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Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt - Discussion
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 03-02-2024 09:57
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 [C2] Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt
The reports will be brought to you by whitejersey.
Willkommen in Österreich zur 16. Ausgabe der Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt im Rahmen der MGUCI CT.
The race begins with two big mountaintop finishes that will probably already give us a pretty clear picture of the final GC. Stage 3 is for the sprinters and while stage 4 is rated a mountain stage, it probably will be something for the puncheurs and / or the break as the big climb is already done 60 km before the finish. Stage 5 has an uphill finish that’s probably more for the puncheurs than the GC riders, but some minor GC changes are possible here. Stage 6 is another one for the sprinters, while the final 24 km TT will give the GC a last polish.
The race has been on the MGUCI calendar ever since 2008, but this season sees its first iteration as a C2 race. The race has an illustrious list of winners including the only multiple winner (and MG legend)  Pluchkin who took the win in four consecutive years from 2018 to 2021 and is back once again this year. Following the downgrade the only other previous winner at the start is  Alarcon whose win dates back to his youth days in 2012.
Previous winners:
Spoiler
| Year | Winner | | | | | | | | | 2022 | Sam Oomen (Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam) | | 2021 | Aleksandr Pluchkin (Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff) | | 2020 | Aleksandr Pluchkin (Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff) | | | 2019 | Aleksandr Pluchkin (Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff) | | 2018 | Aleksandr Pluchkin (Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff) | | 2017 | Andrei Amador (Team UBS) | | 2016 | Thomas Dekker (Compal - Merida) | | 2015 | Janez Brajkovic (ONCE-Eroski) | | 2014 | David Abal (Team CSC-Orbea) | | 2013 | Maxim Iglinski (LukOil-Rostelekom) | | 2012 | Jose Alarcon (Aker Solutions - Bergans) | | 2011 | Francisco Perez Sanchez (UBS - Annie Chun's) | | 2010 | Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta dello Sport) | | 2009 | Andy Schleck (Domina Vacanze) | | 2008 | Bernhard Kohl (Barloworld) |
2022 results:
Spoiler
| 1 | Sam Oomen | Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam | 26h02'42 | | 2 | Chen Shikai | Voyagin - Bird | + 31 | | 3 | Rein Taaramäe | Zara - Irizar | + 33 | | 4 | Joao Rodrigues | Binance | + 47 | | 5 | Jack Haig | Amaysim Cervelo | + 1'36 | | 6 | Mattia Cattaneo | Minions - Subwoolfer | + 1'43 | | 7 | Nairo Quintana | Volcanica - Fox | + 1'59 | | 8 | Natnael Berhane | Project: Africa | + 2'08 | | 9 | Yonathan Monsalve | Assa Abloy | + 2'48 | | 10 | Pierre Paolo Penasa | Philips - Force India | + 3'09 |
 
The field consists of nearly all of the CT (with only Adidas-Eurocash and Stela-Vita not at the start) plus two PCT teams. Given that it’s no wonder we have the Who is Who of the CT on the startlist.
 
Stage racers:
Given nearly all of the CT is here it’s no surprise that the list of stage racers / climbers is long and illustrious. But despite all the different kinds of skillsets it will probably once again come down to the duel  Berhane v.  Chiarello.
| | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | | Berhane | Natnael | 80 | 74 | 65 | 75 | 72 | 71 | | Chiarello | William | 79 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 77 |  Garby | Marc Christian | 79 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 75 | | Taaramäe | Rein | 78 | 71 | 74 | 69 | 70 | 65 |  Lunke | Sindre Skjostad | 78 | 72 | 73 | 76 | 74 | 78 | | Pluchkin | Aleksandr | 78 | 68 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 65 |  Fabbro | Matteo | 78 | 75 | 67 | 71 | 72 | 74 |  Manfredi | Andrea | 78 | 65 | 65 | 68 | 73 | 72 | | Alarcon | Jose | 78 | 67 | 61 | 62 | 65 | 64 |  Keizer | Martijn | 77 | 67 | 77 | 69 | 73 | 70 | | Kritskiy | Timofey | 77 | 68 | 73 | 68 | 66 | 64 |  Iturria | Mikel | 77 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 74 | 76 |  Lemus Davila | Luis Enrique | 77 | 72 | 72 | 75 | 70 | 68 |  Elosegui | Inigo | 77 | 71 | 72 | 77 | 80 | 83 |  Ciccone | Giulio | 77 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 73 |  O'Connor | Ben | 77 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 75 | | Schelling | Ide | 77 | 72 | 70 | 76 | 74 | 72 |  Roglic | Primoz | 77 | 73 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 70 | | Hoem | Bjorn Tore | 77 | 72 | 67 | 74 | 69 | 74 | | Grmay | Tsgabu Gebremaryam | 77 | 74 | 65 | 71 | 73 | 76 |  Gall | Felix | 77 | 76 | 63 | 70 | 71 | 72 | | Aru | Fabio | 77 | 73 | 63 | 73 | 74 | 75 |  Kolar | Michael | 77 | 75 | 61 | 70 | 71 | 71 | | Rochas | Remy | 77 | 74 | 61 | 70 | 70 | 73 | | Jaramillo | Daniel Alexander | 77 | 75 | 60 | 70 | 69 | 69 |
 
