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Arab Tour Discussion
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| redordead |
Posted on 28-02-2023 07:47
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Welcome to the 3rd edition of the Arab Tour. No climbing in this Middle East race, it's all about sprints and time-trials. Or I should say a time-trial. One change to the previous editions is that there is no longer the 10 km Sharjah time-trial to start the race. Two sprint stages that feature just enough bumps in the road to justify a KOM classification are now the starters. Stage 3 is a 19 km time-trial that is the be all and end all for the overall classification. Then one more sprint stage to end the race.
With that said let's look at some of the favourites:
| FL | TT | RS | PR | | FL | TT | RS | PR |  Durbridge | 73 | 81 | 74 | 81 |  Dennis | 72 | 78 | 75 | 81 |  Paillot | 70 | 80 | 74 | 80 |  Thomas | 73 | 78 | 73 | 79 | | Gonzalez Salas | 70 | 80 | 76 | 80 |  Kämna | 71 | 78 | 73 | 78 |  Kittel | 73 | 79 | 67 | 79 | Cosnefroy | 76 | 78 | 81 | 78 |  Rekita | 72 | 79 | 73 | 78 | Belevics | 76 | 78 | 72 | 78 |  Beniusis | 71 | 79 | 73 | 78 |  Sterobo | 70 | 78 | 69 | 78 |  Dunbar | 69 | 79 | 77 | 77 |  Onodera | 74 | 78 | 74 | 75 |
In a race where one stage likely decides the winner and the competition is close, we are not short of favourites. Still, Durbridge should have the highest odds to come out on top. The Assa Abloy duo of Paillot and Gonzalez Salas should make this a high scoring race for their team. Veteran Kittel has been waiting for races like this to contribute to his team. Rekita represents the best of CT for Jura, this could be a good race for them also.
Beniusis is young, but this year's TT field in PCT puts him in a position where he can challenge near the top. Dunbar spent his offseason honing his time-trialing and he's here to challenge the specialists. A stat point lower than the others are capable riders like Dennis, Thomas, Kämna and Cosnefroy.
| Sprinter | FL | RS | SP | AC | Lead out | FL | RS | SP | AC | | Vesely | 73 | 68 | 81 | 80 | Kuboki | 72 | 72 | 76 | 75 | | Howard | 75 | 69 | 81 | 78 | Suryadi | 71 | 68 | 79 | 76 | | Kragh Andersen | 77 | 74 | 81 | 77 | Forssell | 66 | 71 | 74 | 74 | | Enger | 73 | 73 | 81 | 78 | Pedersen | 76 | 76 | 77 | 77 |  Guerao | 72 | 61 | 81 | 73 | Aberasturi | 73 | 69 | 78 | 76 | | Liu | 74 | 69 | 80 | 80 | Oka | 71 | 70 | 75 | 75 |  Bouhanni | 74 | 69 | 80 | 77 | Colbrelli | 74 | 72 | 79 | 75 |  Kanter | 75 | 73 | 79 | 80 | Nyoni | 67 | 69 | 70 | 68 |  Scully | 74 | 70 | 79 | 80 | Stash | 73 | 73 | 77 | 77 | | Hayakawa | 73 | 68 | 79 | 79 | Räim | 74 | 72 | 76 | 75 |  Vingerling | 71 | 66 | 79 | 79 | Kumara | 74 | 70 | 71 | 67 | | Bewley | 74 | 70 | 79 | 77 | Schreurs | 72 | 75 | 72 | 71 |  Bertilsson | 73 | 71 | 79 | 77 | Waersted | 73 | 78 | 78 | 79 | | Wippert | 70 | 70 | 78 | 82 | Perera | 71 | 73 | 79 | 80 |
The change to one single TT stage makes it absolutely sure that the green jersey goes to the sprinters and we have a deep field of them. Vesely tops that field in both SP and AC and has a great lead out rider in Kuboki. Howard and Enger have both brought stronger lead outs, perhaps too strong? Kragh Andersen usually does his best work surfing the wheels with high FL stat. Guerao is the last 81 sprinter, he has some good results this season, but can he do it against competition like this?
The next tier are Liu and Bouhanni. Not sure either of them will be using lead outs in this field. Kanter and Scully are on paper the best of the 79 sprinters with the highest acceleration. Wippert gets a mention with only 78 SP, but the top 82 AC. Still having Perera in the same race seems like a waste.
