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Liege - Bastogne - Liege Discussion
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| redordead |
Posted on 13-01-2023 06:50
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Welcome to the 16th edition of Liege - Bastogne - Liege. It's time for the columination of Ardennes week. La Doyenne is the toughest of the hilly classics, but also yields the greatest reward - a monument victory for your palmares. It’s possibly the biggest win a puncheur could hope for. Former winners on the start list includes:  Simone Ponzi (2x), Peter Sagan (2x) and last year's winner  Petr Vakoc.
The route has not changed in recent years. The riders will take on just about 250 km of up and down terrain. The final 100 km are the hardest though and that's where the race really begins. The last few years have seen the victor come from an uphill sprint between a select group of favorites, and those might be:
| FL | MO | HI | ST | RS | SP | AC |  De Bie | 73 | 71 | 84 | 77 | 76 | 72 | 75 |  Lopez | 70 | 79 | 84 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 78 | | Sagan | 72 | 74 | 83 | 78 | 74 | 73 | 76 |  Kinoshita | 73 | 72 | 83 | 80 | 77 | 68 | 77 |  Lutsenko | 69 | 73 | 83 | 76 | 73 | 72 | 81 |  Skujins | 70 | 70 | 83 | 80 | 77 | 68 | 76 |  Yates | 74 | 70 | 81 | 77 | 70 | 77 | 80 |  Mohoric | 72 | 71 | 83 | 78 | 72 | 67 | 77 |
De Bie hasn't had a good Ardennes campaign so far. He has one more chance to make things right by winning the biggest race. He'll have a lot of competition though, starting with Lopez who is coming off winning Fleche Wallonne a few days ago. Lopez made his MO stat work on the Mur de Huy, this race has more total climbing. Can he take advantage again? Sagan hasn't been at his best during the Ardennes yet, but he has the Grand-Duché victory this season and has history in Liege.
A new element in the mix compared to other PT races is Kinoshita. The Japanese puncheur is here with a wildcard and he has all the ability along with tremendous stamina to win a race like this. Lutsenko has been consistent this week with two top 5 finishes, there is no reason why he shouldn't be in the running again. Same with Skujins he's been 4th in both of the last two races. Yates has struggled in the previous races, but he was 3rd here last year and he's always going to be by far the fastest finisher. Mohoric got his big break in Amstel Gold and was still 6th in Fleche. This race should suit him well.
| FL | MO | HI | ST | RS | SP | AC |  Koretzky | 73 | 71 | 81 | 77 | 70 | 71 | 79 |  Gidich | 72 | 76 | 82 | 78 | 77 | 62 | 75 |  Kwiatkowski | 72 | 78 | 81 | 74 | 76 | 67 | 75 |  Bobridge | 72 | 68 | 82 | 73 | 73 | 68 | 79 |  Kelderman | 70 | 71 | 82 | 80 | 75 | 67 | 72 |  Formolo | 72 | 79 | 80 | 76 | 76 | 69 | 71 | | Vakoc | 71 | 71 | 81 | 75 | 71 | 71 | 74 |  Eiking | 71 | 69 | 80 | 78 | 74 | 68 | 76 |  Turgis | 73 | 67 | 79 | 76 | 78 | 70 | 77 |  Buchmann | 71 | 76 | 81 | 73 | 74 | 65 | 73 |  Valter | 72 | 75 | 78 | 75 | 74 | 69 | 76 |  Madouas | 74 | 75 | 77 | 76 | 73 | 73 | 73 |  Paret-Peintre | 72 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 74 |  Higuita | 69 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 66 | 75 | | Ponzi | 72 | 69 | 80 | 71 | 66 | 72 | 74 |
Koretzky has had a disappointing season so far, similar to De Bie he has to somewhat make up for it on the biggest stage. Gidich has been great in hilly stage races, but has really struggled in classics. On paper this is the hardest one day race, if that's the issue. Kwiatkowski was much better in Amstel than in Fleche, so there's not much rhyme or reason for how he'll do here. Bobridge has lost a bit of his climbing prowess and energy stats, hopefully that won't affect him too badly.
Kelderman has been consistent, the issue is he consistently hasn't been good. Formolo was great in Fleche, unlikely he can do that well again. Defending champion Vakoc hasn't gotten much attention this season, but he surprised everyone last year so we know he's capable. Eiking has made his presence felt during Ardennes week with two top 10 results. Turgis is always a bit of an underdog amid all the 80+ HI riders, he needs a good day to make use of all of his abilities.
Buchmann is in the same boat as Formolo. Valter, Madouas, Paret-Peintre and Higuita are all mismatched riders that are more hybrid climbers than puncheurs. Still they're the best of their teams and could be a factor. Finally we have a two time winner Ponzi in a super domestique role for Moser.
