Subida al Naranco Discussion Thread
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ember |
Posted on 03-02-2012 20:25
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Subida al Naranco
Spain welcomes the Continental riders to a one-day classic in Asturias, the famous Subida al Naranco is on the menu. This year's profile gives both puncheurs and climbers a shot at glory, as it's a very tough route, rated hilly, but with some serious climbs in it. Especially the final 70 kilometers are challenging. It contains 3 climbs, where the final one is the shortest and steepest, the riders will face gradients of 19% in the sprint for the finishing line. This should be fireworks!
Only 12 teams and 84 riders decided this race was worth racing, but we certainly don't lack strong riders, eventhough there's only 77 riders starting the race. There's many favourites,
Juan Cobo is on home soil here, and he should be up for it. The route looks perfect to him, as he should be able to combine his talent on both hills and mountains here. He has been very disappointing so far this season, he was meant to be one of the absolute leaders in Team Bianchi, but so far this season, his best result is 9th in GP di Lugano. But this should be different, with the crowd cheering for him, will he be strong enough to take the win?
Carlos Castaño is another Spaniard who might challenge for the win on home soil. Compared to Cobo, he has had a great start to his season. A 3rd place in Vuelta al Tachira was followed by a 2nd place in Castilla y Leon. Will Castaño go one better in Subida al Naranco?
Cesare Di Maggio, probably the signing of the season, has shown so far this year that he can be counted on as long as the profile is hilly. Well, the profile for Subida al Naranco is hilly, so he's definitely one of the favourites. Question is if the climbs proves too hard for him, as he doesn't handle the longer climbs very well. But Di Maggio has so far this season proved the skeptics wrong, and he could very well do that once again here in Spain.
Aleksandr Kolobnev, Hassen Ben Nasser and Pieter Weening are three puncheurs who all deserves mentioning. Especially Kolobnev and Weening looks threatening, as they can cope well with mountains, in addition to their great abilities on hills. Ben Nasser on the other hand, has to rely on the pace being low on the longest climbs, as his skills on mountains are limited. But his talent on hills is well known, meaning he's a rider you don't want to have close on the final climb, which is "only" about 3 kilometers long, and very steep. If he's in the mix there, he could very well take the win.
Fabian Wegmann is also a dangerous puncheur on this route. He's by far the strongest sprinter of the puncheurs, meaning everyone will need to get rid of him before the final kilometer. If they can't do that, Wegmann could very well take the victory in the sprint for the line.
Jose Alarcon is one of the very best climbers in the world. A hilly classic shouldn't suit him perfect on paper, but this one might do, as there are some long climbs. If he can shake off the best puncheurs there, he might stand a chance, as the final climb is his kind of terrain, with some steep climbing.
Startlist
Spoiler Bianchi | 1. J. Cobo | 2. D. De la Fuente | 3. K. Gil | 4. S. Locatelli | 5. O. Martynenko | 6. H. Schwab | 7. K. Vantornout | Aker Solutions | 11. A. Roux | 12. J. Alarcon | 13. H. Duenas Nevado | 14. R. Jaramillo | 15. L. Nordhaug | 16. J. Rovira | 17. J. Zrimsek | Proximus | 21. H. Ben Nasser | 22. M. De Maar | 23. H. Ma | 24. D. Shatskikh | 25. Y. Stoltz | 26. K. Uugunbayar | 27. M. Zenagui | Tinkoff | 31. A. Kolobnev | 32. M. Belkov | 33. D. Galimzyanov | 34. P. Ignatenko | 35. A. Khatuntsev | 36. I. Rovny | 37. K. Yatsevich | Venchi | 41. C. Di Maggio | 42. V. Agnoli | 43. F. Aru | 44. O. Haavardsholm | 45. B. Monterastelli | 46. F. Reda | 47. A. Santoro | Trilux | 51. F. Wegmann | 52. J. Barta | 53. D. Devenyns | 54. G. Rast | 55. A. Schillenger | 56. R. Scholz | 57. G. Smukulis | UniCredit | 61. P. Weening | 62. L. Bernucci | 63. J. Grau | 64. S. Ortega | 65. N. Quintana | 66. T. Valjavec | 67. G. Visconti | Pirelli | 71. C. Castaño | 72. M. Busche | 73. A. Flaksis | 74. N. Kinney | 75. F. Montaña | 76. E. Murgoitio | 77. A. Saldarriaga | CSC | 81. M. Soler | 82. I. Basso | 83. J. Gelabert | 84. C. Lewis | 85. C. Sastre | 86. C. Verona | 87. C. Zaballa | Ferrari | 91. P. Niemiec | 92. E. Battaglin | 93. P. Longo Borghini | 94. M. Osella | 95. D. Pietropolli | 96. M. Possoni | 97. M. Santambrogio | Cerne | 101. B. Pires | 102. L. Afonso | 103. A. Antunes | 104. B. Borges | 105. J. Insausti | 106. P. Lucas Martins | 107. A. Vital | Bpost | 111. F. De Greef | 112. M. La Lavandier | 113. M. La Lavandier | 114. W. Maesen | 115. R. Stenuit | 116. T. Stubbe | 117. W. Van Den Eynde |
Edited by ember on 03-02-2012 21:38
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felix_29 |
Posted on 03-02-2012 21:15
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Actually, I also send a squad here. I checked the last race planner i send to SN, and my squad with Wegmann and some others is definatly in.
