|
Tour of Norway Discussion
|
| redordead |
Posted on 24-11-2025 10:17
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5510
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
Welcome to the 13th edition of the Tour of Norway stage race. There are some light changes for 2025. The first two stages remain the same and give two chances for the sprinters. Two high placings there can often be enough to claim the points classification. Stage 3 remains the individual time-trial and it was extended by another 3.5 km. It's probably still the most important stage of the race that will produce the largest gaps. The last two stages are new but remain hilly. Both technically uphill finishes, but stage 4 looks easy so I wouldn't be surprised to see a sprint finish. Stage 5 is the queen stage I guess. It's fairly long at 216 km and has a decent amount of climbing. The last 30 km look like something that could produce significant gaps if raced hard enough.
With that said let's look at some of the favourites:
| MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | AC |  Powless | 78 | 75 | 72 | 80 | 76 | 74 | 71 |  Conci | 77 | 76 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 75 | 68 | | Cosnefroy | 68 | 70 | 71 | 78 | 78 | 81 | 69 |  Kmieliauskas | 70 | 70 | 70 | 81 | 74 | 71 | 69 |  Mansouri | 73 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 76 |  Cras | 79 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 78 | 77 | 67 |  Paret-Peintre | 76 | 77 | 77 | 72 | 73 | 75 | 74 | | Kung | 70 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 71 |  Bissegger | 68 | 69 | 69 | 79 | 73 | 77 | 73 |  Kaczmarek | 68 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 69 | | Brunel | 67 | 69 | 71 | 78 | 72 | 78 | 65 |  Uwizeyimana | 76 | 74 | 72 | 74 | 76 | 75 | 68 | | Errazkin | 75 | 77 | 78 | 70 | 76 | 75 | 73 |  Cabrera | 75 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 71 | 73 | 65 | | Daniel | 67 | 70 | 72 | 77 | 75 | 74 | 68 |  Craddock | 72 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 67 | | Lasinis | 79 | 76 | 72 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 68 |
Powless is easily the choice for #1 favourite. He's nearly the top TTer and has the climbing skills to gain time on most others. Conci is a very similar rider, but worse. It will be interesting to see how Hunter Valley play their cards depending on how he and Cosnefroy do on stage 3. Kmieliauskas is the best TTer and he can climb a bit, but he's not a lot better that Powless on the TT bike, so he can't afford to lose much time assuming he wins the time-trial. Mansouri is the very definition of an all rounder here. I feel like in the past his type did pretty well in a race like this, but maybe that has changed. For Cras I'd reckon he needs to take lots of time on the last stage. Paret-Peintre is another good all rounder, but really needs to gain time on the hilly stages. The rest of the list is filled with TTers that aren't bad climbers or climbers/puncheurs that aren't bad against the clock. We'll see which part is more important.
Sprinters/Time-Trialists/Climbers
| SP | AC | | HI | TT | | MM | AC |  Abdul Halil | 81 | 79 | Kmieliauskas | 70 | 81 |  Ardila | 81 | 75 |  Enger | 81 | 78 | Powless | 72 | 80 | Paret-Peintre | 77 | 74 |  Van Poppel | 81 | 78 |  Lammertink | 69 | 80 | Errazkin | 77 | 73 |  Liu | 80 | 80 |  Bjerg | 68 | 80 | Storer | 77 | 74 | | Peak | 80 | 78 | Beniusis | 60 | 80 |  Tesfatsion | 77 | 78 |  Einhorn | 80 | 78 | Van Moer | 70 | 79 |  Bennett | 77 | 70 | | Thijssen | 79 | 81 | Bissegger | 69 | 79 | Cras | 76 | 67 | | Kamberaj | 79 | 78 | Vernon | 65 | 79 |  Lyu | 76 | 74 | | Boudat | 79 | 78 | Howson | 64 | 79 | Conci | 76 | 68 | | Hodeg | 79 | 78 | Knotten | 64 | 79 | Quita | 76 | 74 | | Willwohl | 79 | 78 | Conci | 74 | 78 | Scaroni | 76 | 73 | | Riabushenko | 79 | 77 | Cosnefroy | 71 | 78 | Kipkemboi | 76 | 76 | | Rajovic | 78 | 82 | Brunel | 71 | 78 | Hoelgaard | 76 | 74 | | Nommela | 78 | 78 |  Nareklishvili | 69 | 78 | C. Hernandez | 76 | 74 | | Sureda | 77 | 79 | Paillot | 69 | 78 | Eiking | 75 | 76 | | Baterdene | 76 | 77 |  Kukrle | 66 | 78 | Kelderman | 75 | 69 | | Kooistra | 76 | 76 | Vandevelde | 65 | 78 | Govekar | 75 | 78 | | Vernon | 76 | 71 | Noia | 60 | 78 | McKenna | 75 | 77 |
