2022 season thread

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

Unfortunately the 2022 season kicks off with some awful news about a serious crash for Egan Bernal. Currently in intensive care after hours of surgery, which sounds like it has been successful...but the injuries sound career altering at best.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/60113862

From an Ineos point of view, he was going to the Tour as their designated leader...now they'll probably have to shuffle some schedules around and maybe make Carapaz the leader for the Tour rather than the Giro?

[Azabache]

Roglic still @ 1.01-let's see where he is at COP Sunday....

[Lowlandbrit]

First rest day:
Evenepoel
Mas +1'12
Roglic +1'53
Pozzovivo in 22nd still within 10 mins, plenty to race for yet.
For better or worse, Lefevre has been remodeling his team around the belief Evenepoel can win the TdF. Real chance for them to back that up and show they belong in the conversation.

[formerly known as Sam]

Ouch, rough day for British cyclists yesterday with Tao crashing out of the top ten, Steward leaving the race and Pidcock having to start from the back of the grid before having a mechanical to finish an agonising fourth at the mountain bike world championship.

Some of the time gaps look pretty hefty at the minute but we've seen early leaders break on climbs later in the race before.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Good opportunity for Remco to extend that lead in the time trial tomorrow for which he is favourite - then it's a few flat stages, before we get to week 3 which is his big hurdle, having never done a full GT in contention before

[Azabache]

Having got to like Roglic (I was a bit neutral in his early years), and feel sorry for his accursed Tour luck, I'm still hoping for a dogged clawing back over the full 3 weeks.

But maybe that back injury is more persistent than they're letting on..

[Lowlandbrit]

Second rest day:
Evenepoel
Roglic +1'34
Mas +2'01
Roglic clawing time back, but does he have enough chances left to get in red?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Second rest day:
Evenepoel
Roglic +1'34
Mas +2'01
Roglic clawing time back, but does he have enough chances left to get in red?

Unusually for the Vuelta it looks a pretty quiet final week - some climbing days of course, but they look more gradual long efforts, lacking some of the usual ridiculously steep climbs...probably more suited to Remco than Roglic on paper. Think folk will be needing Remco to have a proper proper off day to claw all the time back (and actually, I think if he attacks for once, Mas might actually be stronger than Roglic at the moment)

[CaledonianCraig]

Roglic has withdrawn from La Vuelta following a crash at the end of the stage yesterday. He completed the stage but injuries sustained have forced him out of the rest of the race.

[Lowlandbrit]

Didn't look like a stage to try anything on paper, but he saw an opportunity to take a few more seconds back. Evenepoel punctured, Roglic fell hard, and when everyone had been placed back in their groups Roglic gained 8 seconds at the cost of his race.

[formerly known as Sam]

Odd choice for Roglic to put himself back into the sprinting pack, the damage was done for the day all he needed to do was move well out the way and come over the line. Bunch sprints are messy why risk it? Real shame as Remco looked on the ropes and it was going to be a real dramatic race finish.

[Azabache]

He's extended his lead slightly after winning today's stage. I can't see him losing now that 1) Roglic, and others, have gone and 2) there are few really nasty climbs left in this final week-unusually for the Vuelta.

It's not his fault, but one can't but reflect on his good fortune and others' bad luck.

Incidentally, isn't the Quest channel's highlights coverage appalling-one day mysteriously missed and today's cut short half-way through, the GC listing often missing...; I feel sorry for the team of presenters, particularly the engaging Orla Chennaoui.

[dummy_half]

He's extended his lead slightly after winning today's stage. I can't see him losing now that 1) Roglic, and others, have gone and 2) there are few really nasty climbs left in this final week-unusually for the Vuelta.

It's not his fault, but one can't but reflect on his good fortune and others' bad luck.

Incidentally, isn't the Quest channel's highlights coverage appalling-one day mysteriously missed and today's cut short half-way through, the GC listing often missing...; I feel sorry for the team of presenters, particularly the engaging Orla Chennaoui.

