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Tour de France - Discussion
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 15-03-2025 21:05
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 13-03-2024 19:02
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This preview is brought to you by SotD.
Vive la France - And a very warm welcome to this edition of the biggest race of all times, the Tour de France!
The Route:
whitejersey wrote a stunning route presentation prior to the season, and I would recommend for all of you to take a short while out of your busy schedule to read (or re-read) it:
Pre-season presentation
In order to keep a quick overview of the route, here is the parcours stage by stage:
Race favorites:
In two of the last three editions, the winner of the race has been German superstar, Silvio Herklotz. He is also the reigning champion - but this time he is in Italy. This leaves us with only one former winner that can realistically win the race again. Home soil favorite rider,  Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier is the only french rider to have won the race since the very first edition, in 2007 where Christophe Moreau took home the Lion teddy-trophy.
Realistically there is only one rider that can threaten the french Grand Tour Champion, and that is the former Giro d'Italia winner,  Taylor Phinney.
The battle for the final podium spot is more open, but let's have a look at the main favorites for the podium:
| FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL | | Lecuisinier | 71 | 85 | 75 | 78 | 78 | 80 | 79 | 65 | 67 | 74 | 65 | 70 | 77 | | Phinney | 72 | 84 | 76 | 82 | 76 | 73 | 75 | 57 | 71 | 74 | 67 | 70 | 82 |  Bernal | 71 | 82 | 74 | 78 | 80 | 80 | 82 | 64 | 67 | 69 | 65 | 69 | 76 |  Sivakov | 69 | 81 | 72 | 76 | 79 | 77 | 82 | 58 | 66 | 69 | 66 | 74 | 75 |  Hirt | 70 | 81 | 74 | 73 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 52 | 65 | 76 | 74 | 67 | 73 |
Egan Bernal is next in line, but there are plenty of riders that could end up on the final step of the podium. Most likely being Pavel Sivakov or Hirt. Both have finished inside the top 5 of a Grand Tour earlier. Sivakov landed 4th in this edition of the Vuelta a España, Hirt slightly worse as 6th in the Giro, but being among those cursed by the final stage shinanigans.
Many other riders will however dream of that last podium spot. The riders below could end up anywhere in the top 10 from 3rd to basically missing out on the top 10:
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL |  Barguil | 70 | 81 | 75 | 70 | 77 | 77 | 82 | 55 | 64 | 75 | 66 | 76 | 70 |  Rodrigues | 66 | 81 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 55 | 61 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 74 |  Carthy | 71 | 81 | 75 | 67 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 56 | 60 | 69 | 65 | 65 | 65 |  Quintana | 67 | 81 | 73 | 70 | 76 | 75 | 75 | 51 | 50 | 65 | 72 | 60 | 70 |  McNulty | 72 | 80 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 77 | 77 | 61 | 64 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 75 |  Pogacar | 70 | 80 | 76 | 76 | 79 | 80 | 80 | 51 | 63 | 72 | 69 | 66 | 75 |  Penasa | 70 | 80 | 74 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 77 | 50 | 57 | 76 | 68 | 64 | 70 |
80 kilometres of timetrialling on relatively flat road will definately please the likes of Brandon McNulty and Tadej Pogacar, but from the list above only Hirt is actually threatened by those qualities. Riders like Warren Barguil, Pierre Paolo Penasa and Joao Rodrigues need more aggressive ridingm while Nairo Quintana and Hugh Carthy are both likely to hope for some lasting breakaway attempts.
Several riders will look to target the KOM jersey aswell as stage succes. The most likely candidates are listed below:
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL |  Cattaneo | 69 | 81 | 69 | 78 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 53 | 50 | 69 | 61 | 63 | 78 |  Warchol | 70 | 80 | 74 | 67 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 59 | 61 | 70 | 66 | 68 | 67 |  Carapaz | 69 | 80 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 50 | 56 | 65 | 71 | 61 | 72 |  Kirsch | 70 | 79 | 74 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 67 | 68 | 67 | 62 | 62 | 71 | | Giannoutsos | 68 | 79 | 72 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 75 | 57 | 64 | 68 | 75 | 67 | 77 |  Pinot | 71 | 79 | 73 | 64 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 57 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 66 | 64 |  Preidler | 67 | 79 | 77 | 57 | 70 | 76 | 74 | 50 | 50 | 68 | 72 | 80 | 57 |  Chamorro | 66 | 78 | 75 | 65 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 51 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 74 | 64 |
Riders like Mattia Cattaneo, Bartosz Warchol, Richard Antonio Carapaz, Alex Kirsch and Miltiadis Giannoutsos will all require a very certain race situation to break into the top 10, but we saw Giannoutsos do exactly that in the Giro d'Italia where he took advantage of the chaotic final week to end as highly as 5th overall. Both Kirsch and Warchol comes fresh out of a top 15GC position in the Vuelta aswell.
