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Bahir Dar Discussion Thread
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 12-02-2013 14:10
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Profile/
165km (35km cobbles)
Welcome to Ethiopia, where the first cobbled classic of the season is held in and around Bahir Dar, one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river.
It's a perfect place for a first showdown of the best cobblers in both PCT and CT, with more than 35 paved kilometers and a short but tough climb up to the finish. Most of the race will be flat though, featuring a circuit of cobbles and dusty roads in Bahir Dar. An interesting profile, as it's not predictable how the favorites will handle those final climb.
The favorites/     
Looking at the profile, it looks like the favorites have to combine both their cobbles skills and their ability to compete on short climbs. Among the top-favorites, we have a bunch of Belgians sharing the top-seeded predictions:
BPost/ A strong team with Pieter Vanspeybrouck as one of the most promising riders here. The Belgian cobbles-ace has a decent kick on short ascents and has some great support in Niels Albert and Remco Broers.
HTC/ Jérôme Baugnies looks as strong as Vanspeybrouck, while both teams will be packed with decent domestiques. Baugnies won't have a top-class helper like Albert, but Kenny De Haes should do well.
Allianz/ Nikolas Maes has decent support in Arnaud Coyot and while the team lacks depth in cobbles, it may not be necessary when Bpost or HTC will share most of the work.
Amex/ Bernhard Eisel and Matti Breschel can be a real threat on that finish climb, while Fabien Taillefour provides some great support for the flat part. An interesting constellation. If the team plays their cards right, beware of either Eisel or Breschel.
VW-Mapei/ Damien Gaudin is the last on the list of top-favorites. Just like Maes, he will be pretty much on his own (except of Ruben Zepuntke or Marcel Sieberg), but Gaudin has the skills to compete on the finish-climb.
  
BN de Costa Rica/ Gert Steegmans can be as strong as Gaudin, while BNC's captain won't have any useful support by his team. Anyway, as soon as the pack splits, he should be at the front.
Boeing-Vivacom/ Geraint Thomas has both the skills on pavement and the speed for a finish-kick, plus a great domestique in Martin Grashev. The question is, how Thomas manages to climb the finish. Anyway, he will be at the front when a sprint goes there.
Bouygues/ Pieter Jacobs is just another rider with good chances for a great result. If he has already found his form, he could be a real danger for top-favorites like Baugnies or Vanspeybrouck.
  
Just like for Thomas, there is a question-mark behind Tom Veelers (UPC), as he lacks some skills on climbs. But he does have the skills to make a decisive move halfway through the race. Nike Østergaard (Die Berg) and Sven Nooytens (PFG-Armavia) hold outside chances as well. |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 12-02-2013 14:15
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Come one G2!! (as Thomas and Grashev shall hence be known)
This is going to be interesting. Lots of cobbles plus a slight uphill finish giving the hilly rating...
Add in lots of good Cobblers and its a tough one to call
Would be happy to beat ABC (sorry)
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 06:23
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| CountArach |
Posted on 12-02-2013 14:47
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Hopefully the relatively flat parcours with the long cobbled sections will mean that VSB's cobbled stat advantage over Baugnies will count for more. And also that my team will get a chance to isolate some of the other favourites.
Should be a great race.
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| roturn |
Posted on 12-02-2013 14:50
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I considered to send Boom here. But due to the compeltely flat course I thought he wouldn`t have a real chance on a top5.
But in general I think that PCT/CT teams will score so many points due to the less teams with a cobbled focus. So a top10 is quite easy to get in these races.
I never really played cobbled races in PCM12 so it will be very interesting to see how the AI is doing here.
Edited by roturn on 12-02-2013 14:50
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 12-02-2013 14:51
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roturn wrote:
I considered to send Boom here. But due to the compeltely flat course I thought he wouldn`t have a real chance on a top5.
But in general I think that PCT/CT teams will score so many points due to the less teams with a cobbled focus. So a top10 is quite easy to get in these races.
I never really played cobbled races in PCM12 so it will be very interesting to see how the AI is doing here.
Don't worry. The AI is still fucked up. |
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| Heine |
Posted on 12-02-2013 14:51
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Would be great with a good result from Gaudin here, he should have good support in Zepuntke and Sieberg
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 12-02-2013 15:02
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Miguel98 wrote:
Don't worry. The AI is still fucked up.
