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Veenendaal - Veenendaal Discussion
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 31-12-2025 21:55
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Tour de France Champion
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The report will be brought to you by jph27!
As the spring gets warmer, the best rider's on all terrains will head to the Benelux region to test their abilities in the most prestigious classics. But tomorrow's test is a diversion from the Ardennes classics happening this week. Instead, we take a long an arduous trek from the Dutch town of Veenendaal all the way to the Dutch town of Veenendaal. [Unfortunately that joke doesn't really land cause the race technically starts in Arnhem. But that's not my fault.]
The basic route is the same as always. A flat, ~200 km race that has enough bumps along the way to give some sprinters some soreness, but not enough to intrigue any puncheurs in the midst of their most important period of the year.
We always start these previews with the sprinters, maybe just because the sprinter favorites are much easier to parse than whatever fighter happens to get a lucky break on any given day, but it's important to note at the outset that the likelihood that a sprinter wins is pretty low. No pure sprinter has won this race from a bunch sprint since Mark Cavendish in 2017, when it was known as the Dutch Food Valley Classic. Still, sprinters are important because even when they don't win, they are the most common scorers here behind whatever individual or small group gets away for the win.
Sprinters
| Flat | Hill | Sta | Res | Spr | Acc |  Ewan | 75 | 71 | 73 | 71 | 83 | 81 |  Halvorsen | 76 | 65 | 74 | 71 | 81 | 80 |  Zabel | 74 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 81 | 79 |  Samolenkov | 74 | 64 | 75 | 71 | 81 | 79 |  Kemboi | 78 | 64 | 74 | 77 | 80 | 80 |  Jakobsen | 74 | 67 | 75 | 73 | 80 | 80 |  Liu | 74 | 67 | 76 | 69 | 80 | 80 |  Walls | 74 | 61 | 73 | 71 | 80 | 78 |  Rodenberg | 74 | 65 | 70 | 77 | 79 | 79 |  Minali | 73 | 58 | 70 | 74 | 79 | 79 |  Ovsyannikov | 74 | 68 | 75 | 72 | 79 | 78 |  Boudat | 73 | 68 | 71 | 74 | 79 | 78 |
Maybe in reaction to the lack of success for sprinters in this race in recent years, as well as the PTHC band configurations, and the clash with Lisbon Classic for PCT teams, the sprinter field is a bit weaker than usual here.
Caleb Ewan is the best sprinter here by far, though we know that sometimes doesn't show up in the results in the context of a single stage. Stash is his leadout man, but it might be a little worrying that most of his team is otherwise made up of talents. The sprinters' teams, MOL first among them, will need to fight hard to control the race and prevent late attacks from succeeding. That requires manpower and depth.
The next man up is probably Halvorsen, who has had success here before, with 4th last year and 3rd in 2022. But likewise, no leadout for him. Nor does Samolenkov, though Rick Zabel will be lucky to have Page leading him into the finale.
Fresh off 2nd place in the Giro points competition, Salem Kemboi will look for a win here. His strong engine on the flats and ability to hold and restart his sprint should be useful here, as will Scott to get him to the final few hundred meters. But in a pure bunch sprint, it may be just as likely that Jakobsen or Liu hits the wind at a more ideal time.
Plenty of other sprinters here who could compete—too many to mention them all—but see the chart above for outsiders.
Rouleurs
| Flat | Sta | Res | Spr | Acc | Fgt |  Cherkasov | 80 | 72 | 74 | 70 | 75 | 65 | | Veyhe | 80 | 66 | 71 | 56 | 78 | 80 |  Manamalage | 80 | 69 | 62 | 56 | 54 | 63 | | Kurianov | 79 | 76 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 72 | | Per | 79 | 74 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 68 | | Ruiz | 79 | 73 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 67 |  Lauk | 78 | 71 | 70 | 76 | 76 | 66 | | Hayter | 78 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 73 | 71 |  Groselj | 78 | 74 | 78 | 73 | 72 | 69 | | Ansons | 78 | 73 | 72 | 73 | 76 | 72 | | Dversnes | 78 | 76 | 76 | 69 | 77 | 77 | | Christensen | 78 | 76 | 74 | 68 | 65 | 71 | | Nych | 78 | 75 | 72 | 65 | 76 | 84 |  Pedersen | 77 | 78 | 80 | 78 | 77 | 75 |  El Sabbahi | 77 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 77 | 68 | | Hamza | 77 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 65 | | Van Dijke | 77 | 73 | 76 | 73 | 71 | 65 | | Abrahamsen | 77 | 73 | 76 | 72 | 75 | 80 |
It's hard to pin down which rouleurs can or will attack at the exact opportune moment, but we tend to see some assortment of characteristics among the most successful: strong power on flat roads, deep energy reserves, a willingness to attack, the kick to do so with separation against a fast peloton, and a decent sprint to beat any small group with them.
