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East Midlands Cicle Classic Discussion
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| CountArach |
Posted on 02-03-2013 14:08
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East Midlands Cicle Classic
Welcome to one of the worst-spelled races on the calendar! The East Midlands Cicle Classic brings us to the gloomy UK for some great cobbled action! With 16.4km of cobbles it isn’t going to be the toughest race on the calendar, and there aren’t any particularly challenging hills but regardless only the strongest will get to the finish of this one at the head of the race. It is one of those courses with a number of possible scenarios – a group could come in together, someone could go solo on the later cobbled sections or even attack away in the finishing small climbs. Either way it should make for a great race.
With Omloop Het Nieuwsblad raced already we have some indication of how the big cobble favourites are going to do this year and while this race is just another early season test, we can try to draw some conclusions. So let’s go through the startlist.
 Fabian Cancellara wears number one here and who could deny that he truly deserves the title of favourite after his win at OHN? He showed that he is one of the toughest on the cobbles but he can also put in a great kick if he has to. He has a great team around him as well, so expect to see Simply Red Bull on the front.
A man who may feel that he was slightly robbed at OHN is  Sam Bewley, who was somehow beaten by Spartacus in the sprint and had to make do with a second place. He will obviously hope that this comes down to a sprint amongst the favourites.
And how could we talk about a cobbled race without reference to one of the biggest Man Game legends of all time  Tom Boonen? He took a gamble with a big attack towards the end of the race in the OHN and it didn’t pay off as he could take only 10th on the day. This time he doesn’t have the advantage of riding in front of home crowds, so will he trust in his great sprint this time or will he once again try to animate things?
Another rider who disappointed at OHN was  Marcus Burghardt, who could only manage an 8th place. He doesn’t have the best sprint on him, so if he wants to win he will likely have to attack. He could potentially find a useful ally in that regard in  Vladimir Gusev, who certainly can’t sprint particularly well, as his 13th place in OHN shows.
Fairly evenly matched are  Danny Summerhill and  Alessandro Ballan. You have to think that they will both be fighting for a top 5 here whether it comes to a sprint or even in a more aggressive race. They were 3rd and 5th respectively at OHN, showing that they certainly have what it takes to really take the fight to the superstars.
After his 22nd place at OHN  Nick Nuyens appears to have been put on notice by his manager already. He certainly hasn’t quite got enough in him when it comes to sprinting and he would probably prefer a more hilly route, but he will certainly hope to be a factor. One person, however, who will be glad about the lack of hills is  Enrico Franzoi, who really needs to perform in these flatter cobbled races to make up for races like the Ronde which are probably too hard for him. He will be hoping to put his 17th at OHN behind him.
Someone who has to make up for a truly terrible OHN is  Geert Steurs, who crashed in that race and ended in 71st. A top 10 here would probably be considered a decent result, given that he just lacks a little bit of everything to really fight it out for a podium.
Finally we come to the hope of the home crowd –  Adam Blythe. The young Brit finally was given a shot at the PT and his 9th at OHN showed great promise. Riding on home soil might just give him the extra boost he needs. In fact, the same can be said of his two support riders as well – Luke Rowe and Andrew Fenn. Wiggle will really want to show themselves in front of a key audience here today.
Now we come to the true outsiders for the race – a top ten will be the goal of most of these riders. First up should be  Sep Vanmarcke. Venchi desperately need him to perform like he did in OHN where he secured an outstanding 6th place. Vanmarcke is actually on loan from wildcard team Armavia, so if Vanmarcke performs well expect two managers to be very happy.
Despite his 4th place at OHN  Filippo Pozzato still has to be considered an outsider. He really needs things to go his way to ensure that a large-ish group sprints it out, because he just isn’t good enough over the cobbles to deal with a much more aggressive race. Still, if he can perform he might finally start to shake his reputation for being unreliable.
 Steven Kruijswijk has leadership at B&O and he will be hoping to just hold on to the group for as long as possible. He managed to do just that and was rewarded with a slightly surprising 24th at OHN. Surely a similar result would not be too disappointing from him here?
As said Armavia has Vanmarcke in the race but their leader in their own jersey is  Sven Nooytens, who could be looking to use his relative anonymity to just sit in the group and sprint for the lower places. Alternatively, he could try a longer-distance attack. Either way he really does have the potential to cause a bit of a surprise for some.
Another one with a real potential for an upset is  Matteo Trentin. If the race isn’t too aggressive and a big group arrives together then he really has to be considered a possibility to grab a decent placing. He has a great sprint on him and could well sit there quietly all day. His 15th at OHN certainly shows that he has the potential to stick with the best when he has to.
Most of the rest of the teams really haven’t brought anyone here.  UBS,  Aker,  Lotto,  Vesuvio and  Santander will all be just riding to try to get into the break or possibly have someone miraculously hold on to the lead group.
Startlist:
Edited by CountArach on 02-03-2013 14:08
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Posted on 08-12-2025 01:54
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 02-03-2013 14:50
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Very well written preview CountArach!
I really don't have anything to add, you covered it all 
Sure, we'll be following Sep Vanmarcke closely, and cheer for Venchi in this racem but our main focus will of course be Sven Nooytens and top 10 for him would be a great success. He may be completely anonymous and end up far behind, but it will be good to follow nevertheless, we are here to learn from the big guys, and have nothing to loose.
