Velorooms - Cycling Forum
Professional Cycling => Road Races => Topic started by: Leadbelly on January 05, 2020, 09:53
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Vuelta al Tachira 12th - 19th January
(https://i.imgur.com/PTVqTQd.png)
Etapa 1: San Cristobal - Táriba, Metropolitan Circuit (117.6km)
(https://i.imgur.com/gihC9m7.png)
Etapa 2: El Piñal - Abejales (154.8km)
(https://i.imgur.com/qGsqggb.png)
Etapa 3: Rubio Circuit (135.2km)
(https://i.imgur.com/aPhqzSi.png)
Etapa 4: Coloncito - La Grita (145.1km)
(https://i.imgur.com/e4sZWtM.png)
Etapa 5: San Juan de Colón - Borota (106.7km)
(https://i.imgur.com/GpYulmc.png)
Etapa 6: San Cristóbal - Palmira TT (16.1km)
(https://i.imgur.com/xYNTJUo.png)
First TT since 2014.
Etapa 7: Ureña - San Antonio Circuit - Cerro Cristo Rey (117km)
(https://i.imgur.com/EOsw65q.png)
Etapa 8: San Cristobal Circuit (115.2km)
(https://i.imgur.com/N8m6xmn.png)
No visit to Colombia after all and only eight stages. Tbh with the ongoing problems in the country it's a miracle we're getting any race at all.
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Only two teams confirmed so far.
#androni
https://diarioelnacionalista.com/deportes/androni-giocattoli-sidermec-oficializa-equipo-para-vuelta-al-tachira-2020/
Luca Pacioni
Nicola Venchiarutti
Daniel Muñoz
Johnatan Restrepo
Kevin Rivera
Jefferson Cepeda
Big favourites any other time of the year, but no guarantees at the start of January.
#colombiatda (?)
https://www.esciclismo.com/actualidad/carretera/54325.html?
Darwin Atapuma
Hernán Aguirre
Omar Mendoza
Brayan Hernández
Didier Merchán
William Muñoz
Jose Rujano won't be riding this year. He's down in Argentina to ride San Juan later in the month, which itself doesn't overlap with Tachira, but part of the deal that got them (the national team) that invite is that they also ride the Giro del Sol, which does. Also missing due to that reason should be Jose Alarcon, Roniel Campos, Anderson Paredes and Clever Martinez.
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Clever Martinez :lol
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https://diariodelosandes.com/site/loteria-armo-su-triple-para-la-vuelta-al-tachira/
Loteria will be entering just the three teams....
The main one is undoubtedly Lotería del Táchira – Concafé as that will have defending champion Jimmy Briceño with support from Ronald González, Nelson Camargo, Jonathan Camargo, Daniel Abreu and Luis Mora.
Bramon, the usual build-up race to Tachira, was meant to have already been underway, but due to fuel shortages has been postponed to the middle of this week. Will try to post stage winners etc if it goes ahead.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ENoY5evWoAA9SG1?format=jpg)
The other main local contenders are Deportivo. All five runners are strong.
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https://crciclismo.com/2020/01/06/kevin-rivera-a-tachira-vamos-sin-presion-queremos-ganar-etapas/
Rivera interview.
To Tachira we will try to win stages with the sprinter, and test if we can win a stage, but it is without pressure because we are starting the season, the biggest expectation is to pick up the pace
He says he's feeling good though.
I feel so much better than the previous year, I feel more mature, I feel good, I have grown up, we will see how things are going to give us
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The list of competing foreign teams is shrinking.
https://twitter.com/MatamorosEdwin/status/1215103800954052608
Ecuador, Cundinamarca, JB Ropa and a Brazilian team have all withdrawn and.....
https://twitter.com/lavueltachira/status/1215300340607864832
.......now we can add Colombia Tierra de Atletas to that list.
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The list of competing foreign teams is shrinking.
Ecuador, Cundinamarca, JB Ropa and a Brazilian team have all withdrawn and.....
.......now we can add Colombia Tierra de Atletas to that list.
I find it hard to believe that these teams all cancelled only 3-4 days before the start of the race. More likely, the organiser just never told the world before now. :(
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I don't know about the others for certain (however Ecuador was still getting mentioned in most articles the past couple of days), but for Colombia Tierra de Atletas it must have been a last minute thing. This was six hours before the above tweet:
https://twitter.com/lavueltachira/status/1215209422257033216
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yeah, the social media stuff will probably not be done by the race organisers though, so sometimes it may take a moment for an information to reach the other.
But they sent in a team last week, so it probably was a late call indeed
https://twitter.com/zciclismo/status/1212787475619491840
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According to Edwin Matamoros, these will be the competing teams:
https://twitter.com/MatamorosEdwin/status/1215486037889290241
https://twitter.com/MatamorosEdwin/status/1215483864740696065
Julian Cardona (ex-EF and Androni) rides for the last of those Colombian outfits. He could be a shout for the TT, but generally the level of these teams isn't so high.
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:fanfare
https://twitter.com/CarlitosJMendez/status/1215661392583368705
He rides! Shame they couldn't race together for his debut, but there's always next year.
