/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66029378/1172950553.jpg.0.jpg)
By now you should have seen the intro post. Worth a read first if you haven’t, but not required. Time to start the voting! Polls are open until Wednesday morning Seattle time, at which point we will tally up the results and start voting on the Round 2 matchups. Below is the Tale of the Tape for each bout, with a few reminder notes from the intro.
#16 Ivan Sosa vs. #17 Future US Star
Ivan Sosa — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 22
- Nationality: Colombian
- Skillset: Colombian skills
- +/- : Young and springy; ITT isn’t there, although maybe Skineos will shape him up
Future US Star — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 18 and up
- Nationality: American
- Skillset: Variable
- +/- : Quinn Simmons (classics) and Brandon McNulty (ITT) lead the way back from the wilderness... we hope
Poll
#16 Ivan Sosa vs #17 Future US Star
#9 Thibau Nys vs. #24 Stefan Kung
Thibau Nys — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 17
- Nationality: Belgian
- Skillset: Cyclocross
- +/- : Literally born to win, though maybe just on the dirt
Stefan Kung — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 25
- Nationality: Swiss
- Skillset: Power/Track-Roubaix type
- +/- : Making himself indispensable to his team while waiting for his turn on the pavé
Poll
#9 Thibau Nys vs. #24 Stefan Kung
#13 Filippo Ganna vs. #20 Jasper Philipsen
Filippo Ganna — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 23
- Nationality: Italian
- Skillset: Cronoman, cobbles
- +/- : Another Skineos guy, maybe too ITT-specialized, but being a power beast is a good place to start
Jasper Philipsen — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 21
- Nationality: Belgian
- Skillset: Sprints, cobbled classics
- +/- : Boonen comp is too delicious to pass up
Poll
#13 Filippo Ganna vs. #20 Jasper Philipsen
This poll is closed
-
33%
Filippo Ganna
-
66%
Jasper Philipsen
#12 Sergio Higuita vs. #21 Daní Martinez
Sergio Higuita — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 22
- Nationality: Colombian
- Skillset: Maybe competent against the watch? Defo a climber
- +/- : Got a Vuelta under his belt but it’s not clear if he is on the fast track or the ridiculously fast track to excellence
Daní Martinez — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 24
- Nationality: Colombian
- Skillset: All-rounder for stage races
- +/- : More competitive in ITTs than the climbs so far, though he’s no slouch there either
Poll
#12 Sergio Higuita vs. #21 Dani Martinez
This poll is closed
-
77%
Sergio Higuita
-
22%
Dani Martinez
#15 Kasper Asgreen vs. #18 Alberto Bettiol
Kasper Asgreen — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 24
- Nationality: Danish
- Skillset: Puncheur with power
- +/- : Already nearly won Flanders
Alberto Bettiol — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 26
- Nationality: Italian
- Skillset: Classics
- +/- : Already won Flanders
Poll
#15 Kasper Asgreen vs. #18 Alberto Bettiol
This poll is closed
-
78%
Kasper Asgreen
-
21%
Alberto Bettiol
#10 Wout Van Aert vs. #23 Superman Lopez
Wout Van Aert — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 25
- Nationality: Belgian
- Skillset: Classics, stage hunting
- +/- : Not enough of a fast finish to win most days, but you can pretty much never count him out of anything — nobody has a stronger mentality
Superman Lopez — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 25
- Nationality: Colombian
- Skillset: Colombian skills; right cross
- +/- : We are still waiting for him to finally put it all together, but let’s face it, we haven’t been waiting all that long
Poll
#10 Wout Van Aert vs. #23 Superman Lopez
This poll is closed
-
90%
Wout Van Aert
-
9%
Superman Lopez
#14 Mikkel Bjerg vs. #19 Marc Hirschi
Mikkel Bjerg — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 21
- Nationality: Danish
- Skillset: Power, ITTs
- +/- : So far the crono has been his calling card, but I wouldn’t pigeon-hole a guy this young and strong just yet
Marc Hirschi — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 21
- Nationality: Swiss
- Skillset: Classics, puncheur profile
- +/- : Climbing is already there, bigger question is whether he can stretch out his talents to stage racing
Poll
#14 Mikkel Bjerg vs. #19 Marc Hirschi
#11 Tom Pidcock vs. #22 Roglic Regrets
Tom Pidcock — Tale of the Tape
- Age: 20
- Nationality: British
- Skillset: Cross and Cobbles
- +/- : No senior racing yet, but he won the U23 Paris-Roubaix, so he’s coming
Roglic Regrets — Tale of the Tape
- Age: Timeless, although Roglic himself is 30
- Nationality: Universal, although Roglic himself is Slovenian
- Skillset: Theoretical concept, which everyone loves to argue about
- +/- : Who let him piss away half of his cycling prime playing around on skis?
Poll
#11 Tom Pidcock vs. #22 Primoz Roglic Regrets
This poll is closed
-
52%
Tom Pidcock
-
48%
Primoz Roglic Regrets