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KBC De Panne Tour Discussion
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 20-09-2018 07:47
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Directeur Sportif
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 KBC De Panne Tour
Featured on the MG calendar since 2010, the KBC De Panne Tour goes into it's 8th edition (taking a break back in 2013). The race character stays the same: four stages, with the first two days featuring several cobbles sectors and the traditional timetrial to conclude the tour with another flat stage the day before. It's been a tricky race to predict for quite a while now, with some surprising overall winners like Cedric Lebris (2017) or Ian Bibby (2014) on the honour roll. It's meant to be a race for the cobbles specialists though and amongst the previous winners, we have such big names like Jérôme Baugnies (2016), Danny Summerhill (2015), Niels Albert (2012), Thor Hushovd (2011) and Leif Hoste (2010). MG legends like Fabian Cancellara (4th in 2016) or Tom Boonen (3rd in 2015) had notable results after their prime.
So who will join those names this year? Baugnies won't be at the start this time and he would have had a good chance to become the only rider to win this race twice. Will Albert get a chance to do it instead? Or will we see another upsetting overall winner like last year? It's surely an interesting race, when you do not really know, how things play out.
The Startlist
The GC contenders | Favorites | HI | TT | CO | SP | Outsiders | HI | TT | CO | SP |  Blythe | 66 | 68 | 82 | 76 |  Flaksis | 65 | 56 | 76 | 61 |  Vanspeybrouck | 71 | 62 | 82 | 67 |  Matthews | 66 | 70 | 75 | 76 | | Zepuntke | 69 | 65 | 81 | 72 |  Kuroeda | 62 | 67 | 75 | 72 |  Maes | 67 | 64 | 79 | 62 |  Veelers | 61 | 67 | 75 | 73 |  Ferreira | 68 | 63 | 79 | 71 |  Rowe | 66 | 65 | 75 | 79 | | Thomas | 60 | 63 | 79 | 74 |  Lebris | 65 | 65 | 75 | 71 |  David | 75 | 65 | 78 | 70 | Vandenbergh | 64 | 65 | 75 | 59 | | Albert | 69 | 57 | 78 | 63 | Kuroeda | 70 | 52 | 75 | 76 | | Van Keirsbulck | 71 | 51 | 78 | 70 | Cancellara | 62 | 73 | 74 | 62 |  Gaudin | 68 | 67 | 77 | 57 |  Van Asbroeck | 71 | 66 | 74 | 80 | | Sinkeldam | 75 | 64 | 77 | 68 | Marzuki | 74 | 64 | 74 | 72 | | Kosic | 66 | 61 | 77 | 59 |  Schoonbroodt | 75 | 63 | 74 | 68 | | Gaday | 74 | 65 | 76 | 71 | Marcos | 73 | 63 | 74 | 65 | | Lindeman | 64 | 60 | 76 | 74 | Bagdonas | 66 | 73 | 73 | 66 | | Okbamariam | 65 | 59 | 76 | 72 | Riesebeek | 73 | 67 | 73 | 69 | | | | | | | | | | |
There are still a few things, that we should know though: judging the pre-race favorites, when it comes to the key part - the cobbles. Adam Blythe had a stage-win here back in 2011 (finishing 2nd in the GC) and he certainly comes with a good skillset for this race. His combination of cobbles and sprint, as well as a solid timetrial should give him an edge over other riders. He won't be happy with his first cobbles races of the season and there's some pressure for him to deliver an outstanding result as soon as possible. Why not start here?
Vanspeybrouck (also struggling so far into this still young season), Zepuntke, Maes, Ferreira, Thomas (who already grabbed a big victory this season), David and Albert amongst the next best cobblers. They all do not ride TTs pretty well, but if the first two days are ridden hard, those guys should fight for the GC primes eventually. Of course there's some possible dark horses though:
Matthews as an interesting second option for Podium Ambition (with a solid TT and good sprint skills), an aging Cancellara (!) or someone like Blythe's domestique Bagdonas, who could benefit from a less selective key stage particularly on this first day here. And of course there's those ever dangerous "cobbles sprinters", who can be real threats for particularly the second stage and crucial bonifications on all days: Van Asbroeck has to be named first and there's also Rowe, who could finish in the front groups already on those first two days.
