Panache'

Transfer 2 week is upon us and the action is heating up. Team Gregario Forza capitalized on the draft blunders of the Commish, otherwise known as Matt Millen, and swiped up American, Levi Leipheimer, to compete in this year’s Suisse/Dauphine/Le Tour/Olympics portion of our season. It’s hard to say what Levi will be able to do but I have to say I was impressed with how he rode in California. I don’t expect Levi to repeat at Suisse but I do think he can place in the top ten in France. USA! USA! USA!

The Commish, aka Team Wiskota Dynamic, aka Billy Beane, continued his free agency moves, that bagged him a many a Giro point, by dropping Tyler Farrar and John Gadret and adding Denis Menchov and Andre Greipel, formerly of Team Wiskota Dynamic. Denis Nikolayevich Menchov, the Silent Assasin, has been around the circuit. In 2003 he was 11^th in the Tour and best young rider, 2005 he won the Vuelta, 2006 5^th in Le Tour, 2007 another Vuelta, 2008 4^th in the Tour, 2009 he won the Giro, 2010 2^nd in Le Tour, and in 2011 he placed 5^th in the Vuelta and 7^th in the Giro in a year most would consider a wash under the Geox sponsorship.  Is there a pattern here? I fear this move as The Pope has the ability to climb with the best and TT as well as any other GC contender. I just blew the Commish’s mind!

I expect the remainder of the Wiskota Fantasy Cycling League team managers are doing their homework (read the blog, hit the links). There are many Tour contenders remaining. I know I have my eye on a few. I also think the addition of the Olympics to this portion of the season may add some serious pointage; A masterful move by the scheduling committee. Who are those riders? Tony Martin, Cav, Zabriskie?

I know I have said this around every corner but this may be my favorite part of the season. The Tour build up, Suisse, and Dauphine all have the propensity to be massive/epic. Let’s take a look at the Criterium du Dauphine.  The Dauphine has been a proving ground for Le tour since 1947. Most of the great’s have won here, Poulidor, Merckx, Hinault, LeMond, Indurain, and Armstrong to name a few. Most recently Wiggins, Brakjovik (available), and Valverde have worn the yellow jersey with the red stripe. The Dauphine region of France is mountainous so expect a climber to win here. This year’s edition could entertain the likes of Tony Martin as the stage 4 time trial may be decisive. However some big climbs are left to be had in stage 6. The parcours look tough but maybe not decisive. Many Wiskota Fantasy riders and Tour contenders are here. Evans, Wiggo, Nibbles, Voekler, Sanchez, D. Martin, TVG, Schleck, Menchov, Van den Broek, and I mentioned the big German, the Mouth, Mr. Tony Martin. Other, unsigned, contenders include Vallendert, Brakjovik, Le Mevel, Peraud, Cobo, and the Reign of Terror, Rein Taaramae. Westra?

The Tour de Suisse, one of Gregario Forza’s favorites, is also used to measure one’s form before the La Grande Boucle. This race has been run since 1933 only taking 3 years off for WWII. Like the Dauphine, many of the greats have won here. Merckx, Bartoli, De Vlaeminck, Kelly, Armstrong, and Der Kaiser, Jan Ulrich all won the Tour de Suisse. Recent winners include Leipheimer, Franklin Schleck, and even Fabulous Fabian Cancellara, the great Swiss time trailer. Tour contenders and Wiskota Fantasy riders litter this tour as well with Leipheimer, Gesink, F. Schleck, Tommy D., Sagan, Valverde, Boonen, Cunego, Mollema, Cancellara, Fuglsang, Horner, and Kloden all set to take the start. The parcours of this race look awfully climby. Stage 1 features a short TT, stage two only has 2 climbs but they happen to be hors categorie and they finish on top of the second, stage 3 is lumpy, stage 4 is wicked lumpy, stage 5 has 6 category 3 climbs (massive lumpy), stage 6 is a lil’ less lumpy, stage 7 tough ass TT, stage 8 climbs a category 2 into a beyond category summit finish (epic), and stage 9 will be a celebratory finish over 2 hors categorie climbs and a category 2 summit finish (massive). That sounds like some decisive parcours!

I know that many of the favorites and current Wiskota Fantasy riders will shine in the coming weeks. However, what makes this such an awesome time during the cycling season is that there will inevitably be a new comer or 2 who will show up to be a Tour de France contender or a tour animator (Johnny Hoogerland). The Classics, Giro, and California are in the rear view now. We got the Tour, it’s buildup, the Olympics, Vuelta, Worlds and Lombardia to look forward to. I can’t wait to see what Philippe Gilbert will do.

Forza!

Chapeau

Chapeau! to the Giro di’ Italia. The race for pink did not disappoint in 2012. The race organizers wanted the race to come down to Milan and that was exactly what happened. Although the riders were accused of waiting to get the race started, I thoroughly enjoyed this race from the very start. I loved watching Taylor Phinney early on. Not a fan of Denmark, for a start to a grand tour, other than that it’s probably cool. I enjoyed the chaotic sprints; thanks to Cav and Ferrari, beautiful stages, epic climbs, the Giau, Stelvio and Giro girls. There was a lot to like about this Giro.

