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Volta a Portugal - Discussions
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| seancoll |
Posted on 26-10-2024 17:24
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Domestique
Posts: 481
Joined: 20-12-2022
PCM$: 500.00
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 Volta a Portugal
PTHC – 8 Stages
Volta a Portugal kicks off the month of February in our calendar and two major transitions, especially in PT racing. First, the transition to European races after the best in the game fought in Australia and Qatar and secondly, the entrance of major mountains to the PT calendar. Still a transition race in terms of profile we see almost rider type featured here – prologue specialists, sprinters, punchers, time trialists, and pure climbers. (Sorry cobblers, there’s lots of other opportunities for you this month).
History
| 2023 | Fredrik Strand Galta | | 2022 | Taylor Phinney | | 2021 | Aleksandr Pluchkin | | 2020 | Aleksandr Pluchkin | | 2019 | Louis Meintjes | | 2018 | Nicholas Roche | | 2017 | Robert Gesink | | 2016 | Silvio Herklotz | | 2015 | Tiago Machado | | 2014 | Rigoberto Uran | | 2013 | Timofey Kritskiy | | 2012 | Luis Leon Sanchez | | 2011 | Franco Pellizotti | | 2010 | Janez Brajkovic | | 2009 | Bernhard Kohl |
Volta a Portugal serves the PTHC division again this year, just as it did in 2023. The tour has served in a 8-stage version since 2022 with 9 and 11 stage versions present in earlier calendars. Both Phinney and Galta return to the Portuguese landscape attempting to become the 2nd two-time winner.
Prologues and Time Trialists
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | SP | AC | PR |  | Taylor Phinney | 71 | 83 | 75 | 81 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 81 |  | Mathias Norsgaard | 73 | 62 | 65 | 79 | 69 | 75 | 65 | 57 | 66 | 77 |  | Szymon Rekita | 72 | 58 | 63 | 79 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 69 | 70 | 78 |  | Phan Age Haugard | 72 | 57 | 60 | 79 | 74 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 67 | 79 |  | Lennard Kämna | 71 | 77 | 71 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 75 | 63 | 67 | 78 |  | Carlo Noia | 76 | 58 | 60 | 78 | 70 | 74 | 70 | 61 | 69 | 77 | | Ryan Eastman | 70 | 82 | 71 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 76 | 62 | 69 | 73 |  | Remco Evenepoel | 75 | 74 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 80 | 65 | 64 | 71 | 77 | | Gregory Daniel | 75 | 67 | 72 | 77 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 56 | 68 | 76 | | Soren Kragh Andersen | 81 | 63 | 65 | 70 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 76 | 74 | 83 |  | Gabriel Chavanne | 75 | 58 | 64 | 65 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 76 | 76 | 82 | | Casper Pedersen | 76 | 61 | 67 | 67 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 77 | 77 | 78 |  | Mamyr Stash | 73 | 56 | 64 | 67 | 68 | 73 | 73 | 77 | 77 | 78 |
Soren Kragh Andersen and Gabriel Chavanne are the top favorites to take the leader’s jersey on stage one with the 6.5km prologue on stage one. Phinney will also aim for a strong result here, but especially on stage 7 where this could be the difference in the GC battle.
Haugard, Rekita, and Norsgaard are clearly here for just these two stages which could still provide strong results for their teams. A good result on stage 1 could make their entire race, while a stage 7 win could make up for any lack of result in earlier stages.
Kamna and Eastman stand out as the other two GC riders who will benefit most from the two attempts against the clock, but we’ll see many others ready to contest in the climber section.
