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Viana do Castelo Discussion
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 05-09-2018 08:11
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Directeur Sportif
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 Viana do Castelo
The next early season cobbles classic and this time, we're heading for Portugal, where the Viana do Castelo goes into's fourth edition since it's first running in 2015. Certainly an unique event for the cobbles specialists, as the race is held entirely inside one city and it comes with a steep (non-cobbled) climb and a (cobbled) downhill sector close to a fast finish in the heart of Viana do Castelo.
It's an unique profile and so it may not be too shocking, if things like last season happen: Kari Brynjolfsson took the race from an early breakaway group, with the peloton failing to catch them and the top favorites failing to make it an interesting edition of the race. Opposing to the previous two years, where Danny Summerhill (2016) and Lars Boom (2015) went for victories from quite enjoyable races.
The Startlist
The Favorites | Punchy Cobblers | HI | ST | CO | SP | Cobblers | HI | ST | CO | SP |  Vanspeybrouck | 71 | 78 | 82 | 67 |  Blythe | 66 | 76 | 82 | 76 |  Baugnies | 72 | 80 | 80 | 65 |  Zepuntke | 69 | 79 | 81 | 72 |  David | 75 | 76 | 78 | 70 |  Vanbilsen | 69 | 80 | 80 | 72 |  Theuns | 74 | 76 | 78 | 77 |  Burghardt | 68 | 74 | 80 | 65 |  Van Keirsbulck | 71 | 75 | 78 | 70 |  Vanmarcke | 66 | 77 | 80 | 70 | | Sinkeldam | 75 | 74 | 77 | 68 | Nolf | 66 | 77 | 80 | 63 |  Breen | 70 | 72 | 77 | 73 |  Ferreira | 68 | 74 | 79 | 71 |  Gaday | 74 | 74 | 76 | 71 |  Maes | 67 | 79 | 79 | 62 |  Kasperkiewicz | 71 | 71 | 76 | 59 | Thomas | 60 | 75 | 79 | 74 |  Debesay | 73 | 74 | 75 | 69 | Albert | 69 | 76 | 78 | 63 | | Van der Haar | 72 | 70 | 75 | 72 |  Bush | 62 | 75 | 78 | 71 | | Langeveld | 71 | 77 | 75 | 62 | Taillefour | 57 | 70 | 78 | 54 | | Schoonbroodt | 75 | 75 | 74 | 68 | Bolivar | 66 | 74 | 77 | 64 | | Marzuki | 74 | 71 | 74 | 72 | Kosic | 66 | 74 | 77 | 59 | | Verhelst | 73 | 72 | 74 | 62 | Insausti | 64 | 76 | 77 | 57 | | Marcos | 73 | 71 | 74 | 65 | Joseph | 66 | 76 | 76 | 66 | | Van Asbroeck | 71 | 75 | 74 | 80 | Flaksis | 65 | 75 | 76 | 61 | | Riesebeek | 73 | 73 | 73 | 69 | Nepomnyachsniy | 64 | 74 | 76 | 78 |
Cobblers, who can handle hills, have to be the favorites for a race like this: Vanspeybrouck, Baugnies, David, Theuns, Gaday, Schoonbroodt.. there's quite a few names, who should be amongst the very best (if the race goes like it was designed to be). Baugnies coming off a strong showing at Gent - Welvegem and if he's as aggressive as he was a few days ago, he should be a real threat for the victory here, too. Vanspeybrouck, on the other hand, nees to bounce back from a shocking 14th place at G-W and the profile here should suit him slightly better. David with a pretty strong performance in Wevelgem though and the Kiwi should really fancy his chances here, just like Theuns of course.
The list of possible Top-10 contenders from those "punchy cobblers" continues with names such as Van Keirsbulck (who disappointed in Wevelgem though), Breen/Van der Haar, Kasperkiewicz, Debesay (who rode to an impressive result at G-W) and also Van Asbroeck. The premium sprinter combines both hills and cobbles in a pretty solid fashion and he may actually be something like a dark horse for a big result, especially when the race won't be selective at all.
The less strong puncheurs amongst the cobblers will certainly hope for the same - less selective - scenario. Or for the climbs to have less impact than the pavé: Blythe as to be named first. After a disappointing result in Wevelgem, he would love to bounce back with a decent result here in Portugal. The profile does not suit him though and so he only features the list of those guys, who should be rated less dangerous than the punchy cobblers.
Zepuntke, Vanbilsen and Burghardt as slightly better "climbers" than Blythe, just like Ferreira and even Maes or Albert. Hard to say, where their chances stay, but if everything goes like it should be, some of those less allrounded cobblers should definitely struggle to keep up with the best puncheurs.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 05-09-2018 08:14
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Grand Tour Champion
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Zepuntke has to make up for his performances in Belgium, maybe it's the country that's holding him back. Will see if he can handle the hills. Other than that I just hope for another Brynjolfsson scenario but with a Minion making headlines instead.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 05-09-2018 08:20
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World Champion
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Super excited to be competing here (even though it means I can't report this year again   ) for the first time, and hope Debesay can repeat his awesome G-W top 10 on a course that suits him even more! And if it's non-selective, that Rowe can take some form of position in a sprint. And if it's a break win, then it's 100% Jams time.