A long list of riders that could contend for stage wins across all the stages. It's probably not long enough as some people will still complain one of their riders isn't on it, but whatever. The list of sprinters is pretty deep for the first two stages, but perhaps some managers are also hoping to see their sprinter involved on stage 4. There are a few that have a decent hill stat and are more durable over some bumps. The time-trial is more straightforward, Kmieliauskas is the favourite, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise if one of the other 80 TTers won on the day. For the final list I mostly had it in mind for stage 5. Based on what I've seen so far I have no idea how and when MM actually works, but it looks like a more hybrid-ish hilly stage. Ardila is easily the stand out rider for any type of sustained climbing and MOL don't appear to have a genuine GC option, nor a sprinter to clog up the leadership. Let's see if the AI is smart enough to prioritise Ardila on the final stage.
Full startlist:
|
| |
|
|
| Laurens147 |
Posted on 24-11-2025 10:56
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1521
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
|
Thanks red for the great preview! 
I hope Liu can have two good sprints. GC wise I don't have high hopes and it shows in the preview.
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 05-12-2025 07:47
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| SotD |
Posted on 24-11-2025 12:41
|
World Champion
Posts: 12630
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
|
Had a pretty good race here last year with Ioannidis, Kiriakidis and Agrotis. Too bad we can't ride it this year. Given recent results in the hills I could see riders like Kmieliauskas, Lammertink, Bjerg, Bissegger, Van Moer etc. have great races here, despite the route looking a bit too difficult for them on paper. A couple of those did well last season too btw, but I found it to be more difficult last season for those than this season.
Could be surprised of course. I hope to see riders like Powless, Conci, Cabrera and last years surprise winner Uwizeyimana at the very front.
|
| |
|
|
| quadsas |
Posted on 24-11-2025 15:06
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2727
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
|
First test for Kmieliauskas, letsago
|
| |
|
|
| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 24-11-2025 16:05
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1803
Joined: 07-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
|
Thanks for the preview, red!
We have Rajovic for the sprints, APP (finally starting his season) for the hills and GC and Küng as another GC option if the final stages are just the right amount of selective, so there's pretty much to cheer for (and be disappointed of) here.
|
| |
|
|
| Marcovdw |
Posted on 24-11-2025 16:51
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7770
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 20845.00
|
Van Niekerk wouldn't have been worth it here so instead we are relying on Bjerg being able to miraculously surviving some hills again.
|
| |
|
|
| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 24-11-2025 20:59
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2129
Joined: 11-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Every stage race with a TT in it will be a challenge for us this season. Hänninen could maybe have a chance at an okay GC result, but it's mostly about stages for us. The sprints with Abdul Halil is our best opportunity, but only having Van Aert as decent sprint support could limit his chances. Other than that, Morin could be a shout for the hilly stages, but also hoping we will try our luck in breakaways.
Thanks for the preview!
|
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 24-11-2025 22:50
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3914
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Will be interesting to see how this goes with the new parcours and new game engine. Originally wasn't going to change the route but just switch old 4 and 5 as game didn't handle 5 well. But then found those were really old stages with no zcts and so new stages it was (not mine, some other kindly stagemaker, although I think I played with the Stage 5 route a fair amount). They are supposed to be similar in style to the old ones and I think I didn't pretty well there but this race is finely balanced so could see it titling toward or away from the TTers.
