Timmsoski wrote:
Fantastic stuff mate! Can't wait for next season. MVDP will be so fun to play with. Good job bringing in Bauke Mollema too!
Thanks! Yeah, MVDP is for sure one of my favourite riders now, and he just seems like such a talented biker, on every terrain. And yeah, Mollema should be a nice replacement for Mas. Obviously not as strong, but a rider I have always liked and I will hopefully be able to get him some good results this season!
sutty68 wrote:
Let's hope Van def Poel becomes your new superstar ????
Bardet remains the leader of the team. His hope will likely be Tour de France this season. Latour will be a trusted helper and could even lead on his own. Vanmarcke is the big new addition, replacing Naesen, so lots of pressure to see if he can outperform him in the classics season. Guillaume Martin also joins a WT team and will look to challenge a higher level of competition this season.
Astana
Formolo comes in as MAL leaves. Formolo had a great season last year and hopes to challenge at the Giro and Tour this season. Fuglsang will also go to the Tour, most likely in support of Formolo. Colbrelli will ride Stade Bianche, as well as the Tour and Vuelta.
Bahrain - McLaren
A new co-sponsor calls for big changes to the roster. Landa comes in replacing Nibali, Reichenbach is another new addition to the team. Landa will ride the Giro and hope to challenge for a Top 3 after disappointing last season. The team will be counting on it, as they appear to have gone down a step since last year.
Bora - hansgrohe
The german team led by Peter Sagan. It remains one of the best in the peloton. He has added support now, with Alexander Kristoff to help him during the classics season. Buchmann is the stage racer and will look to target the Giro this season. Bennett moves over to the team, and will likely be a Top 10 hopeful for a GT as well. And Ackermann is the pure sprinter on the team, his main goal will likely be in July.
CCC Team
Much improved over last season, they have added, Ilnur Zakarin, Fausto Masnada and Soren Kragh Anderson. They should be much improved, but will still be on the weaker side for a WT team.
EF Education First
Miguel Angel Lopez is a massive addition to an already boisterous climbing squad full of Colombians. He joins Uran, Martinez and Higuita, and soon could be considered the strongest group of pure climbers of all the WT teams. Woods will be able to compete for the hilly classics but the loss of Sep Vanmarcke will be a tough one for a squad that doesnt have too much quality elsewhere on the cobblestones. Notheless this team should be fun to watch next season.
Groupama FDJ
FDJ has been struggling financially, so no major changes to the team. Pinot will want to go for an ever elusive Tour de France win, and Madouas is looking to be the next great french talent in the mould of other great allrounders. Gaudu finally looks ready to challenge for Grand Tour Top 5s and Demare will look to have a bounceback year as the teams main sprinter. Vanendert is the teams biggest signing and he should lead them in the Ardennes classics.
Jumbo - Visma
One of the strongest teams in the world just got stronger with Tom Dumoulin joining! That 1-2 of Dumo and Roglic will challenge INEOS and might help Dumoulin get back into the Grand Tour win column after a few seasons now. Groenewegan is one of the 3 fastest men in the world and should be one of the highest scorers in the world, alongside Roglic who is usually very high up as well.
Lotto Soudal
Lotto Soudal looks very weakened compared to last season. The pressure will rely mainly on Ewan as he looks to prove he is the fastest sprinter in the world. He has a good team to support him but it will be tough for the rest of the team to get results. Nils Politt will look to have a strong classics season, but he can only be viewed as an outsider, while Kreuziger is one of the best on hills, but has not been very good the last few seasons.
Mitchelton Scott
The Yates brothers struggled last year and will want to redeem themselves this year. Chaves is another rider who isnt living up to his potential atm, and will want to do better this year. Degenkolb led the team a year ago in the cobbles and did not ride all that well. His best result was 2nd at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean RR. Haig may soon be a rider to fear for Mitchelton as he has been improving every season, and may look to take leadership away from one of the Yates bros.
Movistar
With Landa leaving, and Valverde declining, a new spanish star needed to be brought in and Enric Mas is their guy. A 2 time GT winner, he will look to win with the help from many of his fellow compatriots. Valverde is still somehow a strong looking rider, but perhaps GTs are finally out of his reach. Gino Mader is another promising rider that could lead the team by the end of the season. Quintana and Valverde are both rumoured to leave/retire at the end of the 2021 season.
