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English Cff Forum => General Forum => Topic started by: Vos on March 07, 2022, 10:04:34 AM
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Peace & good luck to everyone in season 23 !
(https://i.imgur.com/LdoDutx.jpeg)
Overview of previous season 22 =
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/1equipos.gif) Flyvende_hjul
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/2equipos.gif) FaltososDeChigre
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/3equipos.gif) LottoStelvio
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/1indi.gif) Dionisio Junior ( Matterhorn )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/2indi.gif) Mazim Kartashov ( LottoStelvio )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/3indi.gif) Tristan Min ( Flyvende_hjul )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/copaq.jpg) CobbleCrushers
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/copaq2.jpg) TeamSerfin
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/arcoiris.gif) Atilano Castro ( Agua_Verde )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/arcocrono.jpg) Christian Pocock ( Aurora_Australis )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/giro.jpg) Tor Steine ( ValeronIdolo )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/tour.jpg) Dionisio Junior ( Matterhorn )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/vuelta.jpg) Xavér Kövér ( HTCHungria )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/joven.gif) No points were scored by u23 cyclists. The white jersey was claimed by the last 19yo who came into CFF, of course he is fired now. ( BorinotTeam )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/camiclasicas.jpg) Marco Chicchi ( Caracoles )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/australia.jpg) = NT WORLD CHAMPION ( SPORTLIFE )
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(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/27707822768c9c9c00789bdb852cbeae.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Davidovich is Russian, but out of protest to the war, he decided to ride under the Ukrainian flag.
He was bought 2 weeks ago for just 5k to be a helper in the BinckBank Tour of previous season.
Maybe he can score a few GC points, although that would be very surprising to me. The same to Granberg.
Therefore both even get free roles, because Rubiera will be the teamcaptain in the 2 hills stages.
But my whole team is not in topform yet, so the expectations are very low.
Also to Vilks ( bought for just 10k in previous season ), who might be the teamcaptain in the 3 sprint stages.
31 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 31 ), hills
32 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/letonia.jpg) Vilks ( 29 ), silver hill-sprint
33 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Davidovich ( 30 ), semi-hills & semi-sprint
34 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Granberg ( 30 ), semi-hills & semi-sprint
35 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Meijer ( 29 ), hills
TDU stage 1 ;
15º Rubiera
Not a good race, due to a too early drop in s2 of my whole team.
But Meijer helped his teamcaptain good, also in s4, therefore a good final s5 jump of Rubiera, so he still could score some points.
Free roles Davidovich and Granberg finished on 1:02" and 1:06", I assume now that a few surprising GC points will not happen.
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TDU stage 3 ;
8º Rubiera --> a bad race, but a good result.
30º Davidovich ( free role )
TDU stage 5 ;
22º Vilks ( free role )
TDU, final GC ;
20º Davidovich 2:39" --> despite some bad tactics, not in topform, and 3x free roles.
As expected, the SPORTLIFE performance was not impressive in this TDU, with a low total amount of points.
The expectations for the upcoming 2 classic races are also low.
And again a teamcaptain who was bought cheap ( 35k ) recently :
231 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Sandall ( 33 ), cobblehills
Not in topform, and not suited for the Omloop with just 4 stars on hills, but hopefully he can score points in the Strade Bianche.
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Omloop het Nieuwsblad ;
27º Sandal
As expected due to no good helpers, already isolated in s2. But to my surprise, 40 extra points, maybe thanks to his active cold icon.
Strade Bianche ;
13º Sandal
The helper dropped already in s3, unnecessary, and probably because of that, the isolated Sandal dropped in s4.
So, not a good race, and a better result was possible. But before this Strade Bianche, I would have been satisfied with a 13º place.
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/df924f77f10929a2904cfb2e4b350056.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Good old Rønneberg is the undisputed GC teamcaptain, and he should do well, despite he is not in topform.
Sole is the new 4,1M buy of this season, and he is the helper in stage 2.
Vilks is the helper in sprint stages 3 and 4.
Beckham and Kummer are the masterhelpers in mountain stage 5. But probably one will get a free role to score some extra points.
221 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Rønneberg ( 33 ), tour
222 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Sole ( 31 ), tour
223 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/usa.jpg) Beckham ( 27 ), climb
224 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Kummer ( 32 ), climb
225 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/letonia.jpg) Vilks ( 29 ), silver hill-sprint
Good luck everyone ! :)
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Yet again I've been too busy on other stuff to pay attention to when races are so my TTers are racing with 87 health
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PN stage 1, flat-TT ;
60º Rønneberg 2:12" --> with a mechanical breakdown in the crucial s5. :(
PN stage 2, climbsprint ( 1x wind ) ;
2º Rønneberg 0:00"
28º Sole ( helper ) 0:00"
Again a mechanical breakdown of Rønneberg.
This time in s1 and luckily without consequenses, because he could follow the big s1 peleton of 156.
Sole dropped in s3 but returned in s4, so he could do the important lead out, what almost resulted in a victory of not-favorite Rønneberg.
Rønneberg is now 15º GC on 0:46", hopefully he can move up despite his form issue.
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PN stage 3, hill-sprint ;
25º Vilks ( helper ) 0:00"
29º Rønneberg 0:00" 8)
A risky but magnificient race with a superb result thanks to-/depending on Vilks, who is in topform because he rode the TDU.
Rønneberg moved up to 2º GC, and now just 0:02" behind GC leader Xavér Kövér ( 32, HTCHungria ).
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PN stage 4, flat-sprint ;
55º Rønneberg 0:32"
Again an excellent helper's job of Vilks.
Only in s5 Rønneberg could not follow his helper, but finishing in the 2nd group is a very good result.
Also GC leader Kövér finished in the 2nd group of just 14, so the GC difference remains 0:02" and Rønneberg is still 2º GC.
To my surprise ; Sole is 9º GC, despite he finished in the 3rd group now, and was used as helper in two stages.
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PN stage 5, mountains ;
10º Kummer ( helper )
14º Rønneberg 1:41"
15º Beckham ( free role )
41º Sole ( free role ) 2:38"
A more than excellent race of Rønneberg !
Thanks to Kummer, who did a perfect helper's job in s2, s3 ánd s4.
Beckham could have done better in a free role. Also Sole got a free role due to his surprising high GC ranking, he even moved up 2 places.
Paris Nice final TOP 10 GC ;
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_yellow.png) Xavér Kövér 32 HTCHungria 0: 00"
2 Lasse Rønneberg 33 SPORTLIFE 0: 24"
3 Pat Martin 32 Flyvende_hjul 1: 50"
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4 Aad De Jong 28 Bikeos 2: 03"
5 Dada Azarov 27 CaptainOrange 2: 11"
6 Manuele Miorlin 29 Shiro_Lions 2: 26"
7 Arsenio Sole 31 SPORTLIFE 2: 35"
8 Nauris Melderis 32 FaltososDeChigre 2: 46"
9 Thies Neuhaus 27 QuintoYtapa 2: 55"
10 Paul Schoonderwoerd 30 HTCHungria 3: 06"
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(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/1d29f44d0e03d78eff360ca0987b1b20.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Only one mutation compared to the PN selection ; sprinter Vilks is replaced by flat-cobble specialist Hummelsby.
