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Middle East Tour: Discussion Thread
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:14
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World Champion
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Welcome to the United Arab Emirates and Oman for the premiere edition of what can be seen as C2's equivalent to the Protour's three Grand Tours and C1's Tour of America. We'll cover everything from flat sprints and time trials to huge mountains over the almost two weeks of racing.
One thing that makes this race different from most other stage races are the unusually difficult opening days. The sprinters will have to fight for survival rather than an early leader's jersey.
Stage 1 wont necessarily be that hard, but we could very well some gaps forming on those final bumps. The stage win will be anyone's game really, and we might even see some GC contenders stretching legs?
The two days following look even harder on paper, but there's a bit of a questionmark around whether anyone will be willing to risk attacking on climbs located such long way out from the finish. There's more than enough climbing to create big selection, so it'll all depend on how brave the riders are.
And even if not earlier, we'll definitely see a battle between the GC contenders on stage 4. After a reasonably long category 1 climb, the race tackles a very steep mountain top finish on a climb known as The Marterhorn. This is where we'll probably get a first idea of which riders will compete for the overall title.
Then we finally give a couple of opportunities for the sprinters. Both stage 5 and 6 includes a bit of climbing towards the end, but nothing major enough to put even the weakest climbers in trouble. Anything else than two mass sprints would be a shocker.
That takes us to the second half of the race. It begins like the first ended: with a flat sprinter stage. It's their last day in several days though, as the big mountains follow right afterwards.
Not just any mountains either, but also the two hardest stages. First up is a 150km stage that includes not one, but two HC climbs. The 18km Jebel Habus will make sure to shed the weak climbers before we reach the insane 36km final climb of Jebel Kawr! Not the steepest climb at 5,5%, but the length makes up for that.
And just when you think it can't get any worse, you see stage 9. Four gruelling climbs, all with very high average gradients. The last climb of Jebel Shams may be a fair bit shorter than the one from the previous day, but it's a lot steeper. In particular the last three or four kilometers, where the gradient barely ever drops beneath 10%! This is surely the stage where the big gaps will appear.
Stage 10 will be the last mountains battleground. Admittedly "just" a sole climb, but with an average gradient of around 7%. Huge gaps are unlikely to emerge, but at least a last chance for the pure climbers to gain a little time ahead of the time trial.
Every second will be important, as it's almost 50km against the clock, and all flat. In other words, a climber's nightmare. Depending on how selective the mountains turn out, the race for overall victory might come down to this day!
To wrap up, we'll finish with a day for the sprinters out on the Palm peninsula in Dubai. The stunning environment on that stage will turn the day into a mini-version of Champs-Elysees!
Who are the brave participants then?
Neither of the division's two best climbers;  David Arroyo and  Marco Marzano, are present, so this has the potential to become a very interesting race.
Boeing-Vivacom
| 1. |  | Francesco Chicchi | | 2. | | Ahmed Ahmed | | 3. | | Pavlin Balinski | | 4. | | Francisco Colorado | | 5. | | Nikolay Mihaylov | | 6. | | Edwin Parra Bustamante | | 7. | | Valentin Stoenchev |
The Bulgarian / American squad are apparently targeting all the terrains. Chicchi will be the top favourite on the flat stages with a high quality line of flat helpers. Mihaylov and Ahmed are also probably eying the TT, where both will be among the favourites.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, they're also going for GC with Colombian duo Colorado and Parra Bustamante. If everything runs according to plan, they should be able to place both in the final top 10 of the GC. Will be interesting to see if they try the Schleck-tactic in the mountains.
Team Privatbank
| 11. |  | Bruno Lima | | 12. | | Volodymyr Dzhus | | 13. | | Volodymyr Gomenyuk | | 14. | | Daniel Hoelgaard | | 15. | | Mykhaylo Kononenko | | 16. | | Ricardo Mestre | | 17. | | Oleksandr Polivoda |
Double focus also for Privatbank, probably mainly with sprint stage wins in mind. With a superb leadout train involving Gomenyuk and Lima, Polivoda will be a tough man to beat - even for a normally faster guy like Chicchi.
