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Japan Cup Discussion
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 20:38
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After 85 races across the globe, the continental division comes to an end in Utsonomiya, in Japan for the Japan Cup - a race that ended the Continental season in 2008, and the two ProTour seasons in the years since.
As a HC race, there is a lot of points to offer - and there are many teams for which those points are going to be critical.
Firstly lets scan the favourites: Stefan Schumacher, Riccardo Ricco, Phillipe Gilbert, Filippo Pozzato, Aleksandr Efimkin, Jonathan Bellis, JJ Cobo, Simoni Ponzi, Alexander Kolobnev, Aleksandar Flugel, Sylvain Calzati and Chris Froome - plus riders such as Kim Kirchen who are the '2nd' riders for their teams.
The Japan Cup route in this form is not as tough as 2008 or 2009, as shown by Thomas Lovkvist winning last year. This opens up a host of possibilities, and unpredictability.
The biggest effect this race can have on the Individual Standings though, is on 2nd place. Italians Ponzi and Ricco are currently 3rd and 4th, but both can get themselves back ahead of Alarcon - Rein Taaramae having an unassailable lead. Heres the Top 30:
| 1 | Rein | Taaramäe | EST | Team IKEA - Bianchi | 1311 | | 2 | Jose | Alarcon | VEN | Team IKEA - Bianchi | 1130 | | 3 | Simone | Ponzi | ITA | Wiggle - San Pellegrino | 1050 | | 4 | Riccardo | Ricco | ITA | Bacardi - Colt | 1012 | | 5 | Mikhail | Ignatiev | RUS | Wiggle - San Pellegrino | 935 | | 6 | Kim | Kirchen | LUX | Bacardi - Colt | 905 | | 7 | Franco | Pellizotti | ITA | YouTube - Twitter | 898 | | 8 | Juan | Van Heerden | SAF | Pendleton's Twicer | 897 | | 9 | Maxime | Monfort | BEL | Team LEGO | 834 | | 10 | José | Serpa | COL | Pirelli - Internazionale | 831 | | 11 | Juan José | Cobo | ESP | Santander | 822 | | 12 | David | Abal | ESP | Santander | 787 | | 13 | Jonathan | Bellis | GBR | Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by the Moon X | 778 | | 14 | Aleksandr | Efimkin | RUS | Milka | 747 | | 15 | Jurgen | Van den Broeck | BEL | Sport Lisboa e Benfica | 738 | | 16 | Matthew | Goss | AUS | Bacardi - Colt | 713 | | 17 | Philippe | Gilbert | BEL | Pendleton's Twicer | 705 | | 18 | Thor | Hushovd | NOR | Milka | 701 | | 19 | Stefan | Schumacher | GER | UBS - Annie Chun's | 696 | | 20 | Adam | Blythe | GBR | 100% Me | 667 | | 21 | Erik | Mohs | GER | Team Pokerstars.com | 651 | | 22 | Bernhard | Kohl | AUT | UBS - Annie Chun's | 627 | | 23 | Pieter | Vanspeybrouck | BEL | Team IKEA - Bianchi | 619 | | 24 | Luke | Rowe | GBR | Wiggle - San Pellegrino | 614 | | 25 | Fredrik | Kessiakoff | SWD | Team Telenor-SAS | 610 | | 26 | Florentino | Marquez | ESP | Sport Lisboa e Benfica | 588 | | 27 | Koldo | Gil | ESP | Team LEGO | 579 | | 28 | Aleksandr | Kolobnev | RUS | Tinkoff Credit Systems - Rosneft | 575 | | 29 | Mark | Cavendish | GBR | 100% Me | 558 | | 30 | Francisco | Perez Sanchez | ESP | UBS - Annie Chun's | 555 |
But what we're really interested in is the teams! (Itallics mean a team is not here in Japan)
| 1 | Team IKEA - Bianchi | 4915 | | 2 | Wiggle - San Pellegrino | 4605 |
IKEA have won the continental division, but rather than getting to see them challenge in the ProTour, we wont see them at all after today - their final race before disbandment. Wiggle however are going up, and have already shown promise in wildcard performances to date - speaking of which, Lombardia means they have split their team up, but Ponzi still has strong support to call on.
| 3 | 100% Me | 3881 | | 4 | Pendleton's Twicer | 3663 | | 5 | Bacardi - Colt | 3640 | | 6 | Milka | 3639 |
100% Me in 3rd - looking to set to finish in the continental Top 4 for the 4th consecutive season. Behind them, Pendleton's, Bacardi and Milka will almost certainly promote. But its so so close between them! Positions here could make all the difference, so the Gilbert/Ricco/Efimkin battle will be a very interesting one to watch.
