Final part of a very long Route to the Velogame 2022
As a continuity to the part 1 guide to the velogames, each riders has been classified according to their categories with a brief pro&cons to choosing them:
All Rounders : a team should consist of two overall riders to choose from below. with some serious end of tour classifications points, a third all rounder as a wild card is wise decision
Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates /26:
Only Covid or a Crash could stop the big favourite from taking his 3rd Tour De France. This is the main reason as to why there is some hesitation to picking him. At 26 points, he is pretty affordable and advisable given the fact that were bad luck to strike at any point, he would have already accumulated a lot of points from Day1 given the profile of this year’s Tour.
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma /22:
Serious eyebrows are being raised when it concerns the Slovenian, given his evasive form this season. He nevertheless remains a formidable rider and we have not seen a proper duel between the Slovenians since 2020 where Roglic never seemed to be troubled by Pogacar until that final TT. Pogacar has however only grown in abilities and confidence since then.
Jonas Vingegaard Jumbo-Visma /18:
Lasts eason’s revelation has confirmed all his potential and could indeed challenge Pogacar but Roglic remains the big boss of Team Jumbo-Visma as witnessed in the Recent Ciriterium du Dauphine.
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe /14
A very debatable option when it concerns his climbing abilities but he has been improve a lot in his climbing, time trial and sprint this season as witnessed since Itzulia, had he not abandoned the Tour de Suisse 2 weeks ago with a positive Covid test, we would have had a clear idea of his potential podium bid.
Geraint Thomas INEOS Grenadiers /14:
His team and a his fans will be hoping for a surprise from him following his recent Tour De Suisse win, but the field that was left to challenge him was not that impressive
Enric Mas Movistar Team /12:
A good climber and a serious challenger, he looked far from his best 3 weeks ago in the Criterium Du Dauphine though.
Jakob Fuglsang Israel - Premier Tech /10 :
A really impressive resurgence in the Tour De Suisse but the opponents that he will face in the tour and their teams are a long way from he faced then
Alexey Lutsenko Astana Qazaqstan Team/ 8 :
He has been growing as a serious GC rider for the past years, but a serious crash in training this year seems to have hit the reset button
Ion Izagirre Cofidis/ 8:
He has shown an incredible peak of performance earlier this season but he has been a victim of a run of bad luck that seems to have undone all the early hope he had.
Rigoberto Urán EF Education-EasyPost/ 8:
The Colombian is a very unpredictable rider that can hit form at any moment, at 36, he seriously look past his best as his team will focus on N. Powless instead.
Chris Froome Israel - Premier Tech /8:
The four time winner of the tour De France has shown the best form we have seen him since his crash in 2019, but that is far from is required to be a potential GC bid rider but he could target stage wins
Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates/ 8:
Good time trialist, he has improved massively in mountains. As much as he would love to follow his own ambitions, his recent form has shown that he came here only to be at the service of his leader, Pogacar
Patrick Konrad and Maximilian Schachmann BORA - hansgrohe /6:
Both Bora riders are good time trialist and are primarily here to support Vlasov, but should he not show a decent form, either could be propelled as leader.
Neilson Powless EF Education-EasyPost /6:
Àn excellent performance in the Tour De Suisse considering the fact that he was one of the only two finishers of his team. At 6 pts, he is a really good bargain
Steven Kruijswijk Jumbo-Visma/ 6:
He has shown that he is among the best climbers a the moment in the Dauphine, but he is not even the second choice for his team Team Jumbo Visma did however finished last year’s tour with only half of their riders…
Mattia Cattaneo Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team/6:
The Italian rider is more of stage hunter and he could bring a lot of incoming points for 6 points investment, his classification as an Overall rider however could possibly obstructs the place of more serious options
Marc Soler UAE Team Emirates /6:
One of the many strong support of Pogacar, it is highly improbable that he will given the freedom he loves to chase stage victories but at 6 points, he could bring in some serious assist points.
Climbers : Again a team should consists of two of them. however the hardest decision remains as to choosing not only between climbers that are aiming for top 10 final spot or those whose strictly chasing stage victories but also for those chasing the Polka Dot Jersey and its KOM points.