The overall is clearly also on their radar, though. Mestre is one of the best climbers in the race, so a top 5 overall should definitely be within reach. His only problem is the lack of climbing support. Kononenko is of good calibre, but it's pretty shallow aside from him.
Magna-Ryanair
| 21. |  | Thomas Rohregger | | 22. | | Manuel Belletti | | 23. | | Andreas Hofer | | 24. | | Carl Naibo | | 25. | | Alexander Schrangl | | 26. | | Petr Vakoc | | 27. | | Zico Waeytens |
Top favourites for the overall. Rohregger is the best climber in the race and also one of the strongest timetriallists. Wont suffer from lack of support either, as Schrangl and Naibo are very capable climbers too. The last one might even be able to contend for an overall top 10 himself.
Belletti will meanwhile be targeting the flat stages. He'll have to do that himself for the most part, as he doesn't really have any leadout men to help him. Vakoc is probably the closest they can get, but he'll struggle against the other teams' leadouts.
Kenya Airways - Barclays
| 31. |  | Yasmani Martinez | | 32. | | Iker Camaño | | 33. | | Tarik Chaoufi | | 34. | | Vahid Ghafari | | 35. | | Zakayo Ndbri | | 36. | | Yoann Paillot | | 37. | | Daan Rijntjes |
The second heavy favourite team for the overall and possibly the strongest of all in this race. Ndbri is said to be the only man Rohregger fears, as he's likely to match the Austrian on the climbs. Ndbri has one major achilles heel however: the time trial. If he wants to win this race, he needs to do it in the mountains.
And to be honest, we don't even know if he's the team leader! Martinez could do it just as well, if not better when taking the TT into the equation. Potentially this race's own version of the Schleck brothers. With this squad, they could dominate this race completely if they want to.
PFG-Armavia
| 41. |  | Ralf Matzka | | 42. | | Evgeny Bakhin | | 43. | | Dor Dviri | | 44. | | Chun Kai Feng | | 45. | | Tsgabu Gebramariam Grmay | | 46. | | Dadi Suryadi | | 47. | | Ying Hon Yeung |
One of only two PCT teams participating in this race. The expectations are probably not too high for them, as they don't have any big favourite for any terrain. Matzka is probably their best chance for a possible stage win with a bit of luck on one of the flat stages.
Also a number of decent climbers, but no real killer. They should be present in a lot of breakaways throughout the race.
Japanese-Korean Cycling Project
| 51. |  | Chan Jae Jang | | 52. | | Eric Baumann | | 53. | | Danilo Di Luca | | 54. | | Tomohiro Hayakawa | | 55. | | Kenji Itami | | 56. | | Kosuke Makino | | 57. | | Nariyuki Masuda |
Perhaps the weakest team in the race. More due to an unlucky transfer season than sending a B-squad. They might be able to surprise in the sprints with a whole bunch of quick riders like Jang, Baumann, Makino, Itami and Hayakawa.
There's also the possibility that they'll go for GC, with Masuda being the logical captain. Far from the best climber in the race, but possibly a top 10 contender with a bit of luck and good daily form. Also likely to try lots of breakaways.
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
| 61. |  | Julian Rodas | | 62. | | Stefan Ihlenfeldt | | 63. | | Luis Enrique Lemus Davila | | 64. | | Craig Lewis | | 65. | | Alexey Lutsenko | | 66. | | Johannes Christofel Nel | | 67. | | James Lewis Perry |
A strong MTN squad is spearheaded by Rodas: another name to add to the list of overall favourites. Ihlenfeldt will be his main helper in the mountains, but Lemus Davila, Lewis and perhaps even the young Lutsenko will also be around a fairly long way up the climbs.