But this Tirreno has more differences ;
Rønneberg and Sole are not really suited for the GC due the flat-cobble stage.
What gives a stage 1 opportunity to my climbers combo, to try to compete with the 5 amazing climbers of TeamEuroscalt.
So, Rønneberg will have to ride mountain stage 1 in a free role, but he will get the teamcaptain role in the other 4 stages.
He is finally in topform, so he should/might be good enough to compete for some GC points,
despite he will lose a lot of time in the flat-cobble stage, and of course, also time-loss due to his free role in stage 1.
My cyclists get low backnumbers in this Tirreno, because after a successful Paris Nice, my team moved up 20 places in the 1A ranking.
21 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Rønneberg ( 33 ), tour
22 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Kummer ( 32 ), climb
23 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/dinamarca.jpg) Hummelsby ( 32 ), flat-cobble
24 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/usa.jpg) Beckham ( 27 ), climb
25 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Sole ( 31 ), allround helper
Tirreno stage 1, mountains ;
s1 = Fierce attack of TeamEuroscalt !
They forced a break away group of just 16 cyclists ; 5x TeamEuroscalt, ánd,
3x MarquinaTeam, 3x SPORTLIFE, 2x Flyvende_hjul, 1x CC_Porco_Jones, 2x too fast helpers of other teams.
s2 = As expected, another fierce attack of TeamEuroscalt !
Now the front group has just 6 cyclists ; 5x TeamEuroscalt, ánd Kummer, the SPORTLIFE teamcaptain, who got the fresh-symbol.
Unfortunately, main helper Beckham and back-up helper Sole could not follow the brutal pace of TeamEuroscalt in s2.
s3 = The front group narrowed down to just 3 cyclists ; 2x TeamEuroscalt and 1x SPORTLIFE.
Beckham ( helper, SPORTLIFE ) and Den Besten ( CC_Porco_Jones ) made an impressive jump to the 2nd group of 5 on 0:08"
Of course, the others are the 3x TeamEuroscalt who dropped out of the s2 front group, incl. Mikalsen, thé TeamEuroscalt teamcaptain.
The 3rd group of also 5, is already far behind on 0:35"
s4 = Beckham and Mikalsen made the jump to the front group of now 5 = 3x TeamEuroscalt and 2x SPORTLIFE.
On 0:20" Den Besten ( CC_Porco_Jones ), who had not much energy left for the upcoming final s5 climb, he finished as 11º
On 0:30" a group of 3 = Lepin ( Fiestina ), 1x TeamEuroscalt, and 1x a too fast helper of another team.
On 0:50" a group of 3 = Norris ( Elgrand ), 1x TeamEuroscalt, and the unlucky Reus ( MarquinaTeam ) with a flat tire in this crucial s4.
On 1:00" again a group of 3.
s5 = SHOWDOWN !
Between the teamcaptains of TeamEuroscalt and SPORTLIFE, who both attacked several times on the brutal final climb.
It came down to a sprint-a-deux, and Arnfinn Mikalsen ( 33, TeamEuroscalt ) was the victor after the jury had to look at the photo-finish.
The 38th( ! ) 1A victory of thé CFF climb legend Mikalsen who has 25( ! ) CFF-records, and who also won 4 NT races in his career.
Well, I guess it is no shame to Kummer of losing this stage with just 1 centimeter.
Tirreno stage 1, mountains ;
1º Arnfinn Mikalsen ( 33, TeamEuroscalt ) 0:00"
2º Kummer ( 32, SPORTLIFE ) 0:00"
3º Eduard Lepin ( 32, Fiestina ) 0:57"
4º Kevin Norris ( 25, Elgrand ) 1: 09"
5º Volkhard Reus ( 25, MarquinaTeam ) 1: 09"
6º Gøran Haukås ( 33, TeamEuroscalt ) 1: 09"
7º Petros Seeler ( 32, TeamEuroscalt ) 1: 09"
8º Beckham ( 27, SPORTLIFE, helper ) 1:09"
9º to 15º = a group of 7 on 1:32"
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27º Rønneberg ( 33, SPORTLIFE, free role ) 2:18"
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Tirreno stage 2, flat sprint, 2x wind ;
23º Rønneberg 0:39"
A good result despite that his helper dropped already in s3, what was 2 sections sooner as I expected.
But an isolated Rønneberg did very well by staying in the relative small front groups of s3 and s4. In s5 he dropped to the 3rd group.
Very remarkable and surprising ;
Rønneberg takes the GC lead, with a big gap of 0:57" towards the nr 2 GC, and even a bigger gap of 1:32" towards the nr 3 GC.
Tirreno stage 3, CCFFC ;
6º Hummelsby ( free role )
107º Rønneberg 3:14"
Rønneberg dropped to 4º GC on 1:14", what is much better than I expected before the Tirreno started.
But too soon to tell if he can ride an excellent GC, for example the nr 12 GC is within one minute behind, and there are 2 more stages to go.
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My two silver level climbers have done a great job to get 77 points in the Tirreno that my team wouldn't have otherwise gotten. They're now for sale for $1.
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Tirreno stage 4, FFFHM ;
2º Rønneberg 0:00"
Excellent result !
Of course, it would have been even nicer if he won the sprint-a-deux versus Tristan Min.
Still 4º GC, now on 1:02", but it seemed to me this stage 4 made almost no changes in the GC, due to the small time differences.
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Tirreno stage 5, hills, 1x wind ;
43º Rønneberg 0:55"
His teammates were simply not good enough to help, so he had to do it on his own.
With as result that he moved up one place and made it to the final GC podium, ánd now wears the 1A leader jersey. 8)
Tirreno Adriatico final GC ;
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/amarillo.png) 3º GC Rønneberg 1:02"
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Milano-Sanremo ;
21º (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Granberg 0:00"
Very surprising result ! I did not expect at all that my BBT-specialist could score points in MSR.
Most likely he has silver on flathills and bronze on hill-sprint, and he had a bad team director, and he was already isolated in s3.
I guess that he was very lucky that he could follow in s5 on the Cipressa and the Poggio.
E3 Harelbeke ;
12º (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Sandal
A pretty good result, especially because his teammates could not even help one section.
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8abb6ca97e11114a4e4395f49de88023.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Rønneberg surprised me a lot with his 3º GC podiumplace in the Tirreno,
because there was a cobble-stage in it ( he finished as 107º on 3:14" ), and therefore he even got a free role in mountain stage 1.
And again a cobble stage in this Catalunya, so, normally he is not so suited.
But this cobble stage ends in a flat sprint section, what is beneficial to Rønneberg with probably less time loss than in Tirreno stage 3.
Unfortunately there is also a time trial in this little tour, where he will lose some time compared to many GC rivals.
Despite this, and looking at his GC podiumplaces in Paris-Nice and the Tirreno, again he might do very well in the GC.
