Friday, March 29, 2013

RONDE



Pass the Pub
Pass the Church

Say your prayers
and hold on for your life

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the week's events...



So Many Races!

Catalonia, Corsica and Cobbles

Go get them potatoes Danny Boy!

Froomy and Porte, BFFs

Dude has time to pop wheelies

The stage races start piling up this time of year, but we know where the real action is.  Flanders, Flanders Flanders, Flanders, Flanders.  Tons of points racked up this week, but it doesn't slow down any time soon. All eyes on Belgium as the Drei Dagge leads into Holy Week and the monuments of the cobbles.
Oh yeah, and by the way Team Wiskota Dynamic has topped the 1000 pt mark.  Damn that team scores points.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013


The Time Has Come 




Dwars Door Vlaanderen 3/20/13

On the Rivet

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

Up, Up and Away!
Catalunya is for the climbers

Wednesday

Thursday
Sunday
Climb, climb, climb.  Better get those watt computers warmed up cause this race is a dynamo.  Wiggins and the Sky crew are already throwing down on the flatter stages and have let their intent be known.  The summit finishes and lack of a TT could expose a chink in the Sky armor as punchier riders will look to steal seconds at the end of stages.  Valverde and JRod take their Spanish races seriously and the course looks tailor made for their abilities.  Sunday's finish in Barcelona has the makings of a seriously exciting stage.  Yup, that's 8 cat 3 climbs in the last 50 K.  Paging Valverde.  Too bad Nibali isn't here because when I see that finish that is who I think of.  The first day already gave many GC guys a 20 some second lead, signaling early on who is in it to win it.  Here are the WFL guys we have that made that break:
Fujarky: Danny Boy Martin
Dynamic: JRod, Gesink
Guillaume: Wiggo, Scarponi
Taco: Valverde
There are plenty of other guys here too, that are far from out of it.  But I think the overall winner will come from this group.
Prediction
WFL Podium:
Valverde, JRod, Wiggo



Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the week's events...



Ciolek Wins in San Remo
Epic massive snowstorm, brah


The weather was the story last Sunday, but the riders were not to be overshadowed.  After a weird bus ride around the first snowy climb of the race many riders dropped out, others restarted, then dropped out and others still, just got on twitter right away to bitch about the cold.  In the end, it came down to a  small group sprint containing several prerace favorites.  Cancellera, Paulini, Chavanel and the odds on favorite Sagan, were all surprised by the German sprinter Gerald Ciolek.  A huge win for the weird sounding African team MTN something something.  Few predicted this finish, despite what Gregario says now, but ultimately the big German handled the cold better than most and timed his sprint perfectly. 

Sagan's expression pretty much sums it up

Still lots of points for the WFL, but only two directors reaped the benefits.  Volpe's Spartacus looked strong as ever rocking a seated sprint for a very close third.  Phinney might be my new hero with yet another massive effort this weekend.  This one had him bridge to the lead group at the last second securing a 7th place finish.  Cav won the group sprint behind for a nifty little 9th place finish.  Wiskota Dynamic increased its lead over the field with a strong second for Sagan and a massive ride by Chava for 4th place, but not to toot my own horn, I will let Gregario talk up my team for me.    

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the week's events...


The Fish in Nice


And the Shark in the Adriatic

The biggest points windfall so far this season for the WFL.  The new standings are up and more commentary to come soon.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Chapeau!


Strade-Bianchi e molto bello! What a great race. I very much enjoyed my tour through the Tuscan countryside. No, Gregario Forza was not among the tifosi in Italy; I was in a northern Minnesota cottage in the middle of the Superior Forest. I woke up super hung-over at about 6 bells, made some coffee, drank some mimosas (too early for Chianti?), and enjoyed a crystal clear live feed. Thank you RAI. Gregario Forza, also known as il Procrastinator, will also tip the hat to the early protagonists of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. What a great week to be a cycling fan! Sorry if I missed anyone as I’m doing this from memory; I’m waiting to watch a tape delayed Stage 5 and don’t want to see any spoilers.

Chapeau! to Moreno Moser. Lui e magnifico! The man with the famous family lived up to the hype of his Uncle’s name. The Strade is most certainly Moser’s biggest win in his young career. Moreno had the support of one of the best riders in the peloton in the Slovakian Slayer e Peter Sagan. Moser showed great poise and a winner’s edge while he rode Flecha off his wheel and attacked the members of the breakaway. Nice pick Taco! Building blocks of a dynasty!

