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Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec & Montréal Discussion
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| Bushwackers |
Posted on 28-07-2012 15:36
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 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
Welcome to Canada for the next installment of the C1 America tour, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec! The riders will face 16 laps of a 12,6km circuit that finishes on a sharp climb into Old Québec. With just under 200 meters of climbing per lap and an uphill finish, the course is truly one of the most suitable courses on the calendar for the puncheurs. Last year's winner Sylvain Chavanel is not here to defend his title, but there are an abundance of the strongest riders in the CT here to take the reigns. Some of the most notable of these names include Alejandro Valverde, Cesare Di Maggio, and Francesco Ginanni, but there are many more.
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
After a rest day, the riders will race the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. This course will take the riders through 17 laps of a 12,1km circuit around the Université de Montréal with a sharp climb up the 1,8km Côte Camilien-Houde, which averages 8% every lap. The race is very similar to Quebéc, with the key difference being the downhill finish rather than a finish on the top of the hill. The climb is also slightly tougher. The startlists are nearly identical, with the major differences being that Ginanni is absent here. Sylvain Calzati of Jayco - Red Bull is absent as well.
These races are the next stage for the showdown between the top 3 ranked Continental Tour teams, as Team Bianchi, Rapha Condor - Qhubeka, and Jayco - Red Bull will all go head to head to see who will come out on top of the Continental Tour. Hollister Pro Cycling come to the race looking to solidify their lead in the America Tour, with 2nd place Cal Giant being absent. Team WWE are sitting in 3rd. There are now two battles waging simultaneously in this war, as Hollister and WWE are also competing against one another in the Tour of America, where Hollister are currently winning.
Teams
 Cerne 
Cerne are lead here by veteran Portuguese climber Bruno Pires. His best result this season has been a 6th at Manx International (a similarly hilly race), but aside that he is usually reliable for a top-20. With this in mind, we should expect a respectable result from Cerne, but probably not on par with the big names. Pires' biggest support will come from the predicted star of the future Bruno Borges, as well as Italian sprinter Maurizio Biondo.
 Ferrari - ERG 
Ferrari come to the race in service of their man Cristiano Salerno. He is very capable in the hills, and his best results including a stage win at the Tour de San Luis, and 4th at Strade Bianchi, have been the result of his opportunistic tendencies in going for breakaways. His strongest support will come from compatriot Mauro Santambrogio, himself a winner of a winner of multiple stages through breakaways as well. Should we expect more aggressive riding from this team here?
 Hollister Pro Cycling 
Alessandro Proni will lead the Hollister team here. He is another of the mid-tier puncheurs who is consistently in the top-20, although he has had several other top-10 performances here and there, particularly in sprints from smaller groups in hilly races. He has a very respectable team backing him up, particularly in riders Juan Miguel Marcado and Staf Scheirlinckx.
 Jayco - Red Bull 
Jayco will look to carry forth their momentum from their dominant display in the Tour of Swaziland earlier this month as they chase down Bianchi in the CT Team rankings. They bring a very strong team here, as they usually do, albeit without one clear leader. They have 4 strong puncheurs that are all very similar in skill: Kirchen, Mori, Calzati (in Québec), and Chérel. Kirchen is perhaps a little stronger than the others, but without a doubt this strong team will give them many options.
 Proximus - Trek 
While they are set to disband at the end of the season, the riders of the Proximus - Trek team will look to impress as they will all be needing to find a new team for the next season. Alejandro Valverde will lead the team here, and he goes into the race as one of the main favorites. Hassen Ben Nasser will support Valverde, although he is capable of leading the team in his own right.
 Rapha Condor - Qhubeka 
Rapha Condor are riding here for Chris Froome, who will hope to defend his top-10 in the CT Individual Rankings. He has been suspiciously dominant this year, after coming out of pretty much nowhere to win the Ras de Cymru, Tour of Southland, and seemingly every stage of the Tour of Japan that went uphill, as well as countless other top results in every other race he entered. Many are skeptical of these results, as he was a relatively unknown rider before this race, and critics cite this as an unnatural progression.
 Saab - Scania 
The Saab squad will be lead by Swiss puncheur Marcel Wyss. While he is not one of the top contenders for this race, he has displayed his class this year by taking a win at the Criterium Hainliete through a late attack. Perhaps a similar tactic is on the cards today? If it is, he will have more than adequate support from Danish powerhouse Matti Breschel Skull Smasher.
 Team Bianchi 
Here are the big boys of the race: Continental Tour leaders Team Bianchi. Fresh off of his 3rd place overall at the Tour of Pologne, Dimitri Claeys will be right at home as he leads the team over the sharp hills in this tough race. He has a duo of key Spanish lieutenants in David de la Fuente and the aging national champion, Koldo Gil. With this strong team, they have a good chance of moving further ahead of Rapha Condor and Jayco in the team rankings.
