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Tour of Lithuania - Discussion
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 07-04-2022 23:11
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Directeur Sportif
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 Tour of Lithuania
Welcome to “Lithuania” for the HC Tour of Lithuania. This is the second edition of this race with Beltran winning the inaugural edition for what was then Swisslion.
The race is all about the hills with 3 of the 4 stages rated hilly. The question is will it be a punchy rider or one who excels over longer climbs. The remaining stage is for the sprinters but more on that later.
Among the 190 starters, over 10% of them feature a hill stat above 79. So the pure puncheurs are well represented with a few hybrids thrown in.
| HI | MT | AC | RS | ST |  Skujins | 83 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 80 |  Kinoshita | 83 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 80 |  Kelderman | 82 | 71 | 72 | 75 | 80 |  Kwiatkowski | 81 | 78 | 75 | 76 | 74 |  Beltran | 81 | 79 | 76 | 72 | 73 |  McCarthy | 81 | 67 | 74 | 75 | 80 |  Van Garderen | 81 | 71 | 78 | 74 | 77 |  Paulinho | 80 | 75 | 75 | 72 | 70 |  Bakelants | 80 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 75 |  Borges | 80 | 70 | 81 | 73 | 75 |  Schreurs | 80 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 74 |  Jensen | 80 | 70 | 76 | 73 | 77 |  Betancourt | 80 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 72 |  Prevar | 80 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 77 |  Müller | 80 | 65 | 72 | 71 | 76 |  Moscon | 79 | 73 | 73 | 77 | 76 |  Bilbao | 79 | 67 | 75 | 71 | 77 |  De Plus | 79 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 74 |  Gebrezgabihier | 79 | 70 | 69 | 74 | 74 | | Reichenbach | 79 | 73 | 69 | 69 | 76 |
Beltran is back to try and go 2 for 2, and is the best rider among this group on the long climbs. His top rivals include Skujins, who is one of the best puncheurs but a little weak on longer climbs and the K-boys of Kinoshita, Kelderman, and Kwiatkowski. Kwiatowski is closest to Beltran in the mountains but the Kinoshita and Kelderman, along with Skujins are good over long distances and Stage 1 is 224k. if the stages are less selective then Borges is the best finisher among these riders.
But last year’s top 10 was dominated by more well-rounded riders. So those who are weaker in the hills but strong overall might play a role. Riders with at least 76 hill and mountain (excluding those above) are:
| HI | MT | AC | RS | ST | | Arndt | 76 | 79 | 75 | 76 | 77 | | Boily | 78 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 72 | | Amezawa | 77 | 77 | 75 | 78 | 76 |  Aranburu | 77 | 77 | 71 | 79 | 70 | | Min | 76 | 79 | 66 | 77 | 75 |  Squire | 77 | 77 | 71 | 70 | 70 | | Frankiny | 76 | 78 | 75 | 75 | 72 | | Raileanu | 77 | 77 | 70 | 73 | 74 | | Dall'Oste | 76 | 76 | 71 | 74 | 71 |
A number of well-balanced riders in this group, Arndt leaps out because of his superior finishing.
There is one sprint stage so quite a few of the peloton’s vast supply of 2nd tiers sprinters have carved time out of their busy schedules to come to “Lithuania”.
| FL | SP | AC | RS | | Liu | 74 | 80 | 80 | 69 | | Van der Sande | 75 | 79 | 79 | 73 | | Boudat | 73 | 79 | 78 | 74 | | Hayakawa | 73 | 79 | 79 | 68 |  Aberasturi | 74 | 79 | 78 | 71 |  Ciolek | 71 | 79 | 73 | 63 | | Rowe | 71 | 79 | 68 | 56 | | Itami | 74 | 79 | 81 | 66 |  Manarelli | 72 | 79 | 79 | 65 | | Lutsyshyn | 70 | 79 | 80 | 73 | | Bouglas | 72 | 78 | 78 | 67 | | Gibbons | 75 | 78 | 78 | 72 | | Bogdanovics | 73 | 78 | 77 | 69 | | Mareczko | 74 | 78 | 77 | 73 | | Zariff | 68 | 78 | 78 | 65 |
Liu is the least 2nd tier of them but with Voyagin also having a top GC rider it will be interesting to see how much support he gets. Although many of his sprint rivals are also splitting leadership. Lutsyshyn won this stage last year and is back to see if he can cement him his status as the Tour of Lithuania’s greatest ever sprinter.
Startlist
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 07-04-2022 23:16
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Classics Specialist
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Go go Beltran! I think he should be a nice number two behind GC winner Wataru Mutsumine 
Would be nice to see Manarelli finishing stage 2 in the top 8 and scoring his first point(s) of the season.
Thanks for the preview, Ulrich, and good luck to everyone here in Lituchuania
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| beagle |
Posted on 07-04-2022 23:55
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4200
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Watching the startlist, I´m glad we don´t participate 
Good luck everybody, will be fun to follow.