Team NTT
Probably the most improved team, Kruijswijk, Bennett and Naesen all give the team a much needed facelift. Bennett will lead the sprints, Kruijswijk the Stage races and Naesen the spring classics. They've brought in the big names, but now its time for them to perform!
Team Sunweb
Pedersen who joined last year is now the teams biggest name and will be one of the favourites for the classics this year. Oomen will need to fill the shoes of Dumoulin though, which may be a very tough ask. Poels atleast brings some solid support, along with Majka and Jasper Philipsen could be a young sprinter to watch for this season.
Team INEOS
The strongest team in the world is still INEOS but they have not been very active in the transfer market this year. Thomas and Froome both look a little more human recently, but they have Sivakov, Bernal, Geoghan Hart and now Carapaz to fill in. Even Sosa will be a top rider soon, if he remains on his current trajectory. They are a bit weaker in the sprints, but Benoot is both a great climber and a great cobbler, along with Moscon, so those two should do very well in the classics for them.
Team Total Direct Energie
Anytime your team adds the best rider in the world you know its been a good off-season. It may have limited their budget a bit to try and find other riders to join after Alaphilippe's insane demands, but they now have the favourite for most classic races this season. Terpstra will lead on the cobble races that Alaphilippe cant and Calmejane and Wellens will also be strong backups on the hills.
Trek Segafredo
Nibali joins Porte to form a pretty strong GC team. Pozzovivo also follows Nibali over from Bahrain, while their insanely strong team remains, with riders like Viviani, Dennis, Matthews, Gilbert, Schachmann and Ciccone. Trek are now probably the most well rounded team in the world, but the majority of their team are over the age of 30, so it will only be a matter of time before they all start regressing, which could mean a tricky situation for the manager to be in come the next transfer window.
UAE Emirates
While this team remains Dan Martins for now, it wont be long before Tadej Pogacar is the leader. He is destined to be one of the best GC riders in the world and will be a rider to watch this season. He hasnt improved as quickly as many thought, but he has still been improving which is still a good takeaway. Gaviria leads the team for the sprints but has almost no support behind him and may struggle. Aru is another rider that has not lived up to their past results in a while and will hope this could be the year, after a few years with knee issues, perhaps this is the one he turns it around?
@ Timmsoski - Thanks! He seems to be pretty solid. We lucked out due to bad positioning of the top sprinters with his stage win, but he's been pretty good.
@ Tamijo - Thanks! I think at this point bringing Julian back would have been boring as I won pretty much all there is to win with him last year.
A close sprint to the line, but Bennett edges the rest
1
Sam Bennett
NTT
+00:00
2
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Emirates
+00:00
3
Álvaro José Hodeg
Deceuninck
+00:00
4
Alexander Kristoff
BORA
+00:00
5
Arnaud Démare
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
6
Jasper Philipsen
Sunweb
+00:00
7
Nacer Bouhanni
Deceuninck
+00:00
8
Sonny Colbrelli
Astana
+00:00
9
Christophe Laporte
Katusha - Alpecin
+00:00
10
Marcel Kittel
Israel Cycling
+00:00
Stage 3
Moscon wins the hilly stage extending his lead
1
Gianni Moscon
Team INEOS
+00:00
2
Steven Kruijswijk
NTT
+00:32
3
Rigoberto Uran
EF Education First
+00:32
4
David De la Cruz
Team INEOS
+00:46
5
Mark Padun
Deceuninck
+00:46
6
Enric Mas
Movistar
+00:46
7
Romain Bardet
AG2R
+00:46
8
Ilnur Zakarin
CCC Team
+01:18
9
Antwan Tolhoek
Jumbo - Visma
+01:18
10
Jan Polanc
UAE - Emirates
+01:18
Stage 4
Teuns wins the reduced sprint on stage 4
1
Dylan Teuns
Bahrain McLaren
+00:00
2
Gianni Moscon
Team INEOS
+00:00
3
Patrick Konrad
Astana
+00:00
4
Rui Costa
BORA
+00:00
5
Rigoberto Uran
EF Education First
+00:00
6
Romain Bardet
AG2R
+00:00
7
Antwan Tolhoek
Jumbo - Visma
+00:00
8
Rudy Molard
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
9
Jonathan Castroviejo
Team INEOS
+00:00
10
Mark Padun
Deceuninck
+00:00
Stage 5
1
Sonny Colbrelli
Astana
+00:00
2
Christophe Laporte
Katusha - Alpecin
+00:00
3
Álvaro José Hodeg
Deceuninck
+00:00
4
Alexander Kristoff
BORA
+00:00
5
Arnaud Démare
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
6
Sam Bennett
NTT
+00:00
7
Nacer Bouhanni
Deceuninck
+00:00
8
Max Kanter
Sunweb
+00:00
9
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
10
Jens Keukeleire
Deceuninck
+00:00
Stage 6
1
Romain Bardet
AG2R
+00:00
2
Enric Mas
Movistar
+00:00
3
Gianni Moscon
Team INEOS
+00:00
4
Steven Kruijswijk
NTT
+00:00
5
Rigoberto Uran
EF Education First
+00:00
6
Dylan Teuns
Bahrain McLaren
+00:46
7
Antwan Tolhoek
Jumbo - Visma
+00:46
8
Toms Skujins
Trek - Segafredo
+01:01
9
Sébastien Reichenbach
Bahrain McLaren
+01:01
10
Gino Mäder
Movistar
+01:01
...
