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Paris - Roubaix Discussion
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:28
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Here it is: The Hell of the North! The culmination of a long classics season is upon us, and the top cobblers in the world will empty their tanks for the king stage of their spring campaigns.
What makes Paris-Roubaix different from most cobbled classics is its lack of hills. Instead, it is flat cobbles. And no race has more than the trek through the roads of Northern France. The favorites in their teams will need to withstand the constant torment of 259 km of pave. If they can do that, they can take the monument home with them.
The biggest favorite is undoubtedly  Sam Bewley. The two time defending champion is back and ready for blood. He is fantastic on the cobbles, and packs a tremendous sprint if the race comes to that. But the last two years, he hasn't needed it, winning from distance both times. He doesn't have much of a team, but he hasn't seemed to need it in the past, especially last week at Ronde.
Purely based on cobbling ability,  Marcus Burghardt is the best rider in the peloton. The 32 year old has joined a new squad this year at Oz, but it is doubtful that will help him at all. His new team is devoid of teammates that will be there late in the race, so it is up to Burghardt to make sure he is up front, and doesn't get caught behind the attacks like last year.
 Fabian Cancellara has been near the top of this discipline for a decade, but the last time he was the champion of Roubaix was seven year ago. At 34, time is running out for him to return to that glory, and he still has the capabilities to do it. With a little bit of luck and a strong showing from his team, he can move up the podium from last year's runner up.
Out of all the top tier favorites,  Adam Blythe has the biggest advantage for team support. He is a great cobbler and decent sprinter, but his secret weapon is the fact that he has Andrew Fenn at his disposal for his late race campaign, and a couple of other domestiques to get him in position.
The rare American classics star,  Danny Summerhill is coming off a quality second place at Omloop Het Volk, where he took the opening stage. Following the disbandment of Wikipedia at the end of 2014, he finds himself at PCT outfit Azteca. This has given him so great opportunities at a lower level, but not necessarily a great team. He'll have to play tactically sound to win this one.
 Ruben Zepuntke is a very solid young cobbler. Last year, at only 21 years old, he placed 14th. This year, he lines up as one of the favorites. Pretty much everyone else on Volkeswagon is useless on cobbles, but he'll have Taubel as a lieutenant.
Another rider with great raw talent for riding on the cobbles is  Michel Sibilla. However, the drain of the race as a whole is something that usually hurts his chances. Along with him on Metinvest is former Tom Boonen super domestique, Frederik Nolf. Their depth ends there, so their tandem will be an interesting item to view.
 Enrico Franzoi lines up as the head cobbles leader for Meji, and besides that, they have literally no one. Which isn't too surprising, considering they are an Asian squad - no racism! :P He's very good, but he will be alone the minute they hit the pave, and the veteran might have a hard time from there.
On the other hand,  Arman Kamyshev is still a young and developing cobbler, with a lot to give already. He has some team support, and should be a factor. In a similar situation is  Florian Senechal, although he is a tad worse at handling the length and drag of the race.
He may not be the rider he once, but there is no doubt that throughout his career,  Tom Boonen has been the king of the cobbles. The legend has moved to a PCT team at Evonik, and he has decent support. Who knows if he'll have any more chances, so he will try this year to make it a win in the velodrome one last time.
Other guys with a shot include  Alexander Kristoff. His sprint should insure him one of the top places in his group, whichever that is. Young up and comer  Mike Teunissen and veteran  Vladimir Gusev will be looking for top end results.  Marcos Altur,  Pieter Jacobs, and  Kenneth Vanbilsen will also be looking to carry their teams to a respectable position.
In previous times,  Pokerstars would be the dominating team in the classics, but this year, after selling their aging stars and shifting their focus, they are without a favorite, as long time domestique Roger Kluge is their only hope, and he is far behind the favorites.
Other teams will need to look for early breakaways, or be resigned to acting as pack filler for the classic, as their teams don't support the discipline.
That's it! Only the pave of Northern France can show how the race will go now! |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:36
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Yeah, I doubt Burghardt will win this. But of course he should be capable of pulling a solo move somewhere. Just hope he doesn't miss the crucial attacks. Bewley will win anyway 
Speaking of Oz helpers: Visconti and Grivko actually did pretty well in RvV. I know this preview probably was finished already, but I'm just saying
Not sure why I brought Bobridge here though.