Those were the characteristics of two-time winner Konychev, but he's absent this year, meaning others will get a chance. Pedersen, who won in 2022, is probably the best bet this time around. With an engine built for the toughest cobbles, and a sprint that's just a tick below the pure fastmen, he could do well in several different scenarios. You could throw Per in the same general category as a top classics guy, though his sprint is worse.
Pure flat beasts similar to Cherkasov, Kurianov, and Veyhe have had sucess here in the past, though there's a limit where a guy like Manamalage likely won't have enough in reserve by the end to have a meaningful impact. Guys like Dversnes, Nych, and Abrahamsen may be better bets for that category, since they are known to have more endurance along will a willingness to attack at any point in the race.
Then there are those more like Pedersen, who have decent sprinting ability and will hope to latch onto the right attack so they can sprint past their companions at the last. Lauk, El Sabbahi, and Hamza fall into this category, among others, though better sprinters could also throw caution to the wind and attack as well, as we've seen Halvorsen do in the past.
Startlist
Spoiler | David | Per | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Tilen | Finkst | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Mathias | Krigbaum | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Erik Nordsaeter | Resell | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Frederik | Rodenberg | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Goldwijnn | Cannister | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Milan | Menten | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Tobias | Lund Andresen | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Matic | Groselj | Cedevita | | Miha | Poljanec | Cedevita | | Fred | Wright | Cedevita | | Yevgeniy | Fedorov | Cedevita | | Logan | Currie | Cedevita | | Eric Antonio | Fagundez | Cedevita | | Dorde | Duric | Cedevita | | Matic | Zumer | Cedevita | | Houcaine | El Sabbahi | Colombini Kometa | | Andrea | Aquilani | Colombini Kometa | | Felix | Sprenger | Colombini Kometa | | Daniel | Bonello | Colombini Kometa | | Youssef | Bdadou | Colombini Kometa | | Casper | Van Uden | Colombini Kometa | | Davide | Ruvalcaba Reyes | Colombini Kometa | | Salem | Kemboi | cycleYorkshire | | Ethan | Hayter | cycleYorkshire | | Sandy | Dujardin | cycleYorkshire | | Lasse Norman | Hansen | cycleYorkshire | | Davide | Ballerini | cycleYorkshire | | Cameron | Scott | cycleYorkshire | | Nicolo | Buratti | cycleYorkshire | | Kasper | Andersen | cycleYorkshire | | Roel | Van Sintmaartensdijk | DeNA Roadstars | | Warre | Vangheluwe | DeNA Roadstars | | Marius | Mayrhofer | DeNA Roadstars | | Guangtong | Ma | DeNA Roadstars | | Gal | Glivar | DeNA RoadStars | | Nicolas | Heinrich | DeNA Roadstars | | Karel | Camrda | DeNA Roadstars | | Albin | Stalberg | DeNA Roadstars | | Gianni | Vermeersch | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Stan | Dewulf | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Yikui | Niu | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Stan | Van Tricht | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Tibor | Del Grosso | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Mingrun | Chen | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Max | Poole | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Cian | Uijtdebroeks | Duvel-Tsingtao | | Stepan | Kurianov | Evonik - ELKO | | Kristers | Ansons | Evonik - ELKO | | Fredrik | Dversnes | Evonik - ELKO | | Krists | Neilands | Evonik - ELKO | | Alexandr | Ovsyannikov | Evonik - ELKO | | Bryan Fernando | Mendoza | Evonik - ELKO | | Ziga | Horvat | Gazelle | | Lukas | Kubis | Gazelle | | Mike | Teunissen | Gazelle | | El Mehdi | Chokri | Gazelle | | Norman | Vahtra | Gazelle | | Andrii | Ponomar | Gazelle | | Jefferson Alexander | Cepeda | Gazelle | | Jhojan | Garcia | Gazelle | | Mads | Pedersen | Grieg-Maersk | | Jonas | Abrahamsen | Grieg-Maersk | | Magnus Bak | Klaris | Grieg-Maersk | | William | Blume Levy | Grieg-Maersk | | Amund Grondahl | Jansen | Grieg-Maersk | | Anders | Foldager | Grieg-Maersk | | Samuel | Ssabagwanya | Grieg-Maersk | | Julius | Johansen | Grieg-Maersk | | Marildo | Yzeiraj | JEWA TIROL | | Tobias | Bayer | JEWA TIROL | | Thomas | Boudat | JEWA TIROL | | Fabian | Lienhard | JEWA TIROL | | Axel | Laurance | JEWA TIROL | | Regan | Gough | JEWA TIROL | | Thibau | Nys | JEWA TIROL | | Yoshiki | Terada | JEWA TIROL | | Robinson Steven | Ruiz | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Kristoffer | Halvorsen | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Jose Pablo | Aguilar Mendez | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Jose Gerardo | Ulloa | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Hector Exequiel | Quintana | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Alex | Malacarne | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Masaki | Yamamoto | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Finn | Fisher-Black | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Torkil | Veyhe | Lotto-Caloi | | Tim | Ariesen | Lotto-Caloi | | Jiankun | Liu | Lotto-Caloi | | Jenno | Berckmoes | Lotto-Caloi | | Maxime | Daniel | Lotto-Caloi | | Derek | Gee | Lotto-Caloi | | Welay Hagos | Berhe | Lotto-Caloi | | Emiel | Verstrynge | Lotto-Caloi | | Zeke | Mostov | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Jingbiao | Zhao | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Brandon | Rodriguez | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Pierre | Barbier | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Thomas | Revard | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Justin | Wolf | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Alex | Julajuj | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Caleb | Ewan | MOL Cycling Team | | Mamyr | Stash | MOL Cycling Team | | Campbell | Stewart | MOL Cycling Team | | Callum | Scotson | MOL Cycling Team | | Aljaz | Jarc | MOL Cycling Team | | Yanglem Rojit | Singh | MOL Cycling Team | | Aleks | Bechkov | MOL Cycling Team | | Ryan | Christensen | Polar | | Artem | Nych | Polar | | Stef | Krul | Polar | | Riccardo | Minali | Polar | | Truls Engen | Korsaeth | Polar | | Ricardo | Ferreira | Polar | | Tushantha | Rajapakshage | Polar | | Luke | Durbridge | Polar | | Nipuna Shira | Manamalage | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Yacine | Hamza | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Olivier | Lecourt De Billot | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Aviv | Yechezkel | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Daniel | Turek | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Thanawut | Sanikwathi | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Roman | Holzer | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Moses | Moiruri | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Nicolay | Cherkasov | Sony - Force India | | Tim | Van Dijke | Sony - Force India | | Diego | Rossi | Sony - Force India | | Esow | Alben | Sony - Force India | | Piet | Allegaert | Sony - Force India | | Alexandr | Kulikovskiy | Sony - Force India | | Sergio | Arias Villanueva | Sony - Force India | | Hayden | McCormick | Sony - Force India | | Johan | Jacobs | Team UBS | | Elia | Blum | Team UBS | | Martin | Schäppi | Team UBS | | Filip | Maciejuk | Team UBS | | Phan Age | Haugard | Team UBS | | Fabian | Weiss | Team UBS | | Silvan | Dillier | Team UBS | | Luca | Jenni | Team UBS | | Florian | Senechal | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Arman | Kamyshev | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Artem | Samolenkov | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Roy | Goldstein | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Evgenii | Tikhonin | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Dmitry | Strakhov | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Dmitry | Trakhov | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Toms | Skujins | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Dylan | Page | Trans Looney Tunes | | Yuan Tan | Peng | Trans Looney Tunes | | Iliyan | Kolev | Trans Looney Tunes | | Rick | Zabel | Trans Looney Tunes | | Bostjan | Murn | Trans Looney Tunes | | Ben | Tulett | Trans Looney Tunes | | Mark | Padun | Trans Looney Tunes | | Rasmus | Iversen | Tryg - Eni | | Matthew | Walls | Tryg - Eni | | Sebastian | Lander | Tryg - Eni | | Manuel | Stocker | Tryg - Eni | | Jarne | Van De Paar | Tryg - Eni | | Rasmus Sojberg | Pedersen | Tryg - Eni | | Ahmed | Madan | Tryg - Eni | | Gorazd | Per | Tryg - Eni | | Jaime | Castrillo | ZARA - Irizar | | Jules | Hesters | ZARA - Irizar | | Yentl | Vandevelde | ZARA - Irizar | | Fabio | Jakobsen | ZARA - Irizar | | Lucas Manuel | Gaday | ZARA - Irizar | | Nichol | Blanca Pareja | ZARA - Irizar | | Brady | Gilmore | ZARA - Irizar | | Marc | Soler | ZARA - Irizar | | Karl Patrick | Lauk | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Connor | White | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Magnus | Sheffield | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | John | Jimenez Retana | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Lawson | Craddock | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Joseph | Blackmore | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Fredrik | Ludvigsson | Zwift - Newton Foundation |
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| knockout |
Posted on 01-01-2026 00:15
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8269
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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We need to start overperforming in some races and this is a race where we do have a ton of upside imo. Whether its a late attack or ovsya sprinting, i see multiple paths to success even when it looks like a low guarantee race.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 01-01-2026 00:59
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3962
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Zhao here as a our sprinter so not expecting much. Brandon Rodriguez will be our man for these kind of races in a few years but this year he is just learning the ropes.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 01-01-2026 08:54
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Sprinter
Posts: 1540
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
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Thanks BBL for the preview! 