I think you can say that about a lot of race wins though - you avoid the crashes and the silly losses of time (such as getting the wrong side of an echelon) and you can beat potentially stronger opponents. Not that Evenepoel is lacking strength, but the questions were there over his endurance in the highest mountains and in the longer races.

[Lowlandbrit]

Just needs to make it to Madrid to become the first Belgian GT winner since 1978.
Hard luck for the generation of riders that thought they'd be in their primes with a chance to pull something off without Froome. Podium finish for Juan Ayuso (19).

[Soul Requiem]

Just needs to make it to Madrid to become the first Belgian GT winner since 1978.
Hard luck for the generation of riders that thought they'd be in their primes with a chance to pull something off without Froome. Podium finish for Juan Ayuso (19).

Remarkable statistic that considering how dominant the Belgians were during the 70's, a certain Eddy Merckx contributed greatly to that but there were still another five outside of him. 14 of the 30 grand tour winners from one country.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Ayuso the youngest to podium a grand tour since 1936 - quite incredible really!

[Lowlandbrit]

Ayuso the youngest to podium a grand tour since 1936 - quite incredible really!

Alejandro Valverde won his first GT stage two days before his first birthday. The man leading the Vuelta the day he was born is still on a Continental team (Oscar Sevilla).

[Azabache]

Oscar Sevilla! Thought he'd retired years ago. Just shows there're opportunities still in the "lower" ranks...

[Lowlandbrit]

Van Vleuten crosses the line solo to win the rainbow jersey 2 weeks before her 40th birthday, and after breaking her elbow on Wednesday. Perfect cap on a year in which she also won all three GT.

[Lowlandbrit]

Evenepoel ticks off another box on the career checklist. Van der Poel abandoned early after spending the night in prison following an altercation with two teenage girls in the hotel.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Bizarre tactics by many nations to let Evenepoel get up the road with a teammate - haven't they learnt from LBL/San Sebastian and other occasions by now to just not let him get in a break with a big advantage?

[Soul Requiem]

You realise how well drilled the pro teams are, breaks like this happen far more often in the worlds than they do in any other race. Cavendish in 2012 being a case in point, the actual sky team at the time are presenting him for the end sprint almost every time.

[formerly known as Sam]

Are ear pieces still banned on the international level? With no team radio it might be harder to orchestrate a cohesive chase.

[dummy_half]

Are ear pieces still banned on the international level? With no team radio it might be harder to orchestrate a cohesive chase.

Correct, no team radio in the Worlds. Still a huge mistake to let Evenepoel up the road alone - should have been guys from each other big team (France, Italy, Spain) sticking to his wheel. Remco probably has the best speed endurance of anyone since at least Cancellara, but he has no meaningful sprint, so you must hold his wheel when he looks to get away.

Safe to say though that Evenepoel is fulfilling the promise he first showed 3 or 4 years ago before his big crash - won a Monument and a couple of other big 1 day races, a Grand Tour and now the Worlds.

[Azabache]

A veritable embarrassment of riches (of talent) in the years ahead, with a discernable lowering of the age of peak effectiveness.

One has to remember back some years beyond that period when there was almost a monopoly centred around a few teams which translated to the Worlds.

Surely it wasn't only due to EPO etc?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Are ear pieces still banned on the international level? With no team radio it might be harder to orchestrate a cohesive chase.

Correct, no team radio in the Worlds. Still a huge mistake to let Evenepoel up the road alone - should have been guys from each other big team (France, Italy, Spain) sticking to his wheel. Remco probably has the best speed endurance of anyone since at least Cancellara, but he has no meaningful sprint, so you must hold his wheel when he looks to get away.

Safe to say though that Evenepoel is fulfilling the promise he first showed 3 or 4 years ago before his big crash - won a Monument and a couple of other big 1 day races, a Grand Tour and now the Worlds.

He's pretty easily had the best year in male cycling now has Evenepoel? Know Vingegaard won the tour, but has done little outside that really - to win a grand tour, a monument and worlds all in one year is a great achievement.

