It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Draft Day 2014

Tuesday Jan. 14th, 7:00 pm
Location: Bullwinkle's @ 7 Corners

Better practice drafting

Broom Wagon

...cleaning up after a long season.

Year in Review

Team by Team

Fujarky

Team Fujarky p/b Steven the neo-pro
claims the Lanterne Rouge

What started out as a promising first season for the neo pro ended in disappointment.  Fujarky's  early season transfers helped him reach as high as second overall.  However, a lack of late season transfers and the inability of his top three picks to bring home a Grand Tour or Monument earned Steven the Lanterne Rouge.

Rider Recap

Contador: gave it his best shot at LeTour, but his best ain't what it used to be

Evans: a solid 3rd at the Giro was overshadowed by a horrible Tour

Hesjedal: Did they ever figure out what he was "sick" with at the Giro?

Greipel: Wins, not enough at the Tour though, hard for sprinters to score a lot

D. Martin:  Best pick.  Snatched up all kinds of potatoes

Henao: great season pointswise, but just couldn't get that big win

Gasparrato: the GasMan needs to refuel

Boom:  didn't go the dynamite

Pinot: Finished strong, only mountaintop finishes for this guy, no downhill

Zubeldia: I feel like he was a factor in a race or two, also I feel like he was on drugs last year

Monfort: Dude was at the Tour

Nieve: Looked good, scored as much as Hesjedal, but that ain't a lot

Transfers:

Santambrogio: Great pick up, he managed to not get busted for doping until after the Giro.  Points stand

Majka: Even better pick up, finished the season 20th in points

The Commish's Take

If Fujarky could have kept up with the transfers he probably would have finished much higher.  However, when you draft 3 former grand tour winners and none of them produce it is going to make for a tough season. Better luck next year.

Taco's main man, Valverde, gets all the ladies
and some points too

Team Dirty Sanchezs p/b Taco made a late season push to get out of the basement but was just short of overtaking Volpe for 4th.  Valverde just kept scoring all year and Chris Horner turned in the performance of a lifetime to claim the Vuelta.

Rider Recap

Sammy Sanchez:  Scored some points but a massive bust as a first round pick

Valverde: Finished 3rd in scoring on the road and 1st in scoring with the ladies

Moser: Won early, best days are still ahead of him

De Gendt: De Bust

LL Sanchez: Team wouldn't let him race and then paid him to go away, the dirtiest of the Sanchezs

Fuglsang:  Pretty boy looked tough at the Tour, nice comeback

Degenkolb: Chunky German sprinter, what's not to like?

Hushovd:  Won that fjordy Norweigan race that was on tv for some reason, not much else

Horner:  Suprise of the season. La Vuelta! USA USA USA

Van Avermaet: Turns out coming in second to Sagan all the time is worth a lot of points

Rolland:  Like in the Epic of Roland, he goes real hard, but then blows up

Farrar: Got a win somewhere but he still really sucks

Transfers:

None

The Commish's Take

I really thought Taco was going to catch Volpe at the end.  Without the dead weight of some of these guys like DeGendt and Farrar, Taco had a decent team.  Taco needs to tap into the Colombian connection next season and spice things up a bit.  

Volpe loves him some cobbles

Volpe's focus on classics riders has once again provided him with a solid team.  Not good enough to crack the podium but better than the rest.  Last year, Boonen was the man for Volpe. This year it was Cancellera who dominated the cobbles.  If only Patrick could get these two to both do well in the same season.

Rider Recap

Cancellera: Flanders/Roubaix double double! Amazing season
Boonen: He's more of an every other year kinda guy these days
Uran: Highest ranked mullet on the leaderboard
A. Schleck: Pretty sure he finally finished a race at some point
Cav: As always lots of wins, but overshadowed at Le Tour in sprints and in the hunt for green
Phinney: A few gutsy performances but not many points
Basso: "Taint"ed season
Roche: Looked tough when he could ride for himself, solid points
Kittel: 4 big wins at Le Tour, that's 80 points right there. Best sleeper pick of the draft?
Iglinsky: Not so much
Roelandts: Quietly amassed 110 points. Flanders!
VanMarcke: Came in second in Roubaix accounting for all of his 80 points
Transfers: None

The Commish's Take

It must be fun to dominate the cobbles every year.  If Volpe could just get a GC guy to pan out he would be formidable opponent.  If Patrick stays with his current strategy he is going to need to be more active during the transfer periods.  

