World Cycling Championship Florence 22 - 29 September 2013

[thom]

Just back from Lucca where the 'road' round the top of the city wall's being resurfaced in prep for the road race roll-out. Should look spectacular.

Are they starting on the Luccasian ramparts ? I rode round it last year - a very pretty town, much nicer than Pisa.

 

[RedRider]

Are they starting on the Luccasian ramparts ? I rode round it last year - a very pretty town, much nicer than Pisa.

Yeah, gorgeous town. I was told they're starting on the Piazza S Michele and then a circuit of the ramparts before racing to Florence.

 

[thom]

GB Team - road races led by Froome & Armitstead (Pooley backup)

Men's elite road race – eight places qualified
Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Alex Dowsett, Josh Edmondson, Andy Fenn, Chris Froome, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas, Jon Tiernan Locke, Bradley Wiggins

Men's elite time trial
Alex Dowsett, Sir Bradley Wiggins

Women's elite road race – six places qualified
Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Nikki Harris, Lucy Garner, Sharon Laws, Emma Pooley

Women's elite time trial
Emma Pooley

U23 men's road race – six places qualified
Jon Dibben, Owain Doull, Tom Moses, Joe Perrett, Alex Peters, Alistair Slater, Adam Yates, Simon Yates

U23 men's time trial
Joe Perrett

Junior men's road race
Scott Davies, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Matt Gibson, James Knox

Junior men's time trial
Matt Gibson

Junior women's road race
Anna Christian, Bethany Hayward

 

[Buddfox]

Was looking at this earlier... couldn't work out if Cav would be in the road race team. Hard to see any point in him doing it? Likewise I assume Wiggins and Dowsett just do the TT. I guess Stannard and Thomas (and Froome) are locks for the RR team. Beyond that - Rowe and JTL?

 

[thom]

Beyond that - Rowe and JTL?

I read somewhere JTL had fluffed his lines a bit by overtraining a few months ago. He had been aiming for the Vuelta but had fatigued himself so didn't go. I think he isn't doing the Tour of Britain but must be slated for something else in the run up.

 

[ColinJ]

I thought that Emma Pooley had either retired, or decided to take a year or two away from competition?

 

[rich p]

I read somewhere JTL had fluffed his lines a bit by overtraining a few months ago. He had been aiming for the Vuelta but had fatigued himself so didn't go. I think he isn't doing the Tour of Britain but must be slated for something else in the run up.

I read that his only objective this year was to try to perform at the Tour of Beijing. The article I read (and can't find again) said that the training had been too fatiguing and he'd raced through it. Maybe just a learning curve

 

[rich p]

I thought that Emma Pooley had either retired, or decided to take a year or two away from competition?

Nope!

 

[ColinJ]

I thought that Emma Pooley had either retired, or decided to take a year or two away from competition?

Nope!

She did think about it, but changed her mind!

 

[The Couch]

At least in the last weeks Belgium has given some hope that they should at leats be concidered dangerous:
GIlbert (finally) winning something in the Vuelta and showing signs of better climbing
Van Avermaet collecting some close finishes in Canada
Bakelants winning the GP de Wallonie yesterday

Can't see them taking too much responsibility (they only have 7 riders), that should be for the other countries who have either one clear leader and favourite (Suisse, Slovakia) or who have a wealth of strong riders (Italy, Spain, Columbia).

Anybody thinks "outsiders" like Froome, Costa, Voeckler, D. Martin, Gerrans,... (anyone else?) would have a good chance?

 

[VamP]

Styby thinks the main favourites are Gilbert (!), Cancellara and Sagan. In that order. He himself has yet to confirm he's riding.

 

[The Couch]

Styby thinks the main favourites are Gilbert (!), Cancellara and Sagan. In that order. He himself has yet to confirm he's riding.

Styby is "half Belgian" he's not objective
Nevertheless it does make sense that they would the top-favourites... they are 3 riders who have proven they can win on similar parcours and have won many 1-day races

But I'm always looking for an under-the-radar name to mention around
...like someone said on here that Martin had a very good climb in the Fleche Wallon, so I had a guess on him to win Liege-Bastoigne-Liege...of course I am now considered "the cycling predictor" around here... so I need to keep my reputation up

 

[VamP]

Styby is "half Belgian" he's not objective
Nevertheless it does make sense that they would the top-favourites... they are 3 riders who have proven they can win on similar parcours and have won many 1-day races

But I'm always looking for an under-the-radar name to mention around
...like someone said on here that Martin had a very good climb in the Fleche Wallon, so I had a guess on him to win Liege-Bastoigne-Liege...of course I am now considered "the cycling predictor" around here... so I need to keep my reputation up

Which half

 

[Stonechat]

Cancellara going for treble of Road Race , TT and team TT
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cancellara-focused-on-the-road-race-at-florence-worlds

 

[Buddfox]

GB team announced today: Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Josh Edmondson, Chris Froome, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas, Jon Tiernan Locke, Sir Bradley Wiggins (with Wiggo and Dowsett going for the time trial).

Women's team: Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Nikki Harris, Lucy Garner

So Wiggo's doing both and JTL made it. Not sure if Brailsford is hedging his bets on the road race, but it's hard to see Wiggo or Froome riding for one or the other?