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Tour du Faso Discussion
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 14-02-2021 11:14
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Grand Tour Champion
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 Tour du Faso
History
| Year | Winner | Team | | 2019 | Chequan Richardson | Azteca - NBCSN | | 2018 | Eugert Zhupa | Swisslion Cycling Team | | 2017 | Sam Harrison | World Cycling Centre | | 2016 | Geraint Thomas | Podium Ambitions | | 2015 | Andzs Flaksis | Evonik - ELKO | | 2014 | Bert-Jan Lindeman | Team Hornbach | | 2013 | Remco Broers | Team BPost | | 2012 | Tomas Vaitkus | Cyclevox | | 2011 | Adam Blythe | 100% Me | | 2010 | Niels Albert | Jack Wolfskin | | 2009 | Luke Rowe | Wiggle - Premier Inn |
After last year's shenanigans, the cyclist union threatened to boycott the race unless something was done about those ridiculous cobblestones. The government of Burkina Faso promised to improve the road conditions and the union dropped their protest, so we have the twelfth edition of the Tour du Faso. For the fans it is probably a bit disappointing, this was an event millions would tune into to watch riders get dirty but for the riders themselves it might be the better option (and the reporter to follow all the action). Don't worry, the race will still be difficult, but not of the levels of last season.
Profiles
The same familiar route returns for another edition. The first stage is asphalted until the final twenty kilometer, and then we get the trademark stones until close before the finish line. The second stage does not contain this hell and might end in a sprint. Stage three is designed by Satan himself, with over half the race over cobblestones. If the government actually went back on its promise it should be less difficult, but still expect the cobblestone specialists to shine here.
Startlist
| Favorites | COB | FL | ACC | Outsiders | COB | FL | ACC |  Baugnies | 79 | 77 | 72 |  Naesen | 76 | 75 | 76 |  Nolf | 79 | 73 | 70 | Okbamariam | 76 | 73 | 68 |  Taillefour | 78 | 77 | 55 |  Paprstka | 75 | 75 | 72 |  Van Avermaet | 78 | 74 | 72 | Tsatevich | 75 | 74 | 75 |  Taubel | 78 | 73 | 64 |  Schlechter | 75 | 74 | 66 |  Manamalage | 77 | 81 | 56 |  Weber | 75 | 73 | 77 |  Maes | 77 | 78 | 64 |  Abraha | 75 | 72 | 72 | | Van Lerberghe | 77 | 74 | 73 |  Lhotellerie | 75 | 71 | 66 |  Sinkeldam | 77 | 74 | 68 | Minoungou | 75 | 70 | 68 | | Thomas | 77 | 73 | 75 | Kluge | 74 | 75 | 70 |
Baugnies is the man in form by winning the most recent CT cobblestone race: 1 Jour de Dunkerque. This race is Trois Jours and du Faso, but nevertheless he should be amongst the top favorites, especially with all his experience from higher division.
Another rider with loads of experience is Nolf. He didn't get the best results in Lincoln and Dunkerque but this race looks made for him. Tsatevich might think he has Carrefour leadership after a Lincoln win but this race's lack of hills might make the Belgian a better option still.
Looking at the most recent edition of this race, reigning champion Richardson is ineligible to defend his title but the man he beat by one second is back: Maes. If anyone is determined to win the race his year it's him.
Third place is also back: Taubel. He switched teams from the disbanding OMV to Guave, but he has absolutely zero helpers. He'll be isolated quickly on the final stage, which is a slight disadvantage.
To look for a former winner we have to go all the way back to 2016, when Thomas won this race for Podium Ambition. He definitely has that ambition this year as well, but has to do it for Trans Cycling Team.
Van Avermaet is a monument winner, 2018 Ronde van Vlaanderen, and a multiple Paris - Roubaix podium finisher. This race is Paris - Roubaix on steroids three times over. At least he can take his experience from big races into here.
As far as the records go, the accuracy is disputed, Taillefour only participated in 2014, where he finished fifteenth. The race appeared to have been different back then as a team time trial is mentioned. Anyway, he should definitely do better this time around.
Manamalage was the victim of an unfortunately timed puncture last year, which cost him a lot of time. He recovered to finish tenth overall, but without it he could have been higher. Hopefully luck is on his side this year.
Another Belgian favorite in the name of Van Lerberghe. Philips has another decent option in Paprstka.
