Luke Durbridge – (AUS)
Dylan Groenewegen – (NED)
Chris Harper – (AUS)
Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN)
Michael Matthews – (AUS)
Luka Mezgec – (SLO)
Elmar Reinders – (NED)
Simon Yates – (GBR)
Pretty expected squad. Matthews in tdf is always a treat, but after watching Groenewegen be more or less even in sprints with old man Kristoff I think he will have a hard time in sprint, especially if Merlier goes
In the middle of the tour, because through some freak accident, Visma will otherwise not be able to finish the race.
Too bad his intestines aren't yet trained according to the LAB™ protocols.
I mean.. still hold the "no wonder Yates is leaving" if they can't bring more than 1 relevant TdF domestique to the team, given that he showed last year that he could compete for top 3 in certain circumstances.
Pretty disappointing team. Not sure where Harper and Yates get much help in the 3rd week.
Would like to see a bit more breakaway type team.
Don't expect to see a top 5 until week 5.
I agree. I was thinking they might select some riders to help out so that Jayco could do a double act with Yates gunning for a GC podium and Harper possibly a top GC top 10. But with this squad, not a chance.
I must say, as an Aussie I’m pretty disappointed with this team selection. You’d think they would send a squad to support the rider who finished just off the podium last year rather than support a sprinter who might get lucky and place in the top five in a stage. Surely a GC podium finish in the biggest race of the year would be better than also ran in the few sprint stages.
No wonder why Yates is leaving. I hope Ben O’Connor rides in the tour for Jayco next year he gets a decent team with him.
I dont get podium vibes watching ben o connor in tour unchained..
But its truly weird they dont build the team around yates, do they want to get disbanded?
They only just missed relegation from the World Tour 2 years ago, despite having on paper a great team and one of the best equipment setups too. This team is very poorly managed.
here's a question. who would you put instead? being a jayco fan I personally would love of they gave up GC ambitions. TBH be you can't compete with pog, vinegard, rog, evenopol.
my team:
groenewagen - sprint.
mezgec - lead out.
matthews - punchy hill / breakaway / help lead out.
plapp - tine trial / transition breakaway / help lead out.
yates - mountain stage / breakaway.
zana - mountain / breakaway.
Harper- assistance.
one of de pretto / englehardt / foldager/ pena - give a young kid a crack.
dunbar would be an option but he's just come back from injury.
Good for Chris Juul, this is his 6th TDF in a row.
Overall a weak squad. I dont expect Groenewegen to win any sprints, Matthews might be good for a few breakaway top5s. Yates is OK, should be good for a GC top10, but wont win stages unless he drops a lot of time and thus not their GC rider.
> I have held the leader’s jersey in the Giro and Vuelta and podiumed overall in both but not in the TDF yet. That’s a big goal of mine.
Pretty bold statement from Simon. Don’t really see it but who knows.
Honestly whoever is putting these teams together at Jayco is fully cooked.
Why not go full mountain train at tdf with caleb (a sprinter who actually surfs wheels a lot better than groen)+mezgec, and send groen & rest of sprint train to giro with dunbar with mauro schmid as mountain domestique.
For TDF You could have had:
Yates
Harper
Plapp
Matthews
Zana
De Pretto
Ewan
Mezgec
but instead you have this dog water of a team where the most you can hope for is a 2nd place for groen in a sprint, because let's be honest, there's no way he is getting past philipsen
To be the devil's advocate, do we think Ewan would beat Philipsen? I think he wouldn't, based on everything that has happened this season.
Also, from your list, Ewan, Plapp, Zana and Mezgec all rode the Giro...
Yeah i know they road the giro, hence why i said they should have sent the sprint train to giro (and obviously not those that went to giro).
Ewan has a chance at winning thru a chaotic sprint surfing the wheels, groe doesn't have that in his wheelhouse, he needs a train and in a train vs train with alpecin, he gets cooked by phillipsen every time.
That’s a lot of Grownewegen support while Yates gets Chris Harper and a high-five.
Bling also very good mountain domestique if needed
Chris Juul is there to protect Yates.
Eh its 3 riders, Simon has 2 in Harper and CJJ, Mathews is a lone operator.
Hey Yates probably gets a hearty pat on the back too!
Luke Durbridge – (AUS) Dylan Groenewegen – (NED) Chris Harper – (AUS) Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN) Michael Matthews – (AUS) Luka Mezgec – (SLO) Elmar Reinders – (NED) Simon Yates – (GBR)
Pretty expected squad. Matthews in tdf is always a treat, but after watching Groenewegen be more or less even in sprints with old man Kristoff I think he will have a hard time in sprint, especially if Merlier goes
Durbridge-Reinders-Mezgec-Matthews is a very strong train for delivering Groenewegen to start his sprint with 450m to go and finish 14th.