There are plenty of other options aswell, but instead of picking out further, let's have a look at the youngsters fighting for the U25 competition:
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL | | McNulty | 72 | 80 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 77 | 77 | 61 | 64 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 75 | | Pogacar | 70 | 80 | 76 | 76 | 79 | 80 | 80 | 51 | 63 | 72 | 69 | 66 | 75 |  Johannessen | 68 | 78 | 73 | 68 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 60 | 67 | 74 | 68 | 72 | 67 | | Van Poucke | 68 | 77 | 77 | 64 | 69 | 72 | 69 | 60 | 67 | 75 | 76 | 67 | 66 | | Phodingam | 68 | 77 | 74 | 61 | 69 | 71 | 72 | 60 | 64 | 73 | 76 | 70 | 61 | | Ries | 70 | 77 | 70 | 61 | 75 | 75 | 71 | 58 | 61 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 61 | | Johannessen | 69 | 76 | 71 | 64 | 70 | 78 | 70 | 63 | 67 | 75 | 75 | 81 | 65 | | Buitrago | 67 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 60 | 65 | 78 | 74 | 67 | 66 |  Arensman | 72 | 76 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 67 | 63 | 67 | 73 | 70 | 72 |  Champoussin | 68 | 76 | 76 | 61 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 57 | 59 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 62 |
The two most obvious contenders for the title fight have already been introduced as riders actually capable of landing a podium if everything goes their way, so obviously they are the big favorites for this one aswell. A bit down the ranking is the most likely winner of next years edition in Tobias Halland Johannessen. He isn't at the level of the two favorites, but he is easily the next in line. The remaining riders all have their qualities and limitations, and a lot will come down to breakaway succes aswell as domestique duties.
The list of sprinters in this race is also of some quality, in fact one of the best in the game is present:
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL | | Grosu | 73 | 64 | 73 | 62 | 74 | 70 | 79 | 62 | 83 | 80 | 66 | 70 | 70 | | Philipsen | 74 | 58 | 69 | 67 | 74 | 70 | 80 | 73 | 81 | 80 | 63 | 62 | 67 | | Farantakis | 74 | 59 | 66 | 72 | 75 | 72 | 79 | 66 | 81 | 80 | 61 | 63 | 79 | | Samolenkov | 74 | 64 | 64 | 69 | 75 | 71 | 78 | 60 | 81 | 79 | 60 | 70 | 70 | | Hsu | 75 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 80 | 79 | 67 | 71 | 69 |  Kennaugh | 75 | 56 | 63 | 61 | 71 | 68 | 75 | 56 | 80 | 78 | 68 | 61 | 61 |  Jakobsen | 74 | 59 | 67 | 59 | 75 | 73 | 81 | 73 | 80 | 80 | 67 | 68 | 69 | | Carsi | 70 | 51 | 55 | 67 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 52 | 80 | 82 | 52 | 68 | 71 | | Lander | 77 | 55 | 69 | 59 | 77 | 72 | 79 | 73 | 79 | 77 | 63 | 59 | 59 | | Kalaba | 74 | 65 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 76 | 57 | 79 | 79 | 58 | 68 | 78 | | Peak | 80 | 64 | 69 | 67 | 73 | 77 | 77 | 61 | 78 | 78 | 64 | 68 | 74 |
Eduard Grosu will have a keen eye on the green jersey from the very start of the race, and with Casper Pedersen and Bas van der Kooij he does, on paper, have what it takes to make his presence felt. He won't be handed the wins though with riders like Jasper Philipsen, Stylianos Farantakis and Artem Samolenkov lurking in the shadows. Riders like Hsu, Kennaugh and Jakobsen are also strong enough to pose a serious threat in a mano y mano sprint. Polar, ELCO - ABEA and ZARA - Irizar all have decent setups around their sprinters, albeit not with the same strength of Rabobank. It will be interesting to see which teams will join the "fun", and which will opt for the wheel of fortune method.
