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Tour of America Discussion
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 21-02-2017 17:13
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 Tour of America
The Continental Division GT
The Stages:
1 Prolog
1 Hilly ITT
1 Mountain ITT
1 Flat TTT
8 Flat stages
3 Hilly stages
6 Mountain stages
Route
A very hard route, with 6 mountain stages, five with summit finish, and both ITT’s undulated to say the least. The race clearly favorers the true climber although some TT ability will off course be beneficial.
The route is the same as last year.
History and past winner’s.
Last year the tour was won by Natnael Berhane (Eritel - Sonatrach) competing again this time for his 2nd win.
Andrei Kashechkin is the only rider to have won the tour twice (2013-2014), for obvious reasons not here.
This is the 6th edition of the tour the only previous winner here is Berhane, but we also got Ryan Eastman 2014 2nd. Last year point classification winner Raúl Granjel Cabrera is also here.
The Teams:
9 PCT & 5 CT
PCT:
 Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo
José Rujano as their Top GC contender, a riders we might expect to see in the top of the final GC, maybe even on the podium, with a super lieutenant in Darwin Atapuma, a strong team for the mountains.
Their top sprinter Raúl Granjel Cabrera will be here, with an very good lead-out in Dall'Antonia and Cardoso. A rider we should expect to win stages and contend for the point’s classification.
 Azteca - NBCSN
Richard Ochoa Quintero as GC contender, not the strongest in the field, but with also Peterson, Rodríguez, Briceno and Camargo they got a fine team for the mountains, but might not be enough to get on the final podium.
They have no top sprinter here, so will have to look for the stage win’s elsewhere.
 Compal-Merida
Trent Lowe as GC contender, a fine all-rounder but not likely to contend for a podium, but with the help of lieutenant Dyachenko hopefully he can sit with the best long enough to get a good GC, aiming for a top 10-15 with a bit of luck.
They bring Christopher Sutton as their top sprinter, not likely to contend for the point’s classification, but strong enough to look towards stage podiums and even a stage win on the right day.
 Eritel - Sonatrach
Natnael Berhane as their Top GC contender, the strongest climber in the race and with two strong lieutenants in Reguigui and Anguilet definitely a rider we should expect to see on the GC podium.
They also bring one of the best sprinters in Juan Van Heerden, fastest in the sprint itself, but lagging in acceleration, resistance and speed on the flat, he may have problems getting in the right position sometimes. Never the less a rider we would expect to see win stages and get a top position in point’s classification.
 Flores - Ceitec
Primož Roglič as their GC contender, a rider with very good skill on any parameter, but may not be a strong enough climber to get into the top of GC. The team got Pardilla as a fine lieutenant for the mountains, but neither seems strong enough to sit with the very best when the going get tough.
They bring Luis Miguel Mansilla as their top sprinter, not the top contender for the point’s classification, but maybe enough to hope for stage podiums or a stage win on the best day.
 In-n-Out p/b Carrefour
The team has got two leaders. Domenico Pozzovivo a bit stronger in the mountains, but Fothen Markus with a better ITT, both able to aim for a podium with some luck and the help of a very descent climber squad, Hirt, Hardy and Le Bon.
They got Blaise Sonnery for the sprints and a great lead-out in Kai Reus, with the right strategy could easily bring stage win(s), even a top position in point’s classification.
 Porto - Prio
Porto – Prio clearly bring the strongest team for the TTT, and with Rafael Reis having a perfect combination of strong climbing and ITT, I can hardly see him as anything less that the favorite to win this race. The team is not the strongest at the mountain’s but with Baltazar as lieutenant should be ok.
They got Lionel Coutinho for the sprints with an ok lead-out in Gonçalves , could easily bring stage podium(s)/win(s), and a good position in point’s classification
 Team Telkom for Africa
Even if I have just announced Rafael Reis as race favorite, I wouldn’t and shouldn’t rule out Telkom. They are here with squad of 5 different climbers, all amongst the top of this race, and also a good squad for the TTT. They got two possible leaders in Ryan Eastman and Vadim Ratiy both podium contenders.
If this squad play the cards right they may be able to wear out anyone.
They got Nolan Hoffman as sprinter, not the fastest on the last few km, but with a very good acceleration and speed on the flat combined with a perfect lead-out in John-Lee Augustyn, they just may surprise everyone if they work well together.
 VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff
Artem Topchanyuk as GC contender, a fine climber but not likely to contend for a top spot on the GC, but with the help of lieutenant Kononenko able to hope for a top 10, if everything turns out right.
