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GP Plouay - Discussion
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 29-04-2024 13:41
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Classics Specialist
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Joined: 07-08-2011
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Welcome to the French hillside in Plouay as we prepare to race GP Plouay!
This is the first time the race is held since 2015 where Daryl Impey took the win! Historically this is a race that has split between the puncheurs and sprinters for winners and this is also reflected in the startlist. The parcours for the race opens up options for the punchuers to make their move on the 205kms of racing with a tough hills circuit midway through the stage and then some lighter hills before a couple of bumps right before the finish line. With that out of the way let’s head into the favourites for the win!
Favourites – Sprinters:
As the stage is ultimately rated flat, let’s start with the sprinters that are here to stride for the win!
The division’s top dog sprinter is not present and this gives an opening to the powerful Tafjord core of  Bertilsson, Eislers and Waersted to make their mark on the race. The Swede especially has a good chance of surviving the hills onslaught as he is somewhat capable on the hills. Other noteworthy sprinters to keep an eye out for here will be  Liepins and potentially  Kump who still has a bit of a kick to him despite being an old man at this point.
| Rider | FL | HI | ST | SP | AC | | Bertilsson | 73 | 69 | 72 | 79 | 77 | | Eislers | 76 | 64 | 72 | 79 | 73 | | Waersted | 73 | 67 | 69 | 78 | 79 |  Van Stayen | 70 | 73 | 67 | 78 | 69 |  Merlier | 73 | 68 | 72 | 78 | 74 | | Liepins | 73 | 66 | 73 | 78 | 79 |  Colbrelli | 73 | 60 | 72 | 78 | 73 |  Tivani | 70 | 67 | 68 | 77 | 78 |  Boivin | 72 | 68 | 71 | 77 | 77 |  Guardini | 69 | 61 | 69 | 77 | 77 | | Kump | 70 | 73 | 70 | 77 | 74 |
Favourites – Puncheurs:
It’s a hills party with most of the division’s top puncheurs being present here in France. The Scandinavians Eiking and  Jensen headline the bill of the race as the ones that are expected to attempt at making the race hard enough to drop the sprinters before the finish line. We have already seen Jensen try some audacious moves earlier in the season to little success but maybe this time it’s what’s needed to get rid of the faster guys. One of those faster guys is  Lagane whose skillset could end up being incredibly useful in this race. On paper he’s a top 10 puncheur here based on raw power, but he has the biggest xfactor of them all in his incredible sprint finish which means that he’s the favourite in most reduced sprint situations. Speaking of incredible kicks Villella recently has shown off his strong form in Denmark where he finished second in a stage and could be a rider to be considered depending on how the stage is raced.  Lafay is the final rider that we will be highlighting in this segment as he has proven to be an all round strong rider this season and he could find himself another great result here in France.
| Rider | FL | HI | ST | SP | AC | | Eiking | 71 | 81 | 78 | 68 | 76 | | Jensen | 71 | 80 | 77 | 66 | 76 |  Morin | 70 | 78 | 75 | 69 | 76 |  Hugentobler | 70 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 76 | | Lagane | 70 | 77 | 70 | 75 | 77 | | Mayer | 68 | 77 | 65 | 72 | 77 | | Barbin | 68 | 77 | 74 | 70 | 75 | | Villella | 72 | 77 | 72 | 65 | 80 |  Sirironnachai | 71 | 77 | 77 | 64 | 73 | | Mudarra | 71 | 77 | 74 | 64 | 68 | | Lafay | 66 | 77 | 72 | 63 | 74 | | Felline | 67 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 77 | | Vendrame | 72 | 76 | 75 | 71 | 75 |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 29-04-2024 13:47
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World Champion
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This is Jams and Tesfaye heaven if the AI will let them in the pearly gates
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."
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 29-04-2024 14:12
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 810
Joined: 05-10-2021
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Thanks for the preview!
Home race, win goal, and an important one to keep our position in the top 10. With Lafay, but also Pacher and Wackermann we have a complete skillset to have a result, once we get rid of the pure sprinters (and Lagane).
So yeah, let's hope we'll keep our mojo in the hills, good luck everyone.
“...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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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 29-04-2024 14:20
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Protected Rider
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Thanks for the preview, wj!
Apparently we're among those few teams who didn't get the invitation for the puncheur festival. But maybe Russo is able to stay in front with no other riders of the team diverting the focus and then he should be a viable option. But with what we've seen from him this season he'll probably miss the front group of 60-70 riders (including all of the sprinters who are weaker than him in the hills) ...
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 29-04-2024 14:51
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Team Leader
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Hoping to see Eiking blow this baby up, big time.