Sprinters:
With stage 3 and 6 there are only two stages for the sprinters, but those sprints will be thrilling as the sprinters field is pretty balanced.
| | FL | ST | RS | SP | AC | | Rojus | Adomaitis | 75 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 78 | | Bouhanni | Nacer | 73 | 72 | 67 | 79 | 75 | | Eislers | Ingus | 76 | 72 | 73 | 79 | 73 | | Willwohl | Willi | 73 | 71 | 67 | 79 | 78 | | Altanzul | Maani | 72 | 68 | 73 | 78 | 75 | | Colbrelli | Sonny | 73 | 72 | 70 | 78 | 73 | | Sanikwathi | Thanawut | 72 | 70 | 67 | 78 | 78 | | Waersted | Syver | 73 | 69 | 78 | 78 | 79 |  Itami | Kenji | 71 | 65 | 61 | 76 | 76 | | Matthews | Darren | 72 | 70 | 67 | 76 | 76 |
 
Puncheurs:
Only stage 5 seems to be something for the non-GC puncheurs. But their field is stacked, though there aren’t that much pure puncheurs. The more hybrid puncheurs could also eye for a break and the KoM jersey at stage 4.
| | MO | HI | SP | AC | FG | | Edmondson | Joshua | 69 | 79 | 70 | 76 | 68 |  Serrano | Gonzalo | 72 | 77 | 68 | 77 | 77 | | Zordan | Andrea | 73 | 77 | 65 | 74 | 72 | | Betancourt | Carlos | 70 | 77 | 64 | 69 | 72 | | Lafay | Victor | 75 | 77 | 63 | 74 | 78 | | Paulus | Daniel | 74 | 77 | 62 | 71 | 73 | | Grossschartner | Felix | 74 | 77 | 62 | 72 | 71 |
 
Time Trialists:
The potential winners for the final TT aren’t that numerous, so maybe some of the better TTing stage racers could get into the mix here.
| | FL | TT | ST | RS | PR | | Van Moer | Brent | 76 | 79 | 76 | 78 | 79 | | Knotten | Iver Johan | 72 | 78 | 71 | 71 | 74 | | Vangstad | Andreas | 74 | 77 | 74 | 75 | 76 | | Keizer | Martijn | 68 | 77 | 69 | 73 | 77 | | Vanderpool | Kristian | 68 | 77 | 63 | 64 | 76 | | Canty | Brendan | 70 | 75 | 71 | 71 | 74 | | Setiawa | Andreas Odie Purnama | 68 | 74 | 76 | 72 | 74 | | Laengen | Vegard Stake | 68 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 75 | | Taaramäe | Rein | 68 | 74 | 69 | 70 | 72 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Air New Zealand-Alfa Romeo | CT |
Fabbro is amongst the best climbers and is an okay-ish TT. He also has some good support and should aim for at least a Top 10 in the GC. As there’s no sprinter or TT here for the Kiwis, it will all be about the mountains for them.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Costagli | Teodoro | 59 | 75 | 67 | 66 | 64 | 65 | 70 | 50 | 50 | 61 | 72 | 63 | 66 | | Diaz | Daniel Ricardo | 65 | 75 | 67 | 69 | 64 | 68 | 66 | 53 | 58 | 63 | 61 | 71 | 69 | | Fabbro | Matteo | 65 | 78 | 75 | 67 | 71 | 72 | 74 | 50 | 61 | 73 | 74 | 70 | 70 | | Gaze | Samuel | 74 | 63 | 69 | 58 | 74 | 79 | 70 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 72 | 63 | | Puccio | Salvatore | 70 | 54 | 64 | 59 | 73 | 68 | 61 | 76 | 58 | 52 | 58 | 74 | 59 | | Reddish | Nick | 72 | 62 | 67 | 66 | 68 | 75 | 74 | 64 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 65 | 75 | | Skala | Jakub | 74 | 56 | 71 | 56 | 70 | 72 | 65 | 74 | 66 | 71 | 72 | 74 | 69 | | Vink | Michael | 71 | 67 | 75 | 69 | 74 | 71 | 68 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 69 |
 
