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[FINISHED] Movistar - Climbing Kings
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 22-11-2015 08:40
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That MTT was amazing  This is amazing for Nairo's chances It'd be hard to lose it now.
Also Zakarin is riding better than I expected! looks like he'll be a very good talent in the future.
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 22-11-2015 10:23
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Team Leader
Posts: 7406
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Looks like you got a Tour de France winner on your hands, unless off course some kind of disaster strikes.
Don't eat anything suspicious and stay on the saddle! 
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 22-11-2015 14:38
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11676
Joined: 27-07-2015
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Time to put Nairo in bubble wrap, eh Tamijo? A couple of tough stages still to go but he really should've it wrapped up now.
As far as Zakarin is concerned trekbmc, he came into this race as third leader for Tinkoff-Saxo, behind Kelderman and Dan Martin in the pecking order. He is leaving this race with his reputation receiving a huge boost. A definite contender for the future GTs and someone I'll be keeping a watchful eye on for sure.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 19:16
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| Forever the Best |
Posted on 22-11-2015 16:54
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Classics Specialist
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Zakarin
And Nairo is going for the win! |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 22-11-2015 17:35
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Directeur Sportif
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Zakarin fan?
Finally, it seems like it is Nairo's time...
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| Forever the Best |
Posted on 22-11-2015 18:15
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Classics Specialist
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Nope.he is hilarious and he makes me lol |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 23-11-2015 16:55
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Directeur Sportif
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TOUR de FRANCE
Part 3: Just Reward (Stage 17-21)
Following is a summary of important stages...
Stage 17 - Hilly with 1 major and 3 minor intermediate climbs
This stage was the start of the transition from the mountains back to the flats as the Tour wound its way to Paris. Movistar started this stage aiming to put either Landa or Konig on the winner's circle as their style of riding was more suited to the profile. However, it was not meant to be because of a combination of two reasons. Firstly, they couldn't hang on to the leaders in the latter part of the stage, fatigue catching up to them in full force. Secondly, a powerful breakaway kept themselves clear of the leaders, using the undulating profile to their advantage. Wout Poels claimed the win, emerging strongest from the breakaway. All the other leaders finished together.
Stage winner - Wout Poels from breakaway
Movistar - Nairo 7th, 1'40" behind, Landa 15th, 2'3", Konig 3'43" behind
Other important results - All other leaders finished together
Stage 18 - Mountain with mountain top finish, including 5 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
A doozie of a stage to finish off the mountains saw the race go through five big mountain passes before going up to the finish line. A three man breakaway formed early on but Biel Kadri attacked going up the 2nd climb and left the others a long way behind. Eventually it turned into three single riders going through the stage alone, hardly pursued by the peloton. Zakarin showed signs of weakness for the first time in the whole race, losing time to his rivals.
Stage winner - Biel Kadri from breakaway
Movistar - Ion Izagirre 3rd, 13'20" behind, Nairo 4th, 14'9", Landa 17'44" behind, Konig >23' behind
Other important results - Uran 5th, 14'9" behind, Majka 7th, Froome 8th, 14'55" behind, Zakarin 16'28" behind
The standings going into the ITT were as follows...
Stage 20 - Individual Time Trial - Flat - 44.3 km
This was the stage we were most afraid of when the profile was announced. However, with the result in the MTT, Nairo has more or less made this stage inconsequential. On the day, the stage went according to ability, with Froome performing the best among the GC leaders. Nairo did quite well to finish 6th, eventually gaining even more time over his other rivals.
Barring some outlandish events, or some outrageous bad luck, it was time to get the party started for Movistar heading into Paris the following day.
Stage winner - Tom Dumoulin
Movistar - Nairo 6th, losing 2'22", Dowsett 8th, losing 2'47", Konig lost 4'40", Landa lost 5'29"
Other important results - Froome 2nd, losing 42", Uran 10th, losing 2'50", Majka 13th, losing 3'10", Zakarin 14th, losing 3'13"
The GC after the ITT...
