Innsbruck 2018 Men Elite Road Race

El Imbatido
I think it is hard to spend few words on what Velverde did in Innsbruck, it has been something cathartic.
He sprinted from the worst position, bringing on his shoulders the responsibility of the strongest, and in the end he won. Pure emotion.

Here you can find my grades to the teams and their tactics from 1 (very bad) to 10 (very good):

SPAIN: 10
Finally they raced as a true team moving together in the same direction.
They ended up with an historical victory with their most representative rider.

Denmark: 9.5
They were not the favorite, they used the perfect strategies with their riders.
They attacked since the beginning and almost won the race with Valgren's perfect attack.

France: 8.5
They controlled the race and prepared brought their two best riders in the best position on the final climb. There could have just been a bit more communication in the team about Alaphilippe feelings.

Canada: 8
They took a great bronze medal with a fantastic race of their captain Woods.

Holland: 6.5
This is the best season of Dumoulin but unfortunately he missed all its goals. Nevertheless, we can't blame him.
He saved the performance of its team that could have started attacking earlier in the race.

Belgium: 5
I expected more from the nation of cycling by definition. Wellens disappeared and Van Avermaet saved the race with an attack made more with pride than with legs.

Italy: 4
They raced in a decent way, trying to move the race and being reactive on the attacks during the first part of the race.
They committed a terrible suicide when they decide to push before the final climb, helping France and Spain and demolishing their entire team but Moscon.

Great Britain: 3.5
They controlled the race all day and disappeared in the final.

Colombia: 3
I'm still wondering if they were in the Peloton.

Innsbruck Preview

The circuit of the 2018 Cycling World Championships is one of the most interesting among the recent editions.
It seems to be a circuit for climbers and we could have a GC contender wearing the rainbow jersey since Cadel Evans.
Nevertheless,  with the approach of the race, the reaction of the riders is hard to believe.
Italy, with its captain Nibali, was in the short list of the possible winners but after the Tour the France crash of its captain and the horrible year of its lieutenant Aru, It has been relegated to a secondary role.
Great Britain, presenting the winner of the two grand tours so far, was in the short list as well. Nevertheless, Team Sky announced that their two champions are too tired to race the World Championships. Are you kidding me?!
The team still have two great contenders with the Yates brothers but I found hard to believe that the two strongest riders won't compete for the rainbow Jersey.
Colombia seems to be the favorite, with so many great climbers they are definitely the strongest team in Austria.
The problem will be to ride as a team; the rivalry among the Colombian champions is really hard and La Vuelta 2018 is enhancing it.
France and Holland are just below Colombia, in my opinion, they are two solid teams with a lot of tradition and can count on strong climbers.
They have less strong climbers than Columbia but their teams seem to be more organized.
Talking about Belgium, I don't think this will be the year of Belgium or of the Classics kids because the circuit looks really strong but the fact that Italy will race without a captain will not make the race as hard as planned.
In conclusion, I really wonder if this will finally be the deserved World Championships of Valverde. Spain has always had the problem of never being a team but, without Rodriguez, this time, Don Aleandro could have the chance of his life.
The team of Cycling Impressions will be in Austria providing you a lot of great contents, stay tuned!!