| ★☆☆☆☆ | Babymetal Cycling | CT |
No climber, no TT and only a second tier sprinter with Itami. The Japanese have probably the weakest lineup at the start.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Arashiro | Yudai | 81 | 60 | 64 | 62 | 71 | 67 | 73 | 68 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 68 | 66 | | Askey | Lewis | 66 | 63 | 69 | 58 | 68 | 65 | 69 | 71 | 66 | 73 | 60 | 67 | 67 | | Drouin | David | 67 | 61 | 69 | 66 | 70 | 68 | 63 | 68 | 64 | 62 | 77 | 68 | 65 | | Fretin | Milan | 63 | 67 | 67 | 62 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 68 | 65 | 67 | 65 | 67 | 66 | | Itami | Kenji | 71 | 59 | 57 | 59 | 65 | 61 | 69 | 60 | 76 | 76 | 50 | 50 | 59 | | Jans | Roy | 75 | 52 | 73 | 62 | 72 | 71 | 63 | 67 | 73 | 72 | 67 | 69 | 65 | | Johnson | Cooper | 67 | 65 | 68 | 62 | 65 | 67 | 68 | 61 | 58 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 61 | | Muhammad | Yuda | 60 | 68 | 65 | 59 | 61 | 62 | 66 | 65 | 64 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 55 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Bordeaux Métropole - Euskotren | CT |
The Basque-French outfit sends an armada of climber-puncheur hybrids with Iturria as their best option for the GC. But Rochas or Lafay could also cause a surprise. On the other side the squad has no real option for the flat stages.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Berthet | Clement | 64 | 73 | 72 | 58 | 68 | 72 | 64 | 60 | 62 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 58 | | Doubey | Fabien | 71 | 74 | 75 | 59 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 55 | 67 | 70 | 63 | 60 | 59 | | Iturria | Mikel | 71 | 77 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 74 | 76 | 63 | 60 | 61 | 69 | 66 | 73 | | Lafay | Victor | 66 | 75 | 77 | 63 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 62 | 63 | 74 | 78 | 67 | 61 | | Le Berre | Mathis | 67 | 64 | 68 | 65 | 68 | 69 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 68 | 66 | 62 | | Rochas | Remy | 67 | 77 | 74 | 61 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 60 | 61 | 73 | 72 | 66 | 62 | | Serrano | Javier | 65 | 64 | 68 | 64 | 71 | 74 | 67 | 69 | 60 | 68 | 69 | 71 | 62 | | Tatarinov | Gennadiy | 69 | 75 | 74 | 63 | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 76 | 63 | 63 |
 
| ★★☆☆☆ | Caja Rural Cycling Team | CT |
The Spanish are among the weaker squads as they have plenty of decent climbers and two puncheurs in Scheit and Serrano, but no real GC options or sprinters or TT riders.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Adriamihajanarivo | Herizo | 67 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 58 | 58 | 66 | 67 | 61 | 70 | | Barcelo | Fernando | 70 | 70 | 73 | 66 | 71 | 72 | 63 | 58 | 67 | 73 | 74 | 66 | 65 | | Garcia | Jhojan | 67 | 71 | 70 | 65 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 55 | 63 | 71 | 62 | 62 | 64 | | Garcia Pierna | Raul | 70 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 63 | 68 | 67 | 61 | 67 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 64 | | Intxausti | Benat | 60 | 72 | 61 | 67 | 64 | 64 | 58 | 50 | 52 | 56 | 57 | 54 | 67 | | Scheit | Florian | 66 | 72 | 76 | 58 | 72 | 71 | 69 | 50 | 64 | 71 | 77 | 66 | 58 | | Serrano | Gonzalo | 69 | 72 | 77 | 63 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 77 | 65 | 63 | | Sinkeldam | Ramon | 71 | 62 | 72 | 61 | 69 | 65 | 63 | 74 | 65 | 63 | 72 | 71 | 61 |
 
| ★★★★☆ | Crabbe-CC Chevigny | CT |
Crabbe has one of the top favourites in Chiarello, but he has essentially no mountain support, with Edmondson probably too much of a pure puncheur. It hasn’t been a major issue in the C2 stage races this season, but it’s always a risk. Altanzul should be able to contest in the sprints to make the flat stages count as well.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Altanzul | Maani | 72 | 65 | 69 | 70 | 68 | 73 | 78 | 55 | 78 | 75 | 59 | 63 | 75 | | Chiarello | William | 71 | 79 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 77 | 53 | 63 | 72 | 73 | 69 | 71 | | Edmondson | Joshua | 70 | 69 | 79 | 64 | 75 | 72 | 67 | 54 | 70 | 76 | 68 | 72 | 64 | | English | Felix | 78 | 59 | 64 | 67 | 74 | 73 | 64 | 63 | 71 | 75 | 59 | 69 | 70 | | Fagundez | Eric Antonio | 67 | 60 | 59 | 68 | 69 | 68 | 64 | 62 | 65 | 70 | 65 | 67 | 68 | | Paulus | Milan | 68 | 62 | 65 | 63 | 66 | 68 | 63 | 59 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 67 | 62 | | Price-Pejtersen | Johan | 68 | 60 | 61 | 71 | 66 | 72 | 63 | 60 | 61 | 64 | 63 | 63 | 70 | | Zana | Filippo | 66 | 67 | 68 | 65 | 68 | 67 | 67 | 62 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 64 | 63 |
 