19
Mark Padun
Deceuninck
+01:32
Stage 7
Hodeg wins the final stage for Deceuninck
1
Álvaro José Hodeg
Deceuninck
+00:00
2
Sonny Colbrelli
Astana
+00:00
3
Christophe Laporte
Katusha - Alpecin
+00:00
4
Nacer Bouhanni
Deceuninck
+00:00
5
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
6
Marcel Kittel
Israel Cycling
+00:00
7
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Emirates
+00:00
8
Arnaud Démare
Groupama - FDJ
+00:00
9
Alexander Kristoff
BORA
+00:00
10
Sacha Modolo
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
GC
1
Gianni Moscon
Team INEOS
+00:00
2
Rigoberto Uran
EF Education First
+01:28
3
Enric Mas
Movistar
+01:32
4
Romain Bardet
AG2R
+01:56
5
Steven Kruijswijk
NTT
+02:26
6
Dylan Teuns
Bahrain McLaren
+03:20
7
Antwan Tolhoek
Jumbo - Visma
+03:27
8
Mark Padun
Deceuninck
+03:49
9
Gino Mäder
Movistar
+04:16
10
Sébastien Reichenbach
Bahrain McLaren
+04:27
Points
1
Gianni Moscon
Team INEOS
64
2
Álvaro José Hodeg
Deceuninck
57
3
Sonny Colbrelli
Astana
53
4
Christophe Laporte
Katusha - Alpecin
46
5
Romain Bardet
AG2R
44
Youth
1
Mark Padun
Deceuninck
+00:00
2
Gino Mäder
Movistar
+00:27
3
Karl-Heinz Schulte
BORA
+01:57
4
Yevgeniy Gidich
Astana
+04:08
5
Alessandro Fedeli
Bahrain McLaren
+06:50
Final Thoughts
Hodeg was strong in the sprints, finishing Top 3 in all of the flat stages, and taking a final victory on the last stage as his form grew throughout the race. Padun lost time on the mountain stage, but he still finished in the Top 10, and took the Youth classification, but it wasnt enough to beat former teammate, Enric Mas.
Up Next...
- Omloop Het Niewsblad (1.UWT)
- Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne (1.HC)
Edited by valverde321 on 23-01-2020 18:31
VoetsT wrote:
Decent results throughout the race concluded with a nice victory.
Let the cobbled classics begin!
Thanks. Only Hodeg in form so far, so not too worried about Padun's results. The cobbles are my favourite races to play on PCM so they should hopefully be more interesting.
With just over half the race gone we've already ridden several cobble sectors and the field is split up. All of the favourites are still near the front, but some have no teammates left, which could spell disaster later on in the race once riders start making moves.
Now with just 22km to go, the race situation looks like this. A lead group of 4, but no one all that dangerous, and a chasing group of 30. Two big names that have fallen out of contention are Ivan Garcia Cortina and Mike Teunissen.
Sagan and Terpstra trying to go clear on the Kwaremont
As the chasers hit the Oude Kwaremont, Sagan followed by Terpstra attack. No immediate reactions from anyone else in the group. The move seems to have caught the others off guard, or maybe they were struggling already. They catch Ganna and Kangert from the break.
