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Giro d'Italia Discussion
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-12-2023 06:36
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8235
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Reports will by written by abhishekLFC
Welcome to the 2023 Giro d'Italia! One year after the dominant Maglia Rosa victory of Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier, we are back for another version of Italy's biggest race. 22 ProTour teams and the two wildcard teams Jura GIANTS and Xero Racing will race for the honor of wearing pink and lifting the Trofeo Senza Fine.
2022: Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier (Evonik - ELKO)
2021: Silvio Herklotz (Team Puma - SAP)
2020: Rein Taaramäe (Aker - MOT)
2019: Simon Spilak (Isostar - LimeBike)
2018: Andy Schleck (EA Vesuvio)
2017: Jose Alarcon (Hugo Boss)
2016: Aleksandr Pluchkin (Metinvest-Dacia)
2015: Andy Schleck (Vesuvio - Accumalux)
2014: Damiano Cunego (Lotto - Australia Post)
2013: Taylor Phinney (Wikipedia)
2012: Riccardo Ricco(Bacardi - Ignis)
2011: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
2010: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
2009: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
2008: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
Please check out the beautiful write-up by jandal for a comprehensive route presentation.
Here are just the key facts:
21 Stages
3009 Kilometers
2 Flat Time Trials (46km)
1 Mountain Time Trials (14km)
8 Flat Stages
6 Mountain Top Finishes
| Rider | MT | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | AC | DH | FL | FT | PR |  Dombrowski | 84 | 75 | 71 | 80 | 78 | 78 | 75 | 72 | 70 | 67 | 71 |  Haig | 82 | 74 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 67 | 72 | 70 | 77 |  Rodrigues | 81 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 72 | 68 | 66 | 70 | 74 |  Galta | 81 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 79 | 77 | 66 | 70 | 69 | 66 | 71 |  Carthy | 81 | 75 | 67 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 69 | 65 | 71 | 65 | 65 |  Godoy | 81 | 76 | 67 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 67 |  Hirt | 81 | 74 | 73 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 76 | 67 | 70 | 74 | 73 |  Shikai | 81 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 76 | 78 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 59 | 76 |  Bennett | 81 | 76 | 65 | 75 | 74 | 79 | 73 | 63 | 67 | 55 | 65 |
Similar to last year's Giro, we once again have one big top favourite: 2022 Vuelta winner, Joseph Dombrowski is the only former Grand Tour winner in the startlist. He is the best climber in the startlist, has strong climbing support and is also the best downhiller amongst the top favourites.
His biggest rival for the victory might be Jack Haig. The Australian stage racer has a clear advantage against the clock as arguably the most complete stage racer in this race. He is also the only other starter who has already finished on the Giro podium with his 3rd place finish in 2020.
Jan Hirt from Czechia only finished 8th in last year's Giro but is the third starter who has a Grand Tour podium in his palmarès. He finished thid in the 2021 Tour de France behind Lecuisinier and Sicard.
Fredrik Strand Galta is also very experienced in Grand Tour racing, having finished inside the top ten four times. Most recently in last year's Giro where he finished 6th which is also his highest ever Grand Tour finish.
The other participants with previous top ten GT results are Chen Shikai (6th Giro'20) and Hugh Carthy (8th Vuelta'21).
Caio Godoy might have never finished inside the top ten of a GT but has proven success with two top 15 finishes in the Tour de France as well as a stage win, the KoM jersey and the young rider jersey in various Vuelta editions.
George Bennett has two top 13 GT finishes and a TDF stage win from Xeros tank season in 2021 but otherwise, the preference of Xeros manager to race in the PCT prevented him from getting good results on the highest level.
There is one more podium contender that is an unknown for fans who only follow the Grand Tours: Joao Rodrigues who finished 101st in his only GT start, the Vuelta a Espana 2020. But he has the climbing ability and the time trial skills to compete for the podium.
| Rider | MT | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | AC | DH | Rider | MT | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | AC | DH |  Giannoutsos | 79 | 72 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 75 | 68 | 67 |  Amezawa | 79 | 77 | 64 | 76 | 78 | 80 | 75 | 69 |  Stüssi | 79 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 73 | 78 | 66 | 69 |  Ardila | 79 | 78 | 68 | 68 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 66 | | Mavrikakis | 79 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 69 | 67 | 64 |  Pinot | 79 | 73 | 64 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 68 | 66 |  Foss | 78 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 69 | 66 |  Mas | 78 | 77 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 70 |  Cort Nielsen | 78 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 71 | 64 | Fouche | 78 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 65 |  Habtemichael | 78 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 76 | 66 | 69 |  Chamorro | 78 | 75 | 65 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 74 | 74 |  Vingegaard | 78 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 77 | 66 | 69 | Bongiorno | 78 | 74 | 67 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 68 | 64 |
There are many more names that are ready to compete for the top ten spots and notably all the listed names above have never secured a top ten finish in a Grand Tour. Notable are the Greek ELCO duo Giannoutsos and Mavrikakis, the explosive Japanese climber Amezawa and stage racers Colin Stüssi and Tobias Foss who are both skilled against the clock.
| Rider | TT | PR | MT | Rider | TT | PR | MT | Rider | TT | PR | MT | | Durbridge | 81 | 81 | 58 | Andersen | 70 | 83 | 63 | Haig | 77 | 77 | 82 | | Hepburn | 79 | 79 | 64 | Leung | 78 | 82 | 57 | Foss | 77 | 72 | 78 | | Razumov | 79 | 79 | 63 | Chavanne | 65 | 82 | 58 | Fernandes | 77 | 77 | 75 | | Ioannidis | 78 | 76 | 75 | Schomber | 74 | 81 | 54 | Shikai | 76 | 76 | 81 | | Ferreyra | 78 | 77 | 72 | Kemboi | 63 | 81 | 62 | Fung | 76 | 74 | 77 | | Bissegger | 78 | 77 | 68 |  Dennis | 77 | 80 | 73 | Cabrera | 76 | 74 | 75 | | Campenaerts | 78 | 78 | 54 | Larsen | 74 | 80 | 60 | Stüssi | 75 | 69 | 79 | | Kung | 77 | 78 | 70 | Keough | 58 | 80 | 60 | Darbellay | 75 | 76 | 77 |
The first opportunity for time triallists is already the opening prologue. A four kilometers long circuit in the south of Italy gives the first chance for pink so many of the most known prologue hunters are attending including Gabriel Chavanne, Sören Kragh Andersen, Chun Wing Leung, Rohan Dennis and Niklas Larsen. They will likely compete with sprinters Salem Kemboi and Luke Keough as well as "proper" time triallist Durbridge for the stage win.
