|
Viana do Castelo Discussion
|
| cunego59 |
Posted on 18-10-2026 09:28
|
Team Manager
Posts: 6789
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1290.00
|
.
 Viana do Castelo
--
Preview
One of the most unique and – in my opinion – coolest races of the calendar brings us to Portugal for the Viana do Castelo. Notoriously, many different rider types can thrive on this course and while it is labeled as a cobbles race, you need much more than a decent cobbles stat to succeed here. In fact, you don’t even need a great cobbles stat at all. But more on that later.
The course comprises six laps with one big hill as the main attraction, but even outside of that, there’s little flat road, with lots of short ups and downs. The cobblestones, notably, are mostly on the downhill, with only brief sections between the long climbs. This makes for a fun course and, as mentioned, a variety of riders who fancy their chances.
| MM | HI | ST | CO | DH |  Benoot | 78 | 81 | 75 | 76 | 66 |  Jorgenson | 79 | 78 | 79 | 68 | 69 |  Gamper | 65 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 72 |  Van der Poel | 74 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 79 |  De Gendt | 68 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 66 |  Pithie | 69 | 72 | 76 | 77 | 72 |  Serrano | 69 | 73 | 76 | 76 | 72 |  Habimana | 70 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 68 | | Swift | 70 | 73 | 75 | 73 | 68 | | Ssabagwanya | 74 | 75 | 80 | 67 | 72 |  Spengler | 63 | 67 | 74 | 83 | 63 |  Rojas | 73 | 76 | 76 | 68 | 70 |  Godon | 72 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 68 | | Barthe | 75 | 76 | 73 | 69 | 69 |  Rossi | 68 | 70 | 75 | 77 | 65 | | Giulietti | 67 | 69 | 75 | 75 | 74 |  Hvideberg | 67 | 70 | 74 | 76 | 65 | | Neilands | 63 | 69 | 74 | 78 | 71 |  Owen | 67 | 69 | 73 | 78 | 74 |  Laurance | 68 | 76 | 74 | 70 | 74 |
If you look at past editions, one of the biggest predictors of success here, rather than cobbles or hills on their own, is stamina. Look no further than Jorgenson, far from a great cobbles rider, who finished on the podium in all three previous years, and who will certainly aim to do so again now. As further proof, you can also add last year’s CT phenom Leonardo Basso (not here this year), as well as Godon, neither of whom is a great cobbles rider and yet they finished 2nd and 8th, respectively, last year.
The top favorite, nonetheless, does combine cobbles and hills like no other: It’s 2023 and 2024 winner Benoot.
The other riders are split into three categories, though there will be some overlap between them. First, there are those that are strongest on hills and rely on stamina, with limited pure cobbles ability. Those include Van der Poel (who also has easily the strongest downhill skills of any of these favorites), the Grieg duo of Swift and Ssabagwanya, Rojas, the aforementioned Godon and teammate Barthe as well as Laurance.
On the other hand, you have cobbles specialists who are decent to quite good on hills. Watch out especially for De Gendt and Pithie here, but Serrano and Habimana also fit the bill.
Finally, you have the pure cobblestone riders who are limited, though maybe not completely useless on hills. And don’t count these out! Gamper has actually won this race before in 2022, and Spengler will be ambitious here, too, even if he lacks the top end stamina that for example had Ruben Zepuntke, an otherwise similar rider, finish 11th last year. Rossi, Hvideberg, Neilands and Owen round out this category, of whom the Sauber rider might have the best shot at a strong result here.
Some of these riders will inevitably fall short and others not mentioned yet could surge forward. There are quite a few domestiques who could end up with a solid result here, names like Marte, Le Berre, Abrahamsen, Giulietti or Medvedev.
Would it be a huge surprise to see rookie Belletta already make his mark? Or what about some of the team leaders further down the list, such as DeNA’s  Vangheluwe or  Oliveira and Van Baarle for Deutsche WindGuard?