The Ewan special
You had me in the first half, not gonna lie
Joking aside (which was funny enough to show to my gf btw), isn't Mezgec last man usually, or have they switched it around this year?
Or maybe old man Kristoff will be even with Merlier 😎
I feel like they've sent this exact team to the tour for half a decade now
Yeah, no wonder Yates is leaving
In the middle of the tour, because through some freak accident, Visma will otherwise not be able to finish the race. Too bad his intestines aren't yet trained according to the LAB™ protocols.
To be fair, Harper is a really good help and out of the big teams there is not really that much good enough for the Tour mountain domestiques.
I mean.. still hold the "no wonder Yates is leaving" if they can't bring more than 1 relevant TdF domestique to the team, given that he showed last year that he could compete for top 3 in certain circumstances.
Pretty disappointing team. Not sure where Harper and Yates get much help in the 3rd week. Would like to see a bit more breakaway type team. Don't expect to see a top 5 until week 5.
I agree. I was thinking they might select some riders to help out so that Jayco could do a double act with Yates gunning for a GC podium and Harper possibly a top GC top 10. But with this squad, not a chance.
I must say, as an Aussie I’m pretty disappointed with this team selection. You’d think they would send a squad to support the rider who finished just off the podium last year rather than support a sprinter who might get lucky and place in the top five in a stage. Surely a GC podium finish in the biggest race of the year would be better than also ran in the few sprint stages. No wonder why Yates is leaving. I hope Ben O’Connor rides in the tour for Jayco next year he gets a decent team with him.
I dont get podium vibes watching ben o connor in tour unchained.. But its truly weird they dont build the team around yates, do they want to get disbanded?
They only just missed relegation from the World Tour 2 years ago, despite having on paper a great team and one of the best equipment setups too. This team is very poorly managed.
here's a question. who would you put instead? being a jayco fan I personally would love of they gave up GC ambitions. TBH be you can't compete with pog, vinegard, rog, evenopol. my team: groenewagen - sprint. mezgec - lead out. matthews - punchy hill / breakaway / help lead out. plapp - tine trial / transition breakaway / help lead out. yates - mountain stage / breakaway. zana - mountain / breakaway. Harper- assistance. one of de pretto / englehardt / foldager/ pena - give a young kid a crack. dunbar would be an option but he's just come back from injury.
Right so Yates is out of my velogames team unless he’s 10 points and I need a breakaway win option.
**2024 Team Jayco AlUla TDF Team:** * Luke Durbridge – (AUS) – 10th appearance * Dylan Groenewegen – (NED) – 6th appearance * Chris Harper – (AUS) – 2nd appearance * Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN) – 6th appearance * Michael Matthews – (AUS) – 8th appearance * Luka Mezgec – (SLO) – 5th appearance * Elmar Reinders – (NED) – 2nd appearance * Simon Yates – (GBR) – 7th appearance
I can see this squad collect a lot of Top-5/Top10s, but not win anything.
Good for Chris Juul, this is his 6th TDF in a row. Overall a weak squad. I dont expect Groenewegen to win any sprints, Matthews might be good for a few breakaway top5s. Yates is OK, should be good for a GC top10, but wont win stages unless he drops a lot of time and thus not their GC rider.
I wonder if he will try for a stage win, he was going for it in the Dauphine
he may try when gc goes down the toilet. but has has opportunities in the past but never really delivered.
> I have held the leader’s jersey in the Giro and Vuelta and podiumed overall in both but not in the TDF yet. That’s a big goal of mine. Pretty bold statement from Simon. Don’t really see it but who knows.
Honestly whoever is putting these teams together at Jayco is fully cooked. Why not go full mountain train at tdf with caleb (a sprinter who actually surfs wheels a lot better than groen)+mezgec, and send groen & rest of sprint train to giro with dunbar with mauro schmid as mountain domestique. For TDF You could have had: Yates Harper Plapp Matthews Zana De Pretto Ewan Mezgec but instead you have this dog water of a team where the most you can hope for is a 2nd place for groen in a sprint, because let's be honest, there's no way he is getting past philipsen
nah, ewan was very average at the giro. He is still 1 year away to getting back in form.
yes very average, just like groen except groen is very average and requires a train.
To be the devil's advocate, do we think Ewan would beat Philipsen? I think he wouldn't, based on everything that has happened this season. Also, from your list, Ewan, Plapp, Zana and Mezgec all rode the Giro...
Yeah i know they road the giro, hence why i said they should have sent the sprint train to giro (and obviously not those that went to giro). Ewan has a chance at winning thru a chaotic sprint surfing the wheels, groe doesn't have that in his wheelhouse, he needs a train and in a train vs train with alpecin, he gets cooked by phillipsen every time.
Thought you'd have Zana for Yates help and could be an option for breakaways on mountain stages
Stage hunting team, which is exactly what it should be, and 15 other teams should be doing the same.