VDS: Weekend Smack Talk! Who ya got for Eroica and P-N?

and Lulu!

maybe I can match my points from PN last year? errr, probably not…..

handful of sprinters. Meh. Maybe Nibali for MPSB. Things get big for me starting next Wednesday though.

For Eroica: Thomas Lofkvist, Tyler Farrar, Johan Vansummeren, Robbie McEwen, and youngsters Rasmus Guldhammer and Tejay Van Garderen. Defending champion Lofkvist, will, despite his sandbagging in the press, make it two in a row. Farrar, ably supported by Summi, will make the podium, and one of the young ’uns will surprise everyone with a top ten finish, while Robbie—wait, why is Robbie here again?

For Paris-Nice: Barbie, of course, who won a stage here last year, Dominique Rollin, Samuel Dumoulin, Sylvain Chavanel, Wouter Weylandt, Lars Boom, Hayden Roulston, and Gert Steegmans. Okay, maybe a tad light on the GC guys, but you can hardly better this roster for stage-hunting. Or can you???

P-N: Contador, Lulu, Guitterez, Van Den Broeck, Mollema, Boom, Haedo

MPSB: Ginnani, Farrar, Hesjedal, Maaskant, Vansummeren, Guldhammer, both Velits’

Me and majope: almost perfectly complementary.

MPSB: Michael Barry, all the way. I think he, Farrar, and Brent Brookwater are about the only guys I have there…

P-N: In a word, Hoogerland. Van Den Broeck is going well this year already. Matt Goss will do nothing because Griepel’s there. I have Downing, Henderson, and Geraint Thomas from Sky at P-N. I think that Hendy may get a few points, hopefully Thomas will in the prologue too. And WIlliam Bonnet is going to pick up a few cheap points. Or so I hope.

Sidenote – why the hell is Kolobnev not doing MPSB? Dangit, Katusha, dangit. Kolobnev has a better chance for points in MPSB than P-N.

For MPSB I have Evans, Ginanni, Scarpone, Van Garderen, and (?) Santambrogio (I see different versions as to whether he’s riding or not.)

Then for P-N I have pretty much the whole rest of my team—Greipel, Lulu, Kolobnev, Rodriguez, Taaramae, Horner, Machado, Chicchi, Dumoulin, Pauriol, Perget, Pereiro, and (?) Sicard.

If that doesn’t snare me a few points I’m in deep trouble.

Love my Strade Bianche team, and am predicting a sweep of podium plus more:
1. Pippo
2. Cancellara
3. Hesjedal
8. Nibali
14. Van Garderen
15. Marco Bandiera
Pack Fodder for Robbie McEwen

Good potential for Paris-Nice: Dumoulin, Bubble Boy, Steven Cummings, Tiago Machado, Levi, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Serge Pauwels. Hoping for a podium for Levi, top 10s for Jurgen and Tiago, stage win for Pauwels and a top three stage for Dumoulin.

they better pick up the damn slack, otherwise they are going to have an irate VDS screaming at them through the keyboard. Now, on to this weekend…

For the Eroica: Van Avermaet, Vincenzo Nibali (who better place well), Van Garderen and Ginanni. Please, I just want a few points guys.
For P-N: Sicard (who I hope starts because he was having left calf troubles), Krueziger, Roelandts, Seeldraeyers, Boom!, Alexandre Geniez and Tony Martin.
SO…P-N is looking good for my boys with a possible TT win for Martin or Boom and high GC placings for Kreuz and Seeldraeyers with the others looking for a stage. Tony could be able to climb decently depending on his form.

my strade bianche vds squad: hesjedal, cacellara, farrar, brutt, gasparotto, and o’grady.

but I still have no clue of who’s on my team and am too lazy to check, well I can tell you Bert and the Glorious one for P-N.

For MPSB: Hesjadal (he’s alone!)

For Paris Nice: Valjavec, Navarro, Rolland, Trofimov, Rollin, Dumoulin, Koldo Fernandez, Meier, Van den Broeck, Boom (that should be interesting)

Big Aloha for Paris Nice:

32 AC
12 LL Sanchez
8 Juanjo Cobo
1 Jose Ivan Everyonehas
16 Tony Martin
6 Lars Boom
2 S Rosseler
2 Chichi Machado
2 Grega Bole (Dawg!)
1 Eduard Vorganov (Yeah, Dawg!)
2 Yury Trofimov
—
84

Eroica: Van Garderen and Ras..

Maybe Martin can do something..

P-N:
Contador
Tony Martin
Dan Martin
Taaramae
Le Lay
Casper
Brice Feillu
Le Mével
Champion
Dumoulin
Moinard
Mollema
Bouet
Geniez
Hupond
Pauriol
Rolland
Sicard

Hoping for GC win, 2 other GC top 10 and at least 2 stage wins… We’ll see !