All he does is win yellow

Maillot Jaune Guillaume racks up his second Tour de France win in as many years.  With a strong team all around it was looking close going into the Vuelta.  Unfortunatly, Froome and Porte took the last part of the season off and Bill ended up just slipping into third.  Even more unfortunate is that we haven't heard from Bill since Volpe drafted for him last year and it looks like Guillaume might be getting dropped off the back of the Wiskota train.

Rider Recap

Wiggo: Sucked at the Giro, then went home

Froome: What can we say?  Best GC guy out there

T. Martin: What can we say? Best TT guy out there

Gerrans: Injury held him back but still managed decent points

Kreuziger: Killer season, did it in one dayers and stage races, that's what makes a WFL star

Scarponi: Still can't believe this guy was allowed to race. Racked up top tier points

Goss: Over this guy

Terpstra: The Terpinator was tough all year, respectable late round pick points.

Haussler: Snagged weird points, especially at the end

Porte: Steal of the draft!  This guy pissed me off all year.

Anton: Weak season

Breschel: Meh

Transfers: None

The Commish's Take

Guillaume had probably the strongest top end in the league.  Take into account the steal of the draft and this was a tough team.  A few transfers, cut some dead weight and this team would be untouchable.  I'm glad that didn't happen.  As Team Maillot Jaune Guillaume looks to go the way of Euskatel it will be interesting to see where these riders land. 

Epic Massive Nibs 

Team Forza made the comeback of the season to end in second place overall.  After yet another disappointing classics season Gregario started to turn things around, mostly through the efforts of his main man Nibali.  Transfers paid off big time for Forza, none more than the Tour runner up Nitro Quintana.  It took until the final few races, but in the end Forza was able to knock off Guillaume and claim a solid second place.

Rider Recap

Nibali: One of the best out there, races all year, serious points

Gilbert: Be a bust once, shame on you, be a bust twice...

BoHaug: Too much time on the beach with his girlfriend, bust

Mollema: Solid pick, but just missed out on being a really good pick

Costa: Can't believe he slipped so far down in the draft, taken way too low, great rider 

Rodgers: Should've started doping earlier in the season

Albasini: He won a stage somewhere along the way I think

Voekler: Did he win anything?

Flecha: Bon Voyage Van der Flecha, you will be missed

Westra: I thought you were supposed to be able to TT?

Nocentini: Sneaky points

Vanenedert: Peanut butter Jelle man

   Transfers:

Quintana: Best pick up, hands down, 2nd place at le Tour plus white and polka dot

Betancur: Colombian of the future, badass

Intxausti: Don't forget about the X factor 

Peraud: Almost a top ten at tour, sad ending, pretty sure he scored all his points before he was picked up 

Kwiatkowski: The Quiet One does it all

Coppel: Nope

Arroyo: Sorry

The Commish's Take

Forza should really have had Valverde on his team because like Valverde he dug himself in hole and just when you started to forget about him all of a sudden he would be dragging himself back up to the lead group. Like Balaverde, when others called it a season Forza hung in there racking up late season points.  And, keeping with the Valverde analogy, those efforts paid off, but only with a podium place.

It was the best season yet for the Wiskota Fantasy League and I'm looking forward to a even more competitive season three.

Team Wiskota Dynamic

Wins!

The Commish takes home his second
win in as many years

Gregario Forza and Maillot Jaune Guillaume
round out the podium

Before the blog goes on it's winter hiatus stay tuned for a season wrap up.  Team by team recap, best and worst picks of the year, best mid season transfers, best races, best moments...and don't forget WFL banquet Saturday the 26th at Pancho Villa.  Ya'll owe me some tacos!

Wiskota Fantasy League

Banquet

Saturday October 26th
6:00 p.m. Be there!

There will be bubbling cauldrons
of mexi meats!