Terpstra and Sagan still out front with 8km to go
After passing all cobble sectors, Sagan and Terpstra are starting to get caught by the chasers. Deceuninck had the numbers earlier in the race, but now look completely shattered as only Stuyven has a chance at catching the leaders.
Behind Sagan and Terpstra, Valgren, Pedersen and Van Aert chase, with a gap of only 20 seconds, while Van Avermaet and Benoot are another 20 seconds down. Behind them a group of 5 chase, including Styuven and Vanmarcke.
Sagan makes it 3 in a row
Sagan rides away from Terpstra and takes a solo victory his 3rd in a row here, ahead of Valgren who was strong to take 2nd place, and Terprstra holds on to 3rd. A disappointing race for Deceuninck who will feel they had the strongest team.
1
Peter Sagan
BORA
+00:00
2
Michael Valgren
NTT
+00:20
3
Niki Terpstra
Total Direct Energie
+00:20
4
Mads Pedersen
Sunweb
+00:20
5
Wout Van Aert
Jumbo - Visma
+00:20
6
Greg Van Avermaet
CCC Team
+01:10
7
Tiesj Benoot
Team INEOS
+01:10
8
Sep Vanmarcke
AG2R
+01:10
9
Jasper Stuyven
Deceuninck
+01:10
10
Nils Politt
Lotto - Soudal
+01:10
11
Silvan Dillier
AG2R
+01:10
12
Oliver Naesen
NTT
+01:58
13
Yves Lampaert
Deceuninck
+02:13
14
Mathieu Van der Poel
Deceuninck
+02:13
15
Kasper Asgreen
Deceuninck
+02:13
16
Edvald Boasson Hagen
NTT
+03:01
17
Dylan Van Baarle
Jumbo - Visma
+03:17
18
Matteo Trentin
Bahrain McLaren
+03:43
19
Tony Martin
Jumbo - Visma
+04:30
20
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
CCC Team
+04:30
Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne (1.HC) 2021
Team Lineup
Big fall before any of the cobble sections
Two riders for Deceuninck fall, Bouhanni and Keukeleire, both riders who were in great form and hoping to play an important role later.
The splits come early
Already at the first cobble section we see a lead group ride away from the others. About 40 riders in size. Riders like Marcel Kittel are being distanced.
Now Ackermann and Bouhanni are distanced
Even better news for the cobblers as sprinters like Bouhanni, Jakobsen and Ackermann are all put into difficulty, but with still 70km to ride will the lead group of 25 be able to ride away?
Lampaert trying to ride away in the finishing town
Nearly 50km of mayhem leading up to the finale, but we reach Kuurne and 3 groups separated by about 15 seconds each. Some sprinters like Ackermann and Groenewegan have made it back, while Sagan, Styuven and Jakobsen are all well positioned in the 2nd group on the road. Lampaert leads the front group and pulls away, leading the riders under the 1km kite with a decent shot at the win.
Sagan completes the weekend double
But the sprinters make the catch and Sagan takes another win ahead of Politt and Jakobsen. He's surely in great form atm, but maybe he's peaked too early for the spring classics later on? Time will tell.
Omloop Het Niewsblad I guess under par for Deceuninck, but great result in Kuurne especially considering the crash that must have hurt the sprint setup.
Tamijo wrote:
Omloop Het Niewsblad I guess under par for Deceuninck, but great result in Kuurne especially considering the crash that must have hurt the sprint setup.
Thanks. It actually didnt harm it too much, but obviously it was a good result regardless. We may have done better if we didnt play the split strategy with Lampaert as well.
VoetsT wrote:
Sagan was just to good. Kuurne was good for the team but I can a bit better I think
At Strade you have a new change
Sagan looks very strong this year, Im scared for the big classics later. Strade should hopefully be better
This years edition of Strade Bianche will seem much tougher on the riders. The hot, dry weather has affected the gravel and made it much more loose, tough and uncomfortable. The lead up to this race saw Peter Sagan take the "Opening Weekend" double in Omloop and KBK. As such, many more "Classics" riders have targeted this years race, riders such as Wout Van Aert, Mads Pedersen and Niki Terpstra. We could get a strong indication of riders spring classics form, for races such as De Ronde here.
