The rack, the medieval torture device, was used to get information out of people. Once placed on it, the victim's limbs would slowly be ratcheted to the point where their joints would be dislocated and muscle fibers would be stretched to the point that they would be unusable. The Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc was sort of like that this year. The race started off and slowly but surely, the pain ratcheted up. Hunger knock set in. The legs just hit a point of no return and you have to let go. From a breakaway, riders pop off and the numbers dwindle. If you are lucky, you turn and see no one behind you.
Many other places have done a race report but as not to spit out verbatim nonsense, let's go with a few quick things
I was not sure what type of rider Enric Mas was...
until here but even though he showed his climbing chops here, will he be able to sustain it? This was his 2nd GC win of the year but while he was very strong here, there is a nagging feeling in my head that this won't be permanent. Perhaps I am just a bit stunned by his rampant improvement from last year to now.
Adrien Costa isn't infallible and that is okay
Costa made a bit of a comeback later in the race by taking the time trial stage and riding well on the final stage of the Colombiere but he isn't going to win everything. After the Peace Race and here, it is a good reminder that even for prodigious talents, the U23 ranks are necessary.
This race...should it go full U23 or invite more pro teams?
Savoie sits in a weird place on the calendar as they have to invite some Professional Continental teams but they send weird teams, which end up getting beat by a handful of U23s. It isn't all bad for the riders as Pierre-Luc Perichon proved he was back on form and got an invite to the Tour. Granted, there should be opportunities for older continental racers and not everything should be on the U23 circuit but don't let the young bucks show you up.
Léo Vincent is the next big French GC talent
Last year he picked off stage wins. This year, he did an about face and has been focusing on GC efforts. He has gone 3rd and 4th in the Ronde de l'Isard and Savoie Mont Blanc, respectively. Vincent admitted he was afraid on the final stage of Savoie when he backed off of the descents due to rainy conditions and did not have the killer instinct on that day. If he can find away to harness his natural attacking spirit with a focus on GC, the French will be crying for joy.
Jhonathan Narvaez
Wow...just wow. For someone who hasn't raced in the mountains, this was an eye opener. You should have known this name if you have read this blog before but burn it into your brain now. He is the world record holder for the individual pursuit in the junior ranks and his talents could be making their way to a road near you.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Friday, June 17, 2016
Savoie Mont Blanc Stage 1: Breaking Away
This stage was always going to be a difficult one to predict as form could be varying and with 6-man teams, it isn't necessarily easy to control a mountain stage unless you have some near World Tour strength ala Jack Haig at last year's Giro della Valle d'Aosta working for Rob Power.
The race took off in fairly dreary weather at a rip-roaring average speed of over 50 km/h for the first hour. The breakaway for the day got away early and it was surprising but understandable how it was allowed to even get away. The group included some GC hitters such as Chris Anker Sørensen, Brice Feillu, Lennard Hofstede, Aurelien Paret-Peintre, Julien Antomarchi, Jesus del Pino & Jhonathan Narvaez along with other strong riders like Romain Campistrous, Alexis Guerin, Pat Lane, Pascal Eenkhoorn & local boy Remy Rochas. There were no pretenders in the breakaway with two former Grand Tour stage winners (and both on the same team) and a handful of young prodigies. The big losers in terms of the breakaway? Axeon-Hagens Berman & BMC Development.
The breakaway kept a gap between 2 to 3 minutes through the first half of the race and other than the the two KOM climbs, which were won by Paret-Peintre and Narvaez, the race was fairly quiet. Well quiet is a relative term because it wasn't an easy day for the riders by any means. A relative detante came to an end in the breakaway as Chris Anker Sørensen crash and Pascal Eenkhoorn proceeded to t-bone into him. Both were able to continue but soon after, Eenkhoorn crashed again and was done for the day.
Alexis Guerin attacked the breakaway on the Marais climb and thanks to a bunch of head turning, he was able to grab an advantage that was capped at just under a minute. Guerin, who does have some decent to good time trial results, was annoyingly persistent and stuck it out of the rolling finale. Both the breakaway and peloton were inching closer but it was a counter attack from the breakaway with Hofstede and Narvaez moving up to Guerin while the others were in no-man's land until the peloton picked them up with 10 kilometers to go. Paret-Peintre was very close to making it up the road with them but eventually saw his fate and was absorbed by the chase and then the peloton.
The three attackers turned it to 11 and kept it stuck there to keep a healthy advantage on the peloton. A reduced peloton in chase mode couldn't get within 30 seconds of the trio and after getting over the final bump on the course, they plunged into Cruseilles. Guerin led the sprint out from 400 meters out and neither of the two climbing-oriented riders were able to come around the GSC Blagnac rider for the win. Behind it was Leo Vincent (CC Etupes) taking the best of the rest in 4th.
GC riders that finished safe in the chasing peloton include Vincent, Paret-Peintre, Nans Peters, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Adrien Costa, Steff Cras, Kilian Frankiny, Schlegel, Papillon and Brun, among others. Some that missed out include Chris Anker Sørensen (crash) and TJ Eisenhart (crash).
Guerin took a big fall in the Boulces de l'Artois earlier this year and he has admitted it has been a hard journey back to form. This performance will certainly keep him in the eye of some pro teams even if he isn't able to hold onto this lead for the rest of the race.
The biggest consequence here is that Hofstede and Narvaez now have 30 seconds in hand against any potential GC contenders. While tomorrow is a hard day, the opening of the stage is fairly straight forward and they can just try to conserve energy before La Féclaz.
I do have to say that Costa is a bit of an unknown here after he dropped out of the Zavod Miru U23 due to crapping his brains out and then not eating for three days. If his best form is still here, he is a threat to win. It has been a long year and this is probably his last big race before August so perhaps he goes all out? The road will let us know soon.
The stage to Féclaz is short and sweet. As I said earlier, there is no tricks here. It is a race to the bottom and then a race to the top from there. As of now, some rain is still in the forecast for the Chambery region so any riders reading this over breakfast should keep the jackets nearby and the casquettes at the ready.
The race took off in fairly dreary weather at a rip-roaring average speed of over 50 km/h for the first hour. The breakaway for the day got away early and it was surprising but understandable how it was allowed to even get away. The group included some GC hitters such as Chris Anker Sørensen, Brice Feillu, Lennard Hofstede, Aurelien Paret-Peintre, Julien Antomarchi, Jesus del Pino & Jhonathan Narvaez along with other strong riders like Romain Campistrous, Alexis Guerin, Pat Lane, Pascal Eenkhoorn & local boy Remy Rochas. There were no pretenders in the breakaway with two former Grand Tour stage winners (and both on the same team) and a handful of young prodigies. The big losers in terms of the breakaway? Axeon-Hagens Berman & BMC Development.
The breakaway kept a gap between 2 to 3 minutes through the first half of the race and other than the the two KOM climbs, which were won by Paret-Peintre and Narvaez, the race was fairly quiet. Well quiet is a relative term because it wasn't an easy day for the riders by any means. A relative detante came to an end in the breakaway as Chris Anker Sørensen crash and Pascal Eenkhoorn proceeded to t-bone into him. Both were able to continue but soon after, Eenkhoorn crashed again and was done for the day.
Alexis Guerin attacked the breakaway on the Marais climb and thanks to a bunch of head turning, he was able to grab an advantage that was capped at just under a minute. Guerin, who does have some decent to good time trial results, was annoyingly persistent and stuck it out of the rolling finale. Both the breakaway and peloton were inching closer but it was a counter attack from the breakaway with Hofstede and Narvaez moving up to Guerin while the others were in no-man's land until the peloton picked them up with 10 kilometers to go. Paret-Peintre was very close to making it up the road with them but eventually saw his fate and was absorbed by the chase and then the peloton.
The three attackers turned it to 11 and kept it stuck there to keep a healthy advantage on the peloton. A reduced peloton in chase mode couldn't get within 30 seconds of the trio and after getting over the final bump on the course, they plunged into Cruseilles. Guerin led the sprint out from 400 meters out and neither of the two climbing-oriented riders were able to come around the GSC Blagnac rider for the win. Behind it was Leo Vincent (CC Etupes) taking the best of the rest in 4th.
