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Riga - Jurmala GP Discussion
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| Vien |
Posted on 02-07-2019 12:21
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 Riga – Jurmala GP
Good day everyone. Today we finally arrived in Riga for the coverage of the Riga – Jurmala GP. And I'm saying finally, as the race was postponed by a few months.
The reason hasn't been made public, but sources say this may have happened due to the organisers losing their route. An amateur mistake for sure, if that is true! Therefore, or at least for some reason, they have changed up the route slightly to an extremely similar profile: 191,2 kilometers which are mostly flat, without the terrain raining more than 3,5%, and a windy finish near the sea. The latter may be the only way to avoid a full-on mass sprint to decide tomorrow's winner.
| FL | SP | ACC | | FL | SP | ACC |  Swift | 74 | 84 | 82 |  Kump | 74 | 81 | 80 |  Van Stayen | 76 | 84 | 78 |  Saber | 75 | 81 | 79 |  Bewley | 78 | 83 | 83 |  Zabel | 74 | 81 | 79 |  Ewan | 75 | 83 | 81 |  Holloway | 78 | 80 | 82 |  Cavendish | 73 | 83 | 81 |  Itami | 75 | 80 | 82 |  Ciolek | 75 | 83 | 79 |  Moser | 72 | 80 | 79 | | Groenewegen | 73 | 82 | 81 |  Van Asbroeck | 75 | 80 | 78 |  Howard | 76 | 82 | 79 |  Lavoine | 73 | 80 | 78 |  Vantomme | 73 | 82 | 78 | Bouhanni | 74 | 80 | 77 | | Maksimov | 72 | 81 | 84 |  Ulanowski | 73 | 80 | 77 |  Boeckmans | 73 | 81 | 83 |  Meyer | 72 | 80 | 76 | | Nelson | 72 | 81 | 81 | Gaviria | 74 | 79 | 82 |
Obviously we have to look at the sprinters to see who has the higgest capablities to win this race. When doing so, it shows that some of the biggest sprinters in the world are here! And we obviously have to start with Sam Bewley, as he's the favourite in pretty much every race he joins. The harder this race will become, the most chance he has to maintain top speed until the finish. Anything but a top 3 would be a diappointment for him.
The other world-class sprinters here are Swift, Ewan, Cavendish and Ciolek. Swift and Cavendish are both in a team that is in relegation trouble and a good result here would be more than welcome. Podium Ambition's future may also be depending on one or two good result, as the manager has announced to potentially leave the world of cycling without a promotion. Ciolek should be more care-free, which might be an adventage for him.
Van Stayen is also an awesome sprinter, but probably wants to route to be a bit hillier. Still, he'll be up there. And so will Aegon's “Plan B” Groenewegen, Howard, Vantomme and Boeckmans. Maksimov and Nelson will likely both miss out the ability to be fresh in the final kilometers, but if the race goes slow they still have a shot.
Then a lot of riders that I'd like to put in the “deserve a mention but not a narrative for this race”-group: Kump, Saber, Zabel, Holloway and Van Asbroeck. I don't think their teams expect a win, but there's nothing wrong with dreaming, right?
| FL | ACC | SP | | Wisniowski | 80 | 76 | 76 | | Arashiro | 80 | 74 | 74 | | Stoltz | 80 | 74 | 74 | | Bewley | 78 | 83 | 83 | | Holloway | 78 | 82 | 82 | | Dzamastagic | 78 | 78 | 78 | | Oss | 78 | 74 | 74 | | Hansen | 77 | 80 | 80 | | Bonifazio | 77 | 78 | 78 | | Van Avermaet | 77 | 77 | 77 |
There's also a small chance of a successful late escape, though a lot of riders who are good on the flat likely have to work for their sprinter. That said though, even a rider like Holloway decided not to wait for a sprint and attack to victory earlier this season, so who knows?
Edited by Vien on 02-07-2019 12:31
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 02-07-2019 12:36
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Gonna be interested to see how this race will unfold finally! Think this is one for Bewley, but I could be wrong!
On a side note: It's amazing to see the race pace pick up again, massive thanks to the reporters!
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 02-07-2019 12:49
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Dreaming is all there's left for us now, I guess we can even set up a sprint train with this team 
One on side, a tough windy race would be to out advantage, but on the other side the AI will probably give us horrible positioning so far down on the favourites list.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 02-07-2019 12:51
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Hey, they found the route again 
Maybe can hope for a Top 10 from Saber on a good day and a Top 15 at least.
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| knockout |
Posted on 02-07-2019 16:29
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Oh yeah... this is the race where we need the evonik power train to use echelons for the annual once-in-a-lifetime result :*
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| roturn |
Posted on 02-07-2019 16:36
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The sprint train couldn't be any better really, so I have high expectations. |
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| tastasol |
Posted on 02-07-2019 16:41
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Just hoping for some wind and a late attack from Wisniowski really. Boeckmans have struggled this year, so would be surprised if he breaks into the top 10.
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 02-07-2019 19:31
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Have got all my sprinters here but I’m not expecting anything even half decent so I’ll just hope for the best and pray that the race is exciting!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 04:01
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 02-07-2019 20:13
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My expectations here are 0. Good luck to the sprinters.
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 02-07-2019 20:56
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we need to drag ourselves out of the swamp here really...go Kump!
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| ember |
Posted on 02-07-2019 22:30
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Profile wise, you can't have a better race for Ciolek, really. That makes me hopeful. Though, expect him to not be among the sprinters prioritized by AI, which makes it a lottery, assuming it comes down to a sprint. Hopefully that "status", or rather lack of, frees our other riders, so that Oss can try to jump if the finale is raced aggressively. |
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| DaveTwoBob |
Posted on 02-07-2019 23:22
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Hoping Cav can make a top 5 here to help us stay out of the drop zone.
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| tastasol |
Posted on 03-07-2019 12:45
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No late attack, but a good performance from Boeckmans in the sprint. Happy with 7th place in this field.
Congrats to roturn on the win!
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 03-07-2019 12:55
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Not great. Okay-ish result by Kump, but surely we need to change something in the next season...
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 03-07-2019 13:03
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A fair placing I guess. Thanks for the report!
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| roturn |
Posted on 03-07-2019 13:17
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Was kind of worried when Bauhaus took the early leadout instead of Sbaragli, who should have been the far better option.
But with Groenewegen as last leadout it was still strong enough for Swift to finish it off with the win in this huge field. |
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| knockout |
Posted on 03-07-2019 14:06
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Not sure if i should be annoyed at the lack of late attack annoyed at the terrible sprint preparation or enthusiastic about the depth results. 4 guys in the top25 and another one as 33rd (or sth like that) is great....
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ember |
Posted on 03-07-2019 14:16
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The report sums up well my feelings about Ciolek. He seemed to be quite fast as well when he ultimately launched his sprint, but obviously for no good seeing his poor positioning. But as said pre-race, that was always going to be a lottery, so I can't complain.
Happy to see Scully and Dakteris up there in the top 30, that's a slight consolation  |
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| DaveTwoBob |
Posted on 03-07-2019 19:45
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Brilliant to see some great teamwork giving Cav every chance and we were rewarded by a podium and 2 more in the top 20. Much needed points!
Makes up for a disappointing Deutschland Tour.
Congrats to roturn and thanks for the report.
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| cio93 |
Posted on 05-07-2019 11:56
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Ciolek why?
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