Most of the GC riders are competent against the clock, and with Phinney present it's hard to see anyone else fight for the two timetrials. We do have a couple of names that could do so on a very good day though.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL | | Phinney | 72 | 84 | 76 | 82 | 76 | 73 | 75 | 57 | 71 | 74 | 67 | 70 | 82 | | Vlatos | 71 | 51 | 65 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 65 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 51 | 80 | | Mano | 71 | 72 | 75 | 80 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 62 | 60 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 77 | | Bjerg | 75 | 64 | 68 | 79 | 73 | 77 | 73 | 63 | 68 | 70 | 71 | 67 | 79 | | Zakarin | 74 | 66 | 66 | 79 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 55 | 65 | 70 | 74 | 65 | 79 | | Razumov | 74 | 63 | 70 | 79 | 75 | 72 | 73 | 56 | 64 | 66 | 70 | 65 | 79 | | Tanfield | 73 | 59 | 63 | 79 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 64 | 66 | 72 | 76 | 65 | 79 | | Lecuisinier | 71 | 85 | 75 | 78 | 78 | 80 | 79 | 65 | 67 | 74 | 65 | 70 | 77 | | Bernal | 71 | 82 | 74 | 78 | 80 | 80 | 82 | 64 | 67 | 69 | 65 | 69 | 76 | | Kämna | 71 | 77 | 71 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 75 | 62 | 63 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 78 | | Cattaneo | 69 | 81 | 69 | 78 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 53 | 50 | 69 | 61 | 63 | 78 | | Munton | 67 | 74 | 73 | 78 | 73 | 74 | 76 | 60 | 60 | 64 | 70 | 65 | 77 |
On paper the likes of Panagiotis Vlatos and Yuttana Mano springs accross as the best options to do so, but realistically it's more likely Lecuisinier and Bernal that can do so this late in the race. Perhaps Cattaneo or Lennard Kämna
Finally we have a couple of breakaway specialists.
| Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SPR | ACC | FIG | DH | PRL | | Yates | 74 | 70 | 81 | 68 | 77 | 70 | 73 | 52 | 77 | 80 | 74 | 64 | 71 | | Kwiatkowski | 71 | 77 | 80 | 69 | 73 | 75 | 73 | 67 | 66 | 74 | 72 | 68 | 74 | | Paulinho | 66 | 74 | 79 | 63 | 68 | 70 | 72 | 55 | 67 | 73 | 69 | 61 | 63 | | Geniets | 74 | 70 | 78 | 68 | 75 | 77 | 71 | 64 | 62 | 69 | 75 | 69 | 71 | | Gaudu | 73 | 71 | 78 | 66 | 78 | 75 | 71 | 57 | 68 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 66 | | Madouas | 74 | 75 | 77 | 69 | 76 | 73 | 76 | 60 | 73 | 73 | 66 | 68 | 70 | | Bagioli | 71 | 71 | 77 | 69 | 76 | 72 | 69 | 60 | 71 | 76 | 75 | 67 | 71 | | Narvaez | 70 | 72 | 77 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 74 | 62 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 67 | 67 | | Bettiol | 72 | 71 | 77 | 68 | 78 | 75 | 74 | 66 | 71 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 67 | | Quita | 74 | 74 | 77 | 66 | 75 | 75 | 73 | 60 | 71 | 74 | 83 | 72 | 66 |
The group is a combination of riders that can climb and riders that are somewhat fast at the line. Most interesting name in the bunch is obviously Simon Yates who will also look to join the flatter stages in order to claim the green jersey once more. Teammates Michal Kwiatkowski and Pedro Miguel Paulinho are more distinct climbers, but with solid breakaway qualities. Both will need a small group or solo ride in order to win stages, whereas a rider like Valentin Madouas is very very versatile and agile for this parcours. It will be interesting to see what he can accomplish.