Chapeau! to Ryder Hesjedal. The Weight of the nation rode himself into the history books as the first Grand Tour winner for Canada. The Climbing Canuck was simply grandissimo. He proved that he truly does get stronger during a three week race. He brilliantly marked the attacks on the climbs and even attacked himself when the tactics called for it. I have always liked this guy, never thought a Grand Tour would be on his palmares, and I even cheered for him when he became a member of Team Wiskota Dynamic. Well done, eh!

Chapeau! to Joaquin Rodriguez. El Purito was unbelievable during this Giro. I thought for sure he would pop on the Stelvio but he looked as comfortable as any of the favorites. His TT skills have improved greatly this season and that should propel him to a true GC guy in races to come. If Contador wasn’t racing the Vuelta I would have said J-Rod is the favorite for the final grand tour.

Chapeau! to Thomas De Gendt. Wow! Did that just happen? The 25 year old from Belgium podiumed in only his second grand tour. Sono impressionato! When I first heard that De Gendt was riding for GC and not attacking I thought to myself, hmmm, he doesn’t stand a chance. However, he stayed close enough during the mountain stages to mount an attack on the penultimate stage up the Stelvio pass. It was the decisive move of the Giro and it worked. De Gendt is an all-rounder who is mostly known for his time trialing skills, so when he was up the pass with a gap of over 5 minutes, the favorites had to take notice. Ryder originally started the chase but soon it was evident to Scarponi that he was about to be kicked off the podium. Well, the man from Belgium named for a city in the Netherlands did hold on to enough time to scare all the GC favorites and TT’d his way to a spot on a podium. Chapeau!

Chapeau! to Tony Martin. After being hit by a car, Quickstep should really find some new roads to train on, Tony Martin has come back to do what he does best, TT. Der Panzerwagen beat all of his rivals by over 45 seconds and rode himself into the red jersey, the leader’s jersey for this tour. It was nice to see the German’s mouth wide open again, winning TT’s, and looking forward to him in Le Tour where he could finish surprisingly high.

Some others deserving of a tip of that hat but not worth writing about at this time.

Chapeau! to Andre Greipel for winning three stages at the Tour of Belgium.

Chapeau! to Michael Rogers for a TT stage win, a road stage win, and the overall in the Bayern-Rundfahrt.

Chapeau! to Alessandro Petacchi, for winning three stages during the Bayern-Rundfahrt. Can any of these guys beat Cav in July?

This week’s contra-performance goes to Italian Cycling. This is the first time since 1995 that an Italian has not been on the podium in their tour. Before the Giro it was an almost certainty that Michele Scarponi and Ivan Basso would each hold a step on this year’s podium. However, Scarps lost too much time in the Stage 1 TT and team TT and Basso looked too old. Now, it’s not like Italian cycling is in trouble, they had a number of stage wins, Nibbles was absent, and they are still second in UCI points for countries. Let’s be honest, Gregario Forza is just mad at Basso and Scarponi.

Forza

The Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the week's events.

Oh Canada!

The Giro is complete and the second transfer period is open.  Let’s look back at how the points played out.

The big winner at the Giro is obvious, Team Wiskota Dynamic landed the top two GC spots, won a couple stages, the points jersey and oh yeah they also placed 6^th and 11^th.  Crazy points.  The big story is the win by Canadian rider Ryder Hesjedal.  A huge pick up by team Wiskota Dynamic at the first transfer period.  Will he go for a Giro, Tour double?  Does Wiskota keep him on the team?  The other big story here was the incredible race put in by the second overall pick, Joaqium Rodriguez.  The little man looked tough and even put in a pretty decent TT on the last day.  But, in the end he would lose the pink jersey by 16 seconds.  The new UCI points leader has already justified his high draft pick place.  Will he score even more points?  Cunego had a funny ride, no big stage wins but he ended up with a pretty high overall placement.  Is that his plan for Le Tour?  Gadret was right there in all the big climbs, but ultimately the TTs were too much to make up.  Team Wiskota Dynamic did have one bad ride at the Giro.  Farrar disappointed his team director for the last time as his early withdrawal from the Giro sealed his early withdrawal from Team Wiskota Dynamic.  Will this be another transfer blunder for Dynamic, like dropping Levi and Greipel or will it be a huge boost like the Hesjedal pick up?  Either way, with an almost 500 point buffer, the question must be asked; can Wiskota Dynamic be caught?

It was a bittersweet result for Gregario Forza.  Fourth and fifth place are pretty good results.  But we all know Forza was hoping for more.  Scarps just never got the chance to make up time and Basso, who looked tough coming in, was just one step behind on the last few days.  Gilbert squeaked out a few points at the Tour of Belgium, but really that only reminded us of what could have been.  Gregario’s team was built to be strong in the first part of the season.  Gilbert and a whole lotta Italians.  The spring classics have come and gone as has the Giro and Greg is in third.  A strong third, but shouldn’t he be in first right now?  Can he make up points when so many other teams are built for late season heroics?  In reality Gregario had a very good Giro and scored a lot of points gaining a lot on Team Volpe, so don’t look so sad Greg, you’ve got Levi now.

Team Volpe managed to fend off an attack from Forza to stay in second place.  Riguberto Uran had great final week and ended up taking the young rider’s jersey.  Look for this Colombian to be a factor at the Vuelta.  With Cadel Evans on the team, Volpe has been looking forward to this part of the season.  The Dauphine, Tour de Swiss, Olympics and of course Le Tour de France.  Best part, they are all on T.V.

