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GP Yekaterinburg Discussion
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 02-11-2020 20:29
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Grand Tour Champion
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 GP Yekaterinburg
History
| Year | Winner | Team | | 2019 | Johan Esteban Chaves | Azteca - NBCSN | | 2018 | Cyril Gautier | Valio - DeLaval | | 2017 | Johan Esteban Chaves | Azteca-NBCSN | | 2016 | Enrico Barbin | Ferrero - Samruk | | 2015 | Jose Mendes | Severstal-Mercator | | 2014 | Gracjan Lejman | FCB - Polska | | 2013 | Eduard Vorganov | Team Privatbank | | 2011 | Frank Schleck | Vesuvio-Accumalux |
The wait is over, the Continental Tour is back underway! Usually the season opens with Clasico San Cristobal in Cuba, but this year the honor goes to the GP Yekaterinburg in Russia. The last edition in September 2019 was won by Johan Esteban Chaves, the first two-time winner in its long history. The first edition in 2011 was held at ProTour level, but every edition since returning from hiatus in 2013 has been in the lowest division, where it is one of the most important races for puncheurs. As it is categorized C2HC, it is mandatory for Continental teams for attend and no teams from a higher category are allowed to participate. It will be the first race for Bralirwa - Stevens Bikes, Guave's Sunlight Cycling, Los Pollos Hermanos, Nordica - Enel, Sotto il sole di riccione and Trans Cycling Team, the rebirth of legendary teams Project: Africa and Strava, the return to the Continental division for Carlsberg, Carrefour, Europcar, Philips and Sauber, the first race for Gjensidige as main sponsor (replacing Equinor) and Ritter Sport as co-sponsor (at Tryg), and the start of a new promotion hope for BNZ, Centovalli, Eddie Stobart, Glanbia and McCormick. That should be all teams covered.
Profile
The race is 213 kilometer long, eight laps around the city of Yekaterinburg. The finish line lies atop a hill on the outskirts of the city, with the lap also containing a smaller hill inside the city. The puncheurs are favorites on this course, as shown in previous editions, with the climb a little to easy for pure climbers to leave their mark. The weather conditions are probably more difficult than the profile, with the average maximum temperature in Yekaterinburg in January being -9.1°C. Even if the roads are clear of snow, the riders should probably pack multiple jackets and ice-goggles to survive the race. What on earth where the organizers thinking planning the race on this date?
Startlist
| Favorites | HL | MO | ACC | Outsiders | HL | MO | ACC |  Kelderman | 82 | 71 | 72 |  Paulus | 77 | 74 | 71 |  Zaini | 80 | 66 | 70 |  Zordan | 77 | 73 | 74 |  Moscon | 79 | 73 | 73 | Le Gac | 77 | 69 | 69 |  Edmondson | 79 | 69 | 76 |  Smirnovs | 77 | 68 | 78 |  Juul-Jensen | 78 | 70 | 79 |  Caruso | 77 | 68 | 76 | | Quevedo | 78 | 71 | 75 |  Costa | 77 | 68 | 67 |  Palini | 78 | 70 | 74 |  Ben Nasser | 77 | 67 | 74 |  Eiking | 78 | 69 | 76 |  Felline | 77 | 66 | 78 | | Flügel | 78 | 69 | 69 | Pellaud | 77 | 65 | 70 |  Barbin | 78 | 68 | 76 | Roux | 77 | 64 | 74 | | Mehr-Wenige | 78 | 66 | 67 | Tsatevich | 77 | 62 | 75 | | Watson | 78 | 65 | 72 |  Bru | 77 | 60 | 72 | | Anuar Aziz | 78 | 65 | 66 | Henao | 76 | 76 | 70 | | Pernsteiner | 77 | 75 | 72 | Eyob | 76 | 76 | 66 | | Hoelgaard | 77 | 74 | 74 |  Seibeb | 76 | 75 | 73 |
The favorite for this race, and every hilly race in this division for that matter, will be Kelderman. He stuck with his team Philips despite their relegation, and will likely be their ticket back up as well. He should not get complacent though, the opposition might not be of the class he is used to, which means everyone else will be looking at him at every time. Watson is his main support.
Last year Moscon rode for Lierse SK, but due to budgetary problems he was sold to Centovalli. Together with another acquisition, Pernsteiner from Isostar, they are a strong duo which might challenge Philips.
Coming back from loan spells at Minions and Aegon, Eiking is finally ready to assume leadership at Gjensidige. They also have the German duo of Flügel and Mehr-Wenige as back-up, another strong outfit.
Carlsberg relegated and just like Philips they kept their main puncheur: Juul-Jensen. Unlike Kelderman, the Dane underperformed in the Pro Continental Tour, but maybe he can find his rhythm back at a lower level.
