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Paris - Roubaix Discussion
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 06-04-2013 22:45
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Weighing in at 259km, Paris-Roubaix marks the culmination of the recent run of cobbled races - although it is not the last ProTour cobbled classic of the season anymore with Strada Appia Antica still to come.
And what is there to say about Paris-Roubaix that hasn't already been said. Arguably the biggest one day race in cycling after all.
The 4 cobbled races to date have seen 3 different winners. Fabian Cancellara kicked things off in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad before Sam Bewley took victories at the East Midlands Cicle Classic and Gent-Wevelgem. Coming into top form at the right time, Tom Boonen won Ronde van Vlaanderen.
The Top 20 points scorers across those 4 races are as follows:
| 1 | Bewley | Sam | Milka - AVG | NZL | PT | 816 | | 2 | Pozzato | Filippo | Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms | ITA | PT | 526 | | 3 | Cancellara | Fabian | Simply Red Bull | SWI | PT | 522 | | 4 | Boonen | Tom | Pokerstars.com | BEL | PT | 489 | | 5 | Summerhill | Danny | Wikipedia | USA | PT | 377 | | 6 | Burghardt | Marcus | Team Bacardi | GER | PT | 346 | | 7 | Ballan | Alessandro | Koenigsegg | ITA | PT | 290 | | 8 | Blythe | Adam | Wiggle Professional Cycling Team | GBR | PT | 287 | | 9 | Gusev | Vladimir | Pendleton's | RUS | PT | 251 | | 10 | Steurs | Geert | Festina - Canal+ | BEL | PT | 177 | | 11 | Nolf | Frederik | Pokerstars.com | BEL | PT | 169 | | 12 | Trentin | Matteo | Project 1t4i | ITA | PT | 153 | | 13 | Sibilla | Michel | Simply Red Bull | FRA | PT | 149 | | 14 | Vanmarcke | Sep | Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi | BEL | PT | 138 | | 15 | Turgot | Sébastien | Simply Red Bull | FRA | PT | 136 | | 16 | Fenn | Andrew | Wiggle Professional Cycling Team | GBR | PT | 136 | | 17 | Nuyens | Nick | Team Puma - SAP | BEL | PT | 132 | | 18 | Rowe | Luke | Wiggle Professional Cycling Team | GBR | PT | 126 | | 19 | Vanspeybrouck | Pieter | Team Bpost | BEL | PCT | 120 | | 20 | Drucker | Jempy | Team B&O | LUX | PT | 118 |
Sprints have been common, which has seen  Pozzato become a surprise success story. He is not present here though.
 Bewley has clearly benefited from the sprints and he will be very keen to improve on last season's race, where he was beaten in the sprint - by Tom Boonen.
Out of 6 ManGame editions of the race,  Boonen has won 4 of them. Before winning the sprint in the 2012 edition, the three previous victories all came alone.
Winning alone will surely be the target of on paper, the two best cobbled riders in the peloton. And it is no coincidence that with 1 Paris-Roubaix victory each, they are the only other riders to have won the race in the game:  Cancellara and  Burghardt. A big race for Burghardt is especially important for him and his Bacardi team, who are struggling in 19th in the ProTour standings at the moment.
The only other rider in the field to have beaten Boonen in Roubaix is  Ballan. Unfortunately for the Italian, beating Boonen only meant a 3rd and then a 2nd place finish in those races, and he isnt as good as he once was.
Other strong cobbled riders definately worth looking out for include  Blythe,  Summerhill,  Vanspeybrouck,  Franzoi and Sibilla. The latter is the leading Frenchman but after working for Boonen last year, now finds himself in the service of Cancellara.
The final 80+ cobbled riders in the field are  Steurs, Nolf,  Nuyens and  Gusev.
The full startlist:
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| Smowz |
Posted on 07-04-2013 08:19
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We'll do our very best to give Boonen a hell of a time, I just hope he isn't on insane form as he was for De Ronde.
He has gotta be more vulnerable outside of Belgium though and with Sibilla to crack the whip, hopefully we can put the world of hurt on the three B's.
Gusev had a good Ronde and could be dangerous again here also.