Durbridge could also be the top favourite for the the long TT on day 8. But considering the tough mountain finish on the previous day, he could be competing against some stronger stage racers like Jack Haig.
| Rider | SP | AC | FL | HI | Leadout#1 | FL | SP | AC | Leadout#2 | FL | SP | AC | | | Ahlstrand | 82 | 81 | 73 | 66 | Hodeg | 72 | 79 | 78 | Dakteris | 75 | 77 | 77 | | | Van der Lijke | 82 | 79 | 73 | 76 | Alaphilippe | 72 | 77 | 77 | Zingle | 73 | 76 | 76 | | | Enger | 81 | 78 | 73 | 69 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |  Van Poppel | 81 | 78 | 72 | 64 | Pedersen | 76 | 77 | 77 | Meeus | 77 | 74 | 71 | | | Kemboi | 80 | 80 | 78 | 64 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | Groves | 80 | 79 | 75 | 72 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | Cullaigh | 80 | 81 | 74 | 67 | Norbert | 73 | 75 | 73 | Zukowsky | 70 | 72 | 72 | | | Keough | 79 | 79 | 73 | 62 | Chavanne | 75 | 76 | 76 | Huertas | 73 | 73 | 75 | |  Banaszek | 79 | 81 | 74 | 65 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | Bol | 79 | 77 | 76 | 70 | Bissegger | 74 | 72 | 73 | - | - | - | - | | | Thijssen | 79 | 81 | 75 | 63 | Hesters | 73 | 76 | 76 | Castrillo | 77 | 70 | 73 | | | Santos | 78 | 78 | 76 | 64 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |  Steimle | 78 | 80 | 74 | 70 | Nieuwenhuis | 77 | 75 | 77 | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A fairly strong list of sprinters is attending. The quickest one is arguably Jonas Ahlstrand. He is yet to win a Giro stage but finished on the stage podium multiple times in his only participation back in 2017. However, he is no stranger to Grand Tour sprinting having won three Tour de France stages and two Vuelta stages in his career. He is supported by the quickest leadout train in terms of top speed as both Alvaro Hodeg and Janis Dakteris are fast sprinters themselves.
His closest challenger for sprint stages will be Nick Van der Lijke. Similar to Ahlstrand, his only Giro participation was back in 2017. He has two Vuelta stage wins to his name and will look to celebrate his first stage win at the Giro. He matches Ahlstrands top speed and compensates his slightly weaker acceleration with unmatched abilities over hills and speed bumps. His leadout will further emphasize that strength as Julian Alaphilippe is also an accomplished hilly sprinter.
The third leadout train to watch will be Rabobank's one for Danny Van Poppel. Both Jordi Meeus and Casper Pedersen are excellent rouleurs so should be able to position Van Poppel well. Just like the two top favourites he is yet to win a Giro stage although not for lack of trying as this will be his 8th participation in this race. He only has a single Grand Tour stage win to his name but it couldnt have been a sweeter one: The Champs Élysées stage of the 2020 Tour de France.
Other top sprinters have not brought a strong leadout but that should not stop them from being competitive on the sprint stages. 2021 Giro stage winners Sondre Holst Enger (1 stage win) and Salem Kemboi (2 stage wins 2021, 1 stage win 2019) will look to repeat their successes while Kaden Groves and Gabriel Cullaigh want to win their first Grand Tour stage win.
| Rider | HI | MT | FL | AC | Rider | HI | MT | FL | AC | | Vakoc | 81 | 71 | 71 | 74 | Ardila | 78 | 79 | 66 | 73 | | Koretzky | 80 | 70 | 72 | 77 | Amezawa | 77 | 79 | 68 | 75 | | Trakhov | 79 | 69 | 68 | 75 | Schmid | 77 | 74 | 72 | 77 | | Romo | 78 | 71 | 70 | 69 | Mas | 77 | 78 | 69 | 77 | | Bettiol | 77 | 71 | 72 | 77 | Blums | 77 | 77 | 72 | 70 | | Vila | 77 | 71 | 70 | 74 | Pidcock | 75 | 74 | 76 | 80 |
The startlist also includes some puncheurs for the few opportunities on hilly stages. 2020 stage winner Petr Vakoc and Clement Koretzky (no GT stage wins) are the biggest names but they will have to compete with some strong hybrid riders and possibly climbers or even Van der Lijke for stage success.
| Rider | MT | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | AC | DH | FL | PR | | Ardila | 79 | 78 | 68 | 68 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 66 | 66 | 68 | | Fouche | 78 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 65 | 66 | 69 | | Johannessen | 78 | 73 | 68 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 68 | 67 | | Phodingam | 77 | 74 | 61 | 69 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 61 | | Champoussin | 76 | 76 | 61 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 68 | 62 | | Buitrago | 76 | 74 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 78 | 67 | 67 | 66 | | Chaiyasombat | 76 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 70 | | Arensman | 76 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 67 | 70 | 72 | 72 | | Pidcock | 74 | 75 | 71 | 74 | 77 | 72 | 80 | 82 | 76 | 71 | | Schmid | 74 | 77 | 68 | 71 | 77 | 72 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 66 | | Plapp | 74 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 67 | 64 | 70 | 74 |
The Under 25 competition often shows a glimpse into the future as a victory is a promise of a great career. Almost all the current strongest stage racers have won the U25 competition in the past as that winner list includes names like Silvio Herklotz, Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier, Taylor Phinney, Joseph Dombrowski or most recently Egan Bernal.