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | SP | AC | PR |  | Itamar Einhorn | 74 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 71 | 71 | 74 | 80 | 78 | 64 |  | Alvaro Hodeg | 72 | 53 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 79 | 78 | 73 |  | Cees Bol | 76 | 64 | 70 | 67 | 75 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 69 | | Frederik Rodenberg | 74 | 60 | 64 | 64 | 70 | 77 | 73 | 79 | 79 | 74 | | Alan Banaszek | 74 | 61 | 65 | 63 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 79 | 81 | 73 | | Maximilian Walscheid | 73 | 55 | 63 | 62 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 79 | 79 | 75 | | Lionel Coutinho | 72 | 63 | 65 | 52 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 79 | 80 | 52 | | Jannik Steimle | 74 | 66 | 70 | 65 | 71 | 69 | 74 | 78 | 80 | 71 |  | Gabriel Marin | 74 | 57 | 65 | 65 | 73 | 73 | 76 | 78 | 78 | 69 | | Bas Van der Kooij | 73 | 62 | 69 | 60 | 75 | 74 | 83 | 78 | 77 | 66 |  | Jakub Mareczko | 74 | 53 | 61 | 57 | 71 | 73 | 79 | 78 | 77 | 75 | | Phil Bauhaus | 74 | 56 | 61 | 56 | 71 | 65 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 60 |
Einhorn is the top of the sprint class here, but without a clear leadout on the team, which is also true for Hodeg. Bol seems the most likely to have a major leadout as Chavanne and Theuns can both support in the final kilometers.
Banaszek, Coutinho and Rodenberg also stand out as top performers here and should be able to find a good result if they can position themselves well.
Only two attempts for the sprinters will make their positioning very important. Don’t be surprised to see a surprise from someone further down the list like Marin or even prologue specialists Forssell, Pedersen, and Stash.
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | SP | AC | PR |  | Toms Skujins | 69 | 69 | 82 | 58 | 79 | 76 | 72 | 67 | 75 | 58 |  | Attila Valter | 72 | 78 | 80 | 66 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 69 | 78 | 66 | | Mauro Schmid | 72 | 76 | 79 | 68 | 71 | 78 | 73 | 70 | 79 | 66 |  | Amanuel Gebrezgabihier | 68 | 70 | 79 | 66 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 67 | 69 | 64 |  | David Gaudu | 73 | 71 | 78 | 66 | 78 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 70 | 66 | | Dylan Teuns | 68 | 75 | 78 | 64 | 73 | 73 | 76 | 66 | 72 | 60 |  | Xuban Errazkin | 71 | 74 | 78 | 70 | 76 | 75 | 76 | 63 | 73 | 70 | | Dmitry Strakhov | 69 | 70 | 78 | 67 | 77 | 76 | 72 | 61 | 70 | 67 |
Likely 3 chances for the punchers on stages 3, 5, and 6, but each with a different way to win. Stage 3 should go to a punchy sprinter who can stay in strong position over the undulating terrain. Schmid stand out or even a Pidcock who didn’t quite make the list here.
Stage 5 should aim toward a hybrid climber/puncher, like Valter or Teuns who can push the pace over the top of that final climb and descend to the finish. Schmid could even use his downhill to position himself here.
Stage 6 should be a pure punch to the finish on Viano del Castelo. Look toward Skujins, Gebrezghabihier to have their best stages here, while the names already said should also find success.
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | SP | AC | PR | | Taylor Phinney | 71 | 83 | 75 | 81 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 81 | | Ryan Eastman | 70 | 82 | 71 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 76 | 62 | 69 | 73 |  | Caio Godoy | 68 | 81 | 76 | 67 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 59 | 75 | 67 | | Fredrik Strand Galta | 69 | 81 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 79 | 77 | 63 | 66 | 71 | | Joao Rodrigues | 66 | 81 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 61 | 72 | 74 | | Joao Almeida | 69 | 81 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 78 | 78 | 63 | 71 | 73 |  | Adam Yates | 71 | 80 | 76 | 71 | 79 | 80 | 76 | 67 | 76 | 71 | | Tobias Halland Johannessen | 69 | 80 | 74 | 70 | 73 | 77 | 77 | 67 | 75 | 69 | | Warren Barguil | 69 | 80 | 74 | 69 | 76 | 76 | 80 | 63 | 74 | 69 | | Bartosz Warchol | 70 | 80 | 74 | 67 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 61 | 70 | 67 |  | Michal Schlegel | 69 | 79 | 77 | 65 | 71 | 74 | 76 | 64 | 75 | 64 | | Giovanni Carboni | 70 | 79 | 76 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 67 | 69 | 69 |  | Luis Enrique Lopez Nolasco | 65 | 79 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 59 | 70 | 71 |  | Mushin Misbah | 68 | 79 | 70 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 74 | 62 | 68 | 74 |
Phinney sits atop another list as the best climber in the field, while Eastman shows off as the likely top competitor. This duo should be viewed as the top contenders, but with only one major mountain stage there should be a huge number of competitors ready to take the tour.