Team Bpost 
Jelle Vanendert heads up the Belgian Bpost team here in Canada. The team has usually been able to count on him for a top 10 in races throughout the season, with his most notable result being a win in the prestigious Giro dell'Appellenio, where he beat Di Maggio, Froome, and Weening, along with several other favorites who are present today. His main support will come from Cyril Gautier and Johan Vansummeren, while the rest of the team consists of neo-pros.
 Team CSC - Orbea 
The CSC team will be working for Rui Costa here as he attempts to one-up his team mates that are racing to the south in the Tour of America. He has displayed his ability in the hilly races with a win in the Strade Bianchi earlier in the year, and his team, especially Constantino Zaballa, will support his bid to replicate that success.
Team Puma - SAP 
Puma have sent one of the most interesting squads of all the teams in the race. It consists of all neo-pros, the most notable of which is Wilco Kelderman, winner of a stage of the Tour of Taiwan. He will lead the team here to see if he can hang with the top guns when given a chance to ride for himself, but more importantly to gain experience with the rest of the youngest team in the peloton.
Team Rothaus - Aegon 
Rothaus are the 3rd German team in the race, but they will be lead by the man that all the locals will be cheering for: Ryder Hesjedal. He has been consistently in the top 10 when given the chance throughout the year, and he is very talented when it comes to the terrain like this, so we should expect him to put in a good result. His main support will come from winner of the Barcelona Classic, Valentin Iglinski, while much of the rest of the team is made up of young riders.
Team Venchi ProCycling 
Venchi have brought their superstar Cesare Di Maggio here to Canada to vie for the win, as well as seek points in his attempt to catch up to Jose Alarcon to win the overall CT Individual Rankings. He enters as the third favorite, behind Alejandro Valverde and Francesco Ginnani. Valverde beat him in their last head to head battle in the San Sebastian Classic, but it should definitely be an interesting 3 way battle today. He lacks a strong supporting team to back him, but this might not be an issue with the pure strength that he has.
Team WWE 
The WWE team will feature two strong riders here in Thomas Voeckler and Chris Anker Sørensen, with Voeckler listed as the official leader for this race. This is an important month for the team and their standings in the America Tour, as they currently have Kessiakoff contesting the Tour of America. They will hope to pull in more points than Hollister if they are to have any hope of dethroning them, although that is looking very unlikely.
UniCredit 
Another team set to disband at the end of the year, UniCredit have Pieter Weening in the driver's seat. He will have capable support from Jordi Grau, who would have pleased his team manager by winning the Trofeo Melinda and the King of the Mountains in the Tour de Pologne, if his manager hadn't mysteriously vanished.
Vespa - Aprilia - De Rosa 
Francesco Ginnani enters the race as one of the top-3 favorites after his recent win in the Tour de Pologne. He has had a very successful season so far that has put him in the top 10 in the Individual Rankings, and with the season coming to an end, this is one of his last few opportunities to move up, or solidify his position. He will only take part in Québec. Gabriele Bosisio will be the head of his support, which includes several other very strong helpers.
Volkswagen - Siemens 
The Germans are out in force here in Canada, as Volkswagen makes this the 4th German team. They will be headed by Aleksandar Flügel winner of the Tour of Wellington and the GP de Lugano. His strongest support will probably be from Christian Pfannberger, although support is an area that the team is clearly lacking in. Regardless, Flügel should be able to put in a good result on his own.