Daniel Felipe Martínez INEOS Grenadiers/14
Even though he was deceiving in Tour De Suisse, he could grow into shape and eventually be the best rider in his team
Ben O'Connor AG2R Citroën Team/12
He is the cheapest among the true potential podium contenders. He is third best behind the Jumbo leaders 2 weeks ago but even though he improved, 50km of time trail might prove too much to him.
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers/12
Recovering from a positive covid test , he is however one of the leader of his team. Sadly he is not even the best Yates in the Tour recent years
Jack Haig Bahrain - Victorious/10
There was much expectation from his last year at the start of the tour. He unfortunately crashed out very early. Even though decent, his current form is far from last year’s.
David Gaudu Groupama - FDJ/10
He carries the whole if France GC aspirations on his shoulders. That is a big weight to bear but he should fight for a top 10.
Nairo Quintana Team Arkéa Samsic /10
After an explosive start if the season where he looks like his old self, he has gone quite under the radar recently. Also, Nairoman remains one the best riders in échelons!
Romain Bardet Team DSM/10
He clearly stated that he is here for stage win and at most the maillot à Pois Considering his form at the Giro before going down to sickness, it would be a waste for him not to give it a try for the podium..
Damiano Caruso Bahrain - Victorious/8
Ripping like fine wine ,the uncertainty remains as to how much of co- leader will he be or will he be aside his aspirations for Jack Haig’s
Lennard Kämna BORA - hansgrohe/8
We have seen what he hasd done on the giro with partial freedom. While he will be allowed to chase his stages, his role might get limited would any of Vlasov, Schachmann or Konrad shows any serious contention.
Guillaume Martin Cofidis/ 8
We can expect the usual Yo-Yo for a but to a top 10, it will be much harder than the Giro this time though with a dozen of true top 10 contenders
Ruben Guerreiro EF Education-EasyPost/8
A potential stage winner for the least, he might even aim for the KOM jersey, while he has shown some serious strength recently, the field he competed against has to be noted.
Thibaut Pinot Groupama - FDJ/8
He has also stated that he will be aiming for stage victories. With about 7 mountain stages, he can aspire to more than a stage win. While he seems to be getting back to shape, he is very far from the best we have seem from him.
Michael Woods Israel - Premier Tech/8
While he will try to win a mountain stage, his punchy style might make him think of other type of stages. His chances might however be limited if Fuglsang needs him
Sepp Kuss Jumbo-Visma /8
While he will bring a considerable amount of assured assist points with Roglic, Jonas and Wout, it will take a considerable amount of circumstances for him to be given the same green light as last year
Warren Barguil Team Arkéa Samsic /8
Although, he is far from the best form of his life, there are at least 13 stages that he could possibly target.
Geoffrey Bouchard AG2R Citroën Team /6
It is very unlikely that he will be given the usual freedom in the mountain due to the aspirations of O’Connor.
Joe Dombrowski Astana Qazaqstan Team /6
A very decent climber who aspire to a lot of stage wins. His current form is however unknown
Franck Bonnamour B&B Hotels - KTM /6
He had an exceptional tour last year and we expect to see a lot of him again although we have not seen much of him yet this season
Pierre Rolland B&B Hotels - KTM /6
The first part of the season has shown us that we can expect plenty of ‘Attaque de Pierre Rolland’ in this tour, but to what end?
Dylan Teuns Bahrain - Victorious/6
There is a handful of punchy finishes or mid mountain climb and even cobblestone that he could target! He should however be in the shadows in higher mountains
Michael Storer Groupama - FDJ /6
He could be given freedom but we expect this only to happen if Gaudu is out of contention
Louis Meintjes Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux /6
He has shown the kind of form of that made a top 10 realistic but the riders he will have to face are far better than those he faced in his earlier career.
Pierre Latour TotalEnergies /6
He will try to hold to the very best but even he knows that he cannot hold to the Slovenia for 3 weeks
Giulio Ciccone, Bauke Mollema &Quinn SimmonsTrek - Segafredo/6
An absolute realistic lineup by the American team with riders chasing stage victory. I would not totally discard Ciccone GC ambition immediately though
George Bennett& Rafał MajkaUAE Team Emirates/6
Both will be totally invested in protecting Pogacar.