Of course, last years winner, Julian Alaphilippe, riding for a his new team, Total, will want to start his year off with a win, after Strade being his first classics victory last year, in what went on to be a historic season for the Frenchman, who won the Ardennes Triple, the Tour de France, and the World Championships on home soil.
Deceuninck are now without the aformentioned French star, but have a new weapon in Mathieu Van der Poel, who has talent in every cycling discipline. On paper, Strade Bianche may be the perfect race for the Dutchman, as he comes from a Cyclocross background and will feel most comfortable on the dirt of all the riders in the peloton. He has maybe the strongest team in support of him, with riders like Bob Jungels, Jens Keukeleire and Nelson Oliviera.
Tamijo wrote:
Interestion "version" of the race, will be nice to see how that plays out.
Thanks! It’s dftreks version which should hopefully make the race more selective, although I’m worried a rider like Alaph won’t be able to survive the “cobbles” but it should at the very least make it more exciting...
Alaphilippe, the first big name to drop from the lead group, as splits open up
Having already ridden the Vidritta, Bagnaia, Radi, and La piana sectors as well as the Montalcino, the longest climb of the race, the Lucignano d'Asso sector is where we see the first major action of the race. Two french favourites, Julian Alaphilippe and Christophe Laporte fall behind after a tough climb and will not be contenders of this years edition. Alaphilippe is the big surprise after winning last years race so effortlessly, he is having trouble this year. Another Frenchman falling behind is Rudy Molard, along with Esteban Chaves, Miguel Angel Lopez.
The peloton at the end of the San Martino in Grania sector
With 3 of the 4 longest gravel sections behind the riders now, anyone in the lead group will have a shot. Not necessarily the classics riders, but a puncheur as well. With 60km to the finish, there will still be lots of action left, but the lead group of 30 could be vulnerable to strong attacks now!
Now on the Monte Sante Maria a group of 16 is all that remains
Now on the Monte Sante Maria sector, also renamed Settore Cancellara from his 3 victories at this race, we see a group of 16 riders break off from the other 15 riders in the lead group. Riders like Jungels, VDP, Keukeleire, Van Aert, Pedersen, Valgren, Terpstra and Moscon have made the gap, while riders like Rowe, Cort Nielsen, and Theuns have missed it.
Pedersen attacks!
As we reach the Monteaperti section with 24km to go, Mads Pedersen one of the big pre race favourites tries a move. Deceuninck are just riding at their own pace trying to bring it back, with Lambrecht, Jungels and Van der Poel all thats left for them now with Valgren also alongside them. Van Aert, Thomas, Moscon and Kwiatkowski are all in the next group chasing, some 15 seconds behind.
The leaders on the Colle Pinzuto
Now 17km to go, and the lead group is Valgren, Pedersen, Van der Poel, Jungels and Jens Keukeleire, with the chasing group only just around the bend. The gap is rising, but the leaders also look unsure of who will set the pace, although Deceuninck have the numbers, so unless they are all gassed it makes sense for one of them to sacrifice themselves for the others.
A re-group just as they reach the finish town of Siena
Looks like Deceuninck didnt have the legs to extend the gap, as we are all back together with only 10km to go. Valgren, Benoot, Terpstra, Van Aert, Pedersen, Keukeleire, Van der Poel and Jungels all there.
Benoot tries his luck!
On one of the trickier corners heading into town, Benoot takes his chance to distance himself from the others. The 2nd group doesnt respond immediately and now Benoot will be riding to gain time between him and the others. Jungels and Keukeleire both ride to reduce the gap, as Van der Poel waits to launch an attack up to the leader. The others all look exhausted.
Benoot holds on
But Deceunincks efforts werent enough, and Benoot takes a fabulous win. VDP takes 2nd, with Jungels holding on for 3rd. Deceuninck probably wont be happy with two on the podium given its not the top spot and they could very well have won it with different tactics but it shows the depth the team have heading into the classics season, which will be on a brief hiatus as the next classic is Milan San Remo, just over a week away, but not before Paris - Nice and Tirreno Adriatico.
Santos Tour Down Under 2021 (2.UWT) 
UAE Tour 2021 (2.UWT)
Omloop Het Niewsblad (1.UWT)
Strade Bianche (1.UWT)