The top favourite to add their name to the list has to be Andres Camilo Ardila who is his team's GC leader. Same can't be said for everyone on this list as e.g. Fouche might have to work for George Bennett. Notable is the lack of TT skills amongst the contenders which leads to question marks about which of these riders will actually ride for a GC position. |
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-12-2023 06:36
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8235
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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| # | Rider | FL | MT | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CO | SP | AC | FT | DH | PR | | 1 | Dombrowski | 70 | 84 | 75 | 71 | 80 | 78 | 78 | 55 | 60 | 75 | 67 | 72 | 71 | | 2 | Aleotti | 73 | 72 | 75 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 73 | 62 | 65 | 74 | 69 | 70 | 71 | | 3 | Godon | 74 | 69 | 75 | 68 | 75 | 77 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 66 | 68 | 72 | | 4 | Karnulin | 68 | 77 | 73 | 69 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 57 | 59 | 69 | 53 | 72 | 69 | | 5 | Konrad | 72 | 75 | 76 | 71 | 76 | 73 | 72 | 53 | 62 | 69 | 69 | 58 | 71 | | 6 | Mundle | 79 | 59 | 65 | 55 | 69 | 73 | 67 | 62 | 59 | 69 | 80 | 72 | 55 | | 7 | Sosnitskiy | 69 | 77 | 71 | 63 | 72 | 76 | 66 | 55 | 62 | 72 | 65 | 76 | 63 | | 8 | Vervaeke | 73 | 76 | 73 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 56 | 60 | 69 | 58 | 69 | 70 | | 11 | Haig | 72 | 82 | 74 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 78 | 58 | 61 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 77 | | 12 | Durbridge | 73 | 58 | 67 | 81 | 73 | 74 | 70 | 53 | 62 | 64 | 68 | 61 | 81 | | 13 | Groves | 75 | 61 | 72 | 65 | 75 | 73 | 80 | 66 | 80 | 79 | 64 | 67 | 71 | | 14 | Harper | 67 | 75 | 73 | 62 | 71 | 72 | 74 | 60 | 65 | 74 | 72 | 65 | 62 | | 15 | Lane | 69 | 74 | 76 | 63 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 56 | 63 | 73 | 78 | 66 | 63 | | 16 | Power | 67 | 77 | 70 | 66 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 59 | 56 | 63 | 61 | 65 | 65 | | 17 | Schultz | 68 | 76 | 76 | 64 | 74 | 80 | 75 | 53 | 58 | 71 | 69 | 65 | 64 | | 18 | Sunderland | 65 | 74 | 72 | 57 | 65 | 67 | 71 | 60 | 67 | 74 | 69 | 70 | 60 | | 21 | Ahlstrand | 73 | 59 | 66 | 59 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 66 | 82 | 81 | 58 | 63 | 71 | | 22 | Barbier | 75 | 50 | 67 | 56 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 68 | 77 | 79 | 65 | 64 | 60 | | 23 | Dakteris | 75 | 55 | 64 | 62 | 74 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 63 | 61 | 62 | | 24 | Dennis | 71 | 73 | 74 | 77 | 71 | 73 | 65 | 52 | 64 | 66 | 68 | 55 | 80 | | 25 | Hodeg | 72 | 53 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 51 | 79 | 78 | 53 | 64 | 73 | | 26 | Perez | 71 | 63 | 66 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 68 | 74 | 69 | 74 | | 27 | Rubio | 66 | 75 | 72 | 64 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 60 | 60 | 71 | 71 | 64 | 64 | | 28 | Vosekalns | 66 | 78 | 75 | 62 | 69 | 73 | 72 | 51 | 67 | 71 | 81 | 68 | 62 | | 31 | Galta | 69 | 81 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 79 | 77 | 52 | 63 | 66 | 66 | 70 | 71 | | 32 | Eg | 67 | 77 | 71 | 74 | 76 | 74 | 75 | 59 | 60 | 68 | 66 | 65 | 72 | | 33 | Gregaard | 71 | 78 | 71 | 66 | 78 | 75 | 75 | 61 | 63 | 70 | 58 | 75 | 66 | | 34 | Jimenez Retana | 69 | 59 | 64 | 57 | 67 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 75 | 77 | 63 | 68 | 63 | | 35 | Krigbaum | 76 | 69 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 75 | 73 | 62 | 65 | 64 | 70 | 69 | 73 | | 36 | Olesen | 68 | 75 | 75 | 62 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 63 | 63 | 73 | 61 | 66 | 61 | | 37 | Skjelmose Jensen | 71 | 74 | 71 | 72 | 69 | 74 | 71 | 58 | 64 | 65 | 69 | 65 | 72 | | 38 | Sureda | 73 | 63 | 71 | 61 | 71 | 69 | 75 | 65 | 77 | 79 | 72 | 65 | 61 | | 41 | Hirt | 70 | 81 | 74 | 73 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 52 | 65 | 76 | 74 | 67 | 73 | | 42 | Bogdanovics | 73 | 57 | 62 | 63 | 74 | 69 | 75 | 60 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 69 | 63 | | 43 | Hofland | 69 | 68 | 76 | 66 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 62 | 68 | 72 | 75 | 68 | 66 | | 44 | Neuman | 71 | 70 | 76 | 65 | 69 | 74 | 76 | 63 | 69 | 77 | 74 | 71 | 67 | | 45 | Nommela | 70 | 57 | 67 | 58 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 76 | 68 | 67 | 65 | | 46 | Otruba | 68 | 75 | 74 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 60 | 63 | 70 | 71 | 69 | 70 | | 47 | Salazar | 74 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 68 | 69 | 71 | 68 | 68 | 71 | | 48 | Van den Berg | 66 | 71 | 72 | 63 | 67 | 68 | 66 | 61 | 61 | 67 | 67 | 66 | 67 | | 51 | Van der Lijke | 73 | 64 | 76 | 66 | 73 | 71 | 78 | 64 | 82 | 79 | 66 | 63 | 68 | | 52 | Alaphilippe | 72 | 66 | 73 | 62 | 74 | 69 | 81 | 65 | 77 | 77 | 75 | 73 | 64 | | 53 | Cabrera | 69 | 75 | 72 | 76 | 71 | 73 | 77 | 61 | 68 | 65 | 63 | 71 | 74 | | 54 | Godoy | 68 | 81 | 76 | 67 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 54 | 59 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 67 | | 55 | Hepburn | 71 | 64 | 66 | 79 | 74 | 77 | 72 | 60 | 66 | 69 | 67 | 62 | 79 | | 56 | Rucigaj | 69 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 61 | 63 | 64 | 69 | 66 | 76 | | 57 | Wirtgen | 70 | 75 | 75 | 64 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 58 | 66 | 68 | 70 | 69 | 64 | | 58 | Zingle | 73 | 62 | 68 | 60 | 70 | 74 | 76 | 63 | 76 | 76 | 64 | 66 | 63 | | 61 | Shikai | 72 | 81 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 76 | 78 | 55 | 57 | 67 | 59 | 69 | 76 | | 62 | Carpenter | 67 | 76 | 76 | 68 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 52 | 66 | 72 | 72 | 69 | 68 | | 63 | Christakos | 69 | 75 | 70 | 70 | 69 | 73 | 71 | 58 | 61 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 73 | | 64 | Le Roux | 71 | 66 | 77 | 63 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 64 | 65 | 72 | 71 | 66 | 63 | | 65 | Nych | 78 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 66 | 65 | 76 | 84 | 74 | 67 | | 66 | Oldani | 71 | 71 | 71 | 64 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 63 | 68 | 73 | 69 | 67 | 67 | | 67 | Postlberger | 73 | 58 | 68 | 77 | 75 | 72 | 69 | 56 | 69 | 70 | 73 | 61 | 77 | | 68 | Viviani | 75 | 57 | 63 | 76 | 66 | 72 | 69 | 57 | 68 | 65 | 70 | 61 | 76 | | 71 | Carthy | 71 | 81 | 75 | 67 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 56 | 60 | 69 | 65 | 65 | 65 | | 72 | Buttigieg | 72 | 62 | 66 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 65 | 68 | 73 | 70 | 70 | | 73 | Cullaigh | 74 | 62 | 67 | 63 | 73 | 70 | 78 | 72 | 80 | 81 | 66 | 68 | 67 | | 74 | Dujardin | 71 | 63 | 68 | 59 | 71 | 75 | 66 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 69 | 74 | 65 | | 75 | Holmes | 70 | 72 | 75 | 61 | 71 | 73 | 69 | 61 | 67 | 71 | 71 | 68 | 62 | | 76 | Norbert | 73 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 74 | 75 | 66 | 55 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 69 | 74 | | 77 | Romo | 70 | 71 | 78 | 66 | 76 | 75 | 69 | 60 | 66 | 69 | 76 | 62 | 63 | | 78 | Zukowsky | 70 | 63 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 61 | 72 | 72 | 77 | 67 | 74 | | 81 | Kemboi | 78 | 62 | 64 | 63 | 74 | 77 | 81 | 50 | 80 | 80 | 61 | 68 | 81 | | 82 | Bettiol | 72 | 71 | 77 | 68 | 78 | 75 | 74 | 66 | 71 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 67 | | 83 | Cort Nielsen | 72 | 78 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 60 | 54 | 71 | 65 | 64 | 72 | | 84 | Gee | 70 | 71 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 58 | 69 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 68 | | 85 | Prado | 72 | 77 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 61 | 64 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 78 | | 86 | Razumov | 74 | 63 | 70 | 79 | 75 | 72 | 73 | 56 | 64 | 66 | 70 | 65 | 79 | | 87 | Stewart | 73 | 62 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 73 | 64 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 66 | 67 | 70 | | 88 | Vine | 67 | 73 | 71 | 64 | 65 | 74 | 74 | 61 | 66 | 72 | 74 | 62 | 68 | | 91 | Rodrigues | 66 | 81 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 55 | 61 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 74 | | 92 | Benito | 68 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 51 | 56 | 61 | 67 | 62 | 73 | | 93 | Figueiredo | 73 | 76 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 75 | 77 | 55 | 59 | 68 | 67 | 69 | 72 | | 94 | Gough | 70 | 60 | 65 | 69 | 66 | 69 | 68 | 63 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 65 | 74 | | 95 | Kaczmarek | 72 | 68 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 72 | 69 | 63 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 76 | | 96 | Khodayari | 66 | 75 | 73 | 62 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 52 | 64 | 72 | 72 | 80 | 62 | | 97 | Perez | 69 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 62 | 69 | 72 | 74 | 67 | 69 | | 98 | Yudha | 69 | 69 | 75 | 66 | 74 | 72 | 70 | 55 | 65 | 73 | 72 | 68 | 67 | | 101 | Bennett | 67 | 81 | 76 | 65 | 75 | 74 | 79 | 58 | 65 | 73 | 55 | 63 | 65 | | 102 | Fouche | 66 | 78 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 62 | 61 | 75 | 75 | 65 | 69 | | 103 | Hamza | 75 | 60 | 67 | 60 | 72 | 72 | 74 | 62 | 75 | 75 | 65 | 65 | 63 | | 104 | Novardianto | 76 | 61 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 78 | 74 | 69 | 73 | 79 | 74 | 68 | 75 | | 105 | Pidcock | 76 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 74 | 77 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 80 | 72 | 82 | 71 | | 106 | Schomber | 73 | 54 | 58 | 74 | 66 | 76 | 68 | 50 | 69 | 69 | 65 | 64 | 81 | | 107 | Tesfaye Heyi | 75 | 70 | 73 | 67 | 74 | 76 | 65 | 55 | 68 | 73 | 78 | 66 | 72 | | 108 | Vermeersch | 74 | 62 | 67 | 70 | 71 | 73 | 65 | 73 | 74 | 76 | 67 | 75 | 72 | | 111 | Enger | 73 | 63 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 77 | 58 | 81 | 78 | 62 | 68 | 77 | | 112 | Bouchard | 70 | 77 | 74 | 67 | 70 | 72 | 76 | 55 | 62 | 70 | 78 | 76 | 66 | | 113 | Buitrago | 67 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 60 | 65 | 78 | 74 | 67 | 66 | | 114 | Crncevic | 67 | 76 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 64 | 61 | 69 | 67 | 75 | 72 | | 115 | Croes | 65 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 70 | 56 | 62 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 73 | | 116 | Govekar | 70 | 68 | 73 | 60 | 70 | 73 | 67 | 58 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 70 | 67 | | 117 | Habtemichael | 67 | 78 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 76 | 52 | 59 | 66 | 68 | 69 | 74 | | 118 | Hocevar | 66 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 54 | 66 | 73 | 69 | 69 | 62 | | 121 | Van Poppel | 72 | 60 | 64 | 67 | 74 | 71 | 78 | 64 | 81 | 78 | 56 | 69 | 72 | | 