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Tour de San Luis Discussion
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 01-07-2015 09:08
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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NOTE: Preview and reports made by aidanvn13. I'm justing posting the stuff.
 Tour de San Luis
2014 Recap 
We saw the first real emergence of CT King Pin Eduard Beltran with a super-consistent performance that netted him 2nd place. But it was Pedro Nicácio who was even more consistent, and despite not winning a stage took the overall win.
Pedro Nicácio (Bonsucro) took a close win of 9" over Beltran (Nutresa) in 2014. Will it be a climber, all-rounder, or crafty puncheur who takes the win this time?| 1 | Pedro Nicácio | Bonsucro | 23h07'49 | | 2 | Eduard Alexander Beltran | Grupo Nutresa | + 9 | | 3 | Carlos Castaño | ONCE-Eroski Cycling Team | + 44 | | 4 | Francis De Greef | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo Cycling Team | + 1'33 | | 5 | Sergey Rudaskov | Wounded Warrior Racing | + 1'38 |
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Welcome to sunny Argentina for the 6th addition of the Tour de San Luis! The startlist is loaded with riders from the Americas courtesy of 6 North- and South American teams:  Alpina Avianca,  Chiquita - Universal,  Gatorade - SIS,  In-n-Out Cycling,  Mobil - Aeropostal Ciclismo, and hometown heroes  Sancor Cycling Team.
| Sprinters | FL | SP | AC | --- | Time Trialers | FL | HI | TT |  Thorsen | 61 | 82 | 85 | |  Tennant | 77 | 69 | 78 | | Forero | 71 | 80 | 75 | |  Boaro | 72 | 71 | 77 | | Kankovský | 65 | 80 | 83 | | AramendÃa | 71 | 67 | 77 | | Sonnery | 69 | 78 | 73 | |  Sebright | 69 | 60 | 77 |  Kruopis | 73 | 78 | 77 | |  Bontenackels | 67 | 62 | 76 | | Moser | 70 | 78 | 77 | | Cruz | 73 | 62 | 76 | | Rizza | 71 | 78 | 73 | |  Fejes | 74 | 70 | 75 | | Hutarovich | 71 | 78 | 80 | |  Kuboki | 73 | 72 | 75 |  Jørgensen | 73 | 78 | 73 | | Rosas | 72 | 65 | 75 | | Kuboki | 73 | 76 | 77 | |  Ignatiev | 71 | 69 | 75 | | Sweeting | 73 | 76 | 75 | | Goldstein | 71 | 60 | 75 | | Tolleson | 76 | 76 | 75 | | | | | | | L Haedo | 70 | 76 | 76 | | | | | | | Tolosa | 71 | 76 | 77 | | | | | |  Haddou | 69 | 76 | 78 | | | | | | | ---------------------- | | | | | ---------------------- | | Climbers | MO | HI | TT | --- | Puncheurs | MO | HI | TT | | Atapuma | 78 | 73 | 62 | | Mendes | 68 | 78 | 69 | | Quintero | 77 | 73 | 66 | | Acevedo | 72 | 76 | 64 | | Bagot | 76 | 73 | 65 | | J. Simon | 64 | 76 | 67 | | Nieve | 76 | 73 | 67 | | Belmokhtar | 72 | 75 | 68 | | Ndbri | 76 | 68 | 62 | | Molard | 71 | 75 | 64 | | Soler | 76 | 74 | 66 | | Kinney | 65 | 75 | 69 | | Zurita | 76 | 69 | 58 | | Rocchetti | 63 | 75 | 64 | | Hardy | 75 | 73 | 59 | | Besada | 62 | 75 | 54 | | Baz | 75 | 71 | 62 | | Bazhkou | 67 | 74 | 74 | | Moyano | 75 | 72 | 57 | | Duggan | 66 | 74 | 72 | | Roman | 75 | 72 | 67 | | Blazquez | 69 | 74 | 63 | | Rodas | 75 | 70 | 67 | | Juarez | 63 | 74 | 63 | | Montenegro | 75 | 65 | 65 | | Einsle | 63 | 74 | 60 | | Esquivel | 75 | 66 | 59 | | Zilioli | 71 | 74 | 59 | | Landa | 75 | 67 | 68 | | Fairly | 65 | 74 | 59 | | ---------------------- | | | | | ---------------------- | | All-Rounders | MO | HI | TT | | Martinez | 76 | 72 | 73 | | Brandt | 76 | 69 | 73 | | Weber | 75 | 74 | 71 | | Girardi | 75 | 67 | 71 | | Malacarne | 75 | 73 | 70 | | Rolland | 74 | 70 | 77 | | Ikibe | 74 | 73 | 70 | | Haga | 73 | 71 | 74 | | Manulang | 73 | 70 | 74 | | Marentes | 73 | 73 | 70 | | Rosskopf | 71 | 74 | 74 | | -------------- |
Last year, Azteca went 1-2-3 on stage 1 after their leadout simply rode away from the bunch. Will Belarusbank be able to copy their feat? Thorsen and Kankovský have big question marks about the strength of their abilities other than sprinting and will have to provide answers. Hutarovich can provide strong leadout support or maybe serve as a plan B if need be. Forero seems a bit more rounded and will pose a serious threat to the Belarussian Express. Kruopis and Moser should not be discounted either.
