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GP Ouest France - Plouay Discussion
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:34
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As the summer time comes near a close for the cycling season, PCT teams line up for the former PT classic GP Plouay. As always, it is a sprinter's race, but that is not a formality. The hills on route could very well drop some of the fastest finishers if the peloton is pushing hard enough.
The field here is very interesting, with a lot of pure sprinters taking the backseat to pseudo puncheurs. Only time will tell who will triumph in that match up.
The obvious favorite for the win is  Michael Van Stayen. He is the complete package, with the most devasting sprint in the race, as well as great versatility on the hills. With a leadout train led by Van Avermaet, and Di Maggio to help him over the hills, the Venchi rider will be tough to beat.
The success of  Heinrich Haussler runs along those same lines. He is also a great man for the final kick, with at least basic talent on the uphill slopes. Cyril Gautier will be his right hand man over the climbs, and Sonnery should be his final leadout.
 Maximiliano Richeze is clearly the next best sprinter in the bunch, although it remains to be seen how strong he can be, and if he will still be at full strength towards the end. if he is, he is a force to be reckoned with. But couple with the fact that he lacks a true super domestique, it may be tough.
Likewise,  Granjel Cabrera is a favorite on the flat and holds his own on the climbs. Yet the team surrounding him isn't too strong, with only his leadout Rizza being noteworthy.
 Michael Kreder is almost a copy of Haussler, only with a slightly slower top speed and a quicker acceleration. He isn't a poor puncheur, and so his main lieutenants: Kvist and Ahlstrand, are more or less just his leadout train.
A guy like AMEX's  Marko Kump is not one who will struggle on the hills. From the sprinters, he has a prowess when the slop tilts upwards only matched by van Stayen. He isn't as fast as most of the others sprinters, but if all goes well, he can be fresher towards the end and use it to his advantage.
Some teams have bypassed the sprinter craze, and gone straight for punchers that they hope can blow up the race. clearly this was Quickstep's intention in bringing  Chris Froome as there leader. The same can be said for Gazelle's  Maxime Monfort, and RBC's  Jonathan Bellis, who also packs a decent punch. These three guys will be trying to make the race hard on the sprinters all day, and if they succeed, they will be clear favorite for the win.
On the other side, of things, some team have brought pure sprinters to the race, hoping the hills don't make much of an impact, and they can have a shot in the finale.  Hutuarovich,  Kupfernagel, and  Meyer, from the CT outfit Fletcher, can all match the favorites on a good day, but this race is a bit hillier than they prefer.
Finally, there are a large number of outsiders. Guys that may or may not be able to ride uphill, but have a good sprint and could achieve a good placing. Guys like  Vaitkus,  Drujon,  Gasparotto,  Gatto,  Sinner, and  Gavazzi fit into this larger, less defined category.
Whoever wins, it will be an interesting race to see play out!
Edited by baseballlover312 on 27-01-2015 16:15
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| jph27 |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:37
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Hope for a top 5. In theory, I'm covered for every eventuality. In theory 
Edited by jph27 on 23-01-2015 21:42
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:39
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Well, Van Stayen then 
Went for Del Nero as my leader here. Obviously can't expect a huge result, but just as for his last showing in Denmark, I may hope for his solid allround package (pretty hand-made for profiles like this) to make him earn a few points for Oz again. Indeed an interesting startlist, expecting a colorful mix of sprinters and puncheurs at the very front. Would be too funny if Froome wins this 
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:40
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Brought the team with Van der Lijke in mind. Still, it's pretty strong team and long distance suits both Baugnies and De Maar, Froome the wildcard.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:45
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Van Stayen should be impossible to beat here.
I want either Monfort or Oss to grab a top 10.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:51
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You're a bit keen with the preview for this bbl
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 23-01-2015 21:57
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SportingNonsense wrote:
You're a bit keen with the preview for this bbl
Sorry if I posted this too early, but it was almost next in the schedule and the last time I waited for all the prior races to be done, I posted it too late.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 23-01-2015 22:05
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baseballlover312 wrote:
SportingNonsense wrote:
You're a bit keen with the preview for this bbl
Sorry if I posted this too early, but it was almost next in the schedule and the last time I waited for all the prior races to be done, I posted it too late.
To be fair though it looks like a cracking race probably to excited for the race I think Bellis has a big chance with his stamina and hill though Van Stayen obviously favourite |
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 23-01-2015 22:22
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I am glad you did not mention Vanoverschelde 
Vaitkus should be able to do well with a late effort when all real sprinter teams are too tired to set the pace.
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 10:44
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| fintas |
Posted on 23-01-2015 22:46
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My team has no chance in this race, McEvoy should have been chosen instead of Kupfernagel
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 24-01-2015 14:06
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Due to Bayern Rundfart conflictions, I will hold off posting the race until it is over.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 24-01-2015 14:44
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Gasparotto needs to pull off something here. The course suits him, rated flat with plenty of hills, so maybe a top five or at least a top ten is possible here. Looking forward to the report. |
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| Margh Norway |
Posted on 25-01-2015 08:03
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Hmm, know I wanted to attend this race, but somehow didn't send the best fitted group of riders. Might caused through the clash with Tokyo GP... will join the "breakaway please" GM-group for this race.
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 26-01-2015 07:04
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I hope that this race can be good for our leader Raboň if things will down to the sprint of reduced group, i dont fancy the sprinters to be the top favourites here. Shame that he is missing in preview completely.
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 27-01-2015 15:34
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Not going to send Van Stayen to these kind of races in the future. Didn't bother to do anything here nor in Tour of South China Sea which has a similar profile. Di Maggio also disappointingly invisible.
At least Van Avermaet in 8th is slightly encouraging.
Convincing performance by Bellis, though. Congratulations to RBC!
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 27-01-2015 15:40
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Bellis!! I had this race marked for him after Jeremy Roy did so well for me here last year and it seems this race suits him down to the ground with the length and profile really great to see him get his first win of the season!
Thanks for the report BB312 |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 27-01-2015 15:41
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Weird sprint Once the break was caught, i was hoping for Del Nero to take over for Oz, but... What the f***k, Bennett! Guess his backup stats and a big breakaway group were a factor here. His second huge classics result after Berlin. Which is of course funny enough, even though today was less odd than Berlin... But this is still a rather lucky result.
Metinvest with a huge day today. Gratz, Avin and jt for Bellis' gutsy move!
And thanks for a nice report, bbl!
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 27-01-2015 15:46
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August has been phenomenal. 5 races and worst place was 4th. Close to 1000points scored all together
We did good job controlling most of the race Bellis too strong at the end but we played good game with 3 in top 12 and a podium good stuff.
Thanks for the report, high quality as ever from you!
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| jph27 |
Posted on 27-01-2015 15:52
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81 points!
Very happy with that, effectively nullifies the nightmare in Bayern. Haussler giving me hope for his remaining races that have similar profiles, and Gautier getting back on form. Thanks for the report Baseball |
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| maxime86 |
Posted on 27-01-2015 15:59
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Disappointing result for us, I guess I could expect much though
Nice report btw! |
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