Tour 21h

[Astana]

The tour will start on saturday, so it's time to make a thread.

My line-up will stand after the training today, but the nomination of some riders is save:

Steiger
Swift
Wiggins
Valls
Gallara
Egea
Rodri

Perhaps we buy a new rider to help Swift at the medium stages

Goals: Steiger as good as possible in gc, at least 2 stage-wins

[NoPikouze]

Oh, here I am !!

I'm not used to 21h, probably lots of strange guys in this tour...

[Astana]

if u are in, we are at least one!

[toreeto]

90% i will be here to

[Pokemon Club]

Well, I am here to win the Tour after my fail on the Giro : Rommedahl / Matsumae / Takamachi / Loubane / Ayase / Charpentier / Kougyoku / Yoshino / Yagami ; Let's go for the show !

[Radomiak]

I will participate as sprinter Team. My team will contain 2 sprinters, main one with 92 sprint and young with 86. 5 strong flat riders(88-81 flat), 1 weaker, he will ride mainly as "helper" and 1 young TT rider, but because he is young i dont expect much from him actually. Interesting fact is that from all my riders the biggest mountain skill is 55, so I will not fight for GC at all.

[NoPikouze]

Our topic is sleeping when the others are almost at page 2 !!

My lineup is still undecided.
1- Mirjaqip of course
2- Ivan as support, very likely. Let's say 95%, since he will be usefull only 2 or 3 times
3- Isatay as strong classic leader, and support rider of course.
4- Maksim, as support and downhill rider.
5- Curtis, for the sprints, this is the Tour de France, there will be 15 mass sprints I guess.
6- Simon, for the power, even if his reg is bad.
7- Niels, for his not too bad reg.
8 and 9 have to be decided. Probably a flatrider with reg, who is also a sprinter. And a classic rider with some flatpower. But that is expensive. Or maybe 2 extra classic riders, but that's even worse.

[Pokemon Club]

The journal l'EQUIPE come to Pokemon Club training center, the PokeBall, to interview the 9 riders who will make Tour De France :

x1 Jesper Rommedahl 30 years old : Mountain rider and Leader. his legs are on fire before the Tour. "I don't know if I can follow the bests on mountain, but I will take all opportunities to win somes stages, and maybe fight for green"
x2 Chihaya Ayase 31 years old : Flatrider and Road Captain. She can help on all field. "I hope my experience will serve the team"
x3 Eric Charpentier 23 years old : Sprinter. Here too learn and if it is possible win. "I don't know if we will have a lot of MS, but I am sure I can win at least 1 stage"
x4 Rinko Kougyoku 21 years old : Flatrider. She is young, but she have talent. "I am really surprise to be in the selection ! It is a honor and I will do my best during this 3 weeks !"
x5 Hassan Loubane 30 years old : Escaper. His role is to go in escape during middle mountain and mountain field. "It doesn't make long time I am in the team but there is enough talent here too make good thinks during the Tour"
x6 Ohana Matsumae 28 years old : Classic. Help Jesper is her main role. "The form comeback, Me and my partner will surprise you, nobody affraid us !"
x7 Nanoha Takamachi 24 years old : Classic. She has a good speed in finish. "1 or 2 stages interest me, but if I must work for Jesper, it is with pleasure I make it !"
x8 Hayate Yagami 28 years old : Flatrider. With her good recuperation, she will certainly escape a lot. It isn't important if I can't play my personal card, the team is the most important, and if my friend win a lot of stages, I will be happy"
x9 Sakura Yoshino 21 years old : Flatrider. She is young too, but it is a good experience for her and the future. "It is a dream to make the most beautiful race in the world ! I am very happy !"

[Chense]

I will also start there ... hope not to be unlucky in field 2

Lineup:

Captain: Uri Feuz - 22 Years - 75 Mountain 76 TT
Co-Captain: Gian Feuz - 21 Years - 76 Mountain
Classic: Edgars Berzin - 30 Years - 68-82-74
Classichelper: Gianfranco Mele - 22 Years - 64-74
Hillhelper: Luciano Leggio - 22 Years - 57-81
Hillhelper: Kyrill Drusenbaum - 21 Years - 56-77-78
Flathelper: Ludwig Knödelesser - 25 Years - 50-81
Helper: Albert Einwallner - 29 Years - 54-72
Helper: Edgar Brösel - 28 Years - 51-68

Goals: White Jersey and a Stagewin

[NoPikouze]

Statistic of the moment:
2 D1
4 D2
5 D3
5 D4 but splitted

Let's see if this is confirmed

[Robyklebt]

Ui, here less D1 than I thought! Write it down once it's fix... Ape goes to bed now.

[Hansa]

I will start here to with:

Lucas Metzing, mountain rider
Simon Langeleben, mountain rider
Robert Kutti, classic rider
Florian Stucki, classic rider
Carsten Gundel, classic sprinter
jochen gehring, 61 mountain, 83 flat
Julian Hübel, 88 flat
Manuel Pretto, 88 flat
Fabian Klaien, cheap guy 48 mountain,78 flat

Aims for the Tour: good position in clasement, some stage wins, maybe team classement, Having a nice tour.