Full startlist:
Spoiler | De Bie | Sean | Aegon - Peroni | | Olivier | Daan | Aegon - Peroni | | Barbin | Enrico | Aegon - Peroni | | Vansevenant | Mauri | Aegon - Peroni | | Denz | Nico | Aegon - Peroni | | De Kleijn | Arvid | Aegon - Peroni | | Van der Hoorn | Taco | Aegon - Peroni | | Bovenhuis | Jasper | Aegon - Peroni | | Mohoric | Matej | Aker - MOT | | Preidler | Georg | Aker - MOT | | Amezawa | Takeaki | Aker - MOT | | Vangstad | Andreas | Aker - MOT | | Van Poucke | Aaron | Aker - MOT | | Kamp | Alexander | Aker - MOT | | Primozic | Jaka | Aker - MOT | | Bravo | Edison | Aker - MOT | | Swift | Connor | cycleYorkshire | | Albanese | Vincenzo | cycleYorkshire | | Holmes | Matthew | cycleYorkshire | | Rodenberg | Frederik | cycleYorkshire | | Romo | Javier | cycleYorkshire | | Atkins | George | cycleYorkshire | | O'Loughlin | Michael | cycleYorkshire | | Suter | Joel | cycleYorkshire | | Turgis | Anthony | De Stijl Cycling | | Cort Nielsen | Magnus | De Stijl Cycling | | Salzmann | Jodok | De Stijl Cycling | | Soulious | Zisis | De Stijl Cycling | | Cras | Steff | De Stijl Cycling | | Elosegui | Inigo | De Stijl Cycling | | Knox | James | De Stijl Cycling | | Boutopoulos | Georgios | De Stijl Cycling | | Bobridge | Jack | Duolingo | | Debesay | Mekseb | Duolingo | | Gabburo | Davide | Duolingo | | Pons | Gaetan | Duolingo | | Goh | Choon Huat | Duolingo | | Yates | Joel | Duolingo | | Scott | Cameron | Duolingo | | Szarka | Gergely | Duolingo | | Valter | Attila | EA Vesuvio | | Ulissi | Diego | EA Vesuvio | | Smit | Willie | EA Vesuvio | | Bax | Sjoerd | EA Vesuvio | | Geniets | Kevin | EA Vesuvio | | Rutsch | Jonas | EA Vesuvio | | Teggart | Matthew | EA Vesuvio | | Johannessen | Anders Halland | EA Vesuvio | | Koretzky | Clement | ELCO - ABEA | | Ioannidis | Nikolaos | ELCO - ABEA | | Spanopoulos | Ioannis | ELCO - ABEA | | Kastrantas | Charalampas | ELCO - ABEA | | Vila | Aimiliano | ELCO - ABEA | | Lafay | Victor | ELCO - ABEA | | Kelly | Joshua | ELCO - ABEA | | Nsengimana | Jean Bosco | ELCO - ABEA | | Lopez | Miguel Angel | Evonik - ELKO | | Polanc | Jan | Evonik - ELKO | | Blums | Martins | Evonik - ELKO | | Becis | Armands | Evonik - ELKO | | Thijssen | Gerben | Evonik - ELKO | | Sergis | Kaspars | Evonik - ELKO | | Lehtinen | Sakari | Evonik - ELKO | | Gavars | Eriks Toms | Evonik - ELKO | | Lutsenko | Alexey | Gazelle | | Malecki | Kamil | Gazelle | | Bagioli | Nicola | Gazelle | | Bernard | Julien | Gazelle | | Peters | Nans | Gazelle | | Konrad | Patrick | Gazelle | | Tratnik | Jan | Gazelle | | Hofland | Moreno | Gazelle | | Eiking | Odd Christian | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Roson | Jaime | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Rojus | Adomaitis | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Ziesler | Johan Fredrik | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Skjerping | Kristoffer | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Arensman | Thymen | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Knotten | Iver Johan | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Ulysbayev | Dinmukhammed | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | | Paret-Peintre | Aurelien | Grieg-Maersk | | Van der Poel | Mathieu | Grieg-Maersk | | De Gendt | Aime | Grieg-Maersk | | Kron | Andreas | Grieg-Maersk | | Bazhkou | Stanislau | Grieg-Maersk | | Lastra | Jonathan | Grieg-Maersk | | Van Gestel | Dries | Grieg-Maersk | | Laporte | Christophe | Grieg-Maersk | | Gerts | Floris | Huski Chocolate | | Formolo | Davide | Huski Chocolate | | Lammertink | Maurits | Huski Chocolate | | Hofstede | Lennard | Huski Chocolate | | Schelling | Ide | Huski Chocolate | | Evans | Alexander | Huski Chocolate | | Vader | Milan | Huski Chocolate | | Dima | Emil | Huski Chocolate | | Vakoc | Petr | ISA - Hexacta | | Sepulveda | Eduardo | ISA - Hexacta | | Parra Bustamente | Heiner Rodrigo | ISA - Hexacta | | Vincent | Leo | ISA - Hexacta | | Zakarin | Ilnur | ISA - Hexacta | | Cepeda Hernandez | Jefferson | ISA - Hexacta | | Restrepo | Jhonatan | ISA - Hexacta | | Mraouni | Salah Eddine | ISA - Hexacta | | Per | David | Isostar - Specialized | | Higuita | Sergio | Isostar - Specialized | | Villella | Davide | Isostar - Specialized | | Cherkasov | Nicolay | Isostar - Specialized | | Bester | Shaun Nick | Isostar - Specialized | | Verschaeve | Viktor | Isostar - Specialized | | Rickaert | Jonas | Isostar - Specialized | | Gayral | Joshua | Isostar - Specialized | | Gidich | Yevgeniy | King Power | | Kasperkiewicz | Przemyslaw | King Power | | Sosa | Ivan | King Power | | Quita | Ronnilan | King Power | | Menten | Milan | King Power | | Sirironnachai | Sarawut | King Power | | Chiu | Ho San | King Power | | Phodingam | Sakchai | King Power | | Kelderman | Wilco | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Ulloa | Jose Gerardo | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Osorio | Alejandro | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Nieuwenhuis | Joris | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Lopez Nolasco | Luis Enrique | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Nareklishvili | Beka | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Beltran | Guillermo Andres | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Hoole | Daan | Los Pollos Hermanos | | Kwiatkowski | Michal | MOL Cycling Team | | Brozyna | Piotr | MOL Cycling Team | | Stancu | George Alexandru | MOL Cycling Team | | Dina | Marton | MOL Cycling Team | | Kenyeres | Abel | MOL Cycling Team | | Filutas | Viktor | MOL Cycling Team | | Domagalski | Karol Andrzej | MOL Cycling Team | | Carretero Millan | Hector | MOL Cycling Team | | Sagan | Peter | Moser - Sygic | | Ponzi | Simone | Moser - Sygic | | Cerny | Josef | Moser - Sygic | | Neuman | Dominik | Moser - Sygic | | Mayer | Alexandre | Moser - Sygic | | Lagane | Christopher | Moser - Sygic | | Toupalik | Adam | Moser - Sygic | | Kiskonen | Siim | Moser - Sygic | | Altur | Marcos | Polar | | Izagirre | Ion | Polar | | Barthe | Cyril | Polar | | Carpenter | Robin | Polar | | Honore | Mikkel | Polar | | Nych | Artem | Polar | | Putti | Riccardo | Polar | | Oldani | Stefano | Polar | | Madouas | Valentin | Team Puma - SAP | | Mager | Christian | Team Puma - SAP | | Zwiehoff | Ben | Team Puma - SAP | | Egger | Mike Aaron | Team Puma - SAP | | Schinnagel | Johannes | Team Puma - SAP | | Cemazar | Nik | Team Puma - SAP | | O'Brien | Kelland | Team Puma - SAP | | Heidemann | Miguel | Team Puma - SAP | | Buchmann | Emanuel | Team UBS | | Müller | Patrick | Team UBS | | Schir | Thery | Team UBS | | Badilatti | Matteo | Team UBS | | Jacobs | Johan | Team UBS | | Reichenbach | Sebastien | Team UBS | | Bagioli | Andrea | Team UBS | | Abreu | Jorge | Team UBS | | Skujins | Toms | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Sulimov | Alexander | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Trakhov | Dmitry | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Strakhov | Dmitry | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Kanerva | Joni | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Zubov | Matvey | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Dal Col | Andrea | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Burmann | Wolfgang | Tinkoff - La Datcha Team | | Kinoshita | Tomohiro | Voyagin - Bird | | Min | Kyeng Ho | Voyagin - Bird | | Duchesne | Antoine | Voyagin - Bird | | Lyu | Xianjing | Voyagin - Bird | | Shirota | Yamato | Voyagin - Bird | | Arashiro | Yudai | Voyagin - Bird | | Oka | Atsushi | Voyagin - Bird | | Matsuda | Shoi | Voyagin - Bird | | Yates | Simon | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Ackermann | Pascal | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Narvaez | Jhonatan | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Tejada | Harold | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Lopez | Juan Pedro | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Jones | Carter | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Carr | Simon | Zwift Pro Cycling | | Dewulf | Stan | Zwift Pro Cycling |
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 13-01-2023 07:52
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Team Leader
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Let's go, let's go! 