Miguelito Indurain is the only team director who has managed to take significant points with a sprinter.  Cavendish has done well and Goss even threw in a few points.  Cav just missed out on a points jersey but it looks like he can be counted on to score throughout the rest of the season.  Also, it must be noted that Millar came in 12^th at the Bayern Rundfahrt scoring Miguelito a fat 6 points.  Are you gonna drop this guy yet or what?

When Bill the Neo-Pro wasn’t slappin’ the skins at the Driftwood Char bar he was scoring big points in Belgium.  Not so much at the Giro, but Bill knows where he can win.  Big Tony Martin has rebounded nicely from injury and secured an overall win with a dominant TT performance.  Winning one of these euro stage races is worth a lot and it just might be Bill’s ticket out of the cellar. 

Don’t forget to make transfers if you want them.  This is really the best part of the season.  More on that to come.

From the Commish

Transfer period 2 opens at 8 am tomorrow morning. Make a transfer by leaving a comment below. Transfer period is open from 8 am Monday 5/28 to 8 am Friday 6/1. GET YOUR TOUR TEAM SET!

On the Rivet

A look at who else is racing hard this week.

It is hard to pry my attention away from the Giro, but we do have two more races starting today.  The Wiskota Fantasy schedule committee (Greg) in their infinite wisdom has included two euro league races before the next transfer season.  The Tour of Belgium and Bayern Rundfahrt (Tour of Bavaria) are both 2HC so they are worth a lot of points.  Unfortunately we do not have a lot of riders there.  Here’s a quick preview.

Tour of Belgium:

Gregario Forza brings reigning champ Phillipe Gilbert back to his home country.  He needs a win.  Look for Gilbert to make some moves.

Bill the Neo-Pro has Tony Martin on the start line.  So far it has been a horrible season for Martin.  Perhaps Bill should have taken that draft day trade for Cunego.  On the other hand, Martin’s season could just be getting started.

Team Wiskota Dynamic does not have a rider in this race but it should be noted that this “super team” may have made their first transfer blunder of the season.  Greipel was not signed up for this race but now he is in and has already won a stage.  His Team Wiskota sprinter counterpart Tyler Farrar didn’t even make it through the second week at the Giro.  Dropped the wrong guy? Perhaps. 

Cyclocross fans should take note that Zydnek Stybar lines up for Omega Pharma Quick Step.  Could be cool.

Bayern Rundfahrt:

This race marks the return of Fabian Cancellera for Team Volpe.  The rest of the Wiskota Fantasy league is not looking forward to Spartacus raking up points again, but on the other hand it’s just not as cool without him.

Gregario Forza has Tomas Voekler starting the Bavarian race today.  It’s hard to figure out what kind of rider wins here, but Voekler is as good a guess as any. 

I’m sure these races are cool and Bavaria is beautiful, but the Giro is on.  I mean, the Giro, come on!  Is anyone going to try to watch a stage at the Nomad with me?  Friday 3:00?

On the Rivet

GIRO!     GIRO!     GIRO!

The final week of the Giro is going full throttle and so are our riders.  All Wiskota teams have at least one rider left in the race and many are at the top of the leaderboard.  But that could all change as we head into the serious mountains this weekend.  Three high mountain stages left, culminating with the epic massive Stelvio climb.  Check it out

Fucking nuts!  And that’s not even the whole thing.  Not to mention the huge mountain they climb right before it. 

Well, who are we cheering for this weekend? 

Miguelito Indurain comes into the final week looking to snatch one more stage win with Cav and with that wrap up the green jersey competition.  Cavendish has delivered a lot of points so far.  Another stage and the bump for points jersey could make a mighty fine Giro for the team.  Unfortunately for Miguelito his GC threat pussed out and went home to cry to his little brother.  That’s what you get for picking a Schleck.

Team Volpe only brought one rider to the Giro, but that man is making a run at the white jersey.  Rigoberto Uran is battling his teammate, Henao, for this prestige.  Few Wiskota Fantasy points for this, but a high placement and a little bump could help Team Volpe limit his damages before we move into Le Tour.

Bill the Neo-Pro is looking for a big finish from his lone GC man, Roman Kreuziger.  I was upset when Bill picked him up with his last pick, cause I thought for a minute he would be around to pick up for this race.  At 1:27 back he has a very good chance to finish high and maybe even podium or win.  He likes the long climbs and it’s really all about who’s left something in the tank for the final week.  It could be the Big Czech.

Gregario Forza enters the last 5 days of racing with two riders positioned for victory.  Basso in third and Scarponi in sixth both less than 2 minutes back.  Scarponi benefits from shorter climbs and is not the best TT guy.  I’m going to go on a limb and count him out of a podium.  On the other hand, Basso is right where he wants to be.  He has done no work so far, he has the best lieutenant (Szmyd), the long diesel climbs of the end suit him and he has proven that he can be the strongest at the end.  And that is all that counts.  Right now it is hard to say that he will not win this thing.  Either way, Forza is in for some massive Grand Tour points.

