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[PT] Gazelle 2024
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 16-01-2013 20:16
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Preview
[C2] Clasico San Cristobal
The team is on it's way to  Cuba for the opening of the season, which happens to be a hilly race. Our leaders will have to perform right from the start! This is a hilly race of the mountainous type, so we do not expect to win. Still, we are definitely aiming for a top 5 position and a second rider in the top 15. Anything less and we will be disappointed.
Rumours tell us that the starting field for this race is very strong. And this seems to be the case indeed with the likes of Rodriguez, Mehr-Wenige, Weening, Sanchez, Furdi and Ilias already confirmed.
Our team for this race:
Leader
 Pieter Weening (32)
71 FL, 74 MO, 77 HI, 75 STA, 75 RES, 75 REC, 71 ACC, 76 FTR
Lieutenant
 Blaž Furdi (25)
70 MO, 75 HI, 74 STA, 72 RES and 70 ACC
Domestiques
Matej Mugerli (32)
72 FL, 73 HI, 73 STA, 71 RES, 69 ACC, 73 FTR, 74 DH
Marco Minnaard (24)
71 FL, 73 HI, 73 STA, 72 RES, 72 ACC, 75 FTR
 Christiaan Kriek (24)
71 FL, 73 HI, 71 STA, 70 RES, 72 ACC
 Vadim Shaekhov (27)
70 FL, 72 HI, 70 TT, 71 RES, 71 REC, 70 ACC, 76 FTR, 73 PRL
 Erdenebayar Daspuntsag (25)
70 FL, 69 MO, 73 HI, 69 STA, 71 RES, 69 ACC, 79 FTR
Edited by DubbelDekker on 17-01-2013 00:31
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 22-01-2013 00:27
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Result
[C2] Clasico San Cristobal
Summary from our point of view
What a race it was!
The early breakaways were controlled by the three teams of the favorites with ease. But then, quite far from the finish still, Weening decided it was time for some fireworks. Sadly only Mehr-Wenige tried to go with him and to make it even worse, he was blocked by the unrelenting Iberia train. So Weening stopped and let them catch him.
A subsequent group of attackers suffered the same fate as Adira's German leader though; they got Iberia-blocked. So Weening gave up hope of finding some good fellow attackers and went off on his own.
He got a good gap and kept a good pace, causing Purito to get nervous and attack as well. But there were still too many fresh Iberia en Adira domestiques in the Peloton and with 2 km to go it's all back together.
Then Mehr-Wenige attacks and a probably slightly tired and disorientated Weening foolishly decides he has to chase him instead of leaving it to the Iberia train.
Rodriguez calmly finishes the very clever Iberia plan, winning them their first season goal. Weening is lucky to even be in the top 5. Furdi isn't completely sharp yet and let's himself slip back a little before the sprint. Luckily his sprint is fast and he scores an o.k. 7th place.
Evaluation
The team management is not happy with the tactics displayed by the team today. Some of the choices made by our leader were admirable, but not particularly clever. This caused the result to be slightly disappointing. It could have been much worse though. Given the circumstances, we're glad Weening managed to salvage a fifth place and that Furdi sprinted into a decent 7th position.
The sponsors on the other hand immediately called us after the race and were over the moon. They have founded the team on the principle of exciting, offensive cycling and they told us that that is exactly what Weening showed the world today.
The fact that Weening was alone at the front for a long time during the best watched part of the television coverage, was probably also a factor in their happiness. But they didn't say that of course.
Next race: Kathmandu. And this time it's Weening, Furdi and Westra.
Edited by DubbelDekker on 22-01-2013 00:38
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 24-01-2013 02:12
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Announcement
This season Team Gazelle will compete in the following races.
Clasico San Cristobal
 GP Kathmandu
 Trofeo Luis Puig
 Tour de Bretagnes
 The Emerald Race
GP Postojna
Volta a Galicia
Dorpenomloop Rucphen
 Nokere-Koerse
 Trofej Porec
 Windhoek ITT
 Kwita Izina
IWT Oetingen
E3 Prijs
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
 Volta ao Alentejo
Tro Bro Leon
 Glava Tour
 Lincoln GP
 Tour of Southland
 Tour de Kumano
Ronde van Belgie
 Criterium Hainleite
 Tour de Serbie
GP Onda-Boavista
Giro del Capo
 Tour de Beauce
 Oberosterreichrundfahrt
 Tour de Pologne
 Tour de Korea
 FBD Eire Tour
Delta Tour Zeeland
Geelong Tour
 Tre Valli Varesine
 Tour do Rio
 Challenges Phosphatiers
Grand Prix de Wallonie
Cauberg Classic
Dobrich GP
 GP Yekaterinburg
 Tour of Utah
 Zuri Metzgete
Two races are of the HC category, the rest are all C2.