122 | Bloem | 72 | 59 | 67 | 60 | 71 | 73 | 69 | 65 | 68 | 67 | 65 | 60 | 65 | | 123 | Champoussin | 68 | 76 | 76 | 61 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 57 | 59 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 62 | | 124 | Hellemose | 66 | 71 | 71 | 59 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 61 | 62 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 59 | | 125 | Kalf | 72 | 58 | 66 | 65 | 76 | 74 | 70 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 65 | 67 | 67 | | 126 | Martin | 68 | 75 | 72 | 66 | 74 | 71 | 75 | 52 | 59 | 71 | 63 | 65 | 67 | | 127 | Meeus | 77 | 61 | 65 | 60 | 74 | 71 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 71 | 65 | 63 | 60 | | 128 | Pedersen | 76 | 61 | 67 | 67 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 63 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 69 | 78 | | 131 | Stüssi | 71 | 79 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 73 | 78 | 55 | 63 | 66 | 65 | 69 | 69 | | 132 | Bissegger | 74 | 68 | 69 | 78 | 73 | 77 | 72 | 60 | 72 | 73 | 64 | 71 | 77 | | 133 | Bol | 76 | 64 | 70 | 67 | 75 | 77 | 81 | 68 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 67 | 69 | | 134 | Darbellay | 69 | 77 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 64 | 67 | 64 | 70 | 67 | 76 | | 135 | Janssen | 71 | 63 | 65 | 72 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 55 | 59 | 66 | 64 | 65 | 72 | | 136 | Kung | 73 | 70 | 73 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 63 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 78 | | 137 | Schmid | 72 | 74 | 77 | 68 | 71 | 77 | 72 | 69 | 70 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 66 | | 138 | Tediashvili | 73 | 66 | 69 | 65 | 74 | 76 | 72 | 74 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 66 | 65 | | 141 | Foss | 69 | 78 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 66 | 60 | 69 | 68 | 66 | 72 | | 142 | Battistella | 71 | 73 | 73 | 66 | 70 | 76 | 70 | 63 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 67 | 72 | | 143 | Blums | 72 | 77 | 77 | 68 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 63 | 64 | 70 | 73 | 78 | 71 | | 144 | Januskevicius | 71 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 74 | 75 | 72 | 55 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 69 | 69 | | 145 | Kanepejs | 70 | 67 | 77 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 55 | 62 | 71 | 68 | 65 | 69 | | 146 | Koch | 66 | 77 | 73 | 68 | 69 | 74 | 74 | 51 | 67 | 76 | 57 | 61 | 70 | | 147 | Plapp | 70 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 58 | 62 | 67 | 72 | 64 | 74 | | 148 | Visser | 72 | 64 | 72 | 68 | 74 | 73 | 69 | 65 | 73 | 74 | 76 | 68 | 67 | | 151 | Vakoc | 71 | 71 | 81 | 69 | 75 | 71 | 67 | 52 | 71 | 74 | 61 | 66 | 69 | | 152 | Bongiorno | 68 | 78 | 74 | 67 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 60 | 57 | 68 | 68 | 64 | 67 | | 153 | Ferreyra | 72 | 72 | 72 | 78 | 72 | 74 | 74 | 54 | 68 | 69 | 73 | 68 | 77 | | 154 | Martinez | 66 | 77 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 53 | 64 | 69 | 65 | 69 | 72 | | 155 | Osorio | 67 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 75 | 61 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 64 | 71 | | 156 | Pinot | 71 | 79 | 73 | 64 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 57 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 66 | 64 | | 157 | Santos | 76 | 63 | 64 | 66 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 53 | 78 | 78 | 70 | 67 | 74 | | 158 | Sendeku | 71 | 76 | 72 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 58 | 62 | 68 | 54 | 63 | 73 | | 161 | Mamykin | 66 | 77 | 72 | 67 | 80 | 76 | 85 | 52 | 62 | 67 | 66 | 69 | 65 | | 162 | Arslanov | 68 | 76 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 76 | 76 | 53 | 61 | 66 | 62 | 68 | 74 | | 163 | Banaszek | 74 | 61 | 65 | 63 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 59 | 79 | 81 | 65 | 70 | 73 | | 164 | Foliforov | 73 | 75 | 72 | 70 | 79 | 77 | 76 | 50 | 61 | 59 | 67 | 73 | 70 | | 165 | Novikov | 66 | 74 | 70 | 67 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 60 | 61 | 69 | 70 | 65 | 66 | | 166 | Rybalkin | 65 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 78 | 77 | 81 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 67 | 73 | 72 | | 167 | Tikhonin | 71 | 67 | 75 | 65 | 73 | 72 | 69 | 63 | 69 | 74 | 72 | 68 | 65 | | 168 | Trakhov | 68 | 69 | 79 | 65 | 78 | 74 | 69 | 55 | 69 | 75 | 70 | 69 | 65 | | 171 | Amezawa | 68 | 79 | 77 | 64 | 76 | 78 | 80 | 60 | 68 | 75 | 72 | 69 | 60 | | 172 | Andersen | 81 | 63 | 65 | 70 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 65 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 83 | | 173 | Conti | 67 | 75 | 75 | 66 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 55 | 68 | 74 | 70 | 66 | 66 | | 174 | Gabburo | 75 | 68 | 76 | 64 | 73 | 75 | 68 | 55 | 72 | 76 | 79 | 65 | 63 | | 175 | Johannessen | 69 | 76 | 71 | 64 | 70 | 78 | 70 | 63 | 67 | 75 | 75 | 81 | 65 | | 176 | Suter | 77 | 64 | 70 | 68 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 71 | 68 | | 177 | Wouters | 75 | 66 | 68 | 59 | 73 | 75 | 83 | 64 | 77 | 79 | 56 | 60 | 61 | | 178 | Zhao | 74 | 58 | 65 | 66 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 58 | 77 | 81 | 56 | 71 | 78 | | 181 | Giannoutsos | 68 | 79 | 72 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 75 | 57 | 64 | 68 | 75 | 67 | 77 | | 182 | Agrotis | 71 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 