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Bramon results:
Stage 1 - Daniel Gomez (Gobernacion de Tachira - Merida)
Stage 2 - Jorge Abreu (Loteria del Tachira)
Stage 3 - Jonathan Camargo (Loteria del Tachira - Concafe)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN9eun2XUAEkubB?format=jpg)
Overall - Daniel Gomez
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOGoQC6W4AcyLh7?format=jpg)
What seems to be gaining more twitter coverage is what happened before the stage started. Local politician Freddy Bernal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Bernal) turned out to be an unpopular choice to get them on their way.
https://twitter.com/mikemike2020/status/1216447829176147970
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOLttA_X0AAR19K?format=jpg)
A photo finish. ;)
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https://twitter.com/MatamorosEdwin/status/1217155258801172480
Normal service is resumed.
Well, normal in that Androni won, but this circuit doesn't usually produce GC action. Salinas, Campos and Rivera with a healthy headstart before the real climbing begins tomorrow. Loteria are conspicuous by their absence in that top-15.
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The UCI haven't yet got him officially down as a Matrix Powertag rider, but he's already channelling his inner Aular.
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https://twitter.com/wcsbike/status/1217883268479176704
Maybe Rivera won't be winning the Giro just yet. ;)
Him and Salinas are now both over two minutes down on the leading trio (Two Deportivo and one Loteria). Cepeda the best placed Androni at +1m27
TT tomorrow.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOf2C58X4AIvdK-?format=jpg)
Whisper it, but Rujano Jr is doing pretty well for someone straight out of juniors. So far his placings are 17th, 28th, 24th, 17th, 16th and 16th which leaves him in 18th overall at +7m37. Pretty consistent and bodes well for the future.
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https://twitter.com/lavueltachira/status/1218571938198671360
They're onto the climbs in the queen stage. You can try and follow it via the official twitter, but updates haven't been great through the week.
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Getting a bit boring all these Androni wins, but it seems likely that the main prize will elude them. Campos and Ruiz hung in well enough today to still have a fair cushion going into the final circuit stage.
If you are wondering why there is no Cepeda in the top-ten on the stage, it's because he crashed out. Broken wrist they think.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOqUqj7XsAMNwcT?format=jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOqisTHWkAAvIM8?format=jpg)
If you didn't ride for Androni, Venezuela Pais Futuro, Loteria or Deportivo then there wasn't much point turning up for this race. No other team made it into the top-ten of GC, the first two teams had all the stage wins sewn up and in fact out of 24 potential stage podiums only three went to other teams.
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The usual 15 minutes highlights of the first leg of the Mallorca challenge from TDP with the same musical accompaniment.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/ciclismo/ciclismo-challenge-ciclista-mallorca-1-jornada-trofeo-ses-salines-felanitx/5497620/?pais=GB
I will put the results below, but for anyone who hasn't yet seen the result and plans to watch the video, look away now, as the saying goes........
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The second leg of the Challenge Mallorca was a hillier affair familiar to those who catch this race each year.
Also had a familiar winner in Emanuel Buchmann who won a leg, last year. The highlights package below isn't the best 15 minutes produced by RTVE but given the time of year, it's better than nothing.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/ciclismo/ciclismo-challenge-ciclista-mallorca-2-jornada-trofeo-lloseta-andratx/5498854/
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The third leg of the Challenge Mallorca: the Trofeo Andratx - Mirador des Colomer was completed yesterday. It was the second of two hilly stages and finished on the short, but steepest climb of the entire series. What should please many was the fact that the man tipped to step into the Movistar breach caused by the departure of Quintana and Crarapaz, Marc Soler, came up trumps.
It seems that RTVE got generous for Saturday, with and extra 10 minutes of video highlights.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/ciclismo/ciclismo-challenge-ciclista-mallorca-3-jornada-trofeo-serra-tramuntana/5499392/
Results.
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Tomorrow sees the start of the next/final (delete as appropriate) chapter of the career of Mark Cavendish. Now at Bahrain, he's got a rather easier list of opponents than his erstwhile team mate/rival Andre Greipel had at the TDU.
Fast men in Saudi Arabia: Bauhaus (on the same team), Bouhanni, McLay, Barbero, Bonifazio, Debusschere, Dupont, Planckaert, Vallee, Gibson, Jules, Cima, Cote, De Kleijn, Reguigui, Carstensen, Malucelli and Aular.
So no big names, but (and this shows how few results he's had lately) on the PCS ranking of sprinters for this race, Cavendish is rated 26th!
Coverage is on Eurosport.
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So no big names, but (and this shows how few results he's had lately) on the PCS ranking of sprinters for this race, Cavendish is rated 26th!
In other words, it's now Cavendish who's doing sh*t small races. ;)
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Better late than never, the highlights package and results of the 4th leg of the Challenge Mallorca:
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/ciclismo/ciclismo-challenge-ciclista-mallorca-4-jornada-trofeo-playa-palma-palma/5500151/
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The 50th Etoile de Bessèges starts on Wednesday.