Sinkeldam has never raced here, again depending on the accuracy of the records. I wonder what his reaction will be when he sees the cobblestones.
The African teams obviously want to perform well this race. Bralirwa has the duo Naesen - Okbamariam, the former being runner-up in the most recent CT cobble races but the latter is an African, and could have great motivation in this race. Project: Africa brings the only local rider to the race: Minoungou, who finished seven- and sixteenth in the two recent editions.
| Sprinters | SP | ACC | COB | Sprinters | SP | ACC | COB | | Van Heerden | 80 | 70 | 69 | Habtom | 77 | 78 | 68 |  Kip | 79 | 80 | 63 | Feiereisen | 77 | 78 | 63 | | Thorsen | 79 | 80 | 54 | Weber | 77 | 77 | 75 | | Manarelli | 79 | 79 | 61 | Dakteris | 77 | 77 | 72 | | Te Brake | 79 | 76 | 66 | Planckaert | 77 | 77 | 71 |  Ranneries | 78 | 82 | 61 | Cimolai | 77 | 77 | 64 | | Page | 78 | 79 | 66 | Berger | 77 | 77 | 62 | | Sanikwathi | 78 | 78 | 72 | Schorn | 77 | 77 | 62 | | Boev | 78 | 78 | 68 | Naesen | 77 | 76 | 76 | | Bogdanovics | 78 | 77 | 60 | Kvist | 76 | 76 | 70 | | Von Hoff | 78 | 75 | 60 | Schwarzmann | 76 | 75 | 71 | | Lobato del Valle | 77 | 80 | 69 | Eislers | 76 | 75 | 62 | | Modolo | 77 | 79 | 67 | Van Lerberghe | 75 | 73 | 77 | | Sbaragli | 77 | 78 | 72 | Tsatevich | 75 | 75 | 75 |
Stage two could go to the sprinters, as it does not contain any cobblestones. Whether they challenge there depends on two factors: 1) surviving stage one and 2) not letting the breakaway spoil the party like last year.
Project: Africa want to show themselves on every stage, so they bring an option for the sprints as well. Van Heerden is a good sprinter but is known to lack acceleration, so a long sprint is his desire.
Gjensidige has the Dutch Kip - Te Brake duo. Hopefully they have decided beforehand who will lead the sprint, otherwise we'll hear some swear words the reporter is able to translate.
Thorsen is always someone who shows up on these lists, but he didn't survive stage one last year. Perhaps he will this time but even then it's a battle to even participate. Eddie Stobart also have Bogdanovics who might have a better chance surviving stage one and sprinting stage two.
Manarelli, Ranneries and Von Hoff might also be in danger of not finishing stage one. Page, Sanikwathi and Boev are ought to finish though and will be at the front for stage two.
Some riders can sprint and ride cobblestones, which means they have the edge on stage one which finishes on a short asphalt section, and they can pick up bonus seconds here. Riders like Weber, Naesen, Van Lerberghe and Tsatevich spring to mind.
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| SotD |
Posted on 14-02-2021 12:00
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World Champion
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Will be rooting for Sascha Weber here. It's great to see him as a leader, even when it means lower level... A couple of other former riders like Kip, Nolf, Lhotellerie, Veber aswell as (obviously) our loan-out Aimiliano Vila will also be on our radar.
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| SotD |
Posted on 14-02-2021 12:00
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World Champion
Posts: 12188
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Will be rooting for Sascha Weber here. It's great to see him as a leader, even when it means lower level... A couple of other former riders like Kip, Nolf, Lhotellerie, Veber aswell as (obviously) our loan-out Aimiliano Vila will also be on our radar.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 14-02-2021 12:19
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Our first sponsor goal of the season and considering how Naesen has performed so far, anything but that Top 5 goal would be a disappointment. The field ist very competitive though, and I'm a bit concerned that Habtom is listed as our leader by the game. At the same time, being the second team hopefully means the AI will keep us in good position. A wide range of outcomes is possible for us here, we could theoretically win all three stages (obviously not gonna happen) or fail pretty spectacularly.
Thanks for the preview Marco, looking forward to the reports!
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 14-02-2021 12:33
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Directeur Sportif
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Rooting for the home stars and our Slovenian friends. Nice preview 
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 01:56
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 14-02-2021 15:34
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Obviously eons of flat cobbles are not exactly Sinkeldam's strength. I just hope he stays with the group and finishes as high up as possible. We didn't bring a sprinter here fearing they might abandon stage 1, so it's all in for Ramon.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 14-02-2021 15:41
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Baugnies, you know what to do! Would be nice to see Manarelli score some points as well, if he manages to survive the first stage.
