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Giro di Lombardia - Discussion Thread
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 10:14
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As traditionally, the season closes in Italy with the fifth and last monument of the year, Il Lombardia. It's, in terms of climbing, probably the most difficult of the five, as the climbs are far longer than in other major hilly classics like LBL.
The Ghisallo climb is likely to cause the first serious selection between the favourites, and then the pain will reach even higher levels on the two final climbs. The steep final ascent up to San Fermo della Battaglia will probably decide the race, as there will be a lot of tired legs after 240 kilometres.
 Frank Schleck is probably highly motivated to defend the title, as this is his last major race before his capacity will start to decline. He's quite possibly the best puncheur in the world atm, as shown in Liège earlier this year.
The Luxembourgian champion also has probably the strongest squad of all the favourites. Iglinski and Samwel are both capable of leading teams themselves, but their task here will be to assist for as long as possible.
 Jan Bakelants has been Schleck's big rival throughout the year, and the Belgian was the stronger of the two in their latest feud, GP Mendrisio. After missing out in all three Ardennes Classics, he surely wants revenge. He also has a strong backup, from the two national champions Velits and Panayotov.
 Damiano Cunego has, as expected, been shining in every one of the very few races he has ridden this year, and will be very difficult to beat on home soil. He wasn't able to fully match the pure puncheurs in LBL, but should enjoy the longer climbs here. Apart from Abal, he doesn't really have any strong domestiques though.
 Stefan Schumacher was a bit of a disappointment in Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, but really showed his class with a third place in LBL. Also fourth in Mendrisio, so definitely a major contender. Albasini will be worth a lot for him, but the rest of the team probably wont be able to help him in the finale.
 Simone Ponzi is the next biggest favourite in my eyes, although the game disagrees. The Italian may be a level short of the four above, but the boost given by racing in his home country shouldn't be underestimated. No reason for him to complain about lack of support either, since he has last year's runner-up, Caruso, in his team.
 Yuri Trofimov may not have repeated last year's dominance this season, but he showed real strength in the Tour. His good kick makes him even more dangerous, so the other favourites really should try to drop him on the climbs.
 Alejandro Valverde will again go head to head with the PT stars after his team received a wild card. Maybe a strong performance here can create interest in him from some teams? Surely he must be returning to a PT squad next year?
 Edvald Boasson Hagen has experienced a season to forget, but obviously can't be discounted. Perhaps it's time for his season to turn around at last, with a strong result? I'm quite sure that his manager wouldn't mind.
 Robert Gesink has been a real classics man this season, after deciding to skip all three GTs. As long as he stays on his bike, he'll be a very strong contender, especially considering that his high mountain stat may give him an edge over the pure puncheurs on the longish climbs around here.
 Diego Ulissi is under high pressure from his team to score them necessary points. The young Italian shouldn't normally be able to contend for the victory, but who knows what he can do with a bit of a nationality boost.
 Riccardo Ricco is pretty similar to Ulissi, although I believe that he's a bit stronger. You don't win a Grand Tour unless you're an absolute top rider. However, I reckon an even harder course would've favoured the Italian more.
 Philippe Gilbert has an excellent season in his palmares this year, with the Amstel Gold Race victory being the obvious highlight. I think the Belgian champion will struggle a bit on the difficult course though. If things go really wrong for him, the team also has Daniel Martin, who must also be considered to be an outsider.
 Patrik Sinkewitz would have to score a huge amount of points to save his team from relegation. But who knows, maybe he and Thomas Dekker can hit the jackpot here, and miraculously save Spyker?
 Tejay Van Garderen may no longer be world champion, but he's still one of the best puncheurs in the pro peloton. Together with Taylor Phinney, he'll try to wave the American flag up high.
 Alexander Efimkin leads the Milka team, who'll probably hope for a surprise. Otherwise it'll be difficult for them to score any major points, as most other teams have stronger leaders, at least on paper. We've seen several successful mid-race breakaways during the year though, so why not another one here?