Startlist Québec
Spoiler Proximus
1. A. Valverde
2. H. Ben Nasser
3. J. Coenen
4. K. De Weert
5. H. Ma
6. J. Mouris
7. E. Reekers
Vespa
11. F. Ginanni
12. N. Arndt
13. M. Bono
14. G. Bosisio
15. D. Garbelli
16. A. Pagoto
17. R. Traficante
Bianchi
21. D. Claeys
22. D. De la Fuente
23. K. Gil
24. G. Lequatre
25. S. Locatelli
26. O. Martynenko
27. K. Vantornout
Bpost
31. J. Vanendert
32. C. Gautier
33. M. La Lavandier
34. M. La Lavandier
35. W. Maesen
36. G. Van Keirsbulck
37. J. Vansummeren
Venchi
41. C. Di Maggio
42. V. Agnoli
43. C. Cominelli
44. M. Corti
45. O. Haavardsholm
46. A. Santoro
47. N. Tirloni
Team VW
51. A. Flügel
52. A. Klier
53. C. Müller
54. C. Pfannberger
55. G. Preidler
56. J. Veikkanen
57. R. Zabel
Rapha Condor
61. C. Froome
62. D. Appleby
63. N. Berhane
64. A. Dowsett
65. T. Grmay
66. D. Jiriakov
67. T. Teklit
UniCredit
71. P. Weening
72. L. Bernucci
73. J. Grau
74. S. Puccio
75. N. Quintana
76. T. Valjavec
77. T. Van der Sande
Saab
81. M. Wyss
82. M. Breschel
83. K. Ista
84. P. Lavery
85. G. Likhaya
86. J. Pronk
87. E. Salgueiro
Red Bull
91. S. Calzati
92. M. Chérel
93. A. Hansen
94. K. Kirchen
95. M. Mori
96. G. Tzortzakis
97. E. Vorganov
CSC
101. R. Costa
102. A. Ajewole
103. M. Dueñas
104. J. Perez Cuapio
105. J. Rodas
106. C. Verona
107. C. Zaballa
Hollister
111. A. Proni
112. J. Hicks
113. P. Mach
114. J. Mercado
115. R. Sambris
116. S. Scheirlinckx
117. B. Selander
Rothaus
121. R. Hesjedal
122. J. Ariesen
123. V. Iglinski
124. A. Krieger
125. M. Landa
126. J. Novak
127. D. Vesely
WWE
131. T. Voeckler
132. S. Damrow
133. L. Didier
134. A. Gottfried
135. J. Keukeleire
136. C. Sørensen
137. D. Veilleux
Ferrari
141. C. Salerno
142. P. Longo Borghini
143. M. Marcato
144. D. Pietropolli
145. M. Santambrogio
146. P. Sgrigna
147. L. Sterbini
Cerne
151. B. Pires
152. M. Biondo
153. B. Borges
154. M. Cunha
155. P. Lucas Martins
156. A. Mourato
157. R. Vilela
Puma
161. W. Kelderman
162. T. Dumoulin
163. M. Egger
164. K. Hnik
165. D. Klemme
166. O. Le Gac
167. M. Vogt
Startlist Montréal
Spoiler Proximus
1. A. Valverde
2. H. Ben Nasser
3. J. Coenen
4. K. De Weert
5. H. Ma
6. J. Mouris
7. E. Reekers
Bianchi
11. D. Claeys
12. D. De la Fuente
13. K. Gil
14. G. Lequatre
15. S. Locatelli
16. O. Martynenko
17. K. Vantornout
Bpost
21. J. Vanendert
22. C. Gautier
23. M. La Lavandier
24. M. La Lavandier
25. W. Maesen
26. G. Van Keirsbulck
27. J. Vansummeren
Venchi
31. C. Di Maggio
32. V. Agnoli
33. C. Cominelli
34. M. Corti
35. O. Haavardsholm
36. A. Santoro
37. N. Tirloni
Team VW
41. A. Flügel
42. A. Klier
43. C. Müller
44. C. Pfannberger
45. G. Preidler
46. J. Veikkanen
47. R. Zabel
Rapha Condor
51. C. Froome
52. D. Appleby
53. N. Berhane
54. A. Dowsett
55. T. Grmay
56. D. Jiriakov
57. T. Teklit
UniCredit
61. P. Weening
62. L. Bernucci
63. J. Grau
64. S. Puccio
65. N. Quintana
66. T. Valjavec
67. T. Van der Sande
Saab
71. M. Wyss
72. M. Breschel
73. K. Ista
74. P. Lavery
75. G. Likhaya
76. J. Pronk
77. E. Salgueiro
Red Bull
81. K. Kirchen
82. M. Chérel
83. A. Hansen
84. A. Jelloul
85. M. Mori
86. G. Tzortzakis
87. E. Vorganov
CSC
91. R. Costa
92. A. Ajewole
93. M. Dueñas
94. J. Perez Cuapio
95. J. Rodas
96. C. Verona
97. C. Zaballa
Hollister
101. A. Proni
102. J. Hicks
103. P. Mach
104. J. Mercado
105. R. Sambris
106. S. Scheirlinckx
107. B. Selander
Rothaus
111. R. Hesjedal
112. J. Ariesen
113. V. Iglinski
114. A. Krieger
115. M. Landa
116. J. Novak
117. D. Vesely
WWE
121. T. Voeckler
122. S. Damrow
123. L. Didier
124. A. Gottfried
125. J. Keukeleire
126. C. Sørensen
127. D. Veilleux
Ferrari
131. C. Salerno
132. P. Longo Borghini
133. M. Marcato
134. D. Pietropolli
135. M. Santambrogio
136. P. Sgrigna
137. L. Sterbini
Vespa
141. G. Bosisio
142. N. Arndt
143. A. Balloni
144. M. Bono
145. A. Pagoto
146. A. Passalacqua
147. R. Traficante
Cerne
151. B. Pires
152. M. Biondo
153. B. Borges
154. M. Cunha
155. P. Lucas Martins
156. A. Mourato
157. R. Vilela
Puma
161. W. Kelderman
162. N. Bouhanni
163. T. Dumoulin
164. M. Egger
165. D. Klemme
166. O. Le Gac
167. M. Vogt
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 22:18
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| Rin |
Posted on 28-07-2012 15:58
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I hope these two races will be epic.
