Season 24

[Kekipi]

PN stage 1, Flat sprint 199k ;
60º  Pensec   :54"
96º  VanPaassen   1:58"

Lots of bad news in this race.  We were gapped from the get-go, and poor tactics led to a loss of points from our sprinter and loss of significant time by our OG captain.
PN stage 2, CFFCC 187k ;
7º  Green   :08"
107º  VanPaassen   2:47"

Green rode free and scored some always-valuable points.  Meanwhile, a disappointing result for VP, who at least got help in every section from Pensec, the hills-sprinter.
PN stage 3, FFFHF 213k ;
41º  Pensec   :35"
100º  VanPaassen   1:35"

Poor tactics led to a drop in S1 and thus a waste of Pensec, who was capable of scoring in this race.  Next up are the mountains, where hopefully brighter days are ahead, and where we will see the GC competition reveal itself.   At this point, Paris Nice appears to be Bikeos' Elton Fevola's  to win.   Any chance of VanPaassen getting a top 10 is gone.   Our hope is a Top 20 GC.

[Vos]

PN stage 1, sprint ( 2x wind ) ;
87º  Babich   1:58"
Very bad tactics because Babich was already isolated in s3. 

PN stage 2, flat-cobble ( 1x wind ) ;
34º  Babich   0:56"
Granberg already failed as masterhelper in stage 1, and in stage 2 even a bigger failure as masterhelper,
because the teamcaptain was isolated from the start and had to ride this stage entirely solo. 

PN stage 3, hill-sprint ;
107º  Babich   1:35"
Suddenly he already dropped in s3 out of the front peleton.
His 2 helpers did not realize this, and both stayed in the front, what caused that Babich had to ride the rest of the race solo. 

# Due to 3 very bad tactical stages, the decision was made to switch of teamcaptain, and go for stage 4 victory with Beckham.
Although I had no clue how Babich was doing compared to the GC rivals. And Beckham was not even a favorite in stage 4.

PN stage 4, mountains ( 1x wind ) ;
2º  Beckham ( teamcaptain )  --> with mechanical breakdown in s1 & mechanical breakdown in s3.
65º  Babich ( free role )   2:17"  --> with mechanical breakdown in s4. 
A very unlucky race.
Unexpectedly helper Szõnyi dropped in downhill s2 and despite being one of the best CFF climbers, he never returned to his teamcaptain.
What is remarkable because Beckham had a slow pace due to 2 mechanical breakdowns.
At least back-up helper Yakovlev was still with his teamcaptain in s2, but the unfortunate Beckham was already isolated in s3.
He proved that he is amazing by making a jump to the s4 breakaway group of 11, and in s5 he finished solo as 2nd.

Beckham ( USA ) really hopes that this result is good enough to get a selection for the NT climb race of tomorrow. 

Free role rider Babich was very unlucky in this race too.
Also an unexpected drop in downhill s2 and a mechanical breakdown in s4, what was a crucial moment that caused much time loss.

So far a very bad Paris-Nice to bronze tour cyclist Babich, who was underperforming in all 4 stages due to bad tactics and bad luck.
Despite this, and despite his free role in an important mountain stage, a surprisingly good GC place = 8º on  2:14"

The question remains ; "what if ......... ?"
Because Babich lost a lot of time unnecessary, probably almost the 2:14" he is behind now.
Too bad, it seems to me that with perfect tactics in all 4 stages ánd with a teamcaptain role in stage 4,
Babich could have competed for a historical, unique Paris-Nice victory as just bronze tour cyclist ( who was bought 2 weeks ago for 123k ).

[Vos]

PN stage 5 mountains ;
2º  Beckham ( teamcaptain )   0:00"
21º  Babich ( free role )   1:29"
29º  Szõnyi ( helper )

Unfortunately Szõnyi ( with Beckham in his wheel ) could not follow the brutal pace of TeamEuroscalt in s2.
In s2 a breakaway group of 5 = 1x JGMTeam and 4x TeamEuroscalt.

Beckham saw in s3 that his helper did not bring him closer, so he launched one his impressive famous jumps.
In s3 a breakaway group of 7 = 1x a too fast helper of ICSluj, 1x JGMTeam, 4x TeamEuroscalt ánd 1x SPORTLIFE.

In s4 Szõnyi used many energie to try to get to teamcaptain Beckham.
But he came 19 seconds short, because stage 4 winner Seeler attacked out of the front group with his teamcaptain in his wheel.
In s4 a breakaway group of 3 = 2x TeamEuroscalt and 1x SPORTLIFE.

In s5 it came down to a sprint-a-deux between Beckham en thé CFF climb legend Mikalsen.
Because the already 34yo Mikalsen had a s4 helper, he was fresher and more experienced, and outsmarted Beckham in the final sprint.

Paris Nice final GC ;
4º  Babich   1:30"  --> with bad luck, bad helpers tactics, and the 2 crucial mountain stages in free roles.
15º  Beckham   3:37"  --> very unexpected extra GC points with skills ; cobble= 13, hills= 16, sprint= 16.

[Vos]

   selection SPORTLIFE

Beckham is the only one of this selection who is in topform, therefore he gets the backnumber that ends on 1.
Probably he will be the teamcaptain in stage 4, because I don't expect that one of my tour cyclists can ride a good GC result.
It is even doubtfull to me which tour cyclist is the most suited for this Tirreno. It is close, and I guess I still have to figure that out.