Godoy will need to make the difference on the non-time trial stages as he doesn’t have quite the ability on the TT bike. Galta has won the race before and the energy stats should be a great reason for this. He’ll need to jump ahead on the hilly stages and have an absolutely stellar ascent on stage 8. Rodrigues and Almeida will need the same strategy, but at least all 3 can hold their own on the solo efforts.
Yates, Johannessen, Misbah and Lopez Nolasco shouldn’t be forgotten about either. Yates especially as he might have the best attempts on the hilly stages and Misbah due to strength on the TT bike.
Startlist:
Spoiler | Last name | First name | 2024 Team | | Andersen | Soren Kragh | Aker - MOT | | Bagioli | Nicola | Aker - MOT | | Berwick | Sebastian | Aker - MOT | | Donovan | Mark | Aker - MOT | | Kamp | Alexander | Aker - MOT | | Lastra | Jonathan | Aker - MOT | | Potts | Marc | Aker - MOT | | Valter | Attila | Aker - MOT | | Blouwe | Louis | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Mugisha | Moise | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Ndayisenga | Valens | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Teuns | Dylan | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Uwizeyimana | Bonaventure | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Van Eetvelt | Lennert | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Velasco | Simone | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Willems | Jago | Bralirwa - Cegeka | | Cannister | Goldwijnn | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Eg | Niklas | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Finkst | Tilen | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Forssell | Hugo | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Galta | Fredrik Strand | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Krigbaum | Mathias | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Skjelmose Jensen | Mattias | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Sulvaran | Gyasi | Carlsberg - Danske Bank | | Berhe | Welay Hagos | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Chevrier | Clement | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Delbove | Joris | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Garibian | Arman | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Hadi | Janvier | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Hodeg | Alvaro | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Pinot | Thibaut | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Vauquelin | Kevin | Ekoi - Le Creuset | | Benito | Miguel Angel | Everesting | | Fortunato | Lorenzo | Everesting | | Henao | Sebastian | Everesting | | Montenegro | Santiago | Everesting | | Orosco | Kemp | Everesting | | Rachid | Elias Abou | Everesting | | Rodrigues | Joao | Everesting | | Sunderland | Dylan | Everesting | | Eenkhoorn | Pascal | Evonik - ELKO | | Konrad | Patrick | Evonik - ELKO | | Krasts | Alekss | Evonik - ELKO | | Kurianov | Stepan | Evonik - ELKO | | Neilands | Krists | Evonik - ELKO | | Plapp | Luke | Evonik - ELKO | | Sureda | Jaume | Evonik - ELKO | | Bauhaus | Phil | Fastned | | Bax | Sjoerd | Fastned | | Cras | Steff | Fastned | | De Kleijn | Arvid | Fastned | | Denz | Nico | Fastned | | Havik | Piotr | Fastned | | Lipowitz | Florian | Fastned | | Phinney | Taylor | Fastned | | Bongiorno | Francesco | Gazelle | | Carboni | Giovanni | Gazelle | | Giulietti | Luigi | Gazelle | | Karnulin | Denys | Gazelle | | Peters | Nans | Gazelle | | Senni | Manuel | Gazelle | | Sosnitskiy | Anatoliy | Gazelle | | Warchol | Bartosz | Gazelle | | Adria | Roger | Grieg-Maersk | | Cort Nielsen | Magnus | Grieg-Maersk | | Gaudu | David | Grieg-Maersk | | Gebrezgabihier | Amanuel | Grieg-Maersk | | Nesset | Sigurd | Grieg-Maersk | | Ssabagwanya | Samuel | Grieg-Maersk | | Vabo | Tore Andre | Grieg-Maersk | | Van Gestel | Dries | Grieg-Maersk | | Bol | Cees | Jura GIANTS | | Chavanne | Gabriel | Jura GIANTS | | Darbellay | Valentin | Jura GIANTS | | Errazkin | Xuban | Jura GIANTS | | Rekita | Szymon | Jura GIANTS | | Rohendi | Teten | Jura GIANTS | | Schmid | Mauro | Jura GIANTS | | Theuns | Edward | Jura GIANTS | | Evans | Alexander | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Helme | Sasu | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Ho | Burr | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Hofstede | Lennard | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Ludvigsson | Tobias | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Masnada | Fausto | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Rumac | Josip | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Walscheid | Maximilian | Kraftwerk Man Machine | | Calzoni | Walter | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Covi | Alessandro | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Fedeli | Alessandro | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Mareczko | Jakub | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Piccolo | Andrea | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Van Gils | Maxim | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Van Poucke | Aaron | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Vandenabeele | Henri | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | | Barbier | Pierre | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Cabrera | Nicolas Alejandro | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Daniel | Gregory | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Hoehn | Alex | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Kuss | Sepp | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Revard | Thomas | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Warbasse | Lawrence | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Yates | Adam | McCormick Pro Cycling | | Almeida | Joao | MOL Cycling Team | | Brozyna | Piotr | MOL Cycling Team | | Dina | Marton | MOL Cycling Team | | Filutas | Viktor | MOL Cycling Team | | Kenyeres | Abel | MOL Cycling Team | | Rhim | Brendan | MOL Cycling Team | | Stancu | George Alexandru | MOL Cycling Team | | Stash | Mamyr | MOL Cycling Team | | Eastman | Ryan | Oxxo - Frisby | | Galvan Ramirez | Oscar Samuel | Oxxo - Frisby | | Lopez Nolasco | Luis Enrique | Oxxo - Frisby | | Marin | Gabriel | Oxxo - Frisby | | Merchan | Didier | Oxxo - Frisby | | Osorio | Alejandro | Oxxo - Frisby | | Parashchak | Yaroslav | Oxxo - Frisby | | Pira | Yesid Albeiro | Oxxo - Frisby | | Evenepoel | Remco | Rabobank | | Kalf | Steven | Rabobank | | Sossa | Juan | Rabobank | | Tolhoek | Antwan | Rabobank | | Van Den Berg | Marijn | Rabobank | | Van den Broek | Frank | Rabobank | | Van der Kooij | Bas | Rabobank | | Campero | Piter | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Chen | Mingrun | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Einhorn | Itamar | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Frankiny | Kilian | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Hibatullah | Jamal | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Misbah | Mushin | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Natarov | Yuriy | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Noia | Carlo | Sauber Petronas Racing | | Alben | Esow | Sony - Force India | | Carcueva | Jonel | Sony - Force India | | Hocevar | Kristjan | Sony - Force India | | Leemreize | Gijs | Sony - Force India | | Shirota | Yamato | Sony - Force India | | Singh | Ronaldo Laitonjam | Sony - Force India | | Ayuso | Juan | Specialized | | Barguil | Warren | Specialized | | Coutinho | Lionel | Specialized | | Dzamastagic | Mark | Specialized | | Kench | Josh | Specialized | | Marsman | Tim | Specialized | | Milan | Jonathan | Specialized | | Potocki | Pavel | Specialized | | Kämna | Lennard | Team Puma - SAP | | Nieuwenhuis | Joris | Team Puma - SAP | | Schinnagel | Johannes | Team Puma - SAP | | Steimle | Jannik | Team Puma - SAP | | Wilksch | Hannes | Team Puma - SAP | | Zegklis | Nikolaos | Team Puma - SAP | | Zimmermann | Georg | Team Puma - SAP | | Badilatti | Matteo | Team UBS | | Brun | Nils | Team UBS | | Godoy | Caio | Team UBS | | Haugard | Phan Age | Team UBS | | Schelling | Patrick | Team UBS | | Schir | Thery | Team UBS | | Sequera | Pedro | Team UBS | | Stöckli | Jan | Team UBS | | Banaszek | Alan | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Foliforov | Alexander | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Mamykin | Matvey | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Novikov | Savva | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Rikunov | Petr | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Skujins | Toms | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Strakhov | Dmitry | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Tikhonin | Evgenii | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | | Davies | Scott | Tryg - Eni | | Iversen | Rasmus | Tryg - Eni | | Johannessen | Tobias Halland | Tryg - Eni | | Norsgaard | Mathias | Tryg - Eni | | Pedersen | Casper | Tryg - Eni | | Rodenberg | Frederik | Tryg - Eni | | Schlegel | Michal | Tryg - Eni | | Wright | Fred | Tryg - Eni | | Bester | Shaun Nick | Xero Racing | | Fouche | James | Xero Racing | | Khodayari | Farzad | Xero Racing | | Novardianto | Jamalidin | Xero Racing | | Pidcock | Thomas | Xero Racing | | Pomoshnikov | Sergei | Xero Racing | | Strong | Corbin | Xero Racing | | Tesfaye Heyi | Henok | Xero Racing |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 26-10-2024 17:53
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World Champion
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A much stronger startlist then I expected. I'm here with the B team, so any points Van Gils and Mareczko score will be welcomed.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| ember |
Posted on 26-10-2024 17:58
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Team Leader
Posts: 6872
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Phinney! 
