Velorooms - Cycling Forum
Professional Cycling => Race Archives => Road Races => 2018 Race Archives => Topic started by: search on April 12, 2018, 08:45
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Giro del Trentino[1]
Born in 2017 as an ambitious Euro-regional project gathering three different territories, the Tour of the Alps has quickly found a spot among the top-class international pro races, following in the prestigious tradition of the former Giro del Trentino. As a matter of fact, the Tour of the Alps looks destined to a resounding 2018 edition, in the wake of last year’s prominent debut.
Under the new UCI regulations, teams will line-up with 7 riders in 2.HC races: that’s why the number of teams will be raised from 18 to 20. The 2018 Tour of the Alps boasts nine World Team out of those 20 overall at the start as follows:
- WORLD TEAMS
- #ag2r AG2R-La Mondiale (France)
- #astana Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan)
- #bahrain Bahrain-Merida Pro Cycling Team (Bahrain)
- #bora BORA-hansgrohe (Germany)
- #dimension Dimension Data (South Africa)
- #fdj Groupama-FDJ (France)
- #jumbo Lotto.NL-Jumbo (Netherlands)
- #sky Team Sky (Great Britain)
- #uae UAE-Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
- PRO CONTINENTAL TEAMS
- #androni Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec (Italy)
- #bardiani Bardiani-CSF (Italy)
- #ccc CCC-Sprandi (Poland)
- #murias Euskadi-Murias (Spain)
- #gazprom Gazprom-Rusvelo (Russia)
- #academy Israel Cycling Academy (Israel)
- #nippo Nippo-Vini Fantini (Italy)
- #wilier Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia (Italy)
- CONTINENTAL TEAMS
- #tirol Tirol Cycling Team (Austria)
- #felbermayr Team Felbermayr-Simplon (Austria)
- NATIONAL TEAMS
Unlike the last edition, that had moved from Kufstein to finish in Trento, Tour of the Alps rides northwards this time, taking off from the upper banks of the Lake Garda. On Sunday, April 15th, the eve day will unfold with the teams’ official presentation. The day after, April 16th, the race will take in a first testing finish in Folgaria, while stage 2 from Lavarone to Alpe di Pampeago/Fiemme will present the only uphill finish. After a third stage all within the Südtirol region from Auer to Meran, stage 4 starts from Klausen to cross the Austrian borders and end up to Lienz.
The last Tour of the Alps stage, from Rattenberg to Innsbruck, display an exciting finale with two laps over the circuit where the UCI Road World Championships will stage their final showdown among the contenders for the rainbow jerseys. A 90-minute daily coverage of the Tour of the Alps will be aired live all over the World, produced by PMG Sport, as Tour of the Alps is part of the “Ciclismo Cup” circuit powered by the Lega Ciclismo Professionistico.
THE 2018 TOUR OF THE ALPS ROUTE
Stage 1 – Monday April 16th: Arco – Folgaria, km 134,6
(https://tourofthealps.eu/media/upload/2017/11/Stage12-1200x615.png)
Stage 2 – Tuesday April 17th: Lavarone – Fiemme/Alpe di Pampeago km 145,5
(https://tourofthealps.eu/media/upload/2017/11/Stage22-1200x615.png)
Stage 3 – Wednesday April 18th: Ora/Auer – Merano/Meran km 138,3
(https://tourofthealps.eu/media/upload/2017/11/Stage32-1200x615.png)
Stage 4 – Thursday April 19th: Chiusa/Klausen – Lienz km 134,3
(https://tourofthealps.eu/media/upload/2017/11/Stage42-1200x615.png)
Stage 5 – Friday April 20th: Rattenberg – Innsbruck km 164,2
(https://tourofthealps.eu/media/upload/2017/11/Stage52-1200x615.png)
Five racing days, 716,9 km overall distance, 13.100 mt overall altitude, 10 categorized climbs: the Tour of the Alps features all the elements of a modern race, that after the 2017 success confirms a spectacular formula made of short and intense routes.
