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Tour de Beauce Discussion
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| CountArach |
Posted on 28-03-2012 06:48
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Welcome to Canada, where we have our next stage race. And what a star-studded line up we don’t have! Most of the division’s best riders have skipped here, giving their usual support riders a chance to race for themselves. The course is an interesting one, at least. The first stage is flat with just a couple of bumps in it to sort some riders out. The second stage is hilly but not overly selective, perhaps ripe hunting grounds for a breakaway. The third stage is the queen stage of this tour, with a finish on Mont Megantic, which is 6km in length with an average of 8.4% and a max of 15.1%. Following this is a 10km flat time trial and then two hilly circuit races that could well decide the overall if our only mountain does not.
The biggest star here, and the biggest favourite by a very long way is  Nicholas Roche. He is the best climber here and one of the best puncheurs as well. Not only that but he can ride a decent time trial as well. Anything short of an overall win will have to be a disappointment for him. His biggest weakness has to be his team, with only Busche there to provide any sort of support. Another noteworthy rider on his team is Bazajev, who is one of the top sprinters here, but may not really get a chance to ride for himself because of the team’s overall ambitions.
 Maxime Monfort will hope to provide a challenge for Roche, particularly on the hilly stages, where he will have Claeys as support. Of course Claeys may be gunning for a stage victory instead. Another rider who will be looking to challenge Roche is  Ryder Hesjedal, who will be lifted by the fact that he is riding on home soil. He is a really solid all-round rider and can certainly stand a great chance of a podium place overall. Hesjedal’s team support looks a bit weak, however, and that may well be his undoing on the hillier stages.
Two teams that don’t really have to worry about depth at this race are Hollister and Red Bull. Hollister are lead by  Yasmani Martinez, though Ochoa Quintero could conceivably pose a chance for a top 10 as well. They both will have great support from Proni, who is strong on the hills. Red Bull are lead by  Gustavo Veloso, at least on paper, but really Moreno might be a better bet. Whoever ends up leading them on the road they will have great support from the likes of Gerrans, Moinard and Kilun. Red Bull have also brought their sprinter Giaux here.
Further down the list of favourites is  Chris Froome, who will be looking to make an impact on the hillier stages, which he will need to do to make up for time lost on the mountain and in the time trial. There are a few climbers around him, as well as Abdallah to try to make an impact in any sprints. Also on the list of riders to not discount too early are the  Cyclevox duo of Trent Lowe and Ricardo Van der Velde, both of whom are strong all-rounders who could strike for a top ten.
Also aiming for a top ten are  Pierre Rolland and  Francisco Colorado. Neither of them have a team around them and both will seek to do well on particular stages; Rolland in the time trial and Colorado on the mountain. At the same time they should both avoid losing too much time on any of the stages.
More riders who will aim to do well through consistent riding without any stand-out performances are  Francis De Greef and  Moris Possoni. Neither is great at any of the disciplines, but will just try to stick with groups where they can. Possoni has the advantage of being supported by Osella and a few other strong riders, who should help him to the end of a stage. Both of these teams have also brought a sprinter. BPost have Poulhiès and Ferrari have Dall'Antonia.
 Emu Export are lead by two pure climbers – Navarro and Montenegro. They will need to ride their heart out in the time trial and hold on during the hills, but a stage win could be within their grasp if they play their cards right on our mountaintop finish.
Jerome Pineau leads  Team WWE and will be looking to impress on the hilly stages. If he can pull out a gap to the pure climbers then he could end up with a decent place on GC too.  Sergio Sousa leads Trilux and will be wanting to just ride solidly over the six stages and hope that consistency gets him positions.  Oz Cycling is lead by Bobridge, who will be targeting the time trial and could well hold on during the hilly stages.
Complete Startlist:
Spoiler Pirelli
1. N. Roche
2. A. Bazajev
3. S. Boggia
4. M. Busche
5. D. Caccia
6. A. Flaksis
7. N. Kinney
Bianchi
11. M. Monfort
12. J. AramendÃa
13. D. Claeys
14. R. Dennis
15. S. Locatelli
16. O. Martynenko
17. P. Mazur
Rothaus
21. R. Hesjedal
22. J. Ariesen
23. T. Koep
24. A. Krieger
25. A. Kunitski
26. J. Novak
27. D. Vesely
Hollister
31. Y. Martinez
32. Z. Dempster
33. P. Mach
34. R. Ochoa Quintero
35. A. Proni
36. R. Sambris
37. B. Selander
Red Bull
41. G. Veloso
42. S. Gerrans
43. J. Giaux
44. A. Hansen
45. R. Kilun
46. A. Moinard
47. D. Moreno
Rapha Condor
51. C. Froome
52. C. Abdallah
53. D. Appleby
54. A. Belmokhtar
55. I. Stannard
56. T. Swift-Metcalfe
57. T. Teklit
Cyclevox
61. T. Lowe
62. W. Connolly
63. D. O'Loughlin
64. E. Oliphant
65. D. Stenkjær
66. S. Thwaites
67. R. Van der Velde
Puma
71. P. Rolland
72. J. Bar
73. N. Bouhanni
74. T. Dumoulin
75. M. Egger
76. O. Le Gac
77. J. Sütterlin
CSC
81. F. Colorado
82. B. Armstrong
83. S. Blanco
84. J. Gelabert
85. I. Kovalev
86. A. Talansky
87. C. Verona
Bpost
91. F. De Greef
92. S. Dillier
93. W. Maesen
94. S. Poulhiès
95. J. Stallaert
96. T. Stubbe
97. W. Van Den Eynde
Export
101. D. Navarro
102. D. Kairelis
103. M. Karagobek
104. F. Montenegro
105. I. Seledkov
106. C. Van Ooijen
107. T. Ziegler
Ferrari
111. M. Possoni
112. E. Capecchi
113. T. Dall'Antonia
114. E. Girardi
115. M. Maisto
116. M. Osella
117. L. Sterbini
WWE
121. J. Pineau
122. J. Becerra
123. J. Keukeleire
124. J. Mayo
125. J. Polito
126. H. Roulston
127. B. Tankink
Trilux
131. S. Sousa
132. T. Criel
133. H. Duyn
134. S. Forke
135. T. Fothen
136. G. Rajala
137. R. Zepunkte
Oz
141. J. Bobridge
142. G. Bennett
143. F. Besada
144. L. Durbridge
145. M. Matthews
146. G. O'Shea
147. M. Vink
A
151. F. Boivin
152. G. Boivin
153. G. Kabush
154. B. Kojic
155. S. Tuft
Edited by CountArach on 28-03-2012 12:08
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 28-03-2012 07:12
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World Champion
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I was tempted to sign up for this race and looking at the startlist, probably should have. 