[dummy_half]

Not sure that it's peak years getting younger or just that we have a particularly good crop of young riders (Pogacar, Evenepoel, Vingegaard, to a slightly lesser extent Pidcock) to challenge the riders in their late 20s and early 30s (MvdP, van Aert, Roglic)

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I see next years Giro and TDF routes have been announced - and it sounds like Evenepoel will be doing the Giro, and not the tour according to Lefevere, which is a bit of a shame as think the TDF climbs are more suited to him than the Giro ones, but the Giro does have more ITT kilometres.

Still no announcement on Mark Cavendish's new team - heavily rumoured to be the French team B&B Hotels, who have some new investment and have signed some leadout train (and obviously get a TDF wildcard every year), but nothing official yet. Part of me wonders if it might not be the worst idea for Ineos to throw some money at him, and take a heavy British team to the TDF (and let Thomas do the Giro, which with the ITT kilometres is more suited to him) with Pidcock/Hayter/Turner/Tullett/Swift/Geoghegan Hart alongside Cav, and have a good leadout train for him alongside maybe giving Pidcock GC ambition and aim for a top 5 on GC with him? Surely the idea of having Cav breaking the TDF stage record in your jersey, all the British media exposure, would be worth it? He's also a lot better than Viviani, so could offer a viable sprint option in early season stage races (Saudi/UAE tours) and some of the sprinty spring classics

Should note - this TDF has 7 or 8 clear sprint stages in it, and the mountain tests don't look like massively hard ones to make the time cut on if you are in shape. Not out of the realms of possibility we get a pure sprinter win green, which is another reason to potentially go in for Cav.

[Lowlandbrit]

Still no announcement on Mark Cavendish's new team - heavily rumoured to be the French team B&B Hotels, who have some new investment and have signed some leadout train (and obviously get a TDF wildcard every year), but nothing official yet.

Apparently they were supposed to announce everything last week, but none of the new sponsors had actually signed anything yet.

[Azabache]

I don't want to see Cavendish take another TdF stage, and I suspect that any Continental team will balk at having him. Reasons:

. Merckx is regarded as the greatest rider ever, as he won all sorts of stages in a relatively short timescale
. He did all that in an era much tougher than now with its radios, much superior nutrition, near-luxury accommodation and transport, infinitely better medical care etc. etc...
. Without wishing in any way to diminish Cav's achievements, which are quite remarkable, he "only" specialises in flat stages with ideal finishing stretches, and has generally been assisted by specialist lead-out men; he joins the Autobus in mountain stages; and isn't either an ITT specialist
. I concede that it's probably impossible to compare Merckx's era with today's, but please, please, if he does achieve another stage win let's refrain from joining the inevitable potential chorus that he's the greatest Grand Tour rider ever. He isn't, bless him!

[Lowlandbrit]

Reports that Davide Rebellin has died after being hit by a truck. Only retired at the end of this season, 51 years old.

[Azabache]

Hideous news we never like to hear...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Still no announcement on Mark Cavendish's new team - heavily rumoured to be the French team B&B Hotels, who have some new investment and have signed some leadout train (and obviously get a TDF wildcard every year), but nothing official yet.

Apparently they were supposed to announce everything last week, but none of the new sponsors had actually signed anything yet.

Sounds like the B&B hotels project has financially collapsed leaving many without a team for 2023 - there is a few World Tour Teams out there with roster space, surely one will pickup Cav?

The one that makes most sense surely has to be Ineos?! Pretty much no, to little shot of winning the Tour next year, wouldn't make more sense to send Thomas/Bernal/other GC contenders to do the Giro/Vuelta to try and bag a Grand Tour, and send almost a British all star team to the Tour (Cav, Hayter, Pidcock, Turner, Rowe, Swift) along with a Ganna/Sheffield/Viviani to form a great leadout and stage hunting team, obviously with the ultimate goal of getting Cav that TDF stage win in your teams colours? Make it happen so Brailsford!

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