63 | 65 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 73 | | 183 | Bouglas | 71 | 63 | 69 | 57 | 70 | 65 | 74 | 52 | 77 | 76 | 61 | 66 | 57 | | 184 | Ioannidis | 67 | 75 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 57 | 58 | 70 | 72 | 67 | 76 | | 185 | Kastrantas | 73 | 73 | 75 | 62 | 70 | 71 | 65 | 64 | 62 | 73 | 75 | 78 | 62 | | 186 | Koretzky | 72 | 70 | 80 | 62 | 75 | 68 | 69 | 62 | 70 | 77 | 72 | 69 | 60 | | 187 | Mavrikakis | 70 | 79 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 69 | 54 | 61 | 67 | 63 | 64 | 71 | | 188 | Vila | 70 | 71 | 77 | 64 | 70 | 73 | 74 | 54 | 67 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 64 | | 191 | Thijssen | 75 | 61 | 63 | 60 | 74 | 70 | 78 | 65 | 79 | 81 | 65 | 64 | 60 | | 192 | Castrillo | 77 | 66 | 67 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 55 | 70 | 73 | 71 | 67 | 76 | | 193 | De La Cruz Chapulin | 68 | 66 | 72 | 60 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 64 | 67 | 73 | 73 | 67 | 65 | | 194 | Finkler | 68 | 68 | 75 | 65 | 74 | 70 | 69 | 61 | 67 | 73 | 73 | 69 | 63 | | 195 | Hesters | 73 | 61 | 63 | 60 | 72 | 74 | 77 | 71 | 76 | 76 | 63 | 67 | 60 | | 196 | Mas | 69 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 77 | 56 | 60 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 68 | | 197 | Miquel | 68 | 67 | 72 | 58 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 61 | 63 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 58 | | 198 | Rodriguez | 69 | 77 | 75 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 55 | 63 | 73 | 72 | 64 | 74 | | 201 | Keough | 73 | 60 | 62 | 58 | 67 | 73 | 73 | 59 | 79 | 79 | 63 | 75 | 80 | | 202 | Ardila | 66 | 79 | 78 | 68 | 68 | 69 | 72 | 62 | 62 | 73 | 74 | 66 | 68 | | 203 | Campenaerts | 71 | 54 | 69 | 78 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 62 | 53 | 65 | 78 | 56 | 78 | | 204 | Chavanne | 75 | 58 | 64 | 65 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 57 | 76 | 76 | 53 | 67 | 82 | | 205 | Donovan | 72 | 74 | 70 | 65 | 72 | 75 | 68 | 62 | 63 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 67 | | 206 | Huertas | 73 | 63 | 68 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 73 | 75 | 76 | 66 | 74 | | 207 | Rivera | 68 | 75 | 69 | 59 | 71 | 72 | 69 | 57 | 60 | 71 | 72 | 69 | 58 | | 208 | Stancu | 67 | 78 | 69 | 66 | 70 | 74 | 73 | 50 | 59 | 71 | 70 | 66 | 66 | | 211 | Nesset | 69 | 78 | 73 | 69 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 54 | 64 | 69 | 60 | 68 | 69 | | 212 | Arensman | 72 | 76 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 67 | 63 | 67 | 73 | 70 | 72 | | 213 | Bazhkou | 71 | 69 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 75 | 71 | 53 | 63 | 64 | 67 | 61 | 76 | | 214 | Brkic | 72 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 65 | 67 | 72 | 64 | 67 | 74 | | 215 | Hulgaard | 71 | 67 | 70 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 71 | 58 | 65 | 65 | 67 | 67 | 75 | | 216 | Larsen | 77 | 60 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 78 | 64 | 77 | 76 | 65 | 66 | 80 | | 217 | Rajapakshage | 72 | 64 | 70 | 76 | 71 | 72 | 68 | 61 | 50 | 69 | 75 | 54 | 78 | | 218 | Vingegaard | 67 | 78 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 77 | 60 | 61 | 66 | 68 | 69 | 71 | | 221 | Steimle | 74 | 66 | 70 | 65 | 71 | 69 | 74 | 67 | 78 | 80 | 61 | 62 | 71 | | 222 | Egger | 66 | 75 | 74 | 55 | 70 | 76 | 71 | 59 | 64 | 74 | 73 | 65 | 55 | | 223 | Fortunato | 66 | 75 | 72 | 61 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 58 | 62 | 68 | 74 | 66 | 61 | | 224 | Johannessen | 68 | 78 | 73 | 68 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 60 | 67 | 74 | 68 | 72 | 67 | | 225 | Nieuwenhuis | 77 | 64 | 69 | 60 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 71 | 75 | 77 | 62 | 76 | 60 | | 226 | Schinnagel | 68 | 75 | 74 | 65 | 77 | 72 | 71 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 69 | 74 | 65 | | 227 | Zimmermann | 68 | 77 | 73 | 61 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 52 | 60 | 71 | 70 | 75 | 61 | | 228 | Zwiehoff | 68 | 77 | 75 | 60 | 73 | 76 | 73 | 62 | 61 | 76 | 67 | 77 | 60 | | 231 | Chamorro | 66 | 78 | 75 | 65 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 51 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 74 | 64 | | 232 | Chaiyasombat | 69 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 52 | 66 | 72 | 71 | 69 | 70 | | 233 | Fernandes | 71 | 75 | 70 | 77 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 53 | 62 | 67 | 60 | 68 | 77 | | 234 | Fung | 68 | 77 | 71 | 76 | 69 | 73 | 75 | 50 | 62 | 71 | 71 | 67 | 74 | | 235 | Hecht | 71 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 71 | 78 | 69 | 74 | | 236 | Leung | 73 | 57 | 64 | 78 | 65 | 77 | 69 | 50 | 69 | 71 | 66 | 63 | 82 | | 237 | Phodingam | 68 | 77 | 74 | 61 | 69 | 71 | 72 | 60 | 64 | 73 | 76 | 70 | 61 | | 238 | Van Baarle | 76 | 68 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 76 | 73 | 74 | 57 | 70 | 71 | 68 | 77 |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 13-12-2023 07:15
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 12681
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1961.50
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Stunning preview, thanks knockout 
My first time reporting a GT! Will try to stick to the schedule as far as possible although can't guarantee a stage every day on the weekends. Will try to make it up with two stages on the following weekdays if possible.