I suppose one could argue that Basso is in the best position and thus Forza is in the best position.  However, in this case the numbers do not lie.  First and second place are held by Team Wiskota Dynamic riders Rodriguez and Hesjedal, respectively.  JRod has been taking time out of the field on punchy finishes (note the pic at the bottom).  The long climbs of the weekend and the TT, although vastly improved, are not his specialty.  But, he has over a minute in hand on everybody else and a pretty could group of climbers (the three musketeers, most notably Moreno) to assist him.  Can he hold on?  The situation for the man in second could not be more different.  He likes the long climbs and is an excellent TT guy.  If Vande Velde can hang around to help, Hesjedal just might win this.  Let’s not forget about Wiskota Dynamic’s other GC men.  At about 3:30 back Gadret and Cunego could still manage some top ten finishes.  I expect Gadret to make a push, Cunego may be done.  All in all, Team Wiskota Dynamic should expect some massive points coming their way.

I am hoping to watch some Giro Friday and Saturday. Possibly at the Nomad round 3ish.  Let me know if you are interested.  Also, sorry I just realized now that I can post pictures, here are a few Giro picture treats.

JRod about to take the maglia rosa at Assisi with the Basilica of St. Francis in the background.






Cav dominating the points jersey competition but still pouting about something.






I read a quote where a guy said "the difference between the Tour and the Giro is that the Tour has podium girls and the Giro has a bus full of podium girls"

Also, they do a little extra.  Note the blond on the left.

Chapeau!

Sorry for the long hiatus but Gregario Forza has been amongst the tifosi watching some excellent bicycling racing. So there is about two weeks of the Giro and a Tour of California to throw out some chapeaus, good games, and maybe a slap on the behind or two. 

First of all Chapeau! to Luke, aka the Commish, for lining up and finishing the “Hipbreaker” stage of the Tour de Trempealeau. The Commish was seen dominating the bluffs of southwest Sconny and according to him; he finished just ahead of an old guy and a fat chick. I would have liked to see him go for the Laterne Rouge but he was just too fast on the climbs. Chapeau! Commish.  Way to represent Team Wiskota.

Also, Chapeau! to Team Volpe director, Pat, and Bill the Neo Pro for the completion of the Alamonzo. Maybe the toughest 1 day race in the U.S, this is definitely an impressive feat for Team Wiskota. Chapeau! boys. Chapeau!

Chapeau! to Taylor Phinney for being only the third American to wear the Maglia Rosa. Dominant opening TT and had 3 days of hell to try to keep it. I can’t wait to watch this young man develop to be the greatest classics racer America has had since, well, George Hincapie.

Chapeau! to Joaquin Rodriguez, El Purito has had 2 TT’s and actually took time on his rivals. The Giro is now just heating up but has J-Rod done enough to win this thing? Don’t count him out but the Stelvio and one more race against the clock are looming in the coming days.

Chapeau! to Ryder Hesjedal, the Climbing Canuck, the Weight of a Nation and the first Canadian to wear the Maglia Rosa. I really like this guy. He is tough, tactically smart, and takes chances. When he jumped on Basso during stage 14 it showed that he is definitely a contender for the GC in this race. Oh Canada………. Man, I love maple syrup!

Chapeau! to Mark Cavendish. Cav has shown, once again, that he is the fastest man in the world. The last few years I have felt like he was a product of a great lead out train. However, since the Worlds, I have to say that he is winning most of the races because he is just so fast. The Manx Mouth is truly the best sprinter in the world. Ever? Discuss……..

Chapeau! to Peter Sagan. The Terminator won everything but the overall in California. He was fast, in fact fast enough to win 5 stages and to place second in another. Thank God for Mt. Baldy or else we would have had to rename the ToC to the Sagan Gran Fondo Race Series, or the US Pro Tour Challenge, more on that in an upcoming Panache. I have to admit, although I don’t like to watch the Commish stack points like hot cakes, I do really like watching this kid race. I figure I better like it because he will win a lot over the next decade. Is this a keeper league?

Chapeau! to Robert Gesink. The Condor of Varsseveld has finally put all that skill to a result. I have been tough on this guy ever since he was named a potential Tour contender by a Mr. Eddy Merckx. I just never saw it. I know the guy has had many high placing’s in the Vuelta, Tirreno, and even a 6^th place in Le Tour in 2010. However, I just didn’t see it. Now my eyes have been open by seeing the Condor open up his wings and soar to victory on Mt. Baldy Road.  That was very impressive and that immediately puts him in the contenders list for this year’s Tour, more on that in the upcoming Panache. Chapeau! Condor, Chapeau!

This week’s contra-performance goes to Frank Schleck. Dude? Really? C’Mon man! First, blaming Rasmussen for being caught out in a Grand Tour, weak sauce; no other contenders were far enough back to be caught out by water bottle carriers and gregarios. Second, dropping out of a Grand Tour due to an injury in which your team director and doctors don’t see as an issue is well, weak sauce.  Finally, quitting a grand tour should be the hardest decision a bicycle racer ever makes. I know this isn’t the Tour, however, this is a grand tour, an honor, a privilege that many professional cyclists dream about their whole careers. Frank, don’t bring that sauce to this state fair, because it’s weak. Go home to your little brother. I’m sure he misses you. We’ll see if Frandy Schlecks are ready for July. I hope so, cuz they seem to be putting a lot of stock into a race with a lot of TTing. Last I checked, they were no good at this discipline.

Forza!

The Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the weekend's racing.

The weekend is over and as it ends so does this year’s addition of the Tour of California.  The 2012 ToC ended up featuring a lot of large group sprints.  We had an epic breakaway survive and the TT definitely shook up the GC standings.  Yet we relied on Saturday’s stage for the real action.  The penultimate stage at Mt Baldy did not disappoint, just as expected, the overall winner was crowned that day.  There were a few more surprises along the way and all of the Wiskota fantasy Teams represented at the race managed to earn some points.  Some more than others, of course.  So how did we do?

A big congratulations goes out to Miguelito Indurain’s team as they came away with their first GC win of the year.   Robert Gesink set up his win with an excellent TT on Thursday coming in 4^th just over 30 seconds back.  But it was his move on Mt. Baldy that will be remembered.  Gesink’s push on the last third of the climb buried his rivals.  He eventually caught the breakaway Colombian and snatched the win with a sprinty kick at the line, earning an extra 20 points for the stage win.  Gesink is starting to look like a steal as a 6^th round pick.  He has been long considered a Tour favorite amongst his fellow Dutch.  With good time trial abilities and an obvious affinity for climbing, can The Condor of Varrseveld soar to a podium finish?  I am starting to think so.  But before we get ahead of ourselves, Miguelito should enjoy the moment.  T of C on the Nomad patio, overall GC victory and a jump past Bill the neo-pro to get out of the cellar.  Looking good.  

Gesink 1^stGC=  100pts, Stages: 1^st=20pts,4^th =7, 1 day in leader’s jersey=10pts,   Miguelito Indurain=137pts

Although it was a big win for Gesink it can be argued that the real story of the T o C was Team Wiskota Dynamic rider, Peter Sagan.  The Terminator racked up a crazy amount of points winning 5 sprint stages, coming in 2^nd in another and wearing the leader’s jersey for 4 days.  Sagan repeatedly beat Hausler and Boonen at the line and a few times he even had time to try out his new “I’m watching you” celebration.  I still think he is trying to get an Italian sunglasses endorsement.  Sagan continues to impress on American soil.  Looks like he knows where the money is, he even attempted a little English in the final interview.  Sagan looks like a strong contender for stage wins in his first Tour de France.   Team Wiskota Dynamic’s GC rider was one of the last men standing on Mt. Baldy.  But a less than top tier TT combined with a crazy strong Gesink meant a 3^rd place finish was all Tom Danielson could muster.  Still pretty good points.  A very respectable showing for Tommy D and an outstanding result for Team Wiskota Dynamic.  Enough in fact, to move past Team Volpe into first place.  Huzzah!

Danielson 3^rd GC=40pts, Stages: 5^th=6pts , Sagan Stages: 5 1^sts   =100pts, 2^nd 14pts, 4 days in leader’s jersey=40pts         Team Wiskota Dynamic=200 pts

Gregario Forza came into the race with very high hopes.  First overall? A podium sweep?  Well, it didn’t quite work out that way.  Despite what seemed like great form, Nibali obviously was not here to race.  With a teammate like Sagan dominating everyday perhaps Nibali decided he could take the week off.  Chris Horner lost a lot of time in the time trial and it seemed that his chances of a high GC finish were slim and an overall out of the question.  However, Horner went early on the Mt. Baldy stage, stretching his lead out enough to be the “virtual leader” on the course.  But the day was just too long and Horner did too much work.  His Colombian breakaway partner left him behind and eventually Horner was swept up by several other riders.  Horner managed to squeak out an 8^th place finish overall, not a whole lot of points.  Coming into the Mt. baldy stage  30 seconds of the leader Tejay Van Garderen seemed primed for an overall victory.  But, once again TVG blew up in the last few kilometers of the climb.  He held on for a 4^th place GC finish, pretty good really.  But he was visibly disappointed as was his Wiskota Fantasy Team director, Gregario Forza.

Horner 8^th GC= 10 pts, Stages: 8^th=2, 6^th=5   , TVG 4^th GC=  30 pts, Stages: 3^rd =8  ,   Gregario Forza=55 pts

It seemed like a bad race for Team Volpe rider Tom Boonen.  He only really contested one sprint but was in there for several more.  So, Tommeke, even on a bad week, still snuck out 29 points.

Boonen Stages: 3^rd=8pts, 4^th =7pts, 2^nd=14pts      Team Volpe=29 pts

So ends the 2012 Tour of California.  Overall, a pretty good race, yet I would like one more decisive stage.  Well, there is always next year.  But as for us, the heart of the Wiskota fantasy season is around the corner.  The final and decisive week of the Giro is upon us and I still haven’t had a Negroni.  Is anyone interested?  Can Purito hang on for the win?  Will Basso dominate the long climbs?  Will Greg let us watch the race?  These questions and more to be answered in a forthcoming Panache'.

