Paris Nice 2012 - warning spoiler tags must be used for same-day race information

GetWithIt

Arguably the first proper race of the year. Any thoughts on how it'll pan out?

The route looks like it'd be tough for Tony Martin to defend his title. If he does, TdF watch out.

http://www.letour.fr/2012/PNC/COURSE/us/le_parcours.html

elduggo

there have already been lots of 'proper' races this year

Morrisseeee

No clear favourite, it really depends on who's UP for it.
Stage 5 is a dinger, and stage 8 is an ITT (hill climb), otherwise fairly bland.

sy

Ah the Col d'Eze returns. Great article here on the battle between Roche and Kelly dubbed "Paris-Nice – Le Championnat d'Irlandais" I love the comment from Kelly

"Paris-Nice had been a race I wanted to ride," he told David Walsh, "but my outlook changed pretty quickly. It was so bloody hard. For three-quarters of the stage you worked for Maertens, then you got dropped and ended up finishing five or six minutes down. By the time you finished Maertens had already received his bouquet of flowers for winning. Paris-Nice opened my eyes.

The performances of Kelly and Roche in the Col d'Èze time trial during the Irish years is worth looking at. In 1984 L'Equipe dubbed the Col d'Èze stage le championnat d'Irlandais. Over the eight years of the Irish annexation of la course au soleil, the two Irish riders hadn't just locked out everyone else from overall victory in Paris-Nice. They'd somehow also annexed the Col d'Èze, locking out everyone else from victory there too. Over the eight years of their reign over Paris-Nice, it was always an Irish rider who was fastest up the Col d'Èze. Three times they even managed an Irish one-two:

The full stats for the TT over those years are well documented in the linked Podiumcafe article above (end of article)

Epic times in Irish cycling. Sorry for straying OP but Col d'Eze is monumental when it comes to the history of Irish Cycling. It will be interesting to see how the above times will compare with todays, assuming its the same distance and course

Interesting to see that Paris Nice may be losing out more and more to Tirreno–Adriatico as the pro teams seem to now favour the better weather in Italy and the timing is perfect for Milan San Remo the first big classic. It would be a shame to see this great race loose some of its prestige.

happytramp

Seems like a a decent field for Paris-Nice. A lot of the big guns are there and there's a fair few potentials for the Podium. Anyone seen a start list for Tirreno-adriatico?

drogdub

happytramp wrote: »

Seems like a a decent field for Paris-Nice. A lot of the big guns are there and there's a fair few potentials for the Podium. Anyone seen a start list for Tirreno-adriatico?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tirreno-adriatico-2012/start-list

ROK ON

I would be unsurprised to see Wiggins & Valverde fighting it out for honours by the end.

Funkyzeit

Always difficult to predict so early in season.

Interesting to see what kinda form Roche is in and how he compares to some the top dogs.

Can't find betting odds but big guns for GC include:
Wiggins
Valverde
Anton
Menchov
Roche
Cunego
Basso
Brajkovic
Levi/Martin
LL Sanzhez/Mollema (whose 'leader' of Rabobank?)
Tommy V

Very difficult to predict...

ednwireland

nobody think andy schlecks doing anything but a training ride ?

edit: just noticed franks riding prob more chance on the overall

Morrisseeee

Andy (Schlacter) FTW

/not :pac:
EDIT: got there before me ednwireland !

I think Nico should go all out to win this, why? for several reasons: to continue the Irish trend mentioned above; it would look good on his (lean) palmares; it would give him great confidence; there are other 'big' names here, but some of them will not be going 'all out' to win, but............most importantly> it would be exciting for us to watch !
He showed he can climb in both the TDF & Vuelta and he has a good team around him, so..........come on Nico, give it 110%.

I see both Rolland (knee) & Froome (illness) are out (> pity), and Porte has said he will ride for Wiggins.
An outsider FTW is Igor Anton, that steep finish in Mende will suit him.

In other news, rumours have it that Contador is linked with a Movistar move !

Muller_1

GetWithIt wrote: »

Arguably the first proper race of the year. Any thoughts on how it'll pan out?

The route looks like it'd be tough for Tony Martin to defend his title. If he does, TdF watch out.

http://www.letour.fr/2012/PNC/COURSE/us/le_parcours.html

There is a good video on this site of Roche and Kelly on the Col d'Èze

ednwireland

horrible day

cracking ride from wiggins though to get 2nd riding n wet roads put hmself in with a real chace of the overall

1 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM 0:11:19
2 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:01
3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:04
4 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:09
5 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM 0:00:12
6 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
7 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:13
8 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan
9 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat 0:00:15
10 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur-Sojasun

80 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:41

roche still suffering in the TT though

Funkyzeit

Some ride by Wiggins - he was (rightly) crawling around some wet corners yet still manages to handsomely beat all the main rivals.

A few years on and Roche still hasn't improved his TT'ing (if anything loosing more time) Fair enough that some of the bigger names had poor times too but loosing 40 seconds on a 9k route is never good.

