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Balkans International - Discussion
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 09-05-2022 03:42
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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 Balkans International
Welcome to the 4th edition of the PTHC Balkans International. The 2021 parcours repeats the adventure from the last two years so here is what 2019’s brilliant reporter had to say about the course:
“The race covers 6 countries across 8 days with 6 hilly stages and 2 for the sprinters (stage 2 and 7). With the hilly stages featuring a lot of tough climbs but nothing decisive we could see a final showdown on the climb to Ligkiades on stage 8.
But starting at the beginning - the race opens with a 187km of up and down climbing going from Ljubljana to Zagreb. After that we have a flat stage to Prijedor in Bosnia, the third country covered in the first two stages. After two days touring Bosnia, stage 5 sees a return to Croatia with a stage finish in the historic seaside resort of Dubrovnik. From there race heads south through Montenegro and Albania before the grand finale in Greece on the aforementioned climb, which concludes the brutal 225km final stage”.
Last year’s winner was  Kwiatkowski. But the hybrids and the puncheurs split the spoils with  Lopez and  Beltran taking 3rd and 5th while  Sagan,  Kinoshita and  Bakelants took 2nd, 4th and 6th. Bakelants also won the race in 2018. While 2019 was won by Calmejane who gained time in a breakaway on Stage 1 and hung on to take the overall. Last year Teklit won Stage 1 from the break and parlayed that into 10th on the GC. Every one of the riders mentioned is back this year, except the two breakaway specialists, who are both in the CT this year.
Overall, a full start list with 182 riders from 24 teams participating. The best riders in this year’s race include all the top 5 from last year as well as strong puncheurs like  Lutsenko,  Ponzi and  Skujins.
| FL | MT | HI | AC | RS | | Lopez | 70 | 79 | 84 | 78 | 74 | | Lutsenko | 69 | 73 | 83 | 81 | 73 | | Sagan | 72 | 74 | 83 | 76 | 74 | | Skujins | 70 | 70 | 83 | 76 | 77 | | Kinoshita | 73 | 72 | 83 | 77 | 77 | | Ponzi | 74 | 71 | 82 | 77 | 69 | | Kwiatkowski | 72 | 78 | 81 | 75 | 76 | | Beltran | 69 | 79 | 81 | 76 | 72 |  Koretzky | 73 | 71 | 81 | 79 | 70 |  Buchmann | 71 | 76 | 81 | 73 | 74 |
Bakelants is a group of 80 hill riders just below those listed. That group includes  Betancourt,  Jensen, and Müller.
In addition to the hybrids included among the top puncheurs there are a number of other strong climbers in the race:
| FL | MT | HI | AC | RS |  Padun | 67 | 81 | 77 | 75 | 74 |  Oomen | 71 | 81 | 75 | 69 | 77 |  Formolo | 72 | 79 | 80 | 71 | 76 | | Fabbro | 65 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 72 |  Cort Nielsen | 72 | 78 | 74 | 71 | 75 | | Amezawa | 68 | 77 | 77 | 75 | 78 |  Squire | 68 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 70 |  Aranburu | 69 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 79 | | Blums | 72 | 77 | 77 | 70 | 73 |  Raileanu | 66 | 77 | 77 | 70 | 73 |
Among this group Formolo finished 7th last year and Padun 12th, while winning the young rider competition. Oomen carries the flag for the diesel climbers this year.
There are two stages where the various breeds of climbers won’t dominate, they are the two sprint stages (2 and 7). Sprinters making the trip to contest those stages include:
| FL | SP | AC | RS | HI | | Guarnieri | 74 | 80 | 78 | 73 | 64 | | Lander | 77 | 79 | 77 | 72 | 69 | | Bertilsson | 73 | 79 | 77 | 71 | 69 |  Reinhardt | 71 | 79 | 84 | 66 | 67 | | Hayakawa | 73 | 79 | 79 | 68 | 65 | | Suryadi | 71 | 79 | 76 | 68 | 62 | | Lavoine | 72 | 79 | 76 | 62 | 59 |  Aregger | 73 | 78 | 77 | 71 | 71 | | Bol | 74 | 77 | 75 | 76 | 69 | | Riabushenko | 74 | 77 | 75 | 73 | 68 | | Kanter | 73 | 77 | 78 | 71 | 67 |
Guarnieri and Reinhardt are the most notable names on the list but they will have to fight of a hungry group off second tier sprinters. Aregger might fancy stage 4 which was won by a punchy sprinter last year.
Startlist
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 09:04
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 09-05-2022 05:29
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
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This is one of those races I just wish I could skip. 8 PTHC race days and likely nothing to show for it with Aranburu as our leader. Might have been worth sending Guldhammer here instead of a C1 mountain race, but, well I've never been the best planner. Can't expect to turn around the last couple of months of lackluster performance here.
Earlier in the year, it might have been promising to see Aranburu mentioned on the favorites list. This was the precise type of race I was excited to see him race when I first signed him and set him up for his dev path. But he's been unbelievably bad this year, and he's far enough down the list that it's probable he won't even try to get a minor placing, like usual.
Our best chance to score is probably through Lander. Hopefully he sprints and can nab a couple of top 5's along the way. Otherwise we should just be aggressive and lay it all out there.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 09-05-2022 06:26
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11676
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Really need some luck from the likes of Teuns or Raileanu, or anyone for that matter. Not a race where we'll be competitive GC wise, but some other forms of points scoring would be very welcome. Can't see why we can't have someone in the break consistently but our riders rarely ever make a mark there. Let's see if that changes. Need something to change for sure.