[NoPikouze]

Statistic of the moment:
2 D1
4 D2
5 D3
5 D4 but splitted

Let's see if this is confirmed

Now for real:
3 D1
4 D2
5 D3
3 D4 (+1 in group 2)

[toreeto]

I'm last one here,hope at the end first one,but will be hard with Nopik and his climbers and with Astana and his team,but I'm happy cause i can win white easy my big goal when i subscribed to TdF

[Chense]

Well well finally in field 2 ... and Uri even with chances for top 3 so its a bit of a poor field ... WANT FIELD 1!!!! Why could the tour not start tomorrow? =D

[NoPikouze]

I don't think white is easy, Astana is also there!

About group 2: well at least it's a nice group, some decent guys, and the 3 favos are similar young hubers, could be a nice fight I guess.


Time for a favo-check, as made famous by Team FL.

General classification

*****
**** Mirjaqip Qoshqarbaev (Nopikouze)
*** Mads Sundberg (Gallier), Markus Steiger (Astana), Lucas Metzing (Hansa)
** Emilio Spinoza (Toreeto), Libor Plasil (GMF)
* another lucky bastard

Everybody announces Mirjaqip as THE favo, I guess that's what you call Charisma. Indeed he has good chances, but I wouldn't say he's the favo, because his chances will only be confirmed if he fights and fights and fights whenever he can until he has enough advantage in the mountains. A favo would be more like... waiting and attacking/riding at THE right moment and take it away at once.

Points classement
very open, I'm too lazy to calculate it, especially since we don't know the point attribution (Thanks Leso ), but it should be one of those:

***
** vonKrusestern (Hunsrueck), Michaelis (Gallier), Cordero (Bugatti), Gundel (Hansa), Middler (Gallier)
* Any other would be a small surprise, but some are quite likely (Bergveinsson f.ex.)

Mountain classement

*** the one who wants it
** another random rider
* a surprise rider

Youth classement

*** Markus Steiger (Astana)
** Libor Plasil (GMF)
* Laur Balcan (Toreeto)

Team classement

** Nopikouze, Hansa, GMF, Toreeto


Edit: ok I just realisez that Steiger will be too old tomorrow for the white jersey. Now I understand Toreeto

[Chense]

Well NoPik for field 2 - there are 3 similar Hubers - And there is Eartleys who may be the strongest with 1 mountain and 2 TT more then Uri as second strongest Huber ... but he is also one year older so until the mountains Uri might be 1 mountain in front maybe ... it will be interesting anyway ... at least i won already some little seconds on him ... not much but remember Fignon (R.I.P.)

[Radomiak]

Preview of the race by Radomiak:

Here we go, the most important race in season started today. We have many strong riders all over the world. This edition is characteristic because we have over 100km of TT. During those 3 TT main and probably unbeatable favorite is Sergio Pique from team Bugatti. For second places on TT there will be fierce fight between Ryszard Lew(Radomiak), Libor Plasil(GMF-Cycling), Linnart Tennosaar(Team Hunsrueck) and Keith Fahey(Toreeto).

In a quite big group of riders who mainly count for last kilometer of the race the best for sure are two german sprinters, Aleksander vonKursestern from team Team Hunsrueck and Gerd Michaelis who ride for GallierRacing. For the their chances to win a stage will be looking also Artur Krol(Radomiak), Hannes Steenkamp(Hansa-Team), Townsend King(Rhino Cycling), Curtis Lemansky(NoPikouze), Fernardo Coredo(Bugatti) and Peter Swift(Astana). Two last sprinters are also dangerous on hilly stages during which other sprinters can be lost. Also worth mentioning are riders who can ride good in mountain stages and know how to sprint, those riders are Carsten Gundel(Hansa) and Blake Middler(GallierRacing).

Of course the most important fight will be for yellow jersey. In mountain the strongest should be Mirjaqip Qoshqarbaev from NoPikouze, who has the best gregario Ivan Aboukoumov. Both are favorites for GC. There is more riders who are ably to fight for top3 in Tour. The main threat for NoPikouze's leaders will be probably Markus Steiger(Astana), his main advantage are good skills in time trials. Also worth mentioning is Mads Sundberg from GallierRacing. His ability to ride in mountains aren't so impressive but he is very good time trial rider.

[Chense]

Paaah most important? 3rd most important TOUR in the world ... Number 20 in the list of all races

[NoPikouze]

Easy sprint yesterday. Excepted the usual energy- wasters (rasmu and poke), nothing happened.
Lets see if there will be collaboration today as well.

[Pokemon Club]

Tonight, I win

[toreeto]

I don't thing so ,Astana and bugati have best changes today but all other 90+ sprinters cand win

[Astana]

at first i have to say, that i don't expected, that that much sprinters will be away after the 5 (at the giro pokemons 50er survived a 5 and i expect, that most of your sprinters have a good form).thats the reason i don't thought, that i have a good chance at a sprint and so i didn't ride.if would have known that there will be not that many sprinter after the 5, i would have made tempo for sure (i am not a guy who don't work if he see a chance). but why should i wait with hunsrück after the sieb(that hunsrück will wait is ok, because he worked with them, even if i think, that a attack by strong flat riders would be successful)?i know that i will work with other sprinterteam together in the next 2 weeks, but why is someone not allowed trying to win the stage, if situations grow, which u didn't get by your own?so nobody, with small chances at the beginning is allowed to win, if he didn't work at the start?what will the guys int the break-away group say, if someone with the 7th best sprinting skills works?
i am sory for the guys in the back, but thats how racing works and thats nothing against them

[Pokemon Club]

at the giro pokemons 50er survived a 5 and i expect, that most of your sprinters have a good form

Are you laughing ? During Giro, I was siebed all time at 5%.

[Astana]

not everytime.i think the siebs before was because of the form