You let me know who you think will end up on top and who I might’ve missed beyond these names. And then we’re all looking forward to kandesbunzler’s report 
Spoiler | Cort Nielsen | Magnus | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Yates | Joel | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Piganzoli | Davide | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Nunes | Hugo | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Toneatti | Davide | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Villa | Giacomo | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Verre | Alessandro | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Rodriguez | Juan Felipe | Air New Zealand-Prada | | Spengler | Lukas | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Hofstetter | Hugo | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Kuroeda | Saya | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Strong | Corbin | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Marte | Jesus Roniel | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Hennis | Hasani | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Cole | Tyler | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Livyns | Arjen | Bacharu Mamachari Faito! | | Van der Poel | Mathieu | Bianchi Enel | | Gabburo | Davide | Bianchi Enel | | Bettles | Carter | Bianchi Enel | | Turner | Ben | Bianchi Enel | | Belletta | Dario | Bianchi Enel | | Romele | Alessandro | Bianchi Enel | | Van Mechelen | Vlad | Bianchi Enel | | Chesini | Cesare | Bianchi Enel | | Habimana | Jean Eric | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Seigle | Roman | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Miltiadis | Andreas | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Barguil | Warren | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Kuypers | Gerben | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Mugisha | Moise | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Marti | Pau | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Glivar | Gal | DeNA RoadStars | | Vangheluwe | Warre | DeNA RoadStars | | Mayrhofer | Marius | DeNA RoadStars | | Heinrich | Nicolas | DeNA RoadStars | | Reynders | Jens | DeNA RoadStars | | Minami | Kazuto | DeNA RoadStars | | Hayashibara | Shoma | DeNA RoadStars | | Adomaitis | Rokas | DeNA RoadStars | | Wisniowski | Lukasz | Deutsche WindGuard | | Oliveira | Rui | Deutsche WindGuard | | Silva | Nihal | Deutsche WindGuard | | Sanogo | Abou | Deutsche WindGuard | | Pickrell | Riley | Deutsche WindGuard | | Van Baarle | Dylan | Deutsche WindGuard | | Ghani | Muhammad Suhaimi | Deutsche WindGuard | | Flynn | Sean | Deutsche WindGuard | | Benoot | Tiesj | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Lyu | Xianjing | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Van Wilder | Ilan | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Hoelgaard | Daniel | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Thomas | Benjamin | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Perez | Cristian | Duvel - Tsingtao | | De Witte | Mathias | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Isidore | Noa | Duvel - Tsingtao | | Darbinyan | Varsham | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Serrano | Javier | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Agirrebeitia | Mikel | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Le Berre | Mathis | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Castellon | Jan | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Rondel | Mathys | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Le Huitouze | Eddy | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Donaldson | Robert | Euskotren - Pays Basque | | Langellotti | Victor | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Kinoshita | Tomohiro | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Smith | Dion | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Ludvigsson | Fredrik | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Miyazaki | Taishi | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Fiorelli | Filippo | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Bais | Mattia | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Kaneko | Sohei | Fincantieri - Grand Seiko | | Hvideberg | Jonas Iversby | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Pedersen | Henrik | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Kulset | Johannes | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Dolven | Halvor | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Messel | Kevin | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Svarre | Tobias | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Hansen | Martin Solhaug | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Ahlsson | Jonathan | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Abrahamsen | Jonas | Grieg-Maersk | | Pithie | Laurence | Grieg-Maersk | | Ssabagwanya | Samuel | Grieg-Maersk | | Swift | Connor | Grieg-Maersk | | Räim | Mihkel | Grieg-Maersk | | Eulalio | Afonso | Grieg-Maersk | | Kamp | Alexander | Grieg-Maersk | | Arnes | Daniel | Grieg-Maersk | | De Gendt | Aime | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Alaphilippe | Julian | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Dobre | Vlad-Nicolae | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Cote | Pier-Andre | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | De Paula | Victor Cesar | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Gonzales | Andre Alexander | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Luehrs | Luis-Joe | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Gonzales | Charles | IncaLine Pro Cycling | | Yates | Simon | JEWA TIROL | | Grossschartner | Felix | JEWA TIROL | | Kelderman | Wilco | JEWA TIROL | | Sulimov | Alexander | JEWA TIROL | | Orue | German Anibal | JEWA TIROL | | Yatsevich | Kiril | JEWA TIROL | | Manamalage | Nipuna Shira | JEWA TIROL | | Eaton | Daniel | JEWA TIROL | | Neilands | Krists | Karthago | | Rojas | Henry Antonio | Karthago | | Muhindo | Jimmy | Karthago | | Biermans | Jenthe | Karthago | | Bremanis | Ansis | Karthago | | Enggaard | Victor Grue | Karthago | | Tamm | Lauri | Karthago | | Vainio | Veeti | Karthago | | Gamper | Patrick | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Calzoni | Walter | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Van Den Bossche | Fabio | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Siddikov | Dilmurdjon | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Segaert | Alec | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Bonneu | Kamiel | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Delle Vedove | Alessio | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Arrighetti | Nicolo | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Simmons | Quinn | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Barthe | Cyril | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Peters | Nans | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Godon | Dorian | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Rodriguez | Cristian | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Hecht | Gage | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Dujardin | Sandy | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Hoehn | Alex | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Rossi | Diego | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Nommela | Aksel | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Nareklishvili | Beka | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Giulietti | Luigi | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Putti | Riccardo | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Menicucci | Samuele | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Chiarucci | Andrea | Sauber Petronas Racing | | McKenna | Sean | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Turgis | Anthony | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Owen | Logan | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Rachid | Elias Abou | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Yechezkel | Aviv | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Jung | Ha Jeon | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Rubenis | Pauls | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Medvedev | Sergey | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | | Pira | Yesid Albeiro | Tafjord Kraft | | Stalberg | Albin | Tafjord Kraft | | Curley | Liam | Tafjord Kraft | | Lilovski | Dobrin | Tafjord Kraft | | Delbove | Joris | Tafjord Kraft | | Laurance | Axel | Tafjord Kraft | | Bonello | Daniel | Tafjord Kraft | | Jasim Al-Ali | Abdulla | Tafjord Kraft | | Andriafenomananiaina | Zouzou | THE ONE - Fox God | | Arashiro | Yudai | THE ONE - Fox God | | McGill | Scott | THE ONE - Fox God | | Kuroeda | Shiki | THE ONE - Fox God | | Graat | Tijmen | THE ONE - Fox God | | Puntener | Romano | THE ONE - Fox God | | Yamada | Takumi | THE ONE - Fox God | | Francisco | Jude | THE ONE - Fox God | | Jorgenson | Matteo | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Lopez | Juan Pedro | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Kaczmarek | Jakub | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Simmons | Colby | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Ahtosalo | Matias | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Kopecky | Tomas | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Van Boven | Luca | Zwift - Newton Foundation | | Shmidt | Artem | Zwift - Newton Foundation |
. |
| |
|
|
| jt1109 |
Posted on 18-10-2026 09:30
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3776
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 800.00
|
Our win goal for the season and to be honest feels a straight shootout between MVP, Benoot and Jorgensen struggle to see anyone else getting involved and being the strongest sprinter of the 3 hoping that makes a difference in the finale
Thanks for the preview |
| |
|
|
| Heine |
Posted on 18-10-2026 09:37
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5133
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
Interesting field here, can't see anyone beating the trio in Benoot/MVP/Jorgenson
|
| |
|
|
| trekbmc |
Posted on 18-10-2026 12:09
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7416
Joined: 11-07-2014
PCM$: 800.00
|
Love this race. In theory it's a very nice course for Rojas so might've been a mistake bringing Neilands who PCM could let lead instead. Would be very happy if we could pick up a top 10.
Thanks for the preview!
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 19-10-2026 23:53
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 18-10-2026 12:20
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7960
Joined: 22-06-2009
PCM$: 850.00
|
Always love coming back here with Jorgenson to see if this is the year he can finally win this race. Been so close in the past and expect another good race this time around.
|
| |
|
|
| jackgibbs |
Posted on 18-10-2026 14:30
|
Free Agent
Posts: 128
Joined: 25-07-2021
PCM$: 300.00
|
No one on my team likes leaving the smooth pavement so I just sent my normal high-stamina MM/HI squad (Langellotti, Kinoshita, and Smith). Not really even expecting a Top 10, but placing 2-3 in that 10-25 range feels feasible based on what I'm seeing from the race history. |
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 18-10-2026 14:52
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 4376
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Fascinating race to see how the AI balances things now managers have had a year to react to PCM24 and create a more suited start list. This is the kind of race where version changes can completely rewrite the rules so the first year is always weird.
Agree MvdP, Jorgenson and Benoot are the three to beat.
