|
Grand Prix du Midi Libre Discussion
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 22-10-2018 12:50
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
 Grand Prix du Midi Libre
The CT division has a new premium stage race, as the Grand Prix du Midi Libre should be one of the most prestigious events alongside other week-long races such as the Tour de Langkawi or also the Tour of Turkey. Seven days in France, that makes it some kind of a mini-GT feeling for the teams and the C2HC status promises some big points towards all kind of ambitiouns.
The route covers pretty much all kinds of possible terrains (bar cobbles): a prologue, two long flat stages, a very long ITT, a hilly stage and two challenging mountain stages. Kicking off with a prologue in Maurepas, the tour is heading for a flat finish in Toulouse (with a final circuit going through the town multiple times). From Toulouse the first mountain stage will be real test for the climbers: with the Col du Tourmalet (18km, 7.7% average slopes) featured as the penultimate climb, the summit finish up Gavarnie-Gèdre-les-Espécières (9km, 8.8% slopes) will make for one tough challenge!
Over a long and crucial timetrial from Bordeaux to Pauillac, the tour continues with a flat stage to Carcassonne and the long 233km hilly stage from Montauban to Rodez. The week concludes with another challenging mountain stage from Limoges to a mountaintop finish on Puy de Dôme (12km, 8% slopes) - a proper place to celebrate the first overall winner of the Grand Prix du Midi Libre.
It's obviously a race for climbers, who know how to handle a timetrial bike and we can hope for an interesting week here in France.
The Startlist
The GC contenders | Favorites | MO | HI | TT | AC | Outsiders | MO | HI | TT | AC |  Kiserlovski | 80 | 75 | 72 | 66 |  Bardet | 77 | 74 | 59 | 75 |  Pinot | 80 | 74 | 65 | 69 |  Zoidl | 75 | 74 | 76 | 69 |  Ratiy | 80 | 70 | 74 | 58 |  Stancu | 78 | 69 | 66 | 71 |  König | 79 | 75 | 74 | 67 |  Medvedev | 78 | 64 | 63 | 72 |  Costagli | 79 | 71 | 70 | 67 |  Parra Bustamente | 77 | 74 | 67 | 71 | | Pomoshnikov | 79 | 74 | 64 | 66 | Hirschlein | 77 | 71 | 69 | 59 | | Warbasse | 78 | 75 | 74 | 65 | Pereyra | 77 | 67 | 61 | 64 |  Campero | 78 | 70 | 69 | 71 | Quintana | 76 | 71 | 70 | 63 | | Rodrigues | 78 | 73 | 67 | 72 | Aasvold | 76 | 75 | 65 | 72 |  Brajkovic | 77 | 72 | 74 | 66 |  Khripta | 76 | 75 | 65 | 69 |  Atapuma | 78 | 73 | 62 | 73 | Heider | 76 | 72 | 65 | 61 |  Cataldo | 77 | 74 | 68 | 72 | Anguilet | 76 | 74 | 63 | 64 | | Hacecký | 77 | 70 | 68 | 75 | Alizadeh | 76 | 72 | 62 | 70 |  Hoem | 77 | 72 | 67 | 62 | Lewis | 76 | 67 | 62 | 73 |
Kiserlovski and König may be considered the top favorites here, as they combine mountains, hills and timetrials in a pretty solid fashion. Both should be up there on the two crucial summit finishes and given their TT advantage on some other premium climbers like Pinot, the 50km timetrial will surely give them some good gains. Pinot, however, enjoys a pretty good season so far and if he delivers in the mountains, he's still a potential threat for the two top favorites.
Ratiy as another interesting name then: his lack of acceleration and puncheur skills will definitely hurt, but he comes with a great diesel motor on climbs and is one of the better timetrial riders amongst the mountain goats, too. Other GC contenders like Costagli, Warbasse (if allowed to ride for his own) and also Brajkovic come with a much better allround package though. Brajkovic would definitely love to ride his name on another race's honour roll and with his strong TT skills, he can be a podium contender for sure!
Pomoshnikov (and the entire ENI-MOL mountain core) does lack the TT skills, while other guys like Campero, Rodrigues, Cataldo, Hacecký or Hoem could be more serious Top-10 contenders eventually. Also Atapuma will suffer on those timetrial kilometres, but he should be amongst the better climbers at least. Just like Bardet, who definitely needs to be aggressive in the mountains - something, that he proved to be capable of.
