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Strada Appia Antica Discussion
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 22-11-2017 14:31
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The Race
Welcome to the 5th edition of Strada Appia Antica, the last four as a PT race. May not be one of the true MG classics but the setting is as classic as can be, the road is named after Roman censor Appius Claudius Caecus, who constructed the first section in 312 BC.
After a flat first half, the rider will climb Salita di Velletri a 4.9 km climb at 6.1% with a max of 9.6%, the total distance on cobbles is 23.4 km.
Top Cobblers:
 Sam Bewley/Moser - Sygic
The name of this race could be The Sam Bewley Antica, the 4 years the race has been PT, Bewley was won 3 times and came 2nd it 2013, banking solid points for Moser – Sygic. If he remains vertical all the way, he has got everything it takes to do it again. There are no weak points at all, Moser - Sygic bringing a top class backup team in Zhupa, Boroš, Hnik and Polnicky.
 Greg Van Avermaet/ Evonik – ELKO
Greg Van Avermaet was last year 2nd in Strada Appia Antica, and 2nd many other times behind Bewley: Het Nieuwsblad, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris – Roubaix.
With a loan deal (Wiesenhof) Evonik have acquired Christoph Taubel, will he make the difference?
 Danny Summerhill/RBC Pro Cycling
Two time winner of GP Kigali, last year’s winner of Viana do Castelo, 2015 De Panne Tour and third in Appia Antica 2015. Danny Summerhill has shown that he is strong on the cobbles, but there are some questions: compared to the best he is lacking a bit in resistance sprint and acceleration and RBC Pro Cycling provides him with one of the weaker squads.
To watch:
 Blythe/Team Puma – SAP
With a fine sprint Adam Blythe may be seen as the most obvious podium candidate even though on paper Summerhill are stronger on the cobbles, but only if a group will sprint it out. Puma is here with a pretty good support group led by Tim Declerq. Blythe came 6th last season.
 Trentin/Aker - MOT
Trentin is one of the weakest rider on the cobbles to be mentioned in this preview, but he has got some advantages to make up for that, having the best sprint/acceleration combo amongst the outsider is one, but the most important is his backup, Aker – MOT entering the race with a second to none squad: Kristoff, Ringheim, Breen, Gaudin, Lhotellerie and Cancellara. Alexander Kristoff in his own right amongst the favorites to a top 10, likely to out sprint anyone if coming home in a group.
Trentin came 4th last season, with a weaker squad and he has improved since.
 Vanspeybrouck/Jayco - Cobra9
Acquired from the collapsed Bpost – Vlaanderen Jayco have replaced Burghardt with the younger Vanspeybrouck. The backup team is not amongst the strongest but Vanspeybrouck individual skills will make him a dangerous outsider to keep an eye on. Though he never did shine bright in this race, 3rd in Vlaanderen last season shows what he can do on the cobbles.
 Senechal/Pendleton's
Pendleton's is here with a small squad of just 6 riders, but young Senechal having the strongest lieutenant in the race in Andrew Fenn, could produce a surprise result. Senechal came 5th in 2015
The Other’s:
 Vanmarcke need mention simply because he was on the podium in 2016
Coming up from PCT  Ruben Zepuntke should also be a rider in the mix, although he had a very bad last season.
 Baugnies,  Vanbilsen,  Nolf,  Stallaert,  Sulimov,  Ferreira, Fenn and  Maes all should be seen as rider to do well on the right day, although a win would score extremely nice at the bookmakers. I'd bet many of those rider would be fine with anything inside top 10.
Complete list of favorites:
| C | A | S | F | | C | A | S | F | | Bewley | 83 | 83 | 83 | 78 | Fenn | 79 | 69 | 70 | 72 | | Summerhill | 83 | 73 | 70 | 78 | Maes | 79 | 67 | 62 | 80 | | Van Avermaet | 82 | 78 | 78 | 78 | Kristoff | 78 | 79 | 83 | 75 | | Senechal | 82 | 74 | 69 | 75 | Ringheim | 78 | 75 | 73 | 72 | | Blythe | 82 | 73 | 76 | 76 |  David | 78 | 73 | 70 | 74 | | Vanspeybrouck | 82 | 69 | 67 | 76 | Taubel | 78 | 64 | 61 | 73 | | Trentin | 81 | 76 | 75 | 74 | Jacobs | 78 | 63 | 65 | 73 | | Zepuntke | 81 | 64 | 72 | 72 |  Lampaert | 78 | 61 | 60 | 75 | | Baugnies | 80 | 73 | 65 | 78 | Kluge | 77 | 75 | 77 | 78 | | Vanmarcke | 80 | 72 | 70 | 76 |  Veelers | 77 | 75 | 75 | 73 | | Vanbilsen | 80 | 71 | 72 | 78 | Breen | 77 | 72 | 73 | 77 | | Nolf | 80 | 71 | 63 | 74 | Gaudin | 77 | 71 | 57 | 74 | | Stallaert | 79 | 76 | 79 | 77 | Zubov | 77 | 69 | 60 | 67 | | Sulimov | 79 | 71 | 65 | 73 | Lhotellerie | 77 | 69 | 59 | 73 |  Ferreira | 79 | 69 | 71 | 73 | Zhupa | 77 | 68 | 74 | 75 |
Startlist:
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| Ad Bot |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 22-11-2017 14:36
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Why am I even here? 