61 Beckham ( 28 ), climb
62 Viñas ( 32 ), tour
63 Conti ( 30 ), tour
64 Arnau ( 31 ), tour
65 Lewis ( 25 ), climb

Good luck everyone ! 

[Kekipi]

Paris Nice final GC ;
4º  Babich   1:30"  --> with bad luck, bad helpers tactics, and the 2 crucial mountain stages in free roles.
15º  Beckham   3:37"  --> very unexpected extra GC points with skills ; cobble= 13, hills= 16, sprint= 16.

Despite your "mistakes," great GC result for bronze tour rider Babich!  Also great results for Beckham, who definitely will be selected for the USA NT for Sunday's mountain race.   

Meanwhile, for my team in Paris Nice, the results were sobering (just 67 points earned) but educational.  I learned, for example, that my chosen tactics in every stage were poor, but I now have a better idea what I have to do tactically to get improved results (and possibly points!).   Thanks, Vos, for discussing your tactics and results.  I continue to learn from them.
       

[Kekipi]

   selection Lanihuli Cycling

Haan will be the designated GC captain and will be riding in top form after finishing a surprising 9th GC in the TDU.  VanPassen will be trying to overcome his dismay with his manager after a dismal Paris Nice.   Lyka and Campos are also in form and will provide help in the hills and mountains.  We are hoping for improvement after the Paris Nice disappointment/learning experience.

171 Haan ( 31 ), tour
172 Lyka ( 30 ), hills/climb
173 Campos ( 31 ), tour
174 Karin ( 32 ), climb
175 VanPassen ( 33 ), tour

[Vos]

Thanks, Vos, for discussing your tactics and results.  I continue to learn from them.

You're welcome
Although I always try not to reveal my tactics on the forum, but I guess you are smart and experienced so you can "read between the lines".

Your selection ( also 3 tour cyclists = fun ) and team shirt looks very nice ! Good luck in the Tirreno, Kekipi !

[Kekipi]

It seems you want to confuse the peleton by riding with the same backnumbers as the famous SPORTLIFE. 

Ooops!  My faux pas.

I made the change in #s so there should be no confusion now.

And, I've given instructions to my team to mark any rider with a jersey # in the 60s.   

Good luck in the TA!

[Kekipi]

Tirreno stage 1, FFMHH ( ) ;

10º  Haan  :17"
17º  Lyka  :28"

Two or more flat sections before mountains or hills cause me angst, and Haan was fortunate to survive the flatlands prior to riding into the 6-man lead group in the Cat 2 Goraiolo climb in S3.  The plan was to have helpers Lyka and Karin attack in S4 (hills) but Karin was a victim of a lack of full form, so he lost time in the flats and could not make up the time in S3 so he could not not participate in the launch.  It seems like other teams had the same idea because a lead group of 19, which included Haan and Lyka, was formed at the conlcusion of the penultimate hills section.  Haan and Lyka still had enough energy to finish in the point-scoring top 30 for the stage.  One less EP in S4 for both might have netted an even better result.

Next up is a flat TT and then more angst is forthcoming for the FFFhFM stage 3.   

[Vos]

Tirreno stage 1, flat-mountainhills ;
30º  Viñas ( teamcaptain )   0:40"
No risk at the start for my 3 tour cyclists, because they are not in top form.
What most likely was a waste of some energy because the s1 peleton was huge with 148 cyclists.
Beckham did a good helper's job in the flat sections and launched Viñas hard into s3.
So I could give Conti and Arnau free roles, just in case my teamcaptain choice appears to be wrong. Both finished on 0:46"

[Vos]

and then more angst is forthcoming for the FFFhFM stage 3. 

Indeed, every chosen tactic will be a gamble in such a stage.
A drop somewhere on the flat is not wanted, and wasting energy on the flat is not wanted otherwise the 5 EP finish is not strong enough.
And maybe the 1x wind makes this stage more tricky.

Funny that you use the word "angst", I never knew this was an English word.
At first I thought you used a Dutch word in between, just like you use French words sometimes ( I can read and speak French, but this aside )
but I looked it up, and indeed, to my surprise "angst" is also an English word. This forum is educational !

[Atalm93]

I did not now that Angst = Anxiety either.

Funny, because Angst is also the Norwegian word for Anxiety.

[Aurora Australis]

There's a slight difference, angst is used for a specific cause of anxiety, and doesn't refer to when it generates broader anxiety.
Btw, given that English is essentially a joining of Germanic, French & Latin words on a simplified language structure base, it's not surprising so many words are either the same or similar.

[Vos]

Of course you are right about that it is not surprising that many words are either the same or similar.
But it is also surprising that I never heard of that "angst" is also an English word.
Given my background / education / and perhaps even more remarkable, a lot on Dutch tv is in English ( for sure more than 50% )
and I never heard this word in decades of watching tv.

[Vos]

Tirreno stage 2, TT 17km ( 2x wind ) ;
45º   Arnau   1:49"
72º   Viñas   2:20"
97º   Conti   2:42"
Arnau is the current best ranked GC contender of my team ; 15º on 1:49"