| ★★☆☆☆ | Ekoi - Le Creuset | CT |
The French bring only 6 riders and only two of them aren’t here for the XP, but Gall could get a GC Top 10 and youth competition contender as he’s among the best puncheurs as well, making up for his weak TT. Fellow Austrian Paulus should be a good support for him as well as a potential breakaway thread.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Gall | Felix | 67 | 77 | 76 | 63 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 58 | 61 | 72 | 70 | 64 | 62 | | Garibian | Arman | 68 | 71 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 73 | 55 | 60 | 69 | 65 | 69 | 69 | | Hopkins | Dylan | 68 | 68 | 68 | 67 | 69 | 70 | 63 | 61 | 57 | 65 | 66 | 70 | 64 | | Paulus | Daniel | 69 | 74 | 77 | 64 | 71 | 68 | 73 | 56 | 62 | 71 | 73 | 67 | 64 | | Thompson | Reuben | 71 | 68 | 66 | 63 | 67 | 71 | 66 | 57 | 67 | 68 | 62 | 73 | 62 | | Vauquelin | Kevin | 67 | 69 | 64 | 68 | 65 | 69 | 66 | 58 | 68 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 67 |
 
| ★★★★★ | Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team | CT |
The Norwegians have options for all stages: Lunke should be in the podium contention and also has at least a decent support. Rojus is amongst the best sprinters and Van Moer and Knotten are the best pure TTs. They should have high hopes here.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Fjellheim | Henrik Teslo | 64 | 66 | 67 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 61 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 65 | 62 | | Jacobsen | Tormod | 70 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 57 | 59 | 67 | 73 | 64 | 73 | | Knotten | Iver Johan | 72 | 62 | 63 | 78 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 67 | 66 | 74 | | Lunder | Eirik | 72 | 62 | 66 | 58 | 78 | 67 | 68 | 59 | 72 | 77 | 75 | 70 | 63 | | Lunke | Sindre Skjostad | 69 | 78 | 72 | 73 | 76 | 74 | 78 | 58 | 60 | 65 | 68 | 69 | 76 | | Rojus | Adomaitis | 75 | 59 | 67 | 67 | 66 | 74 | 75 | 57 | 79 | 78 | 60 | 64 | 75 | | Rosskopf | Joey | 70 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 68 | 66 | 65 | 54 | 58 | 65 | 65 | 64 | 74 | | Van Moer | Brent | 76 | 61 | 70 | 79 | 76 | 78 | 69 | 71 | 58 | 65 | 67 | 68 | 79 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Hilcona Racing Team | CT |
Grmay and Keizer are good GC options - though the former lacks TT skills and the later has to survive the uphill finish in stage 5. The Dutch is also amongst the best TTs in the field.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Aebi | Antoine | 69 | 69 | 72 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 63 | 60 | 69 | 71 | 63 | 77 | 63 | | Bablidze | Irakli | 70 | 73 | 74 | 67 | 74 | 70 | 68 | 64 | 59 | 61 | 70 | 63 | 67 | | Delco | Lorenzo | 73 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 67 | 64 | 72 | 68 | 77 | 71 | | Grmay | Tsgabu Gebremaryam | 67 | 77 | 74 | 65 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 58 | 61 | 71 | 58 | 74 | 65 | | Keizer | Martijn | 68 | 77 | 67 | 77 | 69 | 73 | 70 | 55 | 53 | 67 | 68 | 57 | 77 | | Martinelli | Alessio | 66 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 69 | 66 | 71 | 55 | 64 | 64 | 67 | 67 | 66 | | Nitu | Adrian | 67 | 75 | 73 | 64 | 71 | 68 | 66 | 52 | 51 | 68 | 61 | 61 | 64 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Indosat Ooredoo | PCT |
The Indonesians are one of only two PCT outfits in the race and they send a good, though not overwhelming squad. Kolar and Arifin are decent GC options and nearly all riders could be good options for the breaks and KoM.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Ahmad | Firdaus | 68 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 54 | 62 | 70 | 76 | 73 | 71 | | Arifin | Muhammad Imam | 66 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 67 | 71 | 73 | 52 | 58 | 72 | 82 | 63 | 66 | | Cahyadi | Aiman | 70 | 70 | 75 | 66 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 58 | 68 | 69 | 66 | 70 | 66 | | Firdaus | Prasetyo | 68 | 59 | 58 | 69 | 68 | 64 | 69 | 60 | 65 | 68 | 59 | 71 | 69 | | Kolar | Michael | 65 | 77 | 75 | 61 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 50 | 54 | 66 | 72 | 60 | 61 | | Salinas | Jonathan | 68 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 68 | 55 | 58 | 70 | 63 | 65 | 70 | | Setiawa | Andreas Odie Purnama | 68 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 72 | 71 | 57 | 62 | 70 | 76 | 66 | 74 | | Wibisono | Rachmad Noka | 69 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 55 | 59 | 68 | 73 | 65 | 72 |
 
