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Profronde van Drenthe Discussion
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| ember |
Posted on 02-01-2012 17:07
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Profronde van Drenthe is next race in the Continental Tour. It should be a wide open race, mainly thanks to the profile. There's cobbles in it, but the last cobbled section is nearly 100 kilometers away from the finish line. Will we see the best cobblers fight it out midway through the race?
If the race goes down as a "cobbled race," we're having some great riders here.  Team Bpost have brought Vanspeybrouck, Maes and Albert to this race, but they've also covered themselves for a possible bunch sprint, having Van Loocke in their 8 men big line up.
 Pokerstars.com team manager seems to have the same thoughts on the race as Team Bpost manager, as they've brought Nolf as a clear captain for the cobbles. But if the peloton goes slow over the cobbles, they also got Mohs for the sprint, one of the very best sprinters in the Continental Tour.
 Lars Boom is riding on home soil in Drenthe. He should be inspired, and he has shown earlier this season that he got what it takes on cobbles. Team Rothaus - Aegon has also thrown Vantomme into the mix, meaning they have at least 2 options; either an attack from Boom, or a sprint from Vantomme, if he can stay with the front group.
It's not possible to race a cobbled race in the Continental Divsion without mentioning
 Koppert Cycling Team. They're great on cobblestones, and they've sent their best cobbler, Veelers, as captain for this race. He should be a dangerous rider for anyone here, as he can combine his skills on cobbles with a great finishing kick.
 Adam Blythe is similar to Veelers, but probably a bit better, statwise! One of the absolutely best cobblers in the Continental Division, combined with a great sprint stat, should make him the man to beat in this classic.
But it will definitely not be an easy race for Blythe to win, his team isn't very strong, so outsiders like  Giaux,  Vaitkus and  Gaudin must fancy their chances here.
The race report should be with you sometime tomorrow.
Startlist
Spoiler | Bpost | | 1. P. Vanspeybrouck | | 2. N. Albert | | 3. R. Broers | | 4. N. Maes | | 5. J. Stallaert | | 6. G. Van Keirsbulck | | 7. J. Van Loocke | | 8. J. Vansummeren | | Rapha Condor | | 11. A. Blythe | | 12. C. Anguilet | | 13. A. Bakari | | 14. H. Kiprotich | | 15. T. Last | | 16. J. Perrett | | 17. T. Teklit | | 18. E. Van Wyk | | Pokerstars | | 21. F. Nolf | | 22. D. Boucher | | 23. J. Degenkolb | | 24. A. Geslin | | 25. N. Ingels | | 26. R. Kluge | | 27. E. Mohs | | 28. K. Van Impe | | Focus | | 31. D. Gaudin | | 32. J. Adams | | 33. J. Debusschere | | 34. K. Elissonde | | 35. R. Hardy | | 36. A. Kirsch | | 37. C. Pineau | | 38. T. Skujins | | Trilux | | 41. A. Coyot | | 42. M. Eichler | | 43. H. Haussler | | 44. I. Keisse | | 45. S. Krauss | | 46. G. Rast | | 47. A. Saramotins | | 48. P. Walsleben | | Koppert | | 51. T. Veelers | | 52. H. Dekkers | | 53. O. Freire | | 54. J. Hopman | | 55. P. Ligthart | | 56. P. Möhlmann | | 57. W. Stroetinga | | 58. B. Traksel | | Rothaus | | 61. L. Boom | | 62. J. Ariesen | | 63. T. Koep | | 64. M. Landa | | 65. J. Novak | | 66. M. Schachmann | | 67. M. Vantomme | | 68. D. Vesely | | Proximus | | 71. M. De Maar | | 72. J. Claes | | 73. N. Cohen | | 74. K. De Weert | | 75. V. Hacecký | | 76. L. Tommersen | | 77. M. Ulanowski | | 78. M. Zenagui | | Cyclevox | | 81. C. Knees | | 82. L. Holohan | | 83. C. McConvey | | 84. D. McLay | | 85. K. Pauwels | | 86. S. Thwaites | | 87. T. Vaitkus | | 88. R. Van der Velde | | Red Bull | | 91. J. Giaux | | 92. G. Brown | | 93. A. Hansen | | 94. A. Jelloul | | 95. C. Manarelli | | 96. C. Sutton | | 97. G. Tzortzakis | | 98. S. Vanthourenhout | | Bianchi | | 101. G. Lequatre | | 102. G. Ciolek | | 103. J. Hochmann | | 104. S. Locatelli | | 105. O. Martynenko | | 106. F. Odebrecht | | 107. F. Rabon | | 108. P. Rooijakkers | | Team VW | | 111. A. Klier | | 112. W. Anacona | | 113. A. Flügel | | 114. W. Li | | 115. K. Predatsch | | 116. G. Preidler | | 117. D. Schorn | | 118. R. Zabel | | C - Control team | | 121. M. Tjallingii | | 122. M. Kelderman | | 123. K. Kroon | | 124. J. Spring In't Veld | | 125. M. Van Zandbeek | | CSC | | 131. E. Teruel | | 132. A. Ajewole | | 133. B. Armstrong | | 134. S. Blanco | | 135. J. Gelabert | | 136. B. Lima | | 137. R. Maksimov | | 138. C. Verona |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 02-01-2012 17:29
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Yes ... Last team on the start-list  Best shot I guess is another classic breakaway or that in a miracle Maksimov makes it to a bunch sprint.
