The final C2 cobbles race is here and it’s happening in the British county of Lincolnshire. A storied race, Austrian Christoph Taubel won what was already the 11th edition last year and he’s back again to try and become only the second two-time winner after Alexey Tsatevich. With just 13 teams present, there are plenty of scoring opportunities for (basically) everyone, though.
Profile
The route remains unchanged from previous editions. It is mostly flat but all cobbled sectors (one or two per lap) are on short, steep ramps and that includes the finish. If past results are any indication, some puncheur qualities can certainly be helpful but might not be strictly necessary to succeed here.
Contending Team Leaders
FL
HI
ST
RS
CO
SP
AC
Gaday
71
75
75
72
78
71
73
Chatarunga
72
67
79
72
77
70
68
Trentin
71
71
71
66
78
72
71
Lampaert
75
66
74
73
78
60
61
Breen
76
69
70
70
77
72
70
Taubel
73
65
69
73
78
61
64
Richardson
71
67
68
68
78
60
61
Havik
73
64
74
68
76
79
76
Tediashvili
73
69
74
76
74
69
71
Domene
72
56
71
66
75
73
73
The preeminent cobblestone rider of this CT season is here to put a bow on his campaign, and the hilly segments of this race only increase Gaday’s status as the top favorite. He’s got strong team support, all the confidence in the world and it will take a lot to stop him.
Trying to do so is a sizeable group of challengers. Chatarunga has been the second most successful and consistent CT cobblestone rider, Crabbe hope it continues that way. He finished “only” 8th here last year though, behind Breen (5th) and just ahead of Lampaert (9th), all of them riders for whom anything less than the Top 10 will be a huge disappointment - the podium should be in reach, after all.
Another thing those three have in common: They’ve been beaten by Taubel, who as I’ve mentioned at the top did indeed win the race last year. A repeat is certainly in the cards, though it is a tough task. Trentin on the other hand is new to the race but especially with his decent skills on hills, he’s a force to be reckoned with here.
There’s a slight tier break as we look at the following four riders. Richardson is notoriously unreliable on cobblestones, but he’s not Podium Ambition’s only hope here as we’ll see below. Havik can’t quite match others on this list on pure cobblestone skills and doesn’t love hills, but if he comes to the finish near the front, his strong sprint is always an asset.
Tediashvili is an even weaker pure cobbler, but he’s a remarkably well-rounded rider for this level and has proven his viability with a 3rd place finish at Geraardsbergen – Bosberg. Finally, Domene will really have to grind his teeth on the uphill sections if he wants to have a shot at a decent result.
Notable Domestiques
FL
HI
ST
RS
CO
SP
AC
Owen
73
69
73
71
78
64
71
Kulppi
73
67
73
69
77
65
70
Kosic
71
65
72
68
76
58
62
Matthews
72
66
70
67
75
76
76
Campbell
74
68
69
68
74
68
73
Schlechter
73
71
69
65
74
60
64
Kaislavuo
73
70
73
73
73
67
72
Devriendt
71
71
74
73
72
71
71
A few riders in this section could easily find themselves on the favorites list, chief among them of course Owen. And while Tafjord, for instance, have shown that it’s possible to place multiple riders in the Top 10 (hell, even on the podium), the American has struggled to produce this year as second-in-command. Speaking of Tafjord: Kulppi is most certainly a contender for a top result, as he found himself inside the Top 25 of the individual rankings in the March Update, just a few places behind teammate Breen, who you’d still expect to be the nominal team leader. Interestingly enough, Breen has a history of being outscored by a teammate here: Kaislavuo actually finished third last year, two spots ahead of his captain.
And that third place was one place behind Matthews! Alongside Campbell (and you could even list Gayral or Major here, too), he provides one of a number of promising riders at the startline for Podium Ambition. Richardson’s leading role is far from secure, but they’ll need the right tactics to manage their options. Similarly, Kosic is probably eyeing a role as co-leader (or even outright captain) alongside teammate Tediashvili. And while he’s not as well-rounded, and so far hasn’t done much remarkable this year, he’s indeed the better pure cobbler on paper.
Rounding out this tier are Schlechter and Devriendt, the strongest of a whole bunch more of solid domestiques who could reach the scoring ranks, be it from the peloton or after surviving long enough in a breakaway.
We’re also here!
FL
HI
ST
RS
CO
SP
AC
Koch
73
70
71
74
69
72
73
Jans
75
73
72
71
67
73
72
Murillo
68
65
69
69
67
66
70
10 of the 13 teams present had riders listed above, these are the leaders of the other 3: Koch, Jans and Murillo, or any of their teammates, will likely have to rely on breakaway heroics to end up with anything tangible.