Manager of Polar in Man-Game
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| quadsas |
Posted on 08-04-2022 00:02
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
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We only bring the elite to our home race. And we always lose. Except this time when Betancourt goes beast mode and actually wins GC.
ez
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| ember |
Posted on 08-04-2022 06:35
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Team Leader
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Great startlist, great depth at the top. Hoping we get to see last season's Kwiatkowski, where he was great in the PTHC races in Wallonie and Balkans. He then proved he's capable of winning such races, and a win here would be huge regarding our battle to stay clear in one of the promotion spots.
Amezawa is also here, hopefully adding depth points, but we shall see. Fingers crossed!
Thank you for the preview, looking forward to the racing, UU. |
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| redordead |
Posted on 08-04-2022 06:36
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We need to perform at our best here. Not because of some longshot promotion fight, but because it's a goal race. So it's very important we do well here.
I expect another fierce battle between Beltran and Kwiatkowski, but I wouldn't rule out a few others. Skujins or Kinoshita could/should do well. Paulinho can be very good also and Arndt looks pretty scary as a punchy climber.
Thanks for keeping things moving along so smoothly again Ulrich 
"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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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 08-04-2022 09:40
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Go Beltran, this is your time to shine! Should be between Beltran and Kwiatek normally...
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 08-04-2022 11:12
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Need something special from Jensen here. His first race in quite a while. He’s done really well in races where climbers have had it over the pure puncheurs so far, so hopefully he can keep it up here.
Thanks for the preview!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| DaveTwoBob |
Posted on 08-04-2022 11:23
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Kraftwerk have Bilbao, Arndt and Boily. Hoping we can have a go at the Teams award.
Thanks for the preview Ulrich and for all the efforts you have been putting in to reporting this season.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 08-04-2022 13:32
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Tour de France Champion
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Judging by the preview and last year's results, this should be the ideal race for Aranburu to finally show something as a leader.
That said, the field is stacked, and his stamina will hurt him on stage 1. A top 10 would be amazing, but I really just want him to stay relevant so we can leave this race with something from the GC.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 08-04-2022 16:35
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Not convinced by Kelderman's high placing in the favourites list. The high climbs don't suit him. I think a Top 15 is a realistic goal.
Thanks for the preview Ulrich
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Posted on 22-11-2024 11:00
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 09-04-2022 05:55
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What the heck?
Happy to have Luch in the front group getting a good result, but confused as he has 75hil compared not only to Jensen’s much higher hil and Mt stat, but Prevar, Kelderman etc. Very strange. Who knows what happens from here?
Thanks for the report!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| redordead |
Posted on 09-04-2022 08:46
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
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This stage has always been selective with the super steep climbs but never as brutal as that. I guess the crazy deep PCT field made it such.
I just gotta be happy Beltran made it through and I hope that's not the best he can do.
"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 09-04-2022 13:02
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DISBAND. I WANT TO DISBAND!!
Thank you Kelderman for not keeping me hanging with hope till the last stage. I won't keep you hanging at the end of the season either
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 09-04-2022 13:30
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Tour de France Champion
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Some strange decisions by a few teams there. For us, Aranburu really held strong for a long time. Unfortunately he cracked right at the very end and quickly lost 40 seconds on that main chase group. Makes sense given his stamina deficiency, but tough to watch for sure
With the race prioritizing hybrids, and the later stages being shorter, I think we still have an outside chance at the top 15. Glad Aranburu is at least taking his responsibilities seriously here.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 09-04-2022 14:09
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Hoped to be in the break, I expect they tried but were unable to get in this time. Interesting race to watch as an outsider, with nobody in the top-100 iirc, with indeed some special things happening and surprising riders in the first group(s). Congratulations on the win to Squire and his team though, hope we can score something in the sprint stage coming up. Thanks for the entertaining report, ulrich!
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 09-04-2022 19:54
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YES! We got a top-8
Honestly did not expect that comeback. With 500 metres to go Manarelli looked like he was taking a stroll in the park, then all of a sudden he went supersonic
Anyway, first points for Manarelli this season, immediately scoring them in style, and we won't leave this race with a big fat zero. Happy manager, now looking forward to seeing the GC unfold, and won't say no to a breakaway performance by one of our youngsters.
Thanks for the report, Ulrich!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 09-04-2022 20:51
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Bouglas tried, but way too close to the front way too early. He needs to take a few tips from AKA on positioning.
Congrats to Los Pollos!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 09-04-2022 21:48
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Slightly disappointed in both stages but well leading both U25 and the teams classification isn't too bad I guess.
Congrats Nemo!
Thanks again for the thorough reports Ulrich!
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 10-04-2022 08:45
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Wasn't expecting anything on that stage, so seeing Leemreize in the break was nice.
Congrats Nemo and thanks for the report Ulrich
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