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| felix_29 |
Posted on 02-01-2012 17:32
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Strong line-ups, i hope for a Top10, though. Coyot simply has to do what he did in the previous classic races.
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| Smowz |
Posted on 02-01-2012 17:45
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Mresuperstar, the is always a special place for teams that are worse than the control team!
I am interested in rider 124, very cool name.
Looking down the startlist I notice VW and Bianchi have sent very strange squads... I am interested to hear what they were thinking here. For me it is my hope of sneaking a decent haul out of a good sprint by Giaux from a select group of 30 to 40 riders ... not really worked out so far but still it was always a long shot!
The big question is whether we get wind and rain if we do I reckon we will still have a selection, if we don't it could well be a big sprint. Doesn't look the style of race for a breakaway win for me.
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| Rin |
Posted on 02-01-2012 17:49
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I thought it would be a hill classic like last year without cobbles without really looking at the profiles which I should have done
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| Heine |
Posted on 02-01-2012 18:10
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I didn't think :-p I got this race as a HC race and just sent a team I hoped could do something in a breakaway :-p Hopefully Flügel attacks early and stays away
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 12:00
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| ANFreeman |
Posted on 02-01-2012 18:38
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Always nice to simply be making up numbers in a race.
I think the hills will have more of an impact on the race than the cobbles will, unless BPost can create a split that lasts 100+km, which we probably shouldn't put past them 
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 02-01-2012 19:37
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Will also be interesting to see how/if the KOM primes affect the gameplay?? Should still be a cobbler that wins, as the cobbles always wipe out the energy of riders not good on them. |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 02-01-2012 19:40
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fenian_1234 wrote:
Will also be interesting to see how/if the KOM primes affect the gameplay??
My PCM11-experience: riders won't sprint for KoM in one-day-classics.. and hopefully, none of the AI-riders proves me wrong here 
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| CountArach |
Posted on 02-01-2012 23:39
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This is the cobbled race I'm least confident about. I think it will be a mid race break or a dutch sprinter like Veelers.
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| roturn |
Posted on 03-01-2012 08:54
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Hopefully Boom is taking a top 10 here. My bet is on Veelers.
Edit: Just saw, this is a top5 goal from me. He better performing well then. Or Vantomme for a sprint finish.
Other than these two I just have 6 young talents, so I better don`t hope for a long range breakaway success.
Edited by roturn on 03-01-2012 10:13
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| roturn |
Posted on 03-01-2012 18:31
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Nice. First goal achieved. Vantomme is proving to be strong on these cobbled classics.
Maybe he even could have won the race with better positioning or better team work with Boom, so he had to do the long sprint from the front. |
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| beagle |
Posted on 03-01-2012 18:33
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just another clear proof of totally stupid AI
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| ember |
Posted on 03-01-2012 18:35
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roturn wrote:
Nice. First goal achieved. Vantomme is proving to be strong on these cobbled classics.
Maybe he even could have won the race with better positioning or better team work with Boom, so he had to do the long sprint from the front.
You were quite lucky at the end, I think. Vaitkus was a clear 5th on the line, at least in my eyes, I even named the SS "Vaitkus5th." Only to see Vantomme standing as 5th when I read the exported results
And yeah, Vantomme had a great sprint, a shame for him that he had to start it at once, with no lead out from Boom, who was next to him.
But congrats on achieving your first goal! |
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| felix_29 |
Posted on 03-01-2012 18:48
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Seems like Pokerstars has many Schlecks in the team; all watching each other instead sprinting for the win
Two riders in the Top10 is ok, solid cobbled races for me so far.
Edited by felix_29 on 03-01-2012 18:49
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 03-01-2012 19:07
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Vaitkus is doing great things for struggling Cyclevox and ANFreeman in the last couple of races 
Great reports, btw, and a nice race with the favourites fighting for the win! Congrats to Koppert for a 1-3 and Rapha Condor for ruling this Conti-League (together with Jayco, of course)
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 03-01-2012 19:35
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Glad Armstrong tried something ... Which is more than I expected coming in. (Can't wait to be in the mountains again.)
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| Smowz |
Posted on 03-01-2012 20:33
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Looks like it was a pretty tricky course to get good screenshots on the finish looked a bit chaotic there.
Koppert have had a really nice cobbled season, Bpost 8th, Pokerstars 12th... and of course a pretty dismal performance with my admittedly weak ass Red Bull squad. I like CSC am looking forward to a return to stage racing two shocking classics in a row.
What is worse leading the pack and letting a break win or controlling the pack only to let others win?
EDIT: Any reason for Giaux withdrawel, I can always make something up in the team thread of course
Edited by Smowz on 03-01-2012 20:35
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| Rin |
Posted on 03-01-2012 20:36
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I hope the next 2 races (Tour of Japan and Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt) will be a lot better after this mistake
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| ember |
Posted on 03-01-2012 20:40
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Smowz wrote:
EDIT: Any reason for Giaux withdrawel, I can always make something up in the team thread of course
No, there was absolutely none. |
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