My other tour cyclists, Christensen and Arnau, are normally much better suited for this Catalunya than Rønneberg.
But they are not in topform yet.
And besides this, Rønneberg is the stage 2 teamcaptain anyway, there he should be a favorite or close to the favorites.
31 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Rønneberg ( 33 ), tour
32 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Christensen ( 31 ), tour
33 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Arnau ( 30 ), tour
34 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Kummer ( 32 ), climb
35 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Caneschi ( 25 ), climb
Good luck everyone ! :)
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Catalunya, mountain stage 1 ( 3x wind ) ;
4º Kummer ( free role ) 0:07"
11º Rønneberg 0:59"
14º Caneschi ( masterhelper ) 0:59"
Magnificient result thanks to a perfect helper's job of Caneschi. 8)
My other tour cyclists, 63º Arnau and 67º Christensen, finished ( in free roles ) on 2:46"
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Catalunya, stage 2, MMFMF ( 2x wind ) ;
1º Rønneberg --> the first SPORTLIFE-victory this season. 8)
34º Arnau ( free role ) 0:59" --> he just missed the cut, and now finished 29sec. later as 1st of a group of 21.
40º Christensen ( free role ) 0:59"
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Catalunya stage 3, flat TT ( 1x wind ) ;
42º Arnau 1:55"
69º Christensen 2:21" --> with mechanical breakdown :(
75º Rønneberg 2:26" --> with mechanical breakdown :(
Before this stage, Rønneberg was on 0:00" in the GC together with someone else, who got the leader jersey.
After this stage, again 2 cyclists on 0:00" in the GC, Rønneberg and new on 0:00" is Tor Steine, but now Rønneberg gets the leader jersey. :)
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Catalunya stage 4, flathills ( 1x wind ) ;
12º Rønneberg 0:15"
35º Christensen ( helper ) 0:45"
65º Arnau ( free role ) 0:56"
A good result of the now solo GC leader Rønneberg.
Thanks to Christensen, who sacrificed his possible GC result with a conservative helpers tactic.
And the very bad result of Arnau is explained by a crucial mechanical breakdown in s1, what caused he was not in the front of s1 ánd s2.
Rønneberg does not like the final cobble stage at all, so, hopefully he does not drop too many GC places.
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Catalunya stage 5, FCCCF ;
50º Arnau ( helper ) 2: 06"
51º Rønneberg ( teamcaptain ) 2: 06"
52º Birk Christensen ( free role ) 2:06"
A much and much better race as I expected, thanks to a perfect helper's job of Arnau.
The final GC is good and a bit bad at the same time, because 3º GC is more than excellent,
but a tiny bitter aftertaste is on 0:04" of the Catalunya victory and in the same time as the nr 2º GC.
Final TOP 10 GC Catalunya ;
1 Elton Fevola 28 Bikeos 0: 00"
2 Daumants Simsons 28 OphiukoCT 0: 04"
3 Lasse Rønneberg 33 SPORTLIFE 0: 04"
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4 Lucien Faivre 26 Elgrand 0: 25"
5 Ken Hansen 31 Codex 0: 27"
6 Dionisio Junior 29 Matterhorn 0: 46"
7 Gianni Mori 28 LaSerenissima 0: 57"
8 Tristan Min 31 Flyvende_hjul 0: 57"
9 Giovanni Benito 27 CaptainOrange 1: 10"
10 Nauris Melderis 32 FaltososDeChigre 1: 11"
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17 Faustino Arnau 30 SPORTLIFE 3: 01"
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22 Birk Christensen 31 SPORTLIFE 3: 15" --> 1 second short of GC points.
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With very good tactics,
it should have been possible to finish top30 with Granberg in GW and top30 with Sandal in DDV.
But the SPORTLIFE-manager made bad tactical choices.
Only in RVV the tactics were good, but as expected, Granberg and Sandal were not suited for this monumental classic race.
Zero points in these 3 races, what causes a drop from 2nd to 6th in division 1A.
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/b7a5672a34004ea508e7287b01b4f61a.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Difficult to estimate who can ride a better GC ; Arnau or Christensen.
I gamble on Arnau, who finished as 9º GC in previous season.
Also in this edition he is suited, but not a top contender, so, again he is going to try to ride a top10 GC.
There was one open place in this selection, what is filled up with a cheap 15k last-minute buy ; a silver hillsclimb helper.
51 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Arnau ( 30 ), tour
52 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Christensen ( 31 ), tour
53 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Meijer ( 29 ), hills
54 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Granberg ( 30 ), cobblehills
55 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg) Overall ( 34 ), hillsclimb
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Itzulia stage 1, climbhills ( storm ) ;
19º Arnau 0:30"
The helpers tactics were not good, Arnau was already isolated in the mountains. Despite this, a good result.
Itzulia stage 2, hillsclimb ( 2x wind ) ;
34º Arnau 1:18"
A bad tactical race and a dissapointing result.
Somehow Arnau started too slow, and in s1 his 2 best helpers were ahead and even stayed ahead till s4, so, both were useless.
Luckily Arnau had support of his 2 back-up helpers in hills sections 1 + 2, but they cannot climb, Arnau was isolated in s3 and far behind.
An unnecessary time loss of most likely 0:36" in this stage, that is a lot. And also a missed opportunity to score points.
Itzulia stage 3, hills-TT ;
15º Arnau 0:57"
25º Granberg
For the first time this season, no mechanical breakdown for a SPORTLIFE teamcaptain in a TT stage. ( Rønneberg had it in PN and CAT )
Itzulia stage 4, cobblehills ( storm ) ;
66º Arnau 2:35"
Finally a good tactical race, because one of the helpers ( = Christensen ) stayed with Arnau the whole race.
Arnau is now 11º GC on 1:26", what is 1 second behind his Itzulia goal of top 10 GC.
I have no clue if he is good enough in the final hills stage 5 to move up one place, but he will try.
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stage 5 Itzulia, hills ;
10º Meijer ( free role )
107º Arnau 1:17"
Excellent support in the whole race, Arnau had even two s4-helpers.
Itzulia, final GC ;
10º Arnau 2:07"
In the same time as the nr 9ºGC, what is an unfortunate difference of 25 points.
But his Itzulia goal is achieved, and barely, because the nrs 11º and 12º are just 0:05" behind.
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Paris Roubaix ( 1x wind ) ;
18º Hummelsby 0:35"
in the first four sections --> (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/incidencias/sleep.png)(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/incidencias/sleep.png)(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/incidencias/sleep.png)(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/incidencias/sleep.png)
The 1 EP start was not good enough to follow the s1 breakaway group of 45. Already 0:31" behind.
As expected the helper dropped in s2, so Hummelsby was isolated on 0:39"
And despite 4 EP, the helper did not return to his teamcaptain in s3, where Hummelsby was still 0:32" behind the front group of just 42.
In s4 just 3 seconds closer to the front group of now 12. But being in a s4 group of places 24 to 34, is very bad.
The damage was already done with the too slow start, and not returning in s3 made a good result impossible.
Well, at least Hummelsby avoided to get a dissapointment symbol due to his strong finish.
