Roar Rookie
Joined January 2015
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Winning the 2015 US Pro Challenge is the latest highlight in a breakout year for Rohan Dennis. We knew he was good, but with…
Ask anyone with a passing interest in cycling what the best race of the year is, and 99.9 per cent will say the Tour…
The Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) sounded like a great idea when it started. By joining, cycling teams could stand up and tell the…
After the Jayco Herald Sun Tour last weekend, plenty of young Aussie talents would have been gleefully backslapping and popping champagne corks. And I…
Attempting the world hour record is not for the faint hearted. There's no prize for coming second, no silver medal, no bottle of Champagne,…
Five years ago Cameron Meyer was one of the bright young stars in the Australian cycling constellation. Unfortunately shooting stars seldom shine the longest…
Hi Scott. Thanks for your comments. I think that’s a fair assessment. I’m not trumpeting him as a grand tour winner either. That’s why I think it’s great that in the shadows of Porte, Dennis is free from expectations and can grow at his own rate.
But I’d rather see him work on his climbing than aiming for classics. Comparing him with other current great time triallers: Boonen and Cancellara are big enough to smash the classics, but Tony Martin doesn’t have a chance. Wiggins probably could have won more one day races once he’d given up being a stick-figure, but then he’s bigger than Dennis too.
As you say, his next step is to win higher profile one week races. He’s not there yet but given his consistent rise over the last 3 years, if he stays healthy and gets the opportunity it’s a good bet he will.
And speaking of bets, oh yes- the beer money is pretty safe with BMC for the worlds.
The rise of Rohan Dennis
How much depth is there in the team sheets this year? Aside from the top 3 – 4 you mention I can’t help feeling that the start list is a bit “B Team” as lots of the Tour hopefuls head to California instead.
More teams are being led by stage snipers rather than genuine GC riders
FWIW, I reckon Ritchie is in mint form, and don’t even think about his efforts last year which were hampered by poor health. I think the Pink will be his or Uran’s
No matter what you think of Bertie or his current form, I love watching Contador race. He’s always aggressive and not afraid to have a dig, regardless of the team strategy or average wattage. (Sky method).
Aru looked great last year and I look forward to seeing his GT rides in future.
Sorry, I don’t rate Ryder. He hasn’t even cracked a top 10 in any race this year (aside from TTT) and I don’t think Garmin’s squad has enough grunt to help him either.
Bring it on. The parcours is always entertaining and I hope it comes down to stages 19 and 20 which look like great nights to watch.
Who will win the 2015 Giro d'Italia?
Absolutely. The Omloop was a great example of an unpredictable finish. If they had access to race radio I’m sure the DS would have helped the 3 EQS guys come up with a better strategy to isolate Stannard. Vandenbergh has been probably unfairly caned for helping Stannard back on, but he’d thought he needed to be up there to maintain their numerical advantage.
Yes, the Giro is special. I admit epic mountains are integral to road cycling and we’ll never see one in a one day race. And I do like the recent trend of shorter mountain stages so the riders can attack the climb with more energy.
Five reasons why the one day Classics are cycling's best races
Twitter @cammeyercyclist:
Very happy to get the win in today’s @HeraldSunTour stage. Tough day out and some awesome team work from the @ORICA_GreenEDGE guys.
Nice work!
Does Cameron Meyer need a win?
Robert Power showed similar glimpses of mistimed enthusiasm toward the end of the Great Ocean Road race. Fantastic stuff. I’m sure the coaches are right that the loss is ‘good’ for the long term, but I hope for the viewer’s sake they win a few races that way before they learn to do it the safe way.
Ewan already achieving what McEwen and Cavendish couldn't
On reflection his work for the team during the TDU looked solid, especially on the Willunga stage. That suggests he’s in a good place. I hope so. My own feeling is he’s a good rider who deserves to keep a spot in OGE.
The demands of the pro tour are such a step up from Continental or track. Young stars are always over hyped and I don’t think their failure to live up to expectation is necessarily about other guys doping at the top level. Certainly not like it once was. Young tyros stumbling in the big league is simply a fact of life common to all pro sports.
I feel sad for Bobo. If rising cycling talent was once cheated and snuffed out by rivals that doped, now even in a ”clean” era fans like Bobo are still being cheated from trusting and enjoying the sport we love.
Even if Meyer doesn’t ‘need’ a win I hope he gets one if only for his own confidence.
Does Cameron Meyer need a win?
The Uni SA invite is covered under a different UCI law from the Pro Conti one, that allows organisers to invite a national representative team in the interests of cycling promotion Rule 2.15.154 – No I’m not a rule geek, I just saw it quoted somewhere recently and looked up the story. Apparently the same thing happens at Tour of Poland and the Canadian one day classics.
This explains why Uni SA race in the green and gold hoops, and why it’s used as an opportunity to promote promising young riders (er, plus Jack and Steel VH looking for second chances)
But yeah, I’d like to see a second ProConti invited too – it was a smaller than average peloton.
Dave Sanders: An unheralded Tour Down Under hero
If only Oleg would go crazy about issues that really matter. Like rider safety amongst team and service vehicles.
We’ve had, how many? – at least 5 riders I can remember hit by vehicles in one season. It’s insane. BMC grumbled about pursuing legal action when GvA was clobbered but nothing has followed through so far. If Oleg pulls his team from the Vuelta and gets angry enough, perhaps the UCI will act NOW rather than simply promising to look into it.
Is Oleg Tinkov crazy?