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Middle East Tour Discussion
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 20:37
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17 teams have found their way to the CTs closest thing to a Grand Tour, 12 stages snaking their way across the middle east provide a varied terrain, suiting all sorts of riders, and even tempting a few Pro Conti teams down to stretch their legs.
Lets meet the teams:
 Carlsberg are here, and ranked number one, purely on the strength of Alex Rasmussen's sprinting, he can't get over hills, but he has a couple of leadout men who can't do that either, so that's ok. There are a couple of stages that suit him, most notably stage 12, where his recovery should make him a strong favourite.
 Sauber have the number 11 jersey, which they have handed to Awang, more in hope than expectation one suspects, again stage 12 and 6 suit him. They have hedged their bets somewhat, by adding Alizadeh into the mix, who will be targeting a top ten overall.
 Maloja have come here with race favourite Iglinksi, with potential podium candidate Schwab as back up, the strongest mountain duo in the race, nothing but overall victory will be good enough.
 Nutresa are hedging their bets here, Richeze and Haedo make a solid sprint team, while Ohoa Quintero will be looking for a podium finish at the end of the race.
 Privatbank have gone with Polivoda as their leader for the sprints, a slightly better climber than the other main sprinters, stage 5 could be perfect for him. They have also brought Puusepp, a puncheur to target the first 3 stages, and hopefully snatch the yellow jersey. Lets see if that strategy can pay off?
 Azteca have J.Haedo, arguably the best sprinter in the race, with strong backup. They've also brought Ardila and Rodriguez to target a top ten finish, and Rodriguez's sprint means he could be a treat on stages 2 and 3.
 Puma are here so Herklotz can learn how to ride a 2 week stage race.That they are willing to waste 12 race days in their pursuit of this tells you something.
 Nordeus are lead by Martinez, another one of the bevy of riders hoping for a top ten place, although his time trialling probably gives him a push towards the top five, and maybe even the podium. Matching his second place last year looks like a stretch though.
 Once are not messing around with their climbing team, lead by the ageing Castano, but ably supported by Kulhavy, Esquivel and Rojas Villegas, expect them to have strength when everyone else is isolated. The right early attack could pay dividends for them.
 Siam Cement have also gone all in on the mountains, his support isn't as strong, but Rodriguez is one of the very best, and should be fighting for victory all the way to the final time trial.
 Evonik have Teruel here as their leader, he can sprint a bit, so will be targeting a couple of podiums.
 Live nation have gone for the three pronged attack, Westling for the sprints, Sorensen for the top ten, and Renang for the time trial. As the best ITT specialist here, anything short of victory for him would be a massive disappointment.
 Dell-360 have Saul Raisin for their top ten GC aspirations, all these climbers are much of a muchness, so the guys who do best will be someone who happens to have a good day on the most decisive mountain stage (probably stage 10). Raisin's time trialling should give him a small advantage over the people who finish with him though. Dell also have Cruz to target the win in the Stage 11 ITT.
 Bonscuro lead with Nicacio, who is actually a step below the other leaders in the mountains, however he is the best ITTer of the bunch, so watch for him if the mountains are less decisive than expected.
 Ameriabank's best hope of a result comes from Pozdnyakov, their hilly sprinter who will be hoping to hang tough enough to win the first stage.
 Euskaltel-Bavaria have also focussed purely on the mountains, and between Fernandez, Jeannesson and Parra Bustamante they will be hoping for 2 top tens.
 Compal, our final team have Sinelobov for the mountains, although a top ten for him might be beyond his capabilities. Liu is probably their best bet for a stage result, in the time trial.
So there you have it, 17 teams, 12 stages may the best man win.
For reporting, I'll try and do two stages a day, however I have a work thing tomorrow night, so might not post the first stage until Wednesday evening.
Edited by mb2612 on 05-05-2014 20:50
 [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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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 20:43
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Tour de France Champion
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How is Rasmussen the best sprinter. 
Well maybe he can do something on the pan flat stages.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 05-05-2014 20:44
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You may post the complete startlist 
Will hopefully fun to follow. A rather small peloton may lead to some surprises, but i expect the climbing favorites to battle for the win anyway.
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| Bikex |
Posted on 05-05-2014 20:45
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I have a win goal here, but looking at the competition it is almost impossible for Rodriguez to fulfill it, especially because of the time trial. |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 20:48
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Can understand Puma being here, but Compal and Privatbank, really? Getting from Level 1 to Level 3 isn't that difficult.
Iglinski vs Rodrigues vs Martinez for the overall in my opinion. Doubt any sprinters will make it to stage 12 also. |
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| admirschleck |
Posted on 05-05-2014 20:51
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Hmm, very strong competition here. We don't have a specific goal for this race, but as Martinez finished 2nd here last year, I guess we can hope for Top 5 this time.
First stage win of the season would be another goal to achieve here, too.
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| fjhoekie |
Posted on 05-05-2014 21:32
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jph27 wrote:
Can understand Puma being here, but Compal and Privatbank, really? Getting from Level 1 to Level 3 isn't that difficult.
Iglinski vs Rodrigues vs Martinez for the overall in my opinion. Doubt any sprinters will make it to stage 12 also.
How can you not understand me being here!? Polivoda need revenge after missing the timecut last year, he would've won the green jersey!
But more seriously, last year I fell in love with this race, and that's why I came back. Will hurt my chances to stay up, but seeing the points I'm scoring in C1 races, this can't be too bad actually.
Hope Puusepp can take the jersey on stage 1, that Poli can win a stage or 2 and that Vrecer can deliver us a top 10-15. Perhaps Athanasiades to surprise in yet another TT aswell?