Stages
5/2Stage 1 - Bellegarde › Bellegarde (141.1k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/dd/etoile-de-besseges-2020-stage-1-profile-6ba501a035.jpg)
6/2Stage 2 - Milhaud › Poulx (156.1k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/cc/etoile-de-besseges-2020-stage-2-profile-fcccfac4e5.jpg)
7/2Stage 3 - Bessèges › Bessèges (158.2k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/aa/etoile-de-besseges-2020-stage-3-profile-24a74e00e6.jpg)
8/2Stage 4 - Le Pont du Gard › Le Mont Bouquet (138.7k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/fd/etoile-de-besseges-2020-stage-4-profile-25358c95ae.jpg)
9/2Stage 5 (ITT) - Alès › Alès (10.7k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/dd/etoile-de-besseges-2020-stage-5-profile-29b5d58dd5.jpg)
7WT teams here, with NTT sending the strongest non-french line up, (Latour, Cosnefroy, Edet Herrada, Madouas, Calmejane etc etc) with EBH, Michael Valgren and Ben o'Connor due to show up.
Live coverage to be found via the net, on L'Equipe from 1-30pm UK time.
https://www.stream4free.live/l-equipe-21
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Tomorrow sees the start of the next/final (delete as appropriate) chapter of the career of Mark Cavendish. Now at Bahrain, he's got a rather easier list of opponents than his erstwhile team mate/rival Andre Greipel had at the TDU.
Fast men in Saudi Arabia: Bauhaus (on the same team), Bouhanni, McLay, Barbero, Bonifazio, Debusschere, Dupont, Planckaert, Vallee, Gibson, Jules, Cima, Cote, De Kleijn, Reguigui, Carstensen, Malucelli and Aular.
So no big names, but (and this shows how few results he's had lately) on the PCS ranking of sprinters for this race, Cavendish is rated 26th!
Coverage is on Eurosport.
Checked the race profiles, looks like the Arctic Race or Tour des Fjords in Sandlands - keep an eye at #gazprom Sergey Chernetskiy for the GC win here.
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From the reports I read, this actually was a stage worth watching, with LOTS of crosswinds.
The result is a bit surprising, with #uae Costa winning the sprint? but hey, Sergey - still in the race for GC :shh
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The live coverage started at just the right time as that was when Bahrain (mainly) really started to push the pace. There were a few crashes (Bonifazio, Reza and Cherkasov were some that I saw go down) and it split very quickly into 3+ grps.
The comms were saying that when they hit 50km to go there was going to be a turn into even more favourable winds, but it didn't pan out that way. Grp 2 (Terpstra and Bouhanni were in there) made it back shortly afterwards, and when the Haussler and co break went, it was the turn of the much larger grp 3 to make it back on.
Quite an exciting finish with them giving a healthy advantage to the 4 men going into the final kicker. It was those 600m or so at ~6% that gave us the rather unusual mixture of riders in the top-ten.
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Bouhanni could win the GC.
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Tom Dumoulin has picked up where he left off last season, by pulling out of Valencia.
Taken ill apparently.
Still, he has plenty of time to recuperate since his next race is Tirreno, over a month away.
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https://twitter.com/AlfontsoA/status/1225099898019811329
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Yeay! The top 10 dude is back! :onfire1
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https://twitter.com/NTTProCycling/status/1225438098311524357
"Now this might sting a little..."
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He is in top 10 again :cool
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He is in top 10 again :cool
Who, Lucas Carstensen? :P
Hailing from Hamburg(-Harburg), he's the closest to a local pro I have. And slowly, but surely, his #bikeaid exploits happen in races with ever-higher-level competition. :cool
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQL_otlWAAA3QZB?format=jpg)
I take it the racing hasn't lived up to what we hoped after the first stage excitement?
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Bouhanni could win the GC.
Hmm
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I'll try and tidy this thread up a bit.
Tour de Saudi Arabia final stage saw the serial biter bitten.
https://twitter.com/bguyot1982/status/1226126209274302467
Which probably had the race jury in stitches as the result stood.
It also robbed old Bouhoo of the overall GC win.
The weekend at Etoile de Besseges saw the return of Ben O'Connor and Alberto Bettiol in some ominous form.
Stage 4
Ben O'Connor (NTT) took the mountain finish after NTT placed 4 men in the break, with that man Bettiol first home from the peloton, after a late surge.
Stage 5 was an ITT and it was Bettiol that took the honours, while Cosnefroy narrowly held on for the overall victory.
If anybody fancies Valenciana.....
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I'll give it a shot, Valencia here I come :P
First, the summary picture, stolen from Lukas' twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/bsirnik/status/1225880052560207872
Then, I will skip right to the overall results (this is pretty backwards but I think it should do the job):
That's two stage wins (everything finishing uphill, basically) and the GC for the young Slovenian at #uae.
One could ask why, and one possible explanation is this team actually prioritizes this time of year and want their best riders in shape for the most important race of the year, the UAE tour.