This race was not a nice farewell present of Hummelsby, who is for sale for just 1,- and has enough bids.
In the two previous seasons he finished as 2º and 5º in Paris Roubaix.
He won a Vuelta stage, and finished in the season 21-worldchampionship as 3º on 0:00"
But his greatest achievement is not on his palmares. It was even the reason I bought him and that he is my by far most expensive buy :
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/copaq.jpg) Hummelsby won the CFF Cup final for my team. 8)
edit ; On his palmares is also a NT race victory in season 18, but that was before I bought him in season 19.
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Amstel Gold Race ;
21º Rubiera
Flèche Wallonne ;
8º Rubiera
Liège–Bastogne–Liège ;
18º Rubiera
the hills campaign of Rubiera can be summed up in two words = not impressive.
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(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/c61102f7ec06a98faff60612b2c41637.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
51 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Sole ( 31 ), tour
52 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Rønneberg ( 33 ), tour
53 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/usa.jpg) Beckham ( 27 ), climb
54 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Christensen ( 31 ), tour
55 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg) Lewis ( 24 ), climb
Good luck everyone ! :)
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I estimated that Sole could ride a good GC, but that he is not good enough to win this Tour de Romandie.
Because of this, the strategic choice was to go for a stage 1 victory with 2nd favorite Beckham.
stage 1 Romandie MFMMD ;
3º Beckham ( teamcaptain ) 0:00"
9º Sole ( free role ) 0:33"
The race went well and Lewis did a good helper's job, but dissapointing that Beckham was outsprinted by Gilliam(1st fav) and Lebraud.
A podiumplace was not worth it to sacrifice a bit the GC of Sole, who had an extra time loss of 0:18" due to his free role.
Hopefully these 18 seconds will not be of major influence in the final GC.
Good, old Rønneberg ( this season 2ºPN & 3ºTIR & 3ºCAT ) also got a free role, and he finished as 48º on 1:19"
He likes this little tour too, but he has no TC bonus and already too much time loss in stage 1. Probably he will be a helper from now on.
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Currently 40th position & 690 points into the red zone, I need to start making up some serious points in Stage 2 of Tour Romandie. Kirk Clinton is my primary hope despite only being 4th favourite. My former cyclist Richard Levin has the race record in his last ever race victory, so maybe the race will be kind to us again. The others are hoping for 5th to 10th.
391 Billy Janson 25
392 Eric Armstrong 26
393 Jonny Alfier 26
394 Kirk Clinton 30
395 Tod Henderson 30
Edit: Well a surprise win for Jonny Alfier, who was on 93 health & 98 form at the time (Kirk Clinton 2nd).
-
stage 2 Romandie, flat-TT ( 2x wind ) ;
67º Sole 2:10"
76º Rønneberg 2:19" --> with mechanical breakdown.
In every TT stage of every tour this season, Rønneberg has a mechanical breakdown. But this time it will not cost the final GC victory.
stage 3 Romandie FMMDF ( 1x wind ) ;
12º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 0:00"
18º Rønneberg ( free role ) 0:00"
This race went very badly, but at least no time loss.
Sole moved up to 7º GC on 0:55", and Rønneberg is 10 seconds away from the top 20 GC.
-
stage 4 Romandie FFMMH ;
2º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 0:00"
38º Rønneberg ( free role ) 0:44"
An excellent result, because Sole could not challenge any favorites.
stage 5 Romandie flat-sprint ( 1x wind ) ;
36º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 0:45"
41º Rønneberg ( helper ) 1:17"
Magnificient result !
And lucky, because Sole finished as last of a big group. But also thanks to Rønneberg, who did a perfect helper's job.
Tour de Romandie, final GC ;
2º Sole 0:02" --> his free role in stage 1 was a major mistake, what costed Sole the Romandie victory. :-[
18º Rønneberg 2:14"
Extra note of Sole himself ; "the SPORTLIFE manager sucks !" :))
-
You should have more faith on your riders' GC chances, the same happened to you with Ottar Granberg last BBT :P
By the way, Arsenio Sole and Ottar Granberg, two riders whose training I adviced. I knew they were good enough to win some small tours!
-
You should have more faith on your riders' GC chances, the same happened to you with Ottar Granberg last BBT :P
By the way, Arsenio Sole and Ottar Granberg, two riders whose training I adviced. I knew they were good enough to win some small tours!
This happened very often in the past. ;)
Maybe I have too much respect for my opponents, and/or maybe I'm tempted too often to go for stage victory,
and/or maybe it is because my cyclists are often cheap.
For example, 20 days ago I bought Sole for 4,1 M ( due to his not good TT skill, I thought he could not win Romandie ),
and Granberg, who has just silver, was bought 42 days ago for just 321 k.
Well, let's learn from it, because this time 2nd favorite Beckham will not get the teamcaptain role in stage 1 Giro d'Italia.
But it happens also often that I do not learn from previous tours and races, because I had to mess up Frankfurt : :-[ ;)
Eschborn-Frankfurt ;
22º Sole :(
The big risk in s1 did not pay off, Sole and excellent helper Rønneberg started too slow and could not follow the s1 front peleton of 52.
Thanks to the "forward pawn helpers tactic" of Christensen this EF was not an entire fiasco, because he helped in s2 and s3.
Otherwise Sole would have finished even outside the points, and with a good start he should be able to ride at least top 10.
I should have known better, looking at the many past top results in EF of my team.
Well, I guess it is now time to mess up a big tour : ;D
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
This should be a pretty strong Giro selection. Only the manager seems not in form, that might be a problem. :D
41 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Sole ( 31 ), tour
42 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Conti ( 29 ), tour
43 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/usa.jpg) Beckham ( 27 ), climb
44 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Caneschi ( 25 ), climb
45 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 31 ), hills
Good luck everyone ! :)
-
Giro stage 1, FMDMM ( 1x wind ) ;
9º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 1:34"
11º Beckham ( helper )
29º Caneschi ( helper )
A very surprising bad start, because despite using energy, Sole(flat=79) and Beckham(flat=81) could not follow the s1 front group of 30.
It is clear the energy in s1 was a waste, because with 0 EP both also would be in the 2nd group on 0:36", what is a lot of time loss.
For example Caneschi started with 0 EP and his flat=17(and tw-skill also lower), and he was also in the 2nd group.
Anyway, despite the bad start, still a very good result of Sole, with big thanks to the perfect helpers job of 4th fav. Beckham.
GC rivals Martin( Flyvende_hjul ), Mariotti( ValeronIdolo ) and Kövér( HTCHungria ) finished 0:09" ahead of Sole.
They started in the 2nd group too.
