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Giro di Lombardia Discussion
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 11:59
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We have arrived in Italy, the season finale for the 2011 ProTour season. For the last two years it has been the Japan Cup - Frank Schleck securing ProTour glory for Accumalux in 2009, Thomas Lovkvist grabbing surprise ProTour survival for Eurosport last year. Now back in it's rightful place though, the Giro di Lombardia will only be won by a top rider - it is the final monument afterall.
Firstly, let's look at those in form:
He won in Yekeratinburg recently, as well as in Badaling and the other hilly Monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Frank Schleck starts as favourite for the race - but can Tejay van Garderen pull of another surprise? The Seine-Marne-Seine winner, but more importantly, the World Champion for 2012. Jan Bakelandts is certainly in form aswell - 3rd in Yekeratinburg, 2nd in Badaling, while Edvald Boasson Hagen came 2nd over in Russia. Finally, Yuri Trofimov. 2nd in the Worlds shows form, but two dissapointing ProTour classics leave him with a lot to do to take the Individual title. If he wins, he needs Cunego to not podium. If he comes 2nd, Cunego cant come in the Top 8, or if he comes 3rd, Cunego must do no better than 15th/
Speaking of Cunego...
It's a great way to end the season. All three of the year's Grand Tour winners are here. Giro winner Cunego, Vuelta winner and riding his last race in the World Champions jersey Alejandro Valverde, and Tour de France champion Simon Spilak.
It isnt only the Grand Tour winners that are here, but 5 of the 6 other riders who made the podium in those big races. Sella and Nibali from the Giro podium, Andy Schleck and Rujano from the Vuelta podium and the Tour runnerup Thomas Dekker.
The Grand Tour riders arent necessarily the best suited to Lombardia, but no doubt they'll give it a good go. These 5 could be more likely to feature though. Italians Ulissi and Ginanni, plus Sinkewitz, Gesink and Luis Leon Sanchez - who leads Energie-Diesel in what looks set to be their last race here before relegation.
It's one thing to be a potential winner, but 3 riders here have experience - having won the race before. Samuel Sanchez took the prize last season, attacking with 26km to go, and holding off the pursuits of everyone else. Damiano Cunego is here once again, the 2009 winner will be highly motivated to win once again - in La Gazzetta dello Sport's final race in the sport. A former La Gazzetta rider is 2008 winner Danilo di Luca. Forced to ride here for Cunego in the 2 past editions, he gets a chance to ride for himself once again - but isnt what he once was.
We've already mentioned the Individual Rankings, and the battle between Cunego and Trofimov. Spilak might also have a chance, but has a tougher ask than Trofimov - if Spilak wins, he needs Cunego outside of the Top 5.
Here is the Top 30:
| 1 | Damiano | Cunego | ITA | La Gazzetta dello Sport | 2262 | | 2 | Taylor | Phinney | USA | Wikipedia | 2154 | | 3 | Yuri | Trofimov | RUS | Sony Ericsson | 2138 | | 4 | Simon | Spilak | SLO | Warner Brothers | 2120 | | 5 | Alejandro | Valverde | ESP | Café de Colombia | 1927 | | 6 | Frank | Schleck | LUX | Vesuvio-Accumalux | 1733 | | 7 | Emanuele | Sella | ITA | Lipton Ice Tea | 1709 | | 8 | Rigoberto | Úran | COL | Vesuvio-Accumalux | 1680 | | 9 | Edvald Boasson | Hagen | NOR | Team B&O | 1559 | | 10 | Fabian | Cancellara | SWI | Carmeuse Cyclisme | 1456 | | 11 | Aleksandr | Pluchkin | MOL | Team B&O | 1446 | | 12 | Daniele | Bennati | ITA | La Gazzetta dello Sport | 1410 | | 13 | Beñat | Intxausti | ESP | Vesuvio-Accumalux | 1356 | | 14 | Thomas | Dekker | NED | Philips - TDC | 1316 | | 15 | Alessandro | Ballan | ITA | Sony Ericsson | 1295 | | 16 | Rubén | Plaza | ESP | Jack Wolfskin | 1289 | | 17 | Robert | Gesink | NED | Jack Wolfskin | 1272 | | 18 | Samuel | Sánchez Gonzalez | ESP | Festina - Corona | 1268 | | 19 | Tom | Boonen | BEL | Warner Brothers | 1221 | | 20 | Jan | Bakelants | BEL | Pearl Adidas | 1216 | | 21 | Andy | Schleck | LUX | Domina Vacanze | 1176 | | 22 | Luis Leon | Sanchez Gil | ESP | Energie-Diesel | 1120 | | 23 | Vincenzo | Nibali | ITA | Domina Vacanze | 1119 | | 24 | Sergio Luis | Henao Montoya | COL | Team Nespresso | 1112 | | 25 | Markus | Fothen | GER | Pearl Adidas | 1108 | | 26 | Michael | Rogers | AUS | La Gazzetta dello Sport | 1055 | | 27 | Jerome | Coppel | FRA | Auber 93 - Look | 1051 | | 28 | Carlos | Castaño | ESP | Festina - Corona | 1051 | | 29 | Tejay | Van Garderen | USA | Wikipedia | 1038 | | 30 | Jurgen | Roelandts | BEL | Carmeuse Cyclisme | 1017 |
And of course, the team rankings!
Sony Ericsson should ensure their triumph, and pass 8000 in doing so, while La Gazzetta are safe in 2nd.
| 1 | Sony Ericsson | 7958 | | 2 | La Gazzetta dello Sport | 7618 |
The battle is still on for 3rd. Pearl Adidas lead, and a good result for Bakelandts can secure it - but Festina will have the two-pronged attack of Sanchez and Ulissi.
| 3 | Pearl Adidas | 7241 | | 4 | Festina - Corona | 7104 |
Vesuvio will surely take 5th, while Wikipedia are fairly comfortable in 6th.
| 5 | Vesuvio-Accumalux | 6821 | | 6 | Wikipedia | 6592 |
Onto the battle for positions 7 through to 12. With Boasson Hagen, B&O will look to catch Auber - whose defensive unit will be Sinkewitz. You'd expect Jack Wolfskin, with Gesink, to also end in the Top 10. But Domina Vacanze will be relying on their stage racers for a result, leaving them vulnerable to Warner Brothers and Spilak, while Lipton also face a tough ask if they are to end in the Top 10 - a season where some thought they might take the number 1 spot.
| 7 | Auber 93 - Look | 6324 | | 8 | Team B&O | 6256 | | 9 | Jack Wolfskin | 6107 | | 10 | Domina Vacanze | 6015 | | 11 | Warner Brothers | 5903 | | 12 | Lipton Ice Tea | 5898 |
Pride is all that is at stake for the next few teams, Philips, Carmeuse, Nespresso and Cafe de Colombia.
| 13 | Philips - TDC | 5502 | | 14 | Carmeuse Cyclisme | 5483 | | 15 | Team Nespresso | 5366 | | 16 | Café de Colombia | 5306 |
And finally the three teams almost certain to relegate - not much chance of Eurosport-like heroics here, for Energie-Diesel, Starbucks and Lafarge.
| 17 | Energie-Diesel | 4985 | | 18 | Team Starbucks-Radioshack | 4691 | | 19 | Lafarge | 3930 |
Here is the startlist:
Spoiler
Vesuvio
1. F.Schleck
2. J.Cabreira
3. S.Einsle
4. B.Gastauer
5. M.Iglinski
6. C.Kelly
7. M.Kvasina
8. P.Merino Criado
La Gazzetta
11. D.Cunego
12. J.Agudelo
13. M.Bono
14. D.De la Fuente
15. M.Mugerli
16. M.Santambrogio
17. W.Vasquez
18. R.Wielinga
Team B&O
21. E.Hagen
22. A.Grivko
23. M.Hacecký
24. D.Klemme
25. R.Kreuziger
26. R.Mestre
27. J.Sagan
28. C.Sørensen
Sony
31. Y.Trofimov
32. S.Anza
33. A.Ballan
34. A.Bazajev
35. K.Fouquet
36. P.Grillo
37. M.Mori
38. M.Reihs
Colombia
41. A.Valverde
42. A.Ardila Cano
43. F.Duarte
44. J.Gomez Marchante
45. A.Klöden
46. H.Machado
47. O.Pereiro Sio
48. V.Reynès
Festina
51. D.Ulissi
52. M.Bernaudeau
53. S.Denifl
54. T.Kvist
55. A.Madrazo
56. S.Morabito
57. S.Sánchez Gonzalez
58. M.Vingerling
Warner Bros.
