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Amstel Gold Race Discussion
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 17-10-2016 20:31
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 Amstel Gold Race
Welcome to the Amstel Gold Race! A prestigious PT classic with a long history. Sponsored by Amstel Beer, the race winds its way through the Limburg region of the Netherlands, with the steep Cauberg climb right before the finish the main deciding feature, as many of the former winners listed can testament too.
| 2007 |  Filippo Pozzato |  Fabian Cancellara |  Xavier Florencio | | 2008 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez | Danilo Di Luca | Michael Boogerd | | 2009 | Michael Boogerd | Alejandro Valverde | Riccardo Rico | | 2010 |  Frank Schleck |  Edvald Boasson Hagen | Danilo Di Luca | | 2011 | Edvald Boasson Hagen |  Jan Bakelants | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez | | 2012 | Phillipe Gilbert | Jan Bakelants |  Yuri Trofimov | | 2013 | Edvald Boasson Hagen |  Stefan Schumacher | Yuri Trofimov | | 2014 | Yuri Trofimov | Frank Schleck | Simone Ponzi | | 2015 | Simone Ponzi |  Simon Spilak | Ben Gastauer |
Plenty of these former winners line up again, two time winner  Hagen is here looking for a hatrick, while the most recent winners  Trofimov and  Ponzi will look to equalise the Norwegian's record. The only other former winner here is  Frank Schleck, who will likely look out for Gastauer rather than chase individual glory. Still it's likely we'll see a new winner this year, given the packed startlist we have today!
| Hl | ACC | STA | DH | SP | | Hl | ACC | STA | DH | SP | | Hagen | 85 | 79 | 81 | 66 | 73 |  Spilak | 82 | 74 | 80 | 68 | 67 |  Bakelants | 84 | 78 | 81 | 69 | 73 |  Kelderman | 82 | 72 | 80 | 71 | 67 | | Ponzi | 83 | 80 | 77 | 74 | 76 | Gastauer | 82 | 76 | 78 | 62 | 67 | | Trofimov | 83 | 76 | 80 | 71 | 74 |  De Bie | 81 | 75 | 77 | 64 | 72 |  Skujins | 83 | 76 | 80 | 66 | 68 |  Schreurs | 81 | 74 | 76 | 66 | 71 |  Claeys | 83 | 73 | 74 | 63 | 67 |  Sagan | 80 | 76 | 78 | 78 | 73 |  Ginanni | 83 | 74 | 78 | 66 | 66 |  Lutsenko | 80 | 81 | 76 | 70 | 72 |  Van Garderen | 82 | 79 | 78 | 75 | 70 |  Costa | 80 | 72 | 73 | 63 | 69 |  Bobridge | 82 | 80 | 74 | 66 | 69 |  van der Hugenhaben | 80 | 66 | 77 | 66 | 68 |
Hagen definitely the top puncheur on the hills alone and he'll be motivated to take the hatrick.
Bakelants hasn't been on the podium since 2012 is almost on par with Hagen on all terrains so will be very capable of winning.
Ponzi of course the winner of the Ardennes triple last season and looking to do it again for a new team. He's good in a sprint if it comes to a reduced group, but last year he won from attack so he knows how to do that too.
Trofimov of course the other former winner looking to repeat this year and his recent win in the Tour of California shows he's in good form.
Skujins, Claeys and Ginanni are all on the same level of those four of course, despite not having enjoyed the same success at this race, and that's just the tip of the iceberg with the favourites here. Spilak and Gastauer were on the podium last year and will want to reach the top step. Classique du Grand Duche 2nd place Van Garderen has already enjoyed success this year and will be motivated to do that again. While Sagan could rely on his superior descent to win down the Cauberg rather than up. Kelderman and Bobridge too are amongst the best riders here so a packed startlist for a hopefully exciting race!
Edited by trekbmc on 18-10-2016 07:21
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Smowz |
Posted on 17-10-2016 21:30
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Hagen surely....
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| matt17br |
Posted on 17-10-2016 21:51
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Ardennes! Always a turn around point in the season, Kenya might magically not be screwed anymore if Ponzi steps up just like Festina might come back in contention for the title if Spilak repeats his 2015 campaign.
I'm quite hyped for this and cheering for Ponzi, would be great to see him continue his Ardennes streak! Looking forward to the report trek!
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| Roman |
Posted on 17-10-2016 22:11
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Miracle time is coming again, come on Sagan!
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| ember |
Posted on 18-10-2016 06:33
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Here we are then. And for another year and season, my expectations and excitement are (too) high 
It has been three full years since last time Boasson Hagen won a classic, which is quite remarkable in a negative way. This really is the time to turn that around. Fingers crossed! Admittedly our domestiques were better on paper last time around, but hopefully Dyrnes and Hoelgaard can do their job if it's needed. Though, with a slightly weaker team, my hope is that Boasson Hagen is going to be slightly more aggressive and attacking. We shall see. |
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| SotD |
Posted on 18-10-2016 06:38
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I need both Spilak and Koretzky to step up and get a good result here to get back into the game.