Chapeau! to Peter Sagan. If it wasn’t Sagan’s teammate for the win it would have most definitely been the Tourminator himself. Sagan looked to be the strongest of the favorites. Always cool, always comfortable, Sagan tenaciously marked all the moves from Cancellara, Nocentini, et al. Today at Tirreno Adriatico, Sagan was able to beat Cav and Greipel in a sprint; I smell a victory at la classica primavera, Milan-SanRemo.

Chapeau! to Rinaldo Nocentini. Rinaldo gained Project Forza Pro Coni squad some much needed points. Although Rinaldo hails from under the Tuscan sun, this was the Italians first go at the white roads. The 35 year old Nocentini seemed to be at home. He was very strong in the preferiti gruppo, and was only outsprinted by Sagn in the finale. Forza!

Chapeau! to Jaun Antonio Flecha. I just enjoyed seeing the Spanish Flanderen out on the attack. It made the run up to finish exciting. Roubaix training perhaps? Forza!

Chapeau! to Marcel Kittel. SKittels won the stage 2 sprint at Paris-Nice. While many or the big dogs of the sprint (Cav, Greips, Goss, Farrar (hahahahaha), etc.), are in Italy, and Hutarovich crashed out, sKittels still won. And that means points for Volpe.

Chapeau! to Andrew Talansky. The Pit Bull was relentless in his bite at the end of stage 3. Although he had a free ride via Tame Sky to the finish, Talansky flew through the small group of leaders and managed to win the stage and put on the leaders jersey of Paris-Nice. This was a huge win for the American. Now can he and his Garmin teammates protect yellow on Montagne de Lure? I can’t wait to find out.

Chapeau! to Michael Albasini. The Albatross spread his wings and took a massive sprint after a bumpy day in Paris-Nice. This was the first win for the Swiss rider in 2013 and Alba claimed he didn’t know if he was in good form. He may not be able to repeat the wins he had in 2012 but the Albatross has opened up his account. Look out! Forza!

Chapeau! to OPQS. On a very difficult course, in very difficult conditions, the Omega-Pharma Quickstep squad was the fastest in the stage 1 TTT at the race of the two seas. OPQS got Cavendish the maglio azzurra, which he should be able to hold until the road goes up. Considering the makeup of the teams at Adritico this year, this was ahuge win for OPQS.

Chapeau! to Mathew Harley Goss. This was supposed to be the stage where we saw the two fastest men in the sprint battle for early season prominence. However, Cav and Greipel did not win stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico. It was the Aussie, Gossy. In a rainy, technical finish, Goss got the edge over the rest of the sprinters and looked very strong. He too could be in form to win Milan-SanRemo. Tough win and Chapeau! to you Mr. Goss.

Schleckers of the week: No one at Strade-Bianchi. That race is so awesome no rider who participates should be chastised by this hack. Although, Andy didn’t finish, ha! Rui Costa’s wrist is certainly not on my good list, I just hope he can mend before the Ardennes. Gesink lost out in the echelons of France. The Grape Ape, Andre Greipel, has not been able to punch his ticket on the Lotto train as he was very absent in the stage 2 sprint in which Goss the Boss was victorious. The Manx Missile has also not been his super sprinty self at Tirrenno. He called out his teammates after stage 2 and was beat by a guy who is not supposed to contend with the “real” sprinters. Have no worries, Cav and Greips will impress before the week in Italy is over. Where is Wiggo? Wiggo? Are you playing possum? Nibbles thinks so.

Forza!


Thursday, March 7, 2013

On the Rivet


A look at who’s racing hard this week…

The coolest trophy in cycling?


Tirreno - Adriatico began this week as the peloton began to work its way across Italy, from sea to shining sea.  The field is full of WFL riders, GC hopefuls and sprinters alike.  Here’s a quick run down of who to watch.  For a full listing check the startlists link on the right.

FroomeDogg, Nibbles, JRod, Cuddles and Pistelero continue what they started in Oman.  These men will be the GC favorites throughout the year and Tirreno is no exception. Other GC hopefuls of note include Sammy Sanch and an on form Nocentini.

Many fans look to Tirreno as a preview of the sprint teams of the Tour later in the season.  And so of course the favorites are Cav and Greips.  Other sprinters of note, Goss and Degenkolb. 

Predictions:
WFL Podium
Cadel, Froome, Nibali


Don’t forget Paris Nice wraps up this weekend.  The big mountain top finish is on Friday and the final TT in Nice will decide it all.  I’m looking to avoid all cycling media on Friday and to watch the Queen stage on NBC Sports at 11 pm.  Here’s the course profile.  Wiskota!


