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Tour du Maroc - Discussion
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 13-04-2025 15:34
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Directeur Sportif
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 Tour du Maroc
The Tour du Maroc made its debut in 2018 and has run continuously since. The course has remained relatively unchanged, it is a race for the hybrid riders who combine strength on the long climbs with a punchy finish. And they best news for many of them – no time trials. The race includes 3 flat stages (1, 3 and 6), two mountain stages (2 and 4) and one stage classified as hilly (5). The race is likely to be decided on the summit finishes that feature in Stages 4 and 5.
The prior winners reflect the punchier climbers in the peloton plus one climby puncheur in Lopez:
| 2018 | Romain Sicard | Air France - KLM | | 2019 | Joe Dombrowski | eBuddy | | 2020 | Daan Olivier | Aegon - Peroni | | 2021 | Miguel Angel Lopez | Evonik - ELKO | | 2022 | Romain Sicard | Strava | | 2023 | Adam Yates | Indosat Ooredoo |
None of the prior winners is back so we will have a new top dog this year.
That top dog will likely be one of these riders:
| Rider | FL | MT | HI | RS | SP | AC |  Godoy | 68 | 81 | 76 | 76 | 59 | 75 |  Meintjes | 71 | 80 | 78 | 76 | 61 | 69 |  Bennett | 66 | 80 | 75 | 73 | 64 | 72 |  Barguil | 69 | 80 | 74 | 76 | 63 | 74 |  Seboka | 61 | 80 | 62 | 70 | 52 | 67 |  Sosa | 67 | 79 | 78 | 79 | 59 | 74 |  Penasa | 69 | 79 | 73 | 70 | 56 | 74 |  Munoz | 66 | 79 | 73 | 72 | 56 | 71 |  Elosegui | 65 | 79 | 71 | 80 | 60 | 71 |  Preidler | 66 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 50 | 66 | | Lopez | 66 | 78 | 76 | 72 | 60 | 78 |  Leemreize | 66 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 62 | 72 | | Ndayisenga | 66 | 78 | 75 | 68 | 63 | 73 |  Smith | 69 | 78 | 75 | 74 | 66 | 74 |
If skill on the long climbs matters the most then Godoy is the clear favorite. He also has the punch to take bonus seconds at the finishes. If balanced skills matter more then Meintjes becomes the favorites, although he isn’t that fast at the finish.
Bennett and Barguil are also strong climbers although not as punchy. Among the 79 climbers, Sosa stands out both for excellent secondaries as well as being tied with Meintejes as the punchiest rider. Another punchy rider is Lopez, who is probably the best finisher among all the favorites. Although he may end up working for Elosegui.
If punchiness matters less then Penasa and particularly, Elosegui, with his excellent secondaries, will look to thrive. Another subtext for Elosegui will be how he fairs against Sosa on the steep finishes, as those two will be battling it out later in the season in the Tour of America, which includes several of that kind of finish.
But half the stages of the race aren’t relevant to the GC riders as they are flat. The sprinters will hope to contest all three although it wouldn’t be surprising to see a break get away particularly on Stage 6
That is particularly true because despite the three opportunities the sprint field is just not that deep – and two of the top sprint teams, UBS and McCormick also feature top GC contenders.
| Rider | FL | SP | AC | RS | | Zariff | 70 | 80 | 80 | 67 | | Perera | 71 | 79 | 80 | 73 |  Hayakawa | 73 | 79 | 79 | 68 | | Haller | 71 | 79 | 77 | 69 | | Page | 75 | 78 | 79 | 72 | | Scott | 72 | 78 | 78 | 71 | | Stallaert | 76 | 78 | 75 | 67 | | Barbari | 71 | 76 | 79 | 69 | | Welsford | 73 | 75 | 75 | 69 |
Simba Cement’s Zariff is the best sprinter in the field and his team has been on a high of late. Two of the other top sprinters also ride for Simba so he has a complete lead out but with most of the rest of the team on GC duty it isn’t clear who will do the chasing.
That question isn’t answer by the next three names on the list either as none of UBS ( Perera), Everesting ( Hayakawa) or McCormick ( Haller) have backed up their sprinter with strong rouleurs.
If those teams do exhaust themselves in the chase then Scott and classics legend, Stallaert, will be there to try and pick up the pieces. Although it might be the breakaway riders doing that.
Overall, the race attracts 18 teams and 141 riders. Just 6 PCT teams in attendance.
KB will bring you the race.