The full startlist is as shown below:
Spoiler | Last name | First name | 2023 Team | | Ariesen | Tim | Aker - MOT | | Johannessen | Anders Halland | Aker - MOT | | Klaris | Magnus Bak | Aker - MOT | | Prasad | Darshana | Aker - MOT | | Preidler | Georg | Aker - MOT | | Roman | Aleksandar | Aker - MOT | | Suter | Joel | Aker - MOT | | Van Poucke | Aaron | Aker - MOT | | Evans | Alexander | Amaysim Australia.com | | Hamilton | Lucas | Amaysim Australia.com | | Harper | Chris | Amaysim Australia.com | | Kennaugh | Peter | Amaysim Australia.com | | Schultz | Nicholas | Amaysim Australia.com | | Sunderland | Dylan | Amaysim Australia.com | | Sweeny | Harry | Amaysim Australia.com | | Wohler | Alex | Amaysim Australia.com | | Carsi | Mustafa | Binance | | Ikibe | Sota | Binance | | Khodayari | Farzad | Binance | | Kwiatkowski | Michal | Binance | | Oliveira | Rui | Binance | | Paulinho | Pedro Miguel | Binance | | Rodrigues | Joao | Binance | | Vanbilsen | Kenneth | Binance | | Eg | Niklas | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Gregaard | Jonas | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Kämna | Lennard | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Olesen | Patrick | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Petrovski | Stefan | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Quintana | Nairo | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Rojas | Henry Antonio | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Sureda | Jaume | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Borisavljevic | Milos | Cedevita | | Bouchard | Geoffrey | Cedevita | | Buitrago | Santiago | Cedevita | | Crncevic | Aleksa | Cedevita | | Gaudu | David | Cedevita | | Habtemichael | Daniel | Cedevita | | Pogacar | Tadej | Cedevita | | Rajovic | Dusan | Cedevita | | Antonijevic | Goran | cycleYorkshire | | Buttigieg | Aidan | cycleYorkshire | | Carthy | Hugh | cycleYorkshire | | Dujardin | Sandy | cycleYorkshire | | Norbert | Andrew | cycleYorkshire | | Williams | Stephen | cycleYorkshire | | Yates | Simon | cycleYorkshire | | Zukowsky | Nickolas | cycleYorkshire | | Geniets | Kevin | EA Vesuvio | | Girdlestone | Keagan | EA Vesuvio | | Kirsch | Alex | EA Vesuvio | | Munton | Byron | EA Vesuvio | | Ries | Michel | EA Vesuvio | | Rucigaj | Ziga | EA Vesuvio | | Tanfield | Harry | EA Vesuvio | | Wirtgen | Luc | EA Vesuvio | | Carapaz | Richard Antonio | ELCO - ABEA | | Christapopoulos | Pangiotis | ELCO - ABEA | | Farantakis | Stylianos | ELCO - ABEA | | Giannoutsos | Miltiadis | ELCO - ABEA | | Kortsidakis | Michail | ELCO - ABEA | | Koumpetsos | Anastasios | ELCO - ABEA | | Spanopoulos | Ioannis | ELCO - ABEA | | Vlatos | Panagiotis | ELCO - ABEA | | Bergstrom Frisk | Hannes | Evonik - ELKO | | Eenkhoorn | Pascal | Evonik - ELKO | | Gavars | Eriks Toms | Evonik - ELKO | | Koch | Michel | Evonik - ELKO | | Kurianov | Stepan | Evonik - ELKO | | Lecuisinier | Pierre-Henri | Evonik - ELKO | | Plapp | Luke | Evonik - ELKO | | Ulysbayev | Dinmukhammed | Evonik - ELKO | | Bernard | Julien | Gazelle | | Karnulin | Denys | Gazelle | | Konrad | Patrick | Gazelle | | Lander | Sebastian | Gazelle | | Leknessund | Andreas | Gazelle | | Senni | Manuel | Gazelle | | Vervaeke | Louis | Gazelle | | Warchol | Bartosz | Gazelle | | Barta | William | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Herrera | Erick | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Kiskonen | Siim | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Nikiema | Bachirou | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Penasa | Pierre Paolo | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Seboka | Matala | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Sicard | Romain | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Velasco | Simone | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | | Arensman | Thymen | Grieg-Maersk | | Hulgaard | Morten | Grieg-Maersk | | Kiflay | Metkel | Grieg-Maersk | | Lastra | Jonathan | Grieg-Maersk | | Nesset | Sigurd | Grieg-Maersk | | Ssabagwanya | Samuel | Grieg-Maersk | | Trondsen | Trond Hakon | Grieg-Maersk | | Vingegaard | Jonas | Grieg-Maersk | | Cepeda Hernandez | Jefferson | ISA - Hexacta | | Contreras | Emiliano | ISA - Hexacta | | Martinez | Daniel Felipe | ISA - Hexacta | | Mraouni | Salah Eddine | ISA - Hexacta | | Osorio | Juan | ISA - Hexacta | | Parra Bustamente | Heiner Rodrigo | ISA - Hexacta | | Pinot | Thibaut | ISA - Hexacta | | Sendeku | Getachew | ISA - Hexacta | | Chamorro | Juan Ernesto | King Power | | Darbinyan | Varsham | King Power | | Granigan | Noah | King Power | | Herregodts | Rune | King Power | | Hsu | Hsuan Ping | King Power | | Mano | Yuttana | King Power | | Phodingam | Sakchai | King Power | | Quita | Ronnilan | King Power | | Barguil | Warren | Lidl Cycling | | Bettiol | Alberto | Lidl Cycling | | Gee | Derek | Lidl Cycling | | Mansouri | Hamza | Lidl Cycling | | Peak | Barnabas | Lidl Cycling | | Prado | Ignacio Jesus | Lidl Cycling | | Razumov | Nikita | Lidl Cycling | | Vine | Jay | Lidl Cycling | | Bagioli | Andrea | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Hoehn | Alex | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Kuss | Sepp | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Matsuda | Shoi | McCormick Pro Cycling | | McNulty | Brandon | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Narvaez | Jhonatan | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Revard | Thomas | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Warbasse | Lawrence | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Alexander | Nathan | Minions | | Bjerg | Mikkel | Minions | | Brown | Nathan | Minions | | Cattaneo | Mattia | Minions | | Kalaba | Dusan | Minions | | Rubio | Einer Augusto | Minions | | Slagter | Tom Jelte | Minions | | Voisard | Yannis | Minions | | Carretero Millan | Hector | MOL Cycling Team | | Dina | Marton | MOL Cycling Team | | Donovan | Mark | MOL Cycling Team | | Kenyeres | Abel | MOL Cycling Team | | Majoral | Jordi | MOL Cycling Team | | Phinney | Taylor | MOL Cycling Team | | Rivera | Kevin | MOL Cycling Team | | Stancu | George Alexandru | MOL Cycling Team | | Bellan | Juraj | Moser - Sygic | | Cerny | Josef | Moser - Sygic | | Gross | Felix | Moser - Sygic | | Hirt | Jan | Moser - Sygic | | Hosek | Josef | Moser - Sygic | | Nommela | Aksel | Moser - Sygic | | Stocek | Matus | Moser - Sygic | | Van den Berg | Lars | Moser - Sygic | | Becis | Armands | Polar | | Bernal | Egan | Polar | | Brockhoff | Jan | Polar | | Carpenter | Robin | Polar | | Christakos | Dimitrios | Polar | | Garcia Cortina | Ivan | Polar | | Lauk | Karl Patrick | Polar | | Philipsen | Jasper | Polar | | Champoussin | Clement | Rabobank | | Goldstein | Omer | Rabobank | | Grosu | Eduard | Rabobank | | Martin | Guillaume | Rabobank | | Pedersen | Casper | Rabobank | | Roosen | Timo | Rabobank | | Van den Berg | Julius | Rabobank | | Van der Kooij | Bas | Rabobank | | Cemazar | Nik | Team Puma - SAP | | Egger | Mike Aaron | Team Puma - SAP | | Fortunato | Lorenzo | Team Puma - SAP | | Johannessen | Tobias Halland | Team Puma - SAP | | Madouas | Valentin | Team Puma - SAP | | Schinnagel | Johannes | Team Puma - SAP | | Zimmermann | Georg | Team Puma - SAP | | Zwiehoff | Ben | Team Puma - SAP | | Arslanov | Ildar | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Foliforov | Alexander | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Rikunov | Petr | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Rybalkin | Aleksey | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Samolenkov | Artem | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Sivakov | Pavel | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Vlasov | Alexander | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Zakarin | Aydar | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | De La Cruz Chapulin | Luis Fernando | ZARA - Irizar | | Fernandez | Ruben | ZARA - Irizar | | Hesters | Jules | ZARA - Irizar | | Hofstetter | Hugo | ZARA - Irizar | | Jakobsen | Fabio | ZARA - Irizar | | Sam | Henry Alberto | ZARA - Irizar | | Soler | Marc | ZARA - Irizar | | Vandevelde | Yentl | ZARA - Irizar |
Edited by ivaneurope on 15-03-2024 14:57
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 13-03-2024 20:48
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16566
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10938.70
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On paper definitely our weakest GT as we bring our weaker GC guy without a sprinter or stage hunter to supplement things. I mean, Sureda could repeat his Giro, but that would be insane in this field. Can't expect anything from Quintana after the Vuelta, that's for sure.
