Jayco AlUla thread

Remove this Banner Ad

yaco55 said:
You could not possibly have Grondahl-Jensen in the team due to his form - Colleoni is not up to tour level, Meyer is still not fit after not racing much last year while Hamilton whose form has been terrible since getting sick in the 2021 Tour De Suisse will probably ride the Giro.

Yates is definitely riding the TDF and may not even be at the Giro - Stewart is a chance to ride at the TDF as part of the Groenewegen sprint train.
Click to expand...
They've released their Giro team dude. I listed it above.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

So they came to the Giro with ambitions of winning GC. They'll walk away with (most likely) 3 stage wins and 13th or 14th for Lucas Hamilton. Given Yates was injured so early, is this a pass? I think so.
 
Looking ahead to TDF, DG won a very strong sprint against Jakobsen at Tour of Hungary but the lead outs were a disaster apart from Mezgec. Groves has been racing 18 year olds and neo pros at Estonia and losing which is embarrassing, considering they must of gone there to get UCI points and got nothing. I feel like they have run out of time to get the lead out right and given Yates's situation he will likely go to TDF with something to prove so we could have a bit of a mixture of a team.
 
Orange Agent said:
I vote no. They wanted the overall, strong GC team, that was the only result that mattered.
Click to expand...
Okay. That's fair. However, if I were to rephrase that to having their clear leader injured early, which meant he was out of contention and eventually abandoning, is it a pass?
Orange Agent said:
Looking ahead to TDF, DG won a very strong sprint against Jakobsen at Tour of Hungary but the lead outs were a disaster apart from Mezgec. Groves has been racing 18 year olds and neo pros at Estonia and losing which is embarrassing, considering they must of gone there to get UCI points and got nothing. I feel like they have run out of time to get the lead out right and given Yates's situation he will likely go to TDF with something to prove so we could have a bit of a mixture of a team.
Click to expand...
Groves has had a lot of racing (7 stage races plus 3 one day races) over a 4 month period so might just be gassed, he is still only 23. Probably needs to rest until maybe doing Tour de Pologne as prep for La Vuelta.

I actually think they need to do a FDJ of the Giro and basically do a full lead out train plus a couple of climbers chasing stage wins. Israel bombing out this Giro and only having 4 wins this season allows them to basically focus on stage wins for the Tour, given Froome and Woods aren't really GC threats. Get Yates' knee right and go for a split focus at La Vuelta with Groves and Yates chasing a top 5 (expecting Roglic and Pog to do both).

Groenewegen, Matthews, Mezgec, Durbridge, Meyer, Bauer as the lead out train. Not sure who the climbers are at this stage though.
 
What I think the Tour and Vuelta teams should be respectively:

Le Tour de France: Groenewegen, Matthews, Mezgec, Durbridge, Meyer, Bauer, Schulz (14th on LFW, so in a decent bit of form), Kangert
La Vuelta a Espana: Yates, Hamilton, Sobrero, Durbridge, Craddock, O'Brien, Stewart, Groves

With a TTT in La Vuelta if they do send Yates there (which I think they have to), they should be using their three best time trialists alongside him.
 
Also have moved into 17th in terms of relegation, past EF Education-Easy Post and only 400 or so points behind Cofidis and a little more to Movistar, so a strong Tour and Vuelta could push them up into safety, especially with Cofidis' well known struggles at their home GT. Lotto will be desperate for a strong Tour because if they don't they can probably count on Caleb Ewan's contract being bought out.
 
Orange Agent said:
Looking ahead to TDF, DG won a very strong sprint against Jakobsen at Tour of Hungary but the lead outs were a disaster apart from Mezgec. Groves has been racing 18 year olds and neo pros at Estonia and losing which is embarrassing, considering they must of gone there to get UCI points and got nothing. I feel like they have run out of time to get the lead out right and given Yates's situation he will likely go to TDF with something to prove so we could have a bit of a mixture of a team.
Click to expand...

The TDF team will be built around Groenewegen - The leadouts have been a problem because of Groenewwegen's timidness between 3 to 1km to go - At least in his last two races he showed more trust in his leadout which lead to two victories - Mezgec and Matthews will be part of the lead out - Bex is considering taking Stewart who has been doing good lead outs for Groves.

The likely team for the TDF is Matthews,Groenewegen, Mezgec, Durbridge, Yates, Stewart - If Yates is intact after stage six he will ride for GC or otherwise go for stages - He will get a support rider in Hamilton or Howson - The eighth rider will come from Smith or Edmondson - You've got four riders who could win a stage in Yates, Groenewegen, Matthews and Mezgec.