I know it's an argument that splits people here but I stand firmly in the camp that Roche should be concentrating on stage wins rather than GC rankings. That way the the buckets of time he's loosing on the TT's would work in his advantage.

GetWithIt

Anyone catch highlights of yesterday's stage? Sounds like Roche made the break but was dropped.

F***ed up part 2! Hard enough been in front group, frustrating to blow solo from leading group :-(((

Hard to know where this kind of performance leaves him. He puts himself in the right positions but must be way off the pace to be dropped from a big group on a flatish stage.

According to himself his training had went really well over the winter and I was hoping for big things this year.

ROK ON

GetWithIt wrote: »

Anyone catch highlights of yesterday's stage? Sounds like Roche made the break but was dropped.



According to himself his training had went really well over the winter and I was hoping for big things this year.

I saw parts of the stage. Once the first split was made (Roche was part of this) Sky and Omega really drove the pace - absolutely relentless. They also had numbers in the break. I didnt see him drop out, but heard that he did.

Leipheimer, Chavanel, Bonen, Wiggins and Thomas were flying. So much so that a few times when Wiggins went to the front to drive the pace he ended up opening a gap, so actually had to back off. He is in super form at the present.
Valverde - once the selection was made did just enough to stay comfortably in the break. Never looked to be exerting himself - smart one that guy is.

Roche, no matter how hard he trains is at a different level to the likes of Bonen, Valverde, Wiggins, Thomas, Leipheimer.
Sky have become some team, despite all of the cynics a few years back. Also Wiggins is becoming a stronger cyclist. His fourth place at the tour a few years back was a sign of things to come, not a peak IMHO.

ednwireland

great shot at the start of these highlights of the echelons that caused the split
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/05032012/58/wiggins-takes-paris-nice-lead.html

twiggo looks strong

schleck doesnt
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-out-of-paris-nice-with-stomach-problems

Stomach problems have forced Andy Schleck out of Paris-Nice. The RadioShack-Nissan rider will not be at the start of the third stage, the team announced on Tuesday morning.

dastardly00

Nico Roche is starting to show a bit of form, he was 7th in today's stage. He's currently 27th @ 3' 12" behind Bradley Wiggins

velopeloton

Was on the last climb, did't see Roche, will try and get him in the morning.

Morrisseeee

So..............the Queen stage, and a very tough finish:



Valverde is an obvious fav, but Wiggins looks in good shape, & after Nico finishing well yesterday, I expect to see him in the top 5 today. Should be interesting anyways.

ROK ON

Does anyone know why Dan Martin wasn't selected for Garmin over the anonymous team racing for them.
Two uphill sprint finishes, one steep mountain finish and an uphill TT. I would have thought the parcours suited him this year.

elduggo

ROK ON wrote: »

Does anyone know why Dan Martin wasn't selected for Garmin over the anonymous team racing for them.
Two uphill sprint finishes, one steep mountain finish and an uphill TT. I would have thought the parcours suited him this year.

it is strange that hes in neither Tirenno or P-N. Garmin seem to be using him very sparingly which is very surprising given the amount of concurrent races happening that they have to line-out for.

He was due to ride Strade-Bianchi last weekend but pulled out last-minute. He said on twitter that he favoured training over doing that race. The majority of the Strade-Bianchi riders took the start for Tirenno yesterday.

The team (or he himself) must feel that these early season races don't suit his main season goals. I expect we'll see him in Catalunya, Pais Vasco, and obviously the Ardennes. Remains to be seen what the team's grand-tour plans are for him.

I do get the sense that hes wrapped in cotton wool a little bit in that team and they're letting him bide his time and choose his own races. I hope he repays their faith - he certainly has the talent to do something pretty major for them.

I'm still hoping he does the Vuelta over the Tour this year, given the respective parcours.

Morrisseeee

ROK ON wrote: »

Does anyone know why Dan Martin wasn't selected for Garmin over the anonymous team racing for them.
Two uphill sprint finishes, one steep mountain finish and an uphill TT. I would have thought the parcours suited him this year.

At a guess, I'd say Spring and his allergies. But yes, these routes would have suited him very nicely.

Morrisseeee

Not sure who to put my €10ew on: F Schleck, Roche, Anton & V Garderen all at 25/1

/looking for Cheltenham funds next week :pac:

Caroline_ie

Basso has been dropped every day so far.

Inquitus

Sky really cleaning up at the moment.

velopeloton

Nicolas Roche in Onet-le-Chateau this morning.

ednwireland

cracking ride from westra wiggins had to dig deep in that one

ROK ON

ednwireland wrote: »

cracking ride from westra wiggins had to dig deep in that one

The boy has some form though. If I were him I would completely forget about the olympics. If he can maintain form (Like say Evans and Gilbert managed last year), then I can see him winning the Tour. Course suits him this year.

Morrisseeee

Did I say top 5 for Nico, bit of a typo , I meant top 35 !!

Here's a recent interview with him.

Interesting stats from that final climb yesterday:

Ted King's ride yesterday.

