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Coppa Placci - Discussion
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 23-12-2021 13:45
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Grand Tour Specialist
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 Coppa Placci
Welcome to San Marino for the 2021 Coppa Placci! This is only the 4th edition of the race which has produced some surprise winners in the past, all of which are not returning to compete this year meaning we will be seeing a new winner!
17 teams will be lining up at the start line to compete, with 5 of those being PCT teams that have made the journey here and will hope to take something from this race. The peloton will tackle 162km of undulating terrain, where the strongest puncheurs will duke it out to be the strongest on the day. Let's take a look at the favourites for the 2021 Coppa Placci:
| MTN | HIL | STA | RES | SPR | ACC |  Eiking | 69 | 80 | 78 | 74 | 68 | 76 |  Boswell | 71 | 80 | 77 | 73 | 65 | 76 |  Vogt | 62 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 62 | 63 |  Meyer | 69 | 79 | 74 | 71 | 72 | 77 |  Chaves | 76 | 79 | 74 | 73 | 60 | 72 | | Juul-Jensen | 70 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 79 |  Palini | 70 | 78 | 75 | 68 | 68 | 74 | | Hugentobler | 68 | 78 | 70 | 69 | 56 | 76 |  Calmejane | 71 | 77 | 73 | 76 | 72 | 76 |  Tsatevich | 62 | 77 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 75 | | Felline | 66 | 77 | 75 | 73 | 74 | 78 | | Azman | 76 | 77 | 69 | 72 | 65 | 75 |  Paez | 72 | 77 | 74 | 70 | 73 | 76 |  Vliegen | 67 | 77 | 76 | 70 | 66 | 74 |  Paulus | 74 | 77 | 71 | 68 | 62 | 71 | | Mudarra | 68 | 77 | 74 | 70 | 64 | 68 | | Serry | 74 | 77 | 69 | 68 | 61 | 67 | | Skjerping | 70 | 77 | 71 | 67 | 58 | 65 | | Roson | 78 | 76 | 67 | 70 | 54 | 74 | | Lavery | 71 | 76 | 75 | 71 | 67 | 77 | | Gogl | 69 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 67 | 75 | | Weiss | 63 | 76 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 74 |  McCormick | 66 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 73 |
Stats can only say so much, so let’s take a deeper look at the favourites:
Topping the list is last year’s 8th place, Eiking. He’s undoubtedly here targeting the victory and hoping to improve upon last season’s result, and to prove to the masses why he is the strongest puncheur in the division. His explosive acceleration should see him light up the race and as such he is the man to beat. He brings with him a strong supporting cast with Skjerping and Roson making the trip to San Marino, the latter possessing very handy climbing skills who should be a great asset to his leader.
The star recruit this season for McCormick is Boswell. He possesses a very similar skillset to Eiking – he can pull himself over the longer climbs a bit better and is also capable of a very strong kick. The only difference is Boswell only has Seigle for company on the hills, which may leave him isolated. He’ll be looking to stamp his authority over his main rival an has a good chance to do so.
Pas Normal bring three strong options. Juul-Jensen would appear to be the go-to man as he is by far the strongest and can handle any kind of finish. Vogt is a very strong right-hand man who could also fight for the victory depending on the circumstances. Favilli has tasted recent success, taking out the Badaling International. If he can make it to the finish in the front group again here, he will be a dangerous option.
Meyer is also a strong favourite and will be one to look out for in the finale. Of all the race favourites, he’s easily one of the best sprinters and will definitely be a factor in the finish if he’s at the front. Chaves is also here to stake a claim at the title. He’s the best climber of the bunch and although his results this season haven’t quite reflected his ability, he can definitely show the division what he’s made of here and better his previous result of 7th from 2019. His team bring with them a sprinter Boivin interestingly just in case the race isn’t selective, and Mudarra as a lieutenant.
Strava also bring with them a three-pronged attack for three possible scenarios – Palini for an aggressive race, Felline for a fast group finish and Azman for if the climbs are harder than they seem on the profile. Tafjord Kraft also bring a number of strong riders in Palaus, Lavery, Gogl and Weiss who will hope to animate the race.