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| ember |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:43
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Really hope Kristoff can do something better than in De Ronde, he just needs a little bit of luck thinking of the splits, as his sprint should secure a good placing like in East Midlands if there are few in front of his group.
Bewley the obvious favourite, not much more to say. Though, another podium from Burghardt could see the Aussies come somewhat sensational close to the podium thinking of the overall standings before the GTs start, which would be cool!
It will also be interesting to see what Summerhill can do here. He has done excellent in the PCT with very limited support, and I wonder if the possible lack of support in such a long race will be a big disadvantage for him here. Nevertheless a clear contender for the podium.
A nice preview, I'm looking a lot forward to the race  |
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| beagle |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:45
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Bewley will take this easily. Would be nice to see green jersey in botd
Thanks for great preview.
Manager of Polar in Man-Game
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| Smowz |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:48
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All hail king Bewley - this is your big moment boy just watch out for the Burgerman I think.
fab needs a top five at least after ordinary de ronde.
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:56
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Bewley easy win this surely, hopefully Vanbilsen with Top 20 or something like that.
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:58
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Great preview, shame it could just've read 'Bewley'. 
Hoping the nationality bonus can do something for Senechal.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 15:46
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 18-07-2015 17:59
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Fantastic preview!
I got a Top 10 Goal for this race... Would be a big feat if Altur could achieve that.
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| Roman |
Posted on 18-07-2015 18:02
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Well, Bewley has a chance to win the Hell of the North three times in a row. Even Boonen was never able to do that. And similarly, no rider in MG history has ever won three monuments in a single season and only Boonen was able to do that in his career. Go Sam go!
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| Crommy |
Posted on 18-07-2015 18:03
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I'd like to see anyone but Bewley win (just for some variety), but he obviously will take this won.
Looking for one of my riders to get in the break of the day, and I'll be happy
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| Heine |
Posted on 18-07-2015 18:41
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Bewley will win, no doubt
Other than that, I hope Zepuntke can take a top 5. This race fits him better than Vlaandern and I hope he shows it
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 18-07-2015 18:57
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Roman wrote:
Well, Bewley has a chance to win the Hell of the North three times in a row. Even Boonen was never able to do that. And similarly, no rider in MG history has ever won three monuments in a single season and only Boonen was able to do that in his career. Go Sam go!
At least he wouldn't be the first to win the same monument three years in a row 
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| roturn |
Posted on 18-07-2015 18:59
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I hope Burghardt can surprise here by beating Bewley.
Though Bewley is just too good this season I guess. So I doubt he is losing it. |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 18-07-2015 19:12
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Actually should be more open for Blythe and pct raider Summerhill.
Of course Blythe has already done well in de ronde so he could finally be fulfilling his destiny.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 18-07-2015 19:20
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Bet added: https://pcmdaily.com/odds_mg.php?game_...game_id=67, the first MG bet for a while
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 18-07-2015 20:28
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World Champion
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Im calling racism
Just want a decent result, my lack of support wont help, but maybe we will get lucky.
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| Kentaurus |
Posted on 18-07-2015 20:38
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Really hoping to see something from Summerhill here, different situation from the last few PCT cobbles races he has seen where an underpowered Azteca squad has forced him to make attacks from really long distance. Here our team won't be expected to control the race, and he can focus more on just how to attack the other favorites.
AZTECA - NBCSN  |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 18-07-2015 21:26
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This can only go better than the Ronde. That isn't saying much mind |
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| knockout |
Posted on 18-07-2015 23:22
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Roman wrote:
Well, Bewley has a chance to win the Hell of the North three times in a row. Even Boonen was never able to do that. And similarly, no rider in MG history has ever won three monuments in a single season and only Boonen was able to do that in his career. Go Sam go!
Wouldn't it be awkward if Boonen would be the one to stop Bewley from achieving this?
Already said it in my HQ : This is the one wildcard race that i absolutely wanted. Boonen with (likely) a last shot for glory. Chances are of course low but a lot can happen .
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| rjc_43 |
Posted on 19-07-2015 09:38
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I feel Bewley will once again make the rest of us feel inadequate, but hopefully after Blythe's showing in de Ronde, he'll be able to match Bewley for a little while! Another top 5 is my expectation as Blythe is firmly a top 5 cobbler. Hopefully my team don't just sit up once he's in the front group and actually try to get a few more points for me.
[url=cleavercycling.co.uk]  [/url] |
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