Good luck everybody. And thank you for the great preview WJ
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 29-04-2024 14:55
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Thanks WJ for the preview 
I have no idea how this race will pan out. Liepins should be a great option for the sprint, but it wouldn't surprise me if there is a breakaway victory or a more selective race.
Good luck everybody!
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 29-04-2024 15:34
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We don't have a sprinter or puncheur, but hope to see Ruiz try something
Thank you for the nice preview, good luck to everyone!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 29-04-2024 17:01
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Tour de France Champion
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This one could be very fun to watch. Lagane/Meyer if it's tricky, Major if it's not. Given ourselves options and fingers crossed it pays off somehow.
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 30-04-2024 09:58
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Ouch, that one hurts.
Can't say we didn't try, but the teams visibly wasn't with the best legs to bring Wackermann close enough to compete in a sprint and in the end, it's a very disappointing result.
Thanks for the report, race was thrilling nonetheless, and congrats Nemolito 
“...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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| Ezeefreak |
Posted on 30-04-2024 10:01
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Domestique
Posts: 555
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Thanks for the report! Also congrats to Nemo to another win.
For us this was actually a good result since we dont have much expectations this year when it comes to one day races but we are happy with Jai scoring some points for us. Well done.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 05:15
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 30-04-2024 10:31
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Ruiz, bloody hell! Really cool to see such a unique skillset be successful. A bright future lays ahead of that man. Congrats Nemo, and a really nice report in a chaotic race, wj!
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 30-04-2024 12:26
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First of all thanks to wj for an entertaining report and congrats to Nemo for snatching a C2 win in his run for the PCT title. You (and the other PCT guys) are taking it on all levels, but I won't complain too much as Russo finally steps up to get 5th after an anonymous race from him. And a shoutout to our stagiaires as well with Toumire and Baudin in the break and the latter being rewarded for a brave attack in the final by getting the last point on offer as 25th.
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 30-04-2024 12:50
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Amazing, simply amazing. First Osorio wins a U25 in Andorra and now Ruiz does this. Our level 1 talents from our first season are showing why they were picked up! Ruiz got two chances to prove himself in C2 this season, and after attacking in the other race he now does this, beautiful stuff by Quispe 2.0. I picked Plouay because I assumed the course could fit him, and I'm very glad I was right. Also glad I did'n't make a 77/77 sprinter out of him now. Guess the only sane thing to do now is to sell Manninen and get Ruiz to 80 or 81 flat. Interesting for us as well is that this was our first classic win in over two years, The last time we won a classic, it was Zmorka in the 2021 Celtic Chrono 
Happy to see Ulrich do well as well. Thank you for the great report wj, it will forever exist in my memory! And thank you for the congratulations
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 30-04-2024 14:59
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Congrats Nemo with the win
MG - Lotto - Caloi
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| Blasing |
Posted on 30-04-2024 15:48
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 278
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Seeing the profile I had guessed that this is not one for the sprinters. Pretty happy that sending my puncheurs worked out for a 7th rank finish and some points.
Congrats Nemo and thanks for the exciting race report!
Manager of JEWA TIROL Cycling Team
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| hillis91 |
Posted on 30-04-2024 16:20
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Team Leader
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Congrats Nemolito, cool story behind the rider and what a way to take it home aswell!
For us, a 6th is a bit underwhelming. And it's hard not to be a bit sad about it aswell.
Thank you for the report whitejersey!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 30-04-2024 19:03
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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Well that was disaster. Major out racing Lagane and Meyer when things got bumpy, huh...
But it was a super fun race to follow overall. Great parcours for this level.
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 01-05-2024 02:24
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3264
Joined: 02-11-2010
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Well loved that a lot.
First thought is was a really interesting race, brought that race back partly for our French teams and partly because I think that it is a pretty interesting parcours, balanced enough to create a bunch of possible outcomes and I think we saw that. Thanks to WJ for the great coverage.
On the team front it is really satisfying when a plan comes together. I signed Naud with that kind of race in mind and he delivered. Pity he couldn't take our first win for a Canadian but can't complain about falling short to Ruiz. Congrats to Nemo.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 01-05-2024 02:29
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World Champion
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Well-executed Jams-Tesfaye punch to blow the race open, neither could catch that winning move but we'll definitely take 4th here from the local lad.
Enjoyable seeing Ruiz take a win, score one more for the flatbeasts there! Thanks wj for the report
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 |
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 01-05-2024 10:57
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2907
Joined: 15-07-2007
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Man, that sucked.
We really needed a result here. We don't have many racedays left and the promotion battle will be really really tense now. |
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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)