Stage 21 - Flat
The ride into Paris was one without incident. A breakaway formed early on in the stage but was caught with about 10 km left. The high speed maintained by the peloton prevented any further attacks. The stage was won in the bunch sprint, which was fittingly won by the Green Jersey holder Peter Sagan. Movistar could only manage a sixth place on the stage but their main task was accomplished. Nairo Quintana had reached Paris as the winner of the Tour de France. Movistar also claimed the team classification along the way.
(Somehow I managed to mess up the beautiful screenshot of Sagan winning! Am still kicking myself for it!!)
Stage winner - Peter Sagan
Movistar - J J Lobato 6th
Overall Classification
1)Nairo Quintana
2)Ilnur Zakarin
3)Rigoberto Uran
Mountain Classification
1)Biel Kadri
2)Ilnur Zakarin
3)Nairo Quintana
Points Classification
1)Peter Sagan
2)Alexander Kristoff
3)Nacer Bouhanni
Young Riders Classification
1)Louis Meintjes
2)Julian Alaphilippe
3)Dayer Quintana
Team Classification
1)Movistar
2)Ag2R
3)Tinkoff-Saxo
It truly is he best feeling winning a GT! Three weeks of hard work paid off to land Quintana his first Tour de France victory. The team did a splendid job for him. Although it was evident that his biggest rival Chris Froome was diminished following his immense performance in the Giro, but Nairo could only beat what was in front of him. And he did that to perfection. A result to be proud of and a title to wear with pride for a year now. The team's contribution was justly rewarded by us picking up the team classification. Dayer Quintana got himself onto the podium of the Young Riders' classification as well.
Enough talk, let the champagne flow now...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 24-11-2015 04:25
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 24-11-2015 15:59
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Directeur Sportif
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A few small races during and just after the TDF...
Int. Osterreich-Rundfahrt
Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika
Circuito de Getxo
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 25-11-2015 11:31
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Congratulations with the Tour !
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 25-11-2015 11:48
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Directeur Sportif
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Thanks 
Started working on the race-wise Palmares (I hope that's the correct term) for my three years at Movistar. I'll cover the GTs, the WCs, the Monuments, the WT Stage Races and the WT Classics. Throwing up some interesting stats. Should be able to publish it at the end of this season.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 26-11-2015 16:54
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Directeur Sportif
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VUELTA a BURGOS
Stage List
Flat - 2
Mountain/Hilly - 3
Movistar Starting List
Nairo Quintana
Benat Intxausti
Alejandro Valverde
Luis Leon Sanchez
Gorkha Izagirre
Winner Anacona
Ruben Fernandez
Jesus Herrada
Following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat with 3 major intermediate climbs
A flat stage with three short climbs rather generously rated as category 1! An early breakaway did form but were comfortably caught setting the stage for the sprinters. Tom van Asbroeck was the strongest and took the win.
Stage winner - Tom van Asbroeck
Stage 2 - Hilly with 1 major and 3 minor intermediate climbs
There was a very long breakaway of five riders on this stage. They kept themselves ahead till the last climb of the day. Afterwards, the leaders made their presence felt going up the final climb. Nairo Quintana saw an opening and took his chance in the final kilometre of the climb. He pulled away going up, and kept a slender lead going down and flat to the finish line. Most of the other leaders finished together with only Wout Poels gaining a few seconds.
Stage winner - Nairo Quintana
Movistar - Benat Intxausti 7th, 34" behind
Other important results - Wout Poels 2nd, 19" behind, all other leaders finished in Intxausti's group
Stage 3 - Hilly with 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
The early breakaway was caught quite some distance before the finish line. This opened up the stage for attacks from the leaders. Movistar kept a high tempo to prevent attacks for a long time. With about 15 km to go, Rafael Valls made a strong attack which none of the leaders could counter. They had to be content finishing together about half a minute behind Valls and hope to take their chances on another day.
