La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Preview
Hello and welcome. We are back in Gabon for the start of the 2014 season. It is time for the 9th edition of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Last year, the race was won by newcomer Willem Brouwer with one minute and nine seconds over the second rider. This year there will be a new rider at the top spot, as Brouwer has retired. Maybe the pressure of winning The Bongo got to him.
The route
With no changes in the route, there will be a big chance the race will again be won by a sprinter who is capable of going over the hills. The route futures 4 flat and 3 hilly stages.
Stage 1 is undoubtedly the hardest with 26.5 km of climbing. However, the downhill finish will most likely make it a reduced bunch sprint.
Stage 2 is classified as flat, so it will most likely end in a mass sprint, but a late attack might carry all the way to the finish line. The small hill that comes right after the bigger one has a maximum slope of 11.9%.
Stage 3 and 4 will be the decisive stages of the race. With both stages ending with an uphill finish, there will be gaps and it will be interesting to see if a hilly sprinter will be able to hang on here. Punchers will be looking to create a good gap, so that the sprinters cannot overtake them in the GC on the last 3 flat stages.
Stage 5, 6 and 7 are all fairly straightforward stages. Either a breakaway will stay away from the chasing peloton or they will be caught and we will see a mass sprint. On stage 7, a late attacker might be able to upset the peloton, but the hill might not be difficult enough to create a big enough gap to hold off the peloton.
The startlist
There are 20 teams participating in this year, with a total of 146 riders. Of those riders there are 20 riders present that came through the EPIC youngster program.
The teams
Leader GC:
Carlos Bonilla
Leader sprint:
Davide Appollonio
EPIC riders:
Carlos Bonilla
Jan Kaas
AG2R is one of the outsiders for both the GC and the sprints. They will have a hard time getting a stage win and even a top 5 might be a problem. They should be able to get a few top 10's though, unless Appollonio or Bonilla have a bad day.
Leader GC:
Delfi Cervero
Leader sprint:
Andrea Zordan
EPIC riders:
Delfi Cervero
Krista Marcus
Androni will be relying on Cervero for a result here. However, after getting a lot of ridicule last year, we will have to see if he has become a better rider. For the sprints the team looks at Zordan, but he will have a hard time to get a top 10. It is possible the team won't waste energy contesting the sprints. Krista Marcus will certainly get lots of attention. She will make her debut in the men's peloton here and while there are many critics, she deserves a lot of praise for making this step in her career.
Leader GC:
Enrico Gasparotto
Leader sprint:
Jacopo Guarnieri
Astana are one of the favourites in this year's edition. With Gasparotto they have a good shot at the overall victory. He should at least be able to get the team some podium spots on the hilly stages. They come here with Guarnieri for the sprints, but one has to ask if he will even bother to waste his energy here in Gabon.
Leader GC:
Sonny Colbrelli
Leader sprint:
Sonny Colbrelli
EPIC riders:
Tom O'Callaghan
After turning to a sprint team this year, it is a bit disappointing not to see them starting the season with a stronger sprinter. Even so, it will be exciting to see how much their future sprinters can compete with some of the sprinter elite. It will be hard for them to get top 10's on the stages though, and they are not expected to get a good GC result.
Leader GC:
Jorge Cristobal Riquelme, Tom-Jelte Slagter
Leader sprint:
Mangere Kaha
EPIC riders:
Jorge Cristobal Riquelme
Mangere Kaha
The team of winner Brouwer last year is hoping to repeat history. They brought fewer riders than last year though, which might hurt them should they get the leader's jersey early on. For the GC they are looking at u23 World Champion Riquelme and should he fail, they can easily switch to Slagter. While Kaha is probably their main sprinter, they can switch to Riquelme, if he needs the bonification seconds on the finish line.
Bretagne - Seche Envirronement
Breakaways.
Leader GC:
Ricardo Martinez Machado
Leader sprint:
Ricardo Martinez Machado
EPIC riders:
Ricardo Martinez Machado
The whole team of Caja Rural is build around Martinez for this race. He looks a bit like Willem Brouwer stat-wise, although he might have to spend too much energy holding a wheel for the sprints. If he can get some bonification seconds in the sprints, he is an outsider for the GC podium.
Leader GC:
Andre Schneider
Leader sprint:
Matteo Trentin
EPIC riders:
Drago di Silvestro
Andre Schneider
CCC comes to Gabon, mostly looking for the sprints. It remains to be seen how far Trentin can get, but they should be able to get away with a few top 10 finishes, maybe even some top 5's. For the GC they put their hopes on the shoulders of Schneider and he should have a good chance at a top 10 here. He will have limited support though, and he might even have to help in the sprint train.
Leader GC:
Rinaldo Nocentini
Leader sprint:
Naveed Alinejad
EPIC riders:
Naveed Alinejad
Everyone's favourite communists are here to convert Gabon to communism. They will try to do that with Nocentini, who has a decent shot at getting a top 5 in the GC. For the sprints, they have Iranian Alinejad, who recently joined them from Radioshack. It will be hard for him to get a stage win here, even though the team wants him to do just that.