Full startlist:
Spoiler | Scully | Tom | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Naesen | Oliver | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Stash | Mamyr | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Skala | Jakub | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Gaze | Samuel | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Nolf | Frederik | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Reddish | Nick | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Archbold | Shane | Air New Zealand p/b Pirelli | | Bewley | Sam | Amaysim Cervélo | | Durbridge | Luke | Amaysim Cervélo | | O'Connor | Ben | Amaysim Cervélo | | Schreurs | Hamish | Amaysim Cervélo | | Wohler | Alex | Amaysim Cervélo | | Culey | Marcus | Amaysim Cervélo | | Christensen | Ryan | Amaysim Cervélo | | Paillot | Yoann | Assa Abloy | | Gonzalez Salas | Mario | Assa Abloy | | Gallopin | Tony | Assa Abloy | | Bergstrom Frisk | Hannes | Assa Abloy | | Kvist | Linus | Assa Abloy | | Arvidsson | Staffan | Assa Abloy | | Magnussen | Davur | Assa Abloy | | Bergstrom Frisk | Erik | Assa Abloy | | Hnik | Karel | Bianchi - Panerai | | Larsen | Trond | Bianchi - Panerai | | Bayer | Tobias | Bianchi - Panerai | | Colleoni | Kevin | Bianchi - Panerai | | Mulubrhan | Henok | Bianchi - Panerai | | Eggenberg | Ruben | Bianchi - Panerai | | Barbier | Rudy | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Russo | Clement | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Edmondson | Alexander | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Nommela | Aksel | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Kochetkov | Mikhail | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Tesson | Jason | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Talacka | Lukas | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Reynders | Jens | Bonduelle - Eesti Energia | | Guerao | Oscar | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Sarreau | Marc | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Aberasturi | Jon | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Insausti | Jon Ander | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Mottin | Hugues | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Renard | Alexis | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Lazkano | Oier | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Brun | Nils | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | | Uwizeyimana | Bonaventure | Bralirwa - Stevens | | El Sabbahi | Houcaine | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Hadi | Janvier | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Lauk | Karl Patrick | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Mugisha | Samuel | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Mengoulas | Alex | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Menicucci | Samuele | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Uhiriwe | Renus | Bralirwa - Stevens | | Kragh Andersen | Asbjorn | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Kämna | Lennard | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Belevics | Arturs | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Girmay | Biniam | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Krigbaum | Mathias | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Forssell | Hugo | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Cannister | Goldwijnn | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Skjelmose Jensen | Mattias | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Lampaert | Yves | Colombini-Adler AP | | Olei | Federico | Colombini-Adler AP | | Dzervus | Darijus | Colombini-Adler AP | | Quispe | Alain | Colombini-Adler AP | | Gonzales | Andre Alexander | Colombini-Adler AP | | Bonello | Daniel | Colombini-Adler AP | | Waerenskjold | Soren | Colombini-Adler AP | | Aguilar Mendez | Jose Pablo | Colombini-Adler AP | | Meyer | Travis | Eddie Stobart | | Hugentobler | Gregory | Eddie Stobart | | Umerbekov | Nikita | Eddie Stobart | | Moreno Hernandez | Salvador | Eddie Stobart | | Cimolai | Davide | Eddie Stobart | | Lovik | Asmund Romstad | Eddie Stobart | | Medvedev | Dmitri | Eddie Stobart | | Malacarne | Davide | Eddie Stobart | | Enger | Sondre Holst | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Pedersen | Casper | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Daniel | Gregory | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Laengen | Vegard Stake | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Kittel | Marcel | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Kurianov | Stepan | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Hvideberg | Jonas Iversby | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Lunder | Eirik | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Vingerling | Michael | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Kumara | Amith Udaya | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Heymes | Gilles | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Battistella | Samuele | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Quinn | Sean | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Baroncini | Filippo | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Vermaerke | Kevin | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Milan | Jonathan | HelloFresh - Lampre | | Dunbar | Eddie | Indosat Ooredoo | | Howard | Leigh | Indosat Ooredoo | | Suryadi | Bambang | Indosat Ooredoo | | Gani | Abdul | Indosat Ooredoo | | Arif Prayogo | Dealton Nur | Indosat Ooredoo | | Wolf | Justin | Indosat Ooredoo | | Yudha | Muhammad | Indosat Ooredoo | | Ahmad | Firdaus | Indosat Ooredoo | | Stepniak | Grzegorz | Jura GIANTS | | Stocker | Manuel | Jura GIANTS | | Rekita | Szymon | Jura GIANTS | | Chavanne | Gabriel | Jura GIANTS | | Cohen | Noam | Jura GIANTS | | Karatsivis | Panagiotis | Jura GIANTS | | Matsangos | Alexandros | Jura GIANTS | | Janssen | Christoph | Jura GIANTS | | Feiereisen | Kevin | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Rathe | Jakob | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Rodriguez Galindo | Michael | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Granigan | Noah | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Mostov | Zeke | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Jallays | Welle | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Vesely | Daniel | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Dennis | Rohan | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Brown | Nathan | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Kuboki | Kazushige | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Bjerg | Mikkel | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Coppel | Jerome | Minions - Subwoolfer | | English | Felix | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Rosas | Laureano | Minions - Subwoolfer | | Wippert | Wouter | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Perera | Madushanka | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Sterobo | Rasmus | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Andersen | Michael Valgren | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Yzeiraj | Marildo | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Richardson | Alexander | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Kvasina | Filip | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Jabuka | David | Oktal Pharma - TotalTV | | Fernandes | Jose | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Hayakawa | Tomohiro | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Beniusis | Justas | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Räim | Mihkel | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Evenepoel | Remco | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Consonni | Simone | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Cabanas | Oscar | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Li | Wen Hao | Red Bull Zalgiris | | Gaday | Lucas Manuel | Strava | | Bouhanni | Nacer | Strava | | Owen | Logan | Strava | | Sbaragli | Kristian | Strava | | Sanikwathi | Thanawut | Strava | | Colbrelli | Sonny | Strava | | Bernas | Pawel | Strava | | Lindeman | Bert-Jan | Strava | | Bertilsson | Christian | Tafjord Kraft | | Waersted | Syver | Tafjord Kraft | | Kaislavuo | Jesse | Tafjord Kraft | | Eislers | Sandis | Tafjord Kraft | | Haavardsholm | Ole | Tafjord Kraft | | Bugge | Vegard Robinson | Tafjord Kraft | | Andersson | Emil | Tafjord Kraft | | Pruus | Peter | Tafjord Kraft | | Kanter | Max | Tryg - Gobik | | Frison | Frederik | Tryg - Gobik | | Adria | Roger | Tryg - Gobik | | Kaloniatis | Georgios | Tryg - Gobik | | Iversen | Rasmus | Tryg - Gobik | | Nyoni | Similo | Tryg - Gobik | | Abolaji | Fatiu | Tryg - Gobik | | Liu | Jiankun | Voyagin - Bird | | Onodera | Rei | Voyagin - Bird | | Rajapakshage | Tushantha | Voyagin - Bird | | Cheung | King Lok | Voyagin - Bird | | Polnicky | Jiri | Voyagin - Bird | | Oka | Atsushi | Voyagin - Bird | | Yamamoto | Masaki | Voyagin - Bird | | Kawasaki | Miori | Voyagin - Bird | | Cosnefroy | Benoit | Zara - Irizar | | Hofstetter | Hugo | Zara - Irizar | | Castrillo | Jaime | Zara - Irizar | | Thomas | Benjamin | Zara - Irizar | | Hesters | Jules | Zara - Irizar | | De La Cruz Chapulin | Luis Fernando | Zara - Irizar | | Cardona | Julian | Zara - Irizar | | Vandevelde | Yentl | Zara - Irizar |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 28-02-2023 09:39
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 15345.00
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Four stage wins and all classifications. Anything less is a disappointment 
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| quadsas |
Posted on 28-02-2023 10:32
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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We should smash it here. Easy 3 hundo
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 28-02-2023 11:16
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Team Leader
Posts: 5896
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 1500.00
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High hopes here - lets get it! 
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 28-02-2023 11:41
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
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Bongo hasn’t got going so a very similar sentiment for our squad here. Dunbar’s other TT excursion for the season along with Howard and the rest of the band should be interesting. Hopefully Howard can try turn his season around and Dunbar can smash out a lucky top-5.
Thanks for the preview!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 28-02-2023 13:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
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This could go well or terribly. We have 2 TT guys who can compete for a top 10, which is good, but the pure flat course doesn't give us any comparative advantage with Kamna. We can't just do okay in every stage and end up top 5. Either he or Belevics needs to significantly overperform to achieve a top result. Kamna's TT's have been lackluster this year, but Belevics has had a good one. We'll have to hope daily form is on our side.