Good preview, let's hope Vanbilsen doesn't win here. I't's a bit strange, but he did bad in the previous cobbled races, so I would hate him to do well here when there's no points at stake for us.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 22-11-2017 14:38
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Need to turn the momentum into something more positive. Kicking off this month with a joking 18th place for Durbridge in Herbiers surely puts some pressure on Vanspeybrouck to deliver us some good results on the cobbles. Obviously, this can go from 4th to some disappointing Top-15 results.. so I'm praying for a good daily form and no crashes. Saber will hooefully add some depth.
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| roturn |
Posted on 22-11-2017 14:44
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A cobbled race is already tough for my team.
A cobbled race without Boom is almost a guaranteed minimum pointer.
Hence no expectations here. |
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| SotD |
Posted on 22-11-2017 14:51
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Well, last time we sucked big time in the cobbles... In order to stay in touch with Moser we need to be able to do something here.
Top 10 is probably too much of an ask, but seeing that huge "lump" in the middle of the stage, I can only hope Tom David will conserve his energy better than a bunch of those 65-70HI cobblers.
The optimal situation is Tom David 8-12th, Jacobs 18-25th and Taramarcaz within top 50. Then we can look back on a race and say "well done". Worse than that could hurt us in the long run. Especially Tom David need to step up after a horrible show in the PTHC race.
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| knockout |
Posted on 22-11-2017 15:07
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Cobblezzzzz 
Time for Greggy to shine. As always I would take a second place finish behind Bewley but I would like to see some attacks against him. We can't just ride with Bewley together to be outsprinted on the line as we did so often in the past already.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 22-11-2017 16:11
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Go Evonik!
Awesome race profile, hopefully it leads to some aggressive racing. Cool preview format as well Tamijo! 
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| tastasol |
Posted on 22-11-2017 16:20
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Hope Trentim can challenge for a podium spot here after a slow start to the season for Aker.
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| viking90 |
Posted on 22-11-2017 16:29
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Top 10 would be awesome but I guess thats a bit high to expect.
Hopefully Broers can stick with Stallaert long enough to help him in the second part of the race and maybe get top 50 himself. |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 22-11-2017 18:07
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I have zero expectations here. As with all races where there aren't points at stake, my goal is simply to have the jersey seen at the front or through an attack. Nolf getting a top 25 would be nice too. We're about the farthest thing from a PT team that could ride a PT race, so I'm just gonna enjoy the premise of it while I can.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 22-11-2017 18:30
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I'm not sure what Ferreira can do in this setting, but I'm hoping the game will stay true to the favourites' list, which should give him a chance of a top 20 or a top15. Anything over that would be a good surprise.
IT should be a nice showdown with all the big cobblers here. Moser being the hottest team around should be a good bet, but van Avermaet comes from a very strong MSR so n interesting clash is in order.
Thanks for the preview Tamijo!
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| cio93 |
Posted on 22-11-2017 19:06
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It's time for the cobbles! Our first outing this season with high hopes, despite losing vital depth without Daniel around.
Two 6th and two 10th places for Blythe in this race so far, not quite showing the potential podium chance I'd like to have here.
Twice he didn't perform well in a group sprint, once he paid dearly for an early attack and once he just missed out on the decisive move.
I hope he can be around in the final of a selective race that gets rid of riders like Kristoff or Stallaert and get a Top 5. Declerq and maybe Weber adding some points in the Top 30 would also be appreciated.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 22-11-2017 19:35
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Our cobble team is even worse than last year. Really hope I can fix that for the 2018 season.
Curious whether someone can stop the Bewley train.
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| ember |
Posted on 22-11-2017 19:41
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Exciting stuff!
Really looking forward to the cobbles with the new look of our team. Fingers crossed we're allowed to use the depth and put pressure either at the front, leading the peloton and thus securing many riders in the front group when splits start to happen, or having our best cobblers well positioned and see them join the selective groups when they form.
Also, with Trentin's training, a top 5 looks doable, even a podium behind Bewley and Van Avermaet on a brilliant day, but a top 5 will be very, very good.
The report really can't come quick enough Looking forward to it, Tamijo! |
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 22-11-2017 20:10
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ember wrote:
The report really can't come quick enough Looking forward to it, Tamijo!
If things turn out as expected, it will be precisely 24 hours after the preview.
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| Roman |
Posted on 22-11-2017 23:22
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My favourite part of the season coming up, a really nice preview!
My hopes are big. If Bewley wins, then it is a great result, and honestly it is something I have to expect from every single cobble race. And also as well as ember I hope my team depth can play a part in this race. Some semi-decent results from my helpers would be a great compensation for not winning here.
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| Shonak |
Posted on 22-11-2017 23:27
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Langeveld, allez! 
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 23-11-2017 00:05
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Langeveld, allez! 
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| SotD |
Posted on 23-11-2017 14:52
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Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Having two 78COB riders who does nothing except for positioning themselves in the rear end of every cobble race, is a bit retarded.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 23-11-2017 14:56
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I'll take that performance from Nolf I guess considering almost every one of his domestiques crashed at some point. Nice to see JJ in the break showing off the jersey and hoping building some form out there. A rewarding experience for our first PT race day, regardless of result. Thanks for the report!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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[PT] Strada Appia Antica 