The Giro result is fine when you obtain three stages - The Estonia race was a chance to be a banana skin - Stage one was a technical 4.5km prologue which always gives PCT and CT teams the chance to win - Bex came 2nd/3rd/4th on the stage - Stage was a super technical last 1.5km which included tight downhill corners along with a 500 metre uphill sprint on wet cobbles while the third stage was an An Rast type stage - The team still got over 100 UCI points. Finally, BEX is having a decent season with 13 wins, including six at WT level.
 
eth-dog said:
What I think the Tour and Vuelta teams should be respectively:

Le Tour de France: Groenewegen, Matthews, Mezgec, Durbridge, Meyer, Bauer, Schulz (14th on LFW, so in a decent bit of form), Kangert
La Vuelta a Espana: Yates, Hamilton, Sobrero, Durbridge, Craddock, O'Brien, Stewart, Groves

With a TTT in La Vuelta if they do send Yates there (which I think they have to), they should be using their three best time trialists alongside him.
Click to expand...

Meyer has been out of form and motivation, so at best he will ride the Vuelta - Kangert will retire at the end of 2022, while his form is not at the level of the TDFwhich is ditto for Schultz.

The Vuelta team is more accurate - Yates will only ride if he's not recovered from the Giro - Groves will definitely be at the Vuelta.
 
eth-dog said:
Also have moved into 17th in terms of relegation, past EF Education-Easy Post and only 400 or so points behind Cofidis and a little more to Movistar, so a strong Tour and Vuelta could push them up into safety, especially with Cofidis' well known struggles at their home GT. Lotto will be desperate for a strong Tour because if they don't they can probably count on Caleb Ewan's contract being bought out.
Click to expand...

Why would Ewan leave ? The 19th ranked team still gets an invite to the Grand Tours and most WT events - Of course there will be no shortage of invitations for Belgium races.
 
yaco55 said:
Why would Ewan leave ? The 19th ranked team still gets an invite to the Grand Tours and most WT events - Of course there will be no shortage of invitations for Belgium races.
Click to expand...
He'd be silly not to if they miss. Their teams a mess
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

eth-dog said:
He'd be silly not to if they miss. Their teams a mess
Click to expand...
Once you rule out GC focused teams and those that are happy with their current sprinter I'm not sure there are that many options.

I don't feel sorry for Lotto given they've been aware of the relegation rules and which races are undervalued by the UCI points, but it must be said that a big contributing factor to their potential relegation has been that their star rider (Ewan) doesn't accrue many UCI points, due in part to the schedule (Ewan has 336 UCI points in 2022 compared with 1090 from their young sprinter De Lie) and also some bad luck with crashes/illness.

If Ewan was to move to a different team I wonder if he'd get the same freedom in choosing his schedule as he has over the past few years.
 
Dees said:
Once you rule out GC focused teams and those that are happy with their current sprinter I'm not sure there are that many options.

I don't feel sorry for Lotto given they've been aware of the relegation rules and which races are undervalued by the UCI points, but it must be said that a big contributing factor to their potential relegation has been that their star rider (Ewan) doesn't accrue many UCI points, due in part to the schedule (Ewan has 336 UCI points in 2022 compared with 1090 from their young sprinter De Lie) and also some bad luck with crashes/illness.

If Ewan was to move to a different team I wonder if he'd get the same freedom in choosing his schedule as he has over the past few years.
Click to expand...
He's still probably the fastest in the pro peloton, I wouldn't find it too difficult to imagine he'd find a home. What will be Deceunick-Alpecin have the budget necessary to bring him over, and Jasper Philipsen, with all due respect, isn't in the same weight division as him, Bennett, Demare and Jakobsen IMO.
 
With a decent lead out his results would improve considerably. With Soudal moving across to QuickStep, the budget maybe a lot tighter and possibly losing WT status has sponsorship implications. If someone offered him a better deal Lotto could be best letting him go and looking for someone the likes of a Laporte before this year. They are probably retiring DeGendt, PhilGil, Kluge at the end of this year. DSM could be a good fit for Ewan.
 
Orange Agent said:
With a decent lead out his results would improve considerably. With Soudal moving across to QuickStep, the budget maybe a lot tighter and possibly losing WT status has sponsorship implications. If someone offered him a better deal Lotto could be best letting him go and looking for someone the likes of a Laporte before this year. They are probably retiring DeGendt, PhilGil, Kluge at the end of this year. DSM could be a good fit for Ewan.
Click to expand...
DSM, Alpecin are the obvious ones for me. Maybe UAE if they want to replace Gaviria (if he leaves)?
 
In any case, back to BEX. Looks like Groenewegen will be heading the line at the Dauphine, and Kevin Colleoni is on the rumoured start list as well which is an interesting move. We should see the confirmed starters in a couple of days though, would probably expect the starters for TdF minus one as you can only take 7 there (I think).

They've released their team for the Brussels classic, which I assume is a flat parcourse given that Kristoff, Wellens, Viviani and Gaviria are all notable sprinters there.