Seeing the startlist, this has the potential of being a massive race for Valter. Though, seeing previous editions, it can also quickly become a huge failure. We really need him to be treated by the AI as both a puncheur AND a GC rider. If so, I will be hopeful 
Looking forward to the reports, seancoll! Must say I'm very intrigued to see how the puncheur/GC battles play out here. Should be a lot of teams interested in making the punchy stages difficult for their GC interests. I'm hoping that could be an advantage for Valter too. Obviously also hoping we get off to a flying start with Kragh in the prologue here. |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 26-10-2024 18:22
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16459
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Me: A repeat win would be really tough, but with a similar startlist to last year, we will have a shot and should at least compete for the podium.
Taylor Phinney: No.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 26-10-2024 18:51
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3308
Joined: 02-11-2010
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First important race of the year for us. Really the least suited to Yates of his entire calendar but the most points on offer.
Eastman and Phinney make the start list a lot more daunting than last year. If Yates can gain a little time on the punchy stages then he is close enough on the TT bike to stay in the podium conversation. On the other hand if they aren't selective at all and he has a bad day in the mountains and/or on the TT bike he could struggle for a top 10.
No sprinter here, so it is all about Adam. Sent the strongest possible climbing team, hope I won't regret not including any of the punchier domestiques.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 26-12-2024 19:54
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| knockout |
Posted on 26-10-2024 19:14
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Grand Tour Champion
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Plapp and Eenkhoorn as leader duo, Sureda as sprinter for me so i have a few options to watch here. But none of them mentioned in the preview says enough about where they rank in the order of strengths here.
I like to see Phinney here. Hopefully that means i will face him less later 
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 26-10-2024 19:47
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knockout wrote:
Plapp and Eenkhoorn as leader duo, Sureda as sprinter for me so i have a few options to watch here. But none of them mentioned in the preview says enough about where they rank in the order of strengths here.
I like to see Phinney here. Hopefully that means i will face him less later
Never discount Sureda to nab a result despite being the 15th best sprinter!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 26-10-2024 19:48
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Team Leader
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Packed startlist. Top5 should already be a good result for Rodrigues. The American duo are favourites, Phinney especially (when does that guy start to deckline ffs?). Yates looks like he could be in the mix for podium/top5 as some other hybrids like Valter. We have a team completely focused on helping Rodrigues on the Torre final stage. Hopefully that pays off.
Thanks for the preview seancoll! Looking forward to the reports.
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 26-10-2024 20:38
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Protected Rider
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Given the startlist Ranaweera wouldn't have been the worst option here, but we're actually here for stage hunting. Hodeg should be well in the mix if he rather performs like in Qatar than in his classics and for the hilly / mountain stages Pinot, Chevrier or Hadi are expected in the breaks, also going for KoM points if everything works out. But actually our expectations are rather low.
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| knockout |
Posted on 26-10-2024 23:37
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7760
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baseballlover312 wrote:
knockout wrote:
Plapp and Eenkhoorn as leader duo, Sureda as sprinter for me so i have a few options to watch here. But none of them mentioned in the preview says enough about where they rank in the order of strengths here.