WORLD

CHAMP

Costa!

Panzerwagen

The Broom Wagon

La Vuelta!

The old man has his day.

Taco finally gets his day in the sun as his 9th round pick, Chris Horner, claims the biggest win of his career.  Old man Horner looked crazy good and his epic battle on the Angliru may have been the best climb of the year.  Throw in some high finishes by Valverde and Sammy Sanch as well as a some points in the Canadian races and Taco has rocketed from last place to 4th.

Nibbles doesn't like to lose the jersey.

Forza's plan to overtake Bill for second place came up just short, as did Vincenzo Nibali's efforts to win in the Vuelta.  Second place isn't bad at the Vuelta or in the WFL and with a smattering of points here and there, Forza has inched within 27 points of Bill and his coveted second place overall. 

Skinny Spaniards on a sneaky Russian team

Everybody knows how the Commish likes his cyclists; he likes his Spaniards punchy, his Germans chunky and his Russians sneaky.  If Katusha could just sign Degenkolb it would be one stop shopping for Wiskota Dynamic.  JRod and Dani Moreno racked up some nice Vuelta points and of course Sagan tacked on another 80 points like it was nothing.  If Team Wiskota Dynamic can hang in through the Worlds he may have first place sewn up.

Hometown proud

I couldn't find any pictures of Fujarky's Vuelta riders so I snuck in a pick of Wisconsin native Matthew Busche for our one Wisconsin based team.  Pinot actually did really well for him and Ryder snagged some Canadian points keeping Fujarky out of the cellar.

"Its cold, I quit"

Volpe looked to have us all fooled when a resurgent Basso cracked the top 5 of the Vuelta GC standings.  But alas, it got cold one day and Basso, dreaming of his blueberry farm, stepped off his bike and called it a day.  In reality Volpe should be given credit for the efforts of his great Irish hope, Nicholas Roche.  Roche had the ride of his life and was one of the most aggressive in the last week.   Despite this effort Volpe has plummeted to last place and looks to battle it out for the lanterne rouge with Fujarky and Taco. 

Poppin' Bottles

Bill showed why his team name is Maillot Jaune Guillaume and not Camiseta Roja William.  He didn't have any Vuelta riders worthy of a picture and thus we get some more podium girls and Gilbert.  Bill may have missed his shot at first place, but with the Worlds around the corner he may still be in this.  

Vuelta

The final grand tour of the season is upon us!

Broom Wagon

TVG Takes Colorado

Can I get a little something from the crowd? Remember a few years ago when
 I lost this race in the TT and I was all pissed and looked like a brat?    

Sagan Wins 4 stages

No Krebs don't shoot!
Get that man a Coors

Team Wiskota Dynamic scored big time in Colorado.  With Sagan taking 4 stages, TVG taking the TT stage and GC, Dynamic padded his first place lead going into the Vuelta.
As a side note: that is the second time I've used that Krebs joke and I haven't heard anything from either Pat or Mikey.  Don't be afraid to click on the link boys.

Transfer Period Opens Tomorrow

Last chance to make transfers this season. Transfers open at 8 am Monday. To make a move just leave a comment here.

Poles and Danes

Kind of hard to take these races seriously after a month of Le Tour, but a breif recap will be available soon.

Broom Wagon: Tour Wrap Up

FroomeDogg livin' the dream

Chris Froome's dominant performance in this year's Tour just goes to show why Bill is no longer the neo pro, but rather Maillot Jaune Guillaume.  Bill retains his strangle hold on the yellow jersey.  His 400 plus point effort has moved him ever so close to the coveted first place.

Smoke'em if you got'em

Team Wiskota Dynamic was able to hold on to the top spot on the leader board thanks to the green jersey of Sagan and a late podium push by Joaquin "Purito" Rodriguez.  For those of you that don't know his nickname Purito means little cigar. Third Grand Tour Podium in a row for JRod, so spark it up little buddy, you earned it.

Kittel: so Euro, so cool

Coming into the Tour Volpe looked to be in trouble.  No real GC threat to be seen.  He would have to rely on Cav to rack up some stage wins maybe the green jersey.  Well Cav got two stages, but no green.  Respectable but not gonna cut it points wise.  Enter Marcel Kittel.  Four stages and in impressive manner.  This guy's the real deal!