Startlist
Spoiler
| Babymetal | David Drouin | | Babymetal | Joao Gaspar | | Babymetal | Itsuki Koide | | Babymetal | Milan Paulus | | Babymetal | Jan Drago Petelin | | Babymetal | Uga Ryuki | | Babymetal | Yanglem Rojit Singh | | Babymetal | Yuhi Todome | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Hatem Ben Ameur | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Jean Eric Habimana | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Gerben Kuypers | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Louis Meintjes | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Valens Ndayisenga | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Joeri Stallaert | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Lennert Van Eetvelt | | Bralirwa - Cegeka | Emiel Verstrynge | | Cervelo Test Team | Karel Camrda | | Cervelo Test Team | Vlad-Nicolae Dobre | | Cervelo Test Team | Davur Magnussen | | Cervelo Test Team | Kim Magnusson | | Cervelo Test Team | Riley Pickrell | | Cervelo Test Team | Georg Preidler | | Cervelo Test Team | Lewis Stroll | | Cervelo Test Team | Calvin Watson | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Marco Brenner | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Mike Aaron Egger | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Frederico Figueiredo | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Quinten Hermans | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Gianluca Pollefliet | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Yutao Shen | | Duvel-Tsingtao | Dion Smith | | Ethiopian Airlines | Natnael Berhane | | Ethiopian Airlines | Patrick Bevin | | Ethiopian Airlines | Juan Ernesto Chamorro | | Ethiopian Airlines | Gaspar Goncalves | | Ethiopian Airlines | Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay | | Ethiopian Airlines | Ivan Kipruto | | Ethiopian Airlines | Pierre Paolo Penasa | | Ethiopian Airlines | Sebastian Schönberger | | Euskadi-Murias | Aberlardo Ablenado | | Euskadi-Murias | Ruben Acosta | | Euskadi-Murias | Fernando Barcelo | | Euskadi-Murias | Jhojan Garcia | | Euskadi-Murias | Daniel Munoz | | Euskadi-Murias | Ramon Sinkeldam | | Euskadi-Murias | Fernando Tercero | | Euskadi-Murias | Santiago Umba | | Everesting | Lorenzo Fortunato | | Everesting | Gil Gelders | | Everesting | Tomohiro Hayakawa | | Everesting | Sebastian Henao | | Everesting | Santiago Montenegro | | Everesting | Matthew Riccitello | | Everesting | Dylan Sunderland | | Everesting | Levente Vasko | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Muhamma Afif Ahmad Zamri | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Julien Bernard | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Carl Fredrik Hagen | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Jhonatan Restrepo | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Momchil Robov | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Stavros Theorpanous | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Jan Tratnik | | Genii Hyundai N Cycling | Dinmukhammed Ulysbayev | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Lucas Bourgoyne | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Mark Christian | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Francesco Della Lunga | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Clement Koretzky | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Eirik Lunder | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Erik Nygaard Madsen | | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | Kristoffer Skjerping | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Pierre Barbier | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Marco Haller | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Sepp Kuss | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Lorenzo Milesi | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Thomas Revard | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Lorenzo Rota | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Ivan Sosa | | McCormick Pro Cycling | Johannes Staune-Mittet | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Carlos Canal | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Yacob Debesay | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Ivo Domgjoni | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Inigo Elosegui | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Milan Fretin | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Viacheslav Ivanov | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Juan Pedro Lopez | | Newton Foundation p/b Zwift | Tejay Van Garderen | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Fabio Aru | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Adel Barbari | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Martin Laas | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Andrea Manfredi | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Dylan Page | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Matala Seboka | | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | Nur Aiman Zariff | | Sony - Force India | Jonel Carcueva | | Sony - Force India | Leo Hayter | | Sony - Force India | Kristjan Hocevar | | Sony - Force India | Gijs Leemreize | | Sony - Force India | Yamato Shirota | | Sony - Force India | Ronaldo Laitonjam Singh | | Sony - Force India | Declan Trezise | | Spark Team NZ | Eduard Alexander Beltran | | Spark Team NZ | George Bennett | | Spark Team NZ | Antoine Duchesne | | Spark Team NZ | Panagiotis Karatsivis | | Spark Team NZ | Carlos Rodriguez | | Spark Team NZ | Jordan Schleck | | Spark Team NZ | Cameron Scott | | Spark Team NZ | Samuel Welsford | | Specialized | Juan Ayuso | | Specialized | Warren Barguil | | Specialized | Josh Kench | | Specialized | Jeremie La Grenade | | Specialized | Tim Marsman | | Specialized | Sergey Medvedev | | Specialized | Pavel Potocki | | Specialized | Embret Svestad-Bardseng | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Zouzou Andriafenomananiaina | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Volodymyr Dzhus | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Radoslaw Fratczak | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Yordan Petrov | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Andrii Ponomar | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Kaspars Sergis | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Nika Sitchinava | | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | Yuriy Vasyliv | | Team UBS | Matteo Badilatti | | Team UBS | Caio Godoy | | Team UBS | Luca Jenni | | Team UBS | Madushanka Perera | | Team UBS | Patrick Schelling | | Team UBS | Thery Schir | | Team UBS | Pedro Sequera | | Team UBS | Jan Stöckli | | Trans Looney Tunes | Ivan Centrone | | Trans Looney Tunes | Gal Glivar | | Trans Looney Tunes | James Knox | | Trans Looney Tunes | Kantaphon Kunkumpai | | Trans Looney Tunes | Cristian Munoz | | Trans Looney Tunes | Bostjan Murn | | Trans Looney Tunes | Jaka Primozic | | Trans Looney Tunes | Ben Tulett |
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 13-04-2025 16:06
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Directeur Sportif
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Hoping for a Top 10 with Leemreize, so he'll need to get the better of some of the sub-top clutter. Hoping for multiple breakaway appearances really, with the team we have and the lack of a real leader here.