Edited by DubbelDekker on 24-01-2013 02:47
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| CountArach |
Posted on 24-01-2013 02:31
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8290
Joined: 14-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Interesting calendar. I thought you might have a go at some of the C1 races. Weening would be relatively competitive.
Still I'll see you in your HC races.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 18:06
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 24-01-2013 02:46
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3634
Joined: 03-07-2012
PCM$: 300.00
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I'm pretty sure the emerald race isn't in Austria, and neither is the Geelong Tour. At least I hope they're not. I'll be seeing you in the Nepelese Himalayas.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 24-01-2013 02:51
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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CountArach wrote:
Interesting calendar. I thought you might have a go at some of the C1 races. Weening would be relatively competitive.
Still I'll see you in your HC races.
It was indeed tempting to send Weening to some C1 hilly races. But he only has 48 race days and there are at least 15 puncheurs in PCT that are better than him. So some more C2 races that half suit him seemed like a better idea.
See you at E3 and Hainleite! 
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 24-01-2013 02:56
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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sammyt93 wrote:
I'm pretty sure the emerald race isn't in Austria, and neither is the Geelong Tour. At least I hope they're not. I'll be seeing you in the Nepelese Himalayas.
Oops! When ctrl-f'ing for ISO 3166-1 codes on Wikipedia I accidentally settled for Austria instead of Australia. Good catch, thanks! See you in Nepal.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 27-01-2013 00:43
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Preview
[C2] GP Kathmandu
So far the 2013 season involves plenty of flying for Team Gazelle. After the season opener in Cuba, part of the team are now on their way to Nepal for the Grand Prix of Kathmandu. The race is a short circuit featuring six short hills that is repeated no less than eleven times! This makes it 254 kilometers long and gives us more than 52 kilometers of hilly climbing at a maximum slope of 10.7%.
The opposition is less strong than we had expected, especially thanks to the absence of Rodriguez. This means that we expect Weening to finish top 3, with only Mehr-Wenige and Samuel Sanchez as real threats. Anything less would be failure. We also think that both Furdi and Westra should actually be able to deliver a top 10 performance.
Success or failure will largely depend on whether the team can improve their tactics compared to Clasico San Cristobal. The line-up:
Weening
Furdi
Westra
Minnaard
Mugerli
Kriek
Daspuntsag
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 27-01-2013 16:28
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Result
[C2] GP Kathmandu
3d Weening - 26 pts
4th Furdi - 23 pts
14th Westra - 6 pts
18th Mugerli - 3 pts
19th Kriek - 2 pts
20th Daspuntsag - 2 pts
Raceday cost: 2
Total points: 62 pts
Points per raceday: 31 pts
The positives
This was a good team performance. The race was controlled well and even far into the final all seven riders were in the first group with five on the front. Letting Mehr-Wenige chase Sanchez for a while was a nice touch. And having Furdi, Westra, Mugerli, Kriek and Daspuntsag score 36 points together really underlines that the support team did well today.
The negatives
One word: Weening.
Again, a strong Weening shot himself in the foot with bad tactics. He had great support and at one point his second rival Sanchez was in an attack all alone, while his biggest rival Mehr-Wenige was on the front of the Peleton chasing Sanchez, with the entire Gazelle support crew sitting behind him as back-up in case Samu got too far away.
Weening decided to instantly ruin this perfect situation by attacking past M-W. Worst possible time to attack!
After this it was Weening, M-W and Samu at the front together. Instead of trying to get away from these two superior sprinters or letting them do the work, Weening just set a high pace and dragged his rivals to the finish line where they could sprint for victory.
The management is going to have a word with Weening, because this is not a trend we can allow to continue.
The sponsor
The sponsor is also starting to get slightly worried about the face of the team, Weening, becoming the laughingstock of the Continental Tour.
But overall they are very happy with the commanding presence of the team in this race and the resulting amount of attention for their brand.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 29-01-2013 22:49
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Preview
[C2] Trofeo Luis Puig
Finally a race closer to home. We're in España for the Trofeo Luis Puig. This classic starts with a lot of climbing, but can still be classified as one for the sprinters.
Team Gazelle is here without a leader and we told the riders there is no pressure on them to perform. Everyone is free to do whatever they want, but we prefer to see them attacking. Let's see what they make of it.
Edited by DubbelDekker on 29-01-2013 22:50
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 31-01-2013 17:13
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Result
[C2] Trofeo Luis Puig
9th Nardin - 11 pts
16th Daspuntsag - 4 pts
20th Duchesne - 2 pts
23d Sentjens - 1 pt
24th Vangenechten - 1 pt
We didn't expect much of this race, but we were in the break of the day, got a rider in the top 10 and scored 19 points. So we are happy with the outcome.
Nardin's 9th place is actually very good for someone who is more a puncheur than a sprinter. We hope this is a sign of some good things to come from him.
Another notable event is that loaned-in talent Antoine Duchesne scored his first points. Duchesne's manager JT's reaction was "hopefully the first of many!".
In a few years we think he will get his way.
