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Giro dell'Emilia Discussion Thread
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 20-09-2012 12:49
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Giro dell'Emilia
Italy welcomes you to the second to last one-day CT HC race of the season!
With promotion spots still up for grabs everyone will sure be watching the action very closely and emotions are expected to high with everything that is at stake.
And if you don't think that will make for a good race,
just look at how the experts ranked the team squads for the event -
Bianchi is given a small edge but 10 teams are slated right behind them!
Sure cycling is about the teams but the fans are more concerned about the riders who actually have a chance at winning this thing. So here you go:
 Francesco Ginanni is the top dog, at least on paper, as he makes steep hills look like speed bumps. Being his last race of the season he will look to secure his top 5 in the CT points standings by doing the same thing he did at the first race of the season, Win.
 Cesare Di Maggio, should give Ginanni all he can handle as he tries to fend off Bellis for 2nd in CT points, even though mathematically he can catch the next guy on our list.
 Jose Alarcon, if you don't know what this guy has done this season you have been living under a rock, may be a mountain guy but Aker felt the hills should be steep enough to produce another Alarcon victory. Although he might have already claimed the best CT rider this season, Aker would love to see Jose raise his arms in the arm to clench their promotion spot, if it isn't already.
 Jonathan Bellis, now looking to impress potential buyers after receiving word his contract will not be renewed for next season, has every reason to believe he will be in the lead group at the finish but can he beat his rivals to the line?
 Nicolas Roche, with a rather under achieving season, will try to overlook his past and prove to Pirelli he is worth a contract renewal in the off season, if they had any doubt that he was worth it.
Franco Pellizotti, perhaps Di Maggio elite protector, should also given a shout out in case Venchi doesn't like their chances with Di Maggio. However they stated at the start of the season their goal was just a top 5, and I see no reason why that can't be achieved.
Oh I almost forgot the best "rated" team  Bianchi. They bring FIVE great riders in Dimitri Claeys, David De la Fuente, Juan José Cobo, Maxime Monfort, and Koldo Gil. How is anybody suppose to break this team down? They will for sure have somebody at the finish contending unless they have a huge letdown.
The deep field continues (Be aware of this guys as well):
 Gianpaolo Caruso
 Ben Hermans
 Jelle Vanendert
 Rui Costa
 Sylvain Calzati
 Marcel Wyss
Also for the non-avid man game fans these one-day races this season have been dominated by breakaway wins, so really it's anybody's race to win.
Complete Start List:
Spoiler Vespa
1. F. Ginanni
2. N. Arndt
3. A. Balloni
4. M. Bono
5. A. Pagoto
6. A. Passalacqua
7. M. Quinziato
8. R. Traficante
Rapha Condor
11. J. Bellis
12. D. Appleby
13. A. Dowsett
14. T. Grmay
15. D. Jiriakov
16. Z. Ndbri
17. R. Partridge
18. T. Teklit
Pirelli
21. N. Roche
22. M. Busche
23. G. Cheula
24. H. Dupont
25. A. DÃaz Corrales
26. M. Iannetti
27. N. Kinney
28. E. Murgoitio
Bianchi
31. J. Cobo
32. D. Claeys
33. D. De la Fuente
34. K. Gil
35. W. Gustov
36. A. Matzbacher
37. M. Monfort
38. K. Vantornout
Aker Solutions
41. A. Roux
42. J. Alarcon
43. J. Castroviejo
44. H. Duenas Nevado
45. L. Haedo
46. R. Jaramillo
47. J. Rovira
48. J. Zrimsek
Bpost
51. J. Vanendert
52. F. De Greef
53. F. Frison
54. C. Gautier
55. J. Polanc
56. J. Steigmiller
57. G. Van Keirsbulck
58. J. Vansummeren
Venchi
61. C. Di Maggio
62. F. Aru
63. O. Haavardsholm
64. P. Haugard
65. B. Monterastelli
66. F. Pellizotti
67. F. Reda
68. P. Sagan
Ferrari
71. G. Caruso
72. P. Niemiec
73. D. Pietropolli
74. S. Pirazzi
75. M. Possoni
76. M. Pozzo
77. C. Salerno
78. M. Santambrogio
Rothaus
81. B. Hermans
82. V. Iglinski
83. A. Krieger
84. A. Passeron
85. F. Scheit
86. N. Schoch
87. M. Velits
88. C. Westphal
Saab
91. M. Wyss
92. N. Aistrup
93. U. Galiev
94. P. Lavery
95. G. Likhaya
96. T. Lövkvist
97. E. Salgueiro
98. J. Sørensen
Red Bull
101. S. Calzati
102. M. Chérel
103. K. Kirchen
104. A. Moinard
105. D. Moreno
106. M. Mori
107. E. Vorganov
108. KS. Wu
CSC
111. R. Costa
112. I. Basso
113. M. Dueñas
114. E. Parra Bustamante
115. J. Rodas
116. C. Sastre
117. C. Verona
118. C. Zaballa
Meiji
121. M. Lloyd
122. J. Crawford
123. Y. Hiratsuka
124. M. Kikuchi
125. S. Lagutin
126. J. Murakami
127. J. Sano
128. Y. Suzuki
Cerne
131. B. Pires
132. L. Afonso
133. A. Antunes
134. M. Biondo
135. G. Cerveira
136. M. Cunha
137. P. Lucas Martins
138. A. Mourato
Puma
141. T. Martin
142. T. Dumoulin
143. M. Egger
144. K. Hnik
145. W. Kelderman
146. D. Klemme
147. O. Le Gac
148. M. Vogt
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| roturn |
Posted on 20-09-2012 13:26
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Wow. Must have been ages since Hermans raced the last time. At least I can`t remember any decent result since Turkey. 