Atapuma and Ochoa Quintero certainly stand out as favourites for the tough climb up to La Carolina on stage 5. Neither is good against the clock, so they'll most likely have their work cut out for them after stage 4's time trial. Alpina will most likely have a similar strategy with duo Soler and Zurita - the latter of which will probably play the role of super climbing domestique. Ndbri will most likely only be in contention for stage honours on stage 5, while riders like Esquivel will seek more consistent stage results. Nieve is in an interesting predicament: he has clear mountain favourite Atapuma to support, but is significantly better at time trialing. Perhaps Indosat might not get the win and instead end up with 2 in the top 5?
In an interesting move Severstal-Mercator thinks Mendes is in with a reasonable shot at a good result here. He's not great at TT, but he's certainly better than some climbers and may put in a suprise performance in the mountains. Acevedo and punchy Simon stand reasonable chances for the finishes on stages 3 and 6. Belmokhtar and Molard may make some indents on the punchy terrain and stand reasonable chances of clawing on to the main group up to La Carolina.
Martinez is probably the most all-round of all the riders and must surely be one of the top favourites for overall honours. Brandt, Weber, Girardi, and Malacarne will follow suit with consistent performances.
Tennant, AramendÃa, Sebright, and Boaro/Rolland are the picks for the time trial. The latter, however, is no stranger to uphills and will set his sights on the overall race as well.
Special mention has to go to home team, Sancor, who have not opted to bring B-World Champ Richeze and instead come with the triple threat of Roman, Moyano, and MG legend Rodas (6th last year). LS Haedo - younger brother of 2014 stage 1 winner - is here too and will have a tough ask to live up to big brother's work.
So who will it be who takes honours - an all-rounder, mountain goat, or puncheur? How will the breakaways fare this year? Will the Belarussian Express be derailed before the finish? Lots to answer!
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 01-07-2015 09:16
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
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Allright, so ready for this!
After an amazing season start, things have been rather quiet on the SanCor front. Our home race should be interesting to say the least.
We left Richeze home and opted for more climbers and punchers to aim for the GC and eventual breakaway wins/KoM.
Good luck to everyone but don't do better than us!  |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 01-07-2015 09:21
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
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Go Maky Roman!
I hope Rizza grabs a podium in a stage somewhere, while Mojica and Cruz to grab a top 5 in the TT. Besada disappointed in the race that he rode in the CT before, so I don't expect anything from him. And maybe Ferrari can grab a top 20,15 in the GC. |
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| sgdanny |
Posted on 01-07-2015 09:27
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3591
Joined: 18-03-2014
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Glad I'm not in this race 
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| Shonak |
Posted on 01-07-2015 09:37
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15615
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So this where our streak of Top 10 results is about to end.
I have high hopes for a stage win with Tennant, although 19 kilometers is a rather short distance. Will prologue stat have any effect on the result? Stage win must the goal here for him, anything different is not acceptable.
As for general racing: In addition to the hope of some breakaways by the likes Einsle and Pfingsten, I've also brought the three youngsters of the team to this race. Maybe one of them can surprise us. Canola may have a outside shot at hilly sprints. He is in this regard only slightly weaker than Favilli afair. The last stage for example would have been ideal set-up for Favilli but, you know... race days issues. The more I look at the race, the more it's clear to me I only chose it bc of the TT.
Belmokthar did good in Sallanches but in a stage race it will be fundamental different. I don't see him getting a Top 10 overall, but I could live with a solid Top 20 result to snatch a few points if possible.
EDIT: Also thanks for the great preview, ts... aidan!
