|
Euskal Bizikleta Discussion
|
| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 28-05-2023 21:07
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
|
Welcome to the Basque Country for a late season puncheur expedition! With only a few races left in this season, this four stage C1 race should have major promotion and relegation implications among both the PCT and CT teams present.
The race format is similar to previous years, but the exact profiles are different. Gone is the pseudo mountain top finish on stage 4. Riders will first have a fairly generic sprint stage, albeit with a few bumps towards the end. More climbing on stage 2, before difficult stages on both 3 and 4, which 4 including a short uphill sprint to finish it off. The climbs are longer than Ardennes style hills, so mountain climbing ability could be a factor.
| Mtn | Hill | Sta | Res | Spr | Acc |  Kinoshita | 72 | 83 | 80 | 77 | 68 | 77 |  McCarthy | 67 | 82 | 80 | 75 | 65 | 74 |  Borges | 70 | 80 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 81 |  Eiking | 69 | 80 | 78 | 74 | 68 | 76 |  Paulinho | 75 | 80 | 70 | 72 | 68 | 75 |  Boswell | 71 | 80 | 77 | 73 | 65 | 76 |  Aranburu | 77 | 79 | 70 | 79 | 68 | 71 |  Moscon | 73 | 79 | 76 | 77 | 59 | 73 |  Edmondson | 69 | 79 | 75 | 72 | 70 | 76 |  Gebrezgabihier | 70 | 79 | 74 | 74 | 67 | 69 | | Storer | 75 | 78 | 72 | 73 | 64 | 74 |  Teuns | 75 | 78 | 73 | 73 | 66 | 72 |
As has been the case in every race he's entered this season, Kinoshita is the best puncheur here. Considering the generally weaker support in light of the clash with GP Cycliste, his support isn't too bad either. With the climbing suit him? It should, especially the finishing sprint on stage 4.
Right behind him in skill is McCarthy, who has been a key member of Amaysim's PCT title campaign. Like Kinoshita, te short stages won't allow him to completely use his skillset. However, he has the added perk of superdomestique Michael Storer. The 25 year old is a white jersey shoe in, and a terrific foil given his climbing ability.
Borges is the next best. As always, he'll be hoping to take advanatage of his fearsome kick. If he can break free of the pack in a difficult section, he can take the whole race. Eiking will have a similar mindset, but he doesn't quite have that extra gear when attacking. Same for Boswell, whose manager will be hoping for a C1 bounceback here after some disappointing performances.
Then there are the climber hybrids. It's unclear that mountain talent will matter much here - Kump won last year, making it seem useless, but the success of guys like Esteban Chaves ove r the years signals otherwise. Paulinho is the best of these riders in terms of hills ability. Aranburu is the best climber, and he'll like that the tough stages are rather short. Teuns and the aformentioned Storer should feature as well.
And of course, there are plenty of other excellent puncheurs here. Moscon has had an up and down season, but he'll want an up here for the title fight. Gebrezgabihier and Edmondson are solid puncheurs too, though without any particular relative advantages.
| Flat | Mtn | Hill | Spr | Res |  Houle | 78 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 78 |  Kump | 72 | 64 | 75 | 79 | 77 | | Lander | 77 | 55 | 69 | 79 | 77 | | Nizzolo | 72 | 53 | 63 | 79 | 77 | | Keough | 73 | 60 | 62 | 79 | 79 |  Nelson | 70 | 53 | 58 | 79 | 78 | | Aregger | 73 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 77 | | Page | 75 | 57 | 66 | 78 | 79 | | Rajovic | 72 | 58 | 64 | 78 | 82 | | Alaphilippe | 72 | 66 | 73 | 77 | 77 |  Russo | 73 | 65 | 73 | 76 | 78 | | Oliveira | 70 | 67 | 76 | 75 | 78 |
There's nothing stopping Kump frm repeating as victor here. I mean, his skill decline and the race's divisional upgrade surely won't make it easy, but he's still the same style of rider. If he wants to do it, he'll likely have to take some bonus seconds in the first two stages. Luckily, he's perfectly suited for them. He's one of the best sprinters in the race, and the bumps will only help him against pure sprinter peers. Of course, the same can be said for Houle, who has an even bigger engine these days. Neither rider has a leadout, so who will control those stages?
Perhaps one of the teams of the pure sprinters will take up the mantle. Lander has the most power, but Keough, Nizzolo and Nelson can all match him on speed. They'll all have problems with the bumps, however.
When we take climbing ability into account,w hich may be especially handy on stage 2, the favorites look somewhat different. And we should, because guys like McEvoy have taken stages in the past. Aregger is the best sprinter of these hybrids, but Alaphilippe and Russo will be in the mix as well. And like Kump and Houle, there's a chance they could hang on for a GC position with enough time bonuses.
Startlist:
|
| |
|
|
| quadsas |
Posted on 28-05-2023 21:17
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
|
Lets see what Reis can do here, last race of the season for him
|
| |
|
|
| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 28-05-2023 21:44
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3262
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
As noted in the preview Boswell's been poor against tougher fields. Really hope he can put in at least a top ten GC. Getting really greedy maybe Keough could manage to be competitive.