And good see Westphal again. One of his 12,13 race days this season. Quite a pity as he is a solid team mate and also he secured my first ever mangame stage win.
So with Passeron, Velits and Iglinski I have some more decent helpers and only 3 young talents.
So a top10 is a must here no matter the starting field. |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 20-09-2012 13:42
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Pretty obvious what my strategy was in these hilly classics pick seven strongish riders who will have a chance from a breakaway.
Then watch as punchaer favourites sit behind weak-ass teams - only here Rapha, Venchi, Pirelli and Vespa look pretty strong.
I think Ginanni has the skills to dominate Di Maggio on this one.
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| ember |
Posted on 20-09-2012 15:27
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This wil be an amazing race. However, I sent both Roux and Alarcon to this race, and I fear AI will mess up, letting Alarcon ride for Roux. Would be great if Alarcon tried something similar to Subida, but I suspect the longest climb to be too far from the finish line. We've brought a strong squad for this one, but so has many others aswell, meaning a breakaway is probably not a great chance either.
Definitely looking forward to see the report, I somehow fancy Roche for the win. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 20-09-2012 15:33
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I desperately need Caruso to pull off a strong result. A top 10 would bring my number of completed goals to two. I really need that, otherwise I'll get budget problems next year. 
Fancying Ginanni to win this one, with a warning flag for Alarcon.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 20-09-2012 15:45
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OlegTinkov wrote:
T.CS Bank - OJSC Rosneft is also on the startlist, right!?!? I already missed out on Brixia and Dunkerque I won't let it happen again!
Not the startlist I received. But also haven't written the report so if SN or somebody can prove your in the race and I get a new start list I will re-race it. ;)
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| jph27 |
Posted on 20-09-2012 16:38
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I like the idea of using the team strength stars  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 22:23
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 20-09-2012 17:10
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This has come down to the best riders in the race the last few years - hope it comes down to that again. |
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| rycadinho |
Posted on 20-09-2012 17:39
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fenian_1234 wrote:
This has come down to the best riders in the race the last few years - hope it comes down to that again.
1+, would be great to see all the stars battle it out against each other for once... especially since it's one of the final races of the season, gogo Roche!
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 20-09-2012 18:47
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Mresuperstar wrote:
OlegTinkov wrote:
T.CS Bank - OJSC Rosneft is also on the startlist, right!?!? I already missed out on Brixia and Dunkerque I won't let it happen again!
Not the startlist I received. But also haven't written the report so if SN or somebody can prove your in the race and I get a new start list I will re-race it. 
Season long problem this.
Tinkoff's ID IS in the startlist file, but for some unknown reason, the game ignores it unless you use the in-game startlist editor to add it. Which I did do for Emelia, so not sure why they havent shown up this time.
Nice to see you active enough to spot it in time, this time, Oleg
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| Rin |
Posted on 20-09-2012 19:15
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Posts: 2748
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Smowz wrote:
Pretty obvious what my strategy was in these hilly classics pick seven strongish riders who will have a chance from a breakaway.
Then watch as punchaer favourites sit behind weak-ass teams - only here Rapha, Venchi, Pirelli and Vespa look pretty strong.
I think Ginanni has the skills to dominate Di Maggio on this one.
You forgot Bianchi somehow
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 20-09-2012 19:17
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Smowz wrote:
Pretty obvious what my strategy was in these hilly classics pick seven strongish riders who will have a chance from a breakaway.
Then watch as punchaer favourites sit behind weak-ass teams - only here Rapha, Venchi, Pirelli and Vespa look pretty strong.
I think Ginanni has the skills to dominate Di Maggio on this one.
You were also one of the few to really build based on the fact that strength in depth was bound to be better rewarded this year.