They got Maciej Ulanowski as top sprinter, with a fine team to set up a train clearly a contender for the point’s classification and stage win(s).
CT:
 Eddie Stobart
The team hasn’t got any rider for the GC. They bring some fine sprinters in Martinez, Martins and Benfatto to look for some good results on the flat stages, and Cameron Wurf as a durable breakaway rider.
Gert Joeaar could do ok on the flat Prolog and hilly ITT.
 Fox Sports - BikeNZ Cycling
Slightly stronger than Eddie Stobart, but the analyse is the same, looking for some success with sprinters Anthony Giacoppo and Maani Altanzul on the flat stages, maybe a podium or even a stage win if things work out perfectly. Otherwise hope for fighter Erdenebayar Daspuntsag to work a miracle.
If things turn out right Taylor Gunman can do very well on the prolog.
 KAYAK - Clas Ohlsen
With no sprinter the options are different for KAYAK, they will rely on their puncher Phillip Gaimon to get something out of the three hilly stages, with not that many punchers in the field it is not impossible.
 Schuh powered by Wiggle
Schuh will put their money on sprinter Rüdiger Selig, a very deasent sprinter with a perfect acceleration who could be able to provide a podium finish or better, if things turn out right.
Also tempo rider Mark Christian may do something on the prolog or even the hilly ITT
 World Cycling Centre
The strongest of the CT squads WCC has different options, Alex Ardila Cano with two fine lieutenants in Moreno and Karagobek should be able to ride for something like a GC top 15.
They also bring sprinter Brenton Jones who should be able to secure stage podiums, if not wins. With a descent lead-out in Clifford to help him get in position.
Disclaimer: The above is only the reflection of the reporter’s attempt to analyze, and may in no way correspond with the opinions of neither the teams nor riders hope or ambition, not to mention what will actually happen when the race starts
List of climbers
| Rider | MO | TT | RE | HI | Rider | MO | TT | RE | HI | | Berhane | 81 | 65 | 74 | 75 | Lowe | 76 | 71 | 75 | 73 | | Reis | 80 | 76 | 76 | 73 | Pardilla | 76 | 70 | 74 | 68 | | Eastman | 80 | 74 | 75 | 71 | Rodríguez | 76 | 70 | 72 | 64 | | Ratiy | 80 | 74 | 73 | 70 | Ardila Cano | 76 | 69 | 73 | 70 | | Rujano | 80 | 69 | 80 | 72 | Baltazar | 76 | 64 | 72 | 71 | | Pozzovivo | 79 | 71 | 78 | 75 | Briceno | 76 | 64 | 74 | 70 | | Fothen | 78 | 74 | 74 | 71 | Anguilet | 76 | 63 | 71 | 74 | | Stetina | 78 | 64 | 74 | 67 | Peterson | 75 | 73 | 72 | 68 | | Atapuma | 78 | 62 | 72 | 73 | Kononenko | 75 | 72 | 71 | 72 | | Roglič | 77 | 72 | 76 | 76 | Lemus Davila | 75 | 70 | 69 | 71 | | Augustyn | 77 | 71 | 72 | 75 | Dyachenko | 75 | 69 | 68 | 73 | | Ochoa Quintero | 77 | 66 | 77 | 73 | Hirt | 75 | 69 | 75 | 70 | | Topchanyuk | 77 | 65 | 72 | 73 | Moreno | 75 | 69 | 73 | 70 | | Reguigui | 76 | 73 | 69 | 71 | Le Bon | 75 | 68 | 74 | 70 | | Russom | 76 | 72 | 71 | 73 | Roman | 75 | 67 | 67 | 72 |
List of Sprinters/ Time trialist
| Sprinter | SP | AC | FL | RE | Time trialist | TT | MO | HI | P | | Van Heerden | 82 | 73 | 73 | 67 | Reus | 79 | 71 | 74 | 79 | | Granjel Cabrera | 80 | 77 | 75 | 71 | Oliveira | 78 | 74 | 73 | 78 | | Ulanowski | 80 | 77 | 73 | 66 | Janse van Rensburg | 78 | 69 | 68 | 78 | | Coutinho | 79 | 80 | 72 | 74 | Nascimento | 78 | 62 | 68 | 62 | | Hoffman | 78 | 78 | 76 | 69 | Christian | 77 | 63 | 69 | 75 | | Jones | 78 | 78 | 72 | 65 | Reis | 76 | 80 | 73 | 76 | | Sonnery | 78 | 73 | 69 | 71 | Caldwell | 75 | 67 | 65 | 74 | | Afewerki | 77 | 80 | 73 | 70 | Joeaar | 75 | 63 | 71 | 75 | | Selig | 77 | 79 | 70 | 68 | Gonçalves | 75 | 61 | 68 | 74 | | Mansilla | 77 | 78 | 72 | 68 | Eastman | 74 | 80 | 71 | 73 | | Sutton | 77 | 77 | 73 | 66 | Ratiy | 74 | 80 | 70 | 74 | | Giacoppo | 77 | 75 | 70 | 66 | Fothen | 74 | 78 | 71 | 74 | | Dall'Antonia | 76 | 76 | 73 | 68 | De Luna | 74 | 72 | 70 | 73 | | Martinez | 76 | 76 | 72 | 67 | Miño | 74 | 71 | 73 | 75 | | Cardoso | 76 | 75 | 70 | 70 | Soto Pereira | 74 | 71 | 70 | 57 | | Altanzul | 76 | 73 | 70 | 72 | Egidio | 74 | 70 | 73 | 66 | | Benfatto | 75 | 75 | 67 | 70 | Reijnen | 74 | 65 | 67 | 74 | | Jang | 75 | 74 | 71 | 66 | Posthuma | 74 | 62 | 68 | 74 | | Martins | 75 | 71 | 68 | 65 | Alawi | 74 | 54 | 62 | 72 | | Gomenyuk | 74 | 76 | 73 | 67 | Reguigui | 73 | 76 | 71 | 75 |
List of Puncheur’s
| Rider | HI | MO | FL | RE | Rider | HI | MO | FL | RE | | Teklit | 77 | 70 | 70 | 72 | Reus | 74 | 71 | 77 | 79 | | Roglič | 76 | 77 | 71 | 76 | Appleby | 74 | 70 | 67 | 68 | | Rodriguez Galindo | 76 | 74 | 69 | 72 | Montaguti | 74 | 69 | 68 | 70 | | Berhane | 75 | 81 | 68 | 74 | Hung | 74 | 63 | 70 | 67 | | Pozzovivo | 75 | 79 | 70 | 78 | Reis | 73 | 80 | 70 | 76 | | Augustyn | 75 | 77 | 76 | 72 | Atapuma | 73 | 78 | 66 | 72 | | Shushemoin | 75 | 74 | 68 | 71 | Topchanyuk | 73 | 77 | 68 | 72 | | Gaimon | 75 | 72 | 71 | 72 | Ochoa Quintero | 73 | 77 | 67 | 77 | | Pakthusov | 75 | 70 | 68 | 73 | Lowe | 73 | 76 | 70 | 75 | | Anguilet | 74 | 76 | 65 | 71 | Russom | 73 | 76 | 69 | 71 |
Edited by Tamijo on 26-02-2017 07:28
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| Ad Bot |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 21-02-2017 17:34
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A fantastic preview and a pleasure to see you reporting, Tamijo!
My bet is on Berhane clearly, but the startlist is very strong  Eritel with their A team, but their horribly planned sprint train will really hurt them. Telkom making it 2/2 all out african teams here, Eastman might be the man to beat.
Go Roglic! Though, maybe don't go Rolic, cause I want you at Isostar next season 
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 21-02-2017 18:23
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Great preview Tamijo!
Looking at the CT teams, I can't see someone 'pulling a Haga' (finishing 6th with 73 MO), but given the small-ish startlist some of them might get a decent points haul out here.
Berhane top favourite as defending champion but I would bet on Eastman giving him a good fight.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 21-02-2017 19:59
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What a debut preview Tamijo, class in-depth stuff right there!
Looking forward to see you report this great race!
As for Compal, I hope Lowe and Dyachenko can do something, maybe hunt a stage victory. Will be exciting to see this race unfold! |
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| Kentaurus |
Posted on 21-02-2017 20:18
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Oh god the small start list is a beautiful sight to see for an Azteca team desperate for points. Will still need to find some stage wins, or ways to get other points though for this to be valuable to the team since it does cost that staggering 21 racedays.
AZTECA - NBCSN |
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| knockout |
Posted on 21-02-2017 22:14
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Grand Tour Champion
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A reporter not currently in the MG reports a GT? Totally frickin awesome! Thanks so much! 
Rather interesting route which should suit the non-TTers among the climbers as the only long ITT is a hilly one after 4 non-flat stages so recovery should play an important role in that one.