Edited by DubbelDekker on 31-01-2013 17:14
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| Firefly21 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:11
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Domestique
Posts: 506
Joined: 15-09-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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That was a really good race for a team that doesn't exactly have a lot of sprinters! Can't even get you're team down when you are racing out of you're element! That is the sign of a strong team, for sure.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:15
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Thanks. Congrats on Speirs excellent fifth place!
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 01-02-2013 01:53
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Race Preview
[C2] Tour de Bretagne
 Team Gazelle
Blaž Furdi - leader
Roy Sentjens - cobbler
Jonas Vangenechten - cobbler
Thiago Duarte Nardin - lieutenant/hilly-sprinter
Kristof Goddaert - domestique
Antoine Duchesne - domestique
Jaco Venter - domestique
Our first ever stage race is the Tour de Bretagne. The race has three flat stages, a semi hilly flat stage with a tiny bit of cobble, two hilly stages and a hilly cobble stage. It's quite crazy really, but I like it.
We find it hard to predict what is going to happen so we don't really know what to expect from our riders either. Other managers seem to think Furdi is the biggest favorite for the GC and we agree he should be able to get a top 5.
If we look at the stages we think Furdi should be able to do well in 4, 5 and 6 and o.k. in 7. Nardin has a chance in 5 and 6. And Sentjens and Vangenechten are dangerous outsiders for stage 7.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 01-02-2013 01:56
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World Champion
Posts: 10845
Joined: 29-10-2007
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I fear Furdi might be used as helper for your cobblers by the AI here or there, let's hope otherwise, then I agree he'll have a good shot at the overall.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 01-02-2013 01:59
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
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Do you think that's a risk only in stages 5 and 7? Or in all stages?
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 01-02-2013 10:07
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3214
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DubbelDekker wrote:
Do you think that's a risk only in stages 5 and 7? Or in all stages?
All stages due to it being a Stage Race so the AI takes it as 1 individual race if he gets a free role and takes the leaders jersey on stage 4 though the AI will switch the attention over to him. |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 01-02-2013 11:18
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Interesting. Thx.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 05-02-2013 01:36
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2633
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Victory Report
Tour de Bretagne - stage 4
Today Team Gazelle grabbed their first win ever! Many expected this honor to go to team leader Weening, but it was in fact his lieutenant Blaž Furdi who took it in stage 4 of le Tour de Bretagne. Blaž was appointed leader for this crazy tour of sprints, hills and cobblestones and stage 4 was the stage in which he had to shine to be a GC contender. He sure did.
The stage started mostly flat but ended with three times the imposing Mur de Bretagne hill in a row. The first part of the race was fairly quiet with just a single attacker: Hampton. He got a nice gap but had to spend too much energy on it, so he wasn't a threat.
The first serious attack happened a few kilometers before the start of the first Mur climb, when Olsson, Rovira, Scheit and Sys went for it. Furdi was told to keep his powder dry on the flat parts, and luckily he did. With riders like Sentjens, Goddaert and Vangenechten, the Gazelle train had no problem reeling the attackers back in on this flat terrain.
Then the climb started and to our delight Rovira immediately put in another attack and was followed by Fonte, Olsson, Talabardon, Rake and Furdi! An escape group full of strong puncheurs was exactly what Furdi needed to hurt his sprinter and cobble opponents. With this group on the attack, race leader Vattenfall quickly put their puncheur Gingsjo at the front of the Peleton, setting such a frantic pace that the likes of Jorgenson and Dekker immediately fell of the back and riders like Lasca and Maes got seriously hurt.
On the second climb of the Mur there were already only ten riders with a decent amount of energy left in the Peloton and instead of dragging the weaker ones with them they decided to put in a 'now or never' attack. This left the pure sprinters and cobblers without good propulsion for their bus; great news for Furdi's GC chances.
The ten got close to the leaders, but eventually only Roviro got caught. Rake tried to avoid the sprint by attacking and blew himself up slightly too early. This left us with a four man sprint between Olsson, Talabardon, Fonte and Furdi. Apparently the cunning Slovenian had saved some energy for this, because he rocketed away on the steep climb and finished 13 seconds ahead of his three former companions. The strongest of the chasers, Feillu and Mori, finished at 43 seconds and even more important; the Cobble Bus at a whopping 5'54.
We are extremely happy that one of our leaders finally showed some clever tactics and brought us not only our first victory, but also great GC chances in our first ever stage race. A great day for Gazelle!
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 05-02-2013 10:57
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1036
Joined: 17-06-2009
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The Cobbler has been watching this race with interest. Furdi had a great day but Nardin has placed himself in excellent position to ride right past some of the leaders on stage 7. The last day of racing when the body is drained, it will be very difficult to travese those cobble sections. Nardin could ride right onto the podium.
Great day but do not sacrifice Nardin for Furdi.
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Team Manager of AMEX - Navigon
Editor of the Cobbler
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