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GP Kigali Discussion
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 30-06-2021 05:22
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Preview and Race by whitejersey
Hello and welcome to the GP Kigali, the cobbled final cobbled classic in the C2 schedule which will help determine which cobbler in this year’s field who is going to be reigning supreme. Normally this race has been raced in higher classes but this year it is classified as a C2 race. As we have seen this year’s cobbles lineup in the CT has been nothing short of impeccable and most of the favourites for the edition have previously performed well in this race in their younger years. A race traditionally won by the strongest rider on the day making a decisive move and causing the split, and I doubt that this year’s edition will be different.
Let’s look at the prime favourites here for this rendition of the race:
Los Pollos Hermanos went deep in free agency this year to sign the aging  Baugnies who has done his best to justify the incredibly big 400k wage price tag. Baugnies is a former two time podium finisher in 2016 & 2018 in last year’s edition he finished 4th in a much tougher field than this one, he is still yet to win Kigali and maybe this is his year. However,  Nolf also have pretty decent memories from this race, in last year’s edition he came second behind Spengler and will be looking to take the step up the podium and secure Carrefour the last points needed to 100% clinch promotion back to the PCT.
| Baugnies | Jerome | 77 | 56 | 71 | 61 | 79 | 72 | 71 | 79 | 64 | 72 | 73 | 64 | 61 | | Nolf | Frederik | 73 | 62 | 65 | 63 | 76 | 71 | 68 | 79 | 62 | 70 | 74 | 59 | 63 |
In the next field of favourites  Greg Van Avermaet stands out, despite turning 35 this year he should be able to sit with the best of the best in this field and potentially beating them in a reduced bunch sprint, however reduced bunch sprints aren’t the most common outcome in Kigali which tends to be won by the strongest rider making a move and beating out his opponents.
A rider which is worth highlighting in this segment as well is current top individual standings rider  Sinkeldam whose ability to combat the hills could be central to ensuring a good result due to the amount of times that the riders will be going over the climb.
A few more interesting names to highlight will be home team Bralirwa’s  Naesen who is not a favourite to win the race but should be motivated to put up a good performance for the home crowd who will obviously be rooting for their team. Last few riders to highlight are  Owen,  Schreurs,  Maes, who could also be in contention for the win, depending on how their legs feel on the day.
| Van Avermaet | Greg | 74 | 50 | 72 | 57 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 78 | 74 | 72 | 67 | 57 | 68 |  Taubel | Christoph | 73 | 59 | 65 | 60 | 69 | 73 | 69 | 78 | 61 | 64 | 72 | 74 | 60 | | Sinkeldam | Ramon | 74 | 65 | 75 | 64 | 74 | 70 | 68 | 77 | 68 | 68 | 75 | 74 | 64 |  Van Lerberghe | Bert | 74 | 60 | 66 | 66 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 73 | 68 | 65 | 68 | | Maes | Nikolas | 78 | 54 | 65 | 62 | 76 | 71 | 67 | 77 | 60 | 64 | 70 | 60 | 62 | | Owen | Logan | 73 | 65 | 69 | 62 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 77 | 64 | 71 | 68 | 74 | 64 | | Schreurs | Hamish | 72 | 54 | 67 | 52 | 75 | 75 | 71 | 77 | 72 | 71 | 64 | 63 | 61 |  Thomas | Geraint | 73 | 50 | 58 | 61 | 72 | 67 | 64 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 69 | 61 | 61 | | Insausti | Jon Ander | 70 | 53 | 64 | 66 | 76 | 73 | 64 | 77 | 57 | 66 | 66 | 70 | 66 | | Naesen | Oliver | 75 | 57 | 72 | 64 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 76 | 64 | 60 | 66 | | Okbamariam | Tesfom | 73 | 66 | 65 | 59 | 70 | 73 | 67 | 76 | 72 | 68 | 65 | 78 | 59 |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 30-06-2021 08:04
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Classics Specialist
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First of all, thanks for the great preview to whitejersey and thank you for posting Abhishek!
