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Tour de Pologne - Discussion Thread
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| roturn |
Posted on 13-06-2012 14:08
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It`s not just football in Poland. Also cycling stops here for a 7-day stage race for the puncheurs. Also the sprinters might do well here as arguably up to 5 could end in a sprint finish, while 2 stages will surely decide the overall. The tough 5th stage and the 6th as well.
So don`t be surprised to see some of the very best puncheurs and sprinters of this division. It`s HC category and lots of teams want to score points in the fight for the promotion spots.
The biggest favourite might be  Ginanni, who had some pretty good moments in the 2nd half of the season. In Bosisio he might have a very good team mate for the hard stages.
Then maybe the strongest team here.  Bianchi can go for several team leaders. That`s their biggest advantage. Best bets probably on the two Belgium Claeys and Monfort but don`t underestimate the Spaniards Cobo, Gil an De la Fuente. Anything else but a podium and some top15 would be pretty disappointing.
 Rapha Condor leads the rankings pretty dominant. One of their top riders is Chris Froome, who also leads the team in Poland. In Dowsett he has great support. Negative factor maybe that the team will also concentrate on the flat stages as Kennaugh might be the fastest man in the sprints.
 Di Maggio surprised quite a lot this season. So he surely is in the focus here. Lots of hills and no time trial suits him the most and so he aims another top spot here. Just like Rapha they also concentrate on all stages and have another top sprinter here in Corioni.
 Sanchez is one of the most experienced riders in the peloton but still fighting for good results. He mustn`t be underestimated in this race for sure.
 Ben Nasser also had good moments this season but most times the big result missed in his palmares. He`s strong in the hills and there he must be aggressive, then anything in the top10 is possible.
 Wegmann leads the team here. His advantage is that he might already get some bonus seconds in the sprints. It will be interesting to see if he can hang on to the better puncheurs in the hilly stages then.
 Weening/Visconti for the overall and Borrajo for the sprints. Sounds easy but it will be hard for these to get top results as there are better guys around.
 Kolobnev could be one option. Kirjienka another one. It will be important to have a good day, then they might surprise the bigs.
 Volkswagen had a lot of bad luck this season with crashes. Here they need a good result by Flügel, who had a nice season so far if they don`t want to lose contact with the promotion spots as the teams behind are not far away.
 Chicchi is one of the better sprinters and got a nice sprint train here. Definitely a guy to watch. In the overall it might be up to Wyss but top 10 will be hard.
 Hesjedal leads the team here. The Canadian is not the best puncheur and his team isn`t the strongest. So maybe something for the breakaways.
 Same for Konovalovas. He needs good days in the hills to get a chance of a top 10 here. Will be interesting to see them performing.
 Ferrari without a real leader. Salerno could be their best hope for good stage results. The others might go into breakaways and have good chances then.
 Nothing but good breakaway riders for Koppert. They will definitely look for their chance and ride aggressive.
 Oz needs to collect points. As 2nd last in the rankings they can`t be happy. Cooke for the sprints and some younger riders for the breakaways probably.
 Like seen in lots of other races Puma sends a weaker team of young talents to races without Bennati. Same here. Surely a team for the breakaway.
Startlist
Edited by roturn on 13-06-2012 14:10
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 13-06-2012 14:13
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Bad planning from me once again here. Obviously should've brought Niemiec, who'd have received a nationality bonus.
Anyway, a stage win would be nice. No real expectations.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 13-06-2012 14:38
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Classics Specialist
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Well, here my main problem shows up again: Apart from flat classics and TT-based stage races, we don't have anyone to get a serious result.
But as experience shows, with guys like Bar or Kelderman we scored way more points than with solid sprinters like Croket.
I'd like to see 2-3 breakaways making it to the end and maybe a Top20 for Kelderman if he's lucky, expecting more would be crazy.
Edited by cio93 on 13-06-2012 14:38
 17-03-2013
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| ANFreeman |
Posted on 13-06-2012 14:52
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I fear further Rapha dominance here.
Concerned that I should have sent Kono to France instead of here, certainly would have had a better chance. Still, if he or VDV gets a top 10, I'll be happy.
- Now accepting requests for Man-Game 2013 jerseys and (a few) frames. PM me! - |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 13-06-2012 14:52
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Not as strong a start list as I thought there would be for this sort of race. Should be interesting to see who comes out on top - my money is on one of the Bianchi boys.
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| Heine |
Posted on 13-06-2012 15:21
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Sprinter
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I really hope Flügel can do something here, but it's a strong field!
Volkswagen-Mapei |
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| Rin |
Posted on 13-06-2012 16:58
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Sprinter
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I guess it will be again a Bellis (or Ginanni) show..
Hope that my team takes the 5th and 6th stage to make the pace at the mountains so De la Fuente and Cobo could gain some time there.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 13-06-2012 18:17
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Classics Specialist
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Baden Cooke can sprint... I still believe 
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| felix_29 |
Posted on 13-06-2012 18:25
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Maybe stage win for Wegmann and a Top10 in the GC. Quite tough to get a Top5 with so many stronger pucheurs.
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 13-06-2012 19:28
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Good field here. As ever with the puncheurs likely to come down to luck. I've shaved my head in preparation - so I've got none left to pull out.  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-05-2013 08:40
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| viking90 |
Posted on 13-06-2012 19:30
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Sprinter
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Well Chicchi you want to be in the team next year?
It´s a perfect time to show it in this race!
The first stage I guess it´s a bit bumpy for him but stage 2,3 and 7 he got a chance.
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 15-06-2012 08:34
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That's it, D'Amore. You're out next year.
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| Heine |
Posted on 15-06-2012 10:07
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Sprinter
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Well done by Li, grabbing us a few spare points here
Volkswagen-Mapei |
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 15-06-2012 13:28
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Domestique
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I like winning. Hopefully Corioni can keep it up. 
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 15-06-2012 21:26
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Just got to shake your head sometimes at the way things work out. On a good run of my key support guys falling off their bikes.
Still, suppose it's not team leaders going down... |
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| Heine |
Posted on 16-06-2012 14:15
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Sprinter
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Li holding his position and Flügel staying in the peloton
Volkswagen-Mapei |
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| Rin |
Posted on 16-06-2012 14:19
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Sprinter
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Good that De la Fuente takes 3rd and the time bonus, that makes him the leader for Bianchi in this race
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 16-06-2012 15:02
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Santambrogio again brings home an unexpected victory!
Definitely can't complain about that.
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| CountArach |
Posted on 17-06-2012 14:42
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Congratulations to Borrajo for the upset victory.
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| ember |
Posted on 17-06-2012 14:54
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Classics Specialist
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Venchi is going really strong at the moment, both in Poland and Portugal, might look at promotion if they can keep this momentum. Congratulations to Borrajo, though a shame to see a couple of riders with overall chances crash out of it, will definitely be interesting to see how stage 5 and 6 play out. |
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