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Olympia's Tour Discussion
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| redordead |
Posted on 27-02-2021 18:33
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4883
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Welcome to the 9th edition of the Olympia's Tour. It has been part of the MG calendar all but one year since 2011. It has been a time-trial heavy race now for a while and still is probably the most time-trial friendly race there is. With 2 ITTs and a TTT the winner will have to be proficient against the clock, but will also need support from his teammates in the TTT. Apart from the time-trials there are also 3 road stages dedicated to the sprinters. There are no KOM points in this race, but the stages are long, so stamina could play a role. The former winners of the race on startlist include  Marlen Zmorka,  Mikhail Ignatiev,  Jacob Fiedler and  Dominique Cornu.
With that said let's look at some of the favourites:
| TTR | PRL | TTR + PRL Score | | Zmorka | 82 | 82 | 82 | | Fiedler | 82 | 81 | 81.48 | | Kittel | 81 | 81 | 81 | | Howson | 80 | 80 | 80 |  Sergent | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Gonzalez Salas | 80 | 80 | 80 |  Paillot | 80 | 80 | 80 |  Viennet | 80 | 80 | 80 |  Schädlich | 80 | 80 | 80 |  Cataford | 79 | 79 | 79 | | Mullen | 79 | 78 | 78.48 | | Balloni | 78 | 78 | 78 | | Dempster | 78 | 78 | 78 |  Ford | 78 | 78 | 78 |  Janse van Rensburg | 78 | 78 | 78 |
The aforementioned Marlen Zmorka is the top time-trialist and while the opening time-trial is a close mix between a prologue and a time-trial, the Ukrainian is the best in both categories. His closest competitor on paper is another former winner in Jacob Fiedler, who prefers the longer distance events. Zmorka's teammate Kittel is the 3rd best rider on the list. After that we have Howson, Sergent, Gonzalez Salas, Paillot, Viennet and Schädlich who are all very strong against the clock. Cataford is a notch below, while Mullen prefers a longer distance. The rest of the riders on the list have to be considered slight underdogs compared to the top favourites.
| Top 3 Score | Top 5 Score | Top 8 Score | | Repsol - Netflix | 81.00 | 78.71 | 75.68 | | Mapei | 79.04 | 78.02 | 74.85* | | Duolingo | 78.33 | 76.8 | 73.89 | | Minions | 77.00 | 76.40 | 73.82 | | Polar | 77.96 | 76.69 | 73.74 | | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | 77.33 | 76.51 | 73.71 |  Project: Africa | 76.93 | 76.53 | 73.40 | | Kraftwerk Man Machine | 76.00 | 74.82 | 70.44 |  Team Europcar | 73.07 | 71.44 | 69.33 |  Berg Cycles | 74.93 | 73.67 | 69.17 |  DK - SVA Zalgiris | 72.93 | 70.71 | 68.30 |  Centovalli - Fiat | 71.56 | 70.49 | 67.71 | | Farfetch Pro Cycling | 74.15 | 71.55 | 67.68 | | GCN Racing | 77.19 | 71.71 | 67.19 | | Trans Cycling Team | 69.18 | 67.13 | 64.99 | | Podium Ambition | 71.37 | 68.02 | 64.19 |  Aramco DP | 68.15 | 65.60 | 63.40 |
* Mapei have only brought 6 riders to the race
Repsol come out as big favourites for the team time-trial stage. They top all three of the average scores and their closest competitors in Mapei have two riders less in their setup, which could easily prove to be their undoing regarding the stage win. Duolingo who have won TTTs already this season and Minions are two other teams that will look to challenge Repsol. The former is more top heavy in their setup, while the latter has a more equal setup with only one non-TTer there. Another three teams really worth mentioning here are Polar, Glanbia Foods Cycling Project and Project: Africa. Polar and Glanbia are very similar in all their scores with Project: Africa having a slightly weaker, but very well rounded unit of 8 riders. Props to the latter two to be ranked so highly as CT teams.
