|
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Discussion
|
| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 14-04-2020 23:14
|
Team Leader
Posts: 6036
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Hello and welcome to Gabon for La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. It’s the 8th Edition of this prestigious African event. A simple race around this Atlantic-hugging nation which will take us from the deep interior of Moanda to the coastal capital city of Libreville.
If you’re looking for uphill action though, you should be spending your time elsewhere. Amissa Bongo offers very little in the way of climbing as it features its traditional 5 flat-rated road stages.
Stage 2 has a couple of category 2 climbs but both at the beginning of the stage. Stage 3 has a little category 3 climb near the end and that should be the main concern for the sprinters present here.
Speaking of sprinters, let’s have a look at who’s around:
| Rider | SPR | ACC | FLA | RES |  Mohs | 82 | 80 | 74 | 62 |  Thorsen | 81 | 83 | 60 | 54 |  Holloway | 80 | 82 | 78 | 77 |  Moser | 80 | 79 | 72 | 69 |  Granjel Cabrera | 80 | 77 | 75 | 71 |  Carsi | 80 | 82 | 70 | 69 |  Von Hoff | 79 | 77 | 71 | 74 |  Suryadi | 79 | 76 | 71 | 68 | | Vingerling | 79 | 79 | 71 | 66 |  Vanderaerden | 79 | 75 | 72 | 65 |  Castaneda | 79 | 77 | 70 | 65 |
An interesting set of candidates will certainly make for a thrilling race. Mohs may be the fastest of the bunch, but almost every team has a close competitor to him. Thorsen could be one of those if he manages to get to the end of the stages. Holloway on the other hand is a very robust rider and should be a regular in the sprint duels, with also Moser, Carsi and the experient Granjel Cabrera also have enough arguments to fight for the win here.
As leadouts I should probably mention Cybex as the most well-equipped squad to support their leader Suryadi. Most teams have enough suitable riders to launch their lead sprinters though.
We still have a few outsiders whose names could come in handy later on in  Boev,  Docker,  Tleubayev or  Jones.
All that said we also need to consider the possibility of breaks. Any rider arriving with a gap to the peloton at the end of a stage will instantly become a GC candidate, even more so than all the favourites mentioned here. Every team present has a designated sprinter and as such there isn’t anyone explicitly targeting breakaways, but they will all need to be taken care of.
Enough talking, meet you guys tomorrow for stage 1. Good luck everyone!
|
| |
|
|
| Kentaurus |
Posted on 15-04-2020 00:52
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3999
Joined: 26-07-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Oof, do we have a candidate for least popular race in the MG this year? 14 teams, for a 5 stage sprint fest, those end of the race bumps on the first three stages could be very telling for how this race will go for the GC. I'll take Holloway for the overall, his general skill set just too strong for the others.
AZTECA - NBCSN  |
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 15-04-2020 02:21
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7294
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Should be interested. I got my strongest sprint squad and Von Hoff is sprinting fairly well lately. Lets hope for maybe a stage win but at least a good GC result.
|
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 15-04-2020 02:24
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3264
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Holloway's first C2 outing of the year and McCormick's first time with clear responsibility for controlling the breaks. Holloway should be competitive on every stage so I think a top GC finish and a stage win is a reasonable expectation - none of the rest are close to him on secondary stats. I am worried at least one day will have a break we can't bring back and he will lose a bunch of the GC places on that. Manamalage is racing Lillestrom, might have been better to have his 82 flat on the roads of Gabon. Time for the Frankovic and the rest of the first team to earn their minimum salaries.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 15-04-2020 06:21
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Mohs on paper the rider to beat, Szalontay very slow (flat) as 2nd sprinter could be a problem if the team will be the "leading" train.
Carsi with a good team here, def see him do well
But by money is on Holloway, his second to none flat will be very handy making him able to start the late sprint that is crucial in most situations.
Just as the preview indicate many other options, Cabrera, Moser also dangerous with just a little luck.
Quite an open race, lets hope the profiles are good with a fair sprint.
Edited by Tamijo on 15-04-2020 06:27
|
| |
|
|
| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 15-04-2020 06:59
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5533
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
|
Really hoping Moser can perform well and get some big results here! He has good support so should be capable.
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 15-04-2020 14:23
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Lets hope i can put some sort of performance in here  |
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 15-04-2020 23:07
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3264
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Well that was a good start. Dump Holloway somewhere near the finish and let him do the rest.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| hillis91 |
Posted on 16-04-2020 07:34
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5897
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 1500.00
|
Podium, not mad at all. To bad we could not complete that leadout, looked great at one point.
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 05:37
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 16-04-2020 09:10
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Docker probably hopeless, but I still like the start list. As for all races with Jayco, I just hope for breakaways. We have a couple of guys, who already proved to be aggressive, so let's just keep on attacking and maybe fight for KoM honors.
|
| |
|
|
| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 16-04-2020 09:29
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5533
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
|
5th isn't a poor start from Moser but it's disappointing given that our team had the train going into the finale.
|
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 16-04-2020 15:10
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7294
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Steele has a great sprint and a great 4th to start the race! Hopefully he can keep that going!!!
Congrats to the winner and thanks for the great first report!!
|
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 16-04-2020 23:12
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3264
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Well that was a disaster.
Thanks for the report and congrats to Bianchi.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 17-04-2020 02:00
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7294
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Very happy Von Hoff made that split! Great sprint for another 4th and now right within striking distance on GC. Not too far away from points either!
Great report! Congrats to the winner
|
| |
|
|
| hillis91 |
Posted on 17-04-2020 11:55
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5897
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 1500.00
|
Oh shucks
|
| |
|
|
| hillis91 |
Posted on 17-04-2020 11:55
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5897
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 1500.00
|
Oh shucks
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 17-04-2020 14:32
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Very "techinal" finish  , result not too bad (from a neutral point of view) but a few top sprinters outside top 10 not perfect.
|
| |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 17-04-2020 14:45
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
It kinda hurts, that former Jayco sprinter Brenton Jones does better than Docker so far 
Breakaways! Disappointing stuff so far, from our point of view.
|
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 18-04-2020 00:54
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3264
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Well that was much better, Sweeting doing some nice work and Holloway able to hold on the line. Hard to complain about 2 stage wins no matter how it turns out but yesterday's debacle still leaves a bad taste.
Surprised how easily they are bringing back the break in this race.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 18-04-2020 06:56
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5533
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
|
Bit of normality there with the break being chased down easily and the top sprinters taking the podium spots. Almost wholesome 
Always good to be leading the GC but will be a hell of a fight to hold onto it from here. We'll do our best!
|
| |
|