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SportingNonsense |
Posted on 03-02-2012 21:19
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felix_29 wrote:
Actually, I also send a squad here. I checked the last race planner i send to SN, and my squad with Wegmann and some others is definatly in.
Ah yes. Youre missing because in your planner file, you changed Subida al Naranco to Naranco, so the startlist generated for Subida al Naranco missed you off.
Ive sent ember your team lineup for it now.
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Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 01:57
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CountArach |
Posted on 03-02-2012 21:24
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I have no idea why I didn't send Vanendert. This profile would be perfect for him.
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felix_29 |
Posted on 03-02-2012 21:29
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SportingNonsense wrote:
felix_29 wrote:
Actually, I also send a squad here. I checked the last race planner i send to SN, and my squad with Wegmann and some others is definatly in.
Ah yes. Youre missing because in your planner file, you changed Subida al Naranco to Naranco, so the startlist generated for Subida al Naranco missed you off.
Ive sent ember your team lineup for it now.
Ahh, i just saw that but have no idea why that it´s only called Naranco. But good to hear that i can participate, and sorry for the extra work you have.
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ember |
Posted on 03-02-2012 21:34
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You're added to the startlist now, felix, and Wegmann got some words in the preview aswell. I'll re-run the race tomorrow, and it will be posted either tomorrow evening or sometime after GP of Moscow is raced |
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Mresuperstar |
Posted on 03-02-2012 22:01
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Not expecting much A top 10 would be cool though to please the home fans.
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rycadinho |
Posted on 03-02-2012 22:02
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I hope the stage will be raced hard enough so Castaño can do an difference on that final climb, though my money is on Cobo.
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Rin |
Posted on 03-02-2012 22:42
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I think Castano will win it as I think my riders know how to wreck a good result with a very good line-up for this race with the trio grande Cobo, de la Fuente and Gil
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 03-02-2012 22:56
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Cobo to win here. Castaño will be a tough opponent though.
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fenian_1234 |
Posted on 03-02-2012 23:27
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Mmmm...no Valverde. |
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 04-02-2012 09:29
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Castaño to win, with Alarcon and Cobo on the podium.
From a Ferrari perspective, I just hope Niemiec gets a little boost from the slightly mountainous route. A top 10 would be a positive surprise.
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Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 05-02-2012 13:56
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ember, are you sure you didn't control your own team? Because that was heavily suspicious.
Just kidding. But an awesome result for us with Niemiec in fourth.
Oh, and great report!
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SportingNonsense |
Posted on 05-02-2012 14:00
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Dominating display there from Alarcon. Aker have returned to racing with a bang.
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felix_29 |
Posted on 05-02-2012 14:03
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Seems it was a mistake to send Wegmann here, i didn't think the mountain stat would be so important.
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Smowz |
Posted on 05-02-2012 14:06
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The risk with Alarcon was worth it there, looking at the startlist I expected a good display from Bianchi it was a case of just how good would it be...
Cobo arguably should have won here last year but this year didn't follow the right moves, still for the team 3rd, 5th and 10th is quite nice and what I expect from the Bianchi team loaded for the classics.
Good performance from Castano too and Di Maggio obviously didn't fancy that one.
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cio93 |
Posted on 05-02-2012 16:39
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That was an enormous display of strength by Alarcon!
Congratulations to Aker, who are really impressive this season.
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Kami |
Posted on 05-02-2012 16:43
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Smowz wrote:
Cobo arguably should have won here last year but this year didn't follow the right moves, still for the team 3rd, 5th and 10th is quite nice and what I expect from the Bianchi team loaded for the classics.
Lies, i say.
I find the game so random though. Keizer (77 MO, 71HI), has not once managed to get a good placement on these hilly/mountainous races this year, as far as the point where he ends up with riders far below him, yet some other good climbers, with a lesser hill stat (like Alarcon), manages to perform well. PCM11 seems so random to me at points.
Anyways, great report!
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rycadinho |
Posted on 05-02-2012 16:53
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Fantastic display by Castaño, too bad Alarcon won by such clever tactic though I can't be upset with it! - Seems the first win is still waiting for us.
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Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 05-02-2012 17:56
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Incredible ride by Alarcon, that was quite surprising. Although I don't think Rin will be disappointed with so many points grabbed here.
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