| ★★★★☆ | JEWA TIROL | CT |
The Austrians send a strong squad to support Berhane in another of his battles with Chiarello – and maybe this time the support could be decisive. Given this goal it’s no surprise they don’t have any real options for the other terrains.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Berhane | Natnael | 67 | 80 | 74 | 65 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 51 | 61 | 66 | 66 | 70 | 64 | | Grossschartner | Felix | 67 | 74 | 77 | 67 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 71 | 68 | 69 | | Heymes | Gilles | 67 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 71 | 53 | 54 | 58 | 63 | 61 | 73 | | Kabas | Maximilian | 66 | 67 | 68 | 61 | 68 | 70 | 60 | 60 | 62 | 66 | 66 | 68 | 60 | | Koep | Thomas | 67 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 52 | 51 | 56 | 53 | 64 | 71 | | Lienhard | Fabian | 73 | 66 | 75 | 66 | 77 | 72 | 69 | 55 | 73 | 76 | 77 | 69 | 70 | | Pernsteiner | Hermann | 64 | 74 | 76 | 60 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 62 | 60 | 70 | 68 | 76 | 63 |
 
| ★★☆☆☆ | Manada Coyote | CT |
The Costa Ricans have another of those GC outsiders in Lemus Davila, but it’s mostly a youth squad apart from him and Gaspar.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Arias Villanueva | Sergio | 71 | 60 | 62 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 68 | 61 | 62 | 68 | 69 | 65 | 73 | | Cadena | Edgar | 67 | 63 | 67 | 59 | 74 | 64 | 63 | 60 | 65 | 64 | 55 | 64 | 62 | | Chumil | Sergio | 65 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 55 | 62 | 66 | 66 | 67 | 69 | | Gaspar | Joao | 71 | 75 | 75 | 66 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 55 | 61 | 67 | 72 | 70 | 66 | | Gomez | German Dario | 63 | 67 | 65 | 67 | 67 | 65 | 67 | 57 | 59 | 69 | 64 | 67 | 65 | | Granados | Kevin | 67 | 68 | 67 | 59 | 68 | 69 | 61 | 53 | 68 | 71 | 62 | 68 | 61 | | Lemus Davila | Luis Enrique | 70 | 77 | 72 | 72 | 75 | 70 | 68 | 56 | 57 | 62 | 71 | 72 | 72 | | Mendoza | Bryan Fernando | 67 | 71 | 65 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 55 | 62 | 66 | 67 | 67 | 70 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Podium Ambition | CT |
The Caribbeans send a lot of interesting riders with the duo of O’Connor and Canty as GC Top 10 options, Matthews a good sprint option and probably Le Court for some breaks. But none of them is really top-notch.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Canty | Brendan | 70 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 52 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 74 | | Gonzalez | Abner | 66 | 72 | 68 | 60 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 60 | 63 | 66 | 70 | 69 | 61 | | Le Court | Kim | 70 | 70 | 76 | 60 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 62 | 64 | 66 | 76 | 70 | 61 | | Matthews | Darren | 72 | 61 | 66 | 70 | 70 | 67 | 71 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 74 | | Morales Ortega | Jacob | 65 | 71 | 71 | 60 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 55 | 63 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 61 | | O'Connor | Ben | 70 | 77 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 75 | 53 | 58 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 70 | | Pons | Gaetan | 72 | 66 | 73 | 67 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 67 | 74 | 76 | 65 | 67 | 69 | | Vanderpool | Kristian | 68 | 64 | 64 | 77 | 63 | 64 | 61 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 62 | 62 | 76 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Saeco | CT |
We’ve already seen some similar squads: Aru and especially Ciccone as GC Top 10 contenders, Colbrelli as a good option for the sprints and some puncheurs as support and / or breakaway options.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Aru | Fabio | 66 | 77 | 73 | 63 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 50 | 55 | 69 | 55 | 69 | 63 | | Ciccone | Giulio | 67 | 77 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 50 | 51 | 69 | 59 | 59 | 79 | | Colbrelli | Sonny | 73 | 55 | 60 | 59 | 72 | 70 | 74 | 58 | 78 | 73 | 54 | 69 | 65 | | Petrucci | Mattia | 62 | 66 | 66 | 57 | 66 | 64 | 60 | 58 | 61 | 66 | 62 | 63 | 57 | | Ulissi | Diego | 72 | 62 | 76 | 58 | 77 | 65 | 66 | 50 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 59 | 58 | | Vendrame | Andrea | 72 | 62 | 76 | 58 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 60 | 71 | 75 | 67 | 67 | 70 | | Zordan | Andrea | 67 | 73 | 77 | 55 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 72 | 62 | 55 |
 