| TTR | PRL | TTR + PRL Score | | Zmorka | 82 | 82 | 82 | | Fiedler | 82 | 81 | 81,14 | | Kittel | 81 | 81 | 81 | | Howson | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Paillot | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Sergent | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Schädlich | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Viennet | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Gonzalez Salas | 80 | 80 | 80 | | Cataford | 79 | 79 | 79 | | Hamza | 76 | 79 | 78,58 | | Kemboi | 63 | 81 | 78,48 | | Mullen | 79 | 78 | 78,14 | | Dempster | 78 | 78 | 78 | | Ford | 78 | 78 | 78 | | Balloni | 78 | 78 | 78 | | Janse van Rensburg | 78 | 78 | 78 | | Gretsch | 76 | 78 | 77,72 |
The last deciding event of the race will be the stage 6 epilogue. The previously mentioned favourites like Zmorka, Fiedler and Kittel among others will still need to put in a good ride on the shorter course to compete for the GC victory. A special mention here should go to Kemboi who is great on these shorter TT events and will be hoping to upset the more accomplished time-trialists.
| FLA | STA | RES | SPR | ACC | | Kemboi | 78 | 74 | 77 | 80 | 80 | | Swift | 73 | 72 | 69 | 83 | 81 | | Itami | 75 | 71 | 67 | 80 | 82 | | Guardini | 72 | 74 | 69 | 80 | 82 | | Nelson | 72 | 70 | 64 | 81 | 81 | | Kalaba | 74 | 70 | 72 | 79 | 79 | | Scully | 74 | 66 | 70 | 79 | 80 | | Cavendish | 71 | 71 | 68 | 81 | 78 | | Salleh | 70 | 73 | 65 | 80 | 80 | | Avelino | 70 | 69 | 65 | 82 | 77 |
And speaking of Kemboi he is here foremost for stage wins in the 3 sprint stages and has all the skills to tackle the long flat stages. Swift is here as the best pure sprinter with the best top speed. Next we have Itami and Guardini who the two most explosive sprinters here. Nelson is another fantastic sprinter as long as his lower resistance doesn't hinder him. Young Kalaba is the opposite as the slowest sprinter, but has solid flat and resistance. Scully will try to repeat some of Reinhardt's great performance against PCT opposition. Cavendish has lost some acceleration due to age, but is still a classy sprinter. Salleh is another CT sprinter here with top speed to compete against some of the best. Avelino is the sprinter with the most holes in his skill set, but if he can use his top speed then he's a great choice to come up with a win.
Full startlist:
Spoiler | Avelino | Oscar | Aramco DP | | Prasad | Darshana | Aramco DP | | Tewelde | Jani | Aramco DP | | Fonseca | Armindo | Aramco DP | | Abdul Halil | Mohamad Izzat Hilmi | Aramco DP | | Richardson | Alexander | Aramco DP | | Al Murawwi | Mohammed | Aramco DP | | Thijssen | Gerben | Aramco DP | | Swift | Ben | Berg Cycles | | Silvestre | Fabio | Berg Cycles | | Brandao | Joni | Berg Cycles | | Tzortzakis | Polychronis | Berg Cycles | | Portela | Marcio | Berg Cycles | | Vilela | Ricardo | Berg Cycles | | Goncalves | Domingos | Berg Cycles | | Reckweg | Morten | Berg Cycles | | Scully | Tom | Centovalli - Fiat | | Merino Criado | Pedro | Centovalli - Fiat | | Lienhard | Fabian | Centovalli - Fiat | | Basso | Leonardo | Centovalli - Fiat | | Mäder | Gino | Centovalli - Fiat | | Brüngger | Nico | Centovalli - Fiat | | Walscheid | Maximilian | Centovalli - Fiat | | Bissegger | Stefan | Centovalli - Fiat | | Nareklishvili | Giorgi | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Räim | Mihkel | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Nepomnyachsniy | Alexandr | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Dzervus | Darijus | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Ovsyannikov | Alexandr | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Einhorn | Itamar | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Lasinis | Venantas | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Nareklishvili | Beka | DK - SVA Zalgiris | | Howson | Damien | Duolingo | | Sobota | Kristian | Duolingo | | Barbio | Antonio | Duolingo | | Cornu | Dominique | Duolingo | | Dempster | Zakkari | Duolingo | | Archbold | Shane | Duolingo | | Kiskonen | Siim | Duolingo | | Razumov | Nikita | Duolingo | | Kemboi | Salem | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Paillot | Yoann | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Kamberaj | Xhuliano | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | van den Berg | Julius | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Menten | Milan | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Wouters | Enzo | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Soulious | Zisis | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Affini | Edoardo | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Itami | Kenji | GCN Racing | | Sergent | Jesse | GCN Racing | | Matthews | Michael | GCN Racing | | Thwaites | Scott | GCN Racing | | McLay | Dan | GCN Racing | | Mohs | Erik | GCN Racing | | Archibald | John | GCN Racing | | Burke | Steven | GCN Racing | | Craddock | Lawson | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Downey | Sean | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Sebright | Aggrey | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Ford | Michael | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Van der Ploeg | Paul | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Richardson | Ian | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Frame | Alex | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Connolly | William | Glanbia Foods Cycling Project | | Cavendish | Mark | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Zhupa | Eugert | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Willwohl | Willi | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Schädlich | Lucas | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Gonzalez Cortes | Josue | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Gough | Westley | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Ho | Burr | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Kasa | Gabor | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Fiedler | Jacob | Mapei | | Guardini | Andrea | Mapei | | Balloni | Alfredo | Mapei | | Atkins | Josh | Mapei | | Vandousselaere | Sven | Mapei | | Predatsch | Kevin | Mapei | | Kalaba | Dusan | Minions | | Haga | Chad | Minions | | Janse van Rensburg | Reinhardt | Minions | | Lindeman | Bert-Jan | Minions | | Barton | Chris | Minions | | Rekita | Szymon | Minions | | Hacecky | Vojtech | Minions | | Rosas | Laureano | Minions | | Cataford | Alexandor | Podium Ambition | | Keukeleire | Jens | Podium Ambition | | Nelson | Ricki | Podium Ambition | | Alaphilippe | Julian | Podium Ambition | | Aberasturi | Jon | Podium Ambition | | Edmondson | Alexander | Podium Ambition | | Domene | Ramon | Podium Ambition | | Welten | Bram | Podium Ambition | | Soler | Marc | Polar | | Bernal | Egan | Polar | | Mullen | Ryan | Polar | | Viennet | Emilien | Polar | | De Luna | Flavio | Polar | | Gougeard | Alexis | Polar | | Brockhoff | Jan | Polar | | Stenersen | Sten | Polar | | Haddi | Soufiane | Project: Africa | | Kiflay | Metkel | Project: Africa | | Laizer | Richard Laningo | Project: Africa | | Hamza | Faycal | Project: Africa | | Gretsch | Patrick | Project: Africa | | Betilson | Manuel | Project: Africa | | Munton | Byron | Project: Africa | | Tesfom | Sirak | Project: Africa | | Zmorka | Marlen | Repsol - Netflix | | Kittel | Marcel | Repsol - Netflix | | Gonzalez Salas | Mario | Repsol - Netflix | | Herrada | Jesus | Repsol - Netflix | | Trofimov | Yuri | Repsol - Netflix | | Benito | Miguel Angel | Repsol - Netflix | | Postlberger | Lukas | Repsol - Netflix | | Mas | Lluis | Repsol - Netflix | | Parra Bustamente | Heiner Rodrigo | Team Europcar | | Koren | Kristjan | Team Europcar | | Schorn | Daniel | Team Europcar | | Pavlic | Marko | Team Europcar | | Vink | Michael | Team Europcar | | Miller | Nick | Team Europcar | | Janse van Rensburg | Jacques | Team Europcar | | Mahdar | Martin | Team Europcar | | Salleh | Mohamed Harrif | Trans cycling team | | Abraha | Tesfay | Trans cycling team | | Ignatiev | Mikhail | Trans cycling team | | Primozic | Jaka | Trans cycling team | | Knox | James | Trans cycling team | | Ganjkhanlou | Mohammad | Trans cycling team | | Munoz | Cristian | Trans Cycling Team | | Sotberg | Andre | Trans cycling team |
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| quadsas |
Posted on 27-02-2021 18:39
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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We have a pretty weak squad here, but I expect Giorgi to score something. actually, our squad is straight garbo thanks to Austria
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 27-02-2021 19:14
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Team Leader
Posts: 6036
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Going to need our guys to deliver on their part to challenge for the podium. It's time to have Howson back to his best.
Can't see anyone else other than Repsol though.
Thanks for the preview Red!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 26-11-2024 17:05
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 27-02-2021 20:17
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 15445.00
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A great TTT team + Kalaba for the sprints. Hopefully this race brings us some points
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 27-02-2021 20:25
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4670
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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Well, really no clue why we've signed up for this one... There's some hope that Scully will actually participate in the sprints, given the rather short sprinters list - and even more so as Mundle, who has often destroyed our sprinters' chances so far, is not here. 4 stages where he can possibly shine - let's hope for at least some minor points.
