Friday, March 18, 2016

Chapeau

...Gregario Forza's weekly "tip of the hat"



"Well done, old boy"



It’s nearing Holy Week, the Maibock is flowing, we’ve raced to the sun- where has the time gone! Time to get my mind blocked and get ready for the first monument of the year, Milan-San Remo, La Classicissima di primavera, the longest race of the year. There is so much that can happen in 290-some kilometers. Milan-San Remo doesn't have the fireworks of a Paris-Roubaix with 60 km to go, however, the Italian Riviera is amazing and you can hardly beat the final 15km of this race. Before we prognosticate on which WFL rider seizes the line- let's take a look back and tip-the-hat to those who have already put points in the UCI bank.

CHAPEAU

Chapeau to Fabulous Fabian Cancellara, for being Fabulous in Tuscany and winning his 3rd Strade Bianche. Dude is so classy. He had the mark of his rivals despite being outmanned. Strade seems to be the perfect race for Fabian. Tanto Amore Spartacus. A 2nd Chapeau to Spartacus, for winning the final time trial in T.A. Look out field, Fabian looks like he is ready for the spring monuments.

Chapeau to Michael Matthews for winning the Prologue south of Paris and for winning, sort of, a stage in the “Race to the Sun”. Bling!

Chapeau to Nacer Bouhanni for bringing a little physicality to Paris-Nice. He also took a stage, out sprinting the likes of Greipel and Kristoff. K-Train? More like the K-Line

Chapeau to Ilnur Zakarin, the Sugarman got Team McNutt p/b BMC some big points by winning on Madone. Not bad for a couple of neo-pros!

Chapeau to Geraint Thomas for being a model of consistency and proving that he is no flash in the pan in stage races, by winning Paris-Nice. Look out Richie Porte! - There is a new one-weeker in the mix. I am really excited to see if Gee can still be a threat in the classics and in the Grand Tours, a feat that has not been done since the likes of Kelly and Merckx.

Chapeau to the Paris-Nice peloton, for racing hard and making an exciting edition of the “race to the sun”. Thomas, Contador, Sugar, Porte, Wellens- Thank you!

Chapeau to BMC for winning the TTT in Tirreno Adriatico. Nice to see a couple of Americans dragging a European team across Italy.

Chapeau to Zdenek Stybar for going solo and winning stage 2 of Tirreno Adriatico. A great show of strength against a very strong field.

Chapeau to GVA for winning Tirreno Adriatico. There is no one in better form than the Belgian. I am excited to see if his form can continue into the monuments. He is entering Milan-San Remo in the best form of his life, his best placing there was 9th in 2013. He’ll have to hang on  when the punchier guys go on the Poggio, but if he is there in the finish, you can put it on the board… Yes.

Chapeu to Vincenzo Nibali for being direct and honest and not full of cliches. I like that Nibbs speaks his mind about teammates, races, and the people in charge, and he races with panache, attacking and taking the greatest “lift” in the history of the sport. Chapeau Nibbs. #LetNibblesRace

MSR
I usually leave the prognosticating to the 5 time champion of WFL but he’s been a bit off this year so I thought I would make some predictions for the racing this weekend. Here is how I think it will go down…

The MSR peloton seems to be heavier on climbers and punchier riders than in past editions. I don’t believe that this year’s edition will come down to a group sprint, even from a smaller bunch. I think that guys like Nibali and Valverde will soften up the legs of the heavy guys on the Cipressa. From there it will be a hard charge to the Poggio likely picking up any guys from the early break that are left out on the coastal road. The Poggio will produce a number of attacks where a very select group will get away and will extend their lead on the descent into San Remo. The winner will come from this small group after they attack each other into a tactical standstill and someone gets away at just the right moment- Forza Nibbles! Forza!

$$$$ Cancellara
Sagan

$$$ Valverde
GVA
Mathews

$$    BoHag
Nibali
Stybar
Kwiatkowski

$ Kristoff
Lobato
Bouhanni
Swift
Gaviria


Forza!

3 comments:

  1. Such a good preview I will forgo my "On the Rivet" for this week. I think the finale will probably play out the way it has for the last couple with a bunch sprint. Kristoff takes that, but plenty of others in the mix. I almost drafted Gaviria but I think at 300k this rookie may be out of his depth. But this year may be the best chance the skinny riders have to win with warm weather forcasted. Sunny days make for beautiful scenery. Your rankings are pretty good, I would put Mathews and GVA above Sagan and of course I would move Kristoff up. Dark Horse: Ullisi, Darker Horse: Battaglin, Really Dark Horse Riding in his first race of the year: Betancur.

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  2. For all the STRAVA nerds out there this thing is pretty cool
    http://blog.veloviewer.com/milan-san-remo-the-key-climbs-cipressa-and-poggio-and-descent/

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  3. Great writing fellows! Chapeau to both of you! Now how about updating team points?

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