If we look at how - he had the punch to outpunch Valverde on the short uphill finish and the guts to attack as soon as possible on the long uphill finish, and no one could reel him in, even though the gaps weren't large. I think Wout Poels @ #bahrain will give Pogacar a bit of a challenge on the Jebel Jais. I seem to remember he fell from first place on the final little steep twist there some time before, possibly in 2015 when he finished 3rd? (The race was called Abu Dhabi tour back then and not a WT race).
Apart from Pogi, there was a decent race from a few more young climbers as well, #mitchelton Jack Haig and #ineos T G Hart. Are they also on listed as captains at the UAE tour?
Among the sprinters, the race wasn't very surprising either. Total ductch dominance, stagewins: 2x #jumbo Dylan Groenewegen and 1x #quickstep Fabio Jakobsen. The rest split top 10 between them, as expected. Noted that #uae is now running Kristoff in solo mode without any support whatsoever in the sprint and he still scrapes in a 3rd and a 4th on quite easy days.
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Tour de Saudi Arabia final stage saw the serial biter bitten.
Really nice breakdown here from Lanterne Rouge.
If it cost the Frenchman not only the stage win, but the GC as well, then he must've lost his mind. :lol :-x
https://www.youtube.Com/watch?v=5_X3PrY--O8
I quite like that Bahrain - McLaren kit, but it still seems so odd to me to see Haussler leading out "lead-out man" Cavendish. The last time I saw Heinrich play lead out to Mark, it ended with a broken soul and tears for a lifetime.
Then
(https://strangelyperfect.tv/wp-content/uploads/100-Milano-Sanremo-arrivo-346x212.jpg)
Now
(https://i.eurosport.com/2020/02/08/2771626-57254537-1600-900.jpg)
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I quite like that Bahrain - McLaren kit, but it still seems so odd to me to see Haussler leading out "lead-out man" Cavendish. The last time I saw Heinrich play lead out to Mark, it ended with a broken soul and tears for a lifetime.
(https://i.eurosport.com/2020/02/08/2771626-57254537-1600-900.jpg)
Another incident springs to mind between the two riders, it'd completely passed me by that Cavendish's transfer would make them team mates. Maybe Heinrich has forgotten about it too.
(https://i.imgur.com/wHI461n.png)
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/7353/Haussler-says-hes-got-no-respect-for-Cavendish.aspx
"I've got nothing to say to him. I think the people can make their own decision about what happened. Crashes do happen, but not crashes like that. I certainly don't respect him as a rider, or as a person."
Reports at the time suggested that Cavendish spat at Haussler as he lay on the ground, injured.
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(https://i.imgur.com/wHI461n.png)
The classic "quick sand" crash!
It's hard to blame Mark when the road opened up and swallowed his melting front tyre though.
Or maybe he rode into a portal and entered into another dimension. :o
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I have to admit, it took quite some time for me, but now that I have seen this picture I understand the meaning of ‘flat’. :slow
How did he manage this? :S
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNsnpmvO7YU
Let's just say there was a coming together. Haussler's front wheel goes into Cavendish's and causes it to buckle.
1m09 for a slo-mo
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Now look what you boys have gone and done. :P
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/51443580
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Now look what you boys have gone and done. :P
I'm not clear on that. Did he "miss out" or did he choose not to participate in required qualifying events?
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I'm not clear on that. Did he "miss out" or did he choose not to participate in required qualifying events?
He 'missed out' wasn't eligible for Worlds selection because he didn't participate in any track World Cup event. Why he didn't participate in a track World Cup is anyone's guess.
By extension, he can't be nominated for a track event in the Tokyo Olympics ... but, at least in the last Olympics, there was a loophole:
If Cavendish is selected for the Olympics road race, he is free to participate in any track events as well (provided he can get whoever is nominated for that event to step aside if *gb has only qualified one spot).
That could work - Cav gets a RR spot and then teams up with some trackie for the Madison, leaving some other trackie free to concentrate on the team pursuit/individual pursuit/omnium/whatever.
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Starting on Thursday we have the Tour of Provence, which is a very hilly affair and features non other than a finish on the Ventoux, albeit at the chalet.
Stages 2,3 and 4.
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/bf/tour-cycliste-international-la-provence-2020-stage-2-profile-n2-6637645ab1.jpg)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/eb/tour-cycliste-international-la-provence-2020-stage-3-profile-ec1b46b117.jpg)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/dc/tour-cycliste-international-la-provence-2020-stage-4-profile-78f17ed726.jpg)
A host of World teams will be in attendance, along with some other strong teams.
#movistar errm
#sunweb Kelderman, Ooman, Hirschi
#ag2r Peters and Geniez
#trek
#deceuninck Asgreen
#astana Lutsenko, G Izagirre
#cofidis Hansen, Herrada
#ntt Pozzovivo, Kreuziger, Nizzolo
#ineos Sivakov, Dunbar, Moscon
#groupama Pinot, Gaudu, Molard
#jumbo :gesink
#ef Carthy, Vanmarcke
#ccc
#israel
Proteam top dogs.
#arkea N Quintana, Barguil
The good news here is, while L'Equipe, who normally show the race live, but this year showing the race as live, it has been picked up elsewhere.