61. S.Spilak
62. A.Castro Rodriguez
63. K.De Ketele
64. J.Flecha
65. D.Gallego
66. A.Giraldo
67. M.Karagobek
68. T.Pinto
Vespa
71. F.Ginanni
72. L.Ascani
73. P.Bettini
74. A.Cappelle
75. O.Gatto
76. A.Pagoto
77. M.Quinziato
78. G.Steegmans
Auber 93
81. P.Sinkewitz
82. M.Bouet
83. N.Brouzes
84. C.Kern
85. S.Langeveld
86. C.Le Mével
87. N.Maes
88. D.Mehr-Wenige
Pearl
91. J.Bakelants
92. M.Fothen
93. T.Kangert
94. S.Mancuso
95. J.Rujano
96. B.Samoilev
97. J.Vastaranta
98. P.Weening
Wolfskin
101. R.Gesink
102. J.Cooper
103. M.Kreder
104. P.Martens
105. M.Sieberg
106. K.Sys
107. W.Van Huffel
108. R.van der Hugenhaben
Energie
111. L.Sanchez Gil
112. A.Cardoso
113. A.Colom Mas
114. M.Cunha
115. B.Pires
116. M.Soler
117. A.Vicioso
118. C.Zaballa
Wikipedia
121. T.Van Garderen
122. C.Barton
123. T.Brandt
124. R.Broers
125. M.Busche
126. K.Eeckhout
127. C.Mai
128. C.Meier
Philips
131. S.Devolder
132. F.Bellotti
133. T.Dekker
134. T.Lövkvist
135. J.Pecharroman
136. M.Reimer
137. J.Rodriguez Oliver
138. M.Schreurs
Wiggle
141. M.Ignatiev
142. L.Bertagnolli
143. D.Caruso
144. D.Cataldo
145. P.Locatelli
146. M.Pavarin
147. L.Rowe
148. J.Tiernan-Locke
Domina Vacanze
151. V.Nibali
152. B.Cooke
153. N.Nuyens
154. A.Schleck
155. B.Schröder
156. I.Speirs
157. J.Vanendert
158. D.Wyss
Lipton
161. S.Ghisalberti
162. G.Brizuela
163. T.Danielson
164. F.Matamoros
165. A.Petrie-Armstrong
166. E.Rizza
167. E.Sella
168. D.Stundzia
Nespresso
171. D.Di Luca
172. A.Antunes
173. H.Broco
174. M.Durán
175. P.Fédrigo
176. J.Maillet
177. J.Mendes
178. R.Traficante
Lafarge
181. G.Caruso
182. C.Gautier
183. A.Jeannesson
184. P.Korzh
185. S.Minard
186. L.Sestili
187. F.Taillefour
188. R.Van Zandbeek
Starbucks
191. G.Visconti
192. M.Fahnert
193. K.Fajt
194. O.Freire
195. R.Kiserlovski
196. K.Koren
197. C.Ospina
198. P.Sibila Romero
Carmeuse
201. S.Casar
202. A.Aulas
203. C.Brandt
204. J.Camier
205. R.Di Gregorio
206. P.Jacobs
207. M.Kneisky
208. W.Weylandt
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| Heine |
Posted on 11-03-2011 12:05
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Nice presentation  Good luck everyone!
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| Kami |
Posted on 11-03-2011 12:13
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Will certainly be interesting and indeed, very nice presentation.
My bet is on Cunego or an outsider. But this terrain + Italian home soil bonus, makes Cunego the favorite imo.