The last PCT race before the winter break, Züri Metzgete, was won by Edmondson. While the profiles seem similar, that race had a flat finish. This race finishes uphill, but the Brit has shown to be able to handle this in the past.
At Strava we find the highest returning finisher from last year: Roux. I'll be surprised if he repeats his podium, but anything can happen. Felline is their other egg in the basket.
Project: Africa is back with, indeed, a fully African squad. Their leader is Seibeb, all the way at the bottom of the outsiders list. That doesn't mean he is the outsider amongst the outsiders, it is just where the sorting algorithm placed him. He is not expected to win but everything in the top 25 is worth ranking points, hence that should be his aim at least.
Sotto il sole di riccione wants to debut with a bang, bringing in Zaini. He could only muster eighth in his previous attempt at this race in 2018 though, but that was with another employer. Maybe the Riccione sun brings him luck.
Palini was second violin to Kelderman at Philips last season, now he is second violin to Ginanni for his new team Nordica - Enel. The latter is still settling in, so this will be the chance for the former to show he is a leader in his own right.
The only rider on the startlist who can say he has won this race is Barbin, which he did in 2016 when his team Ferrero not only won the race but also the division. Trans Cycling Team will hope for a repeat of this scenario.
Carrefour brings a very strong trio which could all assume leadership. Quevedo was on the team in their relegation year, but is joined by the experienced Caruso and the only home rider on the startlist: Tsatevich. Who will work for who?
Glanbia has no rider on the favorites or outsiders list.  Haas fell just off the list and is desperate to prove he should have been included in the first part.
A recurring theme is a team having multiple riders capable of scoring a good result, as is the case with Tryg. They have Hoelgaard who should be familiar with the team, and finished sixth last year. Furthermore, they have Smirnovs who left Evonik behind to get more chances for himself here.
Sauber went for experience, with Anuar Aziz and Costa. The latter finished fifth last year, but he has gone down in strength while the overall quality in the division has gone up.
Team Europcar probably has the best overall quality in the team as all eight selected riders are good, but just not spectacular enough to stand out. While their designated no. 1 bib is Lavery, perhaps more should be expected of Paulus, who is also one of the better climbers amongst the puncheurs. Unfortunately for them there is no teams classification.
A few good riders at Guave's Sunlight Cycling but no standout capable of challenging for the podium. Zordan and Le Gac should be happy if they have a shot at a top ten.
The most notable absentee on the startlist is Meyer. I would rather be under the Australian sun than here as well, but you don't earn ranking points on the beach. The management of Eddie Stobart nominates  Agostini as pro forma leader by alphabetical order.
Ben Nasser is the leader for Bralirwa. He is experienced but not as fast as he used to be. This season might be his last opportunity for meaningful results.
Bru scored exactly zero points at Minions last year, yet Los Pollos Hermanos made him their lead puncheur. Sure, he likes a hill, but detests everything which is not a hill. He can prove his former manager wrong though by brining LPH their first ever points.
The final team on the list is McCormick, whose only viable route to airtime is a breakaway appearance. However, there is always a chance the breakaway takes the win! It will be half-a-million  McNulty's debut.
And that's it! All you need to know about GP Yekaterinburg! Best of luck to all the teams and may the best rider win!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 02:26
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 02-11-2020 20:51
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Good luck to all CT teams venturing over to Russia in early January, might be a little colder than Cuba!
Great preview for the season opener Marco!
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 02-11-2020 20:55
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We're definitely here to challenge for the win, although it will be hard to beat Kelderman - all season long. I hope our climbers will support the stronger puncheurs as long as they can, and then Moscon and Pernsteiner will hopefully deliver in their first race for us!
With such a strong duo, I doubt we'll go for a breakaway win; if we did, that could be Lienhard's chance. We definitely expect him to attack now or then - but probably rather when Moscon isn't there... Looking forward to this one anyway! 
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:08
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Tour de France Champion
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Thank you for the awesome preview Marco! Especially thank you for covering every team to open the season! Should be a cold, but exciting race.
This will be the start of the year for Juul-Jensen, and will set for the stage for a campaign where he will either redeem himself, or basically end his career as a leader. I'm not looking for a win with Kelderman around, but I want to be up there and score.