GC riders that finished safe in the chasing peloton include Vincent, Paret-Peintre, Nans Peters, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Adrien Costa, Steff Cras, Kilian Frankiny, Schlegel, Papillon and Brun, among others. Some that missed out include Chris Anker Sørensen (crash) and TJ Eisenhart (crash).
Guerin took a big fall in the Boulces de l'Artois earlier this year and he has admitted it has been a hard journey back to form. This performance will certainly keep him in the eye of some pro teams even if he isn't able to hold onto this lead for the rest of the race.
The biggest consequence here is that Hofstede and Narvaez now have 30 seconds in hand against any potential GC contenders. While tomorrow is a hard day, the opening of the stage is fairly straight forward and they can just try to conserve energy before La Féclaz.
I do have to say that Costa is a bit of an unknown here after he dropped out of the Zavod Miru U23 due to crapping his brains out and then not eating for three days. If his best form is still here, he is a threat to win. It has been a long year and this is probably his last big race before August so perhaps he goes all out? The road will let us know soon.
The stage to Féclaz is short and sweet. As I said earlier, there is no tricks here. It is a race to the bottom and then a race to the top from there. As of now, some rain is still in the forecast for the Chambery region so any riders reading this over breakfast should keep the jackets nearby and the casquettes at the ready.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc: The Hills are Alive
Only a few weeks ago, the highest Alpine roads were just becoming cleared of snow and now, vulcanized rubber will meet tarmac onto some of the most scenic and one of the most beautiful areas of France, Savoie. It is planted inside of the mantle of Europe with hills and mountain dotting the surrounding horizon while small ponds add substance to a region that produces some fabulous wine, Beaufort cheese and fruit.
Just 527 kilometers in length, the race itself gains over 11,500 meters in elevation over 5 stages, one of which is only a 7.5 kilometer time trial. There are some just a few giant climbs included in this race but there is an untouched gem in the climb to La Féclaz.
Stage 1 will most likely sort some of the wheat from the chaff but will most likely not be very consequential in terms of GC unless a small group gets away. There could be separation at the end as there is an uncategorized climb that kicks up a few kilometers before the downhill finish into Cruseilles.
Stage 2 will most likely form the GC race as it will basically be a race to Thoiry, where they do a small little loop before continuing up to the ski station at La Féclaz, which overlooks Chambery. Steep gradients mark the final climb with steady ramps of ~9% while there are pieces that briefly touch 13 to 14%. It is a beast of a climb that pure climbers will looking forward too.
Stage 3 is a bit like stage 1 in that is has a good amount of climbing but will most likely not play too much of a factor with GC, especially with an afternoon time trial coming up. From Chambery, the race rides up the valley and goes steadily upwards from Saint-Michel de Maurienne to the peak at Aussois before descending down to the finish.
A short time trial on stage 4 in the afternoon right after stage 3 is a short test but on a rolling course, a non-pure climber could help themselves by taking some time out of the featherweights.
The final climb will probably confirm or deny those that showed up on stage 2. Four climbs are on the docket including the big momma, the Col de la Colombiere, which will be one of the biggest tests of the race. Once summiting the climb, it is a steep descent down to Cluses for the finish.
The stages are short and sweet to keep the action tight, which is something I agree with as mountain stage races can become blowouts fast.
Contenders
Here is a full list of the riders for the race from directvelo and it is a who's who list of young climbers and continental journeymen.
-Jesus Del Pino leads Burgos BH in a race that they have tried to make their own over the years but haven't been able to take a win.
-Chambery CF come in with a loaded team with Paret-Peintre, Cosnefroy, Rochas, Peters, and Pigeon that could definitely land a person on the podium.
-Direct Energie & Fortuneo come with their B-teams to this race but they Fortuneo look like they could get a podium contender with Frederic Brun, Brice Feillu and Pierre-Luc Perichon.
-Roubaix-Lille has Antomarchi, who podiumed here last year, while Rabobank have newly signed with Giant-Alpecin rider Lennard Hofstede.
-Axeon bring a stus team headlined by Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ruben Guerreiro and Adrien Costa. Costa's form is a mystery as he dropped out of the Zavod Miru Nations Cup so I don't know if he will be up to going for a stage race overall at this point but Geoghegan Hart and Guerreiro are good back ups.
-Doesn't seem like Klein Constantia have a GC threat but Schlegel and Narvaez probably will like this terrain to play around a bit. Same for Avanti but Australian U23 RR champ Chris Hamilton might try to go for a top 10 on GC or go for a stage result.
-Leo Vincent won the final stage here last year but he seems to be more focused on GC this year so he might try to go for a top 10 overall for CC Etupes but he does like a good solo attack.
-Steff Cras & Bjorg Lambrecht take the reins for Lotto-Soudal again here in the mountains. Lambrecht has taken better overall results this year but they should finish fairly close to one another inside the top 10 of GC.
-Kilian Frankiny seems to wait to go for a big result until hitting a hilly/mountainous stage race so he could be a good shot for a top 5 overall if he is firing on all cylinders.
-From the French amateur teams, look for Lucas Papillon and Julien Liponne, who are both top 10 contenders overall.
Espoirs Central Podium Pick for Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc
1. Chris Anker Sørensen
2. Bjorg Lambrecht
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart
.JPG/640px-Saint-Michel_de_Maurienne_(Savoie).JPG?uselang=fr) |
| The city of Saint-Michel de Maurienne, the launch point for the race as well as the site of the mid-race time trial. |
Stage 1 will most likely sort some of the wheat from the chaff but will most likely not be very consequential in terms of GC unless a small group gets away. There could be separation at the end as there is an uncategorized climb that kicks up a few kilometers before the downhill finish into Cruseilles.
Stage 2 will most likely form the GC race as it will basically be a race to Thoiry, where they do a small little loop before continuing up to the ski station at La Féclaz, which overlooks Chambery. Steep gradients mark the final climb with steady ramps of ~9% while there are pieces that briefly touch 13 to 14%. It is a beast of a climb that pure climbers will looking forward too.
Stage 3 is a bit like stage 1 in that is has a good amount of climbing but will most likely not play too much of a factor with GC, especially with an afternoon time trial coming up. From Chambery, the race rides up the valley and goes steadily upwards from Saint-Michel de Maurienne to the peak at Aussois before descending down to the finish.
A short time trial on stage 4 in the afternoon right after stage 3 is a short test but on a rolling course, a non-pure climber could help themselves by taking some time out of the featherweights.
The final climb will probably confirm or deny those that showed up on stage 2. Four climbs are on the docket including the big momma, the Col de la Colombiere, which will be one of the biggest tests of the race. Once summiting the climb, it is a steep descent down to Cluses for the finish.
The stages are short and sweet to keep the action tight, which is something I agree with as mountain stage races can become blowouts fast.
Contenders
Here is a full list of the riders for the race from directvelo and it is a who's who list of young climbers and continental journeymen.
-Jesus Del Pino leads Burgos BH in a race that they have tried to make their own over the years but haven't been able to take a win.
-Chambery CF come in with a loaded team with Paret-Peintre, Cosnefroy, Rochas, Peters, and Pigeon that could definitely land a person on the podium.
-Direct Energie & Fortuneo come with their B-teams to this race but they Fortuneo look like they could get a podium contender with Frederic Brun, Brice Feillu and Pierre-Luc Perichon.
-Roubaix-Lille has Antomarchi, who podiumed here last year, while Rabobank have newly signed with Giant-Alpecin rider Lennard Hofstede.
-Axeon bring a stus team headlined by Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ruben Guerreiro and Adrien Costa. Costa's form is a mystery as he dropped out of the Zavod Miru Nations Cup so I don't know if he will be up to going for a stage race overall at this point but Geoghegan Hart and Guerreiro are good back ups.
-Doesn't seem like Klein Constantia have a GC threat but Schlegel and Narvaez probably will like this terrain to play around a bit. Same for Avanti but Australian U23 RR champ Chris Hamilton might try to go for a top 10 on GC or go for a stage result.
-Leo Vincent won the final stage here last year but he seems to be more focused on GC this year so he might try to go for a top 10 overall for CC Etupes but he does like a good solo attack.
