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1 Jour de Dunkerque - Discussion
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 10-02-2022 14:06
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1 Jour de Dunkerque Preview
We head to France for another exciting battle over the cobblestones with a one-day event in Dunkerque. This race will present an immense challenge to any rider who finds themselves at the start line – 178km of undulated cobbled terrain. The first quarter of the race is flat before hitting a circuit featuring two climbs, the first of which is cobbled and the second short and steep. The peloton will ride this circuit 9 times before riding up the cobbled climb to the finish line.
We have three previous winners participating –  Trentin,  Vanspeybrouck and  Van Keirsbulck. Trentin and Vanspeybrouck (who has won twice) won this race when it was a multi-stage race, and Van Keirsbulck in 2019 as a one-day event. Trentin on paper appears to have the best chance here to add to his tally as he is one of the top favourites here.
Speaking of favourites, here they are:
| Name | COB | HIL | STA | RES | SPR | ACC |  Stallaert | 81 | 67 | 76 | 68 | 79 | 76 | | Trentin | 81 | 74 | 76 | 71 | 75 | 76 |  Blythe | 82 | 66 | 76 | 71 | 76 | 73 |
Stallaert comes to France as the top favourite and the rider to beat. He’s had an incredible season, most recently adding the Roma Maxima to his growing list of wins for the season which features Kurne and Omloop to name a few. The Belgian on paper is also one of the strongest riders in the division and despite the fact he’s not the strongest climber, his pure cobble ability and combination of other talents sets him apart from the rest of the bunch. Stallaert has decent support here with Lampaert, so he shouldn't need to worry about spending any unnecessary energy.
Trentin is a formidable rider, and one of the most versatile riders in the race. As such he has a skillset that he can use to adapt to almost any race situation as he’s shown this season by winning E3 Prijs. He has all the characteristics needed to win this race - he doesn’t fear the hills, is hard to drop and has a fast finish. He’s also in good company as he has Sinkeldam for support who finished 5th here last season and is terrific over the hills.
Blythe is the other top favourite here. He’s had a wonderful season and achieved some fantastic results but continues to fall short of winning. He has finished on the podium of K-B-K, Omloop and more recently Roma Maxima (behind Stallaert on all occasions) and will be looking to get one over Stallaert and make sure he’s on the top step of the podium this time. Moulingui should prove to be decent support as is ability over the hills will surely give his captain an advantage over some others.
| COB | HIL | STA | RES | SPR | ACC |  Altur | 82 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 72 | 68 |  Vanbilsen | 80 | 69 | 80 | 74 | 72 | 71 |  Spengler | 83 | 66 | 72 | 73 | 61 | 70 |  Daniel | 80 | 69 | 76 | 76 | 76 | 72 |  Zepuntke | 82 | 69 | 79 | 72 | 72 | 65 |
The Spaniard Altur is here in France to give it a good shake as well. For a rider of such high calibre, his season to date has been a bit of a mixed bag which has led to some doubting his team’s investment in him. He’ll be looking to make amends here in a race that he’s well suited – his ability over the hills is a definite advantage over most of his competitors. Altur will also have Owen by his side who is one of the strongest lieutenants in the race and will hopefully help deliver him the win.
Vanbilsen is a super capable rider, and one of the strongest in the race. He’s also one of the fittest riders here and is the kind of rider that thrives when the going gets tough. He’ll be looking to make his mark here and continue his team’s push for promotion to PT.
Spengler is the strongest pure cobble rider here, and one of the strongest in the world. He’s here looking to continue his solid form after a decent 4Th in Omloop. He has however been unable to utilise his skills to their full extent so far this season, and may need a little bit of luck here as he isn’t the strongest over the hills and will hope for an easier pace. Grand and Bohli are both great support riders.
Daniel has been a shining light this season for Carrefour, with three podium finishes in E3, Kurne and Omloop . He’s finished on the podium behind favourites Stallaert and Trentin so will be hoping to find a way past them here. Daniel isn’t scared of the hills either and can sprint so is in with a good shot at the win here.