 Emanuele Sella,  Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver,  Guillaume Levarlet and  Jesus Del Nero all lead their respective squads as well. However, unless something very spectacular happens, I find it unlikely that any of these will come anywhere near the victory. These teams will probably all try to stage some sort of mid-race attack.
Full startlist:
Spoiler Vesuvio
1. F. Schleck
2. C. Betancourt
3. B. Gastauer
4. J. Hoogerland
5. M. Iglinski
6. D. Mehr-Wenige
7. M. Paterski
8. M. Samwel
Pearl
11. J. Bakelants
12. E. Berthou
13. E. Franzoi
14. T. Leezer
15. G. Nizzolo
16. P. Panayotov
17. B. Samoilev
18. P. Velits
UBS
21. S. Schumacher
22. M. Albasini
23. S. Barrio
24. K. Lalouette
25. F. Stalder
26. J. Tschopp
27. S. Zahner
28. O. Zaugg
Colombia
31. D. Cunego
32. D. Abal
33. A. Ardila Cano
34. J. Baños Ballester
35. S. Ivars
36. S. Joly
37. H. Machado
38. J. Tendero
B&O
41. E. Hagen
42. R. Guldhammer
43. M. Hacecký
44. D. Klemme
45. T. Riber-Sellebjerg
46. J. Sagan
47. K. Sobota
48. S. Stenersen
Sony
51. Y. Trofimov
52. S. Anza
53. A. Ballan
54. L. Fernández Oliveira
55. K. Fouquet
56. P. Grillo
57. D. Muravjev
58. R. van der Hugenhaben
Proximus
61. A. Valverde
62. H. Ben Nasser
63. J. Coenen
64. L. Lefèvre
65. H. Ma
66. Y. Stoltz
67. M. Ulanowski
68. M. Zenagui
Festina
71. D. Ulissi
72. L. Bøchman
73. D. Drapac
74. J. Ljungblad
75. F. Pozzato
76. R. RodrÃguez Segarra
77. G. Steurs
78. P. Voss
Pendleton's
81. P. Gilbert
82. R. Downing
83. S. Duret
84. T. Kennaugh
85. R. Margaliot
86. D. Martin
87. D. Menchov
88. A. Moletta
Bacardi
91. R. Ricco
92. M. Burghardt
93. J. Kocjan
94. A. Kruopis
95. S. Mancuso
96. M. Mugerli
97. M. Perget
98. E. Sokolov
Wiggle
101. S. Ponzi
102. L. Bertagnolli
103. D. Caruso
104. T. Diggle
105. C. Grippo
106. R. Nocentini
107. M. Pavarin
108. T. Zaini
Jack Wolfskin
111. R. Gesink
112. S. Chavanel
113. B. Giling
114. W. Jallays
115. P. Martens
116. W. Poels
117. K. Sys
118. H. Zubeldia
Spyker
121. P. Sinkewitz
122. S. Cohnen
123. T. Dekker
124. A. Geniez
125. M. Schreurs
126. D. Teklehaimanot
127. E. Weiss
128. A. Zeits
Wikipedia
131. T. Van Garderen
132. D. Atapuma
133. R. Cleaver
134. E. King
135. G. Lejman
136. C. Mai
137. T. Phinney
138. T. Pinot
Milka
141. A. Efimkin
142. L. König
143. A. Malori
144. Y. Nepomnyachsniy
145. A. Nepomnyachsniy
146. R. Porte
147. Z. Stybar
148. M. Vysna
Nestlé
151. J. Rodriguez Oliver
152. H. Broco
153. S. Denifl
154. D. Di Luca
155. M. Durán
156. D. Loosli
157. M. Machado
158. D. Vitoria
Webeffect
161. E. Sella
162. J. Baugnies
163. T. Danielson
164. G. Gazvoda
165. S. Ghisalberti
166. A. Gilanipoor
167. B. Khalilikhosroshani
168. V. Rodrigues
Santander
171. J. Del Nero
172. F. Echarri
173. A. Hernández Gutierrez
174. J. Moreno
175. D. Ortega
176. J. Rienda Segura
177. R. Serrano
178. R. Valls
Carmeuse
181. G. Levarlet
182. A. Aulas
183. JF. Camier
184. R. Di Gregorio
185. J. El Fares
186. P. Jacobs
187. J. Libert
188. S. Vandousselaere
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| p3druh |
Posted on 06-10-2012 10:39
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I'm probably rooting for Schleck in this one. Would be a nice way to end the peak of his career.