-Steff Cras & Bjorg Lambrecht take the reins for Lotto-Soudal again here in the mountains. Lambrecht has taken better overall results this year but they should finish fairly close to one another inside the top 10 of GC.
-Kilian Frankiny seems to wait to go for a big result until hitting a hilly/mountainous stage race so he could be a good shot for a top 5 overall if he is firing on all cylinders.
-From the French amateur teams, look for Lucas Papillon and Julien Liponne, who are both top 10 contenders overall.
Espoirs Central Podium Pick for Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc
1. Chris Anker Sørensen
2. Bjorg Lambrecht
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Weekend Roundup
What a weekend, huh? I watched more track racing this past weekend in Trexlertown. If you don't know Luke Mudgway's name then please remember it now. I watch him race and curse that the Olympics do not have a points race or scratch race (shut up about the Omnium) because against a fairly strong field including names like Christian Grasmann, Marcel Kalz and Stephen Hall, Mudgway carved them up. I do have to say watching Marcel Kalz try to pull back a half lap lead in roughly 5 laps of a 333m track was a treat because there was a scary look in his eye. Last note from T-Town is Canadian sprinter Hugo Barrette. He was flying in the keirin after leading for two solid laps as the moto pulled off and having speed to burn to hold off Kwesi Browne, Simon Van Velthooven and Matt Baranoski. Looking good for Rio...if the velodrome gets done.
Also, wishing Australian sprinter Holly Takos a speedy recovery after a scary fall in the keirin final where she punctured her lung.
Now back to your regularly scheduled writing...sort of.
Timmy
He isn't a U23 but Timothy Dupont has continued to have one hell of a season. Dupont has always been a capable sprinter on the UCI Europe Tour with a handful of wins every year. He hit a peak in 2013 with Ventilair-Steria with 8 wins including 2 Tour de Bretagne stages. After trending downwards for a couple of seasons with Roubaix-Lille Metropole, Dupont moved to the Verandas Willems continental leviathan and has went off with 8 wins already this year, all of which are UCI wins, and had gotten close to taking scalps that include Bryan Coquard, Giacomo Nizzolo and Kenny Dehaes. He might not have the out and out speed of some of his rivals but he can make it over a harder course than many of his other rivals cannot so at 28 years old, this may be his coming out party.
Maronese & Zalf-Euromobil-Fior trumps Consonni & Colpack
The picture says it all. Simone Consonni has not found the form that took him to 2nd place in the World U23 RR but he seems to be coming around with his sprint form. Consonni isn't a rider that has the pure speed of some recent Italian U23s like Jakub Mareczko but on a course with some bumps and a non-traditional sprint, Consonni is still a force.
Ben Perry & GP Saguenay
An opening stage that Estonian Mikhel Räim described as the coldest day he has ever experienced on a bike, Silber's Ben Perry beat out Räim in a tough sprint in La Baie to take the first stage of the GP Saguenay after a breakaway dominated by Silber and Räim's Cycling Academy team took the race by the reins. Perry's hot form carried over from Philly, where he placed 7th on the Manayunk Wall, but got a huge test trying to hold off Räim over the weekend.
A crash for Perry on the criterium stage 3 gave Silber a scare but team tactics saw the GC slip away from Perry to teammate Ryan Roth, who made the breakaway on the final stage and thanks to making the opening breakaway, he scored the overall and vaulted over Perry and Räim for 2nd and 3rd. While the GC win would have been nice, Perry will probably be looking to match his stage win in Tour de Beauce from last year as Canada's oldest pro stage race starts on Wednesday.
Other races...
Pascal Ackermann went 7th in the Rund um Köln against legitimate sprint talents like Groenewegen, Greipel, Arndt, Sbaragli, Renshaw and Ciolek. Ackerman won two straight stages in the Tour de Berlin and comes from a very strong track background that includes a World Championship in the team sprint as well as a European Junior Championship in the Omnium. I have a very good feeling that Ackermann will be getting an offer from a German team for a stagiaire role this summer. I believe this team is on the World Tour and recently announced they are searching for German talent and they won't let a big sprint talent get away.
Hamisch Schreurs continues his great season with Klein Constantia after going 5th overall in the Okolo Slovenska (Tour of Slovakia) after making the split on the decisive stage won by Mauro Finetto. Klein Constantia enjoyed a successful race as Frantisek Sisr won the points jersey and Jhonathan Narvaez finished 2nd in the KOM classification.
Jon Irisarri signed with Caja Rural, which was the first contract announcement for 2017. Irisarri rode for the Euskadi system before joining Caja Rural Amateur this season. Irisarri has taken four wins this year, mainly in sprints out of small groups. He is a quick rider that can compete in some sprints but does better on selective courses. He doesn't have a ton of experience in UCI races so I wouldn't go out of your way to get him in your cycling fantasy league but give him a few years to develop.
The Ronde de l'Oise had a wonderfully difficult final stage that sent people scattering. Belgian powerhouse Nathan Van Hooydonck made the front split and took the small group sprint for the stage win and securing 3rd overall. It was Van Hooydonck's first big individual U23 win and bodes well for him going forward, especially to break out of the classics-only mode that some might want to put him into. Rabobank had a good race with Martijn Budding taking an...interesting sprint for the win while Cees Bol finished up 4th overall.
First year U23 rider Kevin Geniets (Chambery CF) from Luxembourg has made quiet results this year. After going top 20 in the Zavod Miru U23 Nations Cup, Geniets came to the Tour du Beaujolais in the Rhône Alpes and won the opening stage in a solo move. With the 2nd stage being annulled, Chambery was able to successfully defend the jersey with Geniets taking the overall win while Jordan Sarrou won the KOM and points jersey and Chambery taking the best team as Hugo Pigeon, the lightest all-arounder in the game, finished 3rd overall.
Valentin Madouas (BIC 2000) took his 3rd win in a week after winning the final stage of the DN1 Coupe de France Tour d'Eure-et-Loir. Riding for the smaller Bretagne outfit that saw Olivier Le Gac carry them in recent years, Madouas is one of the gems for Fortuneo-Vital Concept and will most likely stagiaire there again in 2016. Aurelien Paret-Peintre led the U23s in this year with a 3rd overall for his Chambery CF team while Elie Gesbert (VC Pays de Loudeac) won the 3rd stage of the race in a small sprint while his team kept control of the French DN1 Coupe de France classification by over 100 points on Chambery and nearly 300 over perennial favorite Vendée U.
Also, wishing Australian sprinter Holly Takos a speedy recovery after a scary fall in the keirin final where she punctured her lung.
Now back to your regularly scheduled writing...sort of.
Timmy
He isn't a U23 but Timothy Dupont has continued to have one hell of a season. Dupont has always been a capable sprinter on the UCI Europe Tour with a handful of wins every year. He hit a peak in 2013 with Ventilair-Steria with 8 wins including 2 Tour de Bretagne stages. After trending downwards for a couple of seasons with Roubaix-Lille Metropole, Dupont moved to the Verandas Willems continental leviathan and has went off with 8 wins already this year, all of which are UCI wins, and had gotten close to taking scalps that include Bryan Coquard, Giacomo Nizzolo and Kenny Dehaes. He might not have the out and out speed of some of his rivals but he can make it over a harder course than many of his other rivals cannot so at 28 years old, this may be his coming out party.
Maronese & Zalf-Euromobil-Fior trumps Consonni & Colpack
 |
| Maronese playing for the crowd after a Zalf twosome beat a Colpack foursome. |
Ben Perry & GP Saguenay
An opening stage that Estonian Mikhel Räim described as the coldest day he has ever experienced on a bike, Silber's Ben Perry beat out Räim in a tough sprint in La Baie to take the first stage of the GP Saguenay after a breakaway dominated by Silber and Räim's Cycling Academy team took the race by the reins. Perry's hot form carried over from Philly, where he placed 7th on the Manayunk Wall, but got a huge test trying to hold off Räim over the weekend.
A crash for Perry on the criterium stage 3 gave Silber a scare but team tactics saw the GC slip away from Perry to teammate Ryan Roth, who made the breakaway on the final stage and thanks to making the opening breakaway, he scored the overall and vaulted over Perry and Räim for 2nd and 3rd. While the GC win would have been nice, Perry will probably be looking to match his stage win in Tour de Beauce from last year as Canada's oldest pro stage race starts on Wednesday.