Also of note here is that we are the only team to send less than the max 8 riders. That's gonna be a common theme for us this season, so hopefully it doesn't hurt us too badly!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:09
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With Fulgencio Bru as our lead puncheur, we don't expect anything from those kind of races. I love the preview though, as you really took your time to give a correct analysis of every team's top rider and hopes for the race. So thank you for that, and I'll just hope Bru overperforms or the team gets some screen time in the break 
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:10
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First race in team history, I'm excited! Though not for the result, I would be happy if we got even a single mention in the report, to be honest  Ben Nasser and Khederi could be good for a Top 20 in theory, maybe Ndayisenga could do something if the mountain stat has significant influence, but given how low we are on the list of favorites, I expect the entire team to spend the majority of the race in the second half of the peloton and get caught behind a split or something. Breakaway would be cool, but with five level 1 riders, not sure how many options we have here
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:23
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World Champion
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Rooting for Moscon here, I made some promises to Centovalli
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:25
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baseballlover312 wrote:
Also of note here is that we are the only team to send less than the max 8 riders. That's gonna be a common theme for us this season, so hopefully it doesn't hurt us too badly!
I can see two more
Even though we aren't among them this time, it's going to be a very common theme for us, too. Just not enough talents with lots of RDs this year...
Ollfardh wrote:
Rooting for Moscon here, I made some promises to Centovalli
He'd better do well, indeed
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:27
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Fabianski wrote:
baseballlover312 wrote:
Also of note here is that we are the only team to send less than the max 8 riders. That's gonna be a common theme for us this season, so hopefully it doesn't hurt us too badly!
I can see two more
Even though we aren't among them this time, it's going to be a very common theme for us, too. Just not enough talents with lots of RDs this year...
Ollfardh wrote:
Rooting for Moscon here, I made some promises to Centovalli
He'd better do well, indeed
Haha, you're right. Clearly I'm both going blind and insane. Bigger sample size to gauge its impact then.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Guave |
Posted on 02-11-2020 21:35
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Stagiare
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Thanks for the preview Marco!
Very excited to see how our first race ever turns out. Top 10 would indeed make us very very very happy, but it won't be easy.
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| knockout |
Posted on 02-11-2020 22:54
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Kelderman is the obvious top favourite and I'll probably be cheering for him throughout most of the season but for the season opener, I hope that all the new and returning teams will have a great showing.
There are so many cool riders on the list that i cant spread around my support enough: Strava's back, lots of former Evonik riders on the startlist and as possible attacker candidates with Paprstka, Lienhard, De Vreese, Oelerich, Smirnovs, Joeaar, Weiss and Lindau and then there is also Carlsberg with two Latvians. This could get interesting
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| matt17br |
Posted on 02-11-2020 23:17
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DAMN, that is one deep startlist, what are they feeding CT riders nowadays Especially look forward to seeing how future Generali legend Moscon will do, but I'm sure he'll be a top 3 puncheur in the division throughout the season regardless. Lovely preview, Marco.
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 03-11-2020 02:49
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Thanks for the great preview, impressed you even found something to say about McCormick.
McNulty starts the long road to justifying that price tab.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 03-11-2020 03:51
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After waiting virtually his whole career to sign him hopefully Anuar Aziz can have a good start to his time here with us. Unfortunately the level of competition in CT has grown each year and this year it looks like he will only be fighting for top 10's if today's field is anything to go by.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 03-11-2020 04:54
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I can see we already have the target on our backs on the hills! Not surprised
Kelderman being top favourite, with Watson, Bardet et al in support should really be winning this. It is a Win goal race for us too to start things off. Had to set the course for the season from the get-go. Great chance for us to put ourselves on a good footing for the rest of the season. It won't be easy as there are enough riders to make a decisive move and claim the win in a race like this.
A few former riders leading other teams is interesting as well - Palini, Le Gac and Rui Costa. Let's see how they go.
Thanks for the amazing preview Marco! Can't wait for the season to get going
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| redordead |
Posted on 03-11-2020 06:03
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A fantastic preview to start off the CT season 
I'll be mainly rooting for Kelderman from Philips, for some of our Slovenian friends at Trans Cycling Team (go Pibernik!! ) and I will always keep an eye on Costa Seibeb
Good luck, it should be a fun race
Edited by redordead on 03-11-2020 06:28
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| liefwarrior |
Posted on 03-11-2020 06:26
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Excellent preview! Here's hoping Hoelgaard's climbing comes in handy over the multiple ascents. |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 03-11-2020 06:29
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matt17br wrote:
Especially look forward to seeing how future Generali legend Moscon will do
Yeah, just go on, make that price tag explode
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 03-11-2020 07:36
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Great preview! Thanks Marco
Interestingly, the game has listed Ssabagwanya as #61 and not Seibeb (not sure if that counts for anything). I quite like the outside chances of Seibeb with his higher mountain stat and Ssabagwanya with his ridiculous backup stats. Would be happy with a showing in the breakaway and any result in the top 20 would be satisfactory - a top 10 would be amazing! |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 03-11-2020 09:16
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Thanks, fingers crossed our dual leadership strategy works well and we can snatch one or two Top 10. Looking forward to the report.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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