Edited by Rin on 28-07-2012 15:58
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| roturn |
Posted on 28-07-2012 15:58
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Can only hope for a big national bonus here. Otherwise top10 will be almost impossible.
Strong startlist. |
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| Christer |
Posted on 28-07-2012 16:06
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Hoping for a good surprise win for Team WWE.
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| Smowz |
Posted on 28-07-2012 16:08
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I enjoyed racing these ones last year, actually very watchable in real life as they are in pcm11.
A few too many big names to hope to strike a win - so I will ashammedly hope for the usual JRB fare two riders in the top 15. Swaziland was enough panache for us 
(A chance for ember to get his own back for my America bashing too, in his report!)
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| CountArach |
Posted on 28-07-2012 16:17
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8290
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Vanendert is a long way up those start lists. That's what I like to see.
I'll settle for 2 top 10s.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 01:12
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World Champion
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Congratulations to Hesjedal, a great effort against Gil.
Also good work Bushwackers, caught the decisive moments in a race spread over various groups.
But as a neutral and honest observer, that was another dumb "we are the peloton and chase down every f***ing breakaway which would stand no chance anyways until we let the one go we know we'll never bring back" race.
Edited by cio93 on 08-08-2012 01:13
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| roturn |
Posted on 08-08-2012 01:14
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Team Manager
Posts: 22246
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PCM$: 3900.00
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This just made my day. 
You gotta love the national bonus.
Great report and now do the same in Montreal.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 08-08-2012 01:26
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
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Wow, epic report there. And of course, epic win for Hesjedal!
Congrats to both Bushwackers (for the writing) and roturn (for the win)
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| CountArach |
Posted on 08-08-2012 02:19
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8290
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Great report. Really exciting but so disappointing for us.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 08-08-2012 03:11
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8059
Joined: 22-06-2009
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Very dramatic report, it felt like the last kilometer lasted forever 
Surprised that Hesjedal held on to beat Gil, very thilling.
Pleased with Costa's 13th due to the tough competition. Plus the fact I pretty much have already threw in the towel for this season.
Edited by Mresuperstar on 08-08-2012 03:12
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 09:48
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World Champion
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Somehow missed that this thread had already been launched. Was surprised to see that the report was posted "before" the thread, but then I realized that it really wasn't. 
Excellent result for us. Couldn't have asked for any better.
Congrats to roturn.
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 09-08-2012 11:20
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4790
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Thanks for the report Bushwackers.
Another predictably ridiculous race though. Some of the best hilly riders in the division let good riders go mid race and build up a lead they can't shut down.... |
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| Rin |
Posted on 09-08-2012 11:26
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2748
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Can't be disappointed with 2nd and 4th looks like a great result with Vroome just 19th as the best Rapha Condor rider
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| CountArach |
Posted on 15-08-2012 01:19
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Grand Tour Champion
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What a race! My lads once again active all day but just lacking in the sprint.
Great reports, that was very hectic and I knew what was going on the whole time.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 15-08-2012 01:49
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We were mention like once the entire report and come out with a 6th, very nice invisible riding by Costa
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| roturn |
Posted on 15-08-2012 07:45
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Great report. Really was stunned until the end.
Surely not disappointed. Quite rarely that my leaders did something like this in other races. So I really enjoyed seeing Hesjedal being that aggressive.
True, in the peloton he might have sprinted for a top10, but I prefer seeing him trying to win and with 30s bigger gap, he would have been top5.
The double would have been awesome and I was really hoping it, but winning one of his classics is more I could have hoped for. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 15-08-2012 08:35
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I'm definitely giving Salerno a hill boost next season if I have the money for it. Already quite solid results, but not top of the line.
Very nice reports, Bush!
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| Smowz |
Posted on 17-08-2012 09:31
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Team Leader
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Yes a very interesting race in Montreal - it looked for a long time that we were going to get the break take it, only to be denied at the end.
A frantic chase and a highly tactical race. Ended pretty well for us as well with a two guys making the top seven.
Success for the inactive Proximus rankles but then they did have two high class racers here.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 20-08-2012 15:01
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Great reports, just too bad that Froome did absolutely nothing.
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