Balmer, Bewley, Groves, Konychev, O'Brien, Smith, Stewart as the 7. I'm worried Bewley is still gassed after so much racing over the past 4 months but I guess if he can maybe get top 5 it helps the points situation?
 
The chase for UCI points is leading to a number of negative effects

  • PCT and CT teams are losing starts at races and the opportunities for wins
  • It's leading to a dimunition in the quality of fields for some of the bigger races As an example, Sep Van Marcke is racing 55 one day races, instead of the TDF or the Vuelta
  • It will burn out some riders
  • And then even if you are chasing starts for UCI points you dont always get an invite - For example, Bex is riding Brussels Classic on Sunday but failed to get a start in Saturday's race in Belgium.
 
So the apparent team (unconfirmed) for the Dauphine is:

Groenewegen, Durbridge, Edmondson, Grondahl Jansen, Schultz, Grmay, Colleoni

That's a pretty shit lead out for Dylan. Who's the second quickest, genuinely? Durbo, Edmondson and AGJ are all more of your workhorses who can reel in a break and Schultz, Grmay and Colleoni are all climbers! I would have thought Mezgec and Matthews would have been there so they could work on some stuff together before the Tour. I'd have kept Edmondson and Schultz in reserve for this one and had those two, as the tour team probably omits a climber for those two as the 8.
 
I have no idea why Groenewegen is riding the Dauphine - There is only certain stage in which he''ll make the final - BEX would have been better to send Matthews to Dauphine instead of the Suisse Tour - Groenewegen could have ridden Brussels Classic and Dauphine.
 
yaco55 said:
I have no idea why Groenewegen is riding the Dauphine - There is only certain stage in which he''ll make the final - BEX would have been better to send Matthews to Dauphine instead of the Suisse Tour - Groenewegen could have ridden Brussels Classic and Dauphine.
Click to expand...
I think it's pretty clear that BEX don't consider Matthews as a team leader anymore for stage races. He'll be at Tour de Suisse to support Groves (who I still don't think should ride that race).

Interesting that most of the favourites are doing the Suisse instead of the Dauphine. Haig, O'Connor and Roglic/Vingegaard the only ones at Dauphine; whereas the Suisse has Mader, Vlasov, Pinot, Martinez/Yates and Evenepoel, whilst Pogacar is doing the Tour of Slovenia without any real competition. Would have thought Ineos and Jumbo should have split their leaders personally.
 
I
eth-dog said:
I think it's pretty clear that BEX don't consider Matthews as a team leader anymore for stage races. He'll be at Tour de Suisse to support Groves (who I still don't think should ride that race).

Interesting that most of the favourites are doing the Suisse instead of the Dauphine. Haig, O'Connor and Roglic/Vingegaard the only ones at Dauphine; whereas the Suisse has Mader, Vlasov, Pinot, Martinez/Yates and Evenepoel, whilst Pogacar is doing the Tour of Slovenia without any real competition. Would have thought Ineos and Jumbo should have split their leaders personally.
Click to expand...
Pogacar is a machine, I'm hoping Roglic and perhaps an outsider like Mick Storer can set the cats among the pigeons, as it were.

Anywho, the real reason I came here Matt Keenan says a Criterium line up is basically what you're taking to the Tour.. and if that is the case...
Team Bike Exchange here
*Young rider classified... taken from Startlist for Critérium du Dauphiné 2022

If Grmay wins a stage (unlikely).. Let's hope he doesn't cork it... Bike Exchange need a GC rider, and actually get behind him
 
SS3840 said:
I

Pogacar is a machine, I'm hoping Roglic and perhaps an outsider like Mick Storer can set the cats among the pigeons, as it were.

Anywho, the real reason I came here Matt Keenan says a Criterium line up is basically what you're taking to the Tour.. and if that is the case...
Team Bike Exchange here
*Young rider classified... taken from Startlist for Critérium du Dauphiné 2022

If Grmay wins a stage (unlikely).. Let's hope he doesn't cork it... Bike Exchange need a GC rider, and actually get behind him
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. As I said above, most likely Edmondson and Grondahl Jansen are competing for a workhorse spot (with Durbridge tied with Juul Jensen as the best in the squad) with Matthews and Mezgec being the lead out duo for Groenewegen and then Colleoni, Schultz and Grmay likely fighting for the two climber spots on the team, with Schultz the most likely. My money for a tour team would be:

Groenewegen, Mezgec, Matthews, Durbridge, Grondahl Jansen, Bauer, Schultz, Colleoni

Bike Exchange need to stop going for GC after this year. Let Yates go to a team where he can challenge for a Giro or Tour (maybe Jumbo-Visma) and look for someone like Tom Dumoulin to be a pure stage hunter. Rumours are suggesting Hamilton might be heading over to Bora to help Jai as well. We're a team that sort of fell into GC without really having the budget to sustain it. Focus on Groves and Groenewegen for the most part and try to get a good classics rider as well.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Jayco AlUla thread

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top