-
Giro stage 2, FMDMH ;
7º Sole 0:14"
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) TOP 20 GC, after 2 stages ;
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Arnfinn Mikalsen 33 TeamEuroscalt 0: 00"
2 Xavér Kövér 32 HTCHungria 0: 56"
3 Daumants Simsons 28 OphiukoCT 0: 59"
- - - - - - - - - -
4 Arsenio Sole 31 SPORTLIFE 1: 05"
5 Piero Mariotti 26 ValeronIdolo 1: 11"
6 Dada Azarov 27 CaptainOrange 1: 13"
7 Rigoberto Ortega 28 Fiestina 1: 13"
8 Aziz Kavalerov 27 °Peachy°Melocotons 1: 24"
9 Pat Martin 32 Flyvende_hjul 1: 25"
10 Alessandro Picoli 30 FaltososDeChigre 1: 35"
- - - - - - - - - -
11 Lucio Cappanari 25 MarquinaTeam 1: 35"
12 Aad De Jong 28 Bikeos 1: 35"
13 Diogo Fraga 32 Codex 1: 35"
14 Mark Boyar 28 IKIBASQUE 1: 39"
15 Hendrik Den Besten 31 CC_Porco_Jones 1: 42"
16 Tobias Böttcher 28 Sacido 1: 50"
17 Manuele Miorlin 29 Shiro_Lions 1: 50"
18 Nazar Usakov 25 Elgrand 1: 50"
19 Arnfried Metthe 26 ICSluj 2: 19"
20 Agapito Salcedo 28 Cremy 2: 19"
-
It may not last, so... :P
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/564826389765816343/958224129973178398/w6ar1sb1x27z.png)
-
Giro stage 3, HFFHH ;
22º Rubiera ( helper )
35º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 0:43"
Conti and Rubiera kept their teamcaptain in the front in the first 3 sections. But it went wrong in s4, where Sole was suddenly isolated.
Again the Giro ranking, especially to ophiuko : :)
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) TOP 20 GC, after 3 stages ;
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Daumants Simsons 28 OphiukoCT 0: 00"
2 Aziz Kavalerov 27 °Peachy°Melocotons 0: 17"
3 Lucio Cappanari 25 MarquinaTeam 0: 19"
- - - - - - - - -
4 Arsenio Sole 31 SPORTLIFE 0: 23"
5 Piero Mariotti 26 ValeronIdolo 0: 29"
6 Dada Azarov 27 CaptainOrange 0: 31"
7 Rigoberto Ortega 28 Fiestina 0: 31"
8 Diogo Fraga 32 Codex 0: 32"
9 Pat Martin 32 Flyvende_hjul 0: 43"
10 Aad De Jong 28 Bikeos 0: 49"
- - - - - - - - -
11 Manuele Miorlin 29 Shiro_Lions 0: 55"
12 Mark Boyar 28 IKIBASQUE 0: 57"
13 Alessandro Picoli 30 FaltososDeChigre 1: 02"
14 Tobias Böttcher 28 Sacido 1: 04"
15 Xavér Kövér 32 HTCHungria 1: 06"
16 Hendrik Den Besten 31 CC_Porco_Jones 1: 18"
17 Arnfinn Mikalsen 33 TeamEuroscalt 1: 33"
18 Nazar Usakov 25 Elgrand 1: 34"
19 Paul Schoonderwoerd 30 HTCHungria 1: 40"
20 Artus Karin 31 Codex 2: 02"
-
Giro stage 4, hills-sprint ;
31º Sole 0:22"
Just outside the points, but finishing in the 2nd group is a good result.
Sole moved up to 2º GC, just 0:06" behind new GC leader Kavalerov ( 27, °Peachy°Melocotons ).
The top 9 GC is within one minute, and Sole is not a fan of flat-TT stages, so I assume he will drop after stage 5.
-
Giro stage 5, flat TT ( storm ) ;
52º Sole 2:38"
To my surprise Sole dropped only 1 place in the GC.
Giro stage 6, FHFHM ( 2x wind ) ;
2º Sole 0:00"
WOW ! Amazing result ! 8)
With thanks to on the hard wind based tactics and a perfect helpersjob of Conti.
Sole moved up 1 GC place :
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) TOP 20 GC, after 6 stages ;
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Pat Martin 32 Flyvende_hjul 0: 00"
2 Arsenio Sole 31 SPORTLIFE 0: 12"
3 Piero Mariotti 26 ValeronIdolo 0: 21"
- - - - - - - - - -
4 Aad De Jong 28 Bikeos 0: 27"
5 Daumants Simsons 28 OphiukoCT 0: 41"
6 Mark Boyar 28 IKIBASQUE 0: 44"
7 Dada Azarov 27 CaptainOrange 0: 47"
8 Alessandro Picoli 30 FaltososDeChigre 0: 53"
9 Xavér Kövér 32 HTCHungria 0: 59"
10 Diogo Fraga 32 Codex 1: 27"
- - - - - - - - -
11 Lucio Cappanari 25 MarquinaTeam 1: 35"
12 Aziz Kavalerov 27 °Peachy°Melocotons 1: 46"
13 Agapito Salcedo 28 Cremy 1: 46"
14 Nazar Usakov 25 Elgrand 1: 56"
15 Tobias Böttcher 28 Sacido 2: 06"
16 Rigoberto Ortega 28 Fiestina 2: 09"
17 Manuele Miorlin 29 Shiro_Lions 2: 37"
18 Dionisio Junior 29 Matterhorn 2: 45"
19 Arnfried Metthe 26 ICSluj 3: 29"
20 Paul Schoonderwoerd 30 HTCHungria 3: 41"
-
Giro stage 7 MMDMM ;
4º Caneschi ( free role )
5º Beckham ( free role )
24º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 1:27"
It was the wrong gamble to have just Conti as helper, who should be good enough to be a s4 helper, but unexpectedly he dropped in s2.
And despite Conti used energy in dh s3, he could not return and stayed one group behind his teamcaptain.
But Conti still had a big punch in his leggs for s4, and came 10 seconds closer to Sole, but still could not join him.
I estimate that this unfortunate helper's job ( and wrong gamble ) costed Sole max. 20 seconds,
or perhaps even 0 seconds, because Sole was lucky to finish as last of a big group.
Anyway, I'm happy with these stage results. I'm just not happy that it seems that Sole cannot compete for the Giro victory.
And not because he dropped now to 3º GC on 0:51", but because it seems that at least one GC rival is way too strong.
On top of this, Sole is not suited for the final stage. But it could be that the current nrs 1 and 2 do not like stage 10 also.
And in the current situation, for sure the nrs 4 to 10 are still very fierce GC rivals to Sole.
It is very uncertain if Sole is good enough to finish on the final GC podium.
-
Giro stage 8, HHHHH ;
29º Rubiera ( helper )
49º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 1:07"
A perfect helper's job of Rubiera.
Giro stage 9, MMMMD ;
6º Beckham ( free role )
9º Caneschi ( helper )
30º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 1:42"
Unfortunately Caneshi went too fast in s3, and from then on it was solo-Sole.