Since 2017 PMG Sport is responsible for the live coverage, meaning it will be available live and unrestricted on their website, and also on various TV channels all over the world (https://tourofthealps.eu/en/tour-of-the-alps-goes-worldwide-live-broadcast-in-100-countries), including Eurosport, Rai, ORF and l'Équipe
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Amaro ftw.
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indeed. Although on the ~pdf provisional start list (https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkibkyr23k6flw5/ENTRY%20LIST%20VER%209%20APR.pdf?dl=0) there are some guys that could potentially come close to challenging him. Among them #sky Froome & Rosa, #uae Aru, #astana Lopez, Hirt & LLS, #bora Großschartner, #dimension Meintjes, #androni Torres & co, #jumbo Bennett, #fdj Pinot, #bahrain Pozzovivo, #bardiani Ciccone, #nippo Cunego, #gazprom Firsanov and #academy Hermans :D
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Since 2017 PMG Sport is responsible for the live coverage, meaning it will be available live and unrestricted on their website, and also on various TV channels all over the world, including Eurosport, Rai, ORF and l'Équipe
:woohoo
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Vai! Il piccolo principe one last big win before you retire after my beloved Il Giro.
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tomorrow's stage finish, via @raffilpt:
so the climb is long, but not overly tough (19k at ~5,5% average), and followed by 6k of "flat". In the end there's a little kicker though, 600m at 7,5% or something like that. Looks like a little uphill sprint may be a likely outcome
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here is a better profile of the climb:
(https://i.imgur.com/DlCsCR8.png)
the 2nd part is actually harder than what I thought, ~7% average over the final 8k. With the relatively weak teams around, that could be enough to get away and stay clear
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http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/2018/04/16/110966/ciclismo-cup-la-androni-in-testa-alla-classifica-tuttobiciweb
Current standings in the Ciclismo Cup:
1 Androni-Sidermec 176
2 Nippo-Vini Fantini 140
3 Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 132
4 Bahrain Merida 116
5 Bardiani Csf 104
6 UAE Emirates 0
Of the three events so far, UAE have entered precisely zero of them.
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looks like a good course for Androni to extend that lead. Torres hasn't raced for 6 weeks though, missed Coppi e Bartalai due to an injury and just returned form Colombia, so no idea where he stands.
Cattaneo is injured and not riding, but well... supposing Torres is not at his best, even Sosa and Masnada are probably still better climbers than everyone from Wilier
Here is the winner of the race btw
(https://scontent-frt3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/b60fd784e4de63791cff075e6544b97f/5B4F4CAE/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/30087858_2127255023981732_8070451614579687424_n.jpg)
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looks like a good course for Androni to extend that lead. Torres hasn't raced for 6 weeks though, missed Coppi e Bartalai due to an injury and just returned form Colombia, so no idea where he stands.
Cattaneo is injured and not riding, but well... supposing Torres is not at his best, even Sosa and Masnada are probably still better climbers than everyone from Wilier
Here is the winner of the race btw
(https://scontent-frt3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/b60fd784e4de63791cff075e6544b97f/5B4F4CAE/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/30087858_2127255023981732_8070451614579687424_n.jpg)
Did someone say lantern jaw? :P
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Cattaneo is injured and not riding, but well... supposing Torres is not at his best, even Sosa and Masnada are probably still better climbers than everyone from Wilier
#androni Torres finished 3 minutes down indeed, but Sosa was even better than expected :cool
no chance to beat more of those 5 #astana Astana in the ~15 man front group though.
the full live coverage is available online at pmgsport.it (http://www.pmgsport.it/video/diretta-streaming-ciclismo-cup-2018-tour-of-the-alps-prima-giornata/)
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Tomorrow's stage finishes on this little beauty
(https://i.imgur.com/baICS21.png)
last time it was used was in the 2012 Giro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dakRW9G8SwE
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Of the three events so far, UAE have entered precisely zero of them.