Stage winner - Rafal Valls
Movistar - Nairo 5th, 26" behind, captured the Yellow and Green jerseys
Other important results - All other leaders finished in Nairo's group
Stage 4 - Flat with 3 minor intermediate climbs
This stage saw another breakaway being let out to roast in the sun before being caught late on in the stage. The final sprint saw the sprinters in fine form once, with Boeckmans taking it this time. Movistar did well to put two riders into the top ten, given that they brought no recognised sprinters to this race.
Stage winner - Kris Boeckmans
Movistar - Sanchez 7th, Jesus Herrada 9th, Valverde on top of the KOM standings
Stage 5 - Flat with mountain top finish, with 1 major intermediate climbs
Movistar used up a lot of energy to bring back a strong breakaway. They had no choice but to pull it back, despite Valverde being a part of it. The time gaps to other riders in the breakaway were too small to take any chances. As a result of the effort spent, Nairo had only two helpers left in the only intermediate climb of the day. This was after the breakaway. By the time he reached, the climb to the finish, only one domestique had survived. But it was enough to keep his pace high in the first half of the climb. With less than four km to the finish, Nairo attacked, and would held on comfortably for the win.
The man in yellow takes the win...
Stage winner - Nairo Quintana
Movistar - Winner Anacona 9th, 3'27" behind
Other important results - Aru 3rd, 33" behind, Kruijswijk 5th, 1'4" behind, Valls 6th, 1'25" behind, Porte 8th, 3'13" behind
Overall Standings
1)Nairo Quintana (Movistar)
2)Fabio Aru (Astana)
3)Rafal Valls (Colombia)
Mountain Classification
1)Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
2)Vincent Jerome (Europcar)
3)Stijn Steels (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
Points Classification
1)Nairo Quintana (Movistar)
2)Michael Matthews (Sky)
3)Kris Boeckmans (Lotto-Soudal)
Young Riders Classification
1)Lennard Kamna (Unipol)
2)Miguel Angel Benito (Aeroflot)
3)Stefano Nardelli (Unipol)
Team Classification
1)Astana
2)Movistar
3)Philips
Nairo's dominance continues in GCs. The KOM and the Sprint classifications to boot. Valverde still showing he isn't a slouch up a climb. The profiles of the stages were exactly to Nairo's favour, but given his current form, he's taking on every challenge and coming out on top. He looks ready to stake a claim for the Tour-Vuelta double. This will be his last race before the Vuelta. The team's final prep for the same has started off well...
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 26-11-2015 17:35
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Missed the final tour post...
Anyway congrats on winning a great tour, Nairo race really well.
Also nice work in Burgos.
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 26-11-2015 17:57
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11676
Joined: 27-07-2015
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trekbmc wrote:
Missed the final tour post...
Anyway congrats on winning a great tour, Nairo race really well.
Also nice work in Burgos.
I was starting to worry about why my story's first fan was not writing anything regarding the TDF success
Yes, Nairo raced really well and so did the team to support him there. By far the happiest I've been as manager
Burgos was another sponsor objective ticked off
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 27-11-2015 08:18
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Team Leader
Posts: 7406
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Another great win in VUELTA a BURGOS
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-11-2015 08:26
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11676
Joined: 27-07-2015
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Yes it was
Hoping to keep this momentum going till the Vuelta. The extent of success this season will be determined based on the result there...