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 11:15
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Team Leader
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This has been an amazing season for me, so I am happy no matter what happens here.
Schleck to win for me.
 [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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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 06-10-2012 11:17
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Got a strong squad for me here but probably nobody good enough to win it. Hoping for a nice points haul though. Schleck or Cunego I reckon. |
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 11:25
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Well, unsurprisingly, I want to see Cunego deliver a win in Cafe de Colombia's last ever race.
Stacked field so we should hopefully see a good battle. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 07-12-2025 17:55
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| rjc_43 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 11:43
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Well, in theory Wiggle's season revolves around this race. I need a win... so I'm hoping for a mid-race break from Caruso that sticks to the end!
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| ember |
Posted on 06-10-2012 11:46
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Schleck and Cunego are favourites in my eyes, but the profile and riders should provide some great racing. Hopefully there will be lots of interesting attacks from Ghisallo to the finishing line. |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 06-10-2012 12:03
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Let's just hope we don't get picture break up  .
Will old man Schleck pass the baton on to the young pretender?
Valverde crawls out from under the proximus induced rock where he has been hiding - perhaps an outsider for the win?
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| jph27 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 16:45
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Win for Cunego, goodbye Spyker and Carmeuse. |
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 06-10-2012 16:48
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Possibly strongest, but then led out the sprint. D'oh.
Thats the ProTour season over then!
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 06-10-2012 16:49
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Meh.
Great report though. |
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| kumazan |
Posted on 06-10-2012 16:52
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Great report, and fantastic victory for Cunego in Café de Colombia's farewell race.
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| p3druh |
Posted on 06-10-2012 16:55
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So close.
I guess Pearl Adidas snatches 2nd place in the rankings so I'm in no way disappointed.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 06-10-2012 16:56
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p3druh wrote:
I guess Pearl Adidas snatches 2nd place in the rankings so I'm in no way disappointed.
Does it count as snatches when you were already 300 points clear in 2nd? 
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| p3druh |
Posted on 06-10-2012 17:02
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SportingNonsense wrote:
p3druh wrote:
I guess Pearl Adidas snatches 2nd place in the rankings so I'm in no way disappointed.
Does it count as snatches when you were already 300 points clear in 2nd?
I was talking about being out of the top-2 for a while until the final races. But yeah, probably not the best choice of word
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| ember |
Posted on 06-10-2012 17:03
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That was a great race to read and a fantastic report!
Great to see the three biggest guns fight it out, and nice to see Cunego win for Cafe de Colombia, congratulations!
And I guess it's about time to congratulate SN too, with a superb win with his Vesuvio-team in the team ranking. |
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| Roman |
Posted on 06-10-2012 17:15
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Hmmm, hopefully my team got enough points to at least secure that 10th place overall..
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| rjc_43 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 17:28
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Hmm. Winning the sprint... for fourth... isn't quite the win I'd wanted.
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 06-10-2012 17:41
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Great report to read that....really thought Schleck was going to win it when he launched his one big attack. Fairly confident then when Cunego got back on and it came down to the three way sprint - especially when he was at the back.
Good "season" from Cunego - won the Tour, won the Vuelta a Colombia, won a monument here in Lombardy and only failed at the other race he entered, LBL, with a paltry 4th I think it was.
He should be popular in the transfer season - if he goes back to the Giro he's just about guaranteed a huge points haul. |
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| Heine |
Posted on 06-10-2012 17:44
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I would find it strange if none of the promoting teams sign Cunego, he alone could keep a team up... (And in theory they should have most open wage)
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