Now in theory that covers all promotion spots. But La Gazzetta dello Sport are disbanding, and Auber 93 will not be applying for a ProTour license next year, so this means a guaranteed 2 more places.
| 7 | Santander | 3355 | | 8 | UBS - Annie Chun's | 3314 | | 9 | Petronas - Olympus | 3271 | | 10 | Team LEGO | 3270 | | 11 | Team Pokerstars.com | 3238 | | 12 | Bimbo Nutella | 3195 | | 13 | Sport Lisboa e Benfica | 3181 | | 14 | Tinkoff Credit Systems - Rosneft | 3086 |
Santander and UBS are their right now, and actually, look pretty good. Petronas are a team whose future looks shaky, and Pokerstars are absent - as are Lego, very surprising for such a strong hilly team. Of Bimbo, Benfica and Tinkoff, the Russians have the strongest threat with Kolobnev.
| 15 | Red Bull | 2727 | | 16 | Mercedes-Benz | 2630 |
Red Bull currently hold the last spot in the Top 15 - but keep an eye out for Filippo Pozzato as he looks to end the season how he started it for Mercedes. Red Bull do boast 2 Japanese riders though - Fumiyuki Beppu and early season sensation Yukiya Arashiro.
The next set of teams are all in the battle for the Top 20 - and not all of them will make it.
| 17 | Quiksilver-Kraft | 2299 | | 18 | Team Telenor-SAS | 2283 | | 19 | Cillit Bang - IT-Factory powered by the Moon X | 2197 | | 20 | Vespa-Caffrey's | 2196 | | 21 | Pirelli - Internazionale | 2128 | | 22 | YouTube - Twitter | 2051 | | 23 | EL AL - IDF | 2048 |
Cillit Bang currently edge Vespa by 1 point in 19th, and their Top 20 place seem safe - of all these teams, they have the strongest lineup. ElAl too may do well, but they also have the most to do and so it is a tough ask.
| 24 | UniCredit | 1753 | | 25 | Intesa | 1642 | | 26 | Yamaha - Greenpeace | 1341 | | 27 | Team Falcon-Husqvarna | 1287 | | 28 | Bbox Bouygoues Telecom | 1232 | | 29 | HighRoad-TomTom | 1072 |
Of the last 6 teams only UniCredit and Bbox are in action. Bbox' Australian successes have ensured they dont finish bottom - can Voeckler or Astarloza lead the team up over Falcon, or maybe even Yamaha?
Here's the startlist:
Spoiler UBS
1. S.Schumacher
2. M.Albasini
3. S.Barrio
4. J.Le Bon
5. J.Mora
6. A.Roux
7. G.Signorini
8. S.Zahner
Bacardi
11. R.Ricco
12. J.El Fares
13. C.Hervé
14. K.Kirchen
15. A.Passeron
16. M.Perget
17. G.Smukulis
18. E.Sokolov
Pendleton's
21. P.Gilbert
22. M.Chérel
23. S.Duret
24. A.Moinard
25. A.Moletta
26. J.Rovira
27. E.Vorganov
28. F.Willems
Mercedes
31. F.Pozzato
32. J.Bol
33. P.Ghyllebert
34. A.Howes
35. B.Jacques-Maynes
36. S.Nydam
37. L.Pasamontes
38. E.Weiss
Milka
41. A.Efimkin
42. R.Grychenko
43. L.Howard
44. B.Jarc
45. B.Leukemans
46. A.Malori
47. Y.Nepomnyachsniy
48. A.Nepomnyachsniy
Cillit Bang
51. J.Bellis
52. H.Ben Nasser
53. J.Claes
54. J.Coenen
55. M.De Maar
56. M.Eichler
57. V.Hacecký
58. D.Kopp
Santander
61. J.Cobo
62. D.Allonca
63. J.Del Nero
64. A.Durán
65. J.Gallego Martin
66. D.Ortega
67. R.Serrano
68. F.Ventoso
Wiggle
71. S.Ponzi
72. T.Diggle
73. C.Grippo
74. B.Hermans
75. S.Locatelli
76. R.Nocentini
77. D.Ratto
78. P.Scarponi
Tinkoff
81. A.Kolobnev
82. M.Belkov
83. P.Brutt
84. S.Klimov
85. A.Kunshin
86. I.Rovny
87. B.Shpilevski
88. Y.Sobal
IKEA
91. A.Flügel
92. S.Balck
93. N.Brolin
94. A.Linden
95. J.Ljungblad
96. L.Lundberg
97. P.Sagan
98. P.Vanspeybrouck
EL AL
101. S.Calzati
102. S.Chavanel
103. Y.Doi
104. D.Eliad
105. B.Feillu
106. I.Konovalovas
107. G.Rast
108. R.Sicard
Bimbo
111. D.Craven
112. I.Camaño
113. R.Lobato
114. N.Oliveira
115. V.Rodrigues
116. H.Sabido
117. M.Samwel
118. G.Van Avermaet
Quiksilver
121. S.Scheirlinckx
122. C.Betancourt
123. Y.Bru Pascal
124. C.D'Amore
125. P.Mach
126. G.Nizzolo
127. R.Sambris
128. B.Selander
Bbox
131. T.Voeckler
132. M.Astarloza
133. L.Didier
134. A.Diniz
135. A.Greipel
136. L.Hoste
137. B.Mollema
138. S.Paulinho
100Me
141. C.Froome
142. D.Appleby
143. S.Bennett
144. R.Cleaver
145. D.Martin
146. C.McConvey
147. N.Roche
148. W.Sulzberger
Petronas
151. M.Carrara
152. J.Bobridge
153. G.Bole
154. M.Dueñas
155. S.Gerrans
156. K.Lalouette
157. R.Scholz
158. T.Stubbe
Pirelli
161. L.Bernucci
162. I.Basso
163. G.Cheula
164. H.Dupont