Other races...
Pascal Ackermann went 7th in the Rund um Köln against legitimate sprint talents like Groenewegen, Greipel, Arndt, Sbaragli, Renshaw and Ciolek. Ackerman won two straight stages in the Tour de Berlin and comes from a very strong track background that includes a World Championship in the team sprint as well as a European Junior Championship in the Omnium. I have a very good feeling that Ackermann will be getting an offer from a German team for a stagiaire role this summer. I believe this team is on the World Tour and recently announced they are searching for German talent and they won't let a big sprint talent get away.
Hamisch Schreurs continues his great season with Klein Constantia after going 5th overall in the Okolo Slovenska (Tour of Slovakia) after making the split on the decisive stage won by Mauro Finetto. Klein Constantia enjoyed a successful race as Frantisek Sisr won the points jersey and Jhonathan Narvaez finished 2nd in the KOM classification.
Jon Irisarri signed with Caja Rural, which was the first contract announcement for 2017. Irisarri rode for the Euskadi system before joining Caja Rural Amateur this season. Irisarri has taken four wins this year, mainly in sprints out of small groups. He is a quick rider that can compete in some sprints but does better on selective courses. He doesn't have a ton of experience in UCI races so I wouldn't go out of your way to get him in your cycling fantasy league but give him a few years to develop.
The Ronde de l'Oise had a wonderfully difficult final stage that sent people scattering. Belgian powerhouse Nathan Van Hooydonck made the front split and took the small group sprint for the stage win and securing 3rd overall. It was Van Hooydonck's first big individual U23 win and bodes well for him going forward, especially to break out of the classics-only mode that some might want to put him into. Rabobank had a good race with Martijn Budding taking an...interesting sprint for the win while Cees Bol finished up 4th overall.
First year U23 rider Kevin Geniets (Chambery CF) from Luxembourg has made quiet results this year. After going top 20 in the Zavod Miru U23 Nations Cup, Geniets came to the Tour du Beaujolais in the Rhône Alpes and won the opening stage in a solo move. With the 2nd stage being annulled, Chambery was able to successfully defend the jersey with Geniets taking the overall win while Jordan Sarrou won the KOM and points jersey and Chambery taking the best team as Hugo Pigeon, the lightest all-arounder in the game, finished 3rd overall.
Valentin Madouas (BIC 2000) took his 3rd win in a week after winning the final stage of the DN1 Coupe de France Tour d'Eure-et-Loir. Riding for the smaller Bretagne outfit that saw Olivier Le Gac carry them in recent years, Madouas is one of the gems for Fortuneo-Vital Concept and will most likely stagiaire there again in 2016. Aurelien Paret-Peintre led the U23s in this year with a 3rd overall for his Chambery CF team while Elie Gesbert (VC Pays de Loudeac) won the 3rd stage of the race in a small sprint while his team kept control of the French DN1 Coupe de France classification by over 100 points on Chambery and nearly 300 over perennial favorite Vendée U.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Giant-Alpecin can't seem to make up their damn mind
Scrolling through the bits and bobs of cycling news from today, I see a re-typed press release on Cyclingnews regarding Giant-Alpecin.
Oh that is really good to see them creating a team to support the development ranks in cycling. There are more teams that should support that cause. I'm surprised Giant-Alpecin and their previous iterations haven't had a continental team before. Oh wait...
So...they are re-launching their team? I wonder what happened...
Team manager Iwan Spekenbrink offered a nice quote to sum up the decision.
Will we see another press release after the end of next year that they will be moving away from a development team model? Or is Alpecin sponsorship putting pressure on Spekenbrink to develop German talents, which then caused a flip-flop with his development team decision? In any case, it looks a bit ridiculous for him to be changing course so drastically in a relatively short period of time.
Oh that is really good to see them creating a team to support the development ranks in cycling. There are more teams that should support that cause. I'm surprised Giant-Alpecin and their previous iterations haven't had a continental team before. Oh wait...
So...they are re-launching their team? I wonder what happened...
Team manager Iwan Spekenbrink offered a nice quote to sum up the decision.
“We have explored the capacities of having a development team connected to our structure this past season, but found it not effective enough in developing our team structure as a whole to continue it for another season,” explained Team Giant-Shimano general manager Iwan Spekenbrink. (Velonews Oct. 3, 2014)Let's get this straight. They launch a development team in 2013 that only last for one season before hitting the grinder. They announce these talent days in a partnership with the BDR (German Cycling Federation) to promote German talent with male and female riders between 17 and 20 years old. The 2016 talent days are happening right now in the Eifel mountains. Days after that press release comes the announcement of these new development teams to help mold developing talent using all of the same experts as the pro squad.
Will we see another press release after the end of next year that they will be moving away from a development team model? Or is Alpecin sponsorship putting pressure on Spekenbrink to develop German talents, which then caused a flip-flop with his development team decision? In any case, it looks a bit ridiculous for him to be changing course so drastically in a relatively short period of time.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Weekend Roundup: Philly, Italy and more
The Zavod Miru U23 Nations Cup was obviously the big race of the weekend but one should look elsewhere as talent lies in every nook and cranny. Speaking of the U23 Nations Cup, France is now leading ahead of Norway at 85 and 82 points, respectively, with Great Britain vaulting up from 5th to 65 points.
I went to Trexlertown this past Friday for opening night of the annual UCI races and while seeing some of the best sprinters in the Western Hemisphere (plus a few others). One of the takeaways was from a feisty U23 in Luke Mudgway from New Zealand. In the 15 kilometer Scratch Race, he judged his moves to perfection by taking a lap halfway through and once Bobby Lea nearly ripped the cranks off his bike to get on terms, Mudgway then went solo to take a brilliant win. He is a former Junior World Champion in the Madison so he isn't a total unknown but definitely a name to remember.
Anytime I see a big time endurance talent on the track, I do become quite enraged how track cycling has been neutered in the Olympics and has basically given next to no incentive for many countries to invest in the beautiful sport.
Philly
While I didn't make it down for Philly, it looked quite good from my computer. Besides Chris Horner throwing a little temper tantrum on Lemon Hill, a shoutout is in order for the best U23 of the day, Canadian Ben Perry from Silber, who finished 7th up the Manayunk Wall.
Italia
While it is now well publicized, let's all wish Keagan Girdlestone a speedy recovery from his horrific crash that saw him airlifted from the Coppa della Pace after smashing through the back windscreen of a team car.
Cyrille Thiery took a lovely solo win at the Milano Tortona, where he went away and kept going, going and going. Thiery finished with over a minute gap but the sprint behind offers a few hints. 2nd place from last year's U23 World Championships, Colpack's Simone Consonni has been fairly quiet this season but he was able to put the flame out off on-fire Damiano Cima (Viris Maserati) by beating him for 2nd place by half a bike length.
Elsewhere, Zalf-Euromobil dominated a race in Veneto because...well it's Veneto. They are not to lose on home soil.
Everywhere else and more...
-Enzo Wouters nearly stole the Memorial Van Coningsloo from the top Belgian sprinter of the year, Timothy Dupont of Verandas Willems, but came up less than a bike length short.
-Speaking of the track, Ivo Oliveira was quite active in Portugal at the Anadia meet by winning the Kilo TT with a time of 1:03 and followed it up with 2nd in the Individual Pursuit, behind fellow U23 Benjamin Thomas.
-For the past few weeks, there has been a Tour of Ukraine happening that along with the Tour of Ukraine, has included about 2 weeks of racing in the country thats fate is still up in the air. On the U23 front, Azeri rider Samir Jabrayilov has been consistent with 5 top five finishes in sprints as well as breakaways. The competition level was strictly Eastern European so nothing to get Team SKY calling but it is certainly something.
Anything else that should be mentioned? Let me know...
I went to Trexlertown this past Friday for opening night of the annual UCI races and while seeing some of the best sprinters in the Western Hemisphere (plus a few others). One of the takeaways was from a feisty U23 in Luke Mudgway from New Zealand. In the 15 kilometer Scratch Race, he judged his moves to perfection by taking a lap halfway through and once Bobby Lea nearly ripped the cranks off his bike to get on terms, Mudgway then went solo to take a brilliant win. He is a former Junior World Champion in the Madison so he isn't a total unknown but definitely a name to remember.
