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Ronde van Vlaanderen Discussion
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| CountArach |
Posted on 28-03-2013 15:12
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Ronde Van Vlaanderen
Note: The course was changed to roturn’s version of the 2011 race to ensure that there were no narrow roads on cobbles. I played two other versions with the narrow roads and the gameplay was awful, so trust me this is the better option.
There aren’t many single day races which can completely capture what an entire nation’s cycling history is all about – but the Ronde van Vlaanderen is one of them. The brutally tough and unforgiving cobbled sections, including numerous cobbled climbs and a grand total of 256km of the toughest racing the cycling world has to offer. A win here will see a rider’s name etched in history for all time. Any Belgian who wins this race will be a national hero for the rest of their life.
One of those national heroes is indisputably  Tom Boonen. Since the foundation of the Man Game he has won four of the six versions of the Ronde, in addition to his ‘real life’ wins in 2005 and 2006. As such he is here looking for his seventh win in the race and as he gets older this is probably his last ever chance to win. He has a magnificent team around him, but his form has been lacking somewhat this year as his only podium place was 3rd at the East Midlands Cicle Classic.
One man who has been in terrific form is  Sam Bewley. He has wins at East Midlands Cicle Classic and Gent – Wevelgem under his belt in addition to his second place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He will certainly enter this race as the biggest favourite for a lot of people and there is no reason to doubt his ability.
Another man with some good form coming into this race is  Fabian Cancellara, who finished third here last year. He won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad earlier this month and certainly that will serve him well. His team is one of the strongest in the division, so his support will be great and in this sort of race conserving energy is everything so that could well tell in his favour.
Having a bit of an off year is  Marcus Burghardt, who has been 2nd place in this race a total of 3 times since the Man Game started (2008, 2010, 2011) and will be hoping to go one better. A 4th at East Midlands Cicle Classic is his best result this year, however, which means that he will need to pull out something special. Either way he will surely be looking to make the race interesting.
 Danny Summerhill has two 5th places under his belt in cobbled races this year and with his 9th place here last year, he has shown that he has what it takes to go the distance. While he may not be a big contender for the win in a lot of people’s books, he will certainly be there or about and is worth looking out for.
The only man in this race who has won it other than Boonen is  Alessandro Ballan, who won the 2011 edition. He was 2nd last year, which shows that he still has what it takes to hit with the best. He hasn’t been outside the top 10 in the three cobbled races this season and that shows that his form is still good, so he will be hoping to mix things up again, though age may be catching up with his legs.
 Vladimir Gusev is quite highly ranked by some bookmakers here, thogh it is hard to see why. He hasn’t got a single top 10 in a cobbled race to his name this season and with a team that lacks the ability to stick with him to the end of a race like this he may have to do a lot of work on his own. Still, expect to see him mixing it up with the best, even if he doesn’t fight it out for the win.
You get the feeling that  Nick Nuyens really needs to get a big result this year because it probably won’t happen again for him as his biological clock ticks. He only has managed a 10th place at East Midlands Cicle Classic, however, so will need to pull some great form out of nowhere. Being on home souil could just give him the extra little bit that he needs, however.
Another man relying on his home soil advantage is  Pieter Vanspeybrouck. While he is strong over the cobbles, he is missing something on the climbs compared to the best and with the Ronde being as much about the various little biting climbs as it is about the cobbles, that could hurt him. He has been performing well in the PCT and got 7th at the only PT race he has race this season, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Expect to see him there or there abouts, even if he can’t be at the very front this season.
If Vanspeybrouck might struggle on the climbs, then  Enrico Franzoi certainly will. The Italian is certainly more suited to something like Roubaix where the cobbles are all that matter. He hasn’t managed to break into the top 10 this season and though he will be hoping to do that here, the course might be a bit too tough for him.
After a disappointing Omloop ruined by a crash,  Geert Steurs managed 4th at Gent – Wevelgem, which certainly shows that he has form. The longer distance might hurt him a bit however, but if he can hold on and limit his energy use he should be around at the end to fight for the lower positions. Certainly his 8th place last year speaks well for him.
 Adam Blythe leads a strong Wiggle outfit, who have brought the very best of British cobble riders here. Blythe has been in the top 10 of all 3 cobbled races thus far and his team mates have been riding well too. Expect to see the Wiggle boys present near the front and perhaps their strength in numbers could open p some extra tactical options.
How could we go without mentioning on of this season’s surprise packages?  Filippo Pozzato has had one of the best cobbled seasons of anyone thus far. Two 2nd places and a 4th means that even if he isn’t as purely talented on the cobbles, his strong ability on the hills and his killer sprint have given him some huge results. Expect to see him there and if it comes to a small group sprinting it out, Pozzato could pull off one of the upsets of the season.
There are some other names worth watching, such as  Sep Vanmarcke,  Matteo Trentin,  Stefan Kruijswijk and wildcard team Tinkoff’s leader  Dimitri Kozontchuk.
Startlist
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| roturn |
Posted on 28-03-2013 15:15
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If Bewley wins this one again, he might be the most interesting rider in the transfer season next year. 
But I actually think this course suits other riders more.
I hope for Burghardt to be honest as he deserves a good result this season.