Special race for us, as this could very well be Baugnies' last race in yellow and red. He has bib 1 to finish his season, and of course I wouldn't say no to a win. Nevertheless, since winning Dunkerque he has been outstanding, so I can't blame him if he doesn't. I still need every point I can get in the promotion battle, so I'm hoping for a podium spot and worst case scenario a top-5. Anything lower than that will be a bitter pill to swallow I fear.
Bralirwa is a direct rival of me nowadays, but I still want them to do well in their home race. Naesen can win as long as Baugnies is second  I suppose Sinkeldam is looking forward to the hills as well 
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 30-06-2021 08:53
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looking forward to watch the race neutrally, great preview!
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 30-06-2021 08:53
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
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I erroneously thought Lillestrom was my final C2 race, guess I didn't think there'd be one in October  Mission is the same, scoring a few points.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 30-06-2021 10:52
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Well, this is it. Our win goal, our only home race, arguably the biggest race of the season. Naesen hasn't been on a great run recently, but he showed earlier in the year that he can compete with the very best. Tied-second best hill stat, tied third-best resistance, second best stamina ... I really hope that counts for something on this course.
Sinkeldam might be the man to beat if hill stat is crucial (which I probably have to hope it is), otherwise Baugnies has been on an absolute tear of late. I don't think a win is super probable, but a Top 5 is absolutely imperative. I also wouldn't rule out Bob Schoonbroodt for a good result here. He's been very solid all season and his high hill stat could come in very handy. Best case, we could have 2 riders in the Top 10, 3 in the Top 20. But nothing is certain in this type of race.
Anxiously looking forward to the report, thanks for the preview WJ and thanks Abhi for posting.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 30-06-2021 10:56
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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Wolverine for another C2 Top5? It's a solid route for him, and with Insausti, Domene and Matthews we have multiple options and support. But primarily i'd just like to be the best PCT Team again
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 30-06-2021 12:31
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World Champion
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Would be very cool to get a result at this race with our C2 gang, hope Schreurs, Bester and Jams can mix it up and give the African fans some cheer even if their home star Areruya isn't allowed to participate
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 30-06-2021 14:55
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Tour de France Champion
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Pretty standard affair here I guess. I hope Sinkeldam takes advantage of the hills, blah blah blah.
At this point I'll take a good result for points a pride or a bad one to keep wages down. Promotion seems secure, so either one is fine.
Thanks to WJ for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 10:26
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Fuck  This was probably the worst possible outcome. I was really optimistic when I saw our three guys really well-positioned in most early screenshots, but then when Baugnies made his move, they were so far back and ... just never did anything again? Man, not even a single mention in the report of our biggest race of the season sure is a bummer (not a criticism of the report, mind you! Just of our performance).
At least I got a pretty solid chuckle out of "To make up for the lack action here is a picture of the backend of the peloton!", so thanks for that, WJ 
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 01:20
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 01-07-2021 10:26
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TheManxMissile wrote:
Wolverine for another C2 Top5? It's a solid route for him, and with Insausti, Domene and Matthews we have multiple options and support. But primarily i'd just like to be the best PCT Team again
2nd with two punctures! Wolverine has just gotten better with each passing race this year!
We can only imagine an alternate world where we did double-relegate, sell Altur (and a few others) and plow millions into his development for a CT campaign.
I want to find a way to make him 79CB this offseason so badly!
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 10:33
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Damn this was just survival of the fittest. Nemolito you surely wanna let Baugnies leave after such performance?