GCN Racing on YouTube will bring live coverage, so with English commentary, each afternoon..
Eurosport have ambient sound coverage on the player.
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Should be a good race with this parcours.
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Stages 2,3 and 4.
What a parcours.
The Ventoux/Chalet Reynard finish is the most boring profile of those! :o
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Missed out Murcia, but the two day race will be televised live from 15-30cet, this Friday and Saturday.
The all important linky for that one.
http://webtv.7tvregiondemurcia.es/
Confirmation that the Trofeo Laigueglia will be televised live on Rai Sport, this Sunday. Their Italian coverage is encrypted these days and feeds are not easy to find. Facebook may be another option.
I don't know what the situation is with pmg sport this year, but there is nothing showing on their site.
However, I have found this which could become a useful tool for spotting Italian and other coverage.
http://www.cicloweb.it/ciclismo-in-tv/action~month/exact_date~1580511600/request_format~html/
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Is that the Japanese Viviani who’s just got his first win in Langkawi?
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It's good that some things haven't changed. Harrif Salleh continues to be the gun sprinter in TSG. 2 wins in Langkawi is impressive.
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Is that the Japanese Viviani who’s just got his first win in Langkawi?
That one was Kuboki. I think Nakane may be more of a Battaglin
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The finish of yesterday's first stage of the Vuelta Murcia.
http://7tvregiondemurcia.es/xandro-meurisse-se-impone-en-la-primera-etapa-de-la-vuelta-a-la-region/
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Tour of Antalya 20th - 23rd February
(https://i.imgur.com/OjURWTg.png)
Stage 1: Antalya - Antalya (149.2km)
(https://i.imgur.com/zoIGT1s.png)
Stage 2: Kemer - Antalya (165.3km)
(https://i.imgur.com/7jZRLkH.png)
Stage 3: Aspendos - Termessos (101.6km)
(https://i.imgur.com/aTGtF0A.png)
Stage 4: Side - Antalya (136.8km)
(https://i.imgur.com/OL6heWN.png)
Slight variations on stages we've had in previous editions, but three sprints and a climb should be what we get unless the weather is bad (which has happened).
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Since we have a bumper field of 29 teams, you will probably need to check the link below to see all the runners and riders.
https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=8472&y=2020&k=start
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According to the race website there will be a live broadcast of the race. It could just be a finish line cam, but the YouTube channel is below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmiZbBcynib3NBl3k36TODA/featured
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A fair few teams (Russia, Minsk, Salcano, Mazowsze Serce Polski, Spor Toto, Ukraine, Sidi Ali and Felbermayr) have been out here for several weeks now. It's a training camp with a handful of .2 races thrown in for good measure.
The winners have been:
GP Belek - Emre Yavuz (Salcano)
GP Manavgat - Branislau Samoilau (Minsk)
GP Alanya - Pawel Bernas (Mazowsze Serce Polski)
GP Gazipasa - Mamyr Stash (Russia)
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PCS has some names on the provisional start list (https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-antalya/2020/startlist) already, with not too many climbers on there. Could be a good chance for Sapura again, if they really line up Celano, Ficara and Tvetcov
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=596aosZtvwU
Results (https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/malaysian-international-classic-race/2020/result)
Human Voyage, the organisers of this race and Langkawi have said that they'll need to get a strong list of teams for 2020 to keep their status or get demoted to 2.1.
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Human Voyage, the organisers of this race and Langkawi have said that they'll need to get a strong list of teams for 2020 to keep their status or get demoted to 2.1.
yeah, Langkawi is one of the races struggling to fit the criteria
(https://i.imgur.com/MWg6Ape.png)
Last year they had the excuse of the late date change (with only 4 of those teams on the start list), but this year they only had 6 again, so I guess it's likely that they will drop down to 2.1
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46th Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta (2.Pro)
Pretty much follows the tried and tested race formula again this year.
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/cc/volta-ao-algarve-2020-gc-map-a79e801475.jpg)
Stage 1 » Portimão › Lagos (195.6k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/de/volta-ao-algarve-2020-stage-1-profile-0895ae1934.jpg)
Stage 2 » Sagres › Alto da Fóia (183.9k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/ff/volta-ao-algarve-2020-stage-2-profile-8ada63220f.jpg)
Stage 3 » Faro › Tavira (201.9k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/da/volta-ao-algarve-2020-stage-3-profile-432fc7b611.jpg)
Stage 4 » Albufeira › Malhão (169.7k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/ec/volta-ao-algarve-2020-stage-4-profile-d5e1cb3631.jpg)
Stage 5 (ITT) » Lagoa › Lagoa (20.3k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/af/volta-ao-algarve-2020-stage-5-profile-3eede367ef.jpg)
A dozen world teams turning up with a few regular folks kicking off their season.
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Pretty much follows the tried and tested race formula again this year.
A dozen world teams turning up with a few regular folks kicking off their season.
Sounds like same all over again?
