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GP Lugano - Discussion
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| Heine |
Posted on 08-04-2026 08:24
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4620
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Welcome to the 7th edition of GP Lugano. Not the hardest hilly classified HC race this season but still a good test for the riders. Cut shorter than it was last year (down 30 km) it is still a hilly parcourse with a flat / slightly downhill finish who should fit the puncheurs who can sprint at the end like last years winner Lagane.
The race got history back to 2012 and 2013 where the 2 first editions were won by the the legend that is Alexandar Flügel, the flying German. You young guys never heard about him? That is because he is a rider who has only existed in this universe (and a old pcm story!). After that the race was put on hiatus until 2019 when Cyril Gautier took the win, before Ackermann won in 2020. Then Van Stayen won in 2021, Serrano in 2022 and Varga in 2023. Last year Christopher Lagane won the race for the relegating Podium Ambition.
| 2024 | Christopher Lagane (Podium Ambition) | | 2023 | Peter Varga (Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska) | | 2022 | Gonzalo Serrano (Caja Rural Cycling Team) | | 2021 | Michael Van Stayen (Carrefour - ESPN) | | 2020 | Pascal Ackermann (Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff) | | 2019 | Cyril Gautier (Valio - Viking Genetics) | | 2013 | Aleksandar Flugel (VolksWagen-Mapei) | | 2012 | Aleksandar Flugel (VolksWagen - Siemens) |
In general we can see from history that being able to sprint while surviving the hills is the most important skill here, and that will be seen on the list of favorites. The biggest favorite for me here must be the rider who IS the combo of hill and sprint  Demare. He got the skills to survive the hills while still having the top speed in the sprint, and with the course only being about 150 km it should be perfect for him.
Behind Demare we have the stronger puncheurs with  Lutsenko maybe the strongest, he also got a good sprint just like  De Bie who is right behind him again. Home favorite  Hirschi will have a lot of fans by the road while you can never forget  Stannard or  Benoot when the saddle of for a hilly race. Other strong puncheurs include  Eiking,  Van Niekerk and  Storer who will be looking to make the race hard.
There are some other puncheurs with a good kick at the end like  Turgis,  Bettiol,  Vakoc and  Paez who all might get the opportunity to shine here.
If the race gets too easy riders like  El Sabbahi,  Sureda and Silva might make the puncheurs regret that did not ride harder up the hills.
In the end we also got the combo riders in the mold of Demare, where Oliveira,  Luchshenko and another home hope in Lienhard looks the strongest. Can they surprise everyone here?
A long list of potential riders
| Nat. | Name | FL | HI | ST | RS | SP | AC |  | Demare | 71 | 78 | 72 | 69 | 80 | 78 |  | Oliveira | 70 | 76 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 78 |  | Luchshenko | 72 | 75 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 75 |  | Paez | 73 | 77 | 74 | 70 | 73 | 76 |  |  Narvaez | 70 | 77 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 74 |  | Lienhard | 73 | 75 | 77 | 72 | 73 | 76 |  |  Van der Poel | 73 | 77 | 78 | 77 | 72 | 77 | | Lutsenko | 68 | 82 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 80 |  | Bettiol | 72 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 71 | 77 | | Gaday | 71 | 75 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 73 |  | De Bie | 71 | 82 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 72 | | Turgis | 73 | 79 | 76 | 78 | 70 | 77 |  | Vakoc | 70 | 80 | 74 | 70 | 70 | 73 | | Meurisse | 72 | 76 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 76 |  | Stannard | 73 | 81 | 75 | 76 | 69 | 78 | | Benoot | 71 | 81 | 75 | 74 | 69 | 71 |  | Eiking | 71 | 81 | 78 | 74 | 68 | 76 | | Hirschi | 71 | 81 | 78 | 78 | 66 | 75 | |  Kelderman | 68 | 80 | 77 | 72 | 65 | 69 |  | Van Niekerk | 69 | 80 | 72 | 75 | 64 | 74 | | Storer | 70 | 79 | 72 | 73 | 64 | 74 |  | El Sabbahi | 77 | 69 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 77 |  | Marin | 74 | 65 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 78 |  |  Hayakawa | 72 | 64 | 73 | 66 | 78 | 77 |  | Sureda | 73 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 77 | 79 |  | Silva | 75 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 77 | 78 |  | Pedersen | 76 | 67 | 73 | 76 | 77 | 77 | |  Tivani | 70 | 67 | 68 | 78 | 77 | 78 |
If I would have to guess a top 3 I would say Demare, Oliveira and Lutsenko but there are a lot of riders here who can get a strong result and someone will end up dissapointed!
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 08-04-2026 08:44
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2165
Joined: 11-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Surprisingly strong startlist considering the race clash with Milano - Torino. With Gesbert in Italy, Morin is our captain here, but not expecting much looking at the other riders present.
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| Booker |
Posted on 08-04-2026 10:27
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1087
Joined: 03-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Echo Sykkel_Freak, what a startlist! Had hoped Bettiol would be suited by this but with that competition, a top 10 would be good. Maybe Hermans, Blouwe or Niu can add some additional scoring, but who knows.
Thanks for the preview Heine, I really like the little addition of the flags, interesting to see the geographic spread.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-04-2026 21:02
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| Blasing |
Posted on 08-04-2026 10:37
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 367
Joined: 27-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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A brutal startlist. Hoping for a good result by De Bie, Lienhard or Grossschartner. Our squad should fit well for this terrain, let's hope we can get some decent points!
Manager of JEWA TIROL Cycling Team
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 08-04-2026 11:08
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Sprinter
Posts: 1625
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
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Thanks Heine for the preview! 
I'm hoping for a good result, seeing Vakoc and Oliveira on the (extended) favourite list.
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 08-04-2026 13:28
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3863
Joined: 03-07-2012
PCM$: 300.00
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Here's hoping the local knowledge will allow Hirschi to time his attack right and put on a good show for his home fans.
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| Heine |
Posted on 08-04-2026 14:04
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4620
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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I did not expect this startlist when I elected to race here. Hopeing for some magic... Got 3 lottery tickets in Vincent, Vogt and Luchshenko
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| Caspi |
Posted on 08-04-2026 15:25
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 860
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 17300.00
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Surprisingly strong startlist considering the race clash with Milano - Torino. With McKenna in Italy, Meurisse and Sureda shares captaincy here, but with the competition a top 20 would be good.
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| quadsas |
Posted on 08-04-2026 16:13
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2794
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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Prove the haters wrong Lutsenko
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| seancoll |
Posted on 08-04-2026 16:18
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 862
Joined: 20-12-2022
PCM$: 500.00
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Not sure why I decided to sign up for both of the races in the double from C2, but glad that this is the heavy startlist knowing I send the better options to M-T.
Maybe we can find our way into a breakaway here and make it late in the stage. Barta might be a VERY outside shout to make a final group and then give it a sprint.
If not us, I'll root for Narvaez!
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