Vuelta a España - Discussion
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DubbelDekker |
Posted on 14-02-2021 10:53
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This Vuelta has an interesting profile and I think that is what caused the interesting start list.
Very curious how this one will play out. There's three clear favorites: can their teams control the breaks? And will we ride for Formolo or focus on attacking again?
I guess I'm the only one hoping for a stage 3 and/or 4 Malecki break appearance?
Nice insightful preview btw
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viking90 |
Posted on 14-02-2021 12:30
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We had luck in Italy with KoM and Appo & Carapaz Stage wins this time we hope KHJ can do something nice on hillystages and Stallaert in some sprints.
FÃ¥glum Karlsson around 15th in GC maybe |
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Mresuperstar |
Posted on 14-02-2021 13:53
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This is our chance to not only win the program's first grand tour but perhaps the points jersey as well. Really excited to see what the three-headed monster of Tenorio, Yates and Fraile can do. Time to prove we deserve to still be in the Pro Tour. Bring on the next 3 weeks of racing, we are ready!
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SotD |
Posted on 14-02-2021 16:27
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So great effort Bouglas! Already a better sprinter than Nizzolo at the entire Giro. I guess it also shows just how crap that was!
Budyak fights well for positions, could potentially come in handy for U25 points in the Hills. Heck, Bouglas might even be strong enough to survive the early hills.
Great start. The fewer breakaway wins the better I guess. Lecuisinier could get a lot of points if the battle is contested between the leaders. We probably won’t throw any riders in the breaks so let’s forget about all of those.
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alexkr00 |
Posted on 14-02-2021 17:13
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Grosu in perfect position to deliver not only a stage win but the leader's jersey as well and he fails big time. I'm speechless.
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knockout |
Posted on 14-02-2021 19:16
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Eislers as 2nd best sprinter not even trying to sprint. Thats rough...
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters!
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DubbelDekker |
Posted on 14-02-2021 19:32
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Sure hope that Arslanov will not be our main breakaway rider. He's a super weak lvl 2 youth.
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valverde321 |
Posted on 14-02-2021 19:58
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Well, not bad from Liu and Hayakawa. If we can keep getting Top 10's maybe it wont be such a bad race after all. Liu went waaaaay too early though, so hopefully that's fixed, but I fear it might be a problem of bringing 6 climbers and only Liu and Hayakawa, with no other leadout.
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Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 14-02-2021 19:58
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Nice to see Bouglas doing something for himself. On the other hand it is quite frustrating to see Grosu being denied a sure win like that. Sprints are a nasty affair these days. Congratulations anyway to ISA!
Beautiful pics there Nemo thanks.
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cio93 |
Posted on 15-02-2021 00:18
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Unless we can guarantee improvement for next season, sprinter's wage demands should be solely based on points scored.
We can practically hide the SP column in the DB.
Commiserations to my kindred spirit alex.
About our goals this race:
Arndt failed to score any significant points at the Giro despite the team, the route and the startlist working in his favor thanks to the AI working against him, so I expect big things here to make up for his lacklustre first GT.
The TTs should see him drop to a GC range that sets him up for breakaways and KoMs. We really need at least a few stage podiums and a serious attempt at collecting KoM points from Arndt to justify using 42 race days on GTs.
Behind him, Helme, Egger and Mager are a great duo to get into earlier breaks on tough terrain than Arndt, the latter had a good Giro and Helme should also have a good shot at scoring points from the U25 ranking.
Doubey, Madouas, Meiler and Oka use this GT to gain experience as this is their only opportunity to do so without pressure this season.
Ideally, Doubey and particularly Madouas are good breakaway material as well.
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Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 04:23
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OlegTinkov |
Posted on 15-02-2021 03:08
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Good to see Shalunov taking a rest day, we might need him later on.
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Eden95 |
Posted on 15-02-2021 03:54
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Surprise winner, gotta feel for Grosu. Arifin already taking it easy, looks like he might be out guy in the breaks during the first week then.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett
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SotD |
Posted on 15-02-2021 07:08
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DubbelDekker wrote:
Sure hope that Arslanov will not be our main breakaway rider. He's a super weak lvl 2 youth.
Yet not weaker than with him scoring 8 points from GC and KOM he would be my 2nd highest scoring breakaway rider through the entire season! Kastrantas 4th place in the Giro landing him 15 points, but other than that I have scored a total of 0 points through breakaways this season
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roturn |
Posted on 15-02-2021 07:47
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So ISA now won a sprint soonish in the Giro and Vuelta without Degenkolb. Who would have thought that pre season.
Contreras and Harrison now GT stage winners from peloton sprint, not bad and clearly got some training from their new leader.
For other sprinters very unfortunate and hopefully working out better next stages. Regarding cio and his sprinter wage idea, it will be looked into anyway. Basically your suggestion isn't even that different as how the performance formula I added last year does work. Obviously next to the pure result this also comes into play here with those sprinters ask for a bit more than before while the top sprinters automatically a bit less than normally. |
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roturn |
Posted on 15-02-2021 07:49
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For my own team, Toupalik was the ready and best option here. koM early on is nice. Hope he tries to defend it for a while. That said, it hopefully not hinders stronger riders such as Carboni/Ciccone/vdP to attack on more suited stages. |
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ember |
Posted on 15-02-2021 13:17
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Cool to see Silva take part in the sprint. That gives hope for the following stages and sprints. The top spots show that it's possible to get a great result here, if he gets to follow the right wheels and has a good daily form. |
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SotD |
Posted on 15-02-2021 13:41
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Unfortunately no points today, as Bouglas didn't place himself well. Too bad really, as he was in a very good position to battle some GC points or sprinter jersey points had he delivered today.
Lecuisinier with no points yet, but chipping away some minor sprinter jersey points with a 12th place today and 14th yesterday. If he can keep that up, and we can (somehow unlikely though) control the mess in the difficult hills and mountains, then he could get away with the points jersey in the end.
Nice win from Grosu, and good to see everything turning out as it should in that regard. Eislers still with a massive underperformance though.
Yet another great result from ISA who seems to be finding points all over the place. Great to see when you are silently rooting for them to stay up
It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the first slightly hilly stage - can the sprinters survive at some extent or will it be the strongest GC riders/puncheurs or will we see the first succesful breakaway?
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ember |
Posted on 15-02-2021 13:45
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That was really, really close from Silva Encouraging to see him able to find the right wheels, hopefully he can continue to do that
Congratulations on the win, alexkr! Good to see Grosu do what he should do here. |
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tsmoha |
Posted on 15-02-2021 13:54
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I would love to know, if we're in the breakaway mix of teams.. Too early to be pessimistic about it. But it's still slightly concerning to not see our colors anywhere.
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alexkr00 |
Posted on 15-02-2021 13:57
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Thanks guys.
Still closer than it should have been and we miss out on the red jersey, but at least we have 10 consecutive seasons of stage wins in La Vuelta
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