Edited by Shonak on 01-07-2015 09:51
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 01-07-2015 10:01
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World Champion
Posts: 14563
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Apparently we did quite good here last year, maybe I should've signed up again, hmm..
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 07:53
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 01-07-2015 12:37
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
Joined: 04-07-2012
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Martinez a top favourite, that's new territory for the Minions 
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 01-07-2015 12:49
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
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Vast improvement from Baz is required here. He just didn't perform well enough in Middle East. Top 5 in the sprints would be nice, as well the hope of our first win of the season, which I hope will come from a break
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.: My Awards :.
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 01-07-2015 15:30
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
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Despite our team here, I don't really have any expectations at all. This was kind of a 'filler' race for our team so any result is a good result. Saying that, a top 5 would be ideal. Some strong climbing teams here (Alpina, Sancor and Generali), so i'm predicting a very interesting race will unfold.
And thanks for the lovely preview!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| Ste117 |
Posted on 01-07-2015 15:51
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3684
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If we don't win stage 1, serious questions will be asked about my sprinting train. Expecting Quintero to podium here.
MG Team manager Team Ticos Air Costa Rica
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| The Rider |
Posted on 01-07-2015 21:20
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4543
Joined: 29-02-2012
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What a race for us, last season. Considered coming back again, but we just couldn't fit it in, Nicácio would have been illegible anyhow.
I went with Rolland for the GC win here, but looking at it again Martinez is the one to beat. Daily form will be crucial on stage 5. I would have said Weber could win this GC, but Soler is there so he might well be put in a domestique role, which would block his offence a lot. That is not to say they can't win the GC. Speaking of Alpina-Avianca, no Godoy?
Predictions:
S1: Thorsen (Though it's not tsmoha reporting!)
S2: Breakaway (Vitoria)
S3: Soler
S4: Tennant
S5: Rodas
S6: Martinez
S7: Kruopis |
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| Kagemusha |
Posted on 01-07-2015 22:42
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Free Agent
Posts: 122
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Great review. Really looking forward to this as I've brought probably my strongest squad of any race to this event. Hoping we can come away with a stage win somewhere as there are several stages which might suit.
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| dev4ever |
Posted on 01-07-2015 22:55
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2282
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Big race for us last with some very odd stages and some great memories for us, expecting the race to be decidet in the Mt stage again, and I fear that half of the GC-contenders will sit up in the pack and finnish 6 mins behind the rest of the GC-contenders who are active, as thats what happened last year IIRC.
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| Scorchio |
Posted on 01-07-2015 23:16
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Posts: 2073
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This was a great race for us last year, with (if I recall correctly) Valencia and Ibanez both in yellow at different points, then Beltran holding a strong 2nd, even close to victory. I recall the mountain stage being important, but the hills just as decisive, so this is pretty open. Will be crucial for the climbers to use the mtn stage to put good time into the likes of Mendes or he could cause a lot of trouble. Once more will be following the progress of ex-riders and Ochoa Q in particular and the horde of Colombians with interest. Might be a good race for Weber?
Manager of ISA - Hexacta in the MG |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 02-07-2015 09:18
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
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WHAT.THE.ACTUAL.FUCK PCM |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 02-07-2015 09:24
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7593
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Tolleson dropped, that was not in his task descprition  Luckily Martinez himself has a decent sprint to save things a bit.
Go home PCM, you're drunk  
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 02-07-2015 09:32
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
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Disappointing start for us.
Congrats to BelarusBank, though. Nice 1-2 |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 02-07-2015 09:35
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
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Funny to see Tennant, maybe the guy with highest Flat stat in the peloton, get dropped by increased pace. But hey, Einsle got some minutes on his back which hopefully will allow him to attack in the mountain stages. Cooper already did a nice start to our little Breakaway roadshow down in Argentinia.. and sits at 4th GC. 
Gratz to a dominating win, looks like the sprint train works fine for ya. Indosat isn't too far away though, looking at the amount of featured riders at the front.
Oh, also: Canola not sprinting was to be expected, I hope he will do at least something than in this race at some point.
Edited by Shonak on 02-07-2015 09:37
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| knockout |
Posted on 02-07-2015 09:44
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7735
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Stoltz with an awesome effort there. Massive split caused there which brought his team into a great position. And the track sprint team finished it off perfectly. Congrats!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 02-07-2015 10:20
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To be expected really, nice 1-2 nonetheless
Almost wish I had Nateghi paired with Kruopis more than I planned this season, we could have had a really nice lead out with him here.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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