Leader GC:
Romain Hardy
Leader sprint:
Julian Alaphilippe
There is a good chance you will only see the chickens, with or without heads, in the breakaways. Hardy is their best shot at the GC, but he is not among the best in the race. For the sprints the team will be hoping for neo-pro Alaphilippe to show his exceptional talent. He could get a top 10 somewhere, but he has to hope he finds himself in a reduced bunch sprint.
Leader GC:
Gregory Bernard
Leader sprint:
Fabrizio Harrini
EPIC riders:
Gregory Bernard
Fabrizio Harrini
The not so Colombian Colombia have come to Africa with a big mix of nationalities. The Luxembourgian Bernard will be their rider for the GC. He might even surprise here and take the overall victory. Moldavian Harrini is going for the sprints, but he will have trouble getting over the speed bumps, while spending lots of energy hanging on to a wheel for the sprint. Any of the 4 Colombians starting will most likely be spotted at the back of the peloton or causing crashes.
Leader GC:
Rudy Verboven
Leader sprint:
Rudy Verboven
EPIC riders:
Rudy Verboven
Euskaltel - Euskadi are putting all of their trust in Verboven, which is not surprising. Verboven has a good chance to get the overall victory here, especially if he can get some bonus seconds on the flat stages. He is lacking some support on hilly terrain, which might cause some trouble if he takes the lead early on in the race.
Leader GC:
Jurgen Roelandts, Tim Wellens
Leader sprint:
Jurgen Roelandts
Lotto comes to Gabon, mainly looking for the sprints. They could get a top 10 in the GC, but it will be hard for either Roelandts or Wellens to stay with the best riders on the hills. In the sprints they are likely to get at least some podium and top 5 finishes, as they come here with good support for Roelandts.
Leader GC:
Jose Joaquin Rojas, Marco Marcato
Leader sprint:
Carlo Calzone
EPIC riders:
Carlo Calzone
Ilja Kusnezov
The sprint train Movistar brings to Gabon is really impressive. This makes them the favourites for the sprints and it is likely most teams will leave it up to them to chase the breakaways. With Calzone and Lobato they have the two best sprinters in the race, which will bring a lot of pressure. It would be disappointing if they can't get more than one stage win. They will not play a big part in the GC, but with a bit of luck, it could be possible for Rojas or Marcato to get into the top 10.
Leader GC:
Louis Meintjes
Leader sprint:
Abasi Abundi
EPIC riders:
Abasi Abundi
Husani Mashaba
The African team MTN - Qhubeka come to Gabon with a full African squad. This comes at the cost of good support for their leaders though. Abundi will be looking to follow up Ciolek's stage win of last year, while Louis Meintjes will be hoping for a few good days in the hills. Meintjes should at least be able to get a top 10 in the GC and with the home support he might even get into the top 5.
Breakaways.
Leader GC:
Sergio Henao
Leader sprint:
Benedikt Weschenbach
EPIC riders:
Benedikt Weschenbach
Sky is here with only six riders. However, with Henao they have the race favourite in their ranks. The limited support might ruin his chances at the overall victory, but he should have Weschenbach beside him at all times. Weschenbach himself also has a good shot at the GC victory, because he can take a lot of bonus seconds in the sprints. With his weak support stats, he might face the same problems as Cervero last year.
Leader GC:
Bartosz Huzarski, Heimdal Hagg
Leader sprint:
Dermot Walker, Nikias Arndt
EPIC riders:
Heimdal Hagg
Dermot Walker
Team NetApp will probably not play a part in the GC, but with some luck anything could happen. They will focus on the sprints, where Walker and Arndt are looking for several top 10's. While they may work for Walker at first, his incompetence of getting over speed bumps and his abysmal recovery rate between stages, might see them change focus to Arndt later on in the race.
Breakaways and finishing last on every stage.
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
Marc de Maar, 'nuff said.
The favourites
| General Classification | FL | SPR | ACC | HILL |
| | | | | |
| Sergio Henao | 68 | 64 | 78 | 79 |
| Jorge Cristobal | 73 | 76 | 75 | 76 |
| | | | | |
| Rudy Verboven | 74 | 75 | 74 | 78 |
| Gregory Bernard | 67 | 64 | 75 | 78 |
| Enrico Gasparotto | 72 | 69 | 75 | 78 |
| | | | | |
| Delfi Cervero | 69 | 69 | 74 | 80 |
| Benedikt Weschenbach | 71 | 78 | 77 | 79 |
| Ricardo Martinez | 70 | 78 | 77 | 75 |
| Sprints | FL | SPR | ACC | HILL |
| | | | | |
| Carlo Calzone | 78 | 79 | 78 | 68 |
| | | | | |
| Juan Jose Lobato | 74 | 78 | 76 | 68 |
| Mangere Kaha | 74 | 78 | 76 | 64 |
| Benedikt Weschenbach | 71 | 78 | 77 | 79 |
| | | | | |
| Abasi Abundi | 70 | 80 | 75 | 61 |
| Jorge Cristobal | 73 | 76 | 75 | 76 |
| Jurgen Roelandts | 76 | 76 | 76 | 72 |
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