Thanks for the preview!
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 27-02-2021 20:27
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Domestique
Posts: 504
Joined: 17-08-2020
PCM$: 400.00
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I hope that my leader Salleh can do something on the third and fifth stages because other stages will be too hard for my team. 
thanks redordead for a great preview 
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 28-02-2021 19:46
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4670
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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Warm-up stage, as expected. Gino did actually pretty well, currently sitting in 4th in the U25 standings. But now let's put the focus on the next two stages, where Scully really needs to deliver.
I guess I'll never understand his horrible showings in those mid-length TTs. I thought PRL did have some impact up to 20km long TTs, but it looks as if for him it's just 100% TT stat, losing 2 minutes here... Lienhard did much better, looks like a better balance is a better fit.
Congrats to Repsol, who at least had one of their top favorites delivering - should look good for GC and team standings!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 28-02-2021 20:04
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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When did AC become a good time-trialist, this is the third or fourth race in a row he's outperformed his stats, after three or four races underperforming. Positive start, hopefully we can build on this with a couple more good stage results.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 28-02-2021 20:14
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 15445.00
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Good start from the boys
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 28-02-2021 20:25
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Team Leader
Posts: 6036
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Can't complain with Howson in fifth. In contention for a good final result, that's what we need. Looking forward to stage 4 now.
Congratulations to Repsol!
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 28-02-2021 20:48
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Domestique
Posts: 504
Joined: 17-08-2020
PCM$: 400.00
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I'm completely happy as I didn't send the TT team on this race.
Mikhail Ignatiev can finally stretch his legs 
Thanks redordead for a great report and congrats to Repsol
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 01-03-2021 00:32
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4191
Joined: 13-09-2015
PCM$: 300.00
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At least Zmorka is always consistent, because if i had to be dependant on what Kittel can do... He's being straight trash all season
Hopefully we dominate the TTT and put the 3 guys in the Top5 of GC together with same decent prologue result
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 01-03-2021 09:49
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 06-11-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Pretty awkward race for us. We have a lot of mid-tier TTers and no stand out so any points scored will be welcome.
Zmorka showing why he is the favourite - thanks for the report!
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| DaveTwoBob |
Posted on 01-03-2021 12:22
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2433
Joined: 07-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Hopeful Schädlich can manage a top 10, 7th in the opening stage is a reasonable start.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 01-03-2021 19:34
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4670
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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What is wrong with Scully... Always dropped early, never participating, while someone like Salleh gets a podium, that's just inacceptable. And as if that wasn't enough already, Mäder failed to finish in the first group, basically making it a sure 0-pointer and a huge waste of RDs already.
If he doesn't finally start performing, I'll definitely get rid of that useless Kiwi in the offseason...
Congrats to Farfetch once again, who else could have won this one...
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 01-03-2021 20:04
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 15445.00
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At least my guns in the GC didn't lose time, but someone like Hacecky could've scored some decent backup points which are now gone. Kalaba also not showing himself but at least he's still in the battle for white 
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 01-03-2021 21:03
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Domestique
Posts: 504
Joined: 17-08-2020
PCM$: 400.00
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wohoo thanks to Salleh and his second-place it is what we hoped about for this race to finish in the top 5 in the second and fifth stage. Tomorrow it won't be our day but in the day before the last it will be another stage for Salleh and I hope he can do another great result there.
Congrats to Farfetch for a win and a nice report to redordead
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 01-03-2021 21:50
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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TheManxMissile wrote:
When did AC become a good time-trialist, this is the third or fourth race in a row he's outperformed his stats, after three or four races underperforming. Positive start, hopefully we can build on this with a couple more good stage results.
Ah, that's the AC i've come to know!
Decent work from the Jon-Kek-Ricki train, although yet again being the top train isn't really the way to go (imagine, just imagine, if PCM AI was half decent and had each of them on a different train!). Also Julian up in the Top25 as well is nice to see.
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 01-03-2021 23:55
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Team Leader
Posts: 6036
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Tough blow to Podium Ambition with Cataford getting dropped like that.
Congratulations jph. Kemboi did it again.
Thanks for the sweet reports, red!
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 02-03-2021 00:59
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4191
Joined: 13-09-2015
PCM$: 300.00
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Every rider in this first group. That's great. Let's hope it continues this way in the other flat stages
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Olympia's Tour 
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
