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Gent - Wevelgem - Discussion
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 30-10-2024 08:02
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Classics Specialist
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Joined: 20-04-2020
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Time for cobbles! The first C2 cobbled race of the year is Gent - Wevelgem, the Flemish classic. Last year we saw a little Tafjord Kraft show to have the winner and runner up at the finish line, let's have a look at the race profile and race favourites to see who might be following in Vegard Breen's footsteps.
One thing becomes clear when looking at the profile and at the results of the past, this isn't always the hardest race, and in many occasions bigger groups of riders, or even a reduced peloton, have been able to reach the finish line together. Before looking at some of the guys who have a decent sprint as well as good enough skills to possible survive until the end, let's look at the best pure cobblers.
| Nat. | Name | FL | HI | ST | RS | CB | SP | AC |  |  Zepuntke Ruben | 72 | 69 | 79 | 72 | 82 | 72 | 65 |  |  Moulingui Clenne Morvan | 74 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 78 | 65 | 68 |  |  Richardson Chequan | 71 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 78 | 60 | 61 |  | Orue German Anibal | 69 | 64 | 77 | 70 | 78 | 53 | 58 |  |  Van Lerberghe Bert | 74 | 66 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 73 |  |  Ringheim Jo Kogstad | 71 | 66 | 73 | 69 | 77 | 72 | 73 |  | Nareklishvili Beka | 72 | 66 | 73 | 73 | 77 | 64 | 71 |  | Kolev Iliyan | 75 | 62 | 73 | 71 | 77 | 62 | 67 |  |  Insausti Jon Ander | 70 | 64 | 76 | 73 | 77 | 57 | 66 |  |  Darbinyan Varsham | 72 | 66 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 76 | 74 |  |  Teggart Matthew | 73 | 69 | 76 | 73 | 76 | 72 | 70 |  |  Blythe Adam | 70 | 60 | 67 | 62 | 76 | 70 | 64 |  |  David Tom | 72 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 76 | 68 | 70 | |  Hvideberg Jonas Iversby | 78 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 65 | 65 |  |  Kulppi Olli | 72 | 66 | 71 | 67 | 76 | 64 | 68 |  | Centrone Ivan | 74 | 71 | 72 | 67 | 76 | 53 | 58 |
Top cobbler Zepuntke opens his C2 cobbles season for Team Würth MODYF in what could possible be the hardest race for him to score, because of the lack of cobbles (near the finish line). The job for the team is to make the race as hard as possible, and among his domestiques is Beka Nareklishvili. Can the Georgian be of any help, or perhaps think of personal glory with the cards being played right? With a lack of riders in the 'sprinting cobblers' department as shown in the following table, we could expect teams such as Euskadi, Trans and SEE Turtles to help Würth to make this a hard and more select race. Their respective leaders seem to be Ringheim, Moulingui and the leading duo of Richardson and Orue.
If only the best ten cobblers reach the finish line together, it could be a walk in the sprinting park for Duvel's Van Lerberghe. The same could be said about Euskotren's Darbinyan though. He belongs to the better cobblers, and I'm sure Van Lerberghe doesn't want the Armenian to be in his wheel when they reach the finish line with a select group. Even though Teggart, David and Hvideberg don't have the best sprint, their teams might still hope this to become a more select race, as they don't immediately have a good sprinter with decent cobbling capacities here. Let's have a look at the list of favourites in that department.
| Nat. | Name | FL | HI | ST | RS | CB | SP | AC |  |  Welten Bram | 76 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 79 | 75 | | Havik Yoeri | 72 | 63 | 72 | 66 | 75 | 78 | 74 |  |  Saber Lahcen | 72 | 65 | 69 | 67 | 73 | 78 | 74 |  | Hofstetter Hugo | 74 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 77 | 78 | | Darbinyan Varsham | 72 | 66 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 76 | 74 | |  Rowe Luke | 75 | 63 | 71 | 65 | 72 | 76 | 75 | | Van Lerberghe Bert | 74 | 66 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 73 |  |  Matthews Darren | 71 | 65 | 68 | 65 | 74 | 75 | 74 | | Noppe Christophe | 75 | 69 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 73 |  | Batmunkh Maral-Erdene | 73 | 65 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 74 |  | Nielsen Joanis Albert | 75 | 67 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 71 | | De Bondt Dries | 75 | 66 | 70 | 67 | 71 | 73 | 74 |
Welten from Newton is one of the guys standing out here. Best sprinter, can get over a hill, okay on cobbles and a good rouleur. Can he hold on? Not keeping in mind Darbinyan and Van Lerberghe who were mentioned before, we see that Havik is the best cobbler on this list. The Dutchman clearly has some flaws as well, but on the other hand he also has old dog Adam Blythe who could help him when in need, as long as the Englishman is willing to do so of course.
Saber won this race two years ago and wants to prove the world he shouldn't be written of just yet, whereas Hofstetter could be of big help to Darbinyan or vice versa if going to the line together. Genii has two interesting names here as well with Luke Rowe and Bathmunkh, whereas Darren Matthews will try to do something for PCT team Minions. Tafjord is back to try and score some points after winning it last time, for them those scorers could be Kulppi or Nielsen.