A stage win should definitely be within reach for them as well. Rodas won the mountain stage in Algeria, beating all the elite climbers including Arroyo and Scarponi. Winning again in this field will be a piece of cake for him, right?
Evian-MIAT
| 71. |  | Andreas Landa | | 72. | | Mohamed Shawal Anuar Aziz | | 73. | | Maxime Daniel | | 74. | | Daniel Diaz | | 75. | | Alexis Gougeard | | 76. | | Charalampas Kastrantas | | 77. | | Cayetano Sarmiento |
PCT team #2 are fielding a very young squad, led by talented Norwegian climber Andreas Landa who looks like a contender for a place among the 10 best. If he fails, they've luckily also got a reserve: Sarmiento. Two in the top 15 doesn't look impossible at all for the Mongolian team.
The rest of the squad are unlikely to play any major role, though. Venchi's loanee Anuar Aziz might try something on the hilly stages early in the race, but other than that it's probably all breakaways.
Sauber Petronas Racing
| 81. |  | Dimitri Jiriakov | | 82. | | Hossein Alizadeh | | 83. | | Stefan Kung | | 84. | | Amir Mustafa Rusli | | 85. | | Giacomo Scarponi |
The smallest squad of all, but still one of the strongest in the mountains. Alizadeh ended up being very expensive for the team, so it's time for him to start showing that he was worth the money now. A top 5 is more or less certain for him, but he is surely looking for more than that.
He also has the support needed, in the shape of Rusli and former Rapha rider Jiriakov. 20-year old Kung from Switzerland and San Marinese Scarponi fills the remaining two slots. For them, this race will probably be all about collecting bottles.
Edited by Pellizotti2 on 17-02-2013 17:47
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:20
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4476
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My first goal this season, a stage win should be more than just possible... I guess Poli can recover quite well from the climbing stuff and grabeither stage 5 or 6.
Other than that I just hope Mestre won't fail like he did in Algeria... Atleast he has some support here. 
Good luck to every team involved!
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:21
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Posts: 4573
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Man I was looking forward to this race until I heard Rohregger was coming. We have got Rijntjes for the TT, Chaoufi for the early hills and of course Martinez and Ndbri. We better score some serious points!
Great preview as well Pelli, and good luck to all involved, but not too much I guess!  |
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Posted on 24-11-2024 06:39
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:22
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9 teams for 12 stages - some of those teams are going to have a very lucrative race! Interesting that Sauber only brought 5 riders - Ill be cheering them on with my former rider Jiriakov.
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:22
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World Champion
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Will be very interesting race. Wonder how the two PCT teams will do as well. 12 race days is quite a lot considering both don't have top favorite in sprints or climbing.
Looking forward to Rohregger vs Martinez fight. I am also taking a punt on Armavia taking 2 stages and Top 5 in GC.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:23
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
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I never thought this race could be a good points scorer...
Then hardly any teams turn up
Then most bring weakened squads
Wow, looking forward to this race a lot now
Also:
Spoiler [img-r]https://www.memecreator.org/static/images/memes/1045826.jpg[/img-r]
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:23
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World Champion
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Rohregger vs Martinez fight. Taking care there's a TT maybe Martinez might do something. |
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:45
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Classics Specialist
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We'll have to see if the Gamble pays off but I will say that if we had a full team of 7 then it would be 2 sprinters we would have added and I'm not certain they would have survived the mountains anyway so it's not any weaker GC wise then if it was a full squad.
Hopefully a smaller squad means we will look to take the initiative in the mountains and at the very least give us a good excuse to save effort instead of chasing down breaks although lack of numbers could be a problem if we lead GC or if we get struck by a mechanical at the wrong moment.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 17-02-2013 17:50
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Classics Specialist
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We are coming into this race as outsiders and will hope for breakaways/stage win and a decent GC-placement. We'll see how it turns out. Looking forward to this!
Alakagom wrote:
Looking forward to Rohregger vs Martinez fight. I am also taking a punt on Armavia taking 2 stages and Top 5 in GC.