Thanks for the preview 
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 13-04-2025 16:15
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8094
Joined: 22-06-2009
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The TOA tune-up for Elosegui. Will be interesting to see how he does with Lopez as his support.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 18-04-2025 13:52
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| Caspi |
Posted on 13-04-2025 19:00
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Domestique
Posts: 496
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 12400.00
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Not sure what to expect from this race?..
Thanks for the preview
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 13-04-2025 19:09
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2982
Joined: 07-08-2011
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Really need Barguil to land some consistent top 5s and this is the race to do it! Meitjes' race to win in my opinion!
Thanks for the preview!
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 13-04-2025 22:14
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3484
Joined: 02-11-2010
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The campaign to avoid relegation starts here. The start list seems pretty favorable - a top 5 in GC and some stage points for Sosa doesn't seem unrealistic. Plus, Kuss in the top 20 and Haller should be able to get some sprint results, although I think the breaks will take 1 or more of the flat stages.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 14-04-2025 00:14
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Team Leader
Posts: 7368
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This race suits Bennett quite well and is one I have been excited about since pre-season. He is strong and also has managed to do well in the hills this season, even winning a stage in the hills. I think he could be a high competitor here and I hope that he can do well. Scott also here for the sprints is interesting as well! Should be a good race!
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 14-04-2025 08:59
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3959
Joined: 29-01-2013
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Going all in on Penasa which in retrospect may have not been the move, now that I see the relative lack of sprinters. No pressure Pierre Paolo, it's just that you're our only hope here... He should hopefully be good enough for a top 10, the lack of (T)TT certainly in his favour. Just need to hope his lack of ability in the hills doesn't become an issue.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 14-04-2025 10:44
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Posts: 6626
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That's a comparatively weak start list. Meintjes should be in Top 3 contention here. Perhaps some depth points from Ndayisenga, too. Looking forward to the racing, good luck everyone and thanks for the nice preview!
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 14-04-2025 11:25
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3305
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 400.00
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Hoping for some kind of miracle ride by Preidler but nothing major as he will struggle here
Thanks for the preview |
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| Booker |
Posted on 14-04-2025 13:44
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 904
Joined: 03-07-2013
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Big big big opportunity for Smith to score some points in a race we need a result in. I like the startlist being a bit weaker than expected - we need this as we'll be missing out on ToA for Smith.
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 14-04-2025 15:32
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3959
Joined: 29-01-2013
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What an absolutely bizarre sprint, hats off to everyone involved. Goncalves randomly joining in and getting an 8th place is more than welcome for us. Not sure if I should feel better or worse about not sending a sprinter now - Goncalves of all people getting a top 10 shows how weak the field is, on the other hand Gibbons would probably have conspired to find a way to finish 8th himself too. Anyway, thanks for the report and looking forward to the mountain action even more now.
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 14-04-2025 15:45
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3305
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good stage from Dobre to get himself in the break and then win the sprints nice to be active!  |
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 14-04-2025 15:59
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2982
Joined: 07-08-2011
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Congrats to Bush on the sprint win!
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| Caspi |
Posted on 14-04-2025 20:42
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Domestique
Posts: 496
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What was that "leadout"!? 
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 14-04-2025 23:01
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4904
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Really important result for UBS, love to see it
Rooting for Godoy to take the win here, redeeming himself for an awful Tour d'Andorra. But Meintjes winning would be cool as well, hoping for some great fights
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 14-04-2025 23:14
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3484
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Not great from Haller in this field although not terrible. Milesi picking up a few points is good too.
I think the weak sprint teams generates the weird sprints. Tx for the report.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 14-04-2025 23:15
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Team Leader
Posts: 7368
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4th from Scott is a good start. Keen for stage 1 to see how Bennett shapes up against the rest here!
Congrats to the winner and thanks for the report!
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| 2kignacio2020 |
Posted on 15-04-2025 09:43
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Free Agent
Posts: 110
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stage to take some warm up hopefully my team will do it well |
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| Bushwackers |
Posted on 15-04-2025 12:54
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Sprinter
Posts: 1931
Joined: 07-02-2009
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Never too late for Perera to take his first win! This has potential to be a really strong race for us if Godoy can also deliver. Thanks KB
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