Dude looks tired

Fujarky was unable to win his first Grand Tour but his rider, Alberto Contador managed to keep it exciting until the end.  With Contador's 4th place a couple other high placings and some stage wins by Greips and Danny Boy, Fujarky has closed the gap between himself and Team Volpe.

Tiger Beat Cover Model

Taco's pride and joy, Jacob Fuglsang proved many a doubter wrong finishing this year's Tour with a strong top ten.  The teen heart throb looks to only get better now that he has the support of the entire Kazak nation.  Team Dirty Sanchez's took a hit when team leader Valverde got left behind after a puncture.  However, he did fight back to finish in the top ten and may be the favorite to win the Vuelta.

Second place, king of the mountains, white jersey,  Colombia for life. Deuces.

Project Forza pro continental squad p/b Gregario has officially been rebranded as Team Forza.  After Gregeario's top point getting performance at the Tour, Forza has got the call back up into the big leagues.  At one point Gregario had 5 riders in the top ten.  Of course it was not to finish that way but the meteoric rise of one Nairo Quintana has saved Gregario's season and made him a contender again.  Best free agent pick up of the year.  Followed closely by the Quiet One, Michel Kwiatkowski.  Gregario's team surpassed expectations and with a team built for the Vuelta the top of the WFL leader board better take note.

That Tour was the shit!  Sure Froome had the lead forever, but it never seemed completely safe.  Some great attacks, new stars and an amazing course made this the best tour in recent memory.  Thoughts?  Favorite moments?  Hit up the comments.  Wiskota!

Broom Wagon: Tour Edition

Well I missed my opportunity on the rest day, but I guess it’s kind of the half-way point of the tour depending upon how you count, so let’s do an update of how things are going at this year’s tour.

GC Battle

Forza

-          Mollema: Maybe the revelation of this tour, but mostly just Dutch

-          Costa:  High placing right now, gonna be hard to hold it helping Valverde

-          Nitro Katana:  This little shit is hardcore, probably going to take white and crack Froome

-          Peraud:  Top 15 here I come!

-          Nocentini: Is he in this race?

Volpe

-          Andy: Gotta say, not looking that bad. Top 10?  And even more surprising no jokes from the Commish.

-          Basso: Still soaking his infected taint

Wiskota Dynamic

-          JRod: Too hot? Come on buddy.  Still has a chance come the Alps

-          Jerkin’: I’m going to go home and drain my knee.

-          TVG: But my power meter says…

-          Gesink: Lost 8 minutes on a flat stage. “I’m getting stronger each day” -actual tweet

-          Talansky: U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A.

-          Cunego:  Lampre blows

-          Niemiec: Lampre blows

-          Brajkovic:  Landed on his face, bring on the Vuelta!

-          Moreno:  Still hanging in there with JRod, got pipped for third, shhhhh

Guilluame

-          Froome: Well, they don’t call him Maillot Jaune Guilluame for nothing.

-          Kreuziger:  Looking stronger than Contador

-          Porte: So, glad this dude cracked, I was starting to get pissed.

-          Anton: Hanging around

Fujarky

-          Contador: Needs more of that “good meat”, still think he attacks big time in the Alps

-          Evans: Still shooting for a top ten. BMC has really pussed out.

-          Hesjedal:  I don’t really understand this guy.  Already like a half an hour back.

-          Danny Martin:  Kicking ass.  Going to get dropped in the Alps.

-          Santambrogio: Come on Steven, get with the transfers

-          Pinot: Dude has a speed phobia? Lost 30 minutes on a descent, then cried. True story.

-          Monfort: Uhh, not horrible I guess.

-          Zubeldia: Broke his hand, still rolling.

-          Nieve: Climb baby, climb! Possible top ten this year.

Taco

-          Valverde:  Podium. With a kick ass team, he may have the best shot of topping Froome.

-          DeGendt: Not sure what he’s going for here. 

-          Fuglsang: Taco’s pride and joy has stepped it up. Currently 11^th overall.

