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Paris - Roubaix Discussion
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| Kentaurus |
Posted on 02-02-2020 03:48
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Classics Specialist
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The hell of the north, Paris - Roubaix, one of the five monuments of cycling and entering the Roubaix velodrome is an atmosphere unlike any other in the sport. The long arduous course continues to challenge the best cyclists in the world and doesn't get any easier. Just over 244 kilometers will be rode with much of later part of the route over the cobbles.
There is no surprise in this route, and most of the riders will be very familiar with it, the difficult sections begin with Trouée d'Arenberg where the selection with the winner typically is found. Mons-en-Pévèle later on will certainly decide who isn't going to win, and may even pick out the winner. The last truly challenging sector, Carrefour de l'Arbre, is very capable of providing a winner, though recently the Velodrome itself has been where the victor is chosen.
Looking at the skills riders need to possess, it is obvious that the ability to deal with the pavé is first and foremost. The stamina to endure 245 kilometers of cycling has its own effect, and ability on the flat has some value as well. In the event of a sprint finish, well that helps too.
| | | | | | | | | | | Rider | CO | ST | FL | SP | Rider | CO | ST | FL | SP |  Bewley | 83 | 78 | 78 | 83 |  Trentin | 81 | 76 | 74 | 75 |  Summerhill | 83 | 76 | 78 | 70 |  Teunissen | 81 | 77 | 76 | 67 |  Kamyshev | 82 | 81 | 77 | 66 |  Altur | 81 | 75 | 75 | 72 |  Senechal | 82 | 79 | 75 | 69 |  Daniel | 80 | 76 | 73 | 76 |  Blythe | 82 | 76 | 76 | 76 |  Theuns | 80 | 76 | 72 | 77 |  Wisniowski | 81 | 75 | 80 | 73 |  Van Avermaet | 80 | 75 | 76 | 76 |  Vanbilsen | 80 | 80 | 78 | 72 |  Vanmarcke | 80 | 77 | 76 | 70 |
We start our list of favorites with the ever dominant Sam Bewley. The six time reigning champion has been nothing short of exceptional, and he is without equal in the event of a sprint finish, like his last five victories. Anyone looking to take his crown, will need to do so before reaching the velodrome.
As we start to look as the best challengers to Bewley, top of the list is Danny Summerhill equaled only by the aforementioned Bewley on the cobbles themselves, and strong on the flats he will have to make a move to separate himself and prove to be the stronger man on the day.
Avoiding the sprint should be the focus of Kamyshev who is only slightly behind those two on the cobbles, but boasts unequaled stamina which he will need to use to get away, and continue to pull away from the better sprinters in the field.
Florian Senechal has a pair of podiums in this race, and the skill on the cobbles to win, he too has terrific stamina to work with but likewise must avoid the sprints. The most likely challenger to Bewley in the sprints is Blythe, who might need to be on his best day to compete with the dominant Kiwi in an outright sprint.
The best man on the flats will be Lukasz Wisniowski and he will need to pair that with his exceptional abilities on the cobbles to make a move in this race. He's fairly handy in a sprint too as long as Bewley isn't also there.
The last of our first line favorites is Vanbilsen, as with all the riders, elite on the cobbles, Kenneth also has an elite stamina hopefully giving him more left in the tank at the end of the race, where he too has a reasonable sprint if needed.
AZTECA - NBCSN  |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 02-02-2020 05:06
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World Champion
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I'd be impressed if Declerq was still around by the time we leave Arenberg, looking at how things went lately.
Surely we will not see the same kind of cobbles races again next season, with everyone agreeing to drop the 5* concept as far as I can see even regardless of a PCM switch, so I will not set an ultimatum to Declerq regarding his future in the team.
But it would be massively helpful to win the positioning lottery and get proven wrong here. Not necessarily for the few points more that would be in it, but to kickstart morale again before the GT season after several disappointing races in a row since P-KV-P.
Bewley's last maxed monument. No offense, but finally.