It's not as if they need to win the Ciclismo Cup to get a Giro invite.
They're a WorldTour team. ;)
But I agree that it's odd to go to the trouble of entering the thing and then not race it for the first months. I guess their new leaders - Kristoff, Martin, Aru - wanted a less Italy-focused calendar, and they had no riders to spare for those races?
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Don't think I'm ready to watch MTFs again yet with the Classics still rumbling on. Most of the contenders here leave me cold. :P
It's been a turquoise week though that's for sure.
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It's been a turquoise week though that's for sure.
no no, it's Gianni's birthday week, he turned 70 yesterday. #androni Sosa in the lead!
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no no, it's Gianni's birthday week, he turned 70 yesterday. #androni Sosa in the lead!
Yeah, saw him there at the finish chinwagging with Fondriest, the old duffer. :P And the Silver Fox is sly: he has hit upon the perfect strategy for topping up his team budget, finding and selling on these super talents. He takes all the risks though, I suppose, bringing these kids over from LatAm, so it's only fair that he gets to cash in a bit.
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https://twitter.com/AstanaTeam/status/986232408046419968
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should be an interesting couple of days now with Androni having to defend a small lead over those hilly stages :cool
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Don't think I'm ready to watch MTFs again yet with the Classics still rumbling on. Most of the contenders here leave me cold. :P
It's been a turquoise week though that's for sure.
I’m the complete opposite. I find the classics pretty dull. Roll on the proper stage racing.
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should be an interesting couple of days now with Androni having to defend a small lead over those hilly stages :cool
Pinot will be looking forward to all the descending.
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should be an interesting couple of days now with Androni having to defend a small lead over those hilly stages :cool
well, not quite a "couple of days" - Androni was destroyed on the first climb already, when Pinot, Pozzovivo and O'Connor attacked on the Mendelpass :D.
The trio managed to bridge to the breakaway ahead, gaining a 1 1/2 minutes lead, but #sky Team Sky worked hard to bring it back together and succeeded in the end. #dimension Ben O'Connor was able to give it another go on the flat run-in to the finish though, celebrating a fantastic solo victory
Unfortunately #androni Sosa crashed on the final descent and lost 4 minutes. Also #astana Lopez lost a bit of time, getting dropped on the flat after working for Lulu in the finale - which was a bit odd to see.
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I must admit that I had never heard about O'Connor before Catalunya, but that was really some strong showing here over the past couple of days, and especially today.
Another guy who deserves a mention is #ccc Michal Schlegel, one of the very few (together with #astana Lulu, #jumbo Bennett and #ag2r Geniez) managing to hang on when Froome and Lopez put the hammer down on the climb.
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I must admit that I had never heard about O'Connor before Catalunya, but that was really some strong showing here over the past couple of days, and especially today.
Another guy who deserves a mention is #ccc Michal Schlegel, one of the very few (together with #astana Lulu, #jumbo Bennett and #ag2r Geniez) managing to hang on when Froome and Lopez put the hammer down on the climb.
I'd heard of O'Connor but I didn't think he was particularly brilliant. Shoot me now but #didata does seem to carry a bit of dead wood. Turns out he just didn't have much racing experience when he turned pro: I think sometimes that sort of thing can be underestimated.
You're right about Schlegel. He was one of those Klein Constantia graduates who didn't get a big deal but he was one of their better performers and that is quite something because that team had Axeon levels of talent. Sad that the team has gone, especially when you think who came through it.
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tomorrow the race is heading to Austria for a finish in Lienz:
(https://unavueltamejor.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/etapa-4-tour-alpes-2018.jpg)
the Bannberg is very steep at the beginning, then flattens out though
(https://unavueltamejor.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/bannberg.jpg)
also the descent doesn't seem to be super difficult:
Hard to see Pozzovivo or Lopez taken time from Pinot on a stage like this. Sky may give it a go and keep things together for Froome - if not, it's more likely to be a day for a successful breakaway, I guess.