Anytime I see a big time endurance talent on the track, I do become quite enraged how track cycling has been neutered in the Olympics and has basically given next to no incentive for many countries to invest in the beautiful sport.
Philly
While I didn't make it down for Philly, it looked quite good from my computer. Besides Chris Horner throwing a little temper tantrum on Lemon Hill, a shoutout is in order for the best U23 of the day, Canadian Ben Perry from Silber, who finished 7th up the Manayunk Wall.
Italia
While it is now well publicized, let's all wish Keagan Girdlestone a speedy recovery from his horrific crash that saw him airlifted from the Coppa della Pace after smashing through the back windscreen of a team car.
Cyrille Thiery took a lovely solo win at the Milano Tortona, where he went away and kept going, going and going. Thiery finished with over a minute gap but the sprint behind offers a few hints. 2nd place from last year's U23 World Championships, Colpack's Simone Consonni has been fairly quiet this season but he was able to put the flame out off on-fire Damiano Cima (Viris Maserati) by beating him for 2nd place by half a bike length.
Elsewhere, Zalf-Euromobil dominated a race in Veneto because...well it's Veneto. They are not to lose on home soil.
Everywhere else and more...
Daniel Whitehouse continues to impress in Asia. Can someone from GB bring him over for Valle d'Aosta?!?!?!?!?! #forthelove— Chris K. (@Vlaanderen90) June 3, 2016
-Enzo Wouters nearly stole the Memorial Van Coningsloo from the top Belgian sprinter of the year, Timothy Dupont of Verandas Willems, but came up less than a bike length short.
-Speaking of the track, Ivo Oliveira was quite active in Portugal at the Anadia meet by winning the Kilo TT with a time of 1:03 and followed it up with 2nd in the Individual Pursuit, behind fellow U23 Benjamin Thomas.
-For the past few weeks, there has been a Tour of Ukraine happening that along with the Tour of Ukraine, has included about 2 weeks of racing in the country thats fate is still up in the air. On the U23 front, Azeri rider Samir Jabrayilov has been consistent with 5 top five finishes in sprints as well as breakaways. The competition level was strictly Eastern European so nothing to get Team SKY calling but it is certainly something.
Anything else that should be mentioned? Let me know...
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Zavod Miru U23 Finale: Short and Sweet
The final stage of the the Zavod Miru U23 was a bit...how to put this without sounding like a complete asshole...pointless? That isn't the right word but after two years of this finish without any consequences on the general classification, there needs to be a shake-up on the final stage here because for two years running now, one stage defines the race and then the final stage has a little separation but GC is fairly stagnant. Espoirs Central is pleading with you, Jan Svorada, I hope that a change will be happening for 2017.
The stage featured a large breakaway that really didn't get a lot of room from the peloton but did include a rider high up on GC, Czech Michal Schlegel. The breakaway was brought back with 8 kilometers to go, just in time for the run into Jesenik and up to the Hotel Priessnitz. The bunch stayed together until the revelation of the Ronde de l'Isard, Belgian Bjorg Lambrecht, lept from the lead group on the climb. No way he would be taking enough time out of race leader David Gaudu, Lambrecht bounced away with Markus Hoelgaard (Norway) giving chase.
Lambrecht took another nice win in the drizzly conditions while Hoelgaard "gapped" the chasing group led in by Giovanni Carboni with Gaudu celebrating his victory in 4th place. With both Lambrecht and Gaudu being of diminutive stature, it really was a day for the small guy.
Gaudu was able to pull out an overall victory and if pro teams are smart, they will continue to follow him this summer and take him of a stagiaire ride either this summer or next. He still has things to prove as an overall rider so this is not a confirmation that he will be a Grand Tour winner but when he is on, that acceleration is brutal. If he can survive flatter races as well as rough 'n tumble environments, Gaudu could enchant the French public.
It seems that Lambrecht is confirming the promise he showed in the Pyrenees mountains in l'Isard. A compact rider that never really raced in the mountains before this season, he has been riding in front groups and while Belgians love their classics, they would love to see riders winning in the mountains once again.
Espoirs Central pick for the win Tao Geoghegan Hart was a hesitation away from perhaps taking the victory and settled for a strong 2nd overall with Swiss Kilian Frankiny confirming his 4th overall from the Giro della Valle d'Aosta last year. The Italians were there once again with Ravasi and Carboni but didn't have the finishing punch to make the podium. A rider that could be monitored is Markus Hoelgaard. His brother Daniel is a fantastic sprinter but I think Markus was a bit misunderstood and never developed as well as he could have when he was on Etixx. He has come into his own on rolling to hillier parcours and hopefully Joker allows him to blossom on courses like this.
I still cannot get over the course. A stage race should not be a carbon copy year after year and while they changed the queen stage, this race lacked final stage drama to really have the results leap off the page and make this a can't-miss race. This is a Nations Cup race. Imagine if the Tour de l'Avenir was decided two stages through the race? I'm cognisant of the limitations of a race like this in terms of budget but I do not want carbon copy stages. I want this race to sing to people. There is a huge legacy from this race and part of that was some fantastic course selection over the years. If this race will have two of the same stages next year, you have no doubt a scathing review will come from here. It should also be mentioned that the official website is basically a cheering section for the Czech National Team and give token mentions to riders that don't win the race yet list the results of every last Czech rider.
The stage featured a large breakaway that really didn't get a lot of room from the peloton but did include a rider high up on GC, Czech Michal Schlegel. The breakaway was brought back with 8 kilometers to go, just in time for the run into Jesenik and up to the Hotel Priessnitz. The bunch stayed together until the revelation of the Ronde de l'Isard, Belgian Bjorg Lambrecht, lept from the lead group on the climb. No way he would be taking enough time out of race leader David Gaudu, Lambrecht bounced away with Markus Hoelgaard (Norway) giving chase.
Lambrecht took another nice win in the drizzly conditions while Hoelgaard "gapped" the chasing group led in by Giovanni Carboni with Gaudu celebrating his victory in 4th place. With both Lambrecht and Gaudu being of diminutive stature, it really was a day for the small guy.
Superb victory of 19-year old @BjorgLambrecht in final stage of #NationsCup U23 #CourseDeLaPaix! Congrats! #ZMU23 pic.twitter.com/leWnT2IfCn— Belgian Cycling Team (@BELCyclingTeam) June 5, 2016
While most of the GC riders finished on time with Gaudu, the absolute surprise of the day was UCI Cycling Centre rider El Medhi Chokri, the first year Moroccan U23 who was 5th on the opening stage and followed it up with 11 on the final stage.La joie du Breton David Gaudu à l’arrivée de la dernière étape de la Course de la Paix #épatant @DavidGaudu pic.twitter.com/tC9ScPm0Ws— Philippe Priser (@philippepriser) June 5, 2016
Gaudu was able to pull out an overall victory and if pro teams are smart, they will continue to follow him this summer and take him of a stagiaire ride either this summer or next. He still has things to prove as an overall rider so this is not a confirmation that he will be a Grand Tour winner but when he is on, that acceleration is brutal. If he can survive flatter races as well as rough 'n tumble environments, Gaudu could enchant the French public.
It seems that Lambrecht is confirming the promise he showed in the Pyrenees mountains in l'Isard. A compact rider that never really raced in the mountains before this season, he has been riding in front groups and while Belgians love their classics, they would love to see riders winning in the mountains once again.
Espoirs Central pick for the win Tao Geoghegan Hart was a hesitation away from perhaps taking the victory and settled for a strong 2nd overall with Swiss Kilian Frankiny confirming his 4th overall from the Giro della Valle d'Aosta last year. The Italians were there once again with Ravasi and Carboni but didn't have the finishing punch to make the podium. A rider that could be monitored is Markus Hoelgaard. His brother Daniel is a fantastic sprinter but I think Markus was a bit misunderstood and never developed as well as he could have when he was on Etixx. He has come into his own on rolling to hillier parcours and hopefully Joker allows him to blossom on courses like this.