I hope for a top 10 with Liu. But with the sprint lottery you never know!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 01-01-2026 10:52
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7807
Joined: 04-07-2012
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Feels weird not to be here, first time we were eligible to but won't. The bands didn't really work out while also going for our home race.
So instead we'll be alongside the road, maybe throwing some bananas if we don't like how the race is unfolding 
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| Booker |
Posted on 01-01-2026 12:21
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1047
Joined: 03-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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This is a massive dart throw from our crop in attendance…
Hopefully Dewulf, Niu, and others will be an annoyance to the peloton, but we don’t expect many if any points. Cheers for the preview BBL
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| Caspi |
Posted on 01-01-2026 22:59
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Domestique
Posts: 729
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15900.00
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No expectations for us here. Will be a very big surprise if we get away with anything.
Thanks for the preview
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 02-01-2026 11:47
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Sprinter
Posts: 1540
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
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What a shame that Veyhe couldn't hang on  great effort though!
Liu 6th in the bunch sprint is on par with the expectations.
Congrats to tastasol and thanks jph for the report!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| ember |
Posted on 02-01-2026 12:44
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Team Leader
Posts: 7089
Joined: 27-03-2008
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Proper racing! Fun fight to follow at the end there, and thank you for the report, covering it well.
Evonik got their first big overperformance of the year, just what knockout ordered  And also very well done to Grieg, doing everything right to win it with Pedersen. Congratulations, everyone who walks away happy with the results! |
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| Booker |
Posted on 02-01-2026 13:12
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1047
Joined: 03-07-2013
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Thanks for the excellent report jph, and congrats tastasol on a much-needed big point scoring day! Your youngster on loan, Del Grosso, even set up the big guns with his breakaway help. As expected, not much for us but not to worry, this was not a prioritised race.
Congrats also to Caspi for some big points in this one, helping the push for PCT survival.
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| knockout |
Posted on 02-01-2026 14:26
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8269
Joined: 21-12-2010
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Yes sir, love it. Getting all of Kurianov, Dversnes and Ansons into action is our perfect recipe for races like this. One of them survives and we got a nice result out of it.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 03-01-2026 09:00
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| SotD |
Posted on 02-01-2026 14:33
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World Champion
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Very interesting result here. A lot of powerhouses did their best to wreck havoc. Impressive win by Pedersen. Feels like we have seen this one before - It's great to see him still do these steals, and his norwegian playmate sure did him a favor here leading him out. He could have been the favorite to win the sprint without Pedersen there aswell.
Some big (somewhat unexpected) points for Polar in particular, but also nice to see Evonik making the most of this.
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| Blasing |
Posted on 02-01-2026 14:59
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 353
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Impressive performance by the rouleurs in reaching the breakaway and then attack again. Very nice and exciting report. Would have hoped for a couple ranks better result by Izeraj, but I think we can be happy with that.
Thanks for the report and congrats to Pedersen on the win.
Manager of JEWA TIROL Cycling Team
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 02-01-2026 19:59
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16603
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Was obvious that attackers would win here pretty early, but Per waited way too long to try something. I know he has low fighter, but still disappointing.
Thanks for the report!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 02-01-2026 20:43
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3962
Joined: 02-11-2010
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Would be nice for Zhao to actually try and at least be in the top 30 like most of the other 2nd tier sprinters but the race was always a reach for us.
Great race by Grieg and win by Pedersen, good to see the roulers get their turn at the bar.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Caspi |
Posted on 02-01-2026 22:39
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Domestique
Posts: 729
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15900.00
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Wut!?
Kind of annoyed at first, when we missed the initial break. However, Lecourt De Billot exceeded our expectations with a mile. Third place is fantastic.
Congrats to everyone involved in the final getaway. Always fun to see the fighters succeed.
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