[tony kappler]

A race for time trialists and puncheurs. No sprinters or big name GC men. So only a miserable $120 budget.

6 stages but note that they are named “prologue” plus “stg1 to stg 5”

Topic

[Daniel Norton]

You were really unlucky with

You were really unlucky with Izagirre there.  I nearly did the same.  I don’t think he realised the KOM jersey was still up for grabs and decided not to bother going for the points.

[11waterloo]

Agreed. He’s got  the yellow

Agreed. He’s got  the yellow jersey in the bank and realistically there are better riders now to win Grand Tours. I’ve never understood why he’s not been interested in races like LBL or Lombardia, which he seems ideally suited for. As a super domestique in a Grand Tour there is always scope for a stage win which would add gloss to an already  impressive palmares. 

[Dr Winston]

I went with a risky Izagirre

I went with a risky Izagirre on the Queens stage. I have no idea how he only managed 18 pts as last man standing on a stage like that… it wasn’t even a particularly big group.

[Dr Winston]

That speaks volumes for where

That speaks volumes for where he is right now. Taking G out for an uphill TT… jeez…

[Dr Winston]

G is riding really well,

G is riding really well, fantastic anyway…. but as a super domestique. He’s actually been one of the best riders in the peleton of late but just not in the way that he once was. If cycling is a team game then he should be one of the first on the team sheet, but not as leader. 
 

Tony Martin is a good example, he was fantastic as a tractor domestique for Jumbo, just as good at that as he was at time trialling before it. 

[11waterloo]

I think this applies to a lot

I think this applies to a lot of riders who  need to accept that GT contention isn’t the only measure of ability. Mollema is a great example of a rider who blossomed once he accepted he wasn’t going to win a GT and concentrated on big one day races, stage wins and possibly a mountain jersey. I think riders like G, Dumoulin and Pinot could make their lives a lot less stressful if they forgot about GC on the Grand Tours and showed their ability in shorter bursts! 

[11waterloo]

I went with Plapp over G for

I went with Plapp over G for first stage which was the wrong choice. However I then resisted bringing him in which worked out ok. Did well in the purist for once, mainly due to Hermans, but fell from first to third in final stage! 

[Daniel Norton]

Yeah, love that race.  Also

Yeah, love that race.  Also like Itzulia.  A bit like some Belgian stage races (which are no longer in this game as not world tour) these races give different riders chances and aren’t as predictable.

I didn’t drop G until the TT which was pretty costly in the end.  Maybe G will have a wake-up in time for the Tour.  I can’t help feeling like he’d be better targetting the classics and doing more TT specific training too.

[Dr Winston]

I put too much faith in G at

I put too much faith in G at the end. If he can’t manage that Queens stage then he’s finished as a team leader. It was a tough stage… but not quite up there compared to the very hardest climbing on the WT. 

Good race though..really good. It was a shame Izagirre got taken out… that parcours was perfect for him. 

[Daniel Norton]

I dropped Rubio by mistake

I dropped Rubio by mistake instead of Dylan Teuns for the final TT.  I ended up second by 2 points, so lost me the race.  I don’t even know how I did it, as I had planned to drop him on one of the last two stages all along.  Doh!

You should be happy with that if you were away.  My holiday was a disaster in terms of the game.  I went to Spain and did all my transfers for the final stage of Itzulia/Basque a stage early by mistake and lost a stack of points.  Mrs was hassling me to go out, so I rushed it.  Also did something silly in one of the classics (forget what).  Dropped a load of places in the overall.

Schoolboy errors are the reason I’m unlikely to ever win the overall.  I don’t have the excuse of missing the start of a stage race or two this year, and I’m definitely having a go at it.

[11waterloo]

Ended up doing OK in that

Ended up doing OK in that race considering I was away in mid-Wales with very patchy phone coverage. Having to make transfers early and not being able to read any previews put me right out of my comfort zone, but in the end I probably did no worse than I would otherwise have done. Maybe a lesson to be learnt about trusting your own instincts rather than other peoples! 

[Dr Winston]

I bet Izagirre (my pick) was

I bet Izagirre (my pick) was glad to see Quinton Hermans coming along for the ride in the break. What the hell was he doing? Thankfully the climbers in the break look to have dropped him now.

[Dr Winston]

Maybe not… but they shouldn

Maybe not… but they shouldn’t give him too much. He’s played a blinder by looking for the odd bonus seconds all week, just like Roglic. Thomas looking v strong as well despite playing super domestique again these past two days.

[tony kappler]

Yes Sniffer, very good point

Yes Sniffer, very good point about possible breakaway riders massing at the front. I’ll forget that idea and keep deadlines as per normal.

[Sniffer]

Dr Winston wrote:

The undercard for GC must surely attack that last climb. 

Or they just wait for the summit finish tomorrow.

Uphill TT, not so Dennis friendly?

[Author]

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