A LEADOUT

Cycling’s 26 men squad for World Cup 2022 Team A:  Fireworks in sight   This is probably the weirdest and the most illogical post that I have and will probably ever write. With days left for the World cup 2022 and all the bells for the road cycling season having already been rung, this is how far imagination and boredom can take you. As national teams are slowly announcing their final 25 or 26 men squad, I have decided to throw in my pick from the world peloton . Manager : Starting with the best 11, the choice for the manager leans towards one the best tactician in match to match performance namely,Team Jumbo-Vimsa’s  Richard Plugge. The choice was hard between him and Patrick Lefevere . However theDutch gets to drive the bus for his constant innovation as compared to the unique long sighting style of the Belgian legendary manager. Tactics:  Football might not be evolving as fast as cycling but the traditional use of two forwards is extinct. Now eve...

  Overall Predictions: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Pavel Sivakov The neo Frenchman may not be the straightforward leader but his second place  at the Classica San Sebastián followed by his win at the Vuelta Burgos put him as a serious contender for the final win. ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆Jai Hindley He now plays in the field of the great. His patient composed ride that won him the Giro give him a serious edge over Sergio Higuita as Bora’s main man. ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆Joao Almeida A fan favorite. The Bota Lume. The man with 7 lives. An intelligent rider that clearly was not at his best at the giro but was still in podium contention before testing positive to Covid. With less descents and a final km punch rarely seen before he can finally take his first Grand tour podium.  ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆Primoz Roglic The man is injured. He does not have the same luxurious team of the Tour de France and most importantly he has a dozen of naughty climbers that will attack him. A fourth successive Vuelta win will be nothing more of miracle....

 Catch up with the Vuelta Espana 2022 route and riders preview part 1. 13: Groupama- FDJ The french team have quietly squeezed in Thibaut Pinot 's name as confirmed for the start. Bruno Armirail, Quentin Pacher, Rudy Molard  are three strong puncheurs who could aim for stage victory. The other hope of victory lies in Jake Steward with a sprint train of Reichenbach, Scotson and Lienhard. 14: Astana Qazaqstan Team No more making fun of that team this time. They are bringing a deadly team that will feature heavily in the mountains. Miguel Angel Lopez and Alexey Lutsenko are definite top 10 stuffs on their own. On his last dive, Vincenzo Nibali has shown some form in the Giro that proves he is not at the Vuelta just for the show. Samuel Batistella, David De la Cruz and Harold Tejada can set help their leaders if needed. Finally, Vadim Pronskiy and Fedorov complete the Kazakh armada. 15: Team DSM All hope will lie on the departing Thymen Arensman. His performance ...

As teams are confirming their riders for the Vuelta Espana 2022, Part 1 of our riders preview will feature the first 12 teams. Part 2 will contain the rest of the teams and include some very interesting predictions... 1: BORA- Hansgrohe  Even though Alexandr Vlasov will be missing from the band of brothers, the German team looks fierce, initially relying on Sergio Higuita and Giro unlikely winner Jai Hindley to lead the charge as podium candidates for the least. Accompanying them in  the quest is the not so bad Wilco Keldermann , who on his own could easily finish in the top 10 and will definitely be aiming to win a stage. Emmanuel Buchmann is another talented rider who will bolster the rank of the german team. Jonas Koch is tasked of doing everything else that. From carrying bottle to Tim Declerqing. Danny Van Poppel and Ryan Mullen are two formidable wagons Sam Bennett ’s sprint train. The dutch did a decent job as the team sprint head at the tour. But will there be fa...

  The 21 stages of La Vuelta España 2022 are distributed as follows:  7 mountain stage; 6  flat stages;  4 hilly stages;  2 flat stages with high-altitude finish;  1 team trial stage;  1 individual time-trial stage Stage 1 A 23,3 km TTT opens the scene A relatively longer team effort but without much technical difficulties along the crazy road Utrecht will guarantee a beautiful spectacle.No really big gap is expected to made here. At latest updates, severe rain is expected throught out the day. ☔️ Stage 2 A 175.1 km flat stage in Utrecht [/caption] The peloton and in particular the breakaway will fight it out for the first KOM jersey at km 105. The fight for the stage win is expected to be a sprint. The coastal winds might however spice things up.🌬 Stage 3 Stage 3 profile A cool quiet, gentle, tame soft 193.2 km is what we are expecting in this final round in the Netherlands. But the weather could cause decide otherwise and the winds mayhem....

  If you have been entertained by the Tour de France femmes 2022, this one will also interest you. While Sansa Stark ruled as the Queen of the North, Arya Stark was the fiercest. The Tour of Scandinavia 2022 - Battle of the North is the first of its kind, expanding from Norway, it includes stages in Denmark and Sweden.   In its first edition, The Tour of Scandinavia 2022 - Battle of the North will give us a show with 6 stages. The 5 flat stages are nevertheless not promised to the sprinters. Stage 1 Stage 1 profile The first stage will finish after 3 laps around Danish Football Association Headquarters. A bunch sprint is the most likely outcome. Stage 2 Stage 2 profile Sunglasses out as this beautiful stage along the coast of Sweden will amaze your sight. No lap finish here even though a bunch sprint is expected. Stage 3 Stage 3 profile This is a well known finish in Norway that the girl will undergo in a incredible 600m 4.2% ramp that the women will have to undergo 4 times...