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Tropicale Amissa Bongo Discussion
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 20-09-2014 09:13
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We travel to Gabon for the third Man-Game edition of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Sixteen teams are present here to fight for glory on the three hilly and four flat stages this race is made up of.
2011
1.  Jonathan Bellis (Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by The Moon X)
2.  Leonardo Bertagnolli (Wiggle - San Pellegrino)
3.  Juan José Haedo (Mercedes-Benz)
2013
1.  Sander Armee (HTC Nieuwsblad)
2.  Fabian Wegmann (Sram-Riboxx Cycling Team)
3.  Behnam Khalilikhosroshani (Kenya Airways - Barclays)
Two teams come to Gabon with a goal of winning the race. Therefore it may not be a coincidence that the two best punchers on paper present here also happen to be racing in the colors of these teams.  Jaguar - Eritel have brought Alex Dowsett to lead their team. With support from Natnael Berhane, everything should be in place for a good result for the Englishman. The toughest competition might very well come from  Team Kenya Airways and Hassen Ben Nasser, who has had a strong season so far and will be aiming for another win here.
The third and last African team on the startlist is  Project: Africa. Despite not having a goal related to this race, they will nevertheless be in the fight for a good GC placement, having Gasore Hategeka on the startlist as one of the better punchers in the field.
Leading the European teams are  Team CSC - Orbea. With both Sergio Barrio and Francisco Ventoso on the startline, they will be of tough competition for the African teams. They will need to look out for  Janier Alexis Acevedo,  Pieter Serry,  Frantisek Rabon,  Jukka Vastaranta and Julien Simon who also will be wanting in on the fun.
 Jonathan Bellis won this race in 2011 and will be hoping to repeat his success this year. While not being the strongest puncher, his good finish could see him taking some important bonus seconds that can help him to a good GC placement. Also falling in under the category where bonus seconds will be crucial in order to win the race are  Michael Van Stayen and  Jonathan McEvoy.
Michael Van Stayen is back on his bike after being out of competition since his Strade - Bianche win in February. He is joined by his teammates Greg Van Avermaet and Marco Corti and undoubtfully has the strongest train in the field. Still, he will be facing tough competition in especially  Heinrich Haussler.
Other riders to look out for include  Luka Mezgec, Francisco Ventoso,  Oscar Gatto, Nolan Hoffman,  Francesco Gavazzi and Héctor Hugo Rangel. Lastly, I would not let the name  Daniel Oss go unmentioned. Even though he might no be the best sprinter nor the best puncher, he has done big things in the past and will be one to watch out for in a reduced bunchsprint.
Edited by Sykkel_Freak on 27-09-2014 08:33
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| roturn |
Posted on 20-09-2014 09:40
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Thanks for doing this report.
I guess Van Stayen will deliver well.
But I actually hope to see Bellis taking the win. 
Also Dowsett hopefully delivers and is not underperforming again. |
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 20-09-2014 10:49
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I don't have much luck with stage races, but feel like I probably have a goal here, perhaps even Win. So go Dowsett! Route isn't ideal for it, admittedly,
P.s. It's Gabon
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 20-09-2014 11:17
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The route does seem enough challenging to split the best puncheurs here. Last year shown it with a great win for us with Armee.
We won't repeat such result again but De Maar is perfect leader here and with decent sprint I expect him to do well.
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| fintas |
Posted on 20-09-2014 13:24
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from what I've seen so far from McEvoy I do not expect a great result. I still have hopes that my team can once again surprise
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 01:17
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 20-09-2014 13:54
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Plenty of stages where Oss should be able to battle for second place behind Van Stayen. Hope he survives the first stage.
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| jph27 |
Posted on 20-09-2014 17:58
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Haussler should be Van Stayen's main competition in the Sprints and Proni and Mandri should be around the top 10 if it gets selective. Hopefully will be a good race for us  |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 20-09-2014 20:47
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A special race for us. Last year we got 2 C1 stage wins and a podium here which really boosted us an was our highlight of our season.
Need Ben Nasser to step up here again. Our win goal and with us 3/3 so far it would be great if we managed another. It could go a long way to securing our Africa Tour goal as well. Van Staeyen could be unbeatable though I it doesn't get selective.
Wegmann in theory could be useful after his podium last year, but PCM13 seems to make him useless when going for individual accolades so I guess he'll be our super domestique here. |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 21-09-2014 10:04
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Fantastic start for us. Haussler is a little disappointing, as he probably could have finished in the main group but he can concentrate on the sprints and preventing Van Stayen nicking the lead with bonus seconds for as long as possible |
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| Stevenag |
Posted on 21-09-2014 13:50
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Brilliant start by Anza. With the rest of the stages being pretty flat, Anza should be able to at least grab a good GC-result with some luck. Now Gatto for the sprints, not the best sprinter but good in the hills should make him perfect for this race, and maybe grab something with some luck.
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| SotD |
Posted on 21-09-2014 14:47
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I know this probably isn't the best place to ask, but can someone give me a link to the latest update on the PCT rankings? I am quite interested in seeing which teams I can expect to compete with next season
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| jph27 |
Posted on 21-09-2014 15:20
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SotD wrote:
I know this probably isn't the best place to ask, but can someone give me a link to the latest update on the PCT rankings? I am quite interested in seeing which teams I can expect to compete with next season
This is the latest one, almost 2 in-game months ago though. https://pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread....d_id=35258 |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 21-09-2014 16:15
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Not the best result. With Van Staeyen still there after the toughest stage it's looking unlikely we can win it from here. |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 21-09-2014 19:19
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Not bad. Hopefully the top 3 there can keep taking bonifications off each other in the other more challenging sprints and Haussler can join in on at least 2 of the remaining stages. Great to see Mandri up there as well. |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 22-09-2014 00:43
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Formolo is our highlight so far. Oss not living up to expectations yet.
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| fintas |
Posted on 22-09-2014 10:30
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This race did not start in the best way for my team in both initial stages, but this victory comes to compose the situation a bit and can still improve
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 22-09-2014 18:19
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This isn't going so well. Too much breakaway action and Stage 3 was fairly woeful.
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 22-09-2014 19:06
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Better than the first stage but Ben Nasser still needs to gain more time to on stage 4 to Van Staeyen and the leaders to stand any chance. The profile looks a bit too easy though. |
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 22-09-2014 19:08
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Sorry for poor coverage of Purito there. There was a lot going on in the front, and I sadly didn't notice he was missing from the peloton until I looked through the results after the stage.
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 22-09-2014 19:10
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What a shame, no gaps. Looks like 6th for us then unless something mad happens. |
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