Manager of Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska in the PCM.Daily Man-Game |
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| Firefly21 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 21:51
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Domestique
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I would have loved to defend Magna's GC win from last year - a thrilling duel between Yasmani Martinez and Thomas Rohregger, which Rohregger eventually won. However, I couldn't spare the 12 racedays for a C2 race where I couldn't send anything even resembling a solid team.
I'll cheer for Martinez and Nordeus this race - his performance last time was memorable and I'd like to see it rewarded.
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 21:51
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I doubt we can repeat last year's podium but the top 5 goal should be possible.
Our main goal from this race was always to get the top 5 GC goal from one of our climbers. Awang's here more to fill numbers though I probably should have brought Rusli back instead.
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| knockout |
Posted on 05-05-2014 21:53
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Grand Tour Champion
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Brought my best mountain squad here. Hope they will deliver 
Seriously, my hope is to see my riders in the breakaways. And i hope that Saramotins can score a bit in the sprints. Have the feeling something might be possible for him in this race...
Curious to see whether all the flat sprinters will finish inside the time limit on all these mountains stages.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| The Rider |
Posted on 05-05-2014 21:54
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Ain't that the strangest thing ...... the game assigning the team leaders as sprinters.
Hoping for some exciting racing, but not in the mountains as Nicacio needs to limit losses there! A stage win would be fine for Bonscuro, hoping we can get a lot of sponsor exposure throughout the race!  |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:05
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How I've waited for this race
No doubt that I want the overall win even more now that Arroyo isn't racing. Rodrigues and Ochoa are the obvious opponents, as I hope Iglinski will gain enough time on the likes of Martinez and Nicacio before the time trial. If Schwab could add a Top 5, it'd be the perfect race.
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| 547984 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:13
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This is going to be one of the most exciting races throughout the season, no doubt. I'd be happy for Raisin to get a top 5 but I'm really not sure how much time he may lose on the hill stages. Like mentioned in the preview, I have really brought the best team I can, with Cruz looking for at least a podium in the TT and Clavero looking for a few top 10s along the way, perhaps. 
Spoiler It's 361°, not 360° 
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| Kentaurus |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:15
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Well here is where I'm hoping my teams depth pays off, able to send sprinters everywhere. Time for Haedo to make amends for his disasters in Oz and New Zealand.
On a different note, some interestings I found while looking at the startlists.
Both Juan José and Lucas Sebastian Haedo are at this race.
There are 10 Road National Champions:
 | Oyarzun | Bonsucro |  | Eliad | Compal |  | Liu | Compal |  | Sinelobov | Compal |  | Wu | Compal |  | Adamou | Euskaltel |  | Salas | ONCE |  | Pranata | Sauber |  | Colex | Live Nation |  | Kasa | Nordeus |
Along with 6 Time-Trial National Champions
 | Nicácio | Bonsucro | | Athanasiades | Privatbank |  | Awang | Sauber |  | Jiriakov | Sauber | | Pranata | Sauber | | Colex | Live Nation |
With both Pranata and Colex being dual NC.
The youngest rider is Willi Willwohl (20)(Evonik), and second youngest is teammate Phil Bauhaus (20).
The oldest is Carlos Castaño (35)(ONCE) by only 14 days over my own Mauricio Ardila.
There are 48 nations represented, from Angola to Venezuela.
12 Riders are on loan, though only Christian Mager of Evonik will be riding against his loaning team of Puma-SAP.
Edited by Kentaurus on 05-05-2014 22:27
AZTECA - NBCSN  |
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| Kentaurus |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:22
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Classics Specialist
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Here is an excel version of the startlist with full depth of the riders.
AZTECA - NBCSN |
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:22
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and for some reason Pranata has changed nationality to Iranian from
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| admirschleck |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:23
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Woah Kent, you really had some free time it looks. Great stuff, some really interesting info there and glad to see Kasa gets a mention there.
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| Kentaurus |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:26
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Classics Specialist
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sammyt93 wrote:
and for some reason Pranata has changed nationality to Iranian from
Lol, not sure how I messed that up, it's properly fixed now.
admirschleck wrote:
Woah Kent, you really had some free time it looks. Great stuff, some really interesting info there and glad to see Kasa gets a mention there.
Thanks, though it really didn't take that long, just pulled who was in the race from the DB. And started playing with it some.
AZTECA - NBCSN |
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| knockout |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:31
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Grand Tour Champion
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Some very interesting stuff. Always like those things.
And 3 of my riders mentioned. Propably more than on every of the 12 stages...
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 05-05-2014 22:39
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World Champion
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Thanks Kent, I was about to make my own startlist DB as I always did when I was in PCT, that saved me some minutes 
The amount of 76 MO riders present is ridiculous, a Top 20 for Herklotz would be a success.
On the other hand, that's what he achieved in his first ever race which even was .HC, so why not overperform again?
On the sprinting side, there are only few significantly faster riders than Minard here, I hope his bad ACC isn't harming him too much considering he should come from slipstreams anyway.
If there is some of the famous Arabian wind blowing on the flat stages as well, his FL rating being 2 higher than the second-best rider in the whole race might be crucial for a surprise result.
Hoping for some very selective mountain stages to eliminate some of the sprinters so that Herklotz can win stage 12 Ponzi style
One way or another, I feel slightly belittled by that preview mention, and this is not even half of the amount of race days "wasted" for his development... 
You cannot ignore that this was the only way of making sure he could ride for me next season as well (which PT team would loan him in next season with that wage?) and still gain a level without relying on a GT wildcard, so there are no regrets.
Fun fact of the evening: the decision to ride here of all C2 races has a lot to do with the fact that I've been on a cruise around Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat while doing race selections, so I couldn't resist with all of these cities visited in this tour
Edited by cio93 on 05-05-2014 22:43
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