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| redordead |
Posted on 01-07-2021 10:45
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
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Baugnies domination 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 01-07-2021 10:53
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Grand Tour Champion
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Another good C2 outing. Cobblestone races are decent pickups, especially if they are as hard as this. Congrats Nemolito! Thanks for keeping up with the chaos whitejersey! (and AbhishekLFC for posting)
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 11:08
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World Champion
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I'd forgotten how little points C2 gives Still a decent outing compared to what we'd get from another terrain, unless I find the will and opportunity to buy a dedicated C2 leader next transfers I think Schreurs leading our mandatory three C2 excursions is a decent plan to continue with next year. 16 points isn't brilliant and I had hoped for more from Schreurs but not bad and every point counts in the tight position battle in the lower Top 10 of the rankings currently.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 11:55
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Finally a strong result from our cobblers in a C2 race! 3rd and 13th doesn't sound like a lot, but it gives us back the rankings lead so possibly the most important result of our season so far. Thanks for the report and congrats Nemo! |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 14:56
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
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Dang, that was an insane race. Deserved win for Baugnies, and very strong ride from Owen after 2 punctures.
Sinkeldam was solid, but wasn't quite at his best, and I'll admit that I have mixed feeling about being beaten to the podium by two PCT riders. On one hand, it's better those points are taken by PCT teams than my competitors. On the other hand, we lost out on points to PCT guys, which kind of sucks given how few C2 points there are.
When you look at the results though, 4th is good, and better than a lot of guys who should be on par with Sinkeldam. If only the points were based on time gaps instead of placing. Thanks to De Vreese underwhelming once again, I believe we do lose ground to Carrefour here, but the title was never in the cards. We're doing our best to secure promotion, and that's good enough.
Congrats Nemo and thanks Abhi!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 01-07-2021 17:00
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Olala Baugnies, what a race! Our domestiques didn't enjoy much screentime, but that seems quite logical when the leader starts making moves with 70 km to go He followed what he had to follow, held everything close, and obliterated the field with a beautiful solo. Beautiful -probably- goodbye race, which definitely helps us again in the promotion battle! Too bad C2 gives so few points.
I do feel bad for our friends from Bralirwa. Not only did their riders underperform in the most important race of the year, they are battling for promotion just as us, and this should/could have been a decent scoring opportunity as well. They should still make top-8 though, which will be enough for promotion as well I think. Or maybe Selig has some great stuff in his last race of the season? I hope so for cunego
@Croatia To be fair, Baugnies has done quite a good job in C2(HC) and also great scoring with two fifth places in HC, but in C1 it hasn't been enough. Only one top-10 in like 4 races iirc. He'll still be a decent cobbler next year and it's not that I really want him out of my team, but it seems unlikely I'll be able/willing to pay the wage he asks for. Also might not be the smartest move considering teambuilding I think. Still not sure of course, we'll see in a couple of months! #TransferSeasonHype
Thank you very much for the great report to WJ, I might have not been dancing of happiness, but I still yelled
And thank you to Abhi for posting
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 17:21
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Well, we came here with no expectations and purely because it’s an African race. Glad that it wasn’t a 0-pointer!
Baugnies was a beast! Bralirwa guys were disappointing but hope they come back strong next year. Great reporting Abhi.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 01-07-2021 18:35
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Nemolito wrote:
I do feel bad for our friends from Bralirwa. Not only did their riders underperform in the most important race of the year, they are battling for promotion just as us, and this should/could have been a decent scoring opportunity as well. They should still make top-8 though, which will be enough for promotion as well I think. Or maybe Selig has some great stuff in his last race of the season? I hope so for cunego
I never for a moment throughout this season considered us promotion candidates and still don't  Also, it's not even really a goal. The squad wouldn't be ready for it at all, I think. We'll continue to build and hopefully be there next season or the one after, once our salary structure is a little healthier and some of our talents have developed. No rush
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| maxime86 |
Posted on 02-07-2021 02:02
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Happy with the result honestly, could have been worse with some of the inclines in the course given Nolfs bad hill stat and such. That said, given the race itself, could definitely be a bit dissapointed by the result, alas thank you for the great report abhishek! |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