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| niconico |
Posted on 07-04-2013 09:40
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Cool race, but I must admit I want mountains!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 01:54
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 07-04-2013 09:42
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Boonen, Bewley, Cancellara or Burghardt. Both Spartacus and Burghardt need to drop both Boonen and Bewley to win. My bet for this one, Tom Boonen. Depends also how the AI acts for Pokerstars. |
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| ember |
Posted on 07-04-2013 10:07
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Nice preview!
Last year's race was a great one to play. Hopefully the AI is just as, or more, active this year, giving us a brilliant race.
I'd say this is the monument where mini-Boonen beats Tommeke and wins it.
Hoping we can be part of the breakaway. Other than that, there's no expectations whatsoever to my team  |
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| rjc_43 |
Posted on 07-04-2013 11:08
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I'm hoping Blythe is on similar form here as he was at Ronde. A top 5 to finish off the flat cobbles would be a great result. |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 07-04-2013 12:36
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Hoping for a top ten here from Vanspeybrouck as it probably suits him more than RVV. Albert in the top 20 would be good too.
Surprised not to see Pozzato here though I guess limited race days are everything.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 07-04-2013 16:24
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Report on it's way shortly for your 2nd Paris-Roubaix of the day!
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 07-04-2013 16:25
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If it is as exciting as irl, we are going to have a great report. |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 07-04-2013 16:28
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The race fitting Nuyens the least, so I don't expect a thing.
Probably turns out to be the better strategy anyway 
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 07-04-2013 16:47
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What a great read and report. Congrat's to Roman and Milka. I wonder if the group hadn't let Spartacus back in, sitting up, how much this race would've been different. |
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 07-04-2013 16:49
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Miguel98 wrote:
What a great read and report. Congrat's to Roman and Milka. I wonder if the group hadn't let Spartacus back in, sitting up, how much this race would've been different.
Wow, you read fast
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| cio93 |
Posted on 07-04-2013 16:50
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Expected nothing, got nothing.
Ridiculous how Nuyens fails to keep up with fairly similar riders like Ballan, Gusev, Franzoi, Blythe, Summerhill in every single race.
No use having 5 riders from 35 to 50 if the team leader gets 60 points less than realistically possible every time.
Congratulations to Milka, seems like this is the season they've been waiting for, and Boonen losing his (cobbles) status even before losing significant stats.
Edited by cio93 on 07-04-2013 16:51
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| beagle |
Posted on 07-04-2013 17:07
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Great report and great race, great win for Bewley, who is no more just "mini Boonen", great performance of Cancellara after his crash. And finally, fully satisfying 2nd for Boonen, although we failed our win goal here. Thanks!
Manager of Polar in Man-Game
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| ember |
Posted on 07-04-2013 17:23
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Very nice report!
Just as expected from us Big congratulations to Milka and Roman. Mini-Boonen isn't that mini, it seems.
Now, bring back the hills and hopefully better results for us! |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 07-04-2013 17:26
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That became a very interesting race. I was afraid it would become a Pokerstars borefest before the Cance-Burghardt attack but thankfully that didn't happen. It's a pity though that RedBull had to deal with that crash, but hey that's Roubaix.
Congrats to Milka. beagle is right, Bewley has ceased to be just a Boonen wannabe, he has stepped up now!
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| p3druh |
Posted on 07-04-2013 17:30
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Great report, I enjoyed reading it very much.
I guess Franzoi was saving himself for this race. Finally a top-10 in a cobbled race.
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| SotD |
Posted on 07-04-2013 17:33
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12th is alright. A top 10 would have been awesome but top 15 and better is a good result, so can't complain with 12th at all.
I hope the hills will be better than the cobbles have been though.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 07-04-2013 18:06
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Great read and exciting race for the spectators. I was cheering on Cancellara after his crash, that would have been a historic victory for Spartacus and probably the best in man-game history? But congrats to Milka and Bewley, well deserved. 
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| CrueTrue |
Posted on 07-04-2013 18:11
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How did Gusev manage a 7th place? Has sucked for years over and over again, then does this. Annoying
Nice to see a few Vueling attacks - and 37th isn't bad for Kamyshev. He'll be up there with the best in a couple of years. |
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