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Tour of Qatar - Discussion
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 16-10-2024 03:32
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Directeur Sportif
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 Tour of Qatar
The Tour of Qatar returns for its 17th edition having featured in every season except 2007. It is the first chance for the sprinters to irritate the heck out of their managers. 5 completely flat stages followed by a 4k epilogue. The stages are basically the same as last year but the Qataris have decided that their roads are too wide and have been busily narrowing them in strategic points relevant to this race.
The defending champion  Philipsen is back to defend his crown, 2019 winner  Grosu and 2022 winner  Manninen are also back. One man who isn’t here is 2021 winner Bryan Coquard, he finished in the top 11 in this race every year from 2017 to 2023. 11th in 2023 was his worst finish since he finished 29th in 2015 so maybe he knew it was time to move on.
A full field here of 192 riders, Popo4Ever and Everesting represent the PCT. Among those riders are 20 80+ sprinters.
| Rider | FL | SP | AC | RS |  Gaviria | 76 | 83 | 84 | 76 | | Grosu | 73 | 83 | 80 | 70 |  Groenewegen | 73 | 82 | 81 | 71 |  Cullaigh | 74 | 82 | 81 | 70 |  Dainese | 76 | 81 | 82 | 76 |  Kragh Andersen | 77 | 81 | 77 | 74 |  Van der Lijke | 72 | 81 | 77 | 69 |  Halvorsen | 76 | 81 | 80 | 71 | | Philipsen | 74 | 81 | 80 | 70 |  Kanter | 75 | 81 | 80 | 73 |  Samolenkov | 74 | 81 | 79 | 71 | | Manninen | 74 | 81 | 80 | 75 |  Groves | 75 | 80 | 79 | 73 |  Hsu | 75 | 80 | 79 | 70 |  Kemboi | 78 | 80 | 80 | 77 |  Aniolkowski | 76 | 80 | 79 | 74 |  Jakobsen | 74 | 80 | 80 | 73 |
Gaviria is the stand out sprinter in the field and he brings Nommela and Cerny as a lead out. Neither of those two is great on the flat and while the rest of his support is decent only Frankovic stands out as having the power to carry the team into the finale.
Prior winner Grosu is the second fastest man in the field and he has Van der Kooij and Kooij leading him out. Those names won’t be confusing for the commenter. He also has three strong flat guys with him in Meeus, Julius Van den Berg (one of two Van den Bergs on the team) and Goldstein, so the chasing might fall to Rabobank.
Behind those two are Groenewegen and Cullaigh. The former back in the PT and hoping to get defending championg Aker-MOT off to a big start and the latter fresh off a hard winter of training.
None of the rest really stand out, except Kemboi, who is by far the best in the short TT’s among this group. If he can stay close he will be the favorite going into epilogue. Although last year there was 117 riders within 20 seconds of the win on that stage so it can't have that much impact.
Manninen and Kragh Andersen also have small advantages in the epilogue.
That race also attracts a number of pure prologue riders and a few of them a are good enough sprinters that they might pick up some bonus seconds. Top riders in this category include:
| Rider | FL | PR | SP | AC | | Andersen | 81 | 83 | 76 | 74 | | Chavanne | 75 | 82 | 76 | 76 | | Leung | 73 | 82 | 69 | 71 | | Ganna | 76 | 82 | 69 | 73 | | Kemboi | 78 | 81 | 80 | 80 | | Larsen | 77 | 80 | 77 | 76 | | Herregodts | 73 | 80 | 67 | 70 |  Gonzalez Salas | 70 | 80 | 61 | 54 | | Sütterlin | 71 | 80 | 59 | 60 |
Soren Kragh Andersen won the final stage the last two years and is the favorite to threepeat.  Chavanne, Leung and Ganna are his closest competitors which was also true last year when they finished 2nd, 4th and 3rd, respectively on the final stage. Kemboi took 5th. Newly maxed Herregodts is a new player in this game, rumors had him moving to McCormick in the offseason in the infamous McNulty deal but he wasn’t included in the final transaction. Larsen joins Chavanne and Kemboi as riders who can also score in the sprints.
Startlist
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 16-10-2024 03:56
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16451
Joined: 27-07-2011
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Qatar can be hit or miss with the insane startlist. Gotta hope for some lottery luck. A repeat of last year's 6th in GC would be solid. Need to be in the top 10 at least after the sprint stages and then hope to climb a couple of spots though. All AKA for us with no time trialist.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| seancoll |
Posted on 16-10-2024 04:59
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Domestique
Posts: 481
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No surprise that we're excited to see the best of the best in the epilogue. Sprints should be a ton of fun as well, while surely a lot more stressful for those involved.
random prediction gives 1 stage each to Manninen, Dainese, Kemboi, and Leung in the prologue. 2 stages to Grosu with Gaviria a top 3 in every sprint. Can't wait to get things wrong!
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| ember |
Posted on 16-10-2024 05:17
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Team Leader
Posts: 6866
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Very curious to see how this works out for Groenewegen! We need results, and fingers crossed we can deliver just that here. We need it too, to be fair, as Groenewegen working will be key for our season.
Stacked startlist, which is cool and expected. Excited to see how the stages, the breakaways and chasing works. Lots of very strong riders/rouleurs here!
