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cycling: 5 to watch: Previous results & upcoming races

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5 to watch

Cycling: In the rubric 5 to watch In 2018 we are pursuing five great talents: Phil Bauhaus (Sunweb), Kilian Frankiny (BMC), Felix Grossschartner (Bora-hansgrohe), Marc Soler (Movistar) and William Martin (Wanty Groupe Gobert). The season has only just started, but four protégés have already been deployed. We look back at their previous performances and take a closer look at the upcoming dates.

Phil Bauhaus: Already in second place in Australia

Phil Bauhaus almost gave us our first win – but only almost. On the third stage of the Tour Down Under the 23-year-old sprinted to second place. Only Italian Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) was faster that day. Admittedly, Bauhaus benefited enormously from the final speed of the stage winner, because he let him pull him in the slipstream to second place. Nevertheless, apart from that, Phil Bauhaus has achieved remarkable results. With places four and six on two other stages, he can already look back on three top 6 results. Of course, it still lacks top speed, but the biggest shortcoming seems to be positioning within a mass sprint. This ability comes automatically with experience, because unless your name is Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe), you are not born with it.

Next races: not known

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRAEAqwMvic

Felix Großschartner: Helper services on Mallorca

Felix Großschartner's season started a little quieter than Phil Bauhaus'. After intensive training, he was nominated for two races in the Mallorca Challenge. In the Lloseta Andratx Trophy he finished #32 in the Trophy Serra de Tramuntana to #10. However, it is much more important that his teammate and compatriot Gregor Mühlberger achieved good results with positions #2 and #5. Großschartner got the chance to launch an attack himself. It was only after that that Mühlberger got things going. As a helper, Großschartner also had a share in these results. Cycling is a team sport.

Next races: Felix Großschartner will be back in action on February 10th. Then the Austrian contests the Spanish one-day race Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia Costa Calida. He finished eleventh there last year.

Kilian Frankiny: His first assignment starts on Wednesday

A cliché about the Swiss says that they are a bit slower. However, we have known since Fabian Cancellara and Alex Zülle at the latest that this does not apply to all Swiss. The fact that Kilian Frankiny has not yet played can therefore not be attributed to this. On the contrary: Kilian Frankiny turned 24 on Friday and is therefore in the prime of cycling age. So now things can really get going – and that's also possible on January 31st. That is when the five-day Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana begins. After his exit from the Vuelta a Espana, this will be his first race.

Next races: The Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana was won by Nairo Quintana last year. The five-day tour is not really for sprinters. The wavy and partly mountainous profile should accommodate Kilian Frankiny. Through his helper services, however, successes from Greg Van Avermaet should also be forced. We still hope for a few freedoms for Kilian.

Marc Soler: No luck on the Tour Down Under

The Movistar team disappointed a bit at the Tour Down Under. The result was neither a stage win nor any significant placement in a rating. Actually, Marc Soler could have used the opportunity to draw attention to himself as captain of the team, because he probably won't get many chances in the team of Alejandro Valverde, Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana. Not surprisingly, Marc Soler's season highlights are not in January or February. Accordingly, we should not be disappointed that we only managed to place #34 at the Tour Down Under. There he is up to Willunga Hill as 18th was not so bad on the way. Unfortunately, he already has the biggest deficit on the fourth stage caught when he was inattentive during Peter Sagan's win and missed the division of the field. After all, Marc Soler spotted a koala bear on the side of the road during training in Adelaide.

Next races: Marc Soler's official race calendar doesn't have much on it yet. If there is no spontaneous start, it will not be visible again until March 19th. At the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya he finished third overall last year. It is quite possible that he will get his chances again this season.

Koala 🐨 #adelaida #australia #movistarteam

A post shared by Marc Soler (@marc_soler) on

Guillaume Martin: A busy schedule in February

Frenchman Guillaume Martin is the only professional in our 5 to watch who is not under contract with a WorldTour team. Accordingly, the clocks tick a little differently for him. While the highlights of the first league only slowly begin in March, the Pro Continental teams are already under pressure to succeed. So it's no wonder that Guillaume Martin's diary is a little busier. So far, the Frenchman has only driven one race. At the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise he ended up at #5. He was part of the nine-man first group, which also included his teammate Odd Christian Eiking. Since the Norwegian is the better sprinter, Guillaume Martin drove for him in the last few meters. He thanked him with #2.

Next races: Guillaume Martin should ensure good results in February. First he contests the one-day races Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia Costa Calida on February 10th and the Trofeo Laigueglia on February 11th. After that things will get serious, because he will face well-known competitors either at the Tour of Oman (13th-18th) or at the Ruta Del Sol (14th-18th) and fight for the top places in the overall standings.

Tags:5 to watch5towatchbauhaus5towatchfrankiny5towatchgrossschartner5towatchmartin5towatchsolerBauhausFrankinyGrossschartnerMartinNewsSoler

More than Michael Behringer

Cycling with all its tactics, stage analyses, placements and forecasts are Michael Behringer's great passion. In 1996 he tracked his first Tour de France. Since then he has observed almost every race. His passion for cycling has been with him for over two decades. There is no end in sight.