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San Sebastian Classic Discussion
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 14-06-2012 00:17
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August is a busy time for HC races - 2 classics and 3 stage races all with the potential to substantially change the team standings. And first up, is a trip to the Basque country for the San Sebastian Classic.
The Jaizkibel is the stand out climb - particularly as it features twice - but it is far enough away from the finish to mean that it won't necesarilly be decisive.
This means the route suits a rider who is strong on the hills, has a good sprint, and even better if they are Spanish. Step forward  Alejandro Valverde. He is pretty much the king of this race: 1st in 2008, 1st in 2010, 2nd in 2007, 3rd in 2009. (Did not ride it last year) Winning again this year will continue the pattern of a victory every two years.
He won't have it all his own way though. As the Tour de Luxembourg showed,  Francesco Ginanni has remembered how to win again - and races like these are crucial for Vespa's promotion hunt. And then there's  Cesare di Maggio - a breakthrough rider this season who recently won the GP of Wales.
If team strength is required to win the race, then look no further than  Team Bianchi. Defending champion JJ Cobo, Spanish champion Koldo Gil, top puncheur Dimitri Claeys and the winner of the Tour of Japan and Giro del Capo, David de la Fuente. Frantisek Rabon is a useful rider in races like this aswell!
Also flying the Spanish flag will be  Luis Leon Sanchez. The Volta ao Algarve winner who finished narrowly behind Valverde at this year's Vuelta a Mallorca. Other names to watch are  Mattias Kessler,  Jelle Vanendert,  Aleksandr Kolobnev,  Anthony Roux, and Criterium Hainleite winner  Marcel Wyss. We also see the return to CT action of many of the  Jayco Red Bull riders who just finished the Tour de France!
Spoiler Proximus
1. A. Valverde
2. N. Cohen
3. M. De Maar
4. K. De Weert
5. V. Hacecký
6. D. Kopp
7. H. Ma
8. Y. Stoltz
Vespa
11. F. Ginanni
12. N. Arndt
13. M. Bono
14. G. Bosisio
15. A. Cappelle
16. D. Garbelli
17. M. Quinziato
18. R. Traficante
Cerne
21. L. Sanchez Gil
22. L. Afonso
23. A. Antunes
24. G. Cerveira
25. J. Insausti
26. P. Lucas Martins
27. B. Pires
28. A. Vital
Bianchi
31. J. Cobo
32. D. Claeys
33. D. De la Fuente
34. K. Gil
35. G. Lequatre
36. F. Rabon
37. P. Rooijakkers
38. K. Vantornout
Trilux
41. M. Kessler
42. J. Barta
43. D. Devenyns
44. H. Duyn
45. G. Rast
46. A. Schillenger
47. G. Smukulis
48. P. Walsleben
Aker Solutions
51. A. Roux
52. J. Castroviejo
53. H. Duenas Nevado
54. O. Hirschlein
55. J. Le Bon
56. L. Nordhaug
57. J. Rovira
58. E. Viennet
Bpost
61. J. Vanendert
62. F. De Greef
63. C. Gautier
64. M. La Lavandier
65. M. La Lavandier
66. W. Maesen
67. R. Stenuit
68. G. Van Keirsbulck
Tinkoff
71. A. Kolobnev
72. M. Belkov
73. P. Brutt
74. V. Kiryenka
75. D. Kozontchuk
76. E. Petrov
77. I. Rovny
78. B. Shpilevski
Venchi
81. C. Di Maggio
82. F. Aru
83. C. Cominelli
84. M. Gonzalez Salas
85. S. Marinangeli
86. B. Monterastelli
87. P. Sagan
88. N. Tirloni
UniCredit
91. P. Weening
92. P. Andersen
93. L. Bernucci
94. J. Grau
95. S. Ortega
96. S. Puccio
97. N. Quintana
98. T. Valjavec
WWE
101. J. Pineau
102. L. Didier
103. A. Diniz
104. J. Mayo
105. J. Polito
106. R. Sutherland
107. A. Txurruka
108. T. Voeckler
Saab
111. M. Wyss
112. N. Aistrup
113. N. Brolin
114. U. Galiev
115. P. Lavery
116. A. Nehoray
117. E. Salgueiro
118. J. Sørensen
Red Bull
121. S. Calzati
122. S. Gerrans
123. R. Kilun
124. K. Kirchen
125. A. Moinard
126. D. Moreno
127. E. Vorganov
128. KS. Wu
CSC
131. R. Costa
132. A. Ajewole
133. I. Basso
134. J. Gelabert
135. J. Rodas
136. M. Soler
137. A. Talansky
138. C. Zaballa
Hollister
141. A. Proni
142. R. Caminiti
143. J. Gutiérrez Palacios
144. J. Mercado
145. Y. Monsalve
146. P. Pereyra
147. R. Sambris
148. S. Szmyd
Koppert
151. S. Langeveld
152. F. Goesinnen
153. J. McCarthy
154. T. Slagter
155. T. Stamsnijder
156. F. Taillefour
157. B. Traksel
158. C. Vermeltfoort
Ferrari
161. C. Salerno
162. S. Agostini
163. E. Capecchi
164. T. Dall'Antonia
165. P. Longo Borghini
166. D. Pietropolli
167. M. Santambrogio
168. A. Scodeller
Cyclevox
171. R. Mandri
172. W. Connolly
173. L. Holohan
174. T. Rabou
175. S. Richardson
176. D. Stenkjær
177. S. Thwaites
178. P. Williams
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| CountArach |
Posted on 14-06-2012 02:24
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Grand Tour Champion
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A top 10 is the goal here. Valverde will probably take the win.