Thanks for a great preview tsmoha, and here's to an exciting race and report!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 05-09-2018 08:44
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I love this race so much, last year was a disappointment so I can't afford to risk it on Kwiat again, but I couldn't resist sending a squad here, meaning Kaspa gets a chance!  Unless we can steal it in a break, I'm really hoping Debessay has a great race for Xero, he's such a cool rider!
Thanks tsmoha for the preview! 
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 05-09-2018 08:48
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World Champion
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You know what, I'll just stay quiet on my expectations this time.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| tastasol |
Posted on 05-09-2018 09:01
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2889
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One of our favourite races! Luckily we could be here this year as well with our amateur squad. Think we'll see Carlsberg bounce back after their poor start to the cobble season, with both Vanspeybroeck and Sinkeldam looking good for this race. Excited to see what Theuns can do also.
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 05-09-2018 09:35
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Surely it’s time for a bit of Carlsberg magic About time PVS steps up and shows what he’s capable of.
@jandal: I’d definitely be up for a little bit of Jams action
Maes has been great so far! Doubt he does well when hills are involved though. Happy for him to prove me wrong nonetheless
Thanks for the preview!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 05-09-2018 09:43
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Tour de France Champion
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F*ck if i know how this will go for T3A. Marcus our better option but given last season and his ride so far i'm not holding out much hope. G will struggle, i know that will happen. If we could get Bridges or Matthews in the break it could be a better race, but then we'd ruin our record of having zero breakaways this season!
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| Vien |
Posted on 05-09-2018 10:25
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Probably my highest chance of a good result on the cobbles here. Always wanted to race this stage, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to get punchy cobblers during the offseason.
Aiming for a top 10! |
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 05-09-2018 10:36
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Small Tour Specialist
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Love the look of this profile!
Should fit our guys well, though our G-W performance doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. Nevertheless aiming for a top 10!
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 05-09-2018 12:53
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Despite the great start of the season for Vanmarcke, this is the least suiting cobbled race for him, so i can't expect anything great for this race. Top10 would be great, but even with some minor score i would be fine
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 21-11-2024 20:06
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-09-2018 13:49
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I know it's early, but if Vanspeybroeck fails miserably again, we're really digging ourselves a hole that's hard to climb out of. We have to score points in races like this. It's perfect for VSB. It's perfect for Sinkeldam. Nolf is amazing for a pure pave helper here. We should do well. Frankly, we should have a good shot at winning. But I highly doubt it. Getting my hopes to even modest levels seems to backfire recently.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Roman |
Posted on 05-09-2018 15:25
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Batman on the startlist, expect nothing. Hopefully we see some real attacks instead of a sprint of a bigger group.
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| Scorchio |
Posted on 05-09-2018 18:42
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Small Tour Specialist
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This next cobbled outing will mean that the 2018 season will have then seen all potential cobbled type parcours and shed light on what to expect going forward. Harrison and Bush did decently in this event last year, but benefitted from the passive AI in order to do so. If the racing proves to be more aggressive this go round, maybe better suited to one of their domestiques like Russo or Feng to bring in some minor points?
Think this race should signal the first of a number of cobbled outings where Carlsberg should dominate if their riders get their act together. Look forward to the report from TSM, a man quite obviously getting through a power of M-G work early season!
Manager of ISA - Hexacta in the MG |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 05-09-2018 19:58
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World Champion
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Vien wrote:
Probably my highest chance of a good result on the cobbles here. Always wanted to race this stage, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to get punchy cobblers during the offseason.
Aiming for a top 10!
Wow, you desperately wanted to race here I guess
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| roturn |
Posted on 06-09-2018 07:04
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Team Manager
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Always one of my favourite cobbled races since Boom won this against Summerhill in a 1 on 1 duel.
Let`s see what Ferreira can show here. So far he had one top10 result after puncturing in the final 10km and one not so good result as opposition in PCT is harder. So might be 2nd again but still think he can also fight for top10 in C1 races, so this must be the goal. |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 06-09-2018 08:36
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World Champion
Posts: 11392
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Not sure how we can do so well in a non-suiting GW and then draw a blank here, crap race for us. But nice to see a return to form for Viana, and love that Baugnies took a win, especially given his aggression recently! Thanks for the report tsmoha
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 06-09-2018 08:41
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4191
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Amazing performance by Sep! Second consecutive podium for him in C1 cobbled races!
5º in PTHC, 3º and 3º in C1 is an amazing start of the season for Vanmarcke, who is almost in 200 points already. Missing in the Chesire Tour due to bands selection, his total points might not be higher than 400, but if he can continue delivering so good results it would be amazing
Fantastic and deserved win for Baugnies and Kulczyk. Congrats Booker, it was already time for this big win after his attacking show in Gante
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| roturn |
Posted on 06-09-2018 08:44
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Congrats to Booker for quite a successful 1-2 days at the moment.
Was hoping for a bit more than 21st but Vandenbergh as only support with a bad day not helping obviously.
At least Ferreira was up there when the first big split happened. Unfortunately one of the weaker then and couldn`t do any more.
Good training for the CT cobbles though. |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 06-09-2018 08:45
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World Champion
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Well this was always going to be a tough cookie for Vanbilsen with his hill stat. Not good to see his eternal rival take the win though 
All in all decent team effort, to end with something positive. Thanks for the report, Tsmoha!
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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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)