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| SotD |
Posted on 11-03-2011 15:18
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World Champion
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Very nice presentation like the others also implied! Well done!
My fingers are crossed here for Diego Ulissi to pull the impossible, and with Bakelants being far enough back for us to get 3rd overall... I can live with being 4th though, as my goal was top 5 overall. So I'll get 3/5 goals this season, which is acceptable...
Thanks for a good season to everyone, and good luck 
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| rjc_43 |
Posted on 11-03-2011 15:22
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Kami wrote:
Will certainly be interesting and indeed, very nice presentation.
My bet is on Cunego or an outsider. But this terrain + Italian home soil bonus, makes Cunego the favorite imo.
So you're betting on either Cunego, or everyone else? Good bet I think. Sure to win.
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| Kami |
Posted on 11-03-2011 15:26
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rjc_43 wrote:
Kami wrote:
Will certainly be interesting and indeed, very nice presentation.
My bet is on Cunego or an outsider. But this terrain + Italian home soil bonus, makes Cunego the favorite imo.
So you're betting on either Cunego, or everyone else? Good bet I think. Sure to win.
Everyone - Frank Schleck . Nah, Cunego or riders like Caruso, Devolder, Nibali, Ignatiev (?) .
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 09-12-2025 04:27
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 17:50
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Just so we're clear on your bet here Kami, which Caruso?
I guess its Gianpaolo, as this is a race where the mountain stat tends to be useful - hence why Ignatiev is an unlikely outcome.
And as to when this will be posted. Either Saturday lunchtime, or Saturday evening. Im out in the afternoon, so depends how early I wake up!
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| Kami |
Posted on 11-03-2011 17:53
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Yes, Gianpaolo . And also, that why i put the question mark and smiley next to Ignatiev .
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 17:54
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Kami wrote:
Yes, Gianpaolo . And also, that why i put the question mark and smiley next to Ignatiev .
I was going to say though, if you were backing Damiano to maybe win Lombardia, it sorta invalidates your whole Ricco/Worlds argument!
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| Kami |
Posted on 11-03-2011 18:02
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SportingNonsense wrote:
Kami wrote:
Yes, Gianpaolo . And also, that why i put the question mark and smiley next to Ignatiev .
I was going to say though, if you were backing Damiano to maybe win Lombardia, it sorta invalidates your whole Ricco/Worlds argument!
Yea, that's also the reason why i have Cunego as main favorite over some other Italians like Ginanni and Ulissi.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 18:04
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Heh, as if you needed an excuse for Ginanni not to be favourite. He doesnt win anything anymore!
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| Smowz |
Posted on 11-03-2011 18:05
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SportingNonsense wrote:
And as to when this will be posted. Either Saturday lunchtime, or Saturday evening. Im out in the afternoon, so depends how early I wake up!
F***ing students!
Seriously cool presentation, actually a very nice season finale too with so many big names.
Sorry to predictable but Cunego to win for me. Ginanni to make the podium.
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| Heine |
Posted on 11-03-2011 18:55
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I will guess on Spilak as winner, just for fun
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| mattiasgt |
Posted on 11-03-2011 19:00
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Would be awesome if Trofimov could take home the individual ranking, but doing it in Cunego land won't be easy.
(Previously) Manager of Koenigsegg
Koenigsegg: ( Media)
Livin' Loud |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 11-03-2011 19:06
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Awesome presentation. It's just a shame there's not much to decide here.
LLS FTW!
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 11-03-2011 19:08
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SportingNonsense wrote:
Heh, as if you needed an excuse for Ginanni not to be favourite. He doesnt win anything anymore!
Ginanni will win this one. Did OK at Emilia. Will probably win this and demand a salary rise.
Awesome field though and cool preview style. |
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| Kami |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:11
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The two riders i didn't give a chance, went 1-2 . Awesome report. Good victory for Schleck.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:12
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| Crommy |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:23
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An excellent report to end the best season yet of the management game
Bravissimo SN, it's been a thoroughly enjoyable season 
Mostly because Carmeuse didn't get relegated
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| niconico |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:28
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Great report and very enjoyable season!
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