Full startlist:
Spoiler  Insausti Jon Ander
Van der Haar Lars
De Bondt Dries
Gaze Samuel
Reddish Nick
Piganzoli Davide
Brown Connor
Burnett Josh
Teggart Matthew
Habimana Jean Eric
Kuypers Gerben
Verstrynge Emiel
Huby Antoine
Ben Ameur Hatem
Uhiriwe Renus
Kulindwa Lameck Marco
Van Lerberghe Bert
Roosen Timo
Noppe Christophe
Dewulf Stan
Pollefliet Gianluca
Van der Sande Tosh
Ma Guangtong
Shen Yutao
Ringheim Jo Kogstad
Domene Ramon
Sinkeldam Ramon
Adriamihajanarivo Herizo
Quevedo Xavier
Ablenado Aberlardo
Scheit Florian
Darbinyan Varsham
Erdenesuren Munkhtulga
Hofstetter Hugo
Serrano Javier
Le Berre Mathis
Gougeard Alexis
Weinstein Domenic
Wackermann Luca
Zhupa Eugert
Okbamariam Tesfom
Batmunkh Maral-Erdene
Rowe Luke
Evangelos Sarris
Klahan Noppachai
Sillankorva Jaakko
Theorpanous Stavros
Hvideberg Jonas Iversby
David Tom
Curley Liam
Crowley Liam
Yon Hin Daniel
Ryan Archie
Wade Aaron
Boswell Ian
Geary Dillon
Blythe Adam
Havik Yoeri
Loland Sakarias Koller
Aebi Antoine
Artz Huub
Foldager Anders
Carr Simon
Van Uden Casper
Orins Robin
Degenkolb John
Nys Thibau
Caiza Erik Daniel
Terada Yoshiki
Pavlides Konstantinos
Hrenko Norbert
De Witte Mathias
Matthews Darren
Sommer Jan
Dressler Luca
Guavita Cesar David
Paleni Enzo
Lecerf William Junior
Gomez Fausto Agustin
Welten Bram
Wallinder Willhelm
Canal Carlos
Van Garderen Tejay
Ivanov Viacheslav
Abreu Jorge
Richardson Chequan
Orue German Anibal
Muhindo Jimmy
Bush Robert
Marcos Leandro
Arissol Ahmad
Sheffield Magnus
Revelo Franklin Joel
Svab Jernej
Mudgway Luke
Scott Cameron
Karatsivis Panagiotis
Thompson Reuben
Beltran Eduard Alexander
Lemus Davila Luis Enrique
Kulppi Olli
Breen Vegard
Nielsen Joanis Albert
Kaislavuo Jesse
Kaczmarek Jakub
Berger Hakon Frengstad
Fjellheim Henrik Teslo
Bertilsson Christian
Zepuntke Ruben
Nareklishvili Beka
Heinrich Nicolas
Vangheluwe Warre
Goossens Kobe
Andersen Kasper
Reinhardt Theo
Stalberg Albin
Moulingui Clenne Morvan
Kolev Iliyan
Centrone Ivan
Lecourt De Billot Olivier
Peng Yuan Tan
Glivar Gal
Tulett Ben
Kunkumpai Kantaphon
Bremanis Ansis
Saber Lahcen
Ballerstedt Maurice
Albalooshi Khalid
Alajmi Abdulhadi
Minali Riccardo
Zahiri Abderrahim
Al-Wahibi Mohammed
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 30-10-2024 08:27
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2984
Joined: 15-07-2007
PCM$: 300.00
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This should be a fun race 
Will be interresting to see if the cobbles are hard enough to make huge splits.
Thank you Nemo for the awesome preview! |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 30-10-2024 08:30
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Team Leader
Posts: 7354
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Not expecting much. We are excited to be the spectators of the peloton. Just want to get into a breakaway if possible. That’s the goal for us.
Good luck to the competitors!
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 30-10-2024 08:35
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 926
Joined: 05-10-2021
PCM$: 600.00
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First year I have a decent cobble team I think, even without a top cobbler (keeping Insausti might have been a good idea two years ago, but well).
Even the youngsters should be able to help on the hills and cobbles, while the three fillers should be able to help on the flat and/or the climbs.
Go team! A top 5 should be available on such a race, though the fav' list is crowded.
Thanks for the preview and the upcoming report!
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
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| Ezeefreak |
Posted on 30-10-2024 09:24
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Domestique
Posts: 594
Joined: 06-07-2009
PCM$: 300.00
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No expectations here in this race. Like Nemo stated I think this race is just too easy and there wont be any gaps that will be benefitial for my riders. I expet a normal sprint finish with us maybe getting in top 10 but thats it.
Good luck for everyone!
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 30-10-2024 09:27
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Team Leader
Posts: 5923
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 1500.00
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Thank you for the preview.
One thing though, we sent a full squad here right? Why is only Hvideberg in the startlist?
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-04-2025 08:39
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| roturn |
Posted on 30-10-2024 09:50
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Team Manager
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Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
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hillis91 wrote:
Thank you for the preview.