I like to see Phinney here. Hopefully that means i will face him less later
Never discount Sureda to nab a result despite being the 15th best sprinter!
I sure hope so, his good hill stat compared to many others might make this one of the better opportunities depending on how the hills rated stages are raced.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 27-10-2024 00:03
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Ouch. I did definitely suppose that the startlist would be much more packed than last year, where it was probably the weakest of all PTHC climbing races. But from there to be one of the strongest, phew...
This obviously means that the strategy with Darbellay won't work. He'd have been a Top 5 candidate in last year's field, now he'd need quite some luck for a Top 15 I guess.
On the other hand, our stage hunters don't look too bad. SKA obviously had to be here  so that's 2nd place at best in the prologue. Rekita should be in the podium fight on S7. Bol is a Top 10 sprinter and could even make good use of his hill stat. And Schmid will hopefully be on the attack more often than not, and should be among the very best here. Maybe even GC-wise, if the hilly stages are really selective. Viana do Castelo should suit him, as seen last year in the C1 variant.
But GC-wise, I'm definitely much less hopeful than I was before looking at the preview. The only good thing is that Stüssi will face all these guys less often elsewhere 
Good luck to all and thanks for the preview!
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| liefwarrior |
Posted on 27-10-2024 01:33
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Posts: 864
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THJs first outing as a maxed rider. Time to find out if he will in fact become our franchise rider for the next ~8 years. There is quite a strong squad around him as well. Norsgaard will be targeting the ITT on Stage 7 while both he and Pedersen will have a run at the prologue as well. Rodenberg could be a contender in the sprints; the aforementioned Pedersen offers a solid leadout option with one of Wright or Iversen likely to step in as the first man. Schlegel could be a bit of a wildcard option to take a stage win, provided he is allowed to escape into the breakaway. Looking forward to this one.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 27-10-2024 08:46
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World Champion
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The last stage seems to be too hard for Remco, but he's still our bet for the GC here.
The sprints will be a lottery. Hoping van der Kooij will have at least one lucky ticket.
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 27-10-2024 09:10
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Classics Specialist
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Hopefully no unnecessary flat/hilly gaps and most of al hopefully a hard mountain stage at the end. Second place for Eastman would be great, so hopefully he manages to do that for us.
Thanks for the great preview, sean
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 27-10-2024 12:37
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2648
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A decent GC from Warchol and some depth scoring is all we can hope for.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 27-10-2024 13:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16459
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Cool to have Forssell in the top 10 and snagging a point or two in the prologue! Nice to see a hoemgrown 50k guy doing something with his niche. Now he gets to hold the white jersey for a day, potentially more! Really cool. He's like the 20th best sprinter here, so can't expect to hold that or compete for yellow, but still a fun surprise.
Galta was fine, but not amazing. his prologue is a couple of ticks behind his TT, which obviously hurts him here. Not ideal to be a couple of seconds behind so many close competitors, but legs on other stages will define this race.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 27-10-2024 14:42
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World Champion
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Not a bad start from Remco
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| knockout |
Posted on 27-10-2024 15:08
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Grand Tour Champion
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This feels like a good prologue for me. Plapp is well positioned and Eenkhoorn also with a pretty good performance.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| roturn |
Posted on 27-10-2024 15:19
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Team Manager
Posts: 22248
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Basically here it begins.
Tasmania was a bit of a downer with how the TT stage played out. But the mo/tt races should be much better for Phinney anyway and here it is a perfect chance to win as he is best in the mountains and best against the clock.
Shouldn't be much less though as support around Cras as well is more than decent. Later could by himself top10 as well I guess, so as final support, it should be great depth for Phinney. |
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| ember |
Posted on 27-10-2024 19:31
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Team Leader
Posts: 6872
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Kragh! Very happy to see him copy his prologue from last year, winning it, eventhough it was only by a tiny bit this time around. You definitely had me, seancoll, as I was sad to see his streak ending. A joyful surprise to see him being ranked first on the official results
For Valter, the race is at least going. Really hope he won’t loose any time due to gaps and splits on the flat stage, and then he will hopefully be given a shot at the stage win by the AI on stage 3. |
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