Sprinters: Bunch sprinters are going to be sparse this year and investing in a good sprinter is not a wise choice unless it is Wout Van AERT
Wout Van Aert Jumbo-Vismab /18
The green jersey will be a simple affair and he could win more than flat stage but at 18, he definitely uses up money that you be used elsewhere
Jasper Philipsen Alpecin-Fenix /14
While he is be his main sprinter, he can get over climb and cobbles better than most but he will have to share leadership with MVDP
Fabio Jakobsen Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team /14
He is the best sprinter in the world but his chance of win are very slim. His biggest chance is at the champs-elysees if he makes it there
Caleb Ewan Lotto Soudal /12
The pocket rocket has been under the radar since his giro crash, but the undulating terrain favors him and he also has the intention of finishing the tour to be able to sprint in Paris
Peter Sagan TotalEnergies /12
He will be on the chase for a stage win and even the maillot vert but we have to realistic that he is not the same Sagan
Dylan Groenewegen Team BikeExchange - Jayco /10
A very poor decision for his team to bring him here, he will be out before having a chance to win
Michael Matthews Team BikeExchange - Jayco /10
With Groenewegen out of the picture very early, he will be propelled to be his team main’s sprinter and he will be fighting for that green.
Alexander Kristoff Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux /8
He will be aiming for more than sprints and is very good on cobblestones though he is not the only one in his team who can handle the paves
Alberto Dainese Team DSM /8
After brilliant giro win, it will be harder for him to repeat his feat but he has the full support of his team in flat stages
Mads Pedersen Trek - Segafredo /8
We are expecting a huge Tour de France start for him with him being in the mix for the first 6 stages. But then, what’s next?0
Luca Mozzato B&B Hotels - KTM /6
He is in rather fair shape and has the full support of his team0
Danny Van Poppel and Marco Haller BORA - hansgrohe /6
With Bennett left home, Bora- Hansgrohe made the wise choice of selecting them.
Bryan Coquard Cofidis /6
Le Coq has been experiencing a good season so far and for 6 points is good fill for the sprinters
Max Walscheid Cofidis /6
Will aim for a good performance in the Paves stage
Andrea Pasqualon Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux /6
Climbs better than Kristoff and Quinten Hermans not here, he will have a lot of chances for taking those hard sprints
Christophe Laporte Jumbo-Visma /6
The lead out man for Wout Van Aert could garnish some assists points
Amaury Capiot & Hugo Hofstetter Team Arkéa Samsic/ 6
Team Arkea Samsic will be propelling their powerful men to target stages win in the not so flat and straight forward finishes’
Anthony Turgis TotalEnergies /6
He will be the man to follow for Total Direct Energies being in better shape than Sagan but definitely not more popular
Unclassified: we need at least 3 of them and that does not seem to be enoug with some many choices.
Mathieu Van Der Poel Alpecin-Fenix /14
He will aiming for wins throught the race, but at 14 not many can afford him
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers /10
Are two definite enough to get him?
