Welcome to the 8th edition of the Hanko Classic. The Finnish sprinter's classic is by now an established race on the MG calendar. The same course is also used on one of the stages of the Baltic Chain Tour, but the Hanko Classic has now moved to the PTHC category. With 201 km in length it's very flat and has always provided us with a sprint finish. Stamina isn't an issue given how well protected the sprinters are for the majority of the race. So expect a battle between the fast men.
With that said let's look at some of the favourites:
Favourites
Sprinter
FL
RS
SP
AC
Leadout
FL
RS
SP
AC
Gaviria
76
76
83
84
Nur Hasan
74
74
79
78
Coquard
72
72
83
81
Afewerki
72
69
78
79
Cullaigh
74
70
82
81
Scott
72
71
78
78
Farantakis
74
72
82
80
Koumpetsos
74
73
76
76
Dainese
76
76
81
82
Coutinho
71
72
78
78
Halvorsen
76
71
81
80
Ruiz
79
71
73
75
Kanter
75
73
81
80
Gross
74
75
79
79
Samolenkov
74
71
81
79
Trakhov
68
74
69
75
Enger
73
73
81
78
Waersted
73
78
78
79
We have a deep field of sprinters here in Finland. The best sprinter in the Pro Tour Gaviria headlines the startlist, but he has plenty of competition. Coquard is defending his victory from last year and is on paper the Colombian's main rival. Cullaigh and Farantakis are next in line. The Brit is still looking for a big result this season while the Greek is coming off an impressive showing at the Tour of Northern Europe.
Dainese is arguably the best of the 81 sprinters and he has the winner from 2022 as his leadout, but there isn't a whole lot to choose between the 81 sprinters. Halvorsen is always a contender for the top spots. Kanter has also established himself over the past few years as a rider that can win races of this caliber. Samolenkov hasn't had a great result yet this season, so he could be due one. Enger will be hoping that he can improve upon his recent outing at the Tour of America.
Outsiders
FL
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
Jakobsen
74
67
75
73
80
80
Vesely
72
67
73
67
80
79
Hsu
75
67
75
70
80
79
Peak
80
69
73
77
80
78
Willwohl
73
65
71
67
79
78
Boudat
73
68
71
74
79
78
Kamberaj
75
69
73
73
79
78
Ahlstrand
70
63
68
67
79
76
Welten
76
69
72
71
79
75
Kulikovskiy
73
71
70
73
78
79
Nommela
72
67
70
70
78
78
Pedersen
77
69
78
80
78
77
Vermeersch
78
69
76
77
78
77
Stalberg
68
60
65
77
78
74
All the 80 sprinters are good dark horse options to finish in a high placing. I'll single out Peak as he's shown that his strong FL and RS often seems to give him a leg up on most sprinters. Pedersen and Vermeersch could also fit that mold, but they are noticeably slower. Ahlstrand is far from his former glory, but he deserves a mention as a former winner of this race.
We had a significantly stronger setup in Moscow than here, so it will be interesting to see if we can actually perform here or if Farantakis will be left much more to himself. Zingle is a class act leadout rider, and we don't have him here. Let's hope Koumpetsos is enough. Also we don't have Soulious who did well in Russia, so a completely different last tier setup.
Really hope we do something here after not trying anything (even sprinting) in Moscow
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." [PT] Xero Racing
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Hanko Classic 