Interesting to see that only CT teams near the dirt attend this race. Not sure whether that's the reason they are attending or attending the reason for being so low but i think it is interesting
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 21-02-2017 22:39
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Tour de France Champion
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Awesome to see you report tamijo, thanks. This is a very small startlist, Porto Prio could end up leading the next rankings now. Telkom also with basic auto-promotion now. Compal hopefully to escape relegation zone.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| weirdskyfan64 |
Posted on 21-02-2017 22:53
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I think we'll scrap by. Gaimon's been disappointing this season...
Disclaimer- Most of my posts are me thinking aloud. And most of what I think is rubbish.
Winner of a FIFA Prediction Fair Play Award (a phrase becoming increasingly ironic)
"... Because he (me) has a sound tactical mind in general..." jandal7, at 9:30 am GMT on 12th May 2016
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 21-02-2017 23:37
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Amazing preview! Looks like one of my leaders here would have struggled for a Top 5, which makes this race a lot less worth it if you cant finish near the top. Looks like Telkom have really targeted this race, now to see if the gamble will pay off!
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 22-02-2017 00:34
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Wow it's here.I've been looking forward to this one. Incredible to have a non-MG member reporting it! Stupendous! Thanks a lot Tamijo
It's great that there aren't many teams involved in our perspective It's going to be an interesting battle between the collective of Telkom and in n out vs Berhane, Reis and Rujano. So many variables in play.
I'm hoping to find success here, but mainly I'm in it for the fun of it. Good luck everyone and thanks again Tamijo
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| ember |
Posted on 22-02-2017 07:10
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Very nice preview, Tamijo, a pleasure to read! Looking a lot forward to this one, and with only 14 teams doing the race, it should probably be an open one, and depending on who takes control of the leader's jersey early on, maybe a lot of breakaway success. |
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 22-02-2017 08:41
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Just here for stagewins, just as my goals suggest. We should have good chances here with Ulanowski, who could not only win the sprints, but also the prologue could be possible for the guy. This year we did not forget to bring a guy who can somewhat act as a lead-out, should be a massive improvement . GC wise I seem to remember Kononenko got a top 10 last year, so I'm confident either he or Topchanyuk will be able to at least do something.
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 22-02-2017 08:49
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Awesome preview! Thanks Tamijo - I've been gone so long, I've come back to the next generation of reporters
So excited for this race - it is by far our number 1 objective for the year! Why? I don't know, I just like the idea of an American conti GT.
Hopefully the AI keeps Eastman our team's absolute leader (unless Ratiy completely destroys everyone - unlikey). He's got all the support he can dream of, so anything less than a win would be disappointing. Surely hope a crash doesn't cost him his race like it did in 2014.
And then, my personal fav, The Hoff  Damn, I sure do hope he gets some stage wins under the belt to score us some extra $$$$
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| Scorchio |
Posted on 22-02-2017 08:56
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Super excited for the continental GT. There are a half-dozen or so top title contenders who should be in a league of their own. WCC will be looking for scraps everyday, whether that be appearances in breaks, chasing KoM points, placingings in sprints (this is a bit far-fetched given Jones' season to date, but live in hope for some showings in week 1 at any rate), and finally seeing if we have anyone who can hang tough and maintain consistency enough to grab a decent GC. Top 10 might be just out of reach, but just below with some luck. Will be interesting as DS to see which of Ardila Cano, Moreno, Kagrobrek, or my wildcard choice Rodriguez Galindo takes on the mantle of team leader in this longer race format.
Good luck to all participants, and lets hope we all avoid any crashes. Great to see a new reporter, and even more impressive that is not even currently a MG participant, so welcome on board to Tamijo!; if the quality of the preview carries across into reporting we are in for a feast of MG cycling .
Manager of ISA - Hexacta in the MG |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 22-02-2017 10:01
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This Race should be interesting for us. No GC rider but we could leave with a stage win maybe 2 if everything goes well!
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| matt17br |
Posted on 22-02-2017 12:30
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Incredible preview Tamijo, thanks for taking this race up so quickly, takes some courage. A lot of courage!
This race is always a season highlight for everyone, and crucial for relegation most of the time, and this time around partly for promotion too. Can't wait to see how it unfolds!
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 22-02-2017 18:07
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We know the plan. Rujano for podium and Cabrera to do what he did last year. Please, don't screw up team!
And super preview Tamijo! Fantastic job |
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| jaxika |
Posted on 22-02-2017 18:50
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Congrats to Schuh. Great to see a fellow CT team take the leader jersey  |
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 22-02-2017 18:57
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A bit disappointing from Van Rensburg. Guess he was plagued by poor Daily form (much like me the last while ). Can only get better from here! 
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 22-02-2017 19:03
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Disappointing ride for Maciej... We even got beaten by Eddie Stobart riders... This will be a great race. 
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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