Cote de la Croix Neuve (Montee Laurent Jalabert) [Distance 3.1 Km, Grade: 10.1 %, Elevation: 312 m]

Tour de France 1995
Marco Pantani, 8:40
Miguel Indurain, 8:40
Bjarne Riis, 8:40

Tour de France 2005
Lance Armstrong, 9:33
Ivan Basso, 9:33
Jan Ullrich, 9:33
Cadel Evans, 9:33

Tour de France 2010
Joaquim Rodriguez, 9:33
Alberto Contador, 9:33
Andy Schleck, 9:45
Jurgen Van Den Broeck, 9:45
Samuel Sanchez, 9:45
Denis Menchov, 9:45

Paris-Nice 2007
Alberto Contador, 9:40
Davide Rebellin, 9:42
David Lopez, 9:52
Cadel Evans, 9:53
Tadej Valjavec, 9:57

Paris-Nice 2010
Alberto Contador, 9:44
Alejandro Valverde, 9:54
Samuel Sanchez, 9:54

Paris-Nice 2012
Lieuwe Westra, 9:52
Alejandro Valverde, 9:58
Bradley Wiggins, 9:58
Levi Leipheimer, 9:58
Simon Spilak, 9:58

---
Lieuwe Westra
Paris-Nice 2012, Stage 5, Cote de la Croix Neuve

Elevation / Höhenmeter [m] : 312 m
Distance / Streckenlänge [Km] : 3.1 Km
Time in seconds / Fahrzeit in Sekunden [sec] : 592 = 9 min 52 sec = 9:52
Weight rider / Gewicht Fahrer [kg] : 71 kg [Lieuwewestra.com]
Weight bicycle, clothes etc. / Gewicht Fahrrad [kg] : 8 kg

Grade / mittlere Seigung : 10.1 %
Average speed / mittlere Geschwindigkeit : 18.8 Km/h
Total weight / Gesamtgewicht : 79.0 kg (!!!)

Power : 464.1 Watt
Power / kg : 6.5 Watt / kg

Source: [ http://www.rst.mp-all.de/bergauf.htm ]

Inquitus

Just puts the doping era into perspective:

1995 - 520s
2012 - 592s

14% slower

manwithaplan

Westra should really be in yellow but maybe a couple of seconds doesn't make a heap of difference with a big TT stage coming up. He seemed to pull away very easily.

RobFowl

I'm not convinced Westra would have been more than 6 seconds quicker if he hadn't sat up to celebrate, 3-4 at most. Even still good ride form him. Attacked at just the right time and Wiggo didn't start chasing for just long enough for him to get well clear.
Valverde looked a poor second best to Wiggins as well. Hard to see past him (and his team) for the win at the moment (though they said that about Duclos-Lasselle in 1982 ).

manwithaplan

RobFowl wrote: »

(though they said that about Duclos-Lasselle in 1982 ).

Preach it, grandad

TheBlaaMan

I've not seen this pic before........its on the L'Equipe website today and shows a shot from a (cold !) 1985 Paris-Nice.

Kelly-Fignon-Roche line astern..............Kelly looking concentrated !

sy

And Phil Anderson behind them. Great photo TheBlaaMan, thanks for posting

Caroline_ie

Come on Jens!!!!

Morrisseeee

Ah pity, he just missed getting the win

Inquitus

Aye thought he was going to hold on there

RobFowl

Is there a prize for 1st Vet?????

Beasty

RobFowl wrote: »

Is there a prize for 1st Vet?????

Are you thinking of taking part next year Rob?

RobFowl

Beasty wrote: »

Are you thinking of taking part next year Rob?

Couldn't do any worse than Basso

macfhinn

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/blazin-saddles/nicolas-roche-q-013501034.html

fat bloke

Man. Eurosport HD coverage rocks.

ednwireland

levi having a seriously bad day down twice

Inquitus

ednwireland wrote: »

levi having a seriously bad day down twice

Aye game over for Levi, not sure if Moviestar were being too fair in pushing the pace after his 1st off though

ednwireland

cracking ride from de gent great win

lennymc

yeah - was a cracking ride allright. Also, Hard luck on levi

Lumen

Just watched the highlights. Not sure the Eurosport commentators were paying attention yesterday.

Levi clearly shouted "this bike will not go downhill" after the first crash. That's why he couldn't get back to the peloton.

ednwireland

wow, class ride from wiggins there, thought westra had it with that ride, but wiggins dug deep and won the stage as well

1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 28:12:16
2 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM 0:00:08
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:10

funnights74

ednwireland wrote: »

wow, class ride from wiggins there, thought westra had it with that ride, but wiggins dug deep and won the stage as well

1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 28:12:16
2 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM 0:00:08
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:10

Ya 2 great rides, still have my doubts about wiggins in the big tours.

Aln_S

Roche 2' 01" down over 9K.. Pretty tough stage but had hoped his TT would have improved over the winter.

Losing that kind of time really hurts his chances of top 10 finishes.