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Strada Appia Antica Discussion
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| redordead |
Posted on 13-12-2020 07:18
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Team Leader
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Welcome to the 9th edition of the Strada Appia Antica race. One of the most unique races in the MG calendar due to it being a mixture between a hilly and flat cobbled race. What makes it more interesting is that the two terrains are separated. The first 3/4 of the race is hilly with 8 notable climbs of varying lengths. The last 1/4 is flat, or at least flatter with mostly false flat and 2 long and difficult cobbled sectors.
With the way the parcours are set means that strong hill riders can make it to the final, but will often get dropped on the cobbles. Strong cobble specialists who can't climb can get dropped before they reach their favoured terrain or run out of energy getting there. Sam Bewley has dominated this race in the past winning 5 times in a row between 2014-2018, but last year saw Lukasz Wisniowski break that streak. Has the changing of the guard truly happened? Both are back along with many others.
Let's look at some of the favourites:
| FLA | MON | HIL | STA | RES | COB | SPR | ACC |  Bewley | 77 | 68 | 70 | 77 | 75 | 82 | 82 | 82 |  Wisniowski | 80 | 69 | 71 | 75 | 76 | 83 | 73 | 76 |  Gerts | 77 | 66 | 78 | 76 | 80 | 80 | 72 | 70 |
As mentioned both Bewley and Wisniowski are back to resume their rivalry. Wisniowski will probably be looking to make the race as tough as he can. On the other hand Bewley is still unmatched if it comes down to a sprint finish. He'll just be hoping he doesn't get any ill timed punctures this time. The other 3 star favourite is Gerts who is the best puncheur amongst the cobblers.
| FLA | MON | HIL | STA | RES | COB | SPR | ACC | | Pedersen | 77 | 63 | 69 | 78 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 77 |  Summerhill | 78 | 66 | 73 | 76 | 72 | 83 | 70 | 73 |  Per | 79 | 68 | 70 | 74 | 75 | 79 | 74 | 74 |  Senechal | 75 | 61 | 67 | 79 | 74 | 82 | 69 | 74 |  Theuns | 72 | 67 | 74 | 76 | 73 | 80 | 77 | 76 | | Polanc | 72 | 74 | 73 | 78 | 73 | 78 | 67 | 75 |
The list of 2 star favourites firstly includes Wisniowski's teammate Pedersen. As one of the better sprinters here it gives Grieg a really good option to stratagise with. Summerhill has come here on a wildcard from PCT. He's a very strong and aggressive rider, can he carry his dominant form from PCT against PT opposition? Per is one of the best allround riders here, just lacks a bit of that top, top quality to be in among the top tier riders.
Next on the list we have Senechal, one of the best cobblers here, but will his weaker climbing skills come back to haunt him. Theuns is a rider that can get over hills, cobbles and can sprint very well, but he's not very resistant and is not great on the flat. His best bet is probably to keep his head out of the wind and bide his time. Polanc is the 2nd Isostar rider on this list. Similar to Theuns he has problems on the flat, but conversely he can climb very well. The question for him is should he push the pace on the climbs or save his energy for his less favoured terrain?
| FLA | MON | HIL | STA | RES | COB | SPR | ACC | | Kamyshev | 77 | 57 | 65 | 81 | 75 | 82 | 66 | 60 |  David | 74 | 62 | 75 | 76 | 74 | 78 | 70 | 73 |  Teunissen | 76 | 61 | 67 | 77 | 73 | 81 | 67 | 69 |  Stallaert | 77 | 60 | 67 | 76 | 68 | 81 | 79 | 76 | | Vanspeybrouck | 75 | 65 | 70 | 77 | 70 | 81 | 66 | 68 |  Blythe | 76 | 54 | 66 | 76 | 71 | 82 | 76 | 73 | | Gaday | 71 | 67 | 75 | 75 | 72 | 78 | 71 | 73 |  Kasperkiewicz | 74 | 66 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 79 | 59 | 66 |  Van Baarle | 76 | 68 | 72 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 57 | 70 | | Kruijswijk | 77 | 75 | 71 | 75 | 72 | 73 | 64 | 74 |  Kuroeda | 72 | 63 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 75 | 76 | 73 | | Sulimov | 73 | 64 | 70 | 77 | 71 | 79 | 65 | 71 |  Anderberg | 76 | 64 | 69 | 75 | 75 | 76 | 60 | 73 | | Potts | 74 | 62 | 74 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 68 | 71 |
The 3 star favourites list contains Senechal's teammate Kamyshev who is pretty much the same type of rider. David is a good puncheur, but his overall climbing is not that good. Teunissen is typical cobble specialist, can he get over climbs? Stallaert is arguably the 2nd best sprinter amongst favourites, he can ride the cobbles so the hills will also be crucial for him. Vanspeybrouck is mainly here to support Summerhill.
