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Ronde van Nederland Discussion Thread
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| Heine |
Posted on 13-11-2025 06:41
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Welcome to the 8th edition of Ronde Van Nederland, they tried their best to find some hills and we believe there are some interesting stages for us this year! First stage is for the sprinters even though there are some hills present, and then we have 2 stages going up and down the entire time, no pauses really. This is a race for hard men, but are the hills long enough to get rid of the fast men?
Historically the race has been a race for the punchy sprinters / fast puncheurs. The first edition of this race was raced in 2018 and won by Arnaud Demare while taking 2 stage wins aswell. After that we had mangame sprinting legends Kennaugh, Degenkolb, Gaviria and Coquard winning before Groves has won the 2 last editions. Groves does not have any stage wins though! His big secret here is consistency, not something sprinters are known for in PCM games. Most stage wins in the race is held by Demare (3) and Kennaugh (3), and Demare is back to try to take the crown for himself! Groves is also back to try to get his 3rd race win in a row, and maybe his first stage win?
Previous winners:
Spoiler
| Year | Winner | | 2024 | Kaden Groves (Jura GIANTS) | | 2023 | Kaden Groves (Amaysim Australia.com) | | 2022 | Bryan Coquard (ELCO - ABEA) | | 2021 | Fernando Gaviria (Isostar - Specialized) | | 2020 | John Degenkolb (ISA - Hexacta) | | 2019 | Peter Kennaugh (Air France - KLM) | | 2018 | Arnaud Demare (Team Puma - SAP) |
2024 results:
Spoiler
| 1 | Kaden Groves | Jura GIANTS | 12h46'37 | | 2 | Simon Yates | cycleYorkshire | + 3 | | 3 | Mauri Vansevenant | Fastned | s.t. | | 4 | Eduard Grosu | Rabobank | + 8 | | 5 | Thomas Pidcock | Xero Racing | s.t. | | 6 | Sean De Bie | Lidl Cycling | + 15 | | 7 | Rui Oliveira | Ekoi - Le Creuset | + 26 | | 8 | Toms Skujins | Tinkoff Team - La Datcha | + 30 | | 9 | Andres Camilo Ardila | MOL Cycling Team | + 33 | | 10 | Max Kanter | Team Puma - SAP | + 35 |
It is natural to start with  Groves considering him winning the 2 last editions, a strong sprinter with the ability to stay with the pack over hills might be able to repeat, but the puncheur field is very strong here.  Lopez,  Mohoric and last year 3rd place, and this year MSR winner,  Vansevenant should really want to make the 2 last stages count and make it hard for Groves, in my eyes they might be the biggest favorites.
Another really big favorite is last years 2nd place  Yates, a strong puncheur who packs a strong sprint. Him, together with legend  Demare and  Ackermann might have the perfect stat combo for the combined 3 stages. If one of them manage a good place on the first sprint stage they might ride the momentum to victory afterwards.
Other strong puncheurs present include  Kinoshita,  Skujins,  McCarthy, Bagioli,  Aranburu,  Romo,  Higuita,  Müller,  Van Niekerk and Buchmann. All of them able to come up with a strong result. Maybe Higuita can do another attack like he did in Luxembourg and get the win? Or maybe others has learned from him?
Another rider that really could make this race his own is the jack of all trades  Pidcock, he is always a danger no matter what kind of stage and I would not be suprised if he ends up taking some steps up from last year and wins this. To be honest I am not suprised no matter what kind of race or stage he wins
For the first stage there are several strong sprinters present who are not yet mentioned, Farantakis and  Kanter are the strongest pure sprinters, while also  Hsu and  Bonifazio dreams about starting strong here. History shows that a good first stage could propel sprinters to good gc positions in this race!
Startlist
I wrote the preview before doing any racing to be sure to not reveal anything 
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-11-2025 07:28
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8234
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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I would really like to start seeing some successes after the season was full of disappointments. It's not the ideal Lopez route but its time...
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| redordead |
Posted on 13-11-2025 07:29
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Team Leader
Posts: 5511
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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If Ackermann can't do something here then he probably can't do it anywhere in this game version. If he does it still won't save his season which is nearly over after this race. But still need the points if I want any chances of avoiding relegation.
Thanks for the preview.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| roturn |
Posted on 13-11-2025 07:46
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Team Manager
Posts: 22043
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
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No ideas here.