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 27-11-2015 08:42
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World Champion
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Go(o)d(ly) victory for Nairo at Le Tour (and Burgos) and Meintjes at OGE, my ultimate dream
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-11-2015 09:06
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Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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jandal7 wrote:
Go(o)d(ly) victory for Nairo at Le Tour (and Burgos) and Meintjes at OGE, my ultimate dream
The best pure climber in the game, is Nairo. This Tour win comes after two years of near-misses, a 2nd and a 3rd place. Still basking in its glory.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news jandal, but Meintjes is leaving OGE at the end of the season. But I would add that he did very well in his two years there. Many high finishes and very good development
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| Ripley |
Posted on 27-11-2015 11:16
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Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
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Certainly, Nairo is a beast. In my first PCM 2014 career, which I played until 2023, he won the Giro 6 times, 26 stage wins, 4 times the points jersey and also the WT overall ranking 4 times. Check out his first appearance at the Giro in the game in 2014:
But he never won the Tour, two 3rd places were his best results. |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-11-2015 16:08
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Ripley wrote:
Certainly, Nairo is a beast. In my first PCM 2014 career, which I played until 2023, he won the Giro 6 times, 26 stage wins, 4 times the points jersey and also the WT overall ranking 4 times.
But he never won the Tour, two 3rd places were his best results.
Yes he is that good. Probably, the disadvantage he has in the TDF is the long ITTs. I could only think of that as a reason for him not to have won it. Or else, his season could've been too hectic going into the Tour. But the latter doesn't seem likely for all nine seasons you played.
A recap of Nairo's performances for the 3 years I've played:
2015
Giro - 2nd
TDF - 2nd
Vuelta - N/A
2016
Giro - 1st
TDF - 3rd
Vuelta - N/A
2017
Giro - N/A
TDF - 1st
Vuelta - TBD
Shows his consistency too.
Coming back to the present...
Tour of Portugal
A race where Movistar did not send their strongest riders, but played it smart with their selection. This race had eleven stages, and most of the top teams had sent their second string teams while the lower teams were targeting this race as a chance to do well.
The first stage was a short ITT and Movistar got two top ten positions. Adriano Malori finished in 2nd place.
Stage 2 was a hilly stage meant for the punchers. Visconti was the best placed rider for us in 4th place.
Stage 3 held no interest to us being a flat stage.
Stage 4 was another hilly stage which saw Dayer Quintana finish highest for us in 8th place.
Stage 5 saw Dayer Quintana take the win up a climb and he also took the lead in the GC.
On stage 6, Dayer lost 11" seconds to the stage winner but held on to the lead in the GC.
Stage 7 saw a late attacker win the stage with everyone else finishing together.
Stage 8 was a flat stage which saw us take a rest as the sprinters fought it out.
Stage 9 saw Dayer finish in 2nd place, keeping his lead in the GC.
Stage 10 was a long flat ITT, and as expected Dayer lost a lot of time - more than 4 minutes - slipping down to 3rd in the GC. Rohan Dennis took the stage and the lead in the GC.
Stage 11 was a flat stage to end the race, leading to no changes in the overall standings.
Dayer Quintana impressed for a lot of the race as he continues his development. He has shown definitive signs of being headed for good things in the future.
Tour de Pologne
A race which historically sees a lot of the sprinters turn up was no different this around. Movistar themselves sent both Bennett and Lobato to this race.
The first four stages saw Bennett finish in the top 10 in all of them. However, he managed just one podium placing, failing to win any stage. Lobato finished in the top 10 in three stages, with a best of 5th place.The contenders for the GC came into the fore from stage 5.
Stage 5 was a hilly stage which failed to create any time gaps and saw Pierre Rolland take the win. Mikel Landa came in 5th for Movistar.
Stage 6 saw attacks from the leaders. Mikel Landa was not strong enough to keep up with the attacks as a 5 man leading group, losing more than a minute and basically falling out of contention for the overall win. Adam Yates took the stage while Pierre Rolland kept the leader's jersey.
The stage 7 ITT saw Landa fall further behind in his weak element as Diego Ulissi took more than minute off Rolland to take the overall win.
Not a very good race for us, but we didn't have very high expectations from this race either. The main disappointment, again, unfortunately, was the sprinters' inability to get any wins for us.
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 27-11-2015 19:22
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Not the best, but can't win it all.
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