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) TOP 20 GC, after 9 stages ;
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png) Xavér Kövér 32 HTCHungria 0: 00"
2 Pat Martin 32 Flyvende_hjul 0: 10"
3 Piero Mariotti 26 ValeronIdolo 0: 30"
- - - - - - - - - -
4 Arsenio Sole 31 SPORTLIFE 0: 51"
5 Daumants Simsons 28 OphiukoCT 0: 52"
6 Aad De Jong 28 Bikeos 1: 17"
7 Mark Boyar 28 IKIBASQUE 1: 43"
8 Dada Azarov 27 CaptainOrange 1: 57"
9 Alessandro Picoli 30 FaltososDeChigre 2: 03"
10 Aziz Kavalerov 27 °Peachy°Melocotons 2: 22"
- - - - - - - - - -
11 Lucio Cappanari 25 MarquinaTeam 2: 32"
12 Diogo Fraga 32 Codex 2: 45"
13 Manuele Miorlin 29 Shiro_Lions 3: 37"
14 Agapito Salcedo 28 Cremy 4: 31"
15 Tobias Böttcher 28 Sacido 4: 42"
16 Arnfried Metthe 26 ICSluj 5: 27"
17 Paul Schoonderwoerd 30 HTCHungria 5: 38"
18 Nazar Usakov 25 Elgrand 5: 40"
19 Dionisio Junior 29 Matterhorn 5: 42"
20 Hendrik Den Besten 31 CC_Porco_Jones 5: 54"
-
Giro stage 10, FF^FFC^^ ;
77º Sole ( teamcaptain ) 1:51"
He had good help in the flat sections, but dropped 4 GC places. I guess I could have expected that with his cobbleskill of 14.
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) FINAL TOP 20 GC ;
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Pat Martin 32 Flyvende_hjul 0: 00"
2 Daumants Simsons 28 OphiukoCT 0: 17"
3 Aad De Jong 28 Bikeos 1: 06"
- - - - - - - - - -
4 Xavér Kövér 32 HTCHungria 1: 23"
5 Mark Boyar 28 IKIBASQUE 1: 27"
6 Piero Mariotti 26 ValeronIdolo 1: 32"
7 Alessandro Picoli 30 FaltososDeChigre 1: 33"
8 Arsenio Sole 31 SPORTLIFE 1: 43"
9 Aziz Kavalerov 27 °Peachy°Melocotons 1: 57"
10 Dada Azarov 27 CaptainOrange 2: 49"
- - - - - - - - - -
11 Diogo Fraga 32 Codex 3: 27"
12 Lucio Cappanari 25 MarquinaTeam 3: 34"
13 Manuele Miorlin 29 Shiro_Lions 4: 29"
14 Tobias Böttcher 28 Sacido 5: 25"
15 Agapito Salcedo 28 Cremy 5: 54"
16 Arnfried Metthe 26 ICSluj 6: 19"
17 Dionisio Junior 29 Matterhorn 6: 24"
18 Nazar Usakov 25 Elgrand 6: 42"
19 Hendrik Den Besten 31 CC_Porco_Jones 6: 55"
20 Paul Schoonderwoerd 30 HTCHungria 7: 02"
-
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/191b5bdfdfade94930708639639a8727.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
11 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Conti ( 29 ), tour
12 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Sole ( 31 ), tour
13 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Rønneberg ( 33 ), tour
14 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/usa.jpg) Beckham ( 27 ), climb
15 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Neeskens ( 31 ), TT
Good luck everyone ! :)
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Dauphiné stage 1, hills-TT ;
9º Neeskens --> good debut in my team with 99h/98f.
47º Conti 1:38"
Dauphiné stage 2, hill-sprint ;
44º Conti 0:37" --> finishing in the 2nd group is excellent.
Dauphiné stage 3, climb-sprint ( storm ) ;
11º Conti 0:00"
25º Rønneberg ( free role )
Dauphiné stage 4, MMFFM ( 1x wind ) ;
10º Conti 0:21" --> the only one of this stage who finished with a lightbulb. :)
13º Beckham ( free role )
Dauphiné stage 5, HMHFM ;
3º Conti 0:00" --> amazing result ! :)
Dauphiné, final GC ;
5º Conti 0:41"
-
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8e2fd4d4ee620c3f1192c94b40da9db9.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Arnau finished as 11º GC in the Tour de Suisse of previous season, due to bad helper's tactics and even one free role.
Hopefully he does much better now.
If not, then Szõnyi gets a chance to go for victory in mountain stage 5.
Just like in previous season, where he was the leader in TdS stage 4 ( MDMDM ), and won for the first time in his career.
Zannotti makes his debut, and I expect that he achieves a good result in climb-TT stage 2, despite he was bought for just 28k.
And maybe the young Lewis can surprise in stage 2, depending on how good the competition is, because his TT-skill is not high.
11 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Arnau ( 30 ), tour
12 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/hungria.jpg) Szõnyi ( 27 ), climb
13 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg) Lewis ( 24 ), climb
14 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Zannotti ( 27 ), climb-TT
15 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Christensen ( 31 ), tour
Good luck everyone ! :)
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Suisse, stage 1, sprint ;
70º Arnau 1:24"
Hmmm, a too early drop in s4 and too much time loss by finishing in the 4th group.
I did not select a real sprint-helper, probably then he would finish one group better, but Arnau is simply not good in flat-sprint.
Luckily there is just one flat-sprint stage in the Tour de France, his main season goal.
Riding a good GC in this Tour de Suisse will be difficult after this time loss in stage 1.
And great to see that the recent bought Zannotti is the 3rd favorite in stage 2. A good investment of just 28k. :)
I was hoping Lewis would surprise in stage 2, but he already surprised me a lot and even more, by being the 4th favorite.
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Suisse, stage 2, TT-MMDMM 31km ;
5º Lewis
6º Zannotti --> with mechanical breakdown in s5.
15º Szõnyi
22º Arnau 0:35"
After 2 stages, Arnau is 14º GC on 1:11"
-
Division (2b) standings going into the Tour de France:
1º LanihuliCycling 23653 7 13 8
2º Rekutxuteam 13837 17 7 3
3º Galletto 11866 11 7 9
4º MOREBike 9131 2 4 6
5º team_piroshki 8636 1 2 4
6º GMV_Cycling 8247 0 1 1
It looks like we are on our way (for the 3rd time) to the World Tour again, and hopefully it will be unlike the last two times and for more than one season. We've assembled our strongest team ever with the goal of staying in Div 1 for at least two seasons.
-
Suisse, stage 3, cobblehills ( 1x wind ) ;
61º Arnau ( teamcaptain ) 1:41"
Suisse, stage 4, flatclimb ( 1x wind ) ;
18º Arnau ( teamcaptain ) 0:51"
Suisse, stage 5, MMDMD ( 2x wind ) ;
4º Szõnyi ( free role )
5º Lewis ( free role )
12º Arnau ( teamcaptain ) 0:57"
Tour de Suisse, final GC ;
7º Arnau 1:29"
The helpers tactics could ( and should ) haven been better in this little tour.
Hopefully my team saved the excellent tactics for the main event = the Tour de France :
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/ec365cb5b403c66bf9212fc15b3d4289.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Just one mutation compared to the TdS selection ; Christensen is replaced by Conti, who was 5º in the Dauphiné.
Conti will be the allround helper to Arnau, who is going for a good GC result in this TdF that should suit him well.