Zepuntke is here as one of the best pure cobblers. Although only 28, he’s been around for a while and will bring his wealth of experience to this race. He has a decent engine and should be able to keep up with the best over the hills, but will want to make the race as hard as possible as he doesn’t quite have the same punch some of the others do.
Other Favourites/ Outsiders | Name | COB | HIL | STA | RES | SPR | ACC | | Vanspeybrouck | 80 | 69 | 75 | 68 | 65 | 66 |  Anderberg | 78 | 69 | 77 | 76 | 60 | 73 |  David | 78 | 75 | 76 | 74 | 70 | 73 | | Van Keirsbulck | 78 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 68 |  Bush | 78 | 63 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 73 |
Former winner Vanspeybrouck is back here after a 6-year absence. He’s had a terrific season in CT with team Trans Looney Tunes and will be looking to continue it here. He might not be quite what he once was, but he is never to be discounted.
Cancellara-esque Anderberg has had a wonderful season so far. He’s incredibly strong, hard to drop and if he’s on a good day could very well power away to a victory. He should be able to keep up over the hills and with a lieutenant like Jansen, he should be able to conserve enough energy to be a factor in the finale.
David has quietly been going about his business this season, delivering numerous top-10s for his team. His 6th in a bumpy E3 is indicative of what he could do as one of the strongest favourites over the hills here. It wouldn't be surprising to see him try a late attack.
Van Keirsbulck is another CT rider who has had a very good season. He’s shown that CT form can translate well in C1 after finishing 4th in Kuurne earlier in the year. Puccio, Thwaites and Kumara form a solid base for Hellofresh and will be integral to GVK’s success here.
Bush is here hoping for a mellow pace as his lack of climbing ability will be a hinderance here. He’s had a great season as an outsider, but you would think the climbing would be a little too much for him.
 Crabbe are here with their armada of strong riders, namely Tsatevich. His ability over the cobbles isn’t quite up to par here, but he comes here as the best contender over the hills and can’t be discounted. Climbing ability should be an important factor, so Tsatevich with his band of merry Crabbe men have potential to cause an upset here.
Edited by Eden95 on 10-02-2022 14:13
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 10-02-2022 14:14
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The game is still considering Vanbilsen to be the strongest rider somehow. But with all those hills, I think top 10 should be the goal.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 10-02-2022 14:28
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The startlist is not as hard as maybe I expected, especially not with regards to hill stat. While I understand the role as top favorite for Stallaert given his season so far, I think this is Carlsberg's to lose with Trentin and Sinkeldam. Trentin also beat Stallaert at the Macskako Kerekparverseny, a similar race. Tom David was strong there, too, I'd expect him to be on the podium here. That said, I'd take a Top 5 here for sure, more would be great, anything less than ~7th or 8th would be a disappointment. If we actually want to be a serious promotion contender, Stallaert needs to continue his crazy season.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 10-02-2022 14:34
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I've given up trying to predict Altur. Based on our last few cobble riders, somehow Gayral will get in the botd, go solo inside 20km only to be chased down by Owen before Altur punctures.
To be fair i really want that just for the pure hilarity. More likely it'll be another low end Top-10.
So as always, i'm watching our young Caribbean's and if Owen is truly worth doubling down on with CT training next year.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 10-02-2022 16:00
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No high expectations for Zepuntke here but a top 10 should be achieveable.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 10-02-2022 16:27
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Will see how this goes, the dream is obviously for GVK to recreate his 2019 performance, however not likely with the current field. A top 10 would be absolutely lovely! Thanks for a fantastic preview.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 10-02-2022 19:00
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Hahahaha, I love how we consequenty keep getting rated below the control team!
Even better yet, a control team with Gavenda, a rider we sacked prior to the season because of his poor qualities.  |
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 10-02-2022 20:24
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My logic says Carlsberg.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 10-02-2022 21:31
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I swore I commented here this morning, but I guess my mind is playing tricks on me. 