Let's see if these newcomers (http://velorooms.com/index.php?topic=9529.msg2253730) can kick up some dust! (<--link to more!)
https://twitter.com/UnoXteam/status/1229290920878780417
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66th Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol (2.Pro)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/dc/ruta-del-sol-2020-gc-map-e43131ef12.jpg)
At one time the only game in town, this traditional warm up race of the stars now faces stiff opposition from it's local neighbours, and the warmer climate countries. As a consequence, this year's startlist looks somewhat thin of big names.
Another factor that may be effecting attendance is the severity of the parcour, which contains over twelve and a half thousand metres of climbing and has an opening stage that comprises almost a third of that total.
Stage 1 » Alhaurin de la Torre › Grazalema (173.8k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/bf/ruta-del-sol-2020-stage-1-profile-abae940ea3.jpg)
Stage 2 » Siviglia › Iznajar (198.1k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/dc/ruta-del-sol-2020-stage-2-profile-fed0e2a733.jpg)
Stage 3 » Jean › Ubeda (176.9k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/fa/ruta-del-sol-2020-stage-3-profile-5d318abc63.jpg)
Stage 4 » Villanueva Mesia › Granada (125k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/cb/ruta-del-sol-2020-stage-4-profile-e393f8e1c5.jpg)
Stage 5 (ITT) » Mijas › Mijas (13k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/fd/ruta-del-sol-2020-stage-5-profile-7212f0e99a.jpg)
Both Andalucia and Algarve will be televised live, back-to-back on Eurosport, although things may get a bit compressed over the weekend.
Best bet could well be the player.
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52nd Tour Cycliste International du Var et des Alpes Maritimes (2.1)
The third European stage race of the week takes place in France, once again in Provence. With an increase from two to three days, Var looks to have cracking, not to mention iconic parcour.
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/cc/tour-du-haut-var-2020-gc-map-9b46b90293.jpg)
It brought a smile to my face to think that the first stage is possibly the easiest of the extended weekend.
Stage 1 » Le Cannet › Grasse (186.8k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/bf/tour-du-haut-var-2020-stage-1-profile-5813f0e407.jpg)
Stage 2 » Pégomas › Col d'Eze (175.7k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/da/tour-du-haut-var-2020-stage-2-profile-59220d76a3.jpg)
Stage 3 » La Londe › Le Mont Faron (136k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/de/tour-du-haut-var-2020-stage-3-profile-07d53bd1da.jpg)
No less than eight world teams are turning up with support from the heavy hitters at pro level.
Over this short of terrain, it's hard to not view the recent Ventoux record breaker, Nairo Quintana, as the odds on favourite, yet he will not be short of some stellar opposition.
Now the bad news: As yet I have been unable to find any sort of coverage of this race. Possibly the local F3 will be on board, but both Eurosport and L'Equipe are conspicuous by their absence. Although in recent years, Eurosport have produced a belated highlights package.
Watch this space, I guess.
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52nd Tour Cycliste International du Var et des Alpes Maritimes (2.1)
The third European stage race of the week takes place in France, once again in Provence. With an increase from two to three days, Var looks to have cracking, not to mention iconic parcour.
...
So Mont Faron finish preceded by the Paris-Nice final preceded by ... my stage ;) One of the areas where I have been cycling a bit outside Norway is featured in stage 1, with both the Tanneron, Mur de Fayence, St Paul etc - place I really like cycling!
Stage 1 » Le Cannet › Grasse (186.8k)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/bf/tour-du-haut-var-2020-stage-1-profile-5813f0e407.jpg)
Concerning TV coverage, it has traditionally been weak or none for this race, and you are better off watching the Iberian peninsula races this weekend. Direct Velo usually has decent live ticker coverage.
EDIT> those starred riders are a weird selection but I guess it is firstcycling algorithms that thinks #ntt EBH is a better hilly parcours rider than the Dane on the same team.
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The Ruta del Sol stage featured five categorised climbs, all category three apart from the big first category climb, which ramped up in the final 20km and produced two clear favourites to take the overall win.
A group of 11 riders escaped the peloton in the early stages , but were reeled in at the foot of the Palomas climb.
Loic Vliegen then fired his own move and managed to hold a 20-second advantage for a considerable amount of the climb.
Mikel Landa then made the race defining move, as only reigning champion, Jakob Fuglsang was able to respond.
The pair the raced clear of the floundering chases, the gap only closing significantly, when the pair finessed the finish.
Fuglsang led Landa along the narrow and rough street, then left him with 100m to the line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIhUN0kUfZI
Post Merge: February 19, 2020, 19:56
Meanwhile, the Volta ao Algarve stage came down to the predicted sprint finish, but a tense final 30km offered some enticing racing on an uncategorised climb, with attacks flowing from the peloton.
Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s Jakobsen put in a tactically perfect effort to comfortably power past Viviani (Cofidis) in the finishing straight and take the win, moving into the race lead in the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvWIzznhers
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The distinctive yellow-red uno-x jersey #unox and their matching helmet makes it easy to spot the team on helicopter camera coverage. Today the team behaved very well, handling both quite narrow roads with the chasing peloton and the more hectic finale with several small attacks from the intermediate sprint, where the break was reeled back in by the usual suspect (#quickstep TDQ) to the finish line - that must have been some 30 km with U-23 style racing, of course they could do that well.