AKA is probably just as important here given the three sprint stages. He's raced very sparingly since his early season struggles, but he has a fairly busy month coming up. Time to shake off the rust and return to what he did last year a bit. At least, we can hope.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 28-02-2023 19:36
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
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Rekita as a Top 5 GC favorite, should I get my hopes up?
Looking at the startlist and the TT profile, sure.
Looking at how red's PCM treated our team lately, no way. Sorry, red, not meant to be personal, not your fault...
Guess I'll just go through all reports at once in the end, so there'll be just one rant instead of 4...
Thanks for the preview and good luck to all.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 28-02-2023 19:40
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2907
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Imagine having a 79SP and only one team in this CT race have a worse sprinter
Times have really changed from when I started about ten years ago, where a 79SP would be a God in the CT-division |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 11:34
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 28-02-2023 19:54
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
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Bjartne wrote:
Imagine having a 79SP and only one team in this CT race have a worse sprinter
Times have really changed from when I started about ten years ago, where a 79SP would be a God in the CT-division
It's a C1 race with some PCT teams present, if that makes you feel better
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 28-02-2023 19:54
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
Joined: 29-09-2018
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Bjartne wrote:
Imagine having a 79SP and only one team in this CT race have a worse sprinter
Times have really changed from when I started about ten years ago, where a 79SP would be a God in the CT-division
I have a worse sprinter as well, who's not even listed  Therefore can't really expect Stepniak to consistently participate in this stacked field. But yeah, as said before, I shouldn't expect anything anyways.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 02-03-2023 09:37
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2907
Joined: 15-07-2007
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baseballlover312 wrote:
Bjartne wrote:
Imagine having a 79SP and only one team in this CT race have a worse sprinter
Times have really changed from when I started about ten years ago, where a 79SP would be a God in the CT-division
It's a C1 race with some PCT teams present, if that makes you feel better
Haha, it did!
And with that podium by Bertilsson, we can now rest on our laurels for the reminder of this tour, this is as good as we could hope for. |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 02-03-2023 09:41
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
Joined: 04-07-2012
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Congrats Vesely on winning the Open Minions Sprinting Championship, can we please focus on the race now?
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 02-03-2023 10:24
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
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Bewley 
Obviously a great opener for us. Hopefully Dubridge will deliver in a similar way, when it counts!
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 02-03-2023 12:01
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Team Leader
Posts: 5896
Joined: 30-11-2006
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So Enger didnt even sprint? WTF?
Congrats to the winners and thank you for the report....
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 02-03-2023 12:09
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
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What a finish 
That has to maybe be the most strange sprint finish I’ve ever seen, what the hell was that? Nice work from NZ man to take advantage of the situation, but wow that was something! Our train *kind of* worked I guess, Gani was in front of Suryadi and Howard in the sprint albeit apart from each other Gani in 2nd with Howard nabbing some sneaky points makes it a surprisingly good stage for us despite the weirdness.
Special shoutout to the Minions sprint competition, that was a sight to behold! Thanks for the report red
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 02-03-2023 14:02
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
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Whack. It was as if it was a mid-GT transition stage and that was the peloton finishing 20 minutes behind the break. No idea what was going on there.
In a deep field we can at least say we sprinted and scored a couple, but very weird. Congrats to Amaysim (and maybe even more so Indosat?)
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 02-03-2023 14:24
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Team Leader
Posts: 5533
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Our focus here is purely on Stage 3 where I have high hopes of Thomas and Cosnefroy bringing in success! Decent sign in the first stage with Thomas finishing just outside the Top 10 so at least he's in position if there's a split on Stage 2.
Strage sprint but easy win for a serial winner in Bewley!
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 02-03-2023 19:10
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 808
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Well, that was bad.
Still two stages to do better though.
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 02-03-2023 19:22
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Team Manager
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I was gonna write that Silvestre's poor season continues when I didn't see him in the sprint pics, then was puzzled when I didn't find him in the result before I realized we didn't even bring him here Looks like El Sabbahi isn't gonna bother to sprint, so breakaways will be our main hope for some action. Bummer that Menicucci wasn't able to stay away, he could have scored some U25 points.
Great result for Amaysim, the old man still got it. Congrats!
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 03-03-2023 07:59
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Team Leader
Posts: 5896
Joined: 30-11-2006
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WHY IS ENGER NOT SPRINTING!?!?!
Broken game...
Congrats to the winners
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Arab Tour 