Thank you for your preview, UU. Looking forward to what's to come and how it unfolds!  |
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| roturn |
Posted on 16-10-2024 06:34
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Team Manager
Posts: 22247
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Hoping to see ember doing well here as Groenewegen should be in for another Qatar podium I guess. Except for the Swift season iirc, he always kind of delivered here in Qatar, while always having 1-2 stages off though as well.
For my own team, hopefully Salas this time isn`t dropped on the flat, so that his TT can give him a decent GC as well.
And if Bauhaus is sprinting, the race is already a nice bonus event. Can`t have too many expectations here, so the cobblers might just ride active in the break. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 21-12-2024 15:10
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| redordead |
Posted on 16-10-2024 06:54
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4910
Joined: 18-10-2017
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A nothing race for us really. Anything better than just finishing points will be okay.
"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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| knockout |
Posted on 16-10-2024 07:17
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7753
Joined: 21-12-2010
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Almost no expectations, hard to see us getting anything out of this race.
Thanks for providing a startlist picture! Much appreciated!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 16-10-2024 07:29
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2073
Joined: 11-07-2010
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One of the most important races on the calendar for us. Hoping to see Dainese get off to a good season start!
Thanks for the preview!
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 16-10-2024 08:07
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Team Leader
Posts: 5534
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Fingers crossed for a Jakobsen over performance which will be needed for us to get anything from the sprints given the incredible depth of leaders here.
I have some interesting riders for breakaways and late attacks which could be a surprise avenue for points but I expect the sprinter teams will take control!
Thank you for the preview and looking forward to seeing how this one plays out 
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 16-10-2024 09:44
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3386
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Last time we were here we had a great time. Halvorsen is far from the favourite, but I hope the sprint gods are kind to him and he gives us a reason to forget about Tasmania. Thank you for the preview, Ulrich!
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 16-10-2024 11:12
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
Van der Kooij and Kooij leading him out. Those names won’t be confusing for the commenter. He also has three strong flat guys with him in Meeus, Julius Van den Berg (one of two Van den Bergs on the team)
Our team's family tree is very similar to one of a Europeans royal family in the 20th century.
Grosu being rate second best here after Gaviria and with a better train? Recipe for disaster. Hoping for the best tho.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 16-10-2024 11:17
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World Champion
Posts: 11406
Joined: 17-12-2014
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The Gannanen combo have a lot to prove here after false starts to their Xero tenures in Tassie. Much tougher field but big race for us (a sprint/TT race... what have we become?  )
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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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 16-10-2024 18:36
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2645
Joined: 20-04-2008
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Might practically be a 0 pointer for us.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 16-10-2024 21:49
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4700
Joined: 29-09-2018
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Kaden & Gabby are the two riders our eyes will be on in the next 6 days. While Groves isn't exactly among the top favourites, I still believe he's among the more well-rounded sprinters and could get his chances to shine. He's also decent in prologues and shouldn't lose many spots to other sprinters on the final day - if he manges to be in the mix and getting some good bonus seconds before, obviously.
Gabby is mainly there for the final stage, but could also be useful if the game for some weird reason decides that Groves should get a leadout. Will he finally be able to beat SKA? A Top 10 GC result is out of reach since the epilogue got shortened, but a Top 20 might still be possible, depending on how the bonus seconds are distributed.
Finally, we also bring the TT gang for some GC depth - and maybe a decent finish in the team standings. Plus, Vernon is tied for 2nd best U25 prologue rider, and with no young sprinter looking strong enough to get bonus seconds, a good result in U25 is another goal for us.
Thanks for the preview, looking forward to see how it unfolds this year! Would be great to see Kemboi at the top, just the perfect rider for this race 
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| jph27 |
Posted on 16-10-2024 22:06
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Team Leader
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This is the one race I'd like Kemboi to win, even if only so that I don't regret not investing in the training needed for him to win it! Slightly concerned after a good result last year that this time around we're due a disappointment, but here's hoping that isn't the case.
Apart from Kemboi, there's the hope that Larsen and Thomas can pick up some strong minor GC placings - in the case of Larsen, if he could sneak a few bonus seconds leading out Kemboi that would be ideal as well. |
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| ember |
Posted on 17-10-2024 05:33
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Team Leader
Posts: 6866
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Thank you for the report, UU!
That's a rough stage 1. Good to see us up there and try to do a train. Not sure I hope we do more of them seeing how it went
Surprise stage win for Popo and Aniolkowski. Congratulations, fjhoekie! |
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| redordead |
Posted on 17-10-2024 06:48
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4910
Joined: 18-10-2017
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A few U25 points is the best case scenario for us.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 17-10-2024 07:52
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2073
Joined: 11-07-2010
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Really poor start from Dainese. Couldn't see him in the frame with 3k's to go, so I guess he used a lot of energy getting to the front and didn't have a lot left for the final meters. Hopefully he can pick up from here and deliver better results.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 17-10-2024 07:54
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
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Glad it wasn't one of those times where Grosu totally faded towards the end. We'll take 5th in this one.
I think it's too late to fix it for the very next races, but Grosu should be in the national champion jersey.
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| knockout |
Posted on 17-10-2024 08:01
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7753
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 400.00
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Cool to see Kurianov positioned well in the final but that might already be the best things to take away from this race.
As every year i'd like to see some echelons here. Doubt i would be particularly well positioned but I'll take every small chance for a lottery chance to improve my odds here.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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