But I may be completely wrong - in the 2007 Giro d'Italia stage to Lienz over the Bannberg Stefano Garzelli attacked with 50k to go (http://27221064)
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I did watch yesterday. It was a fun race with lots of action ...
Lopez dropping was a weird one. He did all the work for a long time to stay there, and dropped off the pace right at the end to lose a few seconds.
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But I may be completely wrong - in the 2007 Giro d'Italia stage to Lienz over the Bannberg Stefano Garzelli attacked with 50k to go (http://27221064)
he attacked on the climb to Anras back then (also a stage finish in 2016, won by Landa) which is also on schedule today with ~30k to go. To my surprise it's not categorized, although it has a stretch of 2km at 10% average.
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I haven't seen anyone bonking so hard in a while btw
(https://i.imgur.com/zZvarkm.png) (https://i.imgur.com/MIjWzOT.png)
no idea when he started pedaling again, but he somehow made it to the finish
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I haven't seen anyone bonking so hard in a while btw
(https://i.imgur.com/zZvarkm.png) (https://i.imgur.com/MIjWzOT.png)
no idea when he started pedaling again, but he somehow made it to the finish
Montaguti - the guy who's rarely worse than 30th, but hardly ever better than 15th.
Not today, though.
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good stage again today. #murias Mikel Bizkarra tried the Stefano Garzelli memorial move (after liking my tweet mentioning the point of attack before the start of the stage :D) but unfortunately was brought back pretty quickly.
The final climb and descent saw plenty of attacks then, also from the big guys like Aru, Froome and Pozzovivo, but in the end it came back together and Astana played their numbers by sending up the road to take home the victory
Tomorrow the race heads to Innsbruck for a first visit to the 2018 World Championships course. Should be fun again, and Pinot's jersey isn't sealed yet.
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Sure as heck some racing going on! I'm getting depressed though, as Froome is actually looking quite strong. Aru, I think, is not going to be on the Giro podium. Froome will be. Astana putting in some surprising performances. Pinot showing his courage, but I'll be a bit surprised if he ends up on the Giro podium.
Still - great racing today - really competing with each other.
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Sure as heck some racing going on! I'm getting depressed though, as Froome is actually looking quite strong. Aru, I think, is not going to be on the Giro podium. Froome will be. Astana putting in some surprising performances. Pinot showing his courage, but I'll be a bit surprised if he ends up on the Giro podium.
Still - great racing today - really competing with each other.
Giro podium will be López, Froome and Dumo. I dunno in which order.
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Giro podium will be López, Froome and Dumo. I dunno in which order.
Let's go out on a limb! :lol
If Dumoulin is there, you can bet I'll be cheering him on.
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PCS stage 4 result
It's unnecessarily complicated, I know, but for some reason the six-digit code in the URL[1] is not the six-digit code needed to embed the PCS race result anymore.
You have to click "embed result", then scroll down and copy the six-digit code from the iFrame code[2] at the bottom of the page. :)
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I'd heard of O'Connor but I didn't think he was particularly brilliant. Shoot me now but #didata does seem to carry a bit of dead wood. Turns out he just didn't have much racing experience when he turned pro: I think sometimes that sort of thing can be underestimated.
You're right about Schlegel. He was one of those Klein Constantia graduates who didn't get a big deal but he was one of their better performers and that is quite something because that team had Axeon levels of talent. Sad that the team has gone, especially when you think who came through it.
I had O'Connor in my last years youth team but didn't include him in my emerging riders team as I thought he wouldn't be that good but had a chance to get to ride for his own results in minor races in a team like #didata. I don't think we will get results in this years Giro, but at least for one week races he seems more exciting than Meintjes and Kudus at the moment.