Matej Mohorič Bahrain - Victorious /8
he will be on stage hunt duites as much he wishes0
Magnus Cort EF Education-EasyPost /8
The rider not to miss out on, At 8, he could potentially claim victory everyday
Thomas Pidcock INEOS Grenadiers /8
Although a lot of stages suits his profile, it is very impropable that he will be given the freedom
Tim Wellens Lotto Soudal /8
he will absolutely free to try his things to get his team a stagr victory
Andreas Leknessund Team DSM /8
he will target stage win from break aways in mountain stages
Benoît Cosnefroy AG2R Citroën Team /6
he loves p but punchy finishes but we have seen him at his best for some time
Stan Dewulf , Bob Jungels , Aurélien Paret-Peintre AG2R Citroën Team 6
All are excellent riders that claim stages win on intermediary stages but they will probably find themselves support O’ connor podium bid
Xandro Meurisse & Kristian SbaragliAlpecin-Fenix /6
Will both aim for stages win from break-aways
Samuele Battistella ,Fabio Felline ,Gianni Moscon & Simone Velasco Astana Qazaqstan Team /6
One of the poorest Astane tem we have seen for some times, but there are decent individuals who could surprise
Jan Tratnik, Luis León Sánchez & Fred Wright Bahrain - Victorious /6
While Tratnik could aim for a good time-trials, these riders are expected to only be supporting Haig and Caruso and teuns and mohoric represent better chance of stage wins0
Nils Politt BORA - hansgrohe /6
If given freedom, he will be aiming for stage win , but hat is very unlikely
Victor Lafay Simon Geschke Cofidis /6
Both will aim for those stage mountain win
Alberto Bettiol EF Education-EasyPost /6
After a horrible season start, he has shown a glimpse of what he can still in Switzerland
Stefan Bissegger EF Education-EasyPost/ 6
Time trials are his hopes
Kevin Geniets,rStefan Küng &Valentin Madouas Groupama - FDJ /6
They will all be given freedom to have chance of stage win from break-away. Yes Kung has improved his climbing but his best chances remain in TT
Jonathan Castroviejo INEOS Grenadiers /6
he will be on strict domestique duty
Taco Van Der Hoorn Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux/6
Yes, he is in great shape and we will see plenty of him.
Georg Zimmermann Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux /6
Another one of those IWG riders that excels on hilly stages
Simon Clarke Hugo Houle I &Daryl Impey Israel - Premier Tech /6
All seems past their best, but we will still look out for Impey after his stage win in Switzerland0
Tiesj Benoot Jumbo-Visma 6
he would have been a great choice was he not at Jumbo -Visma.
Philippe Gilbert, Andreas Kron &Brent Van Moer Lotto Soudal/6
All will try to get that stage win for their team
Gorka Izagirre ,Matteo Jorgenson ,Nelson Oliveira &Carlos Verona
If there is a choice to be made from these man, it should definitely go to Verona who took a very deserving win in The Dauphine
Kasper Asgreen Mikkel Frølich Honoré & Michael Mørkøv
A trio of Danish wolves who will try something on their own in the first 3 stages before making sure to get Jakobsen to Paris
Matis Louvel Team Arkéa Samsic /6
an excellent paves riders who did well at Tro-Bro Leon
Connor Swift /Team Arkéa Samsic 6
Will be another one who will be trying something from far
Luke Durbridge, Christopher Juul-Jensen, Luka Mezgec &Nick Schultz Team BikeExchange - Jayco /6
While mezdeg duty is to pilot Dylan to a sprint if that happens, we cannot expect big things from the others
John Degenkolb Team DSM /6
Could show his worth in stage 5
Nils Eekhoff Chris Hamilton & Martijn Tusveld Team DSM 6
Will all be trying to get break-away wins0
Mathieu Burgaudeau & Boassen Hagen TotalEnergies /6
They will have chances of their own to modify normal sprint finishes
Alexis Vuillermoz TotalEnergies /6
One of my favourite rider who has shown he is close to his best recently. In my team
Toms Skujiņn &Jasper Stuyven Trek - Segafredo /6
Both are strong riders that could dominate Break-aways
Mikkel Bjerg UAE Team Emirates /6
On duty for Pogacar
Michael Gogl Alpecin-Fenix /4
Will do well on the paves and will be getting into lots of break-aways in the mountains
Adrien Petit Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux /4
A good rider multi terrain rider who will enjoy himself on the cobbles. He can also climb.
Nathan Van Hooydonck Jumbo-Visma /4
In case you are looking for assists points
Frederik Frison Lotto Soudal /4
Well done to his team to bring him here.
Florian Vermeersch Lotto Soudal /4
One the best 4 points choices, not only will does he has a claim to victory in the pave stage but he also has the full freedom to try his own things in other stages
Alex Kirsch /Trek - Segafredo /4
A very interesting rider with a good sprint. His main duty will be to deliver Mads to the sprint. But if he is given chances on his own, he can make the 4 coins worth it
Please note that team line-up are most likely to be subjected to changes due to the Covid positive tests. Nevertheless, when it comes to Important riders, it is very unlikely that teams would have alternative of the same value.
Also, please note if you have not had time to alter your team to swap for any non- starting riders, automatic substitution will be carried after the deadline.
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