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[PCT '22] Philips - Force India
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| ember |
Posted on 31-08-2022 10:07
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Team Leader
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Agree with what has already been said here! Your team has in general gotten stronger, as you've been able to add several potential points scorers. For some of them, it's difficult to tell how many points they will add, but the potential is definitely there, with riders like the Kuroeda's. Choi should be a step up compared to Penasa, and depending on what competition he faces, he has the backup stats to be great in the "classical" stage races.
Good luck for the season! Agree with Fabianski, you should be looking upwards in the ranking, though, admittedly I don't have much clue, as I've got no overview of the division in general before we get to see a post transfer and training DB  |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 31-08-2022 12:43
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World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
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Spent all this time hyping up the new arrivals I almost forgot you kept Penasa and definitely forgot you kept TVA for a second there  Can't wait to see you in action - think you were definitely wrong pre-transfers saying you won't beat me this year 
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 31-08-2022 14:02
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
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Lovely transfer period from you here, Benoot + training is very nice to see
You picked a good year to train a puncheur as well, with only a handful of handy puncheurs in the division Benoot will definitely stand out.
Choi is a great get too - a great rider I've always enquired about - however it is to be seen how well he will do looking at the absolutely ridiculous minefield that is PCT stage racers this season.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 31-08-2022 16:25
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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@Croatia: Thanks You know I always like to be competitive in all terrains just to stay interested.
@Nemolito: Timezone has never really mattered I think 
Happy to have Oscar on board and hope he can be our lucky charm and we indeed can be competitive on all terrains, which has always been the plan.
@Fabianski: Thanks for the nice words about most of the squad. Choi was one of the top priorities and Benoot is a perfect fit for the calendar we have. Gald we could get them both. Hoping Minali can recreate some Boev magic, and I can find a good niche for him. Dont expect anything from Dumoulin except to lead the TTT squad.
@Ember: Always wanted to improve on one of Penasa or Inkelaar with the mountains heavy calendar that we have, and Choi should do that. Hope the Kuroedas can spring a few surprises too. Not sure myself yet about where I should expect to be I'm the division but hope at the minimum to not have a repeat of last season.
@Jandal: Think if we do beat you, it will be sure promotion, so no, still don't agree with that. Penasa and TVA were very good value last season and we are fine to keep them this season.
@Eden: Was sure about Benoot training almost as soon as I got him. Excited to see how that goes. Hopefully our luck with punchers increase. Haven't really seen how the division has ended up with stage racers but we were always going to go for two climbers with the bands we have selected. Hope we can still challenge near the top in those races.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 01-09-2022 11:03
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
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It is time to look at the talents we have recruited over time, who will be developing with us or elsewhere this season. A lot less talents for us to level up this time, with four out of the eight we had last season reaching their full potential, one being sold, one being released and one new talent having been acquired. Let's take a look at where they are currently in their development journeys and where they can end up.
 Ide Schelling | Loaned Out
Age: 24 | Level: 4Schelling will spend the season on loan at PT team Huski chocolate to finish off his development. He should come back to as a strong domestique for the mountains.
Stats | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | 2022 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 63 | 62 | 67 | 72 | 67 | 70 | | Climber v1 | 71 | 77 | 73 | 68 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 63 | 62 | 69 | 74 | 67 | 70 | | Climber v2 | 71 | 77 | 72 | 68 | 76 | 75 | 71 | 63 | 62 | 68 | 73 | 69 | 70 | | Stage Race | 72 | 77 | 72 | 70 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 63 | 62 | 67 | 72 | 67 | 72 |
Marten Kooistra | Loaned Out
Age: 25 | Level: 3 Our future flat specialist will spend the season at Aegon-Peroni, again in the PT, to take the next step in his development.