Last couple seasons having a puncheur in those races was usually better than a sprinter, in this version, the sprinters use to survive lots of those easy hills.
Decided to bring Vansevenant here to fight for the podium, fear he might just anonymously sit in 15th in 70+ sized pelotons.
So let`s see what we can do in our home race. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-11-2025 08:15
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World Champion
Posts: 13559
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 400.00
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For the first time ever we can't rely on a sprinter here. We will need some Remco magic. Or maybe Kron can continue the good form from MSR.
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| ember |
Posted on 13-11-2025 08:16
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Team Leader
Posts: 7057
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 900.00
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Romo’s performance in Sanremo was definitely very encouraging. Hoping he joins the fun and is aggressive if this comes down to the puncheurs battling it out, or at the very least if the puncheurs are the ones attacking and trying to force selections. Prasad is here as a wildcard for the sprints, as any result by him will be a bonus.
But as roturn says, no idea which way this one will go! |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 13-11-2025 13:33
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16552
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 13638.70
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Glad we bought Aranburu here even if his chances of doing anything are pretty futile because Rodenberg is not suited to this. He's been a great pure sprinter for us but does not have the heartiness he had for tougher stages anymore in this version, likely due to his lack of stamina. Think it's unlikely either guy is in the top 20 at the end, but we'll hope.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 05-12-2025 11:56
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Bot Agent
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 13-11-2025 14:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3837
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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Thanks for the great preview, Heine.
Higuita as only leader here, let's see if the race can be made hard enough to actually gain time as a hybrid puncheur somewhere.
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 13-11-2025 14:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3837
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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Thanks for the great preview, Heine.
Higuita as only leader here, let's see if the race can be made hard enough to actually gain time as a hybrid puncheur somewhere.
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 13-11-2025 15:13
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15024
Joined: 08-08-2011
PCM$: 11500.00
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One of those races where I have no clue why we are here. Let's hope we don't have too many of those this year.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| SotD |
Posted on 13-11-2025 15:29
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World Champion
Posts: 12630
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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The first race since Tasmania where I fear my lack of knowledge might kill the party. On paper a reasonably strong lineup. Let’s hope for something similar to MSR.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 13-11-2025 21:57
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7770
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 20845.00
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We wildcard on. Kalaba and Van Niekerk could complement each other or ruin one another.
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| Heine |
Posted on 14-11-2025 05:50
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 1 up
And yes, even with picture from abhi about how to get rid of the green circle I can't do it. Might be my Norwegian keyboard or something but the button he shows me dosen't work and none of the others that I tried (And I believe I tried the entire keyboard). So you have to live with that green circle  
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 14-11-2025 07:16
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 12680
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1961.50
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Heine wrote:
And yes, even with picture from abhi about how to get rid of the green circle I can't do it. Might be my Norwegian keyboard or something but the button he shows me dosen't work and none of the others that I tried (And I believe I tried the entire keyboard). So you have to live with that green circle
Are you sure that button works at all?
Nothing stage for us. Hopefully MVD can sneak something in later or we get into breaks, otherwise this race will be a dud for us.
Congrats to ryant and thanks for the report!
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 14-11-2025 07:26
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7770
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 20845.00
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Another fine sprint from Kalaba, continue doing this when we can score points
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| Heine |
Posted on 14-11-2025 07:43
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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To be honest, after helping my parents in law, my own parents and poeple at the office I will never really blame the buttons, most of the times to problem is between the chair and the keyboard. That can still be the case here 
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| redordead |
Posted on 14-11-2025 07:45
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Team Leader
Posts: 5511
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Can we have the U25 standings with times?
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Heine |
Posted on 14-11-2025 07:48
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 08-04-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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You could even get the correct one and not the KoM standing... Don't know how that went past my editor... I can live with him not noticing all my spelling errors, but that I post the wrong standings...
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 14-11-2025 08:43
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World Champion
Posts: 13559
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 400.00
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Remco barely making it into the top 100 is not a good sign of his GC ambitions.
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| roturn |
Posted on 14-11-2025 09:03
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Team Manager
Posts: 22043
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
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A bit of a pity that Vansevenant surely could have gone for a top result but seeing it was more a sprint stage, he didn`t even show interest.
Nothing changed here really as it wasn`t the stage to go but bonus seconds for direct rivals obviously not ideal. |
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[PT] Ronde van Nederland 