One thing though, we sent a full squad here right? Why is only Hvideberg in the startlist?
Just checked the planner as also your dropbox.
Only 1 rider selected, so normally, even Hvideberg should not been here due to minimum rider allowance. |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 30-10-2024 09:59
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3544
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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roturn wrote:
hillis91 wrote:
Thank you for the preview.
One thing though, we sent a full squad here right? Why is only Hvideberg in the startlist?
Just checked the planner as also your dropbox.
Only 1 rider selected, so normally, even Hvideberg should not been here due to minimum rider allowance.
I wrote the preview before I looked at report/startlist per team, Hvideberg indeed wasn't at the race.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 30-10-2024 10:28
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2971
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
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Looking forward to seeing how the C2 cobbles will unfold this season, maybe Zepunkte was meant to try and challenge for the title of C2 goat, although that title will always be saved for GVK.
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 30-10-2024 11:57
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Team Leader
Posts: 5923
Joined: 30-11-2006
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Well that sucks.
Im going to check my docs when i get home later tonight.
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| Booker |
Posted on 30-10-2024 16:01
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 897
Joined: 03-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Exciting opportunity this, for our sprinty cobble leader Van Lerberghe. Thanks for the really comprehensive report Nemolito. This is going to be a group sprint, isn't it? 
Just hope that the attacks are handled by a group effort, rather than wearing down our own domestiques before the sprint finish!
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 30-10-2024 18:05
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7721
Joined: 04-07-2012
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Supporting the team or supporting Zepuntke. Tough choice.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 30-10-2024 18:56
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8089
Joined: 22-06-2009
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I want to be optimistic that Welten has a good chance to win this, but after his first few races... Just gonna cross my fingers and hope.
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| Ezeefreak |
Posted on 31-10-2024 09:12
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Domestique
Posts: 594
Joined: 06-07-2009
PCM$: 300.00
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Thanks for the preview and the report first!
It kinda happened what I expected. The day wasnt hard enough for our guys to take advantage of. Funnily when I look at the result the ones we made it too hard for were our own sprinters which finished in the bottom 6  A few points for Zepuntke still. I will be happy with this, our races should come later.
Congrats to Glanbia for the win!
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 31-10-2024 09:19
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 926
Joined: 05-10-2021
PCM$: 600.00
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A good result for us, with Darbinian once again proving his worth, and some depth point, well done by the team. A strong presence in the break avoided us any work, which is always good to see. In particular Le Berre holding on so long.
Also one point for Serrano is interesting for our future classic team!
Thanks for the report, congrats to Glanbia!
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 31-10-2024 10:53
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Domestique
Posts: 514
Joined: 17-08-2020
PCM$: 400.00
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What the hell hapened to my Trans team and special to Moulingui .
I think we will just finished our season and focus on next one. this is realiy dissapointing. At least one it should be in top 5 or at least top 10 but no they rether go to vacations.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 31-10-2024 11:32
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2984
Joined: 15-07-2007
PCM$: 300.00
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Really happy to have 4 guys in the top 15 here, and bring home some valuable points from a C2 race.
Congrats to Glanbia!
Thank you for the really exciting report Nemo. It was really fun to watch the video and see things unfold "live" |
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| seancoll |
Posted on 31-10-2024 12:34
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 20-12-2022
PCM$: 500.00
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Of all the cobble races, this was the one we have the least expectations of early season. Still we underperformed!
What we needed was for that group of 9 to stay away together. Will be hoping for more selections in future races - 33 going to the line together will never favor our guys.
Great race!
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 31-10-2024 12:37
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3544
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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TinxiaS wrote:
What the hell hapened to my Trans team and special to Moulingui .
I think we will just finished our season and focus on next one. this is realiy dissapointing. At least one it should be in top 5 or at least top 10 but no they rether go to vacations.
I get that you're disappointed with the result, but strange to say your team would rather go on vacation when it's clearly stated that they were working as well as Moulingui coming close to a fourth place or even better with that late attack, both of which also visible on pictures/video
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 31-10-2024 12:50
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4886
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Nemolito wrote:
TinxiaS wrote:
What the hell hapened to my Trans team and special to Moulingui .
I think we will just finished our season and focus on next one. this is realiy dissapointing. At least one it should be in top 5 or at least top 10 but no they rether go to vacations.
I get that you're disappointed with the result, but strange to say your team would rather go on vacation when it's clearly stated that they were working as well as Moulingui coming close to a fourth place or even better with that late attack, both of which also visible on pictures/video
Maybe it would help to include the time gaps in the posted results. This would make clear that there actually were 3 Trans riders finishing inside the peloton (ranging from 4th to 33rd). But both Centrone and Kolev are bad or even awful sprinters, and Moulingui probably just didn't have anything left after that promising late attack, so definitely an unlucky result. After all, this was a pretty easy cobbled race, with the last cobbles far away from the finish line, allowing even half decent cobblers like Welten to stay in the pack. Trans should have better cobbled races elsewhere for sure!
Anyway, big congrats to Glanbia, what a season beginning this is for you! Kennett, Boswell, David all doing well so far is nice to see
And thanks to Nemo for the report and the video
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