With 7 km left DS Arvesen was interviewed and he said they would be happy with a top 10. Hoelgaard had good speed, but quite humble positioning in the sprint until he found Kristoff’s back. I don’t know the current status but before Hoelgaard joined FDJ, he was faster than Kristoff, and if he still has some of that speed he could have moved into the top 5 if Cimolai hadn’t almost-bodychecked him, forcing him to break.
To shed some light on the racing itself, Kristoff said it was one of the lightest days he could remember, something like 200W average for him, and thus he wasn’t surprised at all to see all parts of the uno-x team doing their job as planned today.
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Can't see anything on that YouTube channel yet about an upcoming stream, but there were some talking heads at the start line on this TV station (http://avrupaoyunlari.sportstv.com.tr/#/canli/sportstv). Maybe they'll have more later.
Several of the teams are here with multiple sprinters and therefore it ain't too easy to pick a winner today or on the other sprint stages as they might not always stick with the same designated leader.
FWIW I-SUN have said that today they are going with Einhorn.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EROe6SEXkAAbh96?format=jpg&name=small)
Celano was a DNF.
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I didn't really watch too much of today's stage in Andalucia as I quickly got fed up of Kirby's repeated bullsh*t about the final climb not being in the race handbook.
Juan Felipe Osoria (Burgos-BH), Taco van der Hoorn (Jumbo-Visma), Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r La Mondiale), Jerome Cousin (Total Direct Energie) and Britain’s Matt Holmes (Lotto-Soudal) made up the day’s escape, but that group were eventually caught near the summit of the final categorized climb.
After dropping down again, they faced a short and sharp climb in the final kilometre, averaging more than eight per cent gradient and reaching a maximum of almost 18, up to the line.
Gonzalo Serrano from Caja-Rural launched a huge attack in the first 200 metres of the climb and pulled out a considerable gap. The bunch surged behind as Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McLaren) and Juan José Lobato (Fundación-Orbea) tried to chase down the leader, but Serrano held on to take his first pro win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsOIo0EnpjA
Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel beat out a number of elite climbers to take the summit finish victory on stage two of the Volta ao Algarve.
The young Belgian sensation opened his sprint 200m from the finish line, pulling away from the likes of Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Miguel Ángel López (Astana) and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) before holding off a late challenge from Bora-Hansgrohe’s Max Schachmann.
Geraint Thomas was dropped with 3km to go, with Ineos (Ben Swift) then turning to try and set things up for Michał Kwiatkowksi, before the Polish rider also blew up in the final kilometre.
Mathieu van der Poel was dropped from the bunch just a km earlier than Thomas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO58QscP9MA
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Next up for Remco should be Algarve where the level of competition will be much higher.
Go on... :P
Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel beat out a number of elite climbers to take the summit finish victory on stage two of the Volta ao Algarve.
:win
And in the category of least-spoken phrases in the world of professional cycling:
Mathieu van der Poel was dropped from the bunch... :o
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https://twitter.com/Nick_Doup/status/1230807336840658944
Rain and hail.
Only 54 riders in the peloton according to PCS.
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https://twitter.com/ViniZabuKTM/status/1230824098915323904
Under 40km to go. The gap from the chasers to the peloton is coming down. It was over 5 minutes, but is now down to 3m15.
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Stage 3 in Andalucia ended up having very little in the way of television coverage.
Unfortunately the loss of pictures was apparently partly due to military planes being in the area. Which meant a lot of the action went unseen for everyone who wasn’t at the roadside between Jáen and Ubeda.
We did catch the finish (just) when the road kicked up in the final sharp incline and a further fiasco took place.
Jakob Fuglsang was in third wheel on the approach to the finishing straight when the two riders in front of him, Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McLaren) and Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott), misread a sharp corner and went wide, allowing Fuglsang through to sprint for the line.
I don't know what today's video highlights managed to capture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCmrk8nWSxY
Meanwhile, in Algarve, Quick Steps run of wins was ended by a great collective effort from Sunweb, who pretty much bossed the bunch for the final 5 kms. A rejuvenated Sacha Modolo took second with Jakobsen only managing third.
The stage was three marred by a crash that saw three Trek-Segafredo riders collide with a traffic island and Edward Theuns, Jasper Stuyven and Koen de Koert all went down. For a while it looked as if both Theuns and Stuyven might be seriously injured.
Fortunately they were able to get back on their bikes and finish the stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA1vcRE3Qgo
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https://twitter.com/TourDeJose/status/1230838129814331397
:onfire2
The biblical weather certainly didn't help, but most of the damage was done by the climbs in the middle of the stage. Hence why there are numerous climbers still in the GC hunt. A few lost time due to crashes in the final km. I'm thinking Bernas, Busato, Zoidl, Budyak and defending champion Rekita were among those involved.
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https://twitter.com/tourofantalya/status/1231158483573264385
Not very selective as it turned out.
