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Tour of Bretagnes discussion thread
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| Smowz |
Posted on 31-01-2013 17:30
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An early season stage race in France and it may be a but on the cold side so it could suit the northern classics men as much as the hilly stage race type.
The opening trio of stages are short and fairly flat before our first hilly battleground. The riders face three climbs of the 'Mur of Bretagne' a climb with a growing reputation.
Stage five could be unpredictable and involves one part cobbled climb and features some slightly hilly terrain. Stage six is similar to stage five, without a rough road section the finishing cicuits could suit the hilly guys.
The last stage could be the queen one with five finishing cicuits with a cobbled climb on each.
Hard to say whom it suits which makes things fairly exciting. Just the nine teams involved and they are all CT teams.
The outstanding cobbled rider in the race is  Nico Maes (Allianz-BMW) whose team look strong with the likes of Dutch sprinter Hans Dekkers in the team also for this one.
 Gazelle meanwhile are as ever a threat with cobblers Sentjens and Vangenechten along with dangerous climber Furdi in France.
 Sys (Kappa) and  Lilholt (Vattenfall) will look to make the most of the short cobbled sections whereas  Jorgenson (Risa),  Nelson (Halfords) and  Friedman (Ekspla) will look to get involved on the sprints.
If it is the hills that are the decisive battleground then in addition the the already mentioned Furdi, Gingsjo (Vattenfall), Fiellu (Risa), Mori (Kappa), Talabardon (Allianz) and Siskevicius (Ekspla) will come into reckoning.
It's a mixed field here in France so lots of possibilities on varied terrain.
The riders are sitting at the start line, so pick yourself a winner!
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| MrDemus |
Posted on 31-01-2013 17:34
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Our season debut, and we will look to win a stage, or at least be competitive. The small field will make it interesting
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| ggDonovan |
Posted on 31-01-2013 17:40
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I'm still wondering why I'm here... Noob mistakes...
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 17:45
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ggDonovan wrote:
I'm still wondering why I'm here... Noob mistakes...
Don't worry. The cobble sections won't to too much diference. I've played this stage and the IA is stupid, it doesn't attack. And if it does, that rider will take the win. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 06:41
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 31-01-2013 17:59
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This could potentially be an awesome race. It's really hard to predict what is going to happen and who is going to win. I think many different riders can grab points here.
One thing is clear: Maes is by far the strongest rider in the race.
But he does have only 67 hill, which could make life difficult for him versus for example Furdi's 75. Furdi might get tackled by his 65 cobbling though. We'll see what is more important.
Also there's a huge amount of intermediate sprints, so attacking might be a smart thing to do.
Good luck all!
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 18:01
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I don't think the cobbles will make much difference in this race, I think Furdi will win
Glad I'm not involved however, anything with cobbles is a no-go for me! |
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 31-01-2013 18:12
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Also don't expect gaps on the cobbles really, that's why I brought Cardoso, can sprint pretty well, will probably stay safe in stage 6 and safe enough time for an eventual loss on Mur de Bretagnes.
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 31-01-2013 18:34
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Cardoso might do very well indeed. Nice combination of sprinting and hilly skills. 51 cobbles can prove fatal in stage 7 though. Those cobble sections are short, yes. But they are uphill, so the riders will be on them for a relatively long time. Also, there are five of them.
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 18:36
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Hoping for some strong results in the first few flat stages, Nelson will hopefully provide the team with some much needed points early on in the sprints!
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| jaxika |
Posted on 31-01-2013 19:01
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I dont know what to expect. Even chances for a big win of a big fail or a mediocre race |
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| MrOBJ |
Posted on 31-01-2013 19:07
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Nelson and Dekkers look strong in the sprints, but we see great opportunities in Crespo and Ranneries. Gingsjo will hopefully show our shirt on Mur of Bretagne, and if everything goes right, he might be able to win. Lilholt will after all not be able to follow the best on the cobbles since they are on hills instead of flat. And then we hope to see a lot of breakaways!
So I´m looking forward to see what the race will bring, and hopefully we go home from France with a couple of victories! |
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| tastasol |
Posted on 31-01-2013 19:57
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Hoping for some good results here. Feillu could probably do something.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:26
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Yes, Feillu is pretty strong and riding in France should give him that little extra he needs to be one of the best riders in this race.
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| Stevenag |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:45
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Kappa is coming here with a b-squad. We should have people close to the top on every stage, but we lack any winner. A stage win would be a good result for us here, but it looks like a race where everyone could end up winning. |
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:47
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I was on the verge of starting here but decide against it cause the hills didn't look hard enough. Glad I didn't cause I hadn't seen the cobbles in the last stage 
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:54
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One of my favourite races to play! Really looking forward to it! 
Furdi looks like the clear favourite to me, as the hills are usually where the race is decided. I highly doubt the cobbles will make much of a difference..
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 31-01-2013 21:13
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Spilak23 wrote:
I was on the verge of starting here but decide against it cause the hills didn't look hard enough. Glad I didn't cause I hadn't seen the cobbles in the last stage
You probably would've won anyway.
Blaž is glad so many managers see him as a favorite.
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 31-01-2013 21:31
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I don't think 51 cobbles will hurt Cardoso that much, if he's high in the GC after stage 6 he should stay up front, and not drop...
Furdi will most likely win this race, but I hope both Cardoso and Fonte can sneak into the top 10.
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 21:36
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It probably won't. The cobble stat won't mather much in stage 6, it will mather much the hill stat. |
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 22:38
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Cobbles stat should matter as it means not how fast they go over them but how much energy they lose so a guy with below 65 cobb will really struggle on that last stage Furdi should get home i'd say to win this. |
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