A meandering road around the UK countryside is on tour for the CT division in a continuation of the cobble season. Did I say CT division? Well, I guess that’s officially correct, but a whopping 11 PCT teams have taken the drop into C2 to contest the cobble race with only 9 CT teams bothering to contest the race. Nothing new from what we’ve seen this cobble season, as teams try to take advantage of the barren wasteland that is the CT cobble depth.
History
2024: Nur Amirul Marzuki (Lotto-Caloi)
2023: Lucas Manuel Gaday (Strava)
2022: Christoph Taubel (Pas Normal Studios - Mikkeller)
2021: Alexey Tsatevich (Crabbe-CC Chevigny)
2020: Alexey Tsatevich (Carrefour - ESPN)
2019: Samuel Coronel (NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite)
2018: Jempy Drucker (Campari - Super Dry)
2017: Jan Polanc (Isostar – Adriatic)
2016: Filippo Pozzato (Ferrero - Samruk)
2015: Sebastian Langeveld (Strava)
2014: Aleksei Saramotins (Evonik - Signal Iduna)
2013: Christopher Stevenson (Ekspla-Cision Cycling Team)
2012ieter Vanspeybrouck (Team Bpost)
Marzuki does return here as the defending champion, but he’s well down the favorite list and should not be expected to return to the top step of the podium. Marzuki does seem to manage the cobbled climb combination better than most cobble riders though and should be aiming for a strong result again – at minimum batting above his likely rating around 15-20th favorite. No other champions return to Britain.
Favorites
Name
FL
HI
ST
RS
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
Chequan Richardson
71
67
68
68
78
60
61
75
66
Matthew Teggart
73
69
76
73
76
72
70
55
64
Matija Mestric
73
70
69
70
76
55
65
71
75
Abou Sanogo
73
71
71
72
76
69
70
76
73
Michael Boros
72
72
71
67
76
63
64
78
77
Aviv Yechezkel
74
64
71
72
76
64
73
70
69
Nipuna Shira Manamalage
80
58
69
62
76
56
54
63
60
Cyrus Monk
74
66
76
70
76
61
70
72
77
Timo Roosen
74
71
71
73
75
66
71
76
64
Nils Eekhoff
75
68
76
77
75
70
71
67
64
Mathias De Witte
74
68
75
72
75
71
69
64
65
Callum Scotson
72
63
73
70
75
66
75
68
63
Akil Campbell
74
68
69
68
75
68
73
67
66
Shiki Kuroeda
71
69
74
75
75
75
71
66
70
Gianni Vermeersch
76
69
72
76
74
73
70
59
77
Nathaniel Forbes
72
68
70
68
74
69
69
69
66
Joanis Albert Nielsen
75
67
71
75
74
73
71
64
67
Tomas Paprstka
74
68
72
68
74
69
70
68
77
Leonardo Basso
73
72
78
73
73
71
69
62
69
Jesus Roniel Marte
70
72
72
71
73
66
68
72
67
Airidas Videika
74
65
68
67
73
74
79
51
65
Jesse Kaislavuo
73
70
73
73
73
67
72
76
70
Nur Amirul Marzuki
69
73
69
70
73
71
70
63
70
Looking at our favorites, Chequan Richardson shows up again as the clear top of the cobble rankings, but without much else to really support himself. Still, a great day could push him well above the crowd on the cobbles themselves.
Teggart is known of course for being a spoiler in the C2 calendar after watching Biniam control the major races. Teggart is one of the best riders combining sprint, cobbles, and hills – all of which are crucial here.
Sanogo is personally my favorite from the CT field with really only Campbell, Richardson and Sanogo doing enough on stats alone to step into the top realm of contenders. He and Boros are the strongest hill riders of that “top 10” and should be trying to make the difference on the climbs. With the race finishing on a cobbled climb as well, they must leave enough energy for the final circuit too in order to utilize their skills.
Looking at team depth, Podium Ambition probably has the best chance of utilizing team attacks, while a number of teams feature a two leader strategy. Ekoi-Le Creuset and Simba Cement – Tanga Fresh are probably the two teams most likely to end up grabbing a double podium although the Minions are a close 3rd in that category.
There’s a number of teams who will simply be hoping to avoid a goose egg in the point total. Expect a large breakaway from the likes of Kone-Nordea, Air New Zealand-Prada, DeNA Roadstars and Team Zappes Kolsch.
The mystery of why I planned Eekhoff for all the hilly cobbles continues to haunt me. But maybe a little less climbing here than G-B so hopefully another top 10 is feasible.
My guess is a 3-5 rider group fighting it out at the finish. Will be interesting to see who's part of it. Is this too short for Stamina? If not riders like Teggart, Basso etc could be really good.
I see UU is sceptic about Eekhoff, but I believe he might be good. His hill aint that bad
Lincoln GP 
ieter Vanspeybrouck (Team Bpost)