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| roturn |
Posted on 28-03-2012 07:25
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Team Manager
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Great preview. Was looking forward to this race all season long.
Hope we won`t see another AI failure race and instead see a realistic outcome. (with Hesjedal winning) 
Haven`t expected him to be that high in the startlist. Now seeing it and also hoping for some national bonus I think the goal must be a top5 minimum.
Negative side. Kunitski is a solid helper. Novak and Koep maybe as well. The rest won`t be able to help a lot, so I need other teams to do the pace. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 28-03-2012 07:32
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World Champion
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Nice preview.
Would have liked to have Niemiec here, but he didn't have enough race days. Shame as I think this could really have fitted him, especially with a weaker startlist without any 80+ climbers.
Anyway, I hope Possoni or Osella can crack a Top 10 in the mountain stage. That's all I ask for.
Hesjedal and Roche will be a close battle overall I think.
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| Smowz |
Posted on 28-03-2012 08:32
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Cyalogic has jumbled that startlist quite a bit.
But in reality it depends how tough that stage 3 climb is, as mountain stages tend to give more gaps than hilly stages (that can also lend a hand to breakaways of course!).
Roche is the overwhelming favourite whatever the terrain of course, he does all things well.
Stage 5 and 6 worry me for crashes - mind you crashes can also prove benificial to a team as well. Have high hopes of a decent all round performance from the team.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 28-03-2012 13:06
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As far as I remember, that climb in stage 3 will lead to some bigger gaps...
As for Oz Cycling, the startlist speaks for itself But just like said in this (again) great preview, we have some reasons to hope for Bobridge to do something here: he has been our true leader so far.
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| ember |
Posted on 28-03-2012 14:18
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In my eyes, the 3rd stage is the only one who looks tough enough to create big gaps, and thus, the overall winner will be decided there. Though, that's only if a breakaway doesn't win, and that could very well happen, depending a bit on the "always-happy-to-chase" Jayco - Red Bull. If they're in chasing mode, I think the overall win will be decided on the 3rd stage. If they're not, it's really anyone's game.
Looking forward to the reports!  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 03:39
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| Christer |
Posted on 28-03-2012 14:43
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This will be a huge failure, if I know my team well enough.
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 28-03-2012 20:09
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I reckon Stage 5 will be the decisive one.
 [url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
Please assume I am joking unless otherwise stated |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 28-03-2012 20:27
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Christer wrote:
This will be a huge failure, if I know my team well enough.
+1 
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| roturn |
Posted on 29-03-2012 06:26
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Decent start. Pretty invisibly by us. Hoping for more on the harder stages as I can`t expect anything on the flat. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 29-03-2012 06:34
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Well, this is awesome! Didn't expect that!
Nice report too, CountArach!
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| tyriion |
Posted on 29-03-2012 07:02
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Sprinter
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Very nice report. Red Bull did everything perfect. Really thought Hansen would give Giaux an easy win there.
Check out my ManGame team here
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| Smowz |
Posted on 29-03-2012 08:16
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I'm going to put that as a bit of a season highlight. Giaux, would have struggled against Abdullah and Bazajev in a straight sprint and being able to control that complicated finale was a real effort.
A shame about that wheel sucking Italian
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 29-03-2012 12:15
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Glad the team was active, but still no result to show for it. 
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| ltt |
Posted on 29-03-2012 13:11
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Stage like that, with no sprinters for my team, and I'm just glad that no one's crashed or lost stupid time.
Nice by Selander getting in the break and getting the Young Riders jersey, but don't see him keeping it after the next stage. |
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| Christer |
Posted on 29-03-2012 15:09
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At least my riders tried. Taking the chances they get on a break away is good. Too bad they didn't get a single result. Hoping for a major upset with one of my riders.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 30-03-2012 13:57
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Nice to see Vink collecting some points here in stage 2..
Will be interesting to see, if those "breakaway-GC-leaders" will survive the queen-stage. Plus, there may be some more breakaways like that, of course.
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| roturn |
Posted on 30-03-2012 14:48
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Don`t like the result. 
Had hoped for no breakaways before the queen stage. Now many weak climbers will probably ride in the first rows and block the better ones. |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 30-03-2012 15:15
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Agh, I have horrible luck. I'm getting to the point where I expect complete failure 
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