Thanks for the preview Ulrich 
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| SotD |
Posted on 09-05-2022 07:03
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World Champion
Posts: 12188
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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I guess this will be much too difficult for Koretzky to perform, but maybe some aggressive riding can give a couple of decent stage results. We also have Jang and Aidan here who should be better suited for it - but obviously not as strong as the top tiers either.
No real expectations here, so let's just cross our fingers for something.
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| redordead |
Posted on 09-05-2022 07:34
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Our one and only home race, so I'm always looking forward to it
Beltran has been very consistent this season and hasn't let me down yet. This is a sponsor goal race, so I hope his good run doesn't end here 
Thanks for the preview
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 09-05-2022 09:04
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9099
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Huge race for us as it's our only home race. Hoping for Lutsenko to forget last year and perform well this time. I really like our mountanious support team, so we should do well here.
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| Bikex |
Posted on 09-05-2022 09:34
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Team Leader
Posts: 7255
Joined: 25-08-2012
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Croatia14 wrote:
Huge race for us as it's our only home race. Hoping for Lutsenko to forget last year and perform well this time. I really like our mountanious support team, so we should do well here.
Lutsenko was not here last year. 
Hope I can come back to this race again with Gidich next season! |
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| knockout |
Posted on 09-05-2022 10:31
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7735
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 400.00
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Lopez is the big top favourite so I'd really like to see a strong showing here. Pretty sure that it's also a win goal for me
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ember |
Posted on 09-05-2022 10:58
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Team Leader
Posts: 6849
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Big race for us, an absolute key for our title campaign. We need a strong showing from Kwiatkowski here, and that was why we also brought Amezawa. He should be a great domestique, and hopefully also add some depth points. Though, our clear main goal here is for Kwiatkowski to do as well as possible.
The title defense looks difficult, as there’s no arguing MAL is the overwhelming favourite. Behind though, anything from 2nd to 10th looks possible. Hopefully he gets decent days to fight for stage wins and a top 5 overall.
Looking forward to this one, very excited! |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 09-05-2022 22:31
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
Joined: 29-09-2018
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Pre-season I was definitely looking forward to this race, thinking that it suits Moscon with his decent Mo and high Res really well.
But the races so far have shown that while he clearly has some good days on this kind of stages, in general the climbs should probably be too long for him. So if he can get something like a Top15 along with some good stage results (either from him, from Reinhardt or from the breakaway), I'd definitely be a happy man!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 10-05-2022 03:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
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Great first stage for us! Exactly what we needed.
Absolutely loved the aggression from our guys. Putting both Sinkeldam and Suter in the break instantly put us at the advantage in the KOM hunt. Suter was really strong too to hold on as long as he did. Sinkledam clearly not the best puncheur around, but with Suter's help he was able to hang out there longer than everyone else and really stretch out his KOM lead on the final climb. Really hope that's a jersey we're trying to keep throughout the race. Sinkledam isn't the strongest, but if he goes again in the next couple of stages, he has a shot. Would be fun to follow!
Nice to see Aranburu alert and towards the front at the end too. 13th is a good sign that he at least wasn't phoning it in. Not getting too hopeful on that front yet though.
Congrats to UBS!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| redordead |
Posted on 10-05-2022 06:52
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
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Nice to see stage 1 not going to the breakaway for a change. Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of the race.
Beltran didn't look bothered to even try in the sprint. I'm suprised to see Poljanec there with him. I would've thought our puncheurs would do a lot better, but at least the rouleur had a good day.
"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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| SotD |
Posted on 10-05-2022 07:26
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World Champion
Posts: 12188
Joined: 29-11-2006
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Nothing interesting here for us. Aidan got dropped, which is OK I guess. No disaster atleast.
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| ember |
Posted on 10-05-2022 07:32
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Team Leader
Posts: 6849
Joined: 27-03-2008
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Hurts to see Amezawa dropped. Puts even more pressure on Kwiatkowski to make a result here as the race progresses. Stage 2 should be quiet, but then stage 3 looks to have the potential to force splits and gaps.
Well done to UBS, and congratulations on the win, Bushwackers! |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 10-05-2022 08:01
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11676
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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Wrong rider in the break for us...
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| knockout |
Posted on 10-05-2022 12:25
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7735
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 400.00
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Quiet day one, guess the only thing to take from this is that Blums and Tvetcov made the front group too which might be helpful later in the race when it comes to depth scoring and team competition.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 10-05-2022 14:05
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
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7. Minutes.
Like
What
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 10-05-2022 14:46
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World Champion
Posts: 10845
Joined: 29-10-2007
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Not a good final kilometre there, gotta be honest.
Good stage for us, with both Vasyliv and Stüssi safe in the front group.
Overall, we probably can't expect too much from this race, but I hope a good MO will have some impact on the tough hilly stages and we can surprise with maybe a Top 20 in GC.
Furthermore, maybe Aregger can surprise in one of the flatter stages like he did in his home race.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 10-05-2022 18:39
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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Good to see that Moscon (and even Pernie) finished in the first group.
Not great to see that he was far away from the front - doesn't look like he'll be treated as an important rider by PCM.
Now let's see what Reinhardt can do. Don't know why I sent him here, surely a waste of RDs - on the other hand, a PTHC stage win would be huge (and obviously a first for the team).
Congrats to Bushwackers on that 1-3! Still hoping you can somehow close the gap to the promotion spots - a great result here would definitely help
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 10-05-2022 21:18
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9099
Joined: 13-03-2013
PCM$: 2100.00
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Strange but good final for us, nice job by Roman especially!
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