Draft Day Recap:
A closer look
Volpe- Team Volpe will win any brawl. Volpe has strong riders in Kwiatkowski, Cancellara, Degenkolb and G. Thomas. This is a well rounded team in the classics and should do very well in the one week stage races. It seems that Volpe’s only weakness may be in the grand tours but that is what transfers are for.
MVP- The Penguin- Dooby dooby doo- Geraint Thomas, classics star and rising GC star = points.
Reach- Kwiatkowski- Can the QuietOne be as valuable on Sky? I don't think so...
Best Value- Tony Gallopin- I expect big things from the Frenchman in the Ardennes.
BMC p/b ANF- Bob’s Manufactured Cycling p/b America Needs Farmers is a neo-pro team that is bringing it in their first year. Probably the best top 3 in the league with Froome, Sagan and Porte. This team will be relying heavily on Sagan for the classics but a few top end finishes could be enough to catapult this well-rounded team on to the podium. TdF superstar, Chris Froome-dog, will make hay in July which will make co-sponsor, ANF, very happy.
MVP- Get yourself a Froome Dog
Reach- TVG, BMC likes himself some BMC, TVG will need to increase his harvest at le Tour.
Value- Landa, Wellens,and Zacharin were all taken at great places in the draft but Alaphilippe could bag a classics victory in the Ardennes, not bad for a 10th round pick.
STP p/b GreenLine- This team won’t lose many sprints with the likes of Kittel, Cavendish and Ewan. STP also boasts one of the strongest classics squads with Mathews, Boonen as well as the quickly ascending Tiesj Benoot. Add in Tony Martin, riding the classics, as well as Pozzovivo, Costa and Rolland in stage races- this team is a few transfers away from digging it’s way out of the cellar and on to the podium. What was that article you read?
MVP- Costa (the guy scores points)
Reach- Cavendish, I hope a new team can put the fuel back in the missile.
Value- Tiesj Benoot- 2nd at the Tour of Belgium, 4th at Paris Tours, 6th at Dwars, and 5th at the Ronde!!! Looks like a classics superstar in training.
Gregario Forza p/b Edgar- The Classics squad, Sep VanMarcke ( age 27, too strong last year, bad luck), Vandenbergh (31, 4th at Omloop and G-W in 2015), Stybar (30, 1st at Strade, 2nd at Roubaix), Terpstra (31, 2nd at Flanders, Omloop and G-W and 1st at Wallonie and Qatar in 2015) and add in Taylor Phinney (young USA hopeful for the classics) and this is clearly the strongest cobbles squad in the league. Forza will need Gerrans to return to top form in the Ardennes and for Gilbert to continue to show his mastery of the punchy climbs. Nibali is the early favorite for the Giro and Quintana will finally get a grand tour win (most likely at the Vuelta).
MVP- NIbali, I think the Italian in poised for his best year of his career- La Doyenne?
Reach- Amador, who? Gregario Forza doesn’t know.
Value- Phinney, this is the year! USA, USA, USA, USA!!!
Team Wiskota Dynamic p/b Town Hall Lanes- The 4 time champion once again is boasting a very strong team. Built on stalwarts, Purito Rodriguez and Alexander Kristoff, this team will not be short of wins and points. Also, add in classics studs- GVA and Debusschere, and this team will be tough (in the spring). Wiskota Dynamic will rely heavily on Uran in the grand tours and will need big seasons for Ulissi and Izaguirre. The champions will score early but will need to make transfers to win again. Not a lot of depth on this squad despite having more early draft picks than any other team.
MVP- Purito Rodriguez
Reach- Betancourt- not on anyone's radar and I wasn't taking him. (however, cheering for him)
Value- Izagirre, the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, looks to build on a strong 2015.
PdL/STRAVA- If Wiskota Dynamic wants stage racers he should ask the Wolfpack because this team is stacked when it comes to 1 week races. He is also flushed with talent in the grand tours. Contador, Pinot, Majka, and Mollema will score big in GT’s and Bardet, Spilak, Yates, Fuglsang, and Hesjedal only bolster Wolfsrudel’s dominance in stage races. He will need someone to score big in Ardennes week as he has only one cobbler to go in the spring classics. I predict Pacte de Loupes p/b Strada to be in last place going into the 1st transfer but to finish on the podium. Did I mention he has Valverde? Adios Taco!!!
MVP- Bella Verde- Valverde
Reach- Greipel- Best Sprinter last July but can the Vanilla Gorilla bag a classics victory?
Value- Mollema- Consistent- pert near a guarantee top 10 at Le Tour.
Fair and balanced.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see Nibs rip up the Ardennes or even Milan San Remo. But with the likes of Valverde and Degenkolb around its hard for me to take any "GC" guy in a classic.
It will be interesting to see if the new point system favors one group over the other. The Wolfpack may get the biggest boost.
Also, it's nice to see the Wiskota crew checking the blog. Hi Bob, welcome aboard.