But it is true that I often split my hilly team off to different races - so the support wasnt really there at times.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 20-09-2012 19:55
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Alright will rerun the race and put the report up this weekend. And as you all know now Tinkoff is racing so I don't fell the need to update the first post. Glad it all got sorted out in time.
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 22-09-2012 20:41
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16th is about where I thought we'd be. Would be nice to do a little better though 
Great win for Pirelli too.
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 22-09-2012 20:50
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Success!
Caruso was a real life saver there. Now I'll at least have two accomplished goals this year.
Congrats to our fellow Italian team Pirelli as well!
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| Smowz |
Posted on 22-09-2012 21:27
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Bah! That pretty much nails the CTour title for Bianchi with an amazingly strong team performance. Venchi pulled off a good result too. The only team really happier will be Pirelli - What a double win!
Our race sort of washed away, I am a little disappointed with the positioning of the rest of our riders. Consolation is that we outscored the Rapha Condor Qhubeka boys
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 22-09-2012 21:32
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Calzati crashing made me laugh
Bellis' performance did not!
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 22-09-2012 21:49
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Finally managed to nail a sponsor goal! I think I got some important points in this race. I'm not at all sure I will make it yet (promotion), but I think the future looks bright.
Edited by Sykkel_Freak on 22-09-2012 22:20
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| ember |
Posted on 22-09-2012 21:51
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Oh well, that was a really bad result for us. With both Venchi and Pirelli picking up a solid amount of points, and Pokerstars most likely getting a solid point haul from Franco-Belge, I think promotion will slip for my team on the very last day of racing this season. Or the very last day one of those teams are racing.
Will certainly be a very interesting end to the season speaking of which teams that will promote. |
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 22-09-2012 22:10
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A powerful team performance gives Bianchi a 600 point lead in the standings - can we say Champions yet? And while that race is slipping away from Jayco RB, promotion is surely adequate consolation!
Cal Giant and Aker are now separated by just 1 point but still the charge from behind has yet to really put them under pressure - although Venchi are moving up to them.
It's all action behind though for the 6th and final definate promotion place (7th). Riding a wave of late season success, Pirelli have overtaken Pokerstars to take that spot. One slight problem for Pirelli though. Pokerstars have 26 race days left to count to the rankings. They have 2.
VolksWagen, Emu and Hollister are all close, as are Vespa - but while VW and Hollister have a few races to come, there is a lot riding on the Herald Sun Tour for Emu and Vespa. That's Emu's last race, while Vespa only have Japan other than that.
Further down, Ferrari have moved into the Top 20, at the expense of Rothaus. That battle is also tight and one to follow - with Saab, CSC and WWE all involved.
At the very bottom, Meiji edge a further 10 points way from Oz. But what do Oz care? Only 1 Continental team has ever won a ProTour stage race, and it is them!
| 1 | | 1 | | | Team Bianchi | 4860 | | 2 | | 2 | | | Jayco - Red Bull | 4262 | | 3 | | 3 | | | Rapha Condor - Qhubeka | 4094 | | 4 | | 4 | |  | California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized | 3578 | | 5 | | 5 | | | Aker Solutions - Bergans | 3577 | | 6 | | 6 | | | Team Venchi ProCycling | 3412 | | 7 | | 10 |  | | Pirelli - Alfa Romeo | 3193 | | 8 | | 7 |  |  | Pokerstars.com | 3166 | | 9 | | 8 | |  | VolksWagen - Siemens | 3072 | | 10 | | 9 | |  | Emu Export | 3062 | | 11 | | 11 | |  | Hollister Pro Cycling | 3037 | | 12 | | 13 | | | Vespa - Aprilia - De Rosa | 2932 | | 13 | | 12 | |  | UniCredit | 2910 | | 14 | | 14 | |  | Team Trilux - Falke | 2810 | | 15 | | 15 | |  | T.CS Bank - OJSC Rosneft | 2800 | | 16 | | 16 | | | Team Bpost | 2668 | | 17 | | 17 | |  | Team Puma - SAP | 2386 | | 18 | | 18 | | | Saab-Scania | 2280 | | 19 | | 22 | | | Ferrari - ERG | 2204 | | 20 | | 19 | | | Team CSC-Orbea | 2192 | | 21 | | 20 | | | Team Rothaus - Aegon | 2185 | | 22 | | 21 | |  | Team WWE | 2154 | | 23 | | 23 | |  | Proximus - Trek | 2081 | | 24 | | 24 | |  | Focused Cycling | 1944 | | 25 | | 25 | |  | Koppert Cycling Team | 1752 | | 26 | | 26 | |  | Cerne | 1744 | | 27 | | 27 | |  | Cyclevox | 1737 | | 28 | | 28 | |  | Meiji - Fuji | 1320 | | 29 | | 29 | |  | Oz Cycling Project | 1209 |
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