A few more interesting names then: Zoidl as the best TT rider and puncheur amongst all GC contenders - he may suffer in the mountains, but if he can limit the losses, he may become something like a dark horse for the Top-5 here. Medvedev needs to perform heavily in the mountains, just like his teammate Lewis. Hard to see those guys fighting for the Top-10/15 here though.
The Stage Hunters | Sprinters | ST | SP | AC | | Timetrial Specialists | TT | PR | | | Vanoverschelde | 74 | 80 | 75 | | Mottin | 79 | 79 | |  Coutinho | 75 | 79 | 80 | | Olman | 79 | 79 | | | Hochmann | 66 | 79 | 80 | | Reus | 78 | 78 | |  Korzh | 73 | 78 | 80 | | Sterobo | 78 | 78 | | | Manan | 71 | 78 | 78 | | Kovalev | 78 | 78 | | | Bogdanovics | 74 | 78 | 77 | | Martin | 78 | 77 | | | Krasnov | 72 | 78 | 77 | | Downey | 77 | 77 | | | Szalontay | 64 | 78 | 77 | | Johansson | 77 | 77 | | | Keough | 71 | 78 | 75 | | Hacecký | 77 | 76 | | | Cimolai | 74 | 77 | 77 | | Pökälä | 77 | 76 | | | Berger | 72 | 77 | 77 | | Laizer | 77 | 76 | | | Kluge | 77 | 77 | 75 | | Christian | 77 | 75 | | | Vinther | 72 | 77 | 74 | | Chavanne | 65 | 82 | | | | | | | Puncheurs | MO | HI | TT | | | | | | Edmondson | 69 | 78 | 64 | | | | | | Hoelgaard | 74 | 77 | 65 | | | | | | Sepulveda | 75 | 76 | 75 | | | | | |  Lopez | 74 | 76 | 69 | | | | | | Umerbekov | 70 | 76 | 63 |
And now for the stage hunters: Vanoverschelde had already some decent results this season and will definitely fancy his chances to be in the mix for the sprint stages. Just like Coutinho, Korzh, Manan or Bogdanovics, he comes with a solid stamina for those 200km flat stages and has a nice leadout duo as well.. Keough, Cimolai, Berger, Kluge or Vinther as possible contenders, too: Kluge maybe as the most interesting name amongst the sprinters, as his allround skills (and stamina) are pretty outstanding in this rather "thin" sprinters field.
The prologue has one big favorite then: Chavanne. Enough said.
Mottin, Olman, Reus, Sterobo, Kovalev and Martin amongst the favorites for the longer timetrial then. Of course there's also the GC contenders, who may perform better eventually, but given the length of the timetrial, the TT specialists should be capable to be right up there. Downey and Johansson as the next promising riders in this category. It will come down to daily form, eventually.
As for the hilly stage (that does not look too decisive for the GC) we have only a few puncheurs ahead of the already mentioned GC contenders: Edmondson as the outstanding name on the list, where also Hoelgaard, Sepulveda and Lopez should be amongst those riders aiming for particularly the hilly stage. Opposing to Edmondson though, those other guys could actually be minor GC contenders (if they try to hang on in the first mountain stage) and particularly Sepulveda (as seen in Catalunya earlier this season) is a pretty interesting option for Banco de Bogota.
|
| |
|
|
| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 22-10-2018 12:59
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4190
Joined: 13-09-2015
PCM$: 400.00
|
Looks like an exciting race coming up. Not a clear race favourite, given that all of those who should be favourites have had good seasons so far. Probably Andorra with that scary duo will get away with the win, and even two riders in Top5. That will depend if Warbasse is used as mainly domestique or is allowed to go for his chances
|
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 22-10-2018 13:08
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7542
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Come on team! Big risk to send Edmondson here and not to Placci...don't let me regret it Joshua! Campero should be able to grab a top 10 here I think...
Good luck to everyone!!
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 22-10-2018 13:41
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Hopefully my guys will have a good time here in France, lets hope so  |
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 22-10-2018 13:47
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7422
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Hope that we can score a few points here and there though i dont belive this to be easy.
|
| |
|
|
| Bjartne |
Posted on 22-10-2018 14:02
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3062
Joined: 15-07-2007
PCM$: 300.00
|
Looking forward to this!
A shame that Suaza can't participate here, but let's hope Atapuma can make our Colombian team fraction proud. Sterobo also with a decent shot on the time trial here. I think it will be a very interresting race until the end.