For us Cabrera and Daniel both had just the right skill set to hang in the latter half of the GC top 10 in past years. That strategy could go horribly wrong here. Riabushenko was great in Colombia so hopefully that carries over although weirdly the sprint field is much stronger here (which is a little weird given the level).
Powless has to be the favorite although if stage 5 is ridden hard his weak HI/MM could hurt, if I was MOL I would want Ardila to attack from a long way out.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 24-11-2025 23:19
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7541
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
I'm hoping Howson can have a decent TT and Kelderman or Bennett can ride well. Should be an interesting race!
Good luck everyone
|
| |
|
|
| whitejersey |
Posted on 25-11-2025 08:02
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3219
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
|
Not necessarily the greatest sprint from Van Poppel but he's also hurt by getting a train of pretty shitty lead out folk so can't really be mad ar it! Congrats to jph on the dub.
|
| |
|
|
| jph27 |
Posted on 25-11-2025 12:48
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7374
Joined: 20-03-2010
PCM$: 900.00
|
Main objective when sending Peak here was to try and win the first stage, as that alone would likely get us most of the way to the needed PPRD here. With that mission achieved, a podium on stage 2 is the next objective, to keep the extra scoring from the GC lead and points classification trickling in. Nice to see the Dekker leadout working well, hopefully more of that to come with more Peak training in future.
As for the rest of the race, we theoretically have a top 10 contender for each of the possibilities - Brunel if it favours the TTers, Errazkin if it favours the puncheurs, and Mansouri if it ends up halfway between the two. Hopefully we're spared any AI shenanigans and we can keep our strong March going. |
| |
|
|
| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 25-11-2025 14:07
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2129
Joined: 11-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
As expected, Van Aert is not really fast enough to deliver Abdul Halil in the position he needs to be in to fight for a victory. Otherwise a good performance by us.
Bolt really on a roll lately, congrats jph!
|
| |
|
|
| Caspi |
Posted on 25-11-2025 19:44
|
Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
|
Thanks for the preview!
We're looking for a top 10 with Bissegger.
Could be neat with some kind of stage result from Sureda or McKenna, but it looks unlikely with the competition.
|
| |
|
|
| Marcovdw |
Posted on 25-11-2025 20:09
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7770
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 20845.00
|
Kamberaj was badly positioned but made up some ground in the end, bodes well for his next attempt.
|
| |
|
|
| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 25-11-2025 22:50
|
Team Leader
Posts: 6174
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
Hoping for some breakaway time here in Norway. Failed on our first attempt though. Congrats on the win jph. I'm getting the impression I'll be needing that sentence a lot this season!
|
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 26-11-2025 01:32
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3914
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Good to see Riabushenko celebrate his good form by being completely invisible and finishing 16th. Given the depth of the field not all that surprising but both Zhao and Riabushenko seem to go by the motto when the going gets tough don't bother trying.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 26-11-2025 07:43
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2129
Joined: 11-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Looked good with 1.5km to go, but we were probably in the wind too early. I think we can safely conclude at this point that Van Aert and Abdul Halil is not a working duo. Unfortunately we will continue to see them together several more times this season, but looking forward to see if Coutinho can change things a little later in the season when he steps into Abdul Halil's lead-out train.
The TT is a write-off, but looking forward to see what we can do on the final 2 stages.
|
| |
|
|
| Laurens147 |
Posted on 26-11-2025 07:53
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1521
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
|
Great win from Liu  Just the kind of boost we needed!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
|
| |
|
|
| jph27 |
Posted on 26-11-2025 12:49
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7374
Joined: 20-03-2010
PCM$: 900.00
|
5th is a little bit disappointing, but with 1st yesterday it averages out around where I'd hoped to be with Peak from a point scoring perspective. Looks like it was a messy sprint and he had to go early which wasn't ideal, congrats Laurens! |
| |
|
|
| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 26-11-2025 15:24
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1803
Joined: 07-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
|
Thanks for the reports so far and congrats to jph and Laurens!
Rajovic with one good sprint, only a shame it was an intermediate one ... 10th and 11th was always a possibility, especially if you choose Boileau as your leadout 
Now it's all about reducing the losses in the TT and then attack in the hilly stages!
|
| |
|
Tour of Norway 