So, we'll hope for some breakaways and good luck I suppose. Maybe Gregaard can be a climbing foil? Kamna was sent here for the TT km's, so it'd be nice to see him stay somewhat near the GC fight for a minor placing. But realistically the field is too stacked with climbers to allow for that.
Thanks Sotd for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 13-03-2024 21:40
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7693
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 17045.00
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Yeah it's a strong line-up. Too strong for Cattaneo to do something unless we get a repeat of what happened in the Giro (hopefully not).
Kalaba has chances in the sprints, Bjerg can score some good results in the TTs. Looking forward to see what the Minions will make of the final GT of the season
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 13-03-2024 22:16
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3424
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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A great landmark for McCormick as we reach our first Tour (and first pro tour race).
Really tough field, hopefully McNulty can make a run at the White Jersey and have a shot at the double with ToA. But certainly Pog is a big threat.
Bringing our US climbing core of Kuss, Revard, Hoehn and Warbasse checks a number of boxes. We honor our American roots and two of our original core in Hoehn and Revard (although 2nd TDF for him). We give American legend Warbasse a chance on the big stage and finally, if McNulty fails it, won't be because he didn't have support the best support we could give him.
Bagioli and Matsude come for XP but the former also to chase the right breakaways along with Narvaez, as noted in the preview.
Looking forward to the race. Apologies to knockout but would love to see Phinney give PHL a run for Yellow or at least keep it interesting.
Thanks to KB for taking on the reporting and SotD for the preview.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 13-03-2024 22:32
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4844
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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Great lineup here, definitely worthy of the big stage Tour de France sets!
And it looks like Evonik's big goal of one day winning the Tour actually can't be taken for granted yet! Phinney could gain maybe 2 minutes against PHL with these 80km of time trialing, so I suppose the latter actually needs some fireworks in the mountains! Definitely looking forward to that - and thanks to jaxika for letting Phinney have another shot at a GT win 
The race for 3rd definitely is wide open. Cattaneo could actually have a shot as well, given his great TTing - if his weakness on the hills doesn't hold him back. But Bernal should be the favourite.
I guess Cedevita won't be happy to have McCormick here as a wildcard team, but the duel for white between Pogi and McNulty should be a great one to follow from an outside perspective as well
Sprinter-wise, just hoping that the fastest men - and Grosu in particular - will do well.
Good luck to all, thanks for the preview and the reports - looking forward to 3 weeks of hopefully great racing
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| DarkWolf |
Posted on 14-03-2024 06:22
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1028
Joined: 21-09-2020
PCM$: 700.00
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I dream of taking part in this race someday in the future. Until then our team still could brag about some riders making their debut in this race: Henry Antonio Rojas with Carlsberg, Erick Herrera with Genii Hyundai N Cycling and Kevin Rivera with MOL Cycling Team. Following the race now becomes more exciting.
Good luck to all, but I am rooting for our loan-outs! 
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| redordead |
Posted on 14-03-2024 07:24
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5029
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Anything less than Pogacar finishing in the top 10 and winning white will be a huge disappointment. Hopefully Rajovic makes an impact in the sprints after being disregarded in the preview.
A big pressure race for us as we need a lot of points before we go back into races where we won't score any.
Looking forward to the racing
"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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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 14-03-2024 07:43
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World Champion
Posts: 14000
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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We are all in with Grosu here. Not sure if him being the best sprinter is good or bad. It will be interesting to see the dynamics in the sprints as we brought quite a good lead out train. A day in yellow in the first stages would be pretty cool.
Thanks for the preview, SotD!
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 14-03-2024 10:47
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Team Leader
Posts: 5574
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
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No GC hopes here for us so it's all on the shoulders of Jakobsen for us in France. He's going to have the full support of the team on flat stages with Hofstetter and Hesters as his key lieutenants in the finale. I'm hoping he can battle for stage wins as well as fight for the Points classification.