Great preview tsmoha! |
| |
|
|
| quadsas |
Posted on 22-10-2018 14:14
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2728
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
|
lets go baby, hopefully this wont a week to conclude ResidentSleeper
|
| |
|
|
| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 22-10-2018 14:50
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 2809
Joined: 16-04-2013
PCM$: 900.00
|
Man a week without racing and coming back with Midi Libre!! So excited, one of my favourite races this season and we're here with a massive team, we want the win and we have what it takes to take it home I hope.
My biggest concern is Kiserlovski's form (also his startlist position doesnt give me the confidence), because in normal circumstances I know he can take and gain on Konig and Ratiy.. As for Pinot, I expect the time-trial to take him out. But the hilly stage won't decide anything GC-wise I think so there I won't say anything.
Also excited as Mottin has a genuine chance at a stage win in the TT, he's shown himself with brutal legs in Southland and I hope he shows the same power in here.
Good luck to everyone! And cheers tsmoha for the great preview.
|
| |
|
|
| redordead |
Posted on 22-10-2018 15:07
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5513
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
Looks like a perfect race for Brajkovic, I hope 
Excited for the TT showdown vs Mottin and Olman
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 19:18
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| dominox |
Posted on 22-10-2018 15:30
|
Protected Rider
Posts: 1452
Joined: 23-07-2014
PCM$: 5533.75
|
I'm really looking forward to this race! Not much chances for high GC place, but with some decent rng Sepulveda can score again really well and my 2 best climbers finish in the top 10 on two mountainous stages. |
| |
|
|
| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 22-10-2018 16:57
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2130
Joined: 11-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Nice to be back to racing again after a little break!
Like in Turkey, we are going stage hunting, though it'll be much tougher to achieve that here considering the team we sent. Still hope Korzh can do well in the sprints, and stage 6 should be a good chance for Favilli to improve on his best result from this season so far. Other than that; breakaways, please!
|
| |
|
|
| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 22-10-2018 20:21
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16557
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 13638.70
|
"Seven days"
"mini-GT"
Uhhhh, might be a stretch there.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
| |
|
|
| redordead |
Posted on 23-10-2018 03:53
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5513
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
Feels like a GT for us plebs
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
|
| |
|
|
| quadsas |
Posted on 23-10-2018 17:17
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2728
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
|
Guess that's decent, expected a LITTLe more from Kreuziger, he even got unnecessarily roasted, but MAL didn't lose much time so it's ok
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 23-10-2018 17:44
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7422
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Thanks for the report
Congrats to dominox with the rather surprising stage win.
Seen from our point of view, fine top 10 from Mark Christian, but a dissapointing effort from Freddy Johansson.
|
| |
|
|
| redordead |
Posted on 23-10-2018 18:06
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5513
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
Kovalev has been my most consistent time-trialer always on the podium in CT. Very nice also for Brajkovic and his GC bid, he will need every second he can get
Not a good day for Reus and Martin. They need to do better on the long TT, if we are to take a stage win here. Overall a very good point total for stage 1
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
|
| |
|
|
| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 23-10-2018 19:25
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 2809
Joined: 16-04-2013
PCM$: 900.00
|
Veru underwhelming start, Kiserlovski winning 14 on Pinot but loosing 14 to Konig.. also Warbasse and Mottin way below expectations. But in a race like this it shouldn't be massively important.
Gratz dominox that was quite a surprise!
|
| |
|
|
| dominox |
Posted on 23-10-2018 19:33
|
Protected Rider
Posts: 1452
Joined: 23-07-2014
PCM$: 5533.75
|
Thanks guys! How in the hell Craddock won a prologue? That was seriously one hell of a surprise. Didn't expect this at all. All I wanted is best possible performance from Sepulveda (which at end was okay) and Rodrigues/Anacona not losing much time. Yes, a long ITT still to come but every second is important.
First win in Banco de Bogota history. Who would have thought that that will be Craddock? |
| |
|
|
| hillis91 |
Posted on 23-10-2018 19:36
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5948
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 2200.00
|
Congratz Dominox
|
| |
|
|
| roturn |
Posted on 24-10-2018 14:26
|
Team Manager
Posts: 22045
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
|
Quite impressed by my Rothaus sprinters. No matter if Coutinho, Wippert, Van Heerden or now Hochmann. They deliver quite regularly.
Very good start into this race. |
| |
|
