Valverde is almost assured of a podium but the Spanish (of late) seem to always find a way to screw up win. Roglic is a good pick, can't forget him.

It's gonna be one crazy hard slog of a day.

yea, that sounds silly

Four stage wins, the green jersey, and 2nd GC isn't *that* bad for the Vuelta. Or do you just mean screwing up Worlds?

I'm pulling for Martin. The guy has the stones to make a move that just might work if they fight behind him. Pinot and Dumoulin would be the next guys I'd like to see pull it off if of course Sagan can't 4-peat.

Worlds.

Alaphillipe looks good but that kind of distance makes me think it'll be someone coming out of the Vuelta

And a 38 year old with a recent GT in his legs (where he raced for GC every day) is the favorite. I think not.

Going to be brutal. The French have the young climber dudes and Ala is a killer type, a lighter Gilbert.
Roglic, Martin, Ala for me. Pinot can argy bargy. too. Bardet could set him up.

I think Woods will have a good ride.

Sagan is clearly not built for this but I'm still wondering about his Vuelta. Why do it at all, other than $$$$$? Is there a diabolical plan? These guys are dialed to the nth degree. Were they measuring him for a real shot at a 4th? Probably not, but it will be fun to see how long he hangs in.

Valverde is the betting favorite...not the actual favorite. Bookmakers know that Valverde would be a very popular pick among the "public" if they listed him as 15/1 or worse...which is probably his actual odds of winning. It does them no harm to list him at 3/1 if they feel it will more evenly distribute the bets so that once the race starts, the house cannot lose no matter the outcome.

Kinda why I said I think not.

How about van Aert “unilaterally” terminating his contract? Quickstep whispering in his ear? Tortious interference with a contract? Dust up.....

is there a official list for the WC? I saw this article today. I didn't know Froome and GT were out.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/...world-championships/


edit:
and I'm just as interested in the TT. this should be a good year.


Elite Men’s time trial
Tom Dumoulin (3/4)
Rohan Dennis (6/4)
Vasil Kiryienka (25/1)
Tony Martin (28/1)

Both the road race and the TT will be excellent. I'm a massive Tom D fan, but Rohan has been killing it this year and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him win it. Shame Roglic isn't riding the TT.

I dont think he will win many road races. He has a good engine and tactile acumen but no decisive blow. He is not a sprinter, TT, or track specialist. He will be at the finish regulaly but rarely win. He has multiple world titles because he can run in the mud. everybody knows who has biggest engine in CX.....MVDP.

Van der poel is another story, he has everything. A good sprint, great sustained power, and likely better w/kg. v

not to mention that his dad won RvV and his grandpa was the eternal second

kid was outkicking sprinters to win the Dutch national road championship

edit: that said, Van Aert won't do worse than slowtwitch's favorite classics rider, Sep Vanmarcke. Often, aggression is justly rewarded in the classics

Just back from Interbike and let me tell you there's more happing on this thread than there. Watched a little CX last night and managed not to get tanked, which is paying dividends today.

Hard to imagine Van Aert passing up the Euros to not spend CX jersey in world champ kit. Seems that could limit his upside to training properly for northern classics, but at same time if he's giving the flexibility to shut it down after that it could work in his favor. He'll always have a decent punch like Stybar to be solid all-arounder but VdP does seem to have a little more kick. No question he's tough as nails and doesn't falter under bright lights; going to be a load of expectation on both of em.