Some other outsiders that can do well here are Calmejane who has the skills to put in a solid performance, along with Paez and Tsatevich. All three are strong on the hills, have a fast finish and have decent team support, especially Crabbe.
Of the 5 participating PCT teams, the Duolingo duo of McCormick and Goh are the most capable here along with Vliegen.  Rodriguez Galindo and Brandao area handy duo for Polar to send to San Marino as well and will hope to feature throughout the race.
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Such an undulating profile should favour the pure puncheurs here such as Eiking and Boswell. They should be wary of an easier race that results in a group coming to the line together where Felline and Tsatevich would be the wheels to follow.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 23-12-2021 14:28
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Team Manager
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Exciting to see a new reporter  Thanks for the very nice preview!
We scored Top 10s in all three previous C2 races, would be great to continue this here. Certainly doable for Vliegen, but always tricky with such a packed field. Have fun everyone!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 23-12-2021 14:40
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Tour de France Champion
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Would love to see a JJ win as a Christmas present. 
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 23-12-2021 16:28
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Tour de France Champion
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Lets hope we have some better luck here. |
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 23-12-2021 19:39
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Team Leader
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Great preview and looking forward to the race!
Hope it’s not ridden too hard in the decisive uphill sections so Paez can stick around and put in a sprint at the end to go for the win!
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 23-12-2021 20:00
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Classics Specialist
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Thanks for a great preview. Honestly unsure what to expect as this might have been a parcour for Kump if we had chosen to bring him, but felt like he would be better off in different races this year.
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 23-12-2021 23:28
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Directeur Sportif
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Thanks for the preview. Hope one if these days it comes together for Bowswell. Not sure this is hard enough.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 23-12-2021 23:55
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Hey, 4 riders in the favourite list!! (although in the bottom)
Super exited to see if we can get a top 10 here. Thanks for the detailed and well written report! |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 24-12-2021 10:24
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We have a decent core of puncheurs who could find themselves in the mix for a reasonable result, but more often that not it adds to few points in C2 races. Anyway , this looks like an interesting mix for an open race! Good luck everyone.
And thanks for the preview, Eden!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 15:50
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 24-12-2021 12:49
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And there's our first race of the season where we leave without a single race. Did not expect that tbh, and it was really close with Khederi and Hadi 26th and 29th. Disappointing, but I'd rather be disappointed in a C2 race than anywhere else (though I can sense Strade Bianche already asking "why not both?" ). Thank you for the report Eden, I enjoyed it! And congrats Ulrich, it actually did come together for Boswell!
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 24-12-2021 13:17
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Classics Specialist
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Thougth for a second there that Andersen actually we're gonna fight for victory
Anyways, happy with a top 10. Couldn't ask for much more here really.
Congrats Ulrich and thank you very much Eden! |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 24-12-2021 14:47
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World Champion
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A good result, one point for PCM20.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 24-12-2021 14:51
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Expected level of depht scoring here from De Vos, Gaspar and Riesebeek. Congrats to Ulirch on the win and thanks for the report!
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| Shonak |
Posted on 24-12-2021 15:13
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Tour de France Champion
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Thank you, great race for us and plenty of scorers. Azman putting in the action on and really risking it, and holding his own in the finale. Good team performance too with some nice all around scoring. Gratz to the winner and thanks for a thrilling report.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 24-12-2021 16:48
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Team Leader
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Okay we’ll forget that one happened…
Thank you for the great report though!
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| TinxiaS |
Posted on 26-12-2021 08:15
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Domestique
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This definitely wasn't enough selective profile and race but in the end, it's the nice result from the team and Calmenaje.
Thanks for report Eden
Congrats on a win Ulrich.
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 26-12-2021 10:16
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I hoped for a slightly better result. Onto the next, cobbles in Kuurne!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 26-12-2021 11:04
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Directeur Sportif
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Thanks for the report Eden. Thanks for the congrats.
Very satisfying. Boswell had to win that by being super strong as team was gone early. I thought he was doing too much too soon but the veteran knew his own strength. We can cross a hills win off our McCormick bucket list.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 27-12-2021 03:12
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Thank you for the report, and congrats to Ulrich and McCormick on a close victory.
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