that got a real LOL :)

i realize its too early for strade picks - i've only seen about 40 confirmed starters - but
lotto has a full team listed and NO De Lie! After Sagan's low key opening weekend I promised De Lie as a pick for every subsequent race. Maybe I need to go back to Sagan?
MVdP must be pretty serious favorite but Jumbo might be able to hurt him with numbers. Wellens will be a pick for sure. My likely outsider pick is another world champ not Ala/Sagan/retired (Piti)/ but good ol Rui Costa(co)...
i love this race - especially Benoot's win.

 
costa is a good shout, he's been riding really well! mohoric or bilbao could be good picks a little outside the top favourites.

at least currently, the weather looks dicey. wet and muddy roads rather than dry and dusty. haven't checked the forecasts, but if those conditions hold it could favour a slightly different kind of rider.

maybe cyclocross season isn't over yet!

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

crossers you say - pidcock is my other pick of the current listed starters
let's just get this posted as i like my picks from current list just fine:
MVdP, Pidcock, Wellens // darker horses - Costa, Benoot

Completely agree Matej is a great pick - he (in my opinion like MVdp, Pidcock) has serious snap over da hills

I just know that everyone's made a mental note to be sure to drop MdVP before that final kicker. Because what he did to LFF a couple years ago was insane. No one else can do that, including those who aren't racing, WvA and Pog.

Tim "T Dub" Wellens has always been a favorite of mine. Good team guy, always seems to be in the front of the race and is naturally aggressive; to his detriment sometimes, but I like the Belgian hard guy ethos. Maybe the weather conditions will suit him. I'd like to see him get a top step sometime. Has done very well there in the past.

I like him too, and I'm sure it was unintentional, but I can't forget the bad mistake he made at MSR when he attacked on the Poggio with Ewan still there, and ended up cracking himself out of the final selection. Ewan could have *really* used him in the last 2K to chase. With Ewan there he's got to just sit on.

From what I can tell, Lotto are being very conservative with De Lie's development. No big races last year, and now they're easing him into it and being selective with his racing this year. On the one hand the kid's obviously ready to compete at the highest level, but he is still young and their strategy is commendable. He seems to have to tools to win in a lot of different types of races. I forget which of the big races he said he was targeting this year... I think it was Roubaix.

What's really surprising is that he's a relatively big lad (78 kg, if online sources are to be believed), but he does a commendable job on punchy hills. Has a decent enough of a diesel engine to chase back at Omloop, and then to do a really long sprint as well. And he still has time to grow and get stronger, too...

This is the odd race in that it seems a favorite pretty much always wins, with Moser perhaps the outlier. I'm seeing a showdown between MvdP and Ala; whoever is first into the plaza wins, and those two are more explosive than all others (who are racing it).

Yeah I had him pegged as a sprinter based on last year but what he did on that uphill finish in Etoile de Besseges a few weeks back kind of blew my mind. Well rounded dude.

 
strade picks

mvdp/ala/bilbao

mohoric/costa

MvdP is the smart pick. Even so:
Ala, MvdP, Pidcock
Simmons, Cosnefroy

longo-borghini is out. woke up sick this morning, apparently. too bad!

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

I like the selection

I believe Simmons has done well before?

Also, just looked it up, he apparently finished 7th last year. I’ve also forgotten that the thermo-biblical MvdP attack was from two years ago. How time flies…

Not going to deviate too far from the standards here:

MvdP, Pidcock, Lulu
Wellens, Bettiol

and

Kopecky, AvV, Niewiadoma
Lippert, Ludwig


As for the weather, looks like rain friday but clear saturday? So maybe not muddy but not dusty either. I always feel bad for the riders inhaling all that dust kicked up by the motorbikes.

At this rate, i think we should eventually adopt secret ballots ;)

Hard to look away from MvdP, though Pidcock doesn’t appear to be fully firing. Wellens is on good form, as is Mohoric.

Higgy for the win!
Lulu
MvDP

Piddles
Formolo

I think Simmons was in finale but mechanical out? He's not going to beat MvdP or Ala up that climb to plaza but if he can get out front, he's got a puncher's chance.

In addition to which MvdP showing up, also Ala, and if the Curse of Don Lefev persists.

I think that was the case as well, but as you can tell from my previous post, my recollection is getting hazy (getting old sucks). IIRC (with the "if" doing some heavy lifting), I think he was out on his own for quite a while, too.

Btw, I haven't forgotten about what you said about good ways to enjoy a Brunello. Currently have some fancy Italian-style charcuterie, some fancy cheese (incl. a stravecchio Parmagiano), and some fancy eggs. I think my wife would be more than happy to make a hearty breakfast for me to spectate Strade Bianchi, but I'm afraid I really shouldn't indulge much more.

mvdp, pids, qs ie simmons
rota, theuns

Just



No

Gonna play the Ace, and then some low cards for the straight for fun.

MvdP, Vlasov, Wellens
Valter (JV of the week), Pinot (why not)

mvdp, Alaphilippe, Pidcock
Bettiol, Mohoric


van Vleuten, Kopecky, Niewiadoma

I love this race! Fabian's 3 victories and my friend Mega winning the inaugural SB Donne are my personal highlights.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Barbera is more suited for breakfast pairings, you can thank me later (stellar, stuff if you haven’t tried, medium bodied nectar). Your wife has the right idea.