In what way? I always find cobbled races to be rather good with the AI
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 12-02-2013 15:02
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Might get a top 10 with Nooytens if lucky. Anyway, looking forward to the first cobbled race, will be exciting to see Team BPost dueling with HTC Nieuwblaad, and how the newly formed cobbled team Amex will do here. |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 12-02-2013 15:03
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TheManxMissile wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:
Don't worry. The AI is still fucked up.
In what way? I always find cobbled races to be rather good with the AI
Repeat pls? If a riders attacks, in some races the IA will not chase. it will just hold position and usually those riders always win. |
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| Vien |
Posted on 12-02-2013 15:13
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No way we can win this, but a top 10 would be awesome. This is the only cobbled C1 race I joined, simply because it was in Africa.
Also, AI works pretty well, but I'm not sure how they are gonna handle so many cobbles.
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 12-02-2013 15:43
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Podium is really necessary, anything other than that is disappointing really, well outside Top 5. Hoping for a win though, it will be one hell of a race though!
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| dev4ever |
Posted on 12-02-2013 15:47
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Let the Season begin! 
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 12-02-2013 16:01
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Miguel98 wrote:
TheManxMissile wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:
Don't worry. The AI is still fucked up.
In what way? I always find cobbled races to be rather good with the AI
If a riders attacks, in some races the AI will not chase. it will just hold position and usually those riders always win.
Agreed unless the player chases 99 times out of 100 the first favourite or any group who attack within 50km to go to attack will win it's pretty poor tbf. |
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 12-02-2013 17:06
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Going into the first cobble race of the season is very exciting. The starting field is strong with the best cobblers in the PCT and the CT lining up. With 35 km of cobbles the field should be shortened significantly before the uphill run into the finish.
AMEXpc has put together a squad of 7 riders who will ride together for almost all of the cobble races were entered. Bernhard Eisel is the veteran leader of the squad. A strong but not elite cobbler Eisel can become extremely dangerous in PCT races if he is able to join a sprint finish. The key for Eisel is to make sure he is with the leaders coming to the last kilometer.
Matti Breschel is the alternate leader. Very capable on his own and also a good sprinter (77), it is Breschel's job to make sure Eisel is in the sprint then to finish as high as he can.
Michael Kurth, Yannick Stoltz and Bart Veyt are the domestiques on the cobble unit. Stoltz and Veyt like to get in breakaways and when they do they are dangerous. All three are strong on the flats so they can pace or chase as needed.
Fabie Taillefour is an aggressive cobbler who should be right up at the front of the peleton cobble race after cobble race. Keep things in control and let Eisel and Breschel save energy until the finishing crunch time.
Finally the squad is rounded our by a young American cobbler Robert Bush. It ride and learn for Bush in 2013.
AMEXpc has high hopes for thier cobble squad. They are going to be expected to pick the majority of the team points during the 2013 season.
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Team Manager of AMEX - Navigon
Editor of the Cobbler
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 13-02-2013 05:49
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Spectator mode on, i am looking forward to the first major cobble clash of PCT. I think Vanspeybrouck will win it from late attack, ahead of Baugnies and Eisel, so be it.
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 13-02-2013 18:15
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Worse than the control team. Says it all...
I guess I just picked this race because it's the Africa Tour, but no expectations at all
I'm putting my money on a surprise win for Thomas |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 14-02-2013 18:18
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Keep the guessings coming 
Will put the report online either later this evening or earlier tomorrow!
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 14-02-2013 18:29
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Well, i'm not racing, but my bet will go on Baugnies. |
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| Heine |
Posted on 14-02-2013 18:40
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I'm really looking forward to you posting the report about Gaudins win
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| cio93 |
Posted on 14-02-2013 18:48
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Heine wrote:
I'm really looking forward to you posting the report about Gaudins win
I always like to see my loanees contributing to a win in whatever way, so yeah 
But seriously, my sympathies for HTC are pretty obvious (as long as we're in different divisions ), so Baugnies has my hopes.
Though BPost is a team worth cheering for as well with their strong, genuine cobbles orientation from the beginning and their rather admirable transfer season.
Edited by cio93 on 14-02-2013 18:48
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