Stats | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | 2022 | 72 | 59 | 64 | 58 | 70 | 67 | 58 | 68 | 73 | 72 | 61 | 62 | 63 | | Sprinter | 76 | 59 | 65 | 58 | 73 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 77 | 76 | 61 | 63 | 63 | | Track-Sprint | 76 | 59 | 65 | 59 | 71 | 70 | 67 | 68 | 77 | 76 | 61 | 63 | 67 | | Cobbles | 75 | 59 | 65 | 58 | 74 | 70 | 64 | 72 | 76 | 73 | 62 | 62 | 63 |
Gijs Leemreize | In-house
Age: 22 | Level: 3 Leemreize will ride in our colous once again, and is already a useful rider on the mountains, halfway through his development life cycle.
Stats | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | 2022 | 65 | 73 | 71 | 64 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 60 | 62 | 68 | 71 | 66 | 64 | | Climber v1 | 66 | 78 | 76 | 65 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 60 | 62 | 72 | 76 | 68 | 65 | | Climber v2 | 67 | 78 | 73 | 64 | 73 | 76 | 72 | 60 | 62 | 70 | 74 | 72 | 64 | | Stage Race | 67 | 78 | 74 | 68 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 60 | 62 | 70 | 72 | 67 | 68 |
Mick Van Dijke | In-house
Age: 22 | Level: 1 Our brand new talent signing will also ride in our colours this season as he takes his first steps in reaching his full potential we are very excited to have him onboard and to be able to help reach his peak.
Stats | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | 2022 | 68 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 68 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 70 | 71 | 70 | | Climber v1 | 69 | 74 | 77 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 73 | 67 | 70 | 75 | 77 | 72 | 70 | | Climber v2 | 69 | 75 | 73 | 69 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 67 | 70 | 72 | 75 | 79 | 70 | | Stage Race | 69 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 77 | | Puncher | 71 | 70 | 78 | 70 | 78 | 75 | 71 | 67 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 71 |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 01-09-2022 19:21
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3367
Joined: 20-04-2020
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Schelling and Kooistra should be very useful domestiques, whereas Van Dijke and Leemreize should turn out to be even more than strong domestiques. I can already imagine some of them riding for Los Pollos one day
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| liefwarrior |
Posted on 02-09-2022 03:04
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 864
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Loving all the talents, another very solid set of signings. I had my eye on Van Dijke, and although the puncher development is tempting I don't know if I would have him grow into just another decent-punch + okay-sprint rider when the much more dynamic hilly-stageracer option is available. With "Stage Race" training apart from Level 3 → 4, which will be "Hills", you acquire the following:
| FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | 69 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 76 |
There are several advantages over both the Hills and Stage Race options. Firstly, once Van Dijke his overall will be only 75.17, compared to 76.08 and 76.75 respectively. This means that there are more options for training: mountain training is expensive in every option but here all of HI/TT/PR can be trained at their stat price rather than the average price (which is a problem for the Stage Race option, while Hills completely ignores it). It also means that you can expect a wage of ~$100,000 rather than ~$145,000 or ~$175,000, in addition to 5 and 10 more RDs respectively.
With just a little bit of training he'll successfully be fulfilling the niche that Ion Izagirre has dominated to much success. If you're concerned about him being dropped you could invest in some mountain early on with only a single training, MT [73]→[74], being based on average. If you just go HL [75]→[79] then over just two years and at the cost of $3.15M (3 years/$4.15M inc. MT), which is quite reasonable for a P(C)T team, you'll have a rider who can ride 56/46 RDs, costs ~$190,000 in wage cap, and has the following statline:
| FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | 69 | 73 | 79 | 75 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 76 |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 14:47
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 02-09-2022 06:55
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
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@Nemo: Indeed Schelling and Kooistra should be useful domestiques when maxed. The idea for Leemreize and Van Dijke is for them to take over team leadership with enough investment in the future. You have seen that am not immune to trading my talents, if it means strengthening the team. So, if you are interested in any of them, we will definitely talk in the future
@lief: First of all, thank you for taking the time to go through the statgain options for Van Dijke in such detail and sharing them. It is always useful to know all possible options for a talent like him, and your post is much appreciated
Secondly, I rarely ever put my actual development plans in these posts, especially if they involve a combination of different types of statgains being used for a rider. I also rarely use a single type of statgain on a rider, except for Minali who got Track Sprint for all his levels iirc. For Van Dijke, the plan is to use a combination of Stage Race, Climber V1 and Hills to get him to 73 mon, 78 hill, 71 TT. This would allow me to make him a 80 hill rider ready to take over hills leadership from Benoot, with better TT stats, and slightly worse mountain stats, with just 2.2 million in training money. He can then match Benoot's mountain with a total of less than 3.5 million training money. Would much prefer that route tbh. Don't care about OVL and wage too much if the final product is good enough Other squad positions can be adjusted accordingly.