Edited by Bjartne on 02-03-2013 14:50
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| Kami |
Posted on 02-03-2013 15:09
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I'm not going to lie, Burghardt really needs to start performing. i want a top 3.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 02-03-2013 15:09
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I may repeat myself, but this has always been a fun race with PCM for me. So i expect a great classic.
Nice preview also. Looking forward to this.
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| Smowz |
Posted on 02-03-2013 15:25
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The next cobbled chapter begins, after winning the first I'll be happy with a good top 5 performance here.
There is no need for Boonen type greed, I vote for all cobblers to continue our attempt to shut out the all green leader 
This is really the big Non-Belgians chance before Roubaix, so I expect Burghardt and Bewley to be in the hunt with Cancellara here.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 02-03-2013 15:34
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Indeed I wasn‘t happy with the OHN result (300k is a lot), and this looks strikingly similar.
Nevertheless, all it takes is more separation to significantly improve Nuyens‘ chances.
I guess we could need most of the favourites to attack together so that no top rider relays behind and drags worse guys to the line.
Then, as always, everything‘s possible.
Blythe seems like the dark horse here at home, apart from that nothing new to add about tue favourites.
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| SotD |
Posted on 02-03-2013 15:50
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No expectations after the horrible race last.
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| ember |
Posted on 02-03-2013 15:54
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cio93 wrote:
Blythe seems like the dark horse here at home, apart from that nothing new to add about tue favourites.
You're obviously forgetting Nordhaug and Rojas, none of them participated in Het Nieuwsblad, preparing for this race
Seriously though, I'm just hoping for a good race and a nice read. I'm sure of the latter, and hopefully the riders will be provide some "real" racing as well |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 02-03-2013 16:08
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This was what I wanted Blythe for...so will be extremely pleased if Vlad beats him |
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| Heine |
Posted on 02-03-2013 16:19
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Kami wrote:
I'm not going to lie, Burghardt really needs to start performing. i want a top 3.
Send him to me next season
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| Levi4life |
Posted on 03-03-2013 00:16
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I expect aggressive riding from the likes of Langevelde. With luck, Pozzato can get a top 20.
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| Roman |
Posted on 03-03-2013 00:30
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Another podium please, but even a top 5 would be a good result as well.
Nice preview CountArach, I am looking forward to reading your report. 
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| Smowz |
Posted on 03-03-2013 14:40
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Very enjoyable report to read, an excellent performance from my own team.
Fab played the fool guy this time, I am not too disappointed though as Turgot got a really strong result for him and it does give hopes of a top ten at Gent Wegelum.
Pleased to see Wiggle do pretty well and Pozzato having avoided the cobbled stuff for a couple of seasons is really impressing in these sprints.
Congrats to Bewley, he lands a classic and joins the Boonen shut out club.
I wonder whether this type of small group sprint is what we will get in the two cobbled Monuments?
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| cio93 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 14:40
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10th is quite okay, though if the group had kept on going, that could've been improved.
Congratulations to Milka, Bewley finally with the win we all waited for, and Heineken with Pozzato overcoming his inconsistency and proving the non-selective nature of these easy cobbled races to push them rather far from the relegation zone for now.
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| Roman |
Posted on 03-03-2013 15:55
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The first time when Bewley won something outside of Qatar and it's a big win, superb race! 
Fantastic win and great ride not only by him indeed. Verbist did a nice job with trying to help to keep brakaway alive for a while and Alex Nepomnyachsniy had a nice race as well. Great results for Pozzato, Summerhill, Turgot and Rowe, all their managers will be probably happy with them. Burghardt solid again, Cancellara had his bad race indeed, Boonen is slowly coming back into the form for Flanders and Roubaix. Hopefully a selection will be bigger for these two races, as that will definetely help to avoid a really bad result for Bewley and I need him to perform there as these two races are goals for this season.
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| SotD |
Posted on 03-03-2013 16:03
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11th is a good result with a Big group coming together. It's a bit sad though to see all these tough races ending in large group sprints, regardless of the results seem alright. It takes the top of the excitement when you just know the attacks Will be reeled in.
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| Kami |
Posted on 03-03-2013 16:05
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Well, i guess 4th isn't bad, seeing as it ended in a bunch sprint again. I really need the other cobbled classics to be harder though, or i really won't reel in that many points from these races.
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| p3druh |
Posted on 03-03-2013 17:31
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Of ffs...
Let's just get this season over with fast please. We're at like 1/5th of the season and I've already given up any hope of getting into the top-5.
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| dave92 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 17:54
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good run of results for Summerhill, getting in good position for these sprint finishes.
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| Levi4life |
Posted on 03-03-2013 19:58
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I'm not convinced that Pozzato's success so far is down to my management skills. It seems like a dumb luck sort of thing.
On the cobbles, Pozzato should be able to manage a decent result at Gent Wevelgem. Possibly he could get a top 10 at Der Ronde. I doubt he could finish near the front at Paris Roubaix, which is why he is skipping the big one.
Anyways, Bring on Koln.
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