Startlist
Spoiler
[table]Jans Roy Babymetal Cycling
Muhammad Yuda Babymetal Cycling
Johnson Cooper Babymetal Cycling
Kawasaki Miori Babymetal Cycling
McGill Scott Babymetal Cycling
Deelstra Huub Babymetal Cycling
De Laat Jasper Babymetal Cycling
Welch Patrick Babymetal Cycling
Domene Ramon Caja Rural Cycling Team
Garcia Pierna Raul Caja Rural Cycling Team
Barbero Carlos Caja Rural Cycling Team
Barcelo Fernando Caja Rural Cycling Team
Ezquerra Jesus Caja Rural Cycling Team
Garcia Jhojan Caja Rural Cycling Team
Balloni Alfredo Caja Rural Cycling Team
Chatarunga Sameera Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Rathe Jakob Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Devriendt Tom Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Van Den Bossche Fabio Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Kireva Albert Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Berckmoes Jenno Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Smirnovs Andris Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Rubenis Pauls Crabbe-CC Chevigny
Havik Yoeri Hilcona Racing Team
Kuypers Gerben Hilcona Racing Team
Huppertz Joshua Hilcona Racing Team
Richardson Alexander Hilcona Racing Team
Aebi Antoine Hilcona Racing Team
Martinelli Alessio Hilcona Racing Team
Johanson Kristjan Hilcona Racing Team
Taubel Christoph JEWA TIROL
Schlechter Pit JEWA TIROL
Livyns Arjen JEWA TIROL
Laurance Axel JEWA TIROL
Pernsteiner Hermann JEWA TIROL
Selig Rüdiger JEWA TIROL
Malori Adrian JEWA TIROL
Kosic Nejc Jura GIANTS
Tediashvili Giorgi Jura GIANTS
Bakke Christophersen Cedric Jura GIANTS
Page Hugo Jura GIANTS
Davies Scott Jura GIANTS
Raugala Gustas Jura GIANTS
Murillo Luis Esteban Manada Coyote
Ruiz Bredio Manada Coyote
Samudio Joseph Ivan Manada Coyote
Cadena Edgar Manada Coyote
Gomez German Dario Manada Coyote
Granados Kevin Manada Coyote
Bulux Fredy Domingo Manada Coyote
Rojas Gabriel Francisco Manada Coyote
Richardson Chequan Podium Ambition
Matthews Darren Podium Ambition
Campbell Akil Podium Ambition
Gayral Joshua Podium Ambition
Major Jay Podium Ambition
Pons Gaetan Podium Ambition
Kelly Jacob Podium Ambition
Cole Tyler Podium Ambition
Trentin Matteo Saeco
McLay Dan Saeco
Franco Alejandro Saeco
Colbrelli Sonny Saeco
Petrucci Mattia Saeco
Skivild Robin Juel Saeco
Verre Alessandro Saeco
Blanca Pareja Nichol Saeco
Lampaert Yves Stela-Vita
Batmunkh Maral-Erdene Stela-Vita
Touze Damien Stela-Vita
Villella Davide Stela-Vita
Luchshenko Sergey Stela-Vita
McCutcheon Connor Stela-Vita
Groselj Ziga Stela-Vita
Urcelay Adria Stela-Vita
Gaday Lucas Manuel Strava
Owen Logan Strava
Nielsen Joanis Albert Strava
Sbaragli Kristian Strava
Tarvis Peeter Strava
Maesen William Strava
Breen Vegard Tafjord Kraft
Kulppi Olli Tafjord Kraft
Kaislavuo Jesse Tafjord Kraft
Belevics Arturs Tafjord Kraft
Bertilsson Christian Tafjord Kraft
Eislers Ingus Tafjord Kraft
Finkst Tilen Team Würth MODYF
Koch Jonas Team Würth MODYF
Heinrich Nicolas Team Würth MODYF
Willwohl Willi Team Würth MODYF
Vangheluwe Warre Team Würth MODYF
Grosser Aaron Team Würth MODYF
Lipowitz Florian Team Würth MODYF
Hindley Jai Team Würth MODYF[/table]
Obviously hoping for Tediashvili to do a great job again in what is our final C2 race of the year. Geraardsbergen was fantastic, can't expect a repeat of that, but a Top 10 would be nice for sure.
We continue our strong history of results here. Tyler Cole phenomenal ride for 10th, and Matthews & AC did well to get back (what might have been had they not been dropped earlier on). We'll take the points!
Ouch... No clue what went wrong here, but that was really, really bad by Tediashvili. He should never get dropped this early... But well, he'll be back as a 76 cobbler next year, hopefully things will look brighter. All in all, we still can't complain at all about our C2 campaign, even though the last of the three races was a huge bummer.
Congrats to the expected and well-deserved winner, and thanks for the report!
Awesome race and report! Congrats to Gaday and the PA quad, great result all round. So happy to see Luchshenko doing so well for Stela this season - he’s such a great performer at CT level.
Haha, what a horrible race tactic by both Breen and Kulppi.
We are very lucky to have a Kaislavuo with fresh legs at the finish there, to salvage a podium.
But a great report, and maybe Tafjords most "active" race in a long time, although it didn't do much good in the end, it was really entertaining to follow the race unfold. Thank you very much Cunego!
And once again, congratulations to our cobble-nemesis Strava which are unbeatable this season
De Laat and Kawasaki tried so hard :'
Strava, Podium Ambition and Tirol have been doing great during the classics this season. Kudos for the team you all built! And thank you to cunego for the nice report
Lincoln GP 
Smallest all year long?
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