-          Rolland: “I’m not aiming for the Polka Dot jersey”. Totally wearing Polka Dots.

Sprinters/Wild Cards

Forza

-          Gilbert: Any day now…

-          Boassen Hagen:  Keep racking up those 4^th place finishes.

-          Voekler:  If the camera’s out the tongue’s out. Not sure if he’ll get one this year.

-          Westra:  Apparently, he is going to get in every break.

-          Kwiatkowski:  The Quiet One does it all.  White jersey?

Volpe

-          Cav: Got some ground to make up if he wants Green.  Still getting points.

-          Roche:  Non factor?

-          Kittel:  Wow, dude is fast.  Already 2 wins.  Big German sprinters!

Wiskota Dynamic

-          Sagan:  Hulk smash!  Gotta get that Green ya’ll.

-          Chava:  So many chances so far, a few more to come.

-          Geraint: Broke his fucking taint

Guillaume

-          T. Martin: We should just TT every day.  Survived a tough crash early on.

-          Gerrans:  Beat Sagan in a sprint, took yellow, sounds like a leprechaun

-          Goss:  I mean really, we still have to talk about this guy?

-          Terpstra: Keep closing those gaps for Cav.

Fujarky

-          Greipel:  1 stage win, lost one to Kittel, another German sprinter. There can be only one!

Taco

-          Moser: Keep closing those gaps for Sagan

-          Degenkolb:  Less mustache more sprinting

The Race

-          Corsica: Bomb.  Let the carnage begin

-          Team Time Trial:  Whatever, I guess

-          Mainland: “Are you not Greipertained!?”

-           Team Sky: Our sports science is too tight

-          Team Sky:  Damn, I’m tired

-          Movistar: The Triumvirate will prevail

-          Saturday: Getting drunk Tour style

-          Mount Ventoux: Can’t wait

Tour Stage Competition

Stage 1: Patrick 3 pts, Greg 0, Luke 0
Stage 2: Patrick 3 pts, Luke 2, Greg 0
Stage 3: Patrick 6 pts, Luke 4, Greg 0

Stage 4: Patrick 8 pts, Luke 5, Greg 0
Stage 5: Patrick 11 pts, Luke 5, Greg 0
Stage 6: Patrick 12 pts, Luke 8, Greg 0
Stage 7: Patrick 15 pts, Luke 8, Greg 0
Stage 8: Patrick 15 pts, Luke 11, Greg 0
Stage 9: Patrick 18 pts, Luke 11, Greg 0
Stage 10: Patrick 19, Luke 11, Greg 2
Stage 11: Patrick 22, Luke 13, Greg 2
Stage 12: Patrick 25, Luke 13, Greg 4
Stage 13: Patrick 28, Luke 13, Greg 4
Stage 14: Patrick 28, Luke 13, Greg 4
Stage 15: Patrick 28, Luke 15, Greg 7
Stage 16: Patrick 28, Luke 15, Greg 7
Stage 17: Patrick 31, Luke 15, Greg 7
Stage 18:

On the Rivet: Tour Preview

Three Days in Corsica

How the Tour jerseys will be won (or lost) at the Grand Depart

Grand Tours love to start in other countries.  The exotic locales add a little intrigue to the beginning of the race and a lot of cash to the race organizers.  The Tour de France has been playing this up for years: Belgium, Monaco, London, The Netherlands, and next year, off to Yorkshire.  However this year, in the 100^th addition, the organizers wanted to make it extra Frenchy.  So, how do you create the spectacle of a Grand Depart and still keep it in the family?  Corsica.  The only “region” of France yet to host Le Tour finally gets its due. 

One flat stage and two lumpy stages, the first climbier, the second punchier.  Doesn’t seem like much compared to climbing Alp D’Huez twice, but as we know, in a pro race the route is as difficult as the peloton wants it to be.  The Tour is the best race in the world because everything about the race is just that much more heightened.  The skill is higher, the speed is faster, the results are more important and thus the riders are more nervous.  Add the fact that there is no prologue and the yellow jersey will be up for grabs every day and we’ve got the most exciting Grand Depart in recent memory.