The Stage Hunters | Sprinters | FL | CO | SP | AC | Timetrial Specialists | FL | TT | PR | CO | | Appollonio | 74 | 65 | 81 | 78 | Brändle | 75 | 79 | 79 | 56 |  Kip | 69 | 64 | 80 | 82 | Olman | 68 | 79 | 79 | 52 | | Van Asbroeck | 75 | 74 | 80 | 78 | Janse van Rensburg | 70 | 78 | 78 | 63 | | Petit | 76 | 72 | 80 | 78 | Li | 75 | 78 | 78 | 50 | | Rowe | 78 | 75 | 79 | 80 | Christensen | 78 | 77 | 77 | 65 | | Boivin | 74 | 59 | 79 | 80 | Steensen | 74 | 77 | 77 | 60 | | Coutinho | 72 | 55 | 79 | 80 | Postlberger | 73 | 77 | 77 | 56 | | Peeters | 72 | 68 | 79 | 77 | Fominykh | 74 | 77 | 76 | 54 | | Pelucchi | 74 | 62 | 79 | 77 | Würtz | 74 | 77 | 74 | 62 | | Wippert | 70 | 61 | 78 | 82 | Hamza | 74 | 76 | 79 | 50 | | Bonifazio | 77 | 56 | 78 | 78 | Kiflay | 74 | 76 | 77 | 63 |  Jørgensen | 73 | 60 | 78 | 73 | Kuboki | 73 | 75 | 78 | 59 | | Kvist | 75 | 71 | 77 | 78 | Richardson | 72 | 75 | 74 | 64 | | Tleubayev | 72 | 63 | 77 | 77 |  Pszczolarski | 73 | 74 | 77 | 53 | | Kuboki | 73 | 59 | 77 | 77 | Van Aert | 73 | 68 | 77 | 66 | | Giaux | 73 | 71 | 77 | 75 | Chavanne | 75 | 65 | 82 | 57 |
A few more guys like Petit, Kvist or Giaux do handle both cobbles and sprints, too. Kvist and Giaux, however, will probably focus on their possible leadout duties for Appollonio and Petit: two of the most promising sprinters for at least the third stage.
Someone like Kip will also like the look of stage three and could become a nice scorer for his amateur squad. Boivin, Coutinho/Wippert and another interesting amateur Jorgensen as other possible contenders for the sprint stage(s). Lierse SK with quite an outstanding leadout train for Van Asbroeck, who indeed looks like a real force for the GC (if the best cobblers do not destroy the peloton already on the first day).
Amongst the TT specialists, there's probably no real threat for GC (as there's no one, who can handle cobbles too well): Brändle, Olman, van Rensburg, Li, Steensen/Christensen or Postlberger as those riders, who should fancy their chances for a stage-win. Given the rather short length of the TT, also some stronger prologue specialists like Pszczolarski or maybe even Chavanne may become a factor. Always hard to predict those timetrials later into a race though.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 20-09-2018 08:06
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Team Leader
Posts: 7295
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Go Xero!!!! You got this!!!
Seriously though good luck to everyone!
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| cio93 |
Posted on 20-09-2018 08:17
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World Champion
Posts: 10845
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Blythe has no credible excuse to not win this.
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| SotD |
Posted on 20-09-2018 08:23
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World Champion
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Wuhuu we are riding again 
Can't wait to see if Kip can also perform at this level on the one flat stage. the final TT is probably a bit too long for my prologue guys to have a shout at a top 10 on the stage.
All in all, not a race we can expect a lot from, but it would be nice to fight for a stage podium on stage 3
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 15:05
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 20-09-2018 08:26
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World Champion
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Hope we can see a reversal of the stage 3 break wins this race usually see and have Rowe amongst the competition there. And then also finally get a good cobbled result, going for the top 10 maybe. Hope the 74PRL has an influence for him on Stage 4 too.
Seeing Vandenbergh below Rowe in the list... If he beats us I'll be very disappointed P
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
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| Vien |
Posted on 20-09-2018 10:05
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2322
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Just like all other cobbled races I joined: A filler. Hoping for some decent breaks and perhaps Gaday with a top 20. |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 20-09-2018 11:08
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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Could go well for Thomas, his season has been solid so far. Back in a more traditional sole leader role, could be a risk if he falters. But my eyes are on Matthews! He's gone well in similar races last season, and with improved CB this could turn into something rather nice indeed.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 20-09-2018 12:00
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
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Zepuntke's race depends on riding the first two stages as hard as possible. Blythe and Vanspeybrouck are the best cobble riders but the other 80's made the trip to Rome which we won't be racing. Or if everything goes to shit De Haes can join the breakaway on stage three.
