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Tour de France
Are we allowed to start getting a bit excited yet? Looks to be a more varied route than usual with less of the endless nailed on sprint stages that normally dominate the first week or so (though a run of sprint stages does save on the transfers!) I don't know about the practicality of it, but is there any way of opening the game up using the long lists that most teams already have or just using the full list of riders? It is quite good fun playing about with potential line-ups, especially for the purist game, even knowing that the final roster will probably change. Obviously, if it creates difficulties, I wouldn't want to add to the burden of running the game but, if it doesn't, let's get the TdF party started! Here are a couple of links to the current state of the start list. https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/2022/startlist. https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=17&y=2022&k=8
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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144 comments
No Sam Bennett now!
That makes the sprinter picks even tighter than ever for the Purist. Drop Pogacer then?
Yeah... nothing for Pogacar in this tour. Louis Meintjes is where the smart money is.
Way off the mark.... Pierre Rolland is where those really in the know are going. Competitively priced at £15.7 million as well 😂😂😂
Anyone checked the weather forecast? Rain for all three opening days in Denmark. Unfortunately (for the spectators), only light wind.
Start with a wet, technical TT? Oh dear...
Don't give up on it yet. Saturday and Sunday now sunshine with gusts up to 20mph for Saturday... and should be worse on that bridge.... 20mph being echelon time.(just).
Shock....Alaphilippe not in the team for Quick step.
Shock again.... No Marc Hirschi for UAE.
Crikey. Startlist for Tour de France 2022 (procyclingstats.com)
Quickstep are announcing final team this afternoon, so not certain yet.
I suspect Specialized are putting Patrick Lafavere under sponsor pressure to select Cavendish. What a performance at the Nationals. Cav completely out-raced Ben Turner, Hayter and Doull in the style of a true classics racer. The man is on form.
EDIT: They are an "hour ahead" in France and it does look like they have just announced. You're right, no Cav or Alaphillippe.
Really unfortunate for Cav... but they're choosing between second and third ranked sprinters in the world. I suppose they could have taken two and just given up on some of the other stage hunts... more chance of winning the sprints for them at the moment...
Cav has to remember he was all but finished a couple of years ago, he needs to remain positive for the chance he got to return to the top... there wasn't a queue for his services at that time.
.. and probably worth Cav remembering that there's also quite a big back story between Quick step and Jakobsen... as well as his own.
Cav experiencing the opposite of last year. Bennett was nailed on to ride & Cav only got in due to an injury (or Bennett falling out with Lefevere). Cav has never been down to ride TdF as long as Jakobsen was fit and yesterdays (exceptional) performance wouldn't change that in professional sport where head rules heart. Could argue that Senechal was more unlucky - won his Nationals and offers an alternative to Jakobsen for the tougher sprint stages (whereas Cav & Jakobsen are very similar). That being said, I would have loved to see Cav riding!
The Tour is open! Complete with the provisional start list released by the race Twitter account, but with only 8 rosters fully confirmed, so expect some changes.
We'll probably go live with this tomorrow. I had hoped for more confirmed rosters, but it seems the teams have nationals on their minds. Whatever we have tomorrow afternoon is what we'll go with.
Potentially transfer hungry first week if there are a lot of "race incidents". Crosswinds and cobbles could turn the race into a real lottery...
The parcour could really favour a rider like Thomas. Good TT, good in cross winds (team also), solid on the cobbles... Expect Jumbo and Ineos to go for the UAE/Pogacar jugular in the first week. If I was Pogacer, I'd try to go on the front foot as riding defensively will be so stressful.
For an exciting race, Thomas or Roglic gaining substantial time on the other GC riders would be great. Imagine GC riders (esp. Pogacer) having minutes to make up by the time the real climbing starts.
Another thing that might be helpful regarding the scenario above, would be if Adam Yates is not fit after COVID and doesn't ride. Thomas being free from the shackles of looking after Yates.
Never underestimate a fully motivated Geraint Thomas.
Vingegaard would be my dark horse for this TDF. As a rider Roglic is fantastic at grabbing seconds here and there but commits a lot of energy to it that sometimes bites him back. Vingegaard seems a little more traditional race craft about him. I was writing elsewhere about how Pozzovivo has had some great results this year whilst remaining almost invisible... Vingegaard is similar but a better climber than Pozzo. He'll just stick his neck out on one or two big moments.
Not even such a dark horse, I was looking at the odds on PaddyPower this morning and he's joint second favourite at 4/1 with Roglic. Geraint next at 14/1 is quite tempting for each way ...
"Dark horse" a poor choice of words... yes... i meant as oppose to Roglic or Pogacar...
I think you could possibly do better for each way than Thomas (agreed he might actually be a good punt for the win). The Tour de Suisse has taught us that any number of top favourites might not make the distance due to Covid...and it's on the rise in France in quite a big way. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see one or two of the longer shots on the podium with the right circumstances. O'Connor, Caruso, Quintana... well... quite a few...
I fancy Thomas may stumble upon quite a few fantasy pts just by virtue of how he rides now. He's always at the head of the peloton over those final climbs and sprints... regardless of who is fancied for any paticular day. If Hayter goes to the TDF then i bet we'll see Thomas baby sitting him at stage ends.
The wind will be a major factor. I think the weather forecast for stage two will determine the opening strategy of the early race. It's entirely possible some GC hopes could be ended right there if the wind blows well.
I agree that the first week is the right time to attack Pogacar. It's hard to envisage who could bury him in the mountains... but echelons is a whole other ball game.
Exactly. With the wind and poss circumstances, the right rider could gain minutes as early as stage 2... Before we even consider cobbles. All bets are off (or on for a real gamble at 14/1!!!) until contenders survive (avoid scary weather?) those stages.
Agreed. The course looks quite tricky for us fantasy players to navigate, especially in the purist game... a few riders will pick themselves i suspect but they'll be expensive so we may have a problem or two.
It's easy to pick a purist team...... assuming they give us a £500 million budget!
Yes! I'll get the stages in the game tomorrow. We'll probably go live at the weekend.
Quick request. Can you link to the PCS start list in your original post so folk can find it? If I link it here it will be buried under the rest of the comments. Link First Cycling if you want too, I actually prefer that one.
Thanks Andy. Will add link to PCS & First Cycling lists. I tend to agree that First Cycling has overtaken PCS as the better resource.
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