Maillot Jaune

Alright, the Tour de France won’t be won in Corsica, but the title got you to read this far so why not see this through.  The first stage is flat and shouldn’t be contested by the GC favorites.  But every sprinter, every rouleur, every domestique, every break away artist, every pro conti rider and especially every Frenchmen will be willing to sacrifice life and limb for a shot at the yellow jersey.  Sure this should end up with Cav and Greips going head to head but not before some nut job from Sojasun with one too many accents in his name goes berserker trying to get away.  Not to mention that Bouhanni’s windshield wiper style sprint will be in full effect.  So what does this mean?  Crashes.  It’s not fun to think that the GC can be decided by crashes but almost every year somebody gets unlucky early.  Maybe it doesn’t knock them out but, hitting the pavement is not how you start a winning Tour.

Stages 2 and 3 see the peloton going up and down all day.  Nothing crazy hard but what if somebody wants it to be.  JRod, Evans, Contador and especially Valverde have had a lot of success in the climby classics of the Ardennes and Lombardia.  Will one of them decide to put the Sky train to the test right away?  Stage 2 has a very long descent.  Has SkyNet adjusted their logarithm since the Giro?  If the GC riders have a go on one of these stages it is more than likely that someone will lose out.  If that GC rider is not an able time trilaist then their run for yellow may be over before it begins. 

Maillot Vert

Alright, now here’s a jersey that might actually be won or lost in Corsica.  Sure, whoever wins the first stage will have a leg up on their rivals but it’s not quite as simple as that.   We must start by admitting that the run for green is really between two men, namely Cav and Sagan with Greipel as a spoiler and Goss as a dark horse.  Now that we got that out of the way, why in fact is Corsica so important?  To put it simply: points.  To win the green jersey you have to get your points when they are available.  For the pure sprinters that is on the flat stages.  Fortunately for them, those stages are worth more.  For the more well-rounded finisher points are available on the flat stages and the more lumpy ones.  Let’s cut the crap, what we are talking about is Sagan winning all kinds of stages at this year’s Tour.  Sagan can win when the others can’t and if he can still finish high in the flat stages he has a very good chance to take green again.  But all is not lost for Cav.  All he has to do is make sure he wins those flat stages.  This is where the importance of Corsica comes into play. 

Stage one will not win green for anybody but it may lose it for one of the pure sprinters.  Greips and Goss may be out of the running on day one.  If Cav doesn’t get his he’ll be chasing from the get go.  Stages two and three look pretty good for Sagan, and who knows maybe he could take the opening stage as well.  On the other hand, if the big teams want to ease into this Tour then maybe the pace allows for Cavendish to contest stage two and maybe even three.  If no one doubles up on wins in Corsica than we are probably right back where we started, Cav vs. Sagan.  But if one of these two misses out all together at the Grand Depart then the advantage will be firmly with their rival. Last year the race for green was settled rather early and the Grand Depart this year has the potential to give someone a stranglehold on green before they even hit the mainland.    

Maillot a Pois Rouges

Sure, some climbers come into a grand tour with the plan to go for the mountains jersey.  But other times a rider gets into a break or two, gets some early mountains points, tells his director he feels good and they say “well, what else are we going to do here, go for it”.   The push for polka dots will most certainly not be won on the isle of Corsica.  But what we will learn after the Grand Depart is which outsider will make a run for it this year.  After the move to the main land the climbs stay pretty tame for the next few days (only one climb above cat 3 until stage 8). Some skinny dude is going to try to get some early polka dot glory and hold it until Saturday.

But what if the GC men come out to play early, as I suspect?  What if SkyTrain controls the pace over every climb?  Will there be points left for an outsider to make a run?  With an exceptional amount of climbing coming at the end of stages at the end of the Tour, many king of the mountains points will go to GC hopefuls and stage winners.  So if someone else wants to have a chance at bringing home polka dots they better get some points early.  What we may in fact learn in Corsica is that this year, the king of the mountains jersey is going to go to whoever is atop the podium in Paris.   