On the Rivet

Welcome to the second installment of the special two part edition of “On the Rivet”.   After discussing the merits of the biggest American Cyclists in the peloton yesterday, today we turn our attention to the biggest American race.  None other than the Tour of California.  Much has been written already about how moving this race to May has been a God send, however it really can’t be stressed enough.  In the last few years we have seen more and more top notch riders attends this race.  This year’s lineup is no exception.  The addition of riders such as Tom Boonen, Peter Velits, Robert Gesink, L.L. Sanchez, Vincenzo Nibali, Peter Sagan, Rinaldo Nocentini and Robbie Mc Ewan make this the most international field yet.  Add to that top American cyclists such as Leipheimer, Horner, Danielson, Talansky and TVG and we have quite the race on our hands.  We will talk more about these favorites and our Wiskota Fantasy riders in a bit. But, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our continental teams and their fun to route for riders.  When we talk about these riders it starts and ends with Rory Sutherland, 7^th place last year he is a legitimate GC rider.  McCarty, Baldwin, Jacque-Maynes, are stage hunter/breakaway guys.  Marcel Kittel might take a sprint and look for Zirbel and Zwizansky of local favs Kelly Benefits (now Optum Pro Cycling) to make a good showing at the TT.  Here stateside the quality of the coverage of the Tour of California is right up there with Le Tour.  In some ways it can be better.  We get about 2 hours of live coverage a day usually starting at 4 o’clock.  If riders from the Almonzo are back in town Saturday afternoon we may have to gather to view the Queen stage of Mt. Baldy, coverage begins at 6.  Let me know if you are interested.

On to our riders.  Who do we have and who is favored.

Coming into the race with three real threats to take the overall Gregario Forza has to be the favorite for the ToC.  Chris Horner is reigning champ.  This is what he has built his season around and he has a strong team.  Will he take off on Baldy securing an overall victory?  Quite probable.  The new addition of TeeJay Van Garderen to the Forza squad brings some young legs to the competition.  This is supposed to be his race to win this season, he has put in the work and his team is there to support him.  However a questionable ride in Romandie has left some to wonder if he has what it takes. I am most intrigued by Gregarios third GC prospect, Vincenzo Nibali.  Of all the riders at the race this is the one who has actually proved that he is on good form.  Is he here to win or simply to keep his form up for July?  However, it plays out, Gregario has a very good chance for some serious points.

Team Wiskota Dynamic made a last minute controversial move dropping three time champion Levi Leipheimer and picking up podium finisher Tom Danielson.  It is still questionable if Levi will take the line.  If he does and outclasses Danielson this could be the blunder of the season.  On the other hand, Tommy D has made this race a target of his season.  9^th at Le Tour and 3^rd at ToC, Danielson is a clear favorite.  Team Wiskota Dynamic takes the line with the biggest wildcard of the race, Peter Sagan who always seems to find himself on the podium.  Prolific stage winner Sagan spends more time surrounded by hot California girls than Diamond Dave.  Zibbidy Bop!  No wonder he loves this race.  A former winner of the young rider and the points jersey (in separate years) Sagan will come for some points.  Look for Team Wiskota Dynamic to score as well. 

Team Volpe brings their one man wrecking crew to California.  I would say Volpe is lacking some riders but really who do you need besides Tom Boonen.  The points machine is single handedly dominating our league.  He said he would like to win in LA on the final day, so look for Volpe, or should I say Team Tommeke, to score some more.

While Michelito Indurain racks up all of the sprint points in Italy his team send one lone rider to California to try his luck.  Robert Gesink is really too good to be considered a dark horse, but he is kind of under the radar right now.  Make no bones about it, he is world class and this might be just the kind of race he could win.  Rabobank is a weird team, but maybe this is the race they have targeted.  Look for Gesink to compete in the climbs.

If I was Bill the Neo-pro I would be writing a very strongly worded letter to one Andy Schleck.  Is he ever going to race.  He came here last year.  Sorry Bill, no one in the race.  It’s still a fun race to watch and I hope you are free after the Almonzo.

Wiskota Fantasy Podium:

Horner, Danielson, TVG

Spoilers:

 Velits, Talansky, Sutherland  

On the Rivet

Welcome to the first installment of a special two part edition of “On the Rivet” as we look forward to our first big American race of the season, the Tour of California.  Today we begin with the long awaited discussion on the state of American cycling.  Who are the top riders now?  Who are the riders of the future?  Can we compete with the rest of the world?  Questions, questions, questions…well, let’s begin.

While researching this article (yes, all Wiskota blog entries are thoroughly researched) I came to the realization that American pro cycling is in a very unique predicament.  It is not quite appropriate to speak of the top cyclists of today or of tomorrow.  Rather, it is more appropriate to consider the level of the cyclist right now.  This is due to the dramatic extremes in age of our best cyclists.  A quick look at the UCI points from this and last season would lead you to believe that our best cyclists, the American cyclists in their prime, are Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and Tom Danielson.  However, the aggregate age of these riders is 38 years old.  How can these riders be in their prime?  On the other hand, the other riders of note, namely: Taylor Phinney, Andrew Talansky and Teejay Van Garderen are all 23 years of age or younger.  How can we say that these riders are in their prime?  And so we come to conclusion that America lacks a cyclist in the prime of their career able to dominate this year as well as a few years to come.  But perhaps I am still looking at this the wrong way.