I still cannot get over the course. A stage race should not be a carbon copy year after year and while they changed the queen stage, this race lacked final stage drama to really have the results leap off the page and make this a can't-miss race. This is a Nations Cup race. Imagine if the Tour de l'Avenir was decided two stages through the race? I'm cognisant of the limitations of a race like this in terms of budget but I do not want carbon copy stages. I want this race to sing to people. There is a huge legacy from this race and part of that was some fantastic course selection over the years. If this race will have two of the same stages next year, you have no doubt a scathing review will come from here. It should also be mentioned that the official website is basically a cheering section for the Czech National Team and give token mentions to riders that don't win the race yet list the results of every last Czech rider.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Zavod Miru U23 Stage 2: Up to Dlouhe Strane
On a stage that was set for fireworks, the riders lit the fuse and the Zavod Miru U23 exploded on the Dlouhe Strane climb. With Adrien Costa sidelined and other riders not firing on all cylinders, it was a diminutive Frenchman that took the race by the neck and took the biggest win of his fledgling career.
A breakaway of about 10 riders got away early in the race but were never given much of a gap by the peloton, with the Germans and Slovenians setting a strong tempo all day as they had missed the move. This group lasted for over half of the stage but was taken back by the first climb to Hrabesice, where Casper Pedersen took the KOM.
Onto the Dlouhe Strane, the peloton had come back together into a fairly large group but that was to be short lived. From here, I will get many of the details from James Knox, who was in the heat of the action on the climb.
The French took it at the bottom of the climb and then the Russian (Cherkasov or Nych) took a big turn on the front. The group was brought down to 16 riders but names such as Lennard Kämna and Lennard Hofstede were nowhere to be seen. Attacks began to happen and whittled the group down until an attack from Swiss Kilian Frankiny made a group of four including him, Tao Geoghegan Hart (GB), Edward Ravasi (Italy) and David Gaudu (France). Knox said, "I was stuck in between(the two groups) for a bit, before sitting on a group, who never committed to bringing them back."
After the leading group exchanged barbs, it was the tiny Gaudu, who weighs probably no more than 55 kilograms, who launched the winning attack with 500 meters to go as the climb leveled off near the reservoir at the top of Dlouhe Strane. It seemed as if Geoghegan Hart could have gone with him but the Hackney rider admittedly hesitated and that made the difference.
Gaudu took 10 bonus seconds at the finish to move his overall lead on Geoghegan Hart to 11 seconds, which will make the task tomorrow of overhauling him on the fairly short finishing climb quite big.
The race finishes up tomorrow with a climb to the Hotel Priesnitz in Jesenik.
A breakaway of about 10 riders got away early in the race but were never given much of a gap by the peloton, with the Germans and Slovenians setting a strong tempo all day as they had missed the move. This group lasted for over half of the stage but was taken back by the first climb to Hrabesice, where Casper Pedersen took the KOM.
Onto the Dlouhe Strane, the peloton had come back together into a fairly large group but that was to be short lived. From here, I will get many of the details from James Knox, who was in the heat of the action on the climb.
The French took it at the bottom of the climb and then the Russian (Cherkasov or Nych) took a big turn on the front. The group was brought down to 16 riders but names such as Lennard Kämna and Lennard Hofstede were nowhere to be seen. Attacks began to happen and whittled the group down until an attack from Swiss Kilian Frankiny made a group of four including him, Tao Geoghegan Hart (GB), Edward Ravasi (Italy) and David Gaudu (France). Knox said, "I was stuck in between(the two groups) for a bit, before sitting on a group, who never committed to bringing them back."
After the leading group exchanged barbs, it was the tiny Gaudu, who weighs probably no more than 55 kilograms, who launched the winning attack with 500 meters to go as the climb leveled off near the reservoir at the top of Dlouhe Strane. It seemed as if Geoghegan Hart could have gone with him but the Hackney rider admittedly hesitated and that made the difference.
Gaudu took out 7 seconds from Geoghegan Hart plus another from Frankiny and Ravasi. Behind, Knox got a little frisky, "I hit my group after a couple of attacks and was in between the (two) groups (at the finish)." Knox finished 5th, 14 seconds back ahead of a group containing Michal Schlegel (Czech Republic), Giovanni Carboni (Italy), Aurelien Paret-Peintre (France), Bjorg Lambrecht and Steff Cras (both Belgium).L'arrivée de David Gaudu lors de la 2e étape de la Course de la Paix #classe @DavidGaudu pic.twitter.com/m7GgFF3v1t— Philippe Priser (@philippepriser) June 4, 2016
Gaudu took 10 bonus seconds at the finish to move his overall lead on Geoghegan Hart to 11 seconds, which will make the task tomorrow of overhauling him on the fairly short finishing climb quite big.
— TOUR de FANTASY (@TOURdeFantasy) June 4, 2016Gaudu didn't come here as an unknown exactly and it remains to be seen if he can finish this race off. What can be taken away now is his acceleration. Knox can to attest to it from l'Isard, "He seemed to be able to accelerate again and again and destroyed our group on the bottom of Ax 3 Domaines." He attacked the group multiple times today and finally made on stick. Like speed, acceleration isn't something that one can simply teach. It can be improved but a natural acceleration is not something everyone is blessed with.
The race finishes up tomorrow with a climb to the Hotel Priesnitz in Jesenik.
Friday, June 3, 2016
Zavod Miru U23 Stage 1: Down to the final seconds for Auer
How about that wordplay? Right? Guys...guys? In any case, stage one of the Zavod Miru U23 Nations Cup lived up to its expectations with an early breakaway taking up the first half of the race followed by another more successful breakaway that was swallowed up by the peloton within the final kilometer.
The original breakaway was a 4-man move than consisted of Justin Oien (USA), Sven Reutter (Germany), Ole Forfang (Norway) and Jose Luis Rodriguez (Chile/UCI Cycling Centre). There gap didn't get too big and were swallowed up in quick succession.
The main move of the day came from Pascal Eenkhoorn (BMC Development/Netherlands), who escaped with about 50 kilometers to go and got a substantial gap. The bunch was in efficiency mode with many not wanting to exert themselves too much with the mountains looming. A variety of teams came to the fore to bring it back but on the final lap, the gap began to plummet. Within the final kilometer, Eenkhoorn was taken back but his team was still in a good position.
Out of the final right hand bend, first year U23 Bob Olieslagers (Netherlands) led out the sprint and looked to be in a good position to win until the dying meters when Daniel Auer (Austria) came out of the slipstream to power ahead in the final meters to take the victory. Polish rider Michal Paluta came in a close 3rd while Oli Wood (Great Britain) was 4th and El Medhi Chokri (Morocco/UCI Cycling Centre) came in 5th.
More to follow...
The original breakaway was a 4-man move than consisted of Justin Oien (USA), Sven Reutter (Germany), Ole Forfang (Norway) and Jose Luis Rodriguez (Chile/UCI Cycling Centre). There gap didn't get too big and were swallowed up in quick succession.
The main move of the day came from Pascal Eenkhoorn (BMC Development/Netherlands), who escaped with about 50 kilometers to go and got a substantial gap. The bunch was in efficiency mode with many not wanting to exert themselves too much with the mountains looming. A variety of teams came to the fore to bring it back but on the final lap, the gap began to plummet. Within the final kilometer, Eenkhoorn was taken back but his team was still in a good position.
Out of the final right hand bend, first year U23 Bob Olieslagers (Netherlands) led out the sprint and looked to be in a good position to win until the dying meters when Daniel Auer (Austria) came out of the slipstream to power ahead in the final meters to take the victory. Polish rider Michal Paluta came in a close 3rd while Oli Wood (Great Britain) was 4th and El Medhi Chokri (Morocco/UCI Cycling Centre) came in 5th.
Full results are still not final at the time of this posting but will be found here#ZMU23 první etapu vyhrál ve spurtu Auer. 1st stage winner Daniel Auer AUS pic.twitter.com/62p3hTcLzB— TOUR de FANTASY (@TOURdeFantasy) June 3, 2016
More to follow...
Závod Míru U23 Nations Cup Preview
One of these years I am hoping that the Zavod Miru (Peace Race in English) will emerge as a longer stage race that will be the spring cornerstone to the U23 calendar. I also know that the chances of it being expanded from its current iteration are approximately .0034893744%. In any case, this is always an interesting race as it doesnt necessarily have the toughest climbs but it can catch riders out regularly and result in some exciting finishes.
