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Hong Kong Challenge Discussion
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 10-11-2021 10:50
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GG Cedevita!
What on earth is Eiking doing?? He better go get that KOM now. This was not the plan at all...
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| ember |
Posted on 10-11-2021 11:01
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Thank you for the report, roturn.
Ouch! Kwiatkowski being very limited due to Laengen. Close to the worst possible scenario playing out for us there. Probably means we will see a passive Kwiatkowski on the final stage too. It gives a lot of pressure to Laengen and his TT. A top 5 could be possible on a brilliant day, but it can not be taken as a given. That is really a pity, as Kwiatkowski should have been in the front group under all kind of normal circumstances, I dare to say, which would also have given us a much better position GC wise.
Also, with Vangstad and Lammertink long gone, the latter being expected, while I had hopes for Vangstad, also see our potential depth points disappear. PCT is really, really difficult! 
But okay, we go one stage at a time. Need big performances from both Laengen and Kwiatkowski now, to have something to fight for on the final hilly stage regarding the overall. Great stage for Zalgiris, having both Keizer and Brandle in the group at 1 minute. I would say they will be difficult to beat for the GC now, assuming they get the upper hand and the lead vs. Beltran and Slagter after the TT. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 16:46
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| MacC |
Posted on 10-11-2021 11:20
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Thanks, Glanbia happy with a good job by Craddock hanging in there with most of the favourites. Needs to do the same in Stage 2 and then hopefully make up a couple of places in TT
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| redordead |
Posted on 10-11-2021 11:20
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Grand Tour Specialist
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 BELTRAN IS BACK!!!
Well that turned out pretty much as I could've hoped for. I knew it could be a selective stage 1 and it was imperative Beltran took this opportunity. Slagter was very strong, but I knew that Beltran should win if it came to a sprint between them and he delivered! 
Not sure how much of a factor all the new supporting riders played, but we did see us take control at certain points so I'm gonna guess it was for sure a positive thing. The gap to the other good TTers is not massive so I expect to lose a lot of spots in the GC tomorrow, but hopefully the leader's bonus gives Beltran a good day and he can limit his losses to stay in contention on stage 3. A strong GC and perhaps the points jersey look like realistic goals right now 
Also how about lvl 1 Andres Camilo Ardila with a cheeky day as the U25 leader 
Thanks for the report roturn. Nice to read about some early success after two bad races Down Under
"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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| ivaneurope |
Posted on 10-11-2021 11:36
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I'm overall content with the results - Vink and Valgren in the break, Vink got some KoM points and Thill and Kozhatayev neing in the favorites group on the finish. I think we have some chance for good result given that both Thill and Kozhatayev are hybrids with decent TT skill
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| knockout |
Posted on 10-11-2021 12:51
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Grand Tour Champion
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Lovely podium there with Beltran back on track, Slagter finally delivering after a decade of mediocrity and Masnada with the first good stage for Jura this year.
Zalgiris also with a strong opening stage!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 10-11-2021 13:50
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Tour de France Champion
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Exciting stage! Thanks for the report roturn!
Warbasse about at expectations, but Roe well above them. He's the best TTist on this team, but he still is only 75/73 mtn/hill, so did not expect him to finish top 10 even if he hoped to not lose big time. There's an opportunity for multiple GC placings here now.
At the same time disappointed in Aranburu a bit. Obviously for GC it made more sense for the team to go for guys who can TT, so PCM did it right there. Still, with hybrids doing quite well at the front, I didn't expect him to be so weak on what should be perfect terrain. Finishing a minute and a half behind Roe doesn't make a ton of sense unless he had bad daily form or was actively working for the other two.
Anyway, quite satisfied to still have two guys in the main pack going into the TT. Hopefully at least one of them has a great day tomorrow.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| roturn |
Posted on 10-11-2021 14:01
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baseballlover312 wrote:
At the same time disappointed in Aranburu a bit. Obviously for GC it made more sense for the team to go for guys who can TT, so PCM did it right there. Still, with hybrids doing quite well at the front, I didn't expect him to be so weak on what should be perfect terrain. Finishing a minute and a half behind Roe doesn't make a ton of sense unless he had bad daily form or was actively working for the other two.
Iirc he was used as helper indeed protecting Warbasse while Roe got a free role. Sometimes PCM surprises positively I guess even though likely be also could have gone a bit stronger himself anyway. |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 10-11-2021 16:05
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Fantastic job by Masnada to secure our first stage podium of the year
That 7" margin plus the 8 bonus seconds could be incredibly valuable, given how many decent to strong TTers there were in that first group! I'm afraid he'll drop out of the Top 10, though, but as a strong hybrid he should again do well on day 3.