Although, the two stages with cobblestones in it, might be a problem, also due to lack of helpers in those stages 2 and 8.
It really depends on Arnau if this will be a successful big tour,
because extra points can only be scored in mountain stage 9 ( Szõnyi and Lewis ) and climb-TT stage 10 ( Zannotti and Lewis ).
11 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Arnau ( 30 ), tour
12 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/hungria.jpg) Szõnyi ( 27 ), climb
13 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg) Lewis ( 24 ), climb
14 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Zannotti ( 27 ), climb-TT
15 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Conti ( 29 ), tour
Good luck everyone ! :)
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TdF stage 1, flat-sprint ;
85º Arnau 0:55"
A good result thanks to helper Conti who gave him the important extra bonus in s5.
Arnau finished in the 3rd group, what is one group better than in the flat-sprint stage of the Tour de Suisse.
TdF stage 2, FCCCF ( storm ) ;
49º Arnau 1:46"
As expected, he had only help in s1. And he is not suited for this stage. Finishing as almost last of the 6th group is an acceptable result.
TdF stage 3, hills ;
50º Arnau 1:20"
Helper Conti was less good as I estimated, because already in s2 he lost contact with teamcaptain Arnau.
Despite this not good race, a decent result of the isolated Arnau.
After 3 stages, Arnau is 22º GC on 1:13"
Now let's see what he can do in the mountains ánd on the many TT-kilometers of this Tour de France.
-
TdF stage 4, FMMDF ( storm ) ;
11º Arnau 0:00"
25º Conti ( helper ) 0:27"
Arnau moved up to 6º GC on 0:54" behind GC leader Gloor ( 31, Turrones ).
-
My TdF TT squad
291 Maurice Hunter 21
292 Billy Janson 25
293 Lenny Taylor 25
294 Jonny Alfier 26
925 Christian Pocock 30
Christian is the only one racing for a high position, the others are just cruising for whatever points. Surprisingly Bud Mount is racing, so it may just be racing for 2nd position.
-
TdF, 3x TT stages in a row ;
Arnau = 46º & 46º & 34º
after 7 stages Arnau is 5º GC on 1:13" behind GC leader Yarkin ( 32, HTCHungria ).
-
TdF stage 9, mountains ( 1x wind ) ;
3º Szõnyi ( free role )
7º Lewis ( free role )
10º Arnau ( teamcaptain ) 1:10"
Excellent results ! :)
Only one detail was not excellent : Arnau finished as 1st of a group of 10, so, he was unlucky to just miss the cut, what costed 9 seconds.
This could have been avoided by sacrificing one of my top climbers. But their extra points are needed in the 1A podium battle.
And besides this, Conti did a perfect helper's job in s1, s2 and s3. And maybe those 9 seconds do not matter in the final GC.
With one more climb-TT-stage to go, Arnau is 5º GC on 1:56" behind GC leader Yarkin ( 32, HTCHungria ) who will win this TdF.
-
TdF stage 10, climb TT ;
7º Zannotti
12º Lewis --> with mechanical breakdown in s3.
17º Arnau 0:24"
22º Szõnyi
It seems that Zannotti and Lewis were unlucky, Arnau had a decent normal result, and Szõnyi had luck on his side.
But much more important is :
Tour de France, final GC ;
5º Arnau 2:14"
Important points for the 1A podium battle, and also fun, Arnau scored the top 6 GC sponsordeal of 1.072.414,- 8)
-
Clasica San Sebastian ;
12º Conti
Very good result of my Italian tour cyclist who has silver on climbhills.
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/d3b3b3dd456bf24faf1cea8cfca6c56d.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE.
A pretty strong BBT selection. The main goal = a top GC result of Granberg who has 1 silver icon and 3 bronze icons.
11 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Granberg ( 30 ), GC
12 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Taglioni ( 29 ), cobblehills
13 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Cañizares ( 27 ), flat-sprint
14 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Lamas ( 30 ), flat-hills
15 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/letonia.jpg) Vilks ( 29 ), silver hill-sprint
Good luck everyone ! :)
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I think it's the perfect BBT for Granberg: not too much of cobbles and TT
-
BBT stage 1, cobblehills ;
18º Taglioni ( helper )
25º Granberg ( teamcaptain ) 0:47"
Great helper's job and a very good race.
I think it's the perfect BBT for Granberg: not too much of cobbles and TT
Perhaps Granberg looks a little bit different as you remember from seasons ago, ophiuko.
I don't know if this BBT is perfect for him, hopefully you're right. I post him, so you can be his fan. :)
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Ottar Granberg (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/colinasbronce.jpg)(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/adoquinplata.jpg)(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/cronobronce.jpg)(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/sprintbronce.jpg) --> 2 months ago I bought him for 321.321,-
Age : 30 Wage : 1343
Stamina : 84 Sprint : 79 Climbing : 12
Flat : 80 Cobblestone : 75 Technique : 70
Downhill : 73 Hills : 91 Aggressiveness : 71
Time Trial : 63 Teamwork : 45 Experience : 63
(https://i.imgur.com/43WgLN0.jpeg)
Ottar Granberg ; born in Bjoa, Norway.
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BBT stage 2, flat-hills ;
24º Lamas ( helper )
25º Granberg ( teamcaptain ) 0:27"
29º Taglioni ( helper )
Ups, s4 went wrong because the 2 main helpers dropped to the 2nd group, 0:08" behind teamcaptain Granberg, who was still in the front.
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BBT stage 3, hill-sprint ;
25º Granberg ( teamcaptain ) 0:00"
Thanks to an excellent helper's job of Vilks, who was in the s4 front peleton together with Granberg.
BBT stage 4, flat-sprint ;
17º Cañizares ( free role )
38º Granberg ( teamcaptain ) 0:00"
I thought I changed Cañizares his role into a helper, apparently something went wrong with that.
Fortunately it did not matter, because Vilks finished also on 0:00" and he did a perfect helper's job.
Two amazing sprint stages, because both times a 0:00" finish, caused that Granberg moved up many places in the GC.
At the moment 3º GC on 1:01" behind GC leader Lipko ( 31, Flyvende_hjul ).
Probably / maybe this gap is too big to win the BBT.
Granberg might move up one place, because just like Lipko, also nr 2 Falaleev has no TT icon, and he is just 14 seconds ahead.
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I think Lipko losses at least 1' 20'' with Granberg. Plus windx3 today. BBT is yours.
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BBT stage 5, TT ;
22º Granberg 2:01"
What resulted in the very first BBT-victory of a SPORTLIFE cyclist. 8)
BBT final GC podium ;
1 Ottar Granberg 30 SPORTLIFE 0: 00"
2 Levan Lipko 31 Flyvende_hjul 0: 15"
3 Spartak Falaleev 31 FaltososDeChigre 0: 24"
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Congrats!
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Thanks ! You gave Granberg the needed confidence to win the BBT. :)
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(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/c8892128eff206aeb674bcc6880a73a6.png) (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE
Difficult last-minute decision ; hills specialist Meijer was planned to ride the Vuelta, but replaced by Arnau because he is a better helper.