Thank you for the preview, Marco!
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 14-02-2021 21:20
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Only one goal for us: At least one rider should make the time limit on stage 3. Basso should have the best chances to do so, and after his surprising 4th place in Lincoln, maybe he can even do more than just finishing?
The team will be happy when that mess is over, as it's our last cobbled race of the year - finally!
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 14-02-2021 21:45
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Domestique
Posts: 504
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I hope that our good month can go on with this race too and that Geraint and Abraha can do something here as special Geraint is bad on hills and he already proved that he can be good at flat cobbled stages at the start of this seasson.  
NIce preview, Marco
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| liefwarrior |
Posted on 15-02-2021 04:26
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Maes to go one better this year? Probably not. |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 15-02-2021 05:45
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Need to keep it going after Dunkurque. With BVL, Paprstka and Bovenhuis, we're hoping for three good GC positions. Boev in there too nainly for Stage 2. Hoping we get a good outcome from this race.
Thanks for the preview Marco
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 15-02-2021 11:30
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Definely not how I hoped the first stage would go. Baugnies didn't try, I just hope he's not on a bad daily form which will continue until the end. Disappointing to see Coronel and Ulloa lose that much time to obviously worse cobblers, but that's the price they pay for their work I suppose (which makes it even sadder that Baugnies was kind of invisible). Congratulations to Tryg and thank you for the report Marco! Let's see if Manarelli has a decent sprint tomorrow!
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 15-02-2021 11:40
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Thomas Vedel Kvist did much better than we hoped for and with a good result tomorrow, he will be right up there. However, the last stage looks horrible 
Congrats to Tryg for the strong victory and thank you so much for the report Marco! |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 15-02-2021 11:44
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Hmm. I think I should be happy with this. Naesen did what I had expected from the final group, but it would have been cool to sprint for the stage win there. Unfortunate that Okbamariam couldn't do anything to bring Maes back. Then again, we score some points from the team competition plus Naesen has a decent shot at the points competition, I reckon. The fact that I have some gripes with a second and tenth place finish says a lot about our cobbles performances this year, I guess
Congrats to liefwarrior, Maes may very well actually go one better, it's not going to be easy to make up all that time on him. And thank you for the nice report Marco!
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 15-02-2021 14:22
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Domestique
Posts: 504
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Complete disappointment from Thomas Geraint with an extra gap after main leaders.  I hope that the next two stages won't be the same but I hope much better.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 15-02-2021 15:20
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Not a bad start for Sinkeldam. He seemed attentive at least, although it was a bit worrying to see him near the back as the cobblestones ended. He grabs a few bonus seconds as well despite not being a great sprinter, so overall I can't complain. We're in a decent spot for stage 3.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 15-02-2021 16:11
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Tactically not the best race by Basso. The first attack was fine, for sure, but then insisting until he runs out of gas wasn't great. As a result, he's behind quite some weaker cobblers... At least he finished inside the second group, and if he now uses this time gap for a breakaway win on stage 3, I sure won't be complaining
The rest of the team obviously was as bad as expected; at least they're still in the race. Which won't be the case after day 3, at least not for Manfredi and Brüngger - but hey, someone had to fill up the roster 
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 15-02-2021 19:03
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First time I am disappointed with Rathe this season. The fact he got back to the group behind Maes shows he should have never have been dropped, and he isn't a bad sprinter so a top 10 might have been possible.
Think Stage 3 is too hard for him so this was our chance to shine.
Good to see they young guys prominent in the breaks though.
Congrats to Lief on a deserved win for Maes.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 16-02-2021 04:50
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Turned into a damage limitation ride in the closing kilometers after the untimely puncture to Van Lerberghe. Hopefully our luck improves in the next two stages.
Congrats to liefwarrior and thanks for the report Marco
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 16-02-2021 13:22
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Oof, Manarelli came really close in the end. Happy with the team's performance, picking up chasing duties and doing their best to set up a train without really having the best rider to do so. Was hoping for a top-3 (but knew Manrelli falling outside the top-10 was definitely possible), so I am really happy with a second place Congratulations to the winner, this makes the title race even more exciting!
Thank you for another well written report, Marco.
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