Ruben Fernandez and Soler will have the freedom to get into the breakaways during the stages that aren't so flat so hopefully they're at least active
Thank you for the preview and looking forward to a big 3 weeks in what is our first Tour de France as a PT team
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| knockout |
Posted on 14-03-2024 12:13
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7850
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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I knew for a while already that we would get the biggest GT duel in a long time here. Not really something i was hoping for but it should make for a spectacle to watch. Hopefully with the better ending for me but it could go either way.
Having the TT on the final decisive day could be a big disadvantage but hopefully we will be able to go into that with a bit of a lead.
Support wise, i rate my team quite a bit better. But its definitely interesting whether the different support strategies play a role: Phinney relies on pure climbers around him while my support group is much more well rounded for the hills and even includes a rouleur with Kurianov. Especially Eenkhoorn as a lieutenant should be very valuable for Lecuisinier.
Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
Looking forward to the race. Apologies to knockout but would love to see Phinney give PHL a run for Yellow or at least keep it interesting.
No need to apology. Everyone has its favourite teams and/or riders and it's fully okay to cheer for them. Its better for everyone if you are cheering for my rival than if there is more silence in the threads.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ivaneurope |
Posted on 14-03-2024 13:14
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2967
Joined: 09-05-2011
PCM$: 300.00
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We're here to have fun to be honest
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| ember |
Posted on 14-03-2024 20:23
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Team Leader
Posts: 6970
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Wow, completely missed this thread yesterday evening. The Tour is here! 
And what a duel we should have for the overall win. Really, really looking forward to see that one play out. Holding Lecuisinier as the favourite thanks to his better mountain and superior backup stats, but knockout himself says, the final TT could be a potential thriller. Backups in mind, though, I think it favours PHL to have it on stage 20 compared to early in the first week.
For us, we're here with a very similar team to what we brought to our fairytale Vuelta. Prasad for the sprints, and then Preidler, Van Poucke and Roman for breakaway attempts in the mountains. The Vuelta showed our mountain hopefuls were outclassed towards the end of the race, meaning we must hope for breakaway success relatively early, when weaker climbers are the riders fighting for the breakaways. I also hope Prasad contests the sprints and fights for a stage top 5 here and there. No doubts the startlist is much deeper and stronger sprinter wise compared to the Vuelta, but fingers crossed he gives it a run again!
Really looking forward to enjoy this one from start to finish, no matter how we do as a team! |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 14-03-2024 20:26
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7693
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 17045.00
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HOLY SHIT
This might be the greatest achievement in the team's history. A stage win and the yellow jersey in the freaking Tour de France!
Thanks for the report kandesbunzler
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 14-03-2024 20:27
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World Champion
Posts: 14000
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Disappointed not to get the stage win and the yellow jersey in what looked like a very good situation for Grosu. Still, happy to get a good, consistent sprint from him. Hopefully it will stay like that for the rest of the Tour.
Congrats, Marco!
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 14-03-2024 20:28
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 906
Joined: 05-10-2021
PCM$: 600.00
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Wow it's a good way to start what promises to be a very big race.
Thanks Sotd for the preview and KB for the report! Good luck everybody.
“...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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| knockout |
Posted on 14-03-2024 21:18
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7850
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Losing three minutes in the teams classification sucks but otherwise no real damage done. Not ideal as i had hoped to see gc riders compete for top 10s but race will start later for us ;p
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 14-03-2024 21:49
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Team Leader
Posts: 5574
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
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Terrible start for us. Top 2 both being riders who aren't Top 5 material and then Jakobsen goes 14th. Need a lot better than that!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 14-03-2024 22:16
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16566
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10938.70
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Oh wow, I didn't realize the race was already starting! In for a treat I guess.
Can't complain with the top 10 from Sureda. Not really anything points wise, but at least nice to see him involved and our jersey present in the race from the get go.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| redordead |
Posted on 15-03-2024 06:56
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5029
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Solid start from Rajovic. Looks like he'll be involved in the sprints and hopefully he'll get lucky one or two times over the course of 3 weeks.
It's always nice to see the other Dusan win 
"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 15-03-2024 10:10
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World Champion
Posts: 12270
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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Luis Leon Sanchez wrote:
Terrible start for us. Top 2 both being riders who aren't Top 5 material and then Jakobsen goes 14th. Need a lot better than that!
Can feel you. Farantakis made the same mess up.
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