2023 Pro thread

[Dan Gerous]

The Tour invites have already been granted: Israel + Uno-X are the wildcards, plus Lotto-Dstny + TotalÉnergies are automatic entries to all WorldTour races.

Israel have already stated their team is complete for 2023, although legally they can take one more rider, Astana too have one remaining spot, but it's been rumored that Cav's agent is selling Cav with Cees Bol, not without, so both teams would need to downgrade a current rider to their dev team or buy them out of their contract... or the agent needs to ditch Bol but Cav would probably prefer to have him as a leadout to stand a chance to win something at both Astana or Israel... Uno-X has two spots left, but I doubt they have the budget to sign Cav+Bol.

My guess is that negociations are ongoing with Cav and Astana but it's not as simple as a team wanting him, him wanting to join the team and signing. Astana have disposable riders and a dev team to downgrade to but need to negotiate with that rider on top of negotiating with Cav'S agent. But knowing Cav is a lot more desperate than teams, they're probably trying to sign him for cheap and Cav is asking for more, asking for what he thinks he's worth... so it may take a little while to find common ground.

[Mr.Gib]

MvdP having back issues again is worrying

Apparently his father had unresolved back issues throughout his career.
So a genetic component of some kind?
But you'd think physio today is so much better.
Hopefully it's just water on a fireball and won't limit his potential.

As a fan, this is what I was afraid of. Spinal issues usually get worse, not better. There may be some good periods, but I fear we may have seen the best of MVP. Fingers crossed I'm wrong.

[MilesG813]

Would Israel - Premier Tech be more likely to get a TdF invite if Cav was already on the team? I.e., TdF organizers wanting Cav in the tour?

I believe their invite was announced a couple of days ago.

https://israelpremiertech.com/israel-pr ... icipation/

[ichobi]

The Tour invites have already been granted: Israel + Uno-X are the wildcards, plus Lotto-Dstny + TotalÉnergies are automatic entries to all WorldTour races.

Israel have already stated their team is complete for 2023, although legally they can take one more rider, Astana too have one remaining spot, but it's been rumored that Cav's agent is selling Cav with Cees Bol, not without, so both teams would need to downgrade a current rider to their dev team or buy them out of their contract... or the agent needs to ditch Bol but Cav would probably prefer to have him as a leadout to stand a chance to win something at both Astana or Israel... Uno-X has two spots left, but I doubt they have the budget to sign Cav+Bol.

My guess is that negociations are ongoing with Cav and Astana but it's not as simple as a team wanting him, him wanting to join the team and signing. Astana have disposable riders and a dev team to downgrade to but need to negotiate with that rider on top of negotiating with Cav'S agent. But knowing Cav is a lot more desperate than teams, they're probably trying to sign him for cheap and Cav is asking for more, asking for what he thinks he's worth... so it may take a little while to find common ground.

solid guesswork. Didn't know Bol and Cav shared an agent. Not sure if Bol is happy to be bundled like that (or may be it was his choice too) but let's see where this goes.Given Astana's recent performance (or lack thereof) I am pretty sure having Cav is their best shot at getting some result in the Tour. The lever is about even here, although what Cav don't really have is time on his side.

[AJS914]

I was surprised to see that Carapaz signed with EF even though it seems he could have gone to Movistar or stayed with Ineos. EF has enough money for a guy like him? I guess EF needs someone that can score some major points (top 3-5 in a grand tour).

I can understand why he wouldn't want to go back to Movistar. You'd think he'd stay with Ineos and all their money and resources.

At EF, it seems like he'll be taking over the role of Uran since at 35, he doesn't have that many years left.

[zirxo]

The hell is the deal with Cav? It's just really weird. It's past January 1st and not a team nor him make an annoucement.
May be he's bidding for time to see if IPT gets the invite to the tour? IPT certainly is not short on money nor full on roster. Vino wants Cav anyways, so Astana is a safe choice, but i doubt Cav want to go there if he has other option.

According to Daniel Friebe on The Cycling Podcast Cav is close to a deal with Astana, it's just some details regarding personal sponsorships that has to be fleshed out.

[pastronef]

The hell is the deal with Cav? It's just really weird. It's past January 1st and not a team nor him make an annoucement.
May be he's bidding for time to see if IPT gets the invite to the tour? IPT certainly is not short on money nor full on roster. Vino wants Cav anyways, so Astana is a safe choice, but i doubt Cav want to go there if he has other option.

According to Daniel Friebe on The Cycling Podcast Cav is close to a deal with Astana, it's just some details regarding personal sponsorships that has to be fleshed out.

I think Oakley. Bahrain wore Rudy, he kept Oakley
Astana wears SciCon, they probably working on keeping Oakley

[robbosmans]

Luke Plapp Aussie champ again, I expect a full breakthrough from him this year

[micky]

[UpFromOne]

Luke Plapp Aussie champ again, I expect a full breakthrough from him this year

The race was won at the moment Bling first looked back on the final attack.
Classic move, classic give-up by the chasers.
Gotta love cycling's head games!

[IchDien]

Seen as it is a slow news day...

Ex Team Sky/Ineos Pro and Omloop winner Ian Stannard's brother is launching a satellite today. Ian is 2nd right centre in group photo.

[Dan Gerous]

The hell is the deal with Cav? It's just really weird. It's past January 1st and not a team nor him make an annoucement.
May be he's bidding for time to see if IPT gets the invite to the tour? IPT certainly is not short on money nor full on roster. Vino wants Cav anyways, so Astana is a safe choice, but i doubt Cav want to go there if he has other option.

According to Daniel Friebe on The Cycling Podcast Cav is close to a deal with Astana, it's just some details regarding personal sponsorships that has to be fleshed out.

I think Oakley. Bahrain wore Rudy, he kept Oakley
Astana wears SciCon, they probably working on keeping Oakley

I guess trying to bring coach Vasilis Anastopoulos from QuickStep to Astana might have slowed the signature process too.

[HammerTime2]

Seen as it is a slow news day...

Ex Team Sky/Ineos Pro and Omloop winner Ian Stannard's brother is launching a satellite today. Ian is 2nd right centre in group photo.

Extremely unlikely to be the plot's fault, but
Rut-roh.
What was supposed to to be the first orbital launch from the UK wound up being suborbital due to an anomaly. The satellites didn't make it successfully to orbit. But at least dude made it safely back to the airport.

Will Flight Lieutenant Matthew “Stanny” Stannard's secondment to Virgin Orbit now end, and he will return to normal RAF duties?

O.k., now back to your regularly scheduled programming of PEDs and fashion weenies discussion of the graphics on professional racers' clothing.

[EdWiser]

How it’s going so far.

[Mr.Gib]

How it’s going so far.

I think I am missing your point. Were you expecting more Van der Poel wins? Or are we to look at the results of the last few races and conclude Wout is the better crosser? Or do we conclude Van der Poel is more seriously injured that he acknowledges?

If Van der Poel can't ride with Wout at the Worlds, than I think his back must be really messed up. Their lifetime cx rivalry gives Van der Poel about double the amount of wins, which also doesn't really tell us that much.

IMO if both are at their very best form, I give Van der Poel the edge on most courses.