| ★★☆☆☆ | SEE Turtles | CT |
The Turtles bring Alarcon who’s still amongst the best climbers, but the decline is easily spotted in every other aspect so he’s probably no real GC contender. Apart from him they have many decent riders, but no one who really stands out.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Alarcon | Jose | 63 | 78 | 67 | 61 | 62 | 65 | 64 | 50 | 53 | 69 | 73 | 60 | 60 | | Betancourt | Carlos | 66 | 70 | 77 | 57 | 67 | 66 | 59 | 50 | 64 | 69 | 72 | 64 | 56 | | Ganjkhanlou | Mohammad | 69 | 61 | 64 | 62 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 62 | 73 | 75 | 55 | 73 | 70 | | Merchan | Didier | 62 | 74 | 68 | 59 | 64 | 66 | 69 | 58 | 58 | 66 | 65 | 60 | 60 | | Reguigui | Youcef | 71 | 75 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 67 | 69 | 50 | 62 | 67 | 67 | 61 | 74 | | Siriwardena | Kashyapa | 67 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 56 | 58 | 68 | 74 | 65 | 72 | | Trillini | Walter | 70 | 64 | 75 | 65 | 75 | 69 | 73 | 57 | 73 | 76 | 70 | 67 | 73 | | Vermaerke | Kevin | 69 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 72 | 66 | 62 | 65 | 67 | 63 | 64 | 66 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh | CT |
The East-African team sends eight good climbers / puncheurs / hybrids, but still none of them seems complete enough to really enter the GC competition. So we’ll probably see their jersey in most of the breaks and the KoM competition.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Ait El Abdia | Anass | 67 | 72 | 73 | 63 | 69 | 68 | 71 | 64 | 65 | 71 | 69 | 62 | 63 | | Blikra | Havard | 69 | 75 | 75 | 65 | 72 | 70 | 73 | 52 | 62 | 72 | 69 | 63 | 65 | | Gogl | Michael | 69 | 69 | 76 | 62 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 57 | 67 | 75 | 73 | 69 | 63 | | Jaramillo | Daniel Alexander | 66 | 77 | 75 | 60 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 60 | 67 | 76 | 76 | 66 | 62 | | Koshevoy | Ilia | 69 | 76 | 73 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 74 | 56 | 60 | 69 | 74 | 75 | 67 | | Kritskiy | Timofey | 68 | 77 | 68 | 73 | 68 | 66 | 64 | 51 | 61 | 57 | 61 | 55 | 72 | | Manfredi | Andrea | 69 | 78 | 65 | 65 | 68 | 73 | 72 | 54 | 62 | 73 | 77 | 73 | 65 | | Rota | Lorenzo | 69 | 71 | 76 | 61 | 76 | 74 | 67 | 62 | 66 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 62 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Strava | CT |
Stravas squad may be ageing but Roglic and Poljanski are still good options for the mountains and Bouhanni and Sanikwhat should be amongst the favourites in the sprints.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Bernas | Pawel | 75 | 60 | 74 | 65 | 73 | 69 | 66 | 61 | 69 | 71 | 81 | 70 | 64 | | Bouhanni | Nacer | 73 | 54 | 62 | 54 | 72 | 67 | 72 | 58 | 79 | 75 | 63 | 57 | 54 | | Hansen | Jesper | 71 | 63 | 74 | 63 | 74 | 67 | 72 | 63 | 65 | 73 | 68 | 70 | 68 | | Poljanski | Pawel | 65 | 76 | 76 | 66 | 68 | 68 | 74 | 55 | 60 | 69 | 72 | 65 | 66 | | Roglic | Primoz | 68 | 77 | 73 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 63 | 66 | 69 | 69 | 68 | 67 | | Sanikwathi | Thanawut | 72 | 58 | 66 | 65 | 70 | 67 | 75 | 72 | 78 | 78 | 66 | 72 | 68 |
 
| ★★★★☆ | Tafjord Kraft | CT |
The Scandinavians send a well rounded squad (as seems common in Northern Europe) with Graby a good GC option, Vangstad among the best TTs and the combination Eislers and Waersted for the sprints.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Bardet | Romain | 65 | 76 | 73 | 58 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 50 | 51 | 73 | 66 | 70 | 58 | | De la Cruz | David | 66 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 53 | 57 | 68 | 62 | 70 | 71 | | Eislers | Ingus | 76 | 65 | 64 | 56 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 56 | 79 | 73 | 61 | 59 | 58 | | Garby | Marc Christian | 65 | 79 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 75 | 50 | 52 | 70 | 72 | 63 | 68 | | Hoem | Bjorn Tore | 67 | 77 | 72 | 67 | 74 | 69 | 74 | 53 | 58 | 62 | 61 | 72 | 67 | | Laengen | Vegard Stake | 68 | 74 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 58 | 60 | 64 | 69 | 73 | 75 | | Vangstad | Andreas | 74 | 72 | 70 | 77 | 74 | 75 | 74 | 60 | 65 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 76 | | Waersted | Syver | 73 | 62 | 67 | 64 | 69 | 78 | 77 | 60 | 78 | 79 | 71 | 72 | 76 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska | PCT |
The Ukrainians are the second PCT team and they have MG legend and Osterreich specialist Pluchkin who still could be in the GC contention, though probably not for the podium, if it weren’t for fellow veteran Taaramäe who should be the team’s captain. Sergis and Dzhus are a nice support for both of them anyway.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Bilyi | Maksym | 66 | 68 | 65 | 68 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 60 | 62 | 66 | 68 | 71 | 68 | | Dzhus | Volodymyr | 65 | 76 | 70 | 64 | 74 | 74 | 68 | 55 | 58 | 75 | 70 | 63 | 64 | | Horvat | Ziga | 73 | 66 | 67 | 56 | 71 | 74 | 66 | 69 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 67 | 59 | | Kachur | Dmytro | 64 | 61 | 68 | 59 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 62 | 60 | 67 | 63 | 67 | 59 | | Parashchak | Yaroslav | 69 | 67 | 72 | 57 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 58 | 59 | 70 | 71 | 66 | 57 | | Pluchkin | Aleksandr | 67 | 78 | 68 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 65 | 63 | 60 | 64 | 60 | 59 | 72 | | Sergis | Kaspars | 68 | 75 | 76 | 58 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 58 | 58 | 70 | 76 | 66 | 58 | | Taaramäe | Rein | 68 | 78 | 71 | 74 | 69 | 70 | 65 | 50 | 53 | 66 | 63 | 63 | 72 |
 
