Review of the Classics and a look forward to the Giro & Tdf : Mon Apr 28, 2014 9:16 am  

What have we learned from the Spring Classics season this year?

Cancellara is awesome
Sagan isn't quite as awesome as we all think he is......yet.
Sky just love falling off their bikes and have treat Ardennes week with utter contempt but the form of Wiggins, Thomas and Stannard was nice to see.
BMC have started to realise they are entering into bike races and some kind of plan might be useful (or Gilbert has realised he is in the last year of his contract).
Love him or hate him Valverde is awesome.
Dan Martin is blooming unlucky.
Liege Bastogne Liege was boring.

On to the future now with the Giro which I think is Quintanas to lose.

Looking further forward to the Tour.......

Froome and Sky should be worried. They are in no kind of Grand Tour form at all. Wiggins has looked ok in Trentino but Froome is having one of those 'illness' years which I think makes his likelihood to be able to compete in the Tour all the more difficult. Look at Tinkoff and Contador and he is quite frankly awesome. My money is on Contador to win the Tour this year.

[John_D]

Re: Review of the Classics and a look forward to the Giro & : Mon Apr 28, 2014 2:33 pm  

Haggis Fax wrote:

Love him or hate him Valverde is awesome.

The latter. Definitely the latter.

Re: Review of the Classics and a look forward to the Giro & : Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:01 am  

John_D wrote:

The latter. Definitely the latter.

Seconded.......vigorously.

It certainly looks worrying for Froome, I think Sky will have to test him in the Tour de Romandie to give him any chance of finding the form he needs for the tour. I wouldn't rule him out just yet but it doesn't look great for him this year.

Think the Giro will be a bit of a procession for Quintana though I would imagine that looking at Froome's travails he's wishing he was riding le tour this year.

Re: Review of the Classics and a look forward to the Giro & : Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:13 pm  

Don't get me wrong. I don't like Valverde but..........he sure knows how to race. If he can maintain this form then he might be quite interesting come the Tdf this year.

Sky have problems this year. They are having more than their fair share of illness in the squad and Porte looked awful in LBL and Froome didn't even get to the start line. When you throw into the mix a Wiggins who is looking good in Trentino then Sky might be a team divided come the start of the Tdf.

All of this opens up the way for Bad Berty who (if you are betting men) you should be lumping money on while he is still the 2nd favourite.

If however you are a bit more sensible then lets wait and see how he fairs in the next few months.