Just wondering what happened to Pernsteiner, though... He won the first KoM sprint, but then didn't score a single point on the remaining ones and even got dropped first out of the initial trio - what was that? He should easily have kept up with Ivanov given his skillset, but well... Wouldn't have expected any kind of decent GC result from him anyway, given that he'll lose 3-4min tomorrow ^^ But some KoM competition would have been nice. At least he tried something, unlike a certain F.L. in another race...
Great to see Schmid trying, too. If he's lucky, he can stay in the U25 Top 8 and score his first points, that would be great!
Now onto the first ever TT where we actually have some realistic chances for a stage Top 10. Balloni and Rekita will both be rather early starters - let's see if they're lucky to get the best conditions.
Congrats to red, good to see that EAB is back to old strength And Slagter obviously just loves this stage, having already finished 2nd last year.
Thanks for the report, roturn, really entertaining - and definitely better racing than in the hilly TDU stages AI-wise!
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| quadsas |
Posted on 10-11-2021 21:14
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Both Keizer and Brandle put themselves in position to be top 3 after tommorow's stage, good stuff. Stage 3 goes differently every year, so hard to predict two top 5 finishes just yet
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 11-11-2021 01:22
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Not the start I wanted but with the competition that is here we were always going to struggle. Hopefully we can get people in the breakaway again for stage 3 and hope for a strong result!
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 11-11-2021 04:20
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Very good stage for Slagter, hopefully he can turn this into a decent GC result after the losses in the TT
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 11-11-2021 08:31
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Too passive from Kelderman for my liking and there are a lot of good TT riders on the same time. Zoidl in the same group is a small consolation. Looking at two in the Top 15 as a realistic target from this race now, unless Kelderman can improve on the last stage.
Impressive start by Beltran. Congrats red
Great report roturn!
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| MacC |
Posted on 11-11-2021 10:47
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Sprinter
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Well exciting finale to come! Nice report
Craddock did ok but Cruz was a real let down there. Richardson popping up with a decent TT
Craddock still with a lot to do without much of a cushion over top 15. |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 11-11-2021 10:57
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Decent enough from Uran. Hopefully he won't be caught off guard tomorrow.
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| redordead |
Posted on 11-11-2021 11:00
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Yeah, that was a good TT by Beltran. I expected him to lose at least 2 minutes. Looks like he had a good day, probably thanks to the yellow jersey
If you would offer me a stage win and a 4th place GC finish at the start of the race I would've taken it straight away!! To be 4th after the TT stage and only 22'' behind Brandle means I can still hope for an even better final result. I hope we give it a good go tomorrow, but if Beltran stays 4th that's fine also
Also I have to give another mention to Ardila. He extended his U25 lead over pretty much everyone  Obviously tomorrow it's all hands on decks including him to support Beltran. But hopefully he has another good day and he can still bring home that white jersey. That would give us some unexpected, but important extra points in the fight against relegation
"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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| Nemolito |
Posted on 11-11-2021 11:05
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Sad.
Hoping Spilak can kind of save this race with a win or just gaining time on several riders tomorrow.
Thanks for the report, roturn.
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| quadsas |
Posted on 11-11-2021 11:29
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That went almost as perfectly as it couldve. Dees Nuts back in top 30 was much needed. Highly doubt well be keeping 1-2 with Bobridge and Beltran just behind, but in great spot for double top 5.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 11-11-2021 12:13
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Hmm, 44th on the day and 15th overall is worse than I had hoped for from Rosskopf. Not entirely unexpected though, he's not an elite TTist so some variance is priced in. Hopefully he can remain in the Top 15 (and Hadi in the Top 25-30), but that's a tough ask.
Great ride by Beltran, might be the top favorite from now on. Will be interesting to see how the stage tomorrow plays out, looking at previous hilly stages so far in PCM20. Thanks for the report!
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| ember |
Posted on 11-11-2021 12:17
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Really happy about the stage win, well done Lammertink!
Laengen also with a very solid ride, and 5th ahead of the final hilly stage is great. Kwiatkowski with a pretty poor show, though, but maybe that is good. Fingers crossed being down to 19th overall gives him freedom to be aggressive and attack on the final stage. If so, a GC top 10 for him, and for Laengen to keep his top 5, should be a realistic goal.
Also a huge TT for Zalgiris. Congratulations on huge performances and a perfect setup GC wise going into the final stage, quadsas! |
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