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The Emerald Race Discussion Thread
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| roturn |
Posted on 11-02-2013 13:39
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The Emerald Race is a pretty interesting race. For it`s Man Game debut 11 teams decided to participate.
It`s rated as flat and so quite a few sprinters are at the startline next to a few puncheurs such as CT star Weening. With more than 200km length could as well play a big role in this classic. Biggest difficulties are the early Mur with up to 16% and the final climb with 1-5%. Due to the uphill part hilly sprinters are surely favoured over the pure track sprinters.
Coming to the strongest teams:
Die Berg Komt Er has two very interesting riders here. Italian sprinter Rizza and his Colombian team mate Duque can both perform very well here. It will be interesting how they work together.
Evian - MIAT is one of two PCT teams here and send 5-6 possible sprinters. Best chances probably for Sonnery as he combines climbing and sprinter skills perfectly. Also Averin should get a chance and obviously the support will be huge for them.
Magna - Ryanair will also participate with a nice duo. While Belletti is already a good CT sprinter, who must be watched here, it`s the future French superstar Demare, who has everybody`s focus. In a few years a might dominate these kind of finishes. Right now he already belongs to the favourites.
Another very strong teams is Mobil - Castrol. The US-squad definitely has one of the top favourites. Former Ferrari rider Dall'Antonia isn`t the fastest in a flat sprint. But as soon as the way to the finish or the finish itself is hilly, he is one of the strongest. So todays race final should suit him quite well.
The Aussies and Kiwis also have some nice riders at the start and hope for the support of the crowd.
Risa - Ergon starts with Sutton. He did very well in the Bay Classic Series but wasn`t that strong in the Australian races earlier in January. Maybe he can find his strength again.
Oz Cycling as only Australian team is the 2nd from the PCT division. Home sprinter Drapac and Keukeleire with the best chances although first prefers the flat races.
Cadburys has Kiwi sprinter Torckler. He is a good mix between puncheur and sprinter and might be perfect for this race.
Baumann will start for the Japanese-Korean Cycling Team. He is one of those pure flat sprinters and has only outside chances to get a good result.
There are also some puncheurs hoping for a more selective race.
Team Gazelle sends their star Weening . He needs to attack to have a chance and I am not sure if this race really suits him. Nardin might be their better chance today as he is just like Torckler a good combination rider.
Kenya - Airways rider Chaoufi might be the biggest opponent for Weening in case that the race is more selective than expected. Brammeier should be their rider for a sprint, where he doesn`belong to the best but might deliver a few points.
Last but not least kudos to Sauber Petronas for being rated weaker than the control team. But actually their team is stronger in case of a selective race.Schurter, Alizadeh and Jiriakov are all solid puncheurs but in case of a sprint finish they don`t have a real favourite.
The race will start when South Africa did finish. |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 11-02-2013 13:56
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C'mon Dall'Antonia! If you fail, pls Mora do something. But if they both fail, I'm going to be so pissed. |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 11-02-2013 13:58
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The way the AI chooses sprinters this season, I fear I have to doubt Demare will participate in the sprint. If he does, I'm really excited to see how he performs.
Sonnery seems like a good bet for the win.
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| Vien |
Posted on 11-02-2013 14:17
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Very interesting race. Different things happened every time I raced it. If you attack and have a little bit of a lead before the final sprint, you already have a guaranteed top 5.
My prediction would be Torckler.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 11-02-2013 14:28
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Don't know what to expect here. Might have been a mistake to enter this race, as we lack of sprinters who survive hills. Maybe Keukeleire.
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 11-02-2013 14:31
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Hopefully we can use our underdog status to our advantage and pull a surprise or 2. I'm half expecting Hugentobler to be involved in the break at some point and am going Schurter can launch a decent attack near the end of the stage as it seems to think Jiriakov is our leader so that should give Schurter more freedom to try something unexpected.
I think you might need to start employing a weaker control team from now on 
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 06:41
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| Heine |
Posted on 11-02-2013 15:13
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I'm rooting for the control team in this one, look at that awesome lineup!
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 11-02-2013 16:02
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Hoping for a late Weening attack. And if that fails, Nardin might be able to do well on that rather steep looking finish.
Not expecting much though. So I'll just sit back, relax, and see what happens.
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| jph27 |
Posted on 11-02-2013 16:04
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cio93 wrote:
The way the AI chooses sprinters this season, I fear I have to doubt Demare will participate in the sprint. If he does, I'm really excited to see how he performs.
Sonnery seems like a good bet for the win.
I doubt that. Can guarantee we will screw up  |
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| Firefly21 |
Posted on 11-02-2013 18:53
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Surprised to see my team amongst the favourites here, as I don't hold out much hope for this race. It's too long for Demare to have an impact and the uphill finish pretty much precludes a sprinter from winning the race, as I believe a puncheur will triumph.
I just hope for some points from the race....
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| Smowz |
Posted on 11-02-2013 21:50
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Looks an unpredictable one, a decent 'Ponzi/Bakelants' type would be the favourite.
I guess Sonnery, Duque and Torckler fit the bill.
I've been fortunate enough to be involved in Cadbury's squad selection and this type of race could see some success from them!
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| CountArach |
Posted on 11-02-2013 22:28
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This was on my early short list as I feel it suits someone like Boeckmans who can both climb and sprint. But it is just too hard to tell which skill will be most important.
My tip: a group sprint of about 30 riders. No lead out trains.
Edited by CountArach on 11-02-2013 22:36
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 11-02-2013 22:37
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Like Count says, hard to predict. Looking forward to the outcome though.
Think the sprint will be quite strange with the riders who are at the front when it starts to win.
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| tastasol |
Posted on 11-02-2013 22:52
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Hoping for a decent result. My expectations are quite low..
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 12-02-2013 06:00
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Interesting profile which will probably end with a small bunch sprint up the hill. My dark horse is Tizziano d.A.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 13-02-2013 20:19
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I like Delgerbayar, i seriously do. Maybe that's why my riders choosed to support him..
Just what i feared. Wasted race-days. Anyway, looking forward to our next races.
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 13-02-2013 20:20
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Aargh, thought this was one for the puncheurs. 8th is ok anyway I guess
Congrats to Miguel as well with a dominant win.
Great report roturn also  |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 13-02-2013 20:24
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He still has that kick in uphill finishes like this!
Happy to see him win, even though he isn't riding for me anymore.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 13-02-2013 20:24
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| Vien |
Posted on 13-02-2013 20:27
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Can't be unhappy with 5 7 and 16 in such a random race  Also the Aussies got owned big time...
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