Stage profile

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the weekend's events...  



Grandissimo!
Moser wins with panache'
The much anticipated Strade Bianche did not disappoint. Taco scored big in Siena taking his first victory of the season.  Moreno "Machismo" Moser made the finish look easy leading many to wonder just how good this kid could be.  Taco has shot up the leader board by placing three riders in the top 15.  The Dirty Sanchez's are on the move.  Gregario continues to get sneaky points from Nocentini, but not enough to avoid falling to the bottom of the standings.  The leader board saw a shake up with Team Dynamic making a triumphant return to the top, surpassing Volpe and Cancellera through the strong second place finish of Peter Sagan.  All in all, this was a very cool race, action, scenery, machismo, all washed down with a couple early morning espresso's.  La Dolce Vita.

Friday, March 1, 2013

On the Rivet


A look at who’s racing hard this week…


Alright, here we go.  A race on gravel, a race on ancient Roman cobbles, a race on TV!  We got some good racing this weekend and it just keeps rolling all week.  Let’s get into it.

Strade Bianche


The Wiskota league includes world tour races, Euro tour races rated HC and the two big American races.  So, what’s up with this 1.1 rated race coming up this Saturday?  The Strade Bianche made it onto the WFL schedule through a special last minute dispensation from the outgoing Pope.  So, let’s take advantage of this small popeless window we are experiencing with some top notch Italian cycling. 
The white roads of Tuscany call to the riders of the Strade Bianche, which is quickly becoming a favorite race of both fans and riders alike.  Italy’s answer to the northern classics this race features 8 sections of white gravel roads.  When it’s dry, it’s very dry, when its wet it’s very wet.  Just ask Cadel.  Punchy climbs, long climbs, rolling terrain and dangerous descents make the Strade a unique race.  A quick look at past winners suggests this is a stongman’s race, but upon closer inspection it is really quite open.  In the past some classics riders that we would consider more Ardennesey than Flandersey have placed high.  Fortunately, the WFL is sending all types of riders to this race.  Will it come down to early season form or will it be a more technical race, tune in Saturday to find out.  Side note: the steam should be better, the Strade actually streams from their own site, check Cyclingfans as usual. 

Volpe: Cancellera, Phinney, Sep, Iglinsky
Taco: Van Avermaet, Moser, Farrar, Valverde
Dynamic: Cunego, Pozzato, Sagan
Gregario: Nocentini, Flecha
Fujarky: Gasparatto, Boom, Danny Boy
Guillaume: Sorry

WFL Podium: Sagan, Cancellera, Van Avermaet

How it could go down:
It’s a fast day as the anticipation for this race has been high.  A breakaway doesn’t get away for quite a while.  But when it does everyone is already too tired to chase it down.  Phinney finds himself the strongest guy in the bunch and gets the green light to push on.  He makes his move before the final climb into Siena, but he doesn’t gain quite enough time as the rest of his group swallows him up with a K to go.   “The Cat” pounces and Oscar Gatto takes the biggest win of his career.

How it might go down:
It’s a fast day, but a breakaway forms from the get go.   Phinney leads the charge over the white gravel roads and seems to have secured a victory for the group.  But not so fast.  Every Italian in the peloton takes a turn at the front and before you know it they are all back together.  A medium sized group makes it to Siena and the little guys look to rip it apart with blistering attacks.  Cunego and Nocentini lead the way but Visconti gets away.  The rest of the guys regroup and pull him back in.  Are there any strong men left to take this?  Just then a full krausened Kolobnev makes a move for victory.  Katusha is back! The sneaky Russian takes the win.

How it will go down:
It’s a fast day and all the big names send their top lieutenants up the road.  A few teams are left to pull (Garmin) but eventually they come back together.  The race breaks up going over the Monte Santa Maria as expected.  But it’s the descents that cause the real problems.  Sagan and Van Avermaet seem to get some room.  Do they ride together from here out?  No decision has to be made as Spartacus comes blowing by them.  Sagan and GVA hitch a ride to Siena and they begin there ascent.  As they approach the finish it’s pretty much a done deal.  Sagan takes another win for Team Dynamic.   