| ★★★☆☆ | Team Würth MODYF | CT |
Elosegui should be their captain (though Schelling has a pretty similar skillset) and is another of those potential Top 10 riders. But both of them should make it to the U25 podium easily, though a win isn’t guaranteed. Willwohl will be in the fight for the win in the flat stages.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | | Elosegui | Inigo | 65 | 77 | 71 | 72 | 77 | 80 | 83 | 60 | 60 | 71 | 65 | 66 | 71 | | Heinrich | Nicolas | 65 | 65 | 59 | 66 | 63 | 72 | 68 | 69 | 67 | 72 | 68 | 65 | 71 | | La Lavandier | Mathieu | 66 | 75 | 73 | 62 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 52 | 53 | 63 | 77 | 68 | 61 | | Lehtinen | Sakari | 67 | 75 | 73 | 65 | 72 | 69 | 70 | 60 | 65 | 67 | 67 | 70 | 60 | | Lipowitz | Florian | 62 | 71 | 71 | 59 | 63 | 72 | 71 | 58 | 59 | 70 | 73 | 63 | 58 | | Schelling | Ide | 72 | 77 | 72 | 70 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 63 | 62 | 67 | 72 | 67 | 72 | | Vangheluwe | Warre | 71 | 60 | 61 | 66 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 66 | 61 | 69 | 73 | 66 | 66 | | Willwohl | Willi | 73 | 53 | 65 | 56 | 71 | 67 | 78 | 66 | 79 | 78 | 61 | 64 | 56 |
Edited by kandesbunzler26 on 04-02-2024 09:07
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 03-02-2024 10:56
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2907
Joined: 15-07-2007
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Things are looking good and i think we'll be able to fight for top places in most of the race categories. Maybe we finally will get some points in a GC-race 
Thanks for yet again an amazing and extensive preview kandesbunzler!  |
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| seancoll |
Posted on 03-02-2024 14:51
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Domestique
Posts: 480
Joined: 20-12-2022
PCM$: 500.00
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Not even sure what I'm hoping for here. Not even sure that Alarcon remembers he was here in 2012, but if he does it should bring him some extra motivation. We're hoping the hockey stick stage 2 might mean that he has the energy to handle the final climb. Too many good TTers to expect anything in particular here.
Most excited for how Trillini goes at this one. Could see him being our team's sprint option for stages 3, 4, and 6. 5 might be a little too tough for him. Merchan and Vermaerke or even Siriwardena will hopefully find a break.
Excited to see the ever competitive Berhane vs. Chiarello battles. My gut says Chiarello will take it, but it depends just how decisive the first two stages are.
Thanks for an amazing preview!
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 03-02-2024 20:53
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4667
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Yeah, next round in the Chiarello vs. Berhane clash 
With a pretty long ITT at the end of the race, Chiarello clearly stronger there and Berhane having low recovery, my money would be on the Brazilian once more. But maybe Berhane has an awesome day on one of the first two stages and goes 2mins clear, why not?
If Berhane can't get a sizeable gap, then he'll struggle to stay ahead of e.g. Lunke, though.
Seeing Taaramäe and Pluchkin in C2 feels more than weird - will be interesting to see if their performance really is in line with their low OVL, but I wouldn't be overly surprised to see Rein on the podium...
Thanks for the awesome preview, and good luck to all participants
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 04-02-2024 09:06
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Protected Rider
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The stats say Chiarello but as mentioned in the preview I wait for the race where his total lack of mountain support is taking its toll. But given the amount of climbers with pretty similar strength I'm curious if the first two stages end in a carnage with everyone going berserk to get some advantage or just everyone neutralizing the others and no major gaps at all. Given the weak TTing of Gall I can only hope for the former to happen (plus it would be a much more exciting read) so he has a shot at the Top 10 and the U25 competition. At least a podium spot there should be safe (in theory at least).
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 04-02-2024 17:55
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Top 5 goal here, so it's all in for Mikel. He's got strong support, and barring another off day like in Catalunya, it should be achievable.
Thanks for the preview, good luck everybody!
“...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
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 04-02-2024 21:16
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Thanks for an amazing and impressive preview kandesbunzler!
Looking to ruin the Chiarello vs. Berhane battle and catch some stages in the process.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 04-02-2024 22:05
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2904
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Great preview!
Reports will be one day delayed. I am going to take today to finish all reports so I have them ready to post as I have a very busy week next week.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 21-11-2024 18:56
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 05-02-2024 09:43
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Great preview KB!
Definitely looking forward to this one! The first two stages are immediately do-or-die for GC. The total lack of support for Chiarello has worked fine so far, fingers crossed for this one
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| Blasing |
Posted on 05-02-2024 10:21
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Neo-Pro
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All or nothing for us this time. It is one of our top 5 goals and here is hoping that Berhane can get enough of a gap in the first 2 mountain stages to survive the TT on stage 7. Let's not dissapoint our fans Nathnael!