Coming to the statgains you proposed and the example of Izagirre - while Ion was a great asset in PCM 18, scoring 900+ points in 2020, he has lost 250 points in 2021 with PCM 20 which does not help HI/TT riders much. As such, I am not inclined to go down that path but would rather have Van Dijke's hill as high as possible and go from there. Also, while I love the energy stats that Stage Race statgain provides, I'm not the kind of manager who'll spend training money on a rider who ends up with the stats that either of your options provide. He would then just become a super-domestique all his career who I might even trade away for a strong leader. Having said this, if I see Ion Izagirre suddenly doing good enough to justify going down one of your routes, with the latter's declone making his stats now almost similar to what you project for Van Dijke after training, I might change my mind.
Once again, thank you though for the extensive post
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 02-09-2022 08:43
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9099
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Interesting talks liefwarrior and Abhi. I kinda like Abhis plan more, but looking also at what riders like Sepulveda and Dunbar did I see the attraction of going lief's way. That said, I'm almost certain there will be a new ovl-calculation next year, so wouldn't base my training on current ovl projections, especially as that type of rider lief suggests should rise in prices.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 02-09-2022 11:21
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
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Croatia14 wrote:
Interesting talks liefwarrior and Abhi. I kinda like Abhis plan more, but looking also at what riders like Sepulveda and Dunbar did I see the attraction of going lief's way. That said, I'm almost certain there will be a new ovl-calculation next year, so wouldn't base my training on current ovl projections, especially as that type of rider lief suggests should rise in prices.
Agreed, if what you say about the OVL is indeed the direction we take, then it makes even less sense to go down the Stage Race heavy route.
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| knockout |
Posted on 02-09-2022 11:47
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7735
Joined: 21-12-2010
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Always enjoy reading these talks too. Personally, I'm not a big fan of including over 2-3m in training costs in the planning when you can buy top class PT leaders for that much cash. Sure there are advantages of training like a lower wage for a year and potentially the rider being 1-3 years younger than what you might be able to buy. But paying 2.2m to get van Dijk to Benoot levels on the hills when you can just buy a Benoot/Kelderman for under a million just doesnt seem like the ideal cash usage to me until you already have reached a great wage cap usage for your team.
I think i would stick to the 73/78 mo/hi version of him and use him as a lieutenant / secondary leader to whoever is available to lead you at the time. If you then happen to have some training cash left at any point (or get a huge Benoot offer) you could still get him to 79-80HI going forward but i wouldnt base his development on that.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 02-09-2022 11:58
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World Champion
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Already said to you before, but like knockout I'm a big 73/78 guy when it comes to Mick, but a great rider to discuss the multiple options about and love the effort lief put into his post in another team's HQ about their rider! Great discussion and surely his is an attractive option too as Croatia said to create a Sepulveda-type from scratch, a mould which normally costs a small fortune on the FA market!
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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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 02-09-2022 16:51
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
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@knockout: Your points about training Van Dijke or not is well taken. It all depends on how the puncher field looks like at the time and whether it would make sense, specifically for that time. The reason I trained Benoot is exactly because I thought there was a niche available for him. I am usually not too inclined to do trainings, and Benoot is the first rider I have trained to a stat greater than 76.
