He could be Sagan's Paolini....in a good way.

Oss is a hoss. Great pickup for Bora. I didn't follow up on the post race quotes from Strada Bianchi but they had Burkhardt and Oss with Sagan in the chase group. Guess they said eff it when others wouldn't work? Burkhardt was chasing, Sagan was with him and Oss was back sort of waiting to go it seemed. Or maybe they were all just gassed like everyone else. There is always that possibility.

Sagan was glued to Oss' wheel today, looks like a high degree of trust there.

Strade was just weird how it went down. Fact that three were there instead of Sagan on own almost seem to accomplish what they want. Wonder if there was some gamesmanship going on to imply they'll be there in force for the key ones, and other teams can no longer just mark one guy.

They did ride together on Liquigas.

In Oss and Burghardt they have two workhorses, and one of them has actually won Gent Wevelgem from a break. I wonder why BMC let either of them go; confounding... I'd certainly take Oss over Roelandts

Zabel was nails today for Kittel. Bailed him out of serious trouble in the closing kilometers and did a textbook delivery to the front.

Yes. Crazy argy bargy from 2 k in. Kittel was more than just a big dragster. Great finish.

loved that finish today, great attack....all the hitters were there and the kid nailed it

Tirreno doesnt disappoint

Surprised that Sagan and Stybar got popped early. Perhaps saving themselves for something else?

Wondered about that too, Gilbert also threw out the anchor early. If this is a measured approach to MSR it could make for one crazy race.

Sunday's finish has a cracker of a finish. Really steep wall that tops out with 3km to go, dips down, only to climb up again. Sagan did really well in a similar finish last year. Perhaps saving himself for that while watching GvA blow himself up for a useless placing?

i just think that the same big names won't be popping in April, May, June........not that they don't want to win these too, but most certainly riding into form and so the others see opportunities....Wellens looks good, hope he gets the top step soon

That finish today was balls to the wall, Sagan seemed to pop or turn it off after Sky started attacking in the last k to bring it back. I think they knew he was gone. I would love to see the power data on that attack!

i'm thinking Rigo Uran goes well on the finish climb

The Paris Nice crash today was awful. I thought Alessandro De Marchi died. I have no idea how the hell he got back on the bike after that. Pro cyclists are crazy.

damn, it's all happening at Paris Nice

Agreed. Paris Nice was absolutely phenomenal today. Soler rode a hell of a ride. I would love to see some power data from that lead group. Terrific efforts all around!

watching TA over here.......this finishing circuit suits Sagan who was goofing and popping wheelies and complaining yesterday.....after to 200+k days guys look gassed but maybe PS is sandbagging........Keisse is a beast in the break........I think aside from the actual crappy surfaces, Italy has the most amazing roads........very similar to VA, along with the poor maintenance

indeed

that last stage of Paris Nice is usually a cracker of a finale


well, come to PA or NJ; those roads are a lot worse...

I think Kwiatek takes this

edit: Uran as outsider

Sagan 2nd and Kwiatek 3rd. Kwiatek should take the stage race with his time trialing prowess.

GvA looks out of it; hang on to the chase group, but last of the group; even Vanmarcke finished ahead. Really doesn't bode well for his spring.

Sagan looked like he handled Kwiatkowski pretty easily on that finish, but agree on him in position to take GC.

GvA... Looked like a world beater a few weeks ago and now almost off the back.

Just pointing out that my prediction that Froome would have some "bad days" out of respect for possible retro-active suspension gets some credence. No stage or GC relevance (except helping teammates at times).

He's had bad days but if manufactured or not isn't clear. Who knows, it's conjecture.

Gaviria doesn't look so great when the big boys show up.

That was remarkable even for Sagan. Calling him ftw at MSR.

Kittel looks like he's *finally* back to 100%. Certainly helps that he's got great team support.

indeed

I think he bags two big classics this spring. That effort to latch back on and go through the pack like a hot knife in butter was remarkable

His biggest concern is to decide on how he wants to win: he has a decent chance (say 4:1 to 3:1) of winning from a group sprint, and he has a better chance of creating enough separation on and descending the Poggio. But the latter also comes with the possibility that someone following his wheel won't pull through, in which case, his chances of winning would decrease. Best scenario for him would be a redux of Richmond, where he escapes alone, use the descent to his advantage, and cruise home. Hope he bags one that way. Even better would be pulling a Sean Kelly (chase down an attacker by descending like a madman, and pip the attacker on the line).

Yeah, MSR will be tough to punch it on Poggio for a sprint from small group with risk of someone not pulling, or have his team drive it hard and wait for a sprint. Considering how he did against Kittel this week, and especially today, the latter might not be a bad way to go.