All the best to everyone participating 
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 13-12-2023 07:36
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World Champion
Posts: 11621
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1120.00
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Love your work knockout  Excited for our wildcard spot, a pretty shocking lead-in race for George Bennett (and indeed Fouche) in Colombia but hope he can redeem himself here in his final GT at a maxed level. Joined by Pidcock who could be an interesting force if he's given some good AI treatment, and Schomber who has a slim chance of doing something awesome (which was very rudely ignored in the write-up  )
Then also accompanied by our only rider who has won a Giro stage in Jams and the home hero Himperator Tesfaye Hadrian as well as youngsters Hamza and Vermeersch getting that sweet XP.
And of course very excited to read Abhishek's first GT, sure they will be great
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."
[PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
1x  x1
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 13-12-2023 08:50
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Sprinter
Posts: 1524
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
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Great preview knockout! Can't wait to follow this
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-12-2023 09:40
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World Champion
Posts: 13561
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 400.00
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Excellent preview
On paper, this should be our worst GT of the year. Not that we are going to do very well in one, actually
We only have 2 riders capable of doing something notable here. Van Poppel in the sprints and Champoussin if he will be aggressive in the mountain stages. Otherwise, it's just Van Poppel. And sprints are always surprising.
Dombrowski set for his second consecutive GT victory after leaving our team. All due respect to his opponents, I didn't expect to not see anyone here even close to his stats. Galta also looks set to continue Carlsberg's excellent maiden PT season in this company.
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| ember |
Posted on 13-12-2023 10:09
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Team Leader
Posts: 7057
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 900.00
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Great preview, knockout! Truly enjoyed that read and "study" of stats
Really nice to be already at this part of the season, where the first GT is just around the corner. This is also the GT where we come with the biggest expectations and hope. Kragh for the prologue can hopefully deliver us the win, like he has done in every prologue/epilogue so far this year. Further, we've got Amezawa here. Figured the route suits him very, very well (obviously except for the flat TT), but there should be plenty of stage opportunities on the hilly mountains. Very curious to see how his race is played out by the AI here, after his training. GTs so far in his career have been passive affairs, but hopefully his 79 mountain will make him either a GC threat, or a brilliant stage hunter in the mountains in the last week. We take any of those two!
With Wouters and Zhao for the flat stages, we've got all stages covered except the flat TT. It will make for a fun Giro to follow, looking forward to it!
Dombrowski surely must be the overall favourite. Then comes Haig, before it's anyone's guess for the final podium spot, I think, which is nicely shown by the first stats overview given, with a bunch of 81 mountain riders. |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 13-12-2023 10:48
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Haig is MO 83, so obviously anything but a podium would be highly disappointing! Not enough TT kilometres to be the top favorite over Dombrowski, but maybe he can beat him in a stage or two? We definitely need big points from this race, since we will be hopeless in other GTs.
So, with also Durbridge and Groves amongst stage contenders, we need to show our colors prominently instead of giving too many stages to breakaways. We once had a strong GT result without stage results though, which turned out to be one of the nails to our relegation coffin. Would be frustrating as hell here.
Thanks for the nice preview!
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| SotD |
Posted on 13-12-2023 10:49
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World Champion
Posts: 12631
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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Very nice preview indeed
Hoping for some succes here, but it's somewhat of an outside shot.
Giannoutsos is around the 10th best GC rider here, so it would be great to see him both get a decent GC and some freedom to attack. Mavrikakis is more one dimensional, and probably a stage hunter. Given the outside GC aspirations I hope he can be very aggressive. Probably not though.
In general I have a team equipped for KOM hunting and stage glory with Koretzky, Vila, Ioannidis, Koretzky and Agrotis besides the two aforementioned riders - and then Bouglas who might mingle with sprints here and there but hopefully weak enough to not cause a distraction from the aggressive riding.