Maybe we need to broaden our scope, explore the different types of riders.  How do we stack up here?  GC riders get most of our attention and garner most of the UCI points, thus we will start here.  This is where our old timers are yet still our best riders.  Leipheimer and Horner can full on win big stage races.  Last year Horner won TofC and looks like he could do it again.  Levi had one of his best years last year, winning the Tour de Swiss.  In addition, he had a strong opening to the season before all of his bad luck.  With his TT skill he still has a chance to be a factor in stage races later this season.  Tommy D has been showing that he deserves to be mentioned as a serious GC threat, placing 9^th in last year’s Tour.  Andrew Talansky just scored big with a second place finish at the Tour of Romandie.  Climber with TT skills, that’s the formula.  TVG hasn’t been able to show much at the world level, but he must still be considered one of our best GC guys.  It has been argued (by me mostly) that this is the golden age of the puncheur.  These guys are light enough to go skyward but big enough to do it quickly.  Super fun to watch.  Who do we have?  Unfortunately, I can’t think of any.  How about Roleurs?  Big George Hincapie is no longer a real threat to win in these races, but he is still solid.  Taylor Phinney’s strong finish at Paris Roubaix would probably rate him as our best current Roleur. America still can be said to have a pretty strong time trial lineup.  From Levi, to Zabriske to Phinney we can challenge in this discipline.  A few countries specialize in the pure climber, Colombia and Spain in particular.  However, America does not field an impressive group of climbers.  Horner is probably the closest thing we have to a pure climber.  Talansky is also of note.  What we lack in other categories we make up with domestiques.  We have a lot, Danny Pate, Matt Busche, Christian Vande Velde and the incomparable Big George Hincapie.  If only they had some better riders to protect.  Finally we get to the sprinters.  This is where we have one rider who is in his prime, or at least should be, Tyler Farrar.  That’s right Tyler.  Give up the other races and focus only on sprinting.  At 27 he could be our best chance for immediate results.

When considering American cycling based on types of riders I cannot say that America is a top cycling country.  But really we never have been.  The last few years we have hovered around 8^th in UCI rankings.  So how can we make this seem better?  How can we make the world take notice?  Well, instead of being all around good, we must win big races.  Which brings us to our next and final discussion, what races can we win?  Well, let’s start with the Monuments.  It would seem that our best chance at winning a monument lies with Taylor Phinney at Paris-Roubaix.  This is his kind of thing, U23 dominant, and a top ten last year.  He is our man.  The other Monuments seem more elusive.  However, I still don’t see why Chris Horner couldn’t win Lombardia or Leige for that matter, but of course he better hurry up.  Farrar was our best chance at the Ronde or Milan San Remo, but I think that ship may have sailed.  Stage races have been a forte of the Americans.  We need Levi to win a few more big ones, Paris Nice in particular.  The Grand Tours are an interesting proposition.  Levi, Horner,TVG and perhaps Talansky could make a run at one of these.  Le Tour? Probably not.  This year the US squad has the added bonus of the Olympics.  A TT medal would be nice. It will be interesting to see who competes. 

In summation we have riders that may be great and riders that are on their last chance to be great.   Does this make for a great squad? Not really, we will not overtake Spain or Italy any time soon, but as long as we can stay ahead of France and battle it out with the likes of Germany and the Netherlands we are doing okay. Of course I am missing riders who will show up and make me look dumb, and I hope they do, but for now we must admit that the future of American cycling is balanced on the edge between veterans and up and comers.  In a few years that could easily slip into has beens and never made its.  Or, as I hope, into past legends and current stars of cycling.  Which group will make the most noise this year?  To be determined.  God bless America!

The Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the week's events.

Transfer season number one is complete for the Wiskota Fantasy League and the first rest/transfer day for the Giro is underway.  Let’s take this break to look back at the first few days of what promises to be an exciting Giro d’Italia.

I understand that the Giro makes money by having the race enter other countries but, the choice Denmark was unimpressive.  Flat after flat and then flat.  I was promised fjords.  I saw no fjords or anything interesting at all for that matter.  Well, we will have to focus on the racing.  The story of the weird three stage opener in Denmark has to be the American Taylor Phinney.  USA, USA, USA!  I have been skeptical of Phinney in the past, questioning his drive, but his good showing at Paris-Roubaix made me sit up and take note.  I will stop short of saying his performance at the Giro so far has made me a believer, but it has made me a fan.  Not so much the prologue win, which despite lacking any of the top time trialists was nonetheless a grand tour TT.  But rather, the stage two defense of the jersey.  Crashing in the last 8K of a race usually spells disaster.  However, Phinney showed off his massive power making up most of the 30 second gap on his own.  Phinney managed to get involved in a crash again in stage 3.  No broken bones, a rest day, followed by a team time trial.  Phinney may be able to hold on to the Maglia Rosa awhile longer.  More will be said about up and coming Phinney in my forthcoming article on American cycling.

What about our riders?  Or should I say Michaelito Indurain’s riders?  We all expected Cavendish to start paying dividends around this time of year, but we forgot about Mike’s other sneaky picks.  These first two road stages say a lot about how the sprint points may play out.  Sky’s lead out train looked tough on stage 2 only rivaled in speed by the Manx Missile himself.  I hate to say it but his sprint looked so effortless.  Dude is too fast.  Coming in a strong second was none other than the Tasmanian Devil himself, Matt Goss.  The god of thunder Thor Hushovd finished at 7^th, out of the points but, a point was made nonetheless.  Stage 3 was another day for the sprinters and Michaelito Indurain dominated once again.  This time it was Gossy’s turn for glory.  That’s another 16 points for the stage win.  Thor came in 6^th.  Sorry buddy, points only go to the top 5 finishers, but keep trying.  The story of the stage was some dude named Ferrari’s crazy drunken swervy sprint that landed Phinney in the ambulance and gave Cav some wicked road rash.  Will he recover?  I hope not.  But yes, he will. 