Also hoping for Großschartner or Lienhard to be punchy in day 4 or 5!
Looking forward to a great race!
Thanks for the nice preview!
Manager of JEWA TIROL Cycling Team
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| Blasing |
Posted on 05-02-2024 14:09
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 278
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THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!!!
18 seconds on Chiarello and more than a minute on #3, what a start by Berhane! Now I hope that tomorrow can be a similar performance by him and it should give him enough time bonus to be in for a top 5 GC finish despite a TT on stage 7.
LOVE IT!
Manager of JEWA TIROL Cycling Team
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 05-02-2024 15:16
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 807
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Will take best of the rest!
Was a little worried with not seeing us at the front after our work, but it seems Mikel played it smart, and took some valuable bonus seconds.
Let's continue this now.
Thanks for the report, congrats Blasing.
“...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
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 05-02-2024 17:14
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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Nice for Abner to get away for the day, and Ben solidly in the Top10. Solid start.
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 05-02-2024 20:23
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Congrats Blasing, round 1 goes to Berhane, let's see how the duel will further develop.
For us the first stage started nice with another attack from Vauquelin, if only his attack would have constituted the break instead of Paulus' one. But as it turned Paulus only got some minor points for the KoM and wasn't there when Gall lost contact - not a good idea as he's the only real mountain support. Gall losing nearly 6 minutes is disastrous for any GC ambitions, so it's all about stage hunting and KoM points from now on.
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| seancoll |
Posted on 05-02-2024 22:23
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Domestique
Posts: 480
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PCM$: 500.00
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Amazing that Alarcon found the break and got... 0 reward. Curious who was given the 1 jersey for us since Alarcon didn't but have a feeling this will be back to a struggle of a tour like we've been used to.
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 06-02-2024 10:45
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Congrats Blasing!
I don't mind Jewa controlling the race now. As long as Chiarello can limit his losses in the next mountain stages. Game on!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| seancoll |
Posted on 06-02-2024 22:32
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Domestique
Posts: 480
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Awesome stage by Gall, so many congrats for that stage win kandesbunzler. Thankful for such a strong contender to help drive the breakaway all day. Congrats are in order for Chiarello today as well, since those bonus seconds will surely matter.
A big relief to see Alarcon have just enough energy to make it to the top, stopping us from having a 0-pointer across the 7 days as we feared. Now, maybe Alarcon is allowed in the break for stage 4 and can contest the major KOM points there. Besides that, the elder has done his duty. Anything else that comes our way is just bonus.
Thank you wj for the reports!
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 06-02-2024 23:15
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4667
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Wow, what an answer by local hero Gall, great home win for him in this iconic stage! Also, he isn't too close in the GC right now, so he should have some great chances to go in the break again on stage 4 and bring home the KoM jersey... Would be cool
The GC also looks really tasty now - as it stands, Chiarello would easily take it home. And with the Tachira TT in mind, I guess Berhane would lose 1' to 1'30" to the likes of Lunke, Iturria, Taaramäe etc., so nothing decided yet! Will be interesting to see if he can gain some more advantage on the uphill finish stages - or if someone else takes the pole position for a podium finish!
Or - unlikely, I know - if Chiarello will finally have one bad day and throw everything away... But I guess Berhane would've needed a far bigger gap to really fight for the win. Congrats nonetheless to Blasing on a commanding day 1 win
Thanks for the great reports to WJ, looking forward to the rest
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 07-02-2024 07:57
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 807
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Hum. In the end, have to be satisfied, still best of the rest, with another stage result and multiples 3rd places for now.
I feared bad positionning, seing Mikel all alone despite the whole team being there, but he raced well, once again. Though I'd have liked to make the race a bit more difficult for the teams without our support. Nevetheless, we at least didn't help JEWA and Crabbe this time.
Now 8 seconds seems not much going into the hilly stages and the TT. Still, a top 5 remains within our abilities, but we'll have to be good.
Thanks for the report, and congrats KB, nice to see Gall doing better 
“...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
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 07-02-2024 09:57
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2907
Joined: 15-07-2007
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Been a good start for us with two riders fighting for a top 10GC spot. We're not looking forward to the ITT, because it won't look that good after that
Thank you very much WJ!! |
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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)