The race was only revived in 2013 as a U23 race. The first edition was won by Cannondale's Toms Skujins and two years later, it was moved to the U23 Nations Cup. Still just three stages, the race is based around the spa town of Jesenik, Czech Republic, which is nuzzled against the Southern Polish border. One of the main differences this year is that the race will forgo the summit finish at the Praded nature reserve but race manager Jan Svorada is keeping the difficulty level high with two hill top finishes.
Stages
Stages
Stage 1 - Jeseník to Rymarov - 134km
In what is a carbon copy to the opening stage in the past few years, this year's edition of stage 1 gets a little extra distance (122km to 134km) as an additional finish loop was added on. The last couple of additions have been decided by small breakaways that have eeked out victories ahead of hard charging pelotons. In 2013, this was a two-up sprint with Pole Przemyslaw Kasperviewicz (now Klein Constantia) beating Tom Bosmans while last year, Gabriel Cullaigh (GB National Team) won out of an all-day breakaway.
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| The town flag of Rymarov is interesting |
The change to this year's course could actually see a mass-group sprint as it might give teams a little more time to organize on the finishing circuits. Or it could once again see teams focused on GC fine with letting a small group without any GC favorites getting away to take the pressure off of any serious chase efforts. The circuit itself is not pan-flat and does include a climb but in year's past, the group has not thinned out much. There is a dearth of full-blown sprinters here but some riders with a good kick on them include Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spain), Dusan Rajovic (Serbia/UCI Cycling), Justin Oien (USA) and Piet Allegaert (Belgium) but no one is jumping off the page as a favorite. This would probably be because the final two stage profiles were drawn by a precocious 2-year old.
Stage 2 - Krnov to Dlouhe Strane - 123 kilometers
While it might not be the longest stage, it will be a kick in the jewels for those that are unprepared. This is a brand new stage that climbs up to the Dlouhe Strane Hydroelectric Power Plant, which sits at 1,350 meters (over 4,400 feet) elevation.
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| The reservoir at Dlouhe Strane has the largest reserving water turbine in Europe. Also, you cannot beat that view. |
The climb itself up to the station is arguably the hardest in all of the Jeseniky mountain range, included the Praded climb which the race has used in the past couple years. The climb itself is a stair step affair that starts up into a forested area once they move through Loucna nad Desnou. The middle section of the climb before the brief descent is where the race will be made as it touches a brief gradient of 20% and the kilometer before the descent averages over 10% but sees persistent ramps near 14%. A brief descent gives the riders a respite but the gradients go back to a steady 7-8% before the finish flattens out a bit. The profile of the climb can be seen here.
It isn't as if the race is a race to this climb as there is a smaller climb at Hraběšice to soften the legs a bit but the slopes of Dlouhe Strane will define the GC of this race.
Favorites? Well I will get to that later because I believe who wins here will most likely win the GC or be damn close.
Stage 3 - Jesenik - Jesenik - 160 km
"It sort of looks like an upside down New Jersey with a little hook at the top"
Above is my quote about this stage from last year. The final stage is a loop that goes out of Jesenik, rides along the Polish border for a while, heads south for a while to Bruntal (which is just north of Rymarov) and then starts up towards Jesenik. It is an exact copy of the final stage last year, which more or less came down to the final uphill to the Hotel Priesnitz from a group of favorites as many were shed from the late climbs at Hvezda and Vidly.
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| Interesting room décor at the Hotel Preisnitz |
The final climb to the Hotel only averages about 6% once the race crosses the Staric river but it really doesn't get going until about 2 km to go. The next kilometer averages 8.1% gradient while the final kilometer flattens out a little bit up to the Hotel. Definitely an Ardennes-style finish but not quite as steep.
Profiles/Rules
Predictions
No Australia here for the 2nd year in a row which really limits them in terms of the UCI Nations Cup. Also, to stack the deck for the Czechs, they brought two full 6-man teams.
Looking over the start list, here are some favorites in no particular order...
-Michal Schlegel (Czech Republic)
-Steff Cras and Bjorg Lambrecht (Belgium)
-Vincent, Cosnefroy, Peters and Paret-Peintre (France). It won't be an enviable position for team leader Pierre-Yves Chatelon.
-Lennard Kämna (Germany)
-Vincent, Cosnefroy, Peters and Paret-Peintre (France). It won't be an enviable position for team leader Pierre-Yves Chatelon.
-Lennard Kämna (Germany)
-Tao Geoghegan Hart (GB) supported nicely by James Knox and Scott Davies
-Edward Ravasi & Giovanni Carboni (Italy)
-Lennard Hofstede (Netherlands)
-Ildar Arslanov (Russia)
-Edward Ravasi & Giovanni Carboni (Italy)
-Lennard Hofstede (Netherlands)
-Ildar Arslanov (Russia)
-Domen Novak (Slovenia)
-Enric Mas or Jon Irisarri (Spain)
-Mark Padun (Ukraine)
-Adrien Costa (USA)
Espoirs Central pick for the overall win: Tao Geoghegan Hart
Stage 1: Pavel Sivakov (Russia)
Stage 2: Lennard Kämna
Stage 3: Mark Padun
-Enric Mas or Jon Irisarri (Spain)
-Mark Padun (Ukraine)
-Adrien Costa (USA)
Espoirs Central pick for the overall win: Tao Geoghegan Hart
Stage 1: Pavel Sivakov (Russia)
Stage 2: Lennard Kämna
Stage 3: Mark Padun
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Long Weekend Roundup
While I spent the majority of the weekend trying to decompress as best as possible, the world of amateur cycling kept on turning. While the U23 Paris-Roubaix was a big gem during the weekend,
racing was abound in the USA, Colombia, Spain, Italy and more. As the Zavod Miru U23 takes place in a few days, I will try to make this the express version.
USA Nationals
Vuelta a Navarra
In somewhat of an oddity, Ecuadorian Richie Carapaz, who won the U23 Vuelta a Colombia last year, is currently on the UCI roster for the Colombian Strongman Campagnolo while also riding for the Lizarte amateur team out of Spain. I guess you could call it a temporary loan as I'm certain Carapaz will be be back down south once the big summer Colombian races happen but Carapaz has been a scourge on the Spanish amateur scene this spring.
His latest scalp was the Vuelta a Navarra, where he won the 2nd stage uphill finish that guaranteed him the overall victory on Saturday. He now has 5 wins in a month time span and it is very possible to see him continue this trend. After winning Navarra, he was quoted as saying that he would love to cap of his season with a stagiaire ride. One would think that a Spanish team would be very high on him so unless someone else has secret plans for him (perhaps Zona Maxtin and Etixx-OPQS), Movistar or Caja Rural are likely destinations.
Tour de Gironde
Norway has had another strong year so far in the U23 and continental ranks with Team Joker being a main reason behind it. It isn't often that a team has a perfect race but Joker at the Tour de Gironde was about as good as it gets.
Just a few weeks ago, I was questioning if Truls Engen Korsaeth was even riding his bike as he had barely made an impression in the first 5 months of the season. After finding out he was struggling with motivation and injuries, Korsaeth popped up in the 2nd round of the Norwegian Cup, finishing 3rd behind teammate Ole Forang. He then came to the Tour de Gironde and the "brutal" rider, as described by the national team director, lived up to his nature by attacking and holding off the peloton by three seconds, led home by a pair of Joker riders in Kristoffer Halvorsen & Adrain Aas Stien.
The race was made by a herculean effort by Amund Grøndahl Jansen, whose name might be more fitting for someone riding an icebreaker in the Antarctic Sea around 1912 than riding a bike in 2016. Within the first kilometers of the stage, Grøndahl was away with Sebastian Molano but soon ditched the Colombian to take a maximum advantage of over 8 minutes, which was so big that his own team car pulled out and went back to the peloton to monitor the situation. While the gap fell steadily, Grøndahl was able to continue on strong and as the race exploded behind him on the rolling course, the Norwegian was able to take his first individual win of the year. Directvelo talked to Grøndahl after the race but his spring has definitely turned some heads.