Maillot Blanc

The young rider jersey can be a tough one to predict.  Usually these young guys are not designated as a team leader and somewhere along the way they have to do a crazy amount of work for someone else, blow up and end up losing like twenty minutes.  So, there are really three ways to make a run at this jersey. First, you can be on a weak ass team that makes you their leader even though you are still wet behind the ears.  But then of course, your team is weak and thus you have crappy support.  Second, your team leader is good but not that good and you can stay with him.  You finish almost as high as your team leader but because he wasn’t that good you may miss out on white in the end anyways.  Lastly, your team leader gets dropped, gets hurt, gets sick, gets saddle sores, whatever and shazam, you are the new team leader.

Of my favorites to win white only Thibault Pinot of FDJ looks to be a team leader.  Well, it is FDJ.  Good luck with that team time trial.  My other favorites will have to take one of the other routes to white.  This is where the importance of Corsica comes into play.  Crazy sprints, tiny roads, classics style stages and a nervous peloton.  Mark my words; someone isn’t making it off the island.  And if that happens to a team leader look for an opportunistic Talansky, Quintana or TVG to take an early promotion to protected rider status  as well as an early leg up in the battle for white. 

Napoleon’s Revenge

Stage two ends in the home town of the infamous Napoleon.  What does this mean for the peloton?  Probably nothing…or does it?  Vive Le Tour!

Follow me @TeamWiskota or check out our fantasy league blog at teamwiskota.blogspot.com 

The Broom Wagon

Froome and Porte

Costa and Mollema

Guillaume and Forza scored big time as their riders went 1,2 in the Dauphine and Tour de Suisse respectively.  The leader board saw another shake up with Forza finally clawing his way into podium contention.  Volpe's strong man team has begun to suffer during the GC days of the summer time.  He had better hope his sprinters keep scoring if he hopes to hang until the next transfer period.  Taco continues to score but not enough.  It's time for his Spaniards to come alive.  Fujarky had some surprising results and looks for Pinot to start peaking.  Dynamic trudges along scoring points here and there, however with Guillaume's Sky juggernaut breathing down his neck that might not be enough.  The Dauphine and Tour de Suisse were both pretty exciting races, but the results were not necessarily surprising.  Froome and Porte continue to dominate, however it was Costa's time trial victory that was the most impressive.

Well that's it.  Not much more to watch this season.  See you next year. 

Chapeau! and Panache!

The Giro di Italia is over and the snow has finally settled. Despite a soggy start and an icy, snowy finish, I quite liked this year’s race. I don’t think it was totally due to the fact that Team Project Forza’s big gun won the race. This year’s Giro was exciting from the start. Plus Italy may have the most beautiful scenery for the backdrop of a Grand Tour. Ischia, mmmmm, Ischia. Here are a few takes from this year’s Tour of Italy.

Chapeau! to Vincenzo Nibali. Lo Squalo, or the Shark, was super impressive in his win. He has now set himself apart as a true Grand Tour GC winner. Not that the Vuelta doesn’t matter, but winning this year’s Giro was impressionante. Nibbles stayed tranquillo throughout the race and as the other favorites were falling off their bikes and getting respiratory illnesses, the Shark steadily gained time, in the TT’s, on the descents, and of course, up the punchy climbs. It’s too bad that they canceled half the climbs of this year’s Giro or else he may have won by over ten minutes.

Chapeau! to Rigoberto Uran. Rigo was “hungry like a wolf” after his team leader dropped out on account of poor bike handling and lack of cajones. Respiratory problems, hahahahaha, lot of that going around these days. The Wolf really stepped up and made himself a lot of money as he will surely transfer next season to chase his own ambitions. His mullet will look good in the OPQS kit next year.

Chapeau! to Cadel Evans. Not a bad finish for a guy who didn’t know he was racing this year’s Giro.  Cuddles did his cuddly thing and was consistent enough to hang with the Shark and in turn got himself a high placing. Doesn’t hurt that as a former World Cup Mountain Bike racer he was able to descend with the best. Barring a mechanical on stage 20, Cadel could have finished ahead of the Wolf. Now Cuddles heads to the TdF to lead his BMC team. It will be interesting to see if all this racing helps him return to the top of the Grand Boucle or if he falters and TVG picks up where last year’s tour left off.