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| ember |
Posted on 13-01-2023 07:55
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Team Leader
Posts: 6849
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Definitely a big one! Mohoric has been good so far this Ardennes campaign, fingers crossed he has another great performance in him. Just like in Fleche, anything between 1st and 12th or so can be possible, meaning daily form will be very important.
Good luck everyone, having MAL as the favourite here too, after his great Fleche win. |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 13-01-2023 07:59
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World Champion
Posts: 11395
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Come on MAL bring it home for the Evonik career quintuple 
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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| SotD |
Posted on 13-01-2023 08:16
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World Champion
Posts: 12188
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Given this seasons results I am not overly optimistic about this race, but as mentioned we do really need to make more out of this race than the previous ones. We are heavily underperforming lately, and we can't really afford to do so.
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| OlegTinkov |
Posted on 13-01-2023 08:24
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2666
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Should be a easy win for Skujins
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-01-2023 09:19
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7735
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jandal7 wrote:
Come on MAL bring it home for the Evonik career quintuple
Please please please, i said it before: If i could wish for a single race victory all season long, this is the one - even more so than the giro. I've been a very close runner-up twice here and really would like to complete the medal set by finally winning this race.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 13-01-2023 10:46
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Directeur Sportif
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Would love if Higuita does well, but of course also root for Lutsenko and Mohoric. Though you'd enjoy if Lopez can complete the crown of monuments for Evonik.
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 14-01-2023 08:02
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Monuments have been the kindest races to us so I'm hopeful for a good result from Bobridge. Looking forward to the report!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 18:51
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 14-01-2023 10:34
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Directeur Sportif
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Pathetic racing, what a shame our team refused to show up at the Ardennes. Not happy with the racing AI overall this race, but nice presentation by recorded and congrats to the PCT teams doing awesome here!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 14-01-2023 13:59
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Tour de France Champion
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Seems just like Voyagin's luck at this point to have Kinoshita take a big win in a wildcard race with no points available. While I haven't won a race as big as LBL, I know the feeling. 
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| ember |
Posted on 14-01-2023 14:46
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Team Leader
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For a short moment there, I thought Mohoric was on course to a monument win. Then I realized he was too far from the finish line, and he did very well to hold on to 4th. Also a decentish depth with Amezawa and Preidler. Fun to see the latter join the breakaway and put pressure on other teams that way.
A very surprising result for a monument, with the biggest pre-race favourites not making it count ik the final sprint.
Thank you for the report, and congratulations, valv! |
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| Bikex |
Posted on 14-01-2023 17:28
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Weird race.. At least a top 10 now from Gidich, but in general an Ardennes campaign to forget and I think the worst I had since I'm in the PT. Congrats valverde! Nice to see an Asian win. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 14-01-2023 18:17
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World Champion
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It really is hit or miss for Formolo this year. At least, Gerts salvaged something out of the race.
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| tastasol |
Posted on 14-01-2023 19:14
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Classics Specialist
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After our performance in AGR and LFW, I didn't have the highest expectations. But we round of the Ardennes with a really solid race. Van der Poel with his best race so far for us in 11th and also another good result for APP in 15th. Good to see! Congrats on the win, valverde!
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-01-2023 20:51
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World Champion
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Wow, can't believe it! The monument I have been chasing! If this is indeed my last season, this alone makes it a success in my eyes. This is exactly why I signed up for it in the off-season, knowing it could be the last year for me, and with Kinoshita. Apart from a GT win, a win here for Kinoshita is probably the most important to me personally and its the only one that's really ever been achievable.
It only could have been made better if it was a solo attack from 50+km out, but I'll take it either way
@bbl - Yeah, too bad there's no points,
Thank you for the report, and thank you for the congratulations everyone!
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 14-01-2023 20:59
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Small Tour Specialist
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Ouch! I like seeing Lutsenko so active and attentive, but this time it backfired. The late attackers needed one or two more big guns to go with them. Not a great result for him, but getting six riders in top 40 does compensate a bit.
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 14-01-2023 22:58
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Team Leader
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Another superb result in a monument for us. 5th, 10th and 5th is really a great run in this ardennes campaign, couldnt ask for more from Bobridge.
Nice win from Voyagin even if just for show. Congrats valv!
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 14-01-2023 23:37
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Congrats valverde321 on the win.
Another Top10 For Eiking, mr. Consistency
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 15-01-2023 08:31
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Classics Specialist
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Who would have thought attacking solo from 30+ km is not the way to win At least he tried and was active this time, just a shame it wasn't the smartest of moves. A big thank you to redordead for the great report once again
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Liege - Bastogne - Liege 
