furious Stage 19. Bring an Antwerpen, whose most visible logo is a solid rock castle called “Het Steen” (“The Rock” in english), we can imagine what a valiant fight it must have.
6. Filippo Pozzato – You caught us. Pozzato didn’t even race the 2011 Tour de France, as his unimpressive results from the past two years (sole highlight: 5th place in Milan-San Remo) betrayed his earlier hype and his current salary. Passing him over, Katusha opted to bring an all-Russian squad. A lot of good it did them: Alexandr Kolobnev tested positive for a controlled substance during the Tour and Katusha finished with only 5 riders, no results to speak of (four mild stage top-tens), and the third-lowest prize purse of all the teams. It’s hardly all Pozzato’s fault, but we can’t help taking a dig at a rider who appears to spend more time coiffing than training and consistently fails to live up to his initial potential.
Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, July 27, 2011
Seen any cool links we missed? Share ’em in the comments below!