The final stage was a sprint fest that saw Aas Stein take his first UCI win in over a year while Norwegians took 3 out of the top 4 places. It was the icing on the cake as Joker wrapped up every jersey and took the overall classification with Grøndahl. Gino Van Oudenhove's ploeg delivered in a big way.
A side note is Mathias Le Turnier, who ended the race in 2nd overall. Le Turnier, for those with bad memories, was 2nd overall in the Ronde de l'Isard and nearly stole the overall classification there. For a rider that is climber, it is surprising that we was contending in the much flatter Bordeaux region. Perhaps a stagiaire role and a l'Avenir place are on the books for this summer?
Everywhere else and more...
-Riders from 1996 were close to taking over the An Post Ras but Australia's Jai Hindley fell to now two-time winner Clemens Fankhauser by a mere three seconds. The '96 were rounded out by Hindley's teammate Lucas Hamilton and home rider Eddie Dunbar (Axeon-Hagens Bermans), who took a stage win into Baltinglass ahead these three riders and Australian Michael Storer. Also of note was Nicolai Brøchner (Riwal), who was a bike throw away from taking three stage wins in the race.
-Abderrahmane Mansouri might not be a household name but the Algerian U23 might be the next Youcef Reguigui in terms of breaking out of the Maghreb and getting results against bigger competition. As I write this, I am fairly confident that I am one of a very, very tiny handful of people in the USA that is thinking about who will be the next big Algerian rider.
-Jose Luis Rodriguez journeyed back to Europe and proceeded to go 2nd in the Thun time trial to Thery Schir, who was 8th in the U23 World TT last year. The Chilean is continuing to put out a string of nice results that should once again see him in the Tour de l'Avenir and hopefully a chance at a top 10 in the Doha Worlds TT. Rodriguez was apart of the World Cycling Centre Team that dominated the recent Souvenir Patrice-Ledru a Tramoyes, where Panamanian Cristofer Jurado won ahead of Moroccan Anass Ait El Abdia, Rodriguez and Serbian first year U23 Dusan Rajovic.
-In the Colpack can do no wrong category, the Bergamo team took more wins in Italy including a humilitation of Zalf. In the Giro del Piave in Zalf's home in Veneto, 4 Zalf riders went up against one Colpack rider and guess who won?
Zalf did have a win Alto Padovana Tour with Niccolo' Rocchi holding off a speeding Belorussian Uladzimir Harakhavik while Zalf put 7 in the top 10. Not to get to carried away as this was in Veneto and Zalf are more or less commanded to win and put in huge numbers into the races.
Did I miss anything? Is the next best rider not being mention? Let me know.
racing was abound in the USA, Colombia, Spain, Italy and more. As the Zavod Miru U23 takes place in a few days, I will try to make this the express version.
USA Nationals
#USPRO l Le genre d'images superbes que l'on aime voir dans le cyclisme. Congrats @Greggy_Daniel & @axeonhb ! pic.twitter.com/FMqHeAMl2h— La GazetteDes Sports (@GazetteDesSport) May 28, 2016
Basically says everything I want to say right there.Sad for @Danielpeaton93 The Nationals TT course changed from yesterday's pre-ride and not everyone was informed. Went from podium to nada— Reed (@UberReed) May 28, 2016
Vuelta a Navarra
In somewhat of an oddity, Ecuadorian Richie Carapaz, who won the U23 Vuelta a Colombia last year, is currently on the UCI roster for the Colombian Strongman Campagnolo while also riding for the Lizarte amateur team out of Spain. I guess you could call it a temporary loan as I'm certain Carapaz will be be back down south once the big summer Colombian races happen but Carapaz has been a scourge on the Spanish amateur scene this spring.
His latest scalp was the Vuelta a Navarra, where he won the 2nd stage uphill finish that guaranteed him the overall victory on Saturday. He now has 5 wins in a month time span and it is very possible to see him continue this trend. After winning Navarra, he was quoted as saying that he would love to cap of his season with a stagiaire ride. One would think that a Spanish team would be very high on him so unless someone else has secret plans for him (perhaps Zona Maxtin and Etixx-OPQS), Movistar or Caja Rural are likely destinations.
Tour de Gironde
Norway has had another strong year so far in the U23 and continental ranks with Team Joker being a main reason behind it. It isn't often that a team has a perfect race but Joker at the Tour de Gironde was about as good as it gets.
Just a few weeks ago, I was questioning if Truls Engen Korsaeth was even riding his bike as he had barely made an impression in the first 5 months of the season. After finding out he was struggling with motivation and injuries, Korsaeth popped up in the 2nd round of the Norwegian Cup, finishing 3rd behind teammate Ole Forang. He then came to the Tour de Gironde and the "brutal" rider, as described by the national team director, lived up to his nature by attacking and holding off the peloton by three seconds, led home by a pair of Joker riders in Kristoffer Halvorsen & Adrain Aas Stien.
The race was made by a herculean effort by Amund Grøndahl Jansen, whose name might be more fitting for someone riding an icebreaker in the Antarctic Sea around 1912 than riding a bike in 2016. Within the first kilometers of the stage, Grøndahl was away with Sebastian Molano but soon ditched the Colombian to take a maximum advantage of over 8 minutes, which was so big that his own team car pulled out and went back to the peloton to monitor the situation. While the gap fell steadily, Grøndahl was able to continue on strong and as the race exploded behind him on the rolling course, the Norwegian was able to take his first individual win of the year. Directvelo talked to Grøndahl after the race but his spring has definitely turned some heads.
The final stage was a sprint fest that saw Aas Stein take his first UCI win in over a year while Norwegians took 3 out of the top 4 places. It was the icing on the cake as Joker wrapped up every jersey and took the overall classification with Grøndahl. Gino Van Oudenhove's ploeg delivered in a big way.
A side note is Mathias Le Turnier, who ended the race in 2nd overall. Le Turnier, for those with bad memories, was 2nd overall in the Ronde de l'Isard and nearly stole the overall classification there. For a rider that is climber, it is surprising that we was contending in the much flatter Bordeaux region. Perhaps a stagiaire role and a l'Avenir place are on the books for this summer?
Everywhere else and more...
-Riders from 1996 were close to taking over the An Post Ras but Australia's Jai Hindley fell to now two-time winner Clemens Fankhauser by a mere three seconds. The '96 were rounded out by Hindley's teammate Lucas Hamilton and home rider Eddie Dunbar (Axeon-Hagens Bermans), who took a stage win into Baltinglass ahead these three riders and Australian Michael Storer. Also of note was Nicolai Brøchner (Riwal), who was a bike throw away from taking three stage wins in the race.
-Abderrahmane Mansouri might not be a household name but the Algerian U23 might be the next Youcef Reguigui in terms of breaking out of the Maghreb and getting results against bigger competition. As I write this, I am fairly confident that I am one of a very, very tiny handful of people in the USA that is thinking about who will be the next big Algerian rider.
-Jose Luis Rodriguez journeyed back to Europe and proceeded to go 2nd in the Thun time trial to Thery Schir, who was 8th in the U23 World TT last year. The Chilean is continuing to put out a string of nice results that should once again see him in the Tour de l'Avenir and hopefully a chance at a top 10 in the Doha Worlds TT. Rodriguez was apart of the World Cycling Centre Team that dominated the recent Souvenir Patrice-Ledru a Tramoyes, where Panamanian Cristofer Jurado won ahead of Moroccan Anass Ait El Abdia, Rodriguez and Serbian first year U23 Dusan Rajovic.
-In the Colpack can do no wrong category, the Bergamo team took more wins in Italy including a humilitation of Zalf. In the Giro del Piave in Zalf's home in Veneto, 4 Zalf riders went up against one Colpack rider and guess who won?
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| Federico Sartor took a coup against Rocchetti, Gabburo, Rosa and Rocchi on their home soil Photo: ItaliaCiclismo |
In what was the strongest showing of the weekend was the triple Colpack produced at the GP Industria e Commercio in Botticini. The video will show it all but the way the Colpack riders one by one pass Bagioli is heartbreakingly sweet to watch. The winner, Ukranian Mark Padun, is going to be in the Zavod Miru U23 and his form has seemingly been ramping up for a podium finish.
Did I miss anything? Is the next best rider not being mention? Let me know.
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