Team Wiskota Dynamic’s sprinter has been in a battle to earn his team some early Giro points.  Elbows have been thrown. Is the kind gentle Farrar a thing of the past?  I hope so.  4^th on stage 2 and 3^rd on stage 3 haven’t earned a lot of points but Farrar seems to be poised to take a stage. 

The rest of the Wiskota Fantasy League has spurned the sprinters in favor of GC contenders.  This is probably the right tactic, but we will see.  I have to say that having a sprinter makes for a much more enjoyable Giro, or for that case, Grand Tour experience.  But for now on the flat stages it’s Luke vs. Mike.

10 Questions:

1.      Will Cav rebound from his crash and take more stages?

2.      Will Cav ride the whole Giro?

3.      Will Farrar give up his lead out train and adopt a new tactic?

4.      Can Goss beat Cav head to head?

5.      Why can’t they come up with a pair of cycling pants that don’t shred when you crash?

6.      Just how long can Phinney hold the Maglia Rosa?

7.      Will the team time trial be a GC difference maker?

8.      Have you read the PEZ 3 part Giro preview?

9.      Has any GC man gained an advantage yet?

10.  Can we have a Negroni yet?

Panache! Maglia Rosa Edition

The first grand tour of the season may be the most beautiful. Rolling hills, ocean-side finishes, and Dolomite climbs are all featured in this year’s Giro di Italia. The Giro is Gregario Forza’s favorite race of the season. This year’s Giro may not be as difficult and the main protagonist is on the sidelines for hamburgers, however, this should be a great race.  Cav is there, there’s a Schleck, and Il Presidente is present as well. All the teams are there and the Wiskota Fantasy Cycling League is well represented.

Team Wiskota Dynamic was very busy during the transfer season. I didn’t think Team Wiskota would be a factor in this part of the season; I now have to say this may be the team to beat in the Giro and Cali. Joaquin Rodriguez may not be a favorite for the overall GC but El Purito has to be mentioned as a possible multiple stage winner. Damiano Cunego, Il Piccolo Principe, is riding his own Giro for stage wins and in support of Il Presidente, Michele Scarponi. I don’t believe that for a minute! I personally consider Cunego one of the favorites for GC. Tyler Farrar will have to face the Manx Missile in the sprints. Ryder Hesjedal is the top GC threat for the Dynamic. I predict that the Canadian will be a top 10 and maybe even podium at this year’s event. The Commish made like Nucky Thompson and pulled off a Giro/Cali drop/transfer when he dropped Leipheimer and Greipel at 9:43 p.m. on the last night of the transfer 1 window. In his greasy moves he managed to grab the French climber, John Gadret. Maybe the ugliest man in the peloton, Gadret finished 3^rd in last year’s edition. The Frenchman may be able to be there consistently enough in the last week to be considered a true GC threat once again.

I like Team Michaelito Indurain in this year’s Giro. Mike had a big time threat in Fuglsang who had to drop from a previous injury. No worries. In steps Frank Schleck. I personally think that the move is great for Frank. Now he can ride a race without worrying about his fragile, emotionally unstable, little brother. I either expect Frank to be dominant or to pull a Schleck and be non-existent. Mark Cavendish is riding the Giro, so he’ll win a lot. Farrar will be there to pat him on his back and all will be good in the world of sprint finishes. Oh by the way, Cav’s girlfriend/ baby mama is really hot.  

Michaelito also has a possible stage winner in Thor Hushovd. I hope that Thor will throw the hammer down and win a stage. He needs it, BMC needs it, Michaelito needs it.

I can tell you that during the draft, Team Gregario Forza, felt like the Giro/Cali portion of the season was his. That may no longer be the case. However, Forza will be a force to reckon with. Il Presidente, Michele Scarponi, is the tifosi’ favorite to win the overall on GC. He is Italian, was second on the road in last year’s edition, can climb, placed well at La Doyenne, and can TT surprisingly well. He has a good team but may be fighting the Little Prince for team control. Forza is sporting the great Italian, Ivan Basso, as well in the battle for GC. Ivan the Terrible has only finished two races this season. He has had some difficulty staying on his bike in Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. However, the Smiling Assassin knows how to be there in a 3 week stage race.

Team Bill the Neo Pro has the young up and comer, Roman Kreuziger. The Astana rider won the young riders classification and was 6^th at last year’s Giro. Astana is riding some good form coming out of the Ardennes. I like Kreuziger to podium.

Team Volpe is sending Rigoberto Uran to the start in Denmark. I have no idea what Mr. Uran Uran will do at the Giro. He was 6^th at Catalunya and won a stage there as well. He can climb and he can time trial. Team Volpe could very well pull some points out of this year’s Giro.

Congrats to Team Volpe for the new managerial addition.

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back.

Team Wiskota Podium:

GC

1.       Scarponi

2.       Basso

3.       Kreuziger

Points/stage wins

1.       Cavendish

2.       Cunego

3.       Thor

Forza!

From the Commish

As of 8 O'clock this morning, transfer season has closed. Bring on the Giro!