Paris – Nice


Yeah, I know the Tour Down Under was the first stage race of the season and I know I was all about it at the time, but everybody knows Paris – Nice is the real start to the stage race season.  The “race to the sun” is one of the cooler one week races on the calendar, tons of history and a very diverse course.  As the peloton travels south to the promise of sunny days they often encounter a wide range of weather, wind, rain even snow.  And of course, don’t forget about those mountains in the middle.  The Massif Central region of France holds a special place in my heart as this is where I caught a couple stages of Le Tour a few years back.  Having driven through several mountain passes to get there I can attest to the beauty and difficulty of these stages.  This year’s race ends with a 10 K time trial straight up a mountain.  Some TTs can be kind of boring to watch but the climb, the riders and the importance of the stage all set to the backdrop of the sparkling city of Nice this one promises to be a winner.  Lot’s of WFL riders here so set your DVRs to record NBC Sports, sit back and enjoy.

Volpe: Iglinsky, Basso, Boonen, Kittel, Roche
Taco: Fuglsang, DeGendt
Dynamic: Gesink, TVG, Talansky, Chavanel, Velits
Gregario: PhilGil, Costa, Albasini, Voekler, Westra
Fujarky: Nieve, Monfort, Porte
Guillaume: Haussler, Scarponi, Gerrans, Breschel

WFL Podium: TVG, Talansky, Gesink. That’s right a Dynamic sweep.  Don't just take my word for it.

How it could happen:
The weather is unpredictable and as the peloton roll into the mountains of stage 4 they are hit with a wicked storm.  The GC guys manage to stay afloat but the lumpy finish around Saint-Vallier is a perfect spring board for Gilbert.  In an epic attack PhilGil takes minutes out of the Peloton.  BMC rallies to protect him through the rest of the race with TVG shepherding him up the steeper climbs.  He limits his losses on the final TT and Gilbert wins Paris –Nice Sean Kelly style.

How it might happen:
The weather is unpredictable and a battered peloton rolls into the mountains of the Massif Central tired and cold.  The mountains prove to be too much for many of the GC hopefuls this early in the season.  A few of the meatier climbers, Costa, Westra and Fuglsang seem to manage the weather better.  The GC is wide open as they head to the TT.  Costa puts in the performance of a lifetime and secures his position as Movistar’s next great stage racer.

How it will go down:
The weather is unpredictable, but the riders are not.  The mountain top finish on stage 5 leaves the three pre-race favorites separated by a few seconds with Gesink in the lead.  It all comes down to the final TT.  TVG and Talanksy match efforts to surpass Gesink on the podium with Van Garderen taking his first of many stage race wins.

Chapeau!

A tip of the hat to this week's best performances...



The cobbles did not live up to opening weekend expectations. The Omloop was bogged down by bad streaming and boring racing and K-B-K was sacked by a snowstorm. At Het Volk, many of the classics specialists were keeping warm in the main peloton and failed to strike an attack to pull back the breakaway group. However, some of the Team Wiskota riders were present in the attacking group and a sneaky Italian grabbed the win.

Chapeau! to Luca Paolini. Little Luca rode a tactically smart race to bag his biggest result in the classics. Luca used his big Belgian breakaway partner to stay out of the wintery winds and timed his sprint to perfection.

Chapeau! to Stijn Vandenbergh. The Big Belgian showed why OPQS is such a strong team in the classics. At 6’6” Stijn looked like the stronger man in the break. However, strong he may be, sprinty he is not. He couldn’t win for Oudenarde in the season opener.

Chapeau! to Chavanel I guess. La Machine was a beast at the Omloop and I thought he had the race won with 40k to go. It was not made to be and with a teammate in the duo ahead he was able to sit on the breakaway. I thought Mimosa was finally going to bag his cobbled classic.

Chapeau! to The Penguin. Geraint Thomas is still looking strong and is forming a coup d’etat within the Sky cobbled classics squad. No longer is Eddy Boss the sole leader, G has thrown himself into the mix. It should be interesting to see what Sky will do come the Monuments. He was able to finish 4th at Gent-Gent just missing out in the sprint for the podium.

Chapeau! to Greg Van Avermaet. GVA was the favorite going into Het Volk and showed that he may have been the strongest guy in the race despite missing out on the podium. Avi chased down Chavanel early on in the race when Chapeau seemed to be gone.

Chapeau! to Jurgen Roelandts. The former Belgian National Champion looks real strong this year. He also aided GVA in the capture of La Machine. It looks like Lotto has a card to play come Flanders and Roubaix.
The “Schleck of the Week” goes to the big guns of the cobbles. Boonen, Thor, BoHag, and Pozzatto were all left as spectators in the Omloop but all those guys had teammates up the road. Flecha and Vacansolei tried but did very little to chase down the breakaway, GreenEdge tried to help as well, but the biggest loser was Garmin. The American squad was absent from the break and from the front of the peloton. Jonathan should spend less time at Yale and more time on his tactics in the classics.