Thank you for jinxing Alakagom  |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:02
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All sorts of outcomes could happen in this one. I fancy it will be a bit like the Vuelta a Tachira from last year - a rider like Rodas or even the man himself grabs the jersey early on and looks to defend all the way to the hardest of mountains stages.
The last TT will be decisive too, I'll be cheering for former Red Bull mountain guys Rodas and Parra Busta.
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| Firefly21 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:07
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Domestique
Posts: 506
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I'm excited for this one - Rohregger is spending 12 of his 52 racedays here, but with 4 mountain stages and what could be a decisive timetrial I think he's a solid favourite here, although there are a bunch of riders that could win a mountain stage, not many can do well on the timetrial. I fear Martinez here for sure and we will have to be careful to make sure Rohregger is within striking distance at the end.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:09
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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After a look at the DB, damn this is going to be good!
Quite a lot of closely matched riders, and a bunch more not far behind.
Should be quite an open race for sure.
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:19
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Really excited for this race  In hindsight I should've sent Niyonshuti here as well. Oh well... Damn XP level 1 riders are taking up all the slots 
And it still puzzles me why I didn't send a sprinter. Oh well...
Can't wait for stage 1
Edit: I'm hoping anybody except for Martinez or Ndbri win this. Sorry froomedog, but Kenya Airways is my main rival
Edited by aidanvn13 on 17-02-2013 18:26
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:25
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Smowz wrote:
All sorts of outcomes could happen in this one. I fancy it will be a bit like the Vuelta a Tachira from last year - a rider like Rodas or even the man himself grabs the jersey early on and looks to defend all the way to the hardest of mountains stages.
The last TT will be decisive too, I'll be cheering for former Red Bull mountain guys Rodas and Parra Busta.
Why thank you Due to your kind words you, as team manager, will receive a new Samsung Galaxy S3 and a year's supply of free internet And please tell Juan that if he's feeling lonely on a foreign team, there's a South African kit just waiting for his signature
Will be hoping Rodas can carry his good form from Algeria and score another solid result here.
Edited by aidanvn13 on 17-02-2013 18:28
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:28
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Interesting! I had expected a stronger field in the big C2 GT. Some major points are going to be scored by the teams riding here.
Hope this doesn't mean that the likes of Arroyo, Marzano, Moreno, Menchov, Rodriguez and Scarponi all show up in Galicia.
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:39
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DubbelDekker wrote:
Interesting! I had expected a stronger field in the big C2 GT. Some major points are going to be scored by the teams riding here.
Hope this doesn't mean that the likes of Arroyo, Marzano, Moreno, Menchov, Rodriguez and Scarponi all show up in Galicia.
Rodriguez, Moreno and Menchov have win goals in Galicia. Arroyo is already confirmed aswell. Strong startlist there.
Looking forward to see how this race plays out.
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 17-02-2013 18:45
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Thank god i'm not going to Galicia then. |
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| jaxika |
Posted on 17-02-2013 19:07
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Spilak23 wrote:
DubbelDekker wrote:
Interesting! I had expected a stronger field in the big C2 GT. Some major points are going to be scored by the teams riding here.
Hope this doesn't mean that the likes of Arroyo, Marzano, Moreno, Menchov, Rodriguez and Scarponi all show up in Galicia.
Rodriguez, Moreno and Menchov have win goals in Galicia. Arroyo is already confirmed aswell. Strong startlist there.
Looking forward to see how this race plays out.
Talabardon and co. will be there too. Will be a great race i think |
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| Stevenag |
Posted on 17-02-2013 20:50
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Domestique
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I can confirm Marzano for Galica as well. There will be no Scarponi however. A little jelous for the guys in this race. Looks like a lot of fun, but such a waste of racedays for a guy like Marzano. |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 17-02-2013 20:57
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Small Tour Specialist
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Weening too. Didn't see those win goals. Noob mistake.
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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)