Blythe is actually the worst climber on the list so he better hope the others take it easy on the climbs. Gaday is a solid climber and a good puncheur who could cause a surprise. Kasperkiewicz can stack up well against pretty much anyone, but he can't sprint and his acceleration is also not good. He needs to get creative if he wants to win this race. Van Baarle is not really a cobble specialist, but does well on all terrain and is very resistant. Will that be enough?
The same can be said for Kruijswijk as the best climber, but worst cobbler here. Kuroeda will be hoping his great resistance can propel him as far as possible to use his sprint in the end. Sulimov is the 3rd Tinkoff rider on the list of favourites and the best climber of the 3. Could that make him the best of the bunch? Anderberg and Potts will also be both relying on their good resistance.
Full startlist:
Spoiler | van der Poel | Mathieu | Aegon - Peroni | | Van Hooydonck | Nathan | Aegon - Peroni | | Bauhaus | Phil | Aegon - Peroni | | van der Hoorn | Taco | Aegon - Peroni | | Ballerini | Davide | Aegon - Peroni | | Toupalik | Adam | Aegon - Peroni | | Boom | Lars | Aegon - Peroni | | Rucigaj | Ziga | Aegon - Peroni | | Bystrom | Sven Erik | Air France - KLM | | Major | Jay | Air France - KLM | | Gaudu | David | Air France - KLM | | Paez | Andres | Air France - KLM | | van Zyl | Johann | Air France - KLM | | Lietaer | Eliot | Air France - KLM | | Puccio | Salvatore | Air France - KLM | | Seigle | Roman | Air France - KLM | | Silva | Nihal | Aker - MOT | | Trondsen | Trond Hakon | Aker - MOT | | Anderberg | Hampus | Aker - MOT | | Losch | Max | Aker - MOT | | Pruus | Peter | Aker - MOT | | Walsleben | Philipp | Aker - MOT | | Videika | Airidas | Aker - MOT | | Pedersen | Casper | Aker - MOT | | Summerhill | Danny | Andorra Cycling Project | | Vanspeybrouck | Pieter | Andorra Cycling Project | | Machado | Marc | Andorra Cycling Project | | Kireva | Albert | Andorra Cycling Project | | Eeckhout | Kevin | Andorra Cycling Project | | Dahl-Olsen | Gunnar | Andorra Cycling Project | | Townsend | Rory | Andorra Cycling Project | | Reynders | Jens | Andorra Cycling Project | | David | Tom | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Kennett | Dylan | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Wohler | Alex | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Harper | Chris | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Scotson | Callum | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Christensen | Ryan | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Monk | Cyrus | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | Culey | Marcus | Bennelong - Mitchelton | | McCarthy | Jay | cycleYorkshire | | Durbridge | Luke | cycleYorkshire | | Van Baarle | Dylan | cycleYorkshire | | Bar | Jocelyn | cycleYorkshire | | Rowe | Matt | cycleYorkshire | | Holmes | Matthew | cycleYorkshire | | Munoz | Daniel | cycleYorkshire | | Hennessy | Jacob | cycleYorkshire | | Gesbert | Elie | EA Vesuvio | | Fritsch | Sven | EA Vesuvio | | Kanter | Max | EA Vesuvio | | Centrone | Ivan | EA Vesuvio | | Geniets | Kevin | EA Vesuvio | | Girdlestone | Keagan | EA Vesuvio | | Bax | Sjoerd | EA Vesuvio | | Cabrera | Nicolas Alejandro | EA Vesuvio | | Gerts | Floris | eBuddy | | Lampaert | Yves | eBuddy | | Ariesen | Tim | eBuddy | | Kaczmarek | Jakub | eBuddy | | Roosen | Timo | eBuddy | | Vermeltfoort | Coen | eBuddy | | Hofstede | Lennard | eBuddy | | Goldstein | Omer | eBuddy | | Blythe | Adam | Evonik - ELKO | | Neilands | Krists | Evonik - ELKO | | Riesebeek | Oscar | Evonik - ELKO | | Sakalou | Andrei | Evonik - ELKO | | Marzuki | Nur Amirul | Evonik - ELKO | | Naud | Patrick | Evonik - ELKO | | Budenieks | Kristaps | Evonik - ELKO | | Becis | Armands | Evonik - ELKO | | Kamberaj | Xhuliano | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | van den Berg | Julius | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Salzmann | Jodok | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Menten | Milan | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | De Bod | Stefan | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Wouters | Enzo | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Elosegui | Inigo | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Verschaeve | Viktor | Farfetch Pro Cycling | | Karatzios | Georgios | Festina - OAKA | | Kastrantas | Charalampas | Festina - OAKA | | Farantakis | Stylianos | Festina - OAKA | | Giannoutsos | Miltiadis | Festina - OAKA | | Kiriakidis | Ioannidis | Festina - OAKA | | Miltiadis | Andreas | Festina - OAKA | | Morin | Emmanuel | Festina - OAKA | | Osorio | Juan | Festina - OAKA | | Teunissen | Mike | Gazelle | | Furdi | Blaz | Gazelle | | Kruijswijk | Steven | Gazelle | | Potts | Marc | Gazelle | | Malecki | Kamil | Gazelle | | Hofland | Moreno | Gazelle | | Senyenov | Roman | Gazelle | | Arslanov | Ildar | Gazelle | | Theuns | Edward | Generali | | Oliveira | Nelson | Generali | | Gaday | Lucas Manuel | Generali | | Kung | Stefan | Generali | | De Buyst | Jasper | Generali | | Laporte | Christophe | Generali | | De Gendt | Aime | Generali | | Lecourt De Billot | Olivier | Generali | | Wisniowski | Lukasz | Grieg-Maersk | | Pedersen | Mads | Grieg-Maersk | | Ringheim | Jo Kogstad | Grieg-Maersk | | Jansen | Amund Grondahl | Grieg-Maersk | | Cosnefroy | Benoit | Grieg-Maersk | | Hofstetter | Hugo | Grieg-Maersk | | Peng | Yuan Tan | Grieg-Maersk | | Stokbro | Andreas | Grieg-Maersk | | Bakelants | Jan | Indosat Ooredoo | | Markus | Barry | Indosat Ooredoo | | Luchshenko | Sergey | Indosat Ooredoo | | Le Roux | Romain | Indosat Ooredoo | | Kulimbetov | Nurbolat | Indosat Ooredoo | | Gani | Abdul | Indosat Ooredoo | | Arifin | Muhammad Imam | Indosat Ooredoo | | Arif Prayogo | Dealton Nur | Indosat Ooredoo | | Harrison | Sam | ISA - Hexacta | | Sanogo | Abou | ISA - Hexacta | | Kreder | Raymond | ISA - Hexacta | | Juarez | Daniel | ISA - Hexacta | | Feng | Chun Kai | ISA - Hexacta | | Ghani | Muhammad Suhaimi | ISA - Hexacta | | Arissol | Ahmad | ISA - Hexacta | | Mraouni | Salah Eddine | ISA - Hexacta | | Per | David | Isostar - Specialized | | Polanc | Jan | Isostar - Specialized | | Kozhatayev | Bakhtiyar | Isostar - Specialized | | Bugge | Vegard Robinson | Isostar - Specialized | | Peters | Nans | Isostar - Specialized | | Tarvis | Peeter | Isostar - Specialized | | Gradek | Kamil | Isostar - Specialized | | Rickaert | Jonas | Isostar - Specialized | | Kasperkiewicz | Przemyslaw | King Power | | Darbinyan | Varsham | King Power | | Quita | Ronnilan | King Power | | Stash | Mamyr | King Power | | Vanthourenhout | Michael | King Power | | Nielsen | Joanis Albert | King Power | | Fung | Ka Hoo | King Power | | Revard | Thomas | King Power | | Bewley | Sam | Moser - Sygic | | McKenna | Sean | Moser - Sygic | | Baska | Erik | Moser - Sygic | | Boros | Michael | Moser - Sygic | | Hnik | Karel | Moser - Sygic | | Polnicky | Jiri | Moser - Sygic | | Cink | Ondrej | Moser - Sygic | | Krul | Stef | Moser - Sygic | | Sibilla | Michel | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Serry | Pieter | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Kuroeda | Saya | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Kuroeda | Shiki | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Arashiro | Yudai | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Rajapakshage | Tushantha | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Salcone | Jacob | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Reus | Kai | Rakuten Pro Cycling | | Declerq | Tim | Team Puma - SAP | | Cavagna | Remi | Team Puma - SAP | | Helme | Sasu | Team Puma - SAP | | Politt | Nils | Team Puma - SAP | | Weinstein | Domenic | Team Puma - SAP | | Sagiv | Guy | Team Puma - SAP | | Meiler | Lukas | Team Puma - SAP | | Oka | Atsushi | Team Puma - SAP | | Senechal | Florian | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Kamyshev | Arman | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Sulimov | Alexander | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Yatsevich | Kiril | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Trakhov | Dmitry | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Manakov | Viktor | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Zubov | Matvey | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Strakhov | Dmitry | Team Tinkoff - La Datcha | | Ponzi | Simone | Team UBS | | Spengler | Lukas | Team UBS | | Bohli | Tom | Team UBS | | Müller | Patrick | Team UBS | | Fouquet | Kevin | Team UBS | | Grand | Arnaud | Team UBS | | Schäppi | Martin | Team UBS | | Schär | Michael | Team UBS | | Stallaert | Joeri | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Tiller | Rasmus | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Sweeck | Laurens | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Kosic | Nejc | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Eriksson | Lucas | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Tanfield | Harry | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Vendrame | Andrea | Volvo acc. by Spotify | | Asgreen | Kasper | Volvo acc. by Spotify |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 13-12-2020 08:27
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Directeur Sportif
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Obviously David usually ain't someone, who could continue our podium streak from P-N and T-A, but a hilly race at least gives him a chance to compete with some better cobblers, who may suffer on hills. This race though is too mountainous for my liking. Not sure, who much his MO stat will hurt his chances eventually, but it's concerning..
Just don't deliver a no-show and get us a result on cobbles, that we didn't have since Burghardt left us.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 13-12-2020 08:45
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World Champion
Posts: 10616
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I don't see why Declerq wouldn't make the tier 3 list over riders like Kuroeda, DVB or Anderberg. But then again, he was really bad pretty much everywhere last season.
I just hope he gets dropped on skill alone for once and not through positioning, but I'm happy to get proven wrong on the getting dropped at all thing.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-12-2020 09:54
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World Champion
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Let's see what Gerts can do with his new cobbles stat even though this race might not be the best indicator for that as it also has a hilly rating which should play in his advantage in theory.
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| ember |
Posted on 13-12-2020 11:47
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Team Leader
Posts: 7058
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No expectations regarding a final result here. Anderberg mentioned among the tier 3 riders is cool, and even a season earlier than expected 
Hoping for breakaway presence, but sort of struggle to see whom of my riders can make it there and survive long enough to fight for a top 30/top 50 at the end. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 07-12-2025 00:43
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| roturn |
Posted on 13-12-2020 13:37
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Team Manager
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cio93 wrote:
I don't see why Declerq wouldn't make the tier 3 list over riders like Kuroeda, DVB or Anderberg. But then again, he was really bad pretty much everywhere last season.
I just hope he gets dropped on skill alone for once and not through positioning, but I'm happy to get proven wrong on the getting dropped at all thing.
Let`s hope Van Hooydonck with 78 cob and 70 hill can challenge some of that tier as well.
Surely not being far behind those neither and maybe on a great day getting a top20, otherwise top35 or something.
Next season he will finally be able to challenge the top10 more regularly. |
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| SotD |
Posted on 13-12-2020 14:36
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World Champion
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I guess not even seeing Karatzios in the 3rd tier group with 77COB, 76FL and 71HI isn’t a promising thing...