But my guess actually is Pozzato for some reason. |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 28-03-2013 15:17
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Oh and a special mention should go to Santander for being rated as worse than the control team in a PT race.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 28-03-2013 15:30
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Looking forward to this! Awesome race; probably my favorite.
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| Kami |
Posted on 28-03-2013 15:44
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I need a top 10 for my goal, but i really need a podium here, preferably the win, otherwise that's about 600k wage wasted.
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 28-03-2013 15:59
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Interesting race definately. A rider like Pozzato is my favourite. Good hill, good cobble, good sprint, might be my dark horse. |
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 28-03-2013 20:24
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Excellent Preview Count. Update on the riders current form, history of past races all we need is the mud splatter up into your face as you crowd the edge of the path.
I think Vladimir Gusev can be in the final mix here. The Russian is very strong and he will be hard to drop. That alone makes him a contender. With the amount of cobble riding and the length of the race staying on the front will be critical. An example of a missed opportunity was Bernhard Eisel missing the peloton's split at Dwars Door Vlaanderen. He was a solid candidate for a top 5 finish but having to drive hard to make up the lost time was too much. The Ronde is harder and longer, so when you get left behind in Flanders you are done.
Bewley, Boonen, Ballan, Burghardt, Cancellara and are all proven and it is highly unlikely we will have a surprise challenger in the toughest race of the year. Pozzato has been great this season but with the longer cobble sections the harder it will be for Filippo to stay up front.
My best guess at the podium: Tom Boonen, Fabien Cancellara and Vladimir Gusev
If you need a dark horse to root for jump all over Adam Blythe.
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| rjc_43 |
Posted on 28-03-2013 20:40
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Mhaley45 wrote:
If you need a dark horse to root for jump all over Adam Blythe.
Is that because he wears all black?  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 01:59
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 28-03-2013 20:42
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Three teams have season goals here at the Ronde.
Milka-Vittel needs a podium finish out of Sam Bewley.
Simply Red Bull also needs a podium finish for Fabien Cancellara.
Team Bacardi is looking for a top 10 finish for Marcus Burghardt.
None of them are in conflict so if the stars align all three teams could reach thier goals in Flanders.
Does Pokerstars know something we do not know? A previous winner who cost them 1,000,000 euros and they do not even set a goal for him. Either they had no confidence in thier transfer offers or Boonen is a Sprinter this year not a cobbler.
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 28-03-2013 20:44
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rjc_43
No sir, just the Oakley Sun Glasses.
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| beagle |
Posted on 29-03-2013 08:50
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If Boonen will be recognized by AI as indisputable leader of my team, then he may have chance to succeed here. Anyway, I better don´t have any big expectations anymore.
Manager of Polar in Man-Game
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| niconico |
Posted on 29-03-2013 10:44
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I'm going with Boonen on this one.
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| Smowz |
Posted on 29-03-2013 21:58
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I know we'll get a top notch report here and I'm not exactly convinced by the 'real-life' De Ronde route, so nice nostalgia to run this version for me  Plus I think this could be more selective - hoping to break Bewley we shalll see who's the strongest.
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 29-03-2013 22:00
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Smowz wrote:
I know we'll get a top notch report here and I'm not exactly convinced by the 'real-life' De Ronde route, so nice nostalgia to run this version for me Plus I think this could be more selective - hoping to break Bewley we shalll see who's the strongest.
For that, you have to really hope that Spartacus is able to let Bewley behind or he will have trouble beat him. Same applies for Boonen and Pozzato. |
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 30-03-2013 10:56
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Looking forward to see how this one plays out.
Could see a succesfull attack from Cancellara or Burghardt holding off a small group including Boonen, Bewley and an outsider genre Nuyens.
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| ember |
Posted on 30-03-2013 19:41
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Eventhough I've no expectations for my own team, this is one of the races/reports I'm looking most forward to. It's just a brilliant race, hopefully the AI makes the racing brilliant as well.
Boonen is my pick for a winner. |
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| Levi4life |
Posted on 30-03-2013 20:18
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I'm not sure Pozzato will manage this race well. Burghardt is my pick
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| cio93 |
Posted on 30-03-2013 20:30
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No single race suits Nuyens more than de Ronde, so this would be the perfect moment to change his sub-standard season into a successful one.
Top 5 is actually not that unrealistic, but the AI taught me not to expect anything but being in the biggest favourites group.
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| CountArach |
Posted on 31-03-2013 05:23
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Just to let people know this race will likely to be out the day after the Ronde given that 1) I want to watch the real Ronde and 2) I have 4 and a half pages of notes (2 is normally a lot... oh and there are 70 screenshots that I have to cut down) from the race, so this will take a very long time to write up.
Edited by CountArach on 31-03-2013 05:33
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| Roman |
Posted on 31-03-2013 15:40
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roturn wrote:
If Bewley wins this one again, he might be the most interesting rider in the transfer season next year.
You mean that his salary will go so sky high, that I won't be able to pay him that salary to keep my team competitive. Hopefully not.
Anyway, I hope that AI won't ruin this race to anybody. It would be great if Boonen would be back in his top form once again. Still I am hoping for at least another podium..
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