The podium is wide open, and it should be very interesting. Looking at that I could have opted to train Giannoutsos another +1MO and making him an outside bet for a top 5 GC. I hope he can make +2 next season to get up there with the podium contenders.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 13-12-2023 13:56
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16554
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 13638.70
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Amazing preview knockout! Very fun read to wake up to during a stressful part of the year for me!
The Giro is our top 10 goal, and so it's the GT we've sent Galta to this year. Can't get ahead of myself, but I do like our chance of reaching that goal since we have a 2 mountain stat advantage on contenders for the last spot in the top 10 here. This is an interesting situation where only Dombrowski and Haig are really a cut above the other guys. Most of the top GC guys in the division have passed, but a ton of the B tier GC guys are present, meaning there's a huge oppportunity for a lot of us to snag a top 3-5 where it would elsewhere be unlikely. But also a chance for a very similar caliber rider to finish 10th. Lots of luck here. If it works out, it'll be brilliant for us (since Quintana is likely to finish behind these guys if they're at other GT's). If it doesn't, well obviously not gonna be fun rankings wise.
GC is really our only goal here. In other GT's we've brought sprinters or puncheurs to work for stages with Quintana. Here, it's all focused on a top GC. I think Galta is capable of it, but our mountain domestique core isn't exactly brilliant, so hopefully Eg and Gregaard are enough for the high mountain when we're not the favorite. Speaking of Eg, he starts his first of all three GT's this year, so we're hoping for some minor placings in all of them to see where that puts him all time. Other plots include Skjelmose's first PT GT, which should be fun.
So, all in on Galta from the very start. Let's see how it goes!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 13-12-2023 14:23
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9137
Joined: 13-03-2013
PCM$: 2100.00
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Great preview, surprisingly weak startlist. There could be a lot of unexpected beneficiaries from this race, especially looking at Hirt and Godoy.
Cheering for Xero to have a great race with Bennett and not Top10 in the prologue.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 06-12-2025 17:03
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| tastasol |
Posted on 13-12-2023 14:37
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3030
Joined: 11-09-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Superb preview, thanks knockout!
Think we have a decent team here, but obviously no world class riders. Fingers crossed that Larsen has a magical day in the prologue, but the completion looks tough. Other than that, we'll just have to get in the right breaks and chase points where we can.
Dombrowski the guy to beat, for sure.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 13-12-2023 17:43
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7773
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 20845.00
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Thanks for the preview knockout!
Second ever GT after our 2018 Vuelta wildcard. No GC ambitions this time around but Ahlstrand seems to have waken up so confident he will get something done this race. A breakaway win or a KoM hunt from a Vosekalns would be nice as well.
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| seancoll |
Posted on 13-12-2023 19:17
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 765
Joined: 20-12-2022
PCM$: 500.00
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An absolutely awesome preview! Excited to see the best of the best go after it. Especially excited for the first week with so many different opportunities for the Maglia Rosa to change hands.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 13-12-2023 23:44
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5234
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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Great preview for our first ever GT, thanks a lot
We're obviously not that high up in the pecking order - I'd have preferred going to a GT with more TT kilometers, as that is where Stüssi has an advantage over many of the 80+ climbers, but we're still happy to ride a GT at all
As knockout mentioned, Stüssi might have an outside chance at a Top 10; otherwise I definitely hope he'll join some breakaways. Darbellay and Schmid also should try their luck with some attacks; especially the latter is among the more well-rounded puncheurs.
Bissegger and Küng might get a respectable TT result, given the weak TT startlist, although they might also suffer from the first couple of stages.
Bol will hopefully compete in a couple of sprints; he did well against strong competition so far, maybe he'll even get our first ever GT stage podium?
For the overall, I could well imagine a close duel between Dombrowski and Haig. As tsmoha noted, Haig's training apparently hasn't made it to some of the startlist files, and with just -1 Mo and a pretty important TT advantage, Dombrowski can't afford any tactical errors like he did in Colombia. Looking forward to the rivalry!
And a very wide open race for 3rd, that spot could change multiple times.
Thanks again for the great preview, and good luck to all!
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 14-12-2023 07:56
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World Champion
Posts: 11621
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1120.00
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Not what we wanted but finishing 4th behind that podium is a very respectable effort from Schomber.
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."
[PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
1x x1
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 14-12-2023 08:19
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9137
Joined: 13-03-2013
PCM$: 2100.00
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I was afraid that Schomber may have taken white cause I thought he has to be this young having done nothing his whole career, but he apparently is not only shit but also old
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| knockout |
Posted on 14-12-2023 08:46
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8235
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Always cool to see those good prologue specialists filling up the top 3 spots and not some random fluke result. Congrats ember! Especially love to see Chavanne up there as well!
Thanks everyone for the preview praise. Much appreciated
We are here with the Foss+Blums combo as main pieces. Foss should be a top 10 contender, Blums a top 20 contender. Ideally Foss focusses a bit more on the GC result while Blums goes stage/KoM hunting but as long as we are active (and succesful ^^) I'm open for other choices
In terms of GC, Dombrowski seems the obvious favourite, Haig the only one that should pose a proper threat. I don't want to exclude everyone else completely but would be a big surprise to me. Of all those 81 guys, Hirt looks the strongest to me but anything can happen there.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 14-12-2023 08:50
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World Champion
Posts: 13561
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 400.00
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Kragh Andersen enjoying quite a good season so far. Congrats, ember!
Pedersen with a sneak into top 20. Not a lot of sprint stages in the first week, but hopefully Van Poppel will be up to the task in the two stages that are for his kind.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 14-12-2023 09:20
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Solid performance from Durbridge, about where to expect him in a prologue against this competition.. also Haig doing what was needed to be done (gain some seconds on Dombrowski and, more importantly, proving to be in shape here).
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