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| roturn |
Posted on 20-09-2018 12:28
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Team Manager
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Totally missed there was a 11km TT as well here. Have a potential top3-10 for the GC and sprinter stage.
Though not having one of my time trialists here.
Looking forward to the performances. |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 20-09-2018 14:20
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World Champion
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Vanbilsen never performed here, so we go for Van Asbroeck and hope for a quiet race.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 20-09-2018 14:55
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Tour de France Champion
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Alright, here we go. Big expectations. VSB has to perform. I've had enough of his crap. He's got a slightly weaker field than normal thanks to Roma and a chance to do major damage. If he doesn't do it in his best chance, than he's already proven that his signing was worthless. Sinkeldam is a top domestique here too, so no excuses.
Then, I totally forgot I had sent Appo here for only one stage. Might be a conflict of interest of sorts, but race day wise it only made sense that either he or AKA would get a chance with the flat day I suppose. We have to capitalize on that and get a podium at least on the stage, hopefully a win. Kvist is a great leadout for him. I don't anticipate having the leader's jersey by then, but that would complicate things.
Finally, the TT. Steensen, Christensen and Wurtz are all here. With half my cobbles squad gone I pulled some strong roueleurs in and that should help in the TT. Would be nice for one of them to snag a top 5 in that final stage, though who knows what could happen.
Overall we have a lot of ambitions here. Hopefully at least one doesn't come crashing down completely. Vanspeybroeck has his big shot here. He better make it count or we're done.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 20-09-2018 15:44
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
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If Kuboki can somehow not lose time I think he's got a good shot at GC. But most importantly, lets see how the Kuroedas do!
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| tastasol |
Posted on 20-09-2018 16:21
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2889
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A race that suits us well and even a mention in the preview. A top 10 on the sprint stage would be a great result for us, and hopefully we'll see some of our riders in the breaks also. Very open race, where the main thing will probably be if the best cobblers can get an advantage. If not, this will probably be a race for Van Asbroeck/Rowe/Petit.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 21-09-2018 08:52
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World Champion
Posts: 11392
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Not bad from us, but really irks me that we see a break win and likely GC win here again (especially as Schreurs was last to be dropped from it  ). Rowe in the GC favourites group and Ngamoki and Schreurs not out of range for minor points is nice, both performing well with good domestique and breakaway work respectively. Hopefully Rowe can pull some good results on the next two days to climb up the GC.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| Vien |
Posted on 21-09-2018 08:53
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2322
Joined: 16-06-2008
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Ehh.. Did the AI decide Riesebeek was the leader or did we just perform terribly..  This looks like it's going to be a disaster. |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 21-09-2018 08:54
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15615
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Baugnies would trash this race so hard.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 21-09-2018 09:01
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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F*cking Wolverine!!!! Thought getting into the break would be a nice idea, provide some late support to Thomas. And when Thomas attacked that looked likely. But that was one strong break, and it took three or four strong teams out of the chase. Then a well timed move to claim and thoroughly deserved victory.
G strong behind as well, good sign for the second cobbled stage and he might even get in the sprint. And Matthews hung in there as well. It happens very rarely, but that was as close to a perfect stage you can get... And none of them can crash out! Just fuck up
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| SotD |
Posted on 21-09-2018 09:04
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World Champion
Posts: 12188
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Great ride by Gianni Meersman for Signal Iduna. Could be up for a very good GC here
Also, quite some riders missing the cut here could be worrying for us. Atleast Kip was easily clear ending in the 60-area.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 21-09-2018 09:48
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World Champion
Posts: 11392
Joined: 17-12-2014
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Also, who needs David, Marzuki or Gaday who I all almost overpaid for? I got two domestiques better than them! 
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| Bikex |
Posted on 21-09-2018 09:50
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jandal7 wrote:
Also, who needs David, Marzuki or Gaday who I all almost overpaid for? I got two domestiques better than them!
Shut up |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