For McCormick lots of "almost" riders, so if we stay interested we could get decent depth.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| Imladrik |
Posted on 18-10-2026 17:41
|
Protected Rider
Posts: 1378
Joined: 05-10-2021
PCM$: 700.00
|
Figured Serrano could have a chance here, in his first maxed outing. He's got some company in the hills and the cobbles.
A top 10 would be nice.
Thanks for the preview!
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
|
| |
|
|
| Bjartne |
Posted on 18-10-2026 18:40
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3231
Joined: 15-07-2007
PCM$: 300.00
|
Not sure what to expect here. We don't have the best cobble-squad, but Laurance as a puncheur with some knowledge of cobbles might be able to sneak in a good result.
Thanks Cunego! |
| |
|
|
| Booker |
Posted on 19-10-2026 09:53
|
Protected Rider
Posts: 1248
Joined: 03-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
|
Top 5 goal for us, have prioritised Benoot here. Fingers crossed for a good result to start off our season properly, as Benoot has got some strong depth in here as well! Thanks for the preview cunego
|
| |
|
|
| jt1109 |
Posted on 19-10-2026 11:38
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3776
Joined: 23-07-2008
PCM$: 800.00
|
Fantastic stuff from MVdP that really couldn't have gone any more perfect following Benoot and Jorgensen get on the front before the final KM and just sprint away.
Perfect start to the goals as well always a slight lottery for the win goal so to get that bagged early is ideal!
awesome stuff really good couple of races for the team the last few days and a strong start to classics season! |
| |
|
|
| Booker |
Posted on 19-10-2026 11:47
|
Protected Rider
Posts: 1248
Joined: 03-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
|
Well, congrats jt, looks like a perfect choice for the race! Slightly disappointed Benoot couldn't finish it off but it was always to be expected for him to be picked off by MVdP if he couldn't go on his own.
In the end, Benoot in third is meeting expectations (and a goal accomplished, which is better than last season already!) but no depth scoring is a bit sad 
Thanks for the report Cunego
|
| |
|
|
| Heine |
Posted on 19-10-2026 12:26
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5133
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
Congrats jt! Big win!
Might not have been the hardest prediction this year, but would like to quote myself:
"can't see anyone beating the trio in Benoot/MVP/Jorgenson"
Exciting report!
|
| |
|
|
| whitejersey |
Posted on 19-10-2026 12:42
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3521
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
|
Best race on the calendar once again provides magnificent racing. In previous years a move like the one Simmons made could have stuck if he'd had one or two more riders working with him, shame it didn't!
Incredible finale of the race though and very happy to see MvdP take the win for Bianchi!
|
| |
|
|
| cunego59 |
Posted on 19-10-2026 13:22
|
Team Manager
Posts: 6789
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1290.00
|
Just to clarify again, the report was by kandesbunzler  However, I am quite pleased to have put 9 of the eventual Top 10 in my Top 10 in the preview, which I wrote before I had read the report, with 15 of the Top 16 at least mentioned
As for my team, 7th for Habimana is pretty much where he should be in this field. Would've been incredible if he had been able to hang on when the Top 3 attacked, as 4th was certainly the absolute maximum possible. But I'm content with this, Jean Eric did well with the opportunity.
Congrats jt, always nice to check a win goal off the list!
|
| |
|
|
| jackgibbs |
Posted on 19-10-2026 13:34
|
Free Agent
Posts: 128
Joined: 25-07-2021
PCM$: 300.00
|
Glad we got involved with a strong breakaway pairing, and I do wonder if Langellotti could've ridden into the points had he not burned his matches so early. |
| |
|
|
| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 19-10-2026 14:08
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7960
Joined: 22-06-2009
PCM$: 850.00
|
Oh so close, darn you MVdP. Try again next year...
|
| |
|
|
| whitejersey |
Posted on 19-10-2026 14:21
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3521
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
|
So Jorgenson getting sold to PCT or Viana moving to PTHC? 
|
| |
|
|
| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 19-10-2026 15:04
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7960
Joined: 22-06-2009
PCM$: 850.00
|
The latter, of course. And why stop there let's get Viana to Monument status
|
| |
|
|
| Caspi |
Posted on 19-10-2026 21:04
|
Protected Rider
Posts: 1136
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 19500.00
|
Expected nothing and got close to nothing pointwise. However, we were visible throughout the race, and while it's rarely a good strategy, it's what we wanted from the team here.
Thanks for the report, KB.
|
| |
|