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 02-02-2020 09:33
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15025
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Our first Roubaix ever, and probably the cobbled race that suits Vanbilsen best.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| matt17br |
Posted on 02-02-2020 10:00
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Directeur Sportif
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All about hoping for a good daily form for Theuns here, in Roubaix a very high cobble stat is by far the most important thing and there's several riders that have him beat there. Thanks for the preview Kent!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 02-02-2020 11:49
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Tour de France Champion
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Hoping Marcos "Still no nickname" Altur can get a Top10, and i'd like to see someone else try and get into the break. It's been a long journey of Classics focus to work our way up through the divisions, and so happy we made it in time to give Grashev and Thomas the chance they deserve. Even if we lose it's a day of celebrating the teams history 
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| knockout |
Posted on 02-02-2020 12:56
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Grand Tour Champion
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Flanders was good enough for Evonik and this is the one that should suit Blythe better. Hoping for a top 5 at least but figure more might be possible too. Cant wait
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| tastasol |
Posted on 02-02-2020 13:29
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Classics Specialist
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Actually a win goal this, but that was with the plan of training Wisniowski to 82. Would have been hard anyway, and Bewley is of course the huge favourite. Would be great if we could snatch a podium.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 02-02-2020 14:09
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Another top 5 here would put a crown on Teunissen's season. Go Mike!
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| ember |
Posted on 02-02-2020 14:11
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Team Leader
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A win goal here as well, which says a lot about a transfer season that didn't exactly go as hoped 
Not much to see here for us, hopefully we can join the breakaway with Anderberg og Walsleben, and then maybe get a top 40 from there. Anything but a Bewley win will be a surprise, but the fight for the other podium places should be interesting. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 07-12-2025 15:53
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| roturn |
Posted on 02-02-2020 14:45
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Von Hooydonck on a great day makes a top30, on a normal day this season a top60 and I can`t complain about a top90 only.
So basically a difference of 0-5-10 points or something.
The more interesting challenge is to see if anyone can beat Bewley. |
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 02-02-2020 15:48
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Top10 maybe Vanmarcke? His sprint isn't horrible, but compared to most of the great cobblers, it's not good enough to compete. Avoid punctures, have a good day and hope for some kind of miracle i guess
cio93 wrote:
Bewley's last maxed monument. No offense, but finally.
Only 3 seasons before he's like a normal maxed rider 
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| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 02-02-2020 16:19
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Classics Specialist
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With no points on offer to us the pressure isn't on, but hopefully that's a factor that can influence the race positively for us. Summerhill showed in E3 he had the legs to keep up with Bewley for almost the whole race, here I will hope for it again, with a flatter route the support crew will be better fitted, and I'm hoping he knows it's all about following Bewley then playing all or nothing before the sprint.
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| OlegTinkov |
Posted on 03-02-2020 02:19
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Classics Specialist
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After a perfect Ronde van Vlaanderen our goal for Paris - Roubaix is top-3. Hopefully Sulimov, Zubov and Manakov can support Senechal as long as possible since support is vital in this race.
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| Heine |
Posted on 03-02-2020 07:53
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Hoping for another good result from Trentin here, 2nd behind Bewley would be perfect, but I would be really happy with a top 5
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 05-02-2020 06:18
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Congrats to Tastasol, major breaktrough Lukasz Wisniowski have had this season winning Strada Appia Antica, top 5 in Ronde and now this.
Thanks for a great report.
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| redordead |
Posted on 05-02-2020 07:06
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Team Leader
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Zhupa in 17th seems like quite a good result
"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
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| SotD |
Posted on 05-02-2020 07:21
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World Champion
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16th is yet another horrible result from Maxime Daniel... My riders just doesn't work in this version.
Unless Lecuisinier turns out to be great we will relegate that's for sure. Most of our best races are already behind us, and at this point we should easily have been inside the overall top 3...
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| tastasol |
Posted on 05-02-2020 07:24
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Classics Specialist
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Wow, what a result! Didn't think it was possible to beat Bewley, but Wisniowski did everything perfect today. I was very confident going into the velodrome, but thought Bewley was going to snatch it as they waited there. But luckily more left in the legs, and in the end a super ein.
Thanks Tamijo, as you say, clearly a breakthrough season for him. He's been taking the steps nicely the last years, and what a win this is for both him and the team.
Thanks for the report, Kentaurus!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 05-02-2020 08:00
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 17833
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Not even the Top10, bad day from Marcos "Below Expectation" Altur. However G getting in the Top20, with a decline, is awesome! The legend himself still delivering right at the end of his time with the team, gets to go out on a yet another high! G, we salute you!
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 05-02-2020 08:02
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Tour de France Champion
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Vanbilsen with a bad day, but that's alright. Great symbolism at the top where Wisniowski takes over from Bewley.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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