@jandal: Basically agree with you and knockout on the training path. And yes, big thanks to lief again for the effort. It is tempting to try to make Mick a unique rider, but not sure I have the patience or perseverance needed to go through with it till the end goal.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 03-09-2022 12:52
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Directeur Sportif
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The MGUCI have recently announced the PCT wildcards for the 2022 season and we have been allocated the classics trio of Classique du Grand-Duche, Fleche Wallone and Macskako Kerekparverseny! We are excited to be able to test our riders against the might of the PT peloton on these three occasions.
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 04-09-2022 07:52
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3367
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There is a nice chance you'll meet your former favourite rider Kelderman in one of these races. It will be interesting to see who wins the Wilco - Tiesj battle(s) in PT and PTHC this season Macskako could be a great race for Benoot as well, if you're able to send him there.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 04-09-2022 09:50
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Team Manager
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Didn't get a chance to take a look at your squad before, but as many have said, it looks really nice. Choi and Penasa might struggle a bit given the really tough stage racing field in PCT, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Benoot ends up as a Top 2-3 puncheur in the division. Some decent depth points should be available on all other terrains, and I think I've said before that I really like Minali as a sprinter and could see him succeeding pretty well. I was very happy that you managed to avoid relegation last year, and I'll be rooting for you again this season
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 04-09-2022 14:08
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Directeur Sportif
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@Nemolito: Quite looking forward to meeting Wilco in however many races. Still love the guy but ii just didn't work out for us. Hoping the Ties-Wilco battle can live up to expectations. No Benoot in Macskako though because of a clash.
@cunego: Given the bands and goals we have selected, two climbers was always going to be the wy to go. Hoping that Choi can be in Top 5 contention and Penasa in Top 10 contention in all mountain races, and we will be going to a lot of them! The occasional overperformance like last season fro Penasa is always the hope. If Benoot really does become one of the top three punchers in the division, that will be a well made investment then. I'm excited by Minali too and last season on loan in the PT showed some glimpses of what he can do. Hoping TVA can also keep doing what he did last season, although his calendar will be a little different this time around. The cobbles I guess are more for fun this season, as the brothers aren't at the top but maybe can throw up a few surprises.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 05-09-2022 08:39
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Directeur Sportif
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What a difference a year makes! From selecting all goals based on our previous hills leader, to no goals at all on the hills! Two climbers was always the plan for us, and a puncher wasn't on top of our target list, which would would explain the direction we have taken with our goals.
Our second ever visit to the PCT GT, and we hope to make it a better memory than our last visit back in 2018. In fact, we want to make it the best memory possible and win the whole thing.
We have set out to achieve an ambitious Top 5 goal in one of the premier stage races on the calendar, which this time has been moved to the PTHC category and can be raced by PCT teams without wildcards.
The third and final goal race on the mountains, and it's yet another PTHC race. We set out to build our mountain squad in the transfers for these three races in particular.
The race we picked to be the non-climbing goal race this season. We hope the clash with Rheden, where we do not race, will make the startlist more favourable for our sub-top leaders.
Another ambitious goal. We do not believe the team we have built will make it to the Top 5 in the standings, but we do hope to get into the top half and if possible, the Top 10.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 05-09-2022 09:06
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Ambitious goals for sure, but sometimes you have to be
So at least now everybody nows they'll face Choi or Penasa in ToA - don't know what impact that knowledge has on the startlist
Still feels strange to see Tour de Suisse as a PTHC race ^^ Could definitely be smart to pick the race clashing with both East Java and Dauphine, and Choi as a decent TTer should have good chances to get that Top 5.
Colombia on the other hand will probably be a huge climber feast - you should still have your chances, but getting a Top 10 here could be as tough as a Top 5 in Suisse ^^
Battenkill has Benoot written all over the place, and as you say, the clash will definitely have an impact on the startlist.
Promotion - which would mean achieving your Top 5 goal - could be on the cards with an optimal season - wish you good luck for your goals and the entire year
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 05-09-2022 14:43
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3367
Joined: 20-04-2020
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Win goal at Tour of America, love to see it. Hope I can get back to reporting it this year, and hope (and think) Kraftwerk is there with a strong team as well to see a possible Rawaneera/Nerz - Choi/Penasa battle. Looking forward to what other teams and riders will be there as well.
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