Hopefully Christensen can score more points with this better help, to compensate the points that Meijer would have scored in stage 8.
Christensen was 5º GC in the Vuelta of previous season, and that is an extra reason to give him a better helper.
Perhaps I should expect such a GC result again.
The 3 selected specialists should score a lot of extra stage points. And maybe Finn can achieve a stage victory.
11 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Christensen ( 31 ), tour
12 (https://cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/australia.jpg) Finn ( 26 ), climb-TT
13 (https://cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Neeskens ( 31 ), TT
14 (https://cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Taglioni ( 29 ), cobblehills
15 (https://cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Arnau ( 30 ), tour / allround helper
Vuelta stage 1, cobblehills ;
12º Taglioni ( free role )
48º Christensen 1:20"
My Italian cobblehills specialist was way too good to be a helper, and the extra points are needed in the 1A podium battle.
So, it was up to Arnau, who did an excellent helper's job as far as he could = in the first 3 sections.
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My Vuelta, and probably the TT WC squad unless Hunter &/or Armstrong are replaced to give somebody else exp points.
281 Kirk Clinton 30
282 Nobby Licuria 30
283 Tod Henderson 30
284 Eric Armstrong 26
285 Maurice Hunter 21
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Vuelta stage 2, flat-cobbles ;
21º Taglioni ( helper )
43º Christensen 1:07"
Unexpectedly a too fast Taglioni in s4, where he used minus 1 EP compared to Christensen, just like he did in s1, there the -1 was perfect.
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Vuelta stage 3, hillsclimb ;
26º Christensen 1:14"
A bad race and horrible result.
Somehow Christensen could not follow in s1 and was isolated, what probably was the reason that he even could not return in dh s2.
Also in s2 and s3 isolated. In s4 he got unexpected help of Finn who dropped out of the 2nd group.
But in s4 already on 0:47" and Christensen should have been easily in the wheel of Arnau who dropped to the 2nd group on 0:10"
Unnecessary loss of points, and an unnecessary time loss of most likely 37 seconds, that is a lot.
Vuelta stage 4, hillsclimb ;
13º Christensen 0:15"
Revanche !
This time a great race with Arnau as the important s4 helper.
Christensen is now 6º GC on 2:08"
( He could have been 4º GC on 1:21" if stages 2 and 3 went much better. Well, let's hope the rivals made or going to make mistakes too :) )
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CFF Cup final = TT : MDFFF 27km
2º Neeskens 0:00"
A pity that this time trial was lost by less than a second. :o
Well, at least a nice consulation price was "won" :
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/copaq2.jpg)
Already for the 3rd time that my team "achieved" this silver CFF cup, and that is a record in CFF.
Hopefully it is possible this season, to add an other silver cup on the SPORTLIFE palmares.
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Vuelta stage 5, cobblehills ;
9º Taglioni ( free role )
51º Christensen 1:46"
My hope that Arnau was good enough to help 2 or 3 sections was not justified at all, and Christensen was isolated the whole race.
Vuelta stage 6, hills-TT ;
4º Neeskens
19º Arnau
31º Christensen 1:20"
Vuelta stage 7, mountains ( 2x wind ) ;
22º Christensen 1:01"
Unfortunately Arnau was not good enough to help in s4, what I expected but not hoped. But he did a good helper's job in s1, s2, s3.
Christensen is now 7º GC on 3:36" behind GC leader Tristan Min ( 31, Flyvende_hjul ), who won the Vuelta once before.
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Vuelta stage 8, hills ;
58º Christensen 1:12"
A bad race, because all helpers dropped in s2.
Including masterhelper Taglioni, who kept on riding just a few seconds behind his teamcaptain till s4, and passed him in s5.
On top of this, Christensen finished as 1st of a big group, what is never good to a GC contender.
Vuelta stage 9, flat-TT ;
1º, 2º, 3º, 4º= all Australian, and all of Aurora Australis ! 8)
5º Neeskens
26º Arnau
29º Finn
37º Christensen 2:20"
Christensen is still 7º GC, now on 3:39" behind GC leader Tristan Min ( 31, Flyvende_hjul ), who is going to win the Vuelta.
Arnau moved up to 20º GC, despite all stages in a helper role. But he might drop due to his very low form in stage 10.
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Vuelta stage 10, climb-TT ( hot storm ) ;
1º Finn --> victory ! 8)
19º Christensen 0:51"
23º Arnau 0:59"
Vuelta, final GC ;
6º Christensen 3:24" --> just enough to achieve a top 6 GC big sponsordeal of 1.001.193,- 8)
19º Arnau 8:55" --> despite all stages in a helper role. :)
The 1A ranking looks very promising at this moment, with 3 more very points-rich races to go.
A enormous big chance that the season goal of an 1A podium place will be achieved. It even looks it is already "secured".
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Looks like you've got 2nd in Div1 pretty much secured Vos, and good to see my former cyclist Finn winning.
My TTers are doing a bit of old times at the moment, even if they're not as good as my original cyclists (except Pocock who's the best Innsbruck TT WC cyclist this game has ever had).
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Giro di Lombardia ;
25º Glass
Richmond TT WC ( 2x wind ) ;
My TTers are doing a bit of old times at the moment.
1º Nobby Licuria 30 Aurora_Australis 8) Congratulations !
2º Tod Henderson 30 Aurora_Australis 8)
3º Kirk Clinton 30 Aurora_Australis 8)
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9º Neeskens
19º Mikkelson
After the WC time trial the 2nd place in 1A 8) is officially secured, due to the gigantic gaps in points towards the numbers 1 ánd 3.
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After the WC time trial the 2nd place in 1A 8) is officially secured, due to the gigantic gaps in points towards the numbers 1 ánd 3.
Congrats on your successful season!
I hope to make a similar announcement at the conclusion of S24, but, in my team's case, for a top 30 finish in Div 1.
It'll be an accomplishment I think is possible if I don't screw things up.
I do appreciate your regular "Season XX" posts. There is a lot that can be learned from them (e.g. tactics, rider selection, staff selection etc.), so thanks!
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Thanks :)
You too congratulations, kekipi. 8)
Because of your promotion and 2nd div. championship.
Even the best of all 2nd divisions, currently an impressive > 8.000 points ahead of the second best 2nd div. champion.
And you're welcome, although I wish more people post so now and then something in the season topic.
Good luck with your next season goal of avoiding relegation.
A difficult goal to achieve, because 40% of the teams relegate every season.
And for example in previous season the relegation battle was brutal, with even a record total points of the nr 30 in 1A.
As by far the best 2nd div.champion, it should be duable to stay in 1A. Of course, tactics matter too, not just the quality of a team matters.
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Salzburgo WC ( 1x wind ) ;
1º Kartashov ( LottoStelvio ) --> Congratulations ! 8)
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6º Meijer
Excellent result !
It is even his best achievement ever, with the remark that he was almost always used as a helper in his career.
This WC result is a great finish of the successful season 23 of SPORTLIFE. :)