One of the big stories of this year’s Giro had to be the Polska renaissance. Both Przemysław Niemiec and Rafał Majka, dude kind of looks like Fujarky’s DS, were revelations in this Giro. The “Slaw” almost took over leadership of Lampre as Scarponi did his “I’m good this day”, “not so good this day” routine. Team Fujarky impressed with his pick-up of Majka. I did not expect the Pole to do as well as he did. Almost won the white jersey too, even attacked Betancur after a mechanical- weaksauce Saxo. This had to have been the best Polish Grand Tour exhibition since Zenon Jaskuła.

The Columbians were also a major story in this year’s Giro. Team Columbia were ok, we at least knew they were there. I would have expected more from Duarte and Atapuma. But the real story was the braces and mullet clad Betancur and Uran. I’ve already talked about the exploits of the “Wolf”. Carlos Betancur was really good on the climbs and probably could have even finished higher had the other climbs not been eliminated. He rode valiantly on stage 20 as he suffered from multiple mechanicals, a bike change, and a villainous attack from Majka and Saxo. Team Forza may decide to drop Gilbert and keep Betancur as a Dynasty pick for the future.

Team Sky was unbeatable in 2012 and started 2013 out the same way. However, Nibali has found a way to beat these boys. Sky is known for their methodical and science based riding but science doesn’t work when the racing is unconventionally tuff. Apparently the Sky team is very soft and do not like cold and rain. They can’t simulate that in Tenerife. So it will behoove Saxo, Movistar, et al. to race hard in all situations in the Tour. I honestly don’t see a Sky rider on the podium in this year’s Grand Boucle, ok so that might be a stretch.

One last thought about the Giro. Cav. The Innering declared him to be the best sprinter of all time. Anybody want to argue?

Forza!

Update:
A special chapeau from the Commish goes out to Fast Freddie Rodriguez for winning his fourth US championships.  Hopefully, Fast Freddie comes back to the Nature Valley Grand Prix this year.  And perhaps new Jelly Belly marketing rep/Fujarky director, Steven, can set up another interview with the new national champ.

From the Commish

Transfer Period 2 

The next round of transfers begins at 8 AM.  Transfers run until Midnight Saturday.  Same as before leave a comment to make a trade.  

This is the big one.  Time to get your Tour team in order.  It pays to make moves.  

Wiskota!

Giro!

Nibali Wins 

The Giro Barbie Dream Throne by Mattel.  Now available at FAO Sforza.

Gregario begins his comeback.

The points are posted.  More commentary still to come. 

On the Rivet

A look at who's racing hard this week... 

Belgium and Bavaria

Greips!

Although the Giro is by far the most important race going on this week, we shouldn't completely forget about the rest of the cycling world.  We'll save that for France in July.  The Tour of Belgium.  How many tours does this country get?  It seems like we have been racing here since February.  Well, I'm cool with that and you know Greipel's cool with that.  Although much of this race will be too hilly for the big German he is sure to grab a sprint win here or there.  I mean just look at this dudes legs.

Ladies love the legs, Greips...not to mention your East Berlin sensibilities, sweet shades

Look for a punchy climber to win in Belgium.  PhilGil should take this one.  Or does he have too much jet lag?  Come on buddy.

Bayern Rundfahrt

Bavaria has Frauleins

Let's not forget about Germany.  Seems like we are always forgeting about Germany.  Italy, France and Spain all get a grand tour what does Germany get?  The Tour of Bavaria.  German's have made a big stink about the doping era and many feel that this has stymied the development of the sport in the fatherland.  Others feel that it is the German language itself.  Le Tour, Il Giro, La Vuelta...Der Rundfahrt.  Three of these things belong together.
Anyways, look for one of the G men to take this race, either Geraint Thomas or Simon Gerrans.  Or perhaps Big Jan Ullrich will give it another run.

Haben Sie eine gute fahrt!
See, it's not the most poetic language.

Go Team Wiskota!
Of course we couldn't leave out a little Giro update.  Forza and Fujarky looking good.  The rest of us just looking for some placings.  Check the comments for Gregario's more nuanced take on the race so far.