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 14-06-2012 03:08
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Not expecting much, hopefully we get into the breakaway.
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| ember |
Posted on 14-06-2012 05:28
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Taking Jaizkibel into account, I should probably have brought Alarcon here, as Roux isn't really great on the mountains, and by the looks of it, the mountain stat should play a part on Jaizkibel. It would be great if Nordhaug, Rovira or Duenas Nevado made it in the breakaway, and Roux holds on for a top 10. That's at least the goal, a top 10 for Roux, but it will be hard, as there's tough competition.
Valverde to win it, ahead of LLS, Ginanni and Di Maggio, in a random order. Looking forward to the report! |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 15-06-2012 02:10
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What a race by Costa  Wasn't expecting a top 10 at all with the tough start list and then after not getting mention in the preview. Very happy.
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| CountArach |
Posted on 15-06-2012 03:04
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Grand Tour Champion
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WHAT ARE YOU DOING VANENDERT?! You are one of the world's worst sprinters!
Oh well, congrats to Valverde.
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| ember |
Posted on 15-06-2012 05:27
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Decent enough, not many points for us, but a great report! Roux just confirms he's at least one level below the best puncheurs in the CT, and having an awful sprint doesn't certainly not help his case. Congratulations to Proximus, while Venchi will head for promotion if Di Maggio can keep it up this way to the end of the season. |
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 15-06-2012 06:07
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Good sprint by Di Maggio, and also a nice ride by Sagan bringing us some more points from this race.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 03:54
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| jph27 |
Posted on 15-06-2012 07:16
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Great report, and an expected winner. Good result for Venchi though. |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 15-06-2012 10:38
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It's a pretty solid day at the office for JRB, two guys in the top ten with a fairly strong field is a fine achievement. Also to keep pace with Bianchi in these is a bonus. The team raced pretty well - a shame we couldn't have sneaked another guy in the selection but that is just being greedy.
Valverde of course is very difficult to beat on such parcours, an all too rare win for him considering his price and CTour race days.
But all told I am pretty pleased with the race - a rare one in which we watch our rivals close ground!
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| Rin |
Posted on 15-06-2012 11:36
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"Just" 4th and some 10th places is a bit disappointing when you have the most riders at the front group and the strongest ones there..
Too bad Rabon dropped out, in that sprint he could have done better then Claeys.
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 15-06-2012 13:49
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Wow what a disappointing outcome. I'm seriously gutted about LLS's 12th place... I mean, sure he tried hard to be with the front men throughout the decisive parts of the race, but leading that last sprint was such a naive thing to do. And this just after the 1st stage of the Tour du Limousin, where Portela did the exact same thing. That's just plain bad luck.
Another season goal down the drain.
Nice report though, SN, as always.
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 15-06-2012 21:31
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No surprise the winner there. Seemed to have unlimited attacking power.
Ginnani on the other hand didn't use much energy attacking, was well positioned for the sprint and had nothing to give. Poor, poor, poor. |
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| felix_29 |
Posted on 15-06-2012 21:39
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I somehow missed this race and got a nice surprise. Kessler doing far better than i expected, bringing me useful points. If my team continues like this, i´ll even be in reach of a Top10 in the end.
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