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| roturn |
Posted on 18-10-2016 06:57
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The goal fail will start now in the Ardennes week.
Doubt De Bie can win them all.
A top 10 in one at least would be nice. Around 10-15 in all I would appreciate with some top25-30 as well by others such as Villella/Boom/Thurau/Schachmann. |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 18-10-2016 07:16
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I fancy chances of that serbian guy Trofimov (you have forgot to change that to the right flag in whole table ).
EDIT: Good job with a fast change 
On more serious note, we are aiming for a top50! And i guess triple for Hagen would be nice and i like Aker, so be it. 
Good luck to all!
Edited by Avin Wargunnson on 18-10-2016 07:37
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 13:12
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 18-10-2016 07:52
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Let's see how it goes here, done well in this race in the past with Gilbert, interesting to see if Lutsenko will be in the mix this time round. Trofimov I reckon though.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 18-10-2016 10:50
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Bobridge hhopefully with a good shape jhere. Need some points with a terrible Giro bbehind us.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 18-10-2016 11:07
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Kelderman's slight advantage is his stamina, his slight disadvantage is his acceleration.
We gotta keep a steady flow of points throughout the Ardennes week, and we invested heavily in Wilco's training after all, so I hope for consistent Top 10 results.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 18-10-2016 11:23
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Strange the Ginanni never even ended on the podium here. You're riding for a Dutch team now, Francesco; this is the right time to change that statistic!
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| OlegTinkov |
Posted on 18-10-2016 11:24
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I expect Hagen to win Amstel, Ponzi Fleche and Bakelants Liege. As seen in Badaling - Trofimov finished 14th - the hilly classics are a real gamble and the top15 riders all could podium, so for Trofimov who is doing great in Stage Races but no so much in one-day races I'm hoping for Amstel Top10, Fleche Top5 and Liege Top3 (=sponsorgoal)
Thanks for the preview trekbmc!
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| roturn |
Posted on 18-10-2016 12:08
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OlegTinkov wrote:
I expect Hagen to win Amstel, Ponzi Fleche and Bakelants Liege. As seen in Badaling - Trofimov finished 14th - the hilly classics are a real gamble and the top15 riders all could podium, so for Trofimov who is doing great in Stage Races but no so much in one-day races I'm hoping for Amstel Top10, Fleche Top5 and Liege Top3 (=sponsorgoal)
Thanks for the preview trekbmc!
I doubt so to be honest.
Imo Badaling is not the race to compare as it`s more or less a after descent finish, where positioning is important. In uphill finishes it should be less of a gamble and best should all be up there.
Sure, daily form might decide if this or that 81+ puncheur has the advantage on his side and also how the game play considers attacks etc.
But it should be EBH, Bakelants, Ponzi, Van Garderen, Ginanni all high up there close to podium/top5. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 18-10-2016 20:43
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Can't we just skip the Ardennes and go straight to La Vuelta?
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 19-10-2016 10:53
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congrats! That's a fantastic result for Ponzi, after Kenya Airways had so much of bad luck this season.
Also: What the hell was that move by Konrad? The real deal this race was Gazelle, unbelieveable how they do it again and again on those hilly classics.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 19-10-2016 11:01
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Dull race, close sprint. Gazelle got lucky they had a bunch at the front, some teams got unlucky there was no selection at all.
We're somewhat in the middle, I wanted a Top 10, I got a Top 10. Nice sprint from Wilco to get past some riders in the end.
Congrats to Kenya who really can use this for moral and points reasons!
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| roturn |
Posted on 19-10-2016 11:40
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Not the very best Amstel surely. Like in real more and more a Cauberg only race.
Ponzi back in business here. And wtf Gazelle. Team performance and 2nd with Ginanni. Big points for them.
De Bie as 16th about where I expected him even though it`s still disappointing. Though not as bad as Aker might feel.
Villella, Bennett, Thurau at least with the depth points in top50. Though Villella surely could have done better with a Konrad like move.
Thanks for the report trek! |
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| sgdanny |
Posted on 19-10-2016 11:44
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Dull race surely, realistic? Very much so
The team that can laugh last is Gazelle surely, where Tratnik takes advantage of bunch sprint to help both his leader and himself to high scoring points. Surprisingly it looks like Gazelle will jump high on the PT standings after this and the Giro. Gratz to the winner of course and you always have to ask if Ponzi can take another triple!
I felt really awful when Kwiatek crashed twice on important occasions to miss out on high points, this surely will help Kenya in the relegation battle. Thanks for the report too Trek
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 19-10-2016 12:05
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Rubbish that. Thanks though trek
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