Rider Discussion

Firstly one rider very much on the up i would suggest is Matiej Paterski of CCC he is putting together quite an impressive palmares this year. He seems to have the knack of picking up a win which other riders can find so difficult.The step up from podium to winner can beat the best of riders. Lets not forget he was also a top 20 finisher in the Worlds @ Ponferrada last year.

looking at the results of the Worlds last year, how did Matti Breschel finish 4th?

Another rider who has excelled during the spring campaign in Jens Debusschere. He has had top 10 finishes in
KBK, Dwars,Ghent-Wevelgem and Roubaix.Not bad for a 25 year old. Not forgetting he is also the current Belgian road race champion which must be one of the hardest in the world to win so he can obviously finish off a race when he gets the chance.He is probably not one for the Grand Tours but his profile is definitely on an upward curve.

Hope you're ok cedar. Feel free to take a weight off my shoulders and start a race thread if you've got some time on your hands I'm happy to contribute to this. Some might see it is as giving people that shouldn't be allowed it a heads up, although I reckon that if bookies are looking on here to work out how to price things up then they're in a worse state than i'd previously thought...

First person I want to offer up for discussion is Kenny Elissonde. I thought he was absolutely top drawer when he finished 33rd in the 2013 Vuelta as a 21 year old, winning the Queen Stage ahead of Horner, Valverde, Nibali et al. Since then he has done absolutely nothing. I know its early days for him, still only a baby at 23 but I'm already starting to doubt whether he's ever going to take the next step. I know he's in great hands under Madiot but feel like we've been waiting a while now to see the progression. There's clearly climbing talent in there though so fingers crossed we see it.

Also from FDJ, I think Kevin Reza is well worth keeping an eye on. He came to promenence as a no-nonsense leadout man for Brian Coquard at Europcar, although he was let of the leash for them as a sprinter as well once or twice. Now at FDJ, he came second to Bling in a stage of the Basque Country, beating Swift and Kwiatowski to second. If he's allowed his head in the Grand Tours he will be a very good foil for Demare I imagine, but he will also be well worth bearing in mind for breakaways as he seems to be strong as an ox, tactically astute, able to get over small climbs and very fast in a sprint.

Another I am keeping an eye on for breakaways is Albert Timmer of Giant. He's caught my eye a few times in breakaways in the Tour of Britain and the Giro and seems to be a good old fashioned fighter. He's been with Giant for a few years and seems to be maturing with age and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him take down a Grand Tour stage this year.