Obviously on paper I like our chances here. The hills favor us, especially given the finish, the race isn't super long, and there isn't anyone here who's dramatically better than us on the cobbles. Sinkeldam was 5th here last year and he has the luxury of being a superdomestique now. If all goes well we're set up success here and a good haul.
At the same time, it will ultimately come down to daily form and tactics. Even with a favorite, there's never much separating a win from a 12th place here. If Trentin goes AWOL like in Cheshire, it won't matter what his stats are. So, hopefully he has good legs and the team is smart enough to build something around him. I'm definitely looking forward to the action.
Amazing preview Eden, thank you!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| ember |
Posted on 10-02-2022 22:12
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Very challenging race for Anderberg. The hills and in general difficult course, should make this a race where a top 10 is doable for him, but not much more.
Very curious to see how it plays out. If the fight between the favourites start early, Anderberg might have a chance if he can be part of a 10-20 riders big group fighting for the win, as any kind of attack can stick.
Looking forward to the racing. Must say my gut feeling agrees with Tamijo. Trentin and Carlsberg for the win! |
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| redordead |
Posted on 11-02-2022 06:42
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I reported on this race last year and I think the HI stat is important, but a very good FL stat which for some reason was omitted from the preview is still good to have.
Should be a wide open race, but I wouldn't discount Stallaert from winning another one.
"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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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 11-02-2022 10:54
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Hope David and the team can keep being consistent on the cobbles. No great expectations but hoping for another feisty showing.
Thanks for the preview!
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 11-02-2022 12:08
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Thanks for the preview! I'm hoping for a top 15 spot.
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 11-02-2022 14:46
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Apologies if any of the screens seem a little confusing - there were quite a few lapped riders towards the end so I tried to ignore them as best I could 
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 11-02-2022 14:52
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Stallaert does what Stallaert wants.
Great report, lovely read as an outsider
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 11-02-2022 15:19
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Thanks for the report, worst case scenarios on fleek here for us, it is what it is.
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 11-02-2022 15:35
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It's just so sad for Vanbilsen, he's always cracking in the last 10K this year. Always with the best early on and then 80STA guy suddenly can't do it anymore. Granted, there's too many hills for him here to justify his #1, but 19th and losing chances of promotion is just painful for a rider that did so much for us in the past.
Thanks for the report and congrats to the unstoppable Bralirwa!
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 11-02-2022 15:40
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Stallaert is just the strongest in any cobbles race. Congrats to Bralirwa!
4th for Trentin is good I suppose. In most cases I'd definitely be happy with that. It's a bit disappointing though given how the race went. Not quite sure the role climbing stats had in this race after all. David in 2nd suggests it made a difference, but Stallaert, Spengler, Zepuntke all in the top 5 pretty strongly suggests that it wasn't very important at all. Trentin is stronger than all of them on the hills by a considerable margin, but they had the stronger days.
Our tactics were also just a bit poorly calculated. Don't get me wrong, Trentin riding away with Sinkeldam was pretty fun to see, but it was an awkward time with the breakaway just ahead and too many domestiques still behind. It seemed clear it wouldn't stick. Then Trentin launches his last big move on a downhill only to get countered by the winning move. In the end I guess he just did too much throughout the race to win in the finale. He timed it poorly and others timed it well. Only one group is going to have their tactics work out. That's cycling! It was definitely a fun race.
Sinkeldam was clearly very strong here as well. Started pacing quite early, so to still manage to get 14th and make up a nice score of points for us was pleasantly surprising. In the future, I do think that we need more depth in this types of races. I stopped carrying extra cobbles domestiques this year, but they would have come in handy, especially with Kulppi's puncture. Might have been the difference.
Thank you for a great report Eden!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 11-02-2022 15:41
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Very good from Zepuntke, nice to see Marcos scoring as well in a hillier classic.
Thanks for the report Eden and congrats cunego!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 11-02-2022 15:41
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Gotta admit, i was surprised i got even a part of that prediction correct, and yet here we are. And my memory says this isn't even Altur's first puncture of the year. Still, to get 6th is perfectly average.
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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)
