u/jabalabeer

Tomorrow, besides Arctic Race of Norway and ADAC Classics, the Rockets will race on La Polynormande and typical 'Coupe the France' 1.1 race. The races starts at 12:!5 and is expected to finish between 17:05 and 17:30.

Parcours:

Looking at the profile, the race looks 'punchy', but when taking a closer look, the gradient percentages are quite low and in recent years, sprinters have been able to get some good results as well. Because the final meters are uphill, 'puncheur/sprinter' types (by that i mean riders like Lapeira and Venturini) could do well.

Competition:

Decathlon, FDJ and Lotto-Intermarche are the only World Tour teams present on the startlist. Other proteams are Cofidis, TotalEnergies, Equipo Kern Pharma and Polti. Rest of the field is filled with Conti teams including Visma development team.

Race favourites:

- Lapeira / Isidore (Decathlon)

- Gaudu (FDJ)

- Aranburu (Cofidis)

- Dujardin (TotalEnergies)

Also I think from the smaller teams Hardouin (Van Rysel Roubaix) and Kerckhaert (Beat) could do well.

Rockets expectation:

Venturini finshed 5th in this race in both 2022 and 2023. I think the race will be difficult to win for him as he probably lacks some pure speed vs riders like Lapeira and Aranburu. However, I think this is the type of race where he could get a top 5 again. As usual in these French races, I expect Venturini to be the leader for the Rockets with Loockx as a second leader.

Tomorrow the Tour of Denmark will start. It's a 5 day 2.Pro race where last year, Kubis, Larsen & Matyas Kopecky all finished in the top 10.

Stage profiles:

Once difference vs. last year is that there's no time trail. The race consists of 5 stages which PCS categorizes as following:

- Stage 1: Hills

- Stage 2: Flat

- Stage 3: Hills

- Stage 4: Hills

- Stage 5: Flat

Startlist:

7 World Tour teams are competing, with 7 Proteams, some conti teams and a (strong) Danish national selection. Visma LAB stands out because they are bringing both Van Aert and Laporte to this race.

Strongest competitors in my opinion are:

- Van Aert & Laporte (Visma)

- Kragh Andersen & Soderqvist (Lidl-Trek)

- Del Grosso (Alpecin)

- Aerts (Lotto-Intermarche)

- Sheehan (NSN)

- Eekhoff (Picnic-PostNL)

- Kamp & Tiller (Uno-X)

- Oliver (Modern Adventure)

- Foldager (Danish National Selection)

Rockets expectations:

This race fits the classic type riders on the Rockets team very well. I think Kubis will be the main leader with Matyas Kopecky as a second leader.

Niklas Larsen might also get a bit of a free role as this is 'his' race. Last year he finished 3rd and in 2019 he even won the race. However, I think this year's parcours doesn't suit him as well as last years, partly because there is no time trial. I think the difference will be made on small hills and perhaps even with bonification seconds.

I think winning the race is unlikely, but I'm hoping to see them competing for a podium. In terms of UCI points, it can also be important to keep multiple riders in GC if possible.

Last year, Tour of Denmark was very entertaining and I'm hoping (and expecting) to see a very active Rockets team again.

After a long period of no racing, today the Rockets raced again in Clasica de Ordizia. With Venturini in 25th as first rider for the Rockets, I think it's not the result they hoped for. Tomorrow there will be a new chance in the Vuelta a Castilla Y Leon.

Competition:

With Movistar, Astana, NSN & Jayco, 4 WT teams are participating. Then there are Total, the Spanish proteams and some continental teams.

The biggest favourites in my option would be:

- Barrenetxea & Tesfatsion (Movistar)

- Gilmore & Pinarello (NSN)

- Foldager (Jayco)

- Scaroni, Ulissi & Silva (Astana)

Rockets chances:

I had no opportunity to watch the race today, so I'm not sure why the results for the Rockets were somewhat disappointing. On paper, the parcours should suit the Rockets selection quite well (especially Venturini). So if they are in good shape after the 'summer break', I hoping for a top 10 tomorrow.

Tomorrow, besides Tour de France, the Sibiu Cycling Tour will start. This is a 2.1 stage race in Romania.

Stages

04-07-26: Stage 1a --> relatively flat stage

04-07-26: Stage 1b --> 3.2km ITT

05-07-26: Stage 2 --> mountain finish with final climb of 9.8km at 6.9% average

06-07-26: Stage 3 --> mountain finish with final climb of 23.5km at 6.0% average

07-07-26: Stage 4 --> flat stage

GC will almost surely be decided in the two mountain stages (Stage 2 & 3). The ITT impact will be limited given the short distance.

Competition

Two world tour teams are competing: UAE and Red Bull. Q36.5, Rockets, Modern Adventure, Kern Pharma and Solution Tech are the proteams. Rest of the field is filled with conti teams and national selections from Romania and Hungary.

Main competitors:

- Pericas & Torres (UAE)

- Finn (Red Bull)

- Camprubi, Dunbar & Calzoni (Q36.5)

- Munton (Modern Adventure)

- Sosa (Kern Pharma)

- Bonneu (Solution Tech)

Rockets

Rockets will ride for GC in this race. They brought a squad focused on climbing. Last year Christian Odd Eiking finished 3rd in GC, but the competition was weaker in my opinion. I think Wout Poels will most likely be the main man for the Rockets, but they might want to keep multiple riders in GC.

Curious to see who will be strongest on the climbs among the Rockets, with Eiking, Peter, Maire and potentially Fougner all being capable of getting some result themselves (besides Poels of course). If Wout Poels has his Giro form, I think he could definitely win this race. However, I don't think he prepared for the Sibiu Tour, the way he prepared for the Giro.

Not sure if all the Rockets will participate in their respective National Championships. But here is an overview of the dates.

Starting tomorrow, Rockets with take place in 5-day 2.Pro race Baloise Belgium Tour.

Parcours

It's a race that will suit classic type riders. According to Procyclingstats there are 4 'hilly' stages and 1 flat one. Personally, I expect stages 2 and 4 to end up in a sprint of a bigger group, with the GC being decided in stages 1, 3 & 5.

Competition

There's a very strong field in this race with many riders also using this race as preparation towards Tour de France. In total there are 11 WT teams competing. With Cofidis, Q36, Tudor, Total & the Rockets the 5 strongest Protour teams are also present.

With Kooij, Merlier, Philipsen and Girmay present, there are some very strong sprinters.

As mentioned, I expect more classic type riders for GC. For an overview of favourites by Cyclingflash please see the image.

Rockets expectations

I expect the Rockets to go for GC with Lukas Kubis. I think Matyas Kopecky or Bloem could also get a result if things go their way.

A top 10 would already be quite an impressive result in this field, I really hope the Rockets can show themselves this week.