For Eroica, not so much: no Nibali, no Gesink, no Deignan, no Chicchi => nobody :)

MSB : Löfkvist, Vansummeren, Spilak, Nibali, Matt Lloyd, Van Avermaet and Breschel
P-N: F Schleck, CAS, Craig Lewis, Mollema, Posthuma,Vande Velde, Kessiakoff, Dan Martin, Rolland and Henderson

which is good, since I’m currently languishing in =334th place (Hi Lou!)

10 in PN: F. Schleck, Vandevelde, Valjavec, Rollin, Trofimov, Koldo Fernandez, Sicard, Sagan, Seeldrayers, Hendo

7 in MPSB: Evans, Vansummeren, Spilak, Eisel, Guldhammer, O’Grady, Cooke

O’Grady, Cancellara, McEwen and Nibali for Eroica. Is Cav racing… not that I have him.
I have to do one race at a time because remembering who’s in my team for PN is more challenging, although I know I have Sagan, Sicard, Gerrans, Greipel, Dumoulin and Brice Feillu… now will double check :(

Eroica: Hesjedal, Van Avermaet, Konovalovas.

P-N: Kreuzinger, Monfort, Le Mevel, Moinard, Roche, Koldo, Ladagnous, Trofimov, Pauriol, Rollin.

One word SB smack talk: GASPAROTTO!!!
With a little help from Nibali and Vlad Efimkin

PN is a horde:
Mollema, Boom, Leezer, Hoogerland, Marcato, Greipel, Weylandts, Pauriol, van den Broeck, Fuglsang
I’d say 3 stage victories and 4 in the top-10 is the least they can do for me.

Injuries starting to hurt my squadra already, but similar to most, PN is looking better than Eroica

Eroica: Evans, A Efimkin, Basseyev

PN: J VDB, F Schleck, Lulu, Haussler, Henderson, Chicchi, JJ Haedo, Dumoulin, Gustov, Trofimov, Sagan.

Gotta be a few points in that mix!

I don’t see his name on the start list. But maybe I am looking at out-dated ones.

These are my players:
MSB- Breschel, Nibali(?), Maaskant, Van Summeren, B. Cooke, Guldhammer, Santambrogio

PN- Cunego, , J-rod,Van den Broeck, Steegmans, Mollema, J. Haedo, Sicard,

They will all have fun.

Because of a “light virus infection”. Koos Moerenhout last minute replacement. Source: http://tinyurl.com/yecht4g (rabosport.nl) or http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/8269/zieke-mollema-moet-parijs-nice-missen.html

Thanks to the world’s 3rd best climber. 125 points by tomorrow, which is exactly 125 more than he scored last year.

Nicholas Wilson= Pat McQuaid?

Most of mine seem to be doing the Paris-Nice, but I’ve got Evans, Scarponi, and Mattia Gavazzi at least (Maybe Jose Serpa and Alberto Loddo also).

iuppi!

PN Brigade: Purito, Barbie, Nicolas Roche, Pierrick Fedrigo, Xavier Tondo, Jimmy Casper, Franchesco Chicchi, Nikolas Maes and Lars Boom, !

Rodriguez could be in the top ten overall, optimistically Tondo could too. Could see Fedrigo, Roche, Chicchi, Casper, Boom or Barbie getting a stage win.

But this is probably also when I start paying for not having Bert.

Bozic, Luis Sanchez, Contador, Brice Feillu, Duque, Popovych, JI Gutierrez, Sagan and Geraint Thomas.

I’m thinking Contador and Sanchez for the GC, Gutierrez and Thomas for the TT and Bozic for the sprints.

Boom, Chicchi*, B. Feillu, Greipel, Kreuziger, Sagan, Sicard and Taaramäe.
As for today’s racing, Wagner’s the only rider that I fired from my team. Glad that worked out for him. Anyway, I’ll have to remember to add Bertagnolli to my Christmas card list.
*Anyone else ever notice that Google translates Francesco Chicchi as Nick Swisher? Wtf. I’d never hire a Yankee…

And I got these guys for P-N: Dimitry Campion, Andriy Grivko, Yuriy Trofimov, Sandy Casar, Joaquin Rodrigues, Tony Martin, and Andre Greipel!

Rodrigues is my dark horse for the overall, as well as Martin. Greipel for the sprints and some Russians thrown in to make a breakaway stick!

On 94 teams, but I’m back in the top 50, so I’m happy. Nice placing for Tondo also.

So Eroica may have been a washout for me, but three first places today (Boom, Bos, Rabon) does rather salve that wound. It’s a pleasant surprise that I’m firmly in the top half of the table. Hope that continues.

you didn’t even know there was a top 400, did you?

Disgruntled at Gert for crashing. Which one of you hopeful VDSers jinxed him by putting him on your team?

Oh wait, that’s me.

Got me 310 points. Never would have guessed that I’d do well in a Spanish stage race and have Hunter, Rabon and Bos to thank for it.

and I’m seeing a lot of sad losers there. I pity these fools when the real races start. It’s going to be a rough awakening.

And my favorite team name so far is Jiggs’ “Lekke Band of Brothers”