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-12-2020 16:30
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Grand Tour Champion
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Evonik, please dont drop back everyone to protect Blythe. I have fantastic allrounders but Blythe who might or might not be handled as outright leader doesnt like the route. No clue what that means for our expectations for this race.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| matt17br |
Posted on 13-12-2020 16:36
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Directeur Sportif
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Supposed to be a great home race for my team. Theuns and Gaday both have what it takes to get to the cobbles as fresh as possible, and we have decent support for them as well, with Oliveira, Kung and De Buyst all here to help throughout. Really looking forward to it! Thanks for the preview red 
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 13-12-2020 18:07
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
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Any points over minimum are appreciated. Kuroeda may have a chance at a Top 20, but his stats are perfect for him to overperform in my opinion.
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| tastasol |
Posted on 13-12-2020 18:31
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Classics Specialist
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Gerts the favourite for me given the hills. Excited to see how our cobbles experiment will go, anything less than a podium and some depth scoring will be a tad disappointing.
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| OlegTinkov |
Posted on 13-12-2020 22:33
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2773
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Very good preview redordead, looking forward to the report.
Edited by OlegTinkov on 14-12-2020 11:58
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| quadsas |
Posted on 14-12-2020 11:19
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2728
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Aime De Gendt EASY Top 10
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| viking90 |
Posted on 14-12-2020 17:14
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Classics Specialist
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4th by Stallert is fine! Looking at the preview 4th would be consider even great!
Thanks for report!
Important pts for us! |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-12-2020 17:20
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World Champion
Posts: 12429
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That wasn't good. 
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| SotD |
Posted on 14-12-2020 17:34
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World Champion
Posts: 12631
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Oh boy... I guess I was right. That was just pathetic.
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| knockout |
Posted on 14-12-2020 17:38
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Grand Tour Champion
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Very happy with this result. I smelled desaster but it was a completely different race than i expected and this time the climbs didnt impact Blythe too much and he finished a strong 8th place which I'd have taken for sure when asked prerace. Riesebeek 20th, Neilands 28th, Becis 39th, Naud 48th... my depth delivered as well.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 14-12-2020 18:12
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World Champion
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Holy Rémi! 
Declerq disappointed again, so it was up to our youngsters to perform, and boy did they perform!
Cavagna justifies my decision to train his cobbles stat well outside the realms of Chrono d'Arenberg and ToNE that were the driving factors behind that route.
What a race to bridge to the break, follow attacks there, get reeled in, and still hang on to 16th.
Well deserved and unexpected 26 points for the Frenchman here.
Behind our man of the day, another shoutout to Lukas Meiler, who got into the Top 50 of such a hard race as a lvl3 rider, and even made it to the line ahead of the man he's supposed to replace only in a couple of years' time...
Speaking of, I find less and less reasons to keep Declerq around for another year if he's only our third best rider in the cobbled race that suits him the most by far.
He's basically just a pretty expensive breakaway hunter by now.
Congrats and thank you to Andorra for taking away the win and the points from PT teams! Summerhill just summerhills again.
Gerts scoring this well in spring makes eBuddy very dangerous in the rankings, a deserved good start for them.
Thank you redordead for the report! 
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| roturn |
Posted on 14-12-2020 18:29
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Team Manager
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72 Nathan Van Hooydonck
This is a horrible result from a scoring point of view....which is needed unfortunately.
That said, this must have been the most attacking cobbled stage in the team history.
Breakaway Toupalik check.
Long range Van Hooydonck...might have been stupid but check.
Van der Poel checking others, check..
Van der Poel attacking himself check.
25th by VdP is great.
Van der Hoorn and Toupalik also in decent positions while Van Hooydonck as said was terrible after his attempt.
So the team must do better result wise in future but attacking wise it was a great attempt to get more out of the race than expected.
Thanks for the result and congrats once more to Summerhill.
Holy Moly Gerts though! Well done eBuddy. |
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| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 14-12-2020 18:54
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2809
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I'm only sad that this race won't give me some great and much needed points, but wow what a win by Summerhill once again! Crushing Bewley, I sense a monument coming at least to be honest. I don't think his strategy was the best but he still took glory, thank you redordead for the report and thanks everyone for the congratz
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Strada Appia Antica 