Thanks for the preview.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 29-05-2023 00:20
|
World Champion
Posts: 11392
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
|
Approaching the final days of maxed Houle's career - certainly the last flat stages here. Depending how the race is ridden he could be a major GC contender or just going for stages 1 and 2 - no idea what to expect as he hasn't been very flash this year since Down Under 
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 29-05-2023 00:34
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Schultz and Edmondson lead us here. If its more mountain focused stats then Schultz could do well but if it is really just focused on the hill stats then Edmondson could challenge. Nizzolo is looking strong as well so I'm hoping for some high finishes from him as well!
|
| |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 29-05-2023 00:42
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Not too much support for McCarthy, but obviously a race, where we expect him to deliver. Not sure how the MO factor plays out eventually though. Storer had his races, where he kinda threw away the U25 competition in a support role for McCarthy, but hopefully this won't be the case here, if McCarthy somehow struggles.
Thanks for the preview!
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 05:25
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| redordead |
Posted on 29-05-2023 07:48
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
Would be nice to see a Houle vs Kump duel.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
|
| |
|
|
| Imladrik |
Posted on 29-05-2023 09:10
|
Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 808
Joined: 05-10-2021
PCM$: 600.00
|
2nd home race to finish the year, with Lazkano representing the Basques!
Hope he'll show the jersey, and that we'll compete for breaks and KoM as in Pais Vasco.
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
|
| |
|
|
| whitejersey |
Posted on 29-05-2023 11:06
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 2905
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
|
Hoping the Meurisse is able to secure a decent GC placement, thanks for the preview, looking forward to the reports!
|
| |
|
|
| MacC |
Posted on 29-05-2023 12:40
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1594
Joined: 15-07-2008
PCM$: 700.00
|
Probably hoping for breakaway action with McKenna or a top 15.
Nelson can always spring a surprise...
Thanks for preview and good luck all
|
| |
|
|
| MacC |
Posted on 29-05-2023 12:40
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1594
Joined: 15-07-2008
PCM$: 700.00
|
Probably hoping for breakaway action with McKenna or a top 15.
Nelson can always spring a surprise...
Thanks for preview and good luck all
|
| |
|
|
| Eden95 |
Posted on 29-05-2023 13:15
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
PCM$: 900.00
|
Strong team to support Borges here. Page for the sprinter friendly finishes. Any points we get here will be big, a lot of teams below us have scored well in ToA and we need to put up a good fight to make sure we can survive.
Thanks for the preview!
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
| |
|
|
| Fabianski |
Posted on 29-05-2023 13:23
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
|
I think it's a pretty strong Jura lineup here, especially given that the competition isn't as big as elswhere due to Montréal clashing. Moscon hasn't had too many strong races, though, so this race will decide on whether it's a somewhat acceptable or a really poor season for him. Masnada is our dark horse, showing that he loves those rather hybrid races earlier in the year.
Both Aregger and Stepniak are here, both have had some big results already - a fair share would be supporting Stepniak in S1, Aregger in S2.
And finally, still waiting for a good result by Schmid - S3 and S4 look perfect for attacks, so let's do something useful there!
Thanks for the preview, good luck to all for the final stage race of the year!
|
| |
|
|
| quadsas |
Posted on 29-05-2023 17:15
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
|
Raim the ol reliable, that's why he's staying on the team till he's done. That's massive, ticking points and extra stage win for the goals. Ya love to see it
|
| |
|
|
| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 29-05-2023 17:22
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
|
Bizarro finish, but the minute I saw Lander was the top favorite with zbsolutely no train, I knew we were hopeless. Congrats to Red Bull
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
| |
|
|
| Fabianski |
Posted on 29-05-2023 20:29
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
|
Really weird result here. Feeling somewhat sorry for BNZ for getting beaten by some random dude.
We decided to skip stage 1 and (hopefully) join racing on day 2.
Congrats to the winner, thanks for the report.
|
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 29-05-2023 20:55
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
So close..still good points but we would have preferred to win the stage and take the points jersey but we have tomorrow.
Congrats red bull
|
| |
|
|
| Eden95 |
Posted on 30-05-2023 01:01
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
PCM$: 900.00
|
Not the greatest. Weird winner too, Rajovic a bit unlucky. Onwards I guess. Thanks for the report 
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 30-05-2023 08:00
|
World Champion
Posts: 11392
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
|
We continue our trend this season of doing absolutely unhinged shit when we try and make a leadout ourselves. Not good for Houle GC-wise but love a first career pro podium for our guy Vermeersch 
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
| |
|
|
| Fabianski |
Posted on 30-05-2023 19:33
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4669
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
|
Hum... Good by Aregger to be there in the end, but Räim and Barbier shouldn't beat him after this up-and-down stage. Don't know what Houle did here, he definitely should have won this easily.
Also a bit worried by the GC riders not being attentive, but well, I hope they'll be up to their task tomorrow.
Congrats to Bonduelle, good to end your season on a high note
Thanks for the report.
|
| |
|