Zoidl and Badilatti will both be cursing those lost seconds in the finale yesterday. The beneficiary is Max Stedman, but his lead is anything but secure going into the final day as Van Rooy and Vermeersch could both very easily get some bonifications.
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Didn't get a chance yesterday as there was simply to much sport to watch. :D
In Andalucia, from the large breakaway, by the approach to Alto del Purche, (Monachil)Vuelta a España stage winner Ángel Madrazo (Burgos-BH) was the only man left out front. His lead just 20 seconds with 28km remaining.
The already reduced peloton began to split apart on the opening slopes of the climb. Mikel Landa, Jakob Fuglsang and Jack Haig were all looking very fresh, tucked in the front of the group, with the Dane launching an attack halfway up the climb. A group of five led by Landa began chasing him down and within a kilometre Fuglsang was brought back into the fold. Jack Haig finally showed his hand and attacked with 18km remaining, with McNulty being dropped as he paid for his previous efforts.
Fuglsang and Landa were the only two who could follow Haig and the trio descended down winding rounds into Granada keeping McNulty and Izagirre at bay, 30 seconds behind with 3km to go.
Haig proved to have the freshest legs and cross the line first to deny the Dane a third stage win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-cvNYc7dzc
In Algarve, Miguel Ángel López took the stage four win at the Volta ao Algarve with a late attack as Remco Evenepoel finished third to close in on the general classification.
The Astana rider left his attack until the closing stages, jumping clear and powering away towards the finish despite the best efforts of Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) to bring him back.
Ineos’ Geraint Thomas and Michał Kwiatkowski once again fell away on the final climb, not troubling the top placings.
Earlier, Volta winner João Rodrigues (W52 / FC Porto) attacked his breakaway companions three climbs from home and went solo, only to be swept up by the Quick Step train on the approach to Malhão.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdCCsi4siSU
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Just goes to show Remco isn’t quite Superman yet.
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A whole 3 minutes worth from Haut Var, Col d'Eze and Nairo Quintana absolutely destroying everyone again.
An unbelievable gap at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eonOOqFJ3qg
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Well, there isn't a lot to be said about ITTs as the times speak for themselves.
Andalucia:
Stage.
GC.
Algarve:
Stage.
GC.
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Oh come on
I want to buy an argument!
https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1231702187442659335
My take on it: Superman has an identical twin that lives in a secret high-altitude location in Colombia where he does nothing but practice on his team trial bike for years at a time. Occasionally, Miguel lets him start a race in his name, but
Such as today, but still, most notably, when he rolled over Cancellara in the Tour de Suisse. That was even more of an eyebrow raising performance. :slow
In the meantime, we get the good old Miguel (a few minutes older than his secret identical twin) just trodding around the course of a GT ITT and looking no good at all. This continues to puzzle me.
He is a light climber but he churns out speed on lower RPM than most of the lightweights. The feet of a certain maybe-never-fully-accepted-englishman looks like the blades of a jet engine in comparison. Lopez looks almost like Kristoff, in that in most groups his legs are always moving a little slower than the others.
As a climber, his way of pedaling puts him at a disadvantage on very steep climbs and climbs which require lots of accelrations. It seems to me that road width is a good predictor of his climbing performance: The wider the ski station access road becomes, the further up the results list you will find the Superman. It is sort of the only thing that links Sierra Nevada and Switzerland: better roads. Good ski station access roads also tend to be less steep, as we all know it is bad for business if buses with visitors come sliding down the road. The other factor is altitude.
In the Algarve, there is no altitude worth talking about for a boy born at 2600 meters above sea level. Also, the roads in the time trial are quite narrow and turning and includes short steep climbs. The road surface is many places is quite coarse. The ski station access roads are autostradas in comparison. What I am getting at is that this performance by Lopez is not his best time trial, but a very good result in terrain that was not in his favor. It could well be that he has improved on terrain he doesn't really like.
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https://twitter.com/tourofantalya/status/1231559311471587328
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERdualfWsAEksrV?format=jpg)
The cycling gods were smiling on Stedman. Van Rooy was involved in a crash and Vermeersch finished fourth in the sprint.
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https://twitter.com/festinaboy/status/1232286286469312518
:lol
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2 other new "classic" races also on this weekend. Both held in the regions of Ardèche and Drôme.
Saturday.
20th Faun-Ardèche Classic (1.Pro)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/ce/les-boucles-du-dus-ardeche-2020-result-profile-1df00efe44.jpg)
Sunday.
8th Royal Bernard Drome Classic (1.Pro)
(https://www.procyclingstats.com/images/profiles/ap/cb/la-drome-classic-2020-result-profile-aec7c4422d.jpg)
Alaphilippe, Nibali, Mollema, Bardet, Latour, Madouas, Bettiol, Barguil, Calmejane, Kreuziger, Visconti all riding one or both.
This year, L'Equipe only seems to be covering the Faun-Ardèche Classic, (Verity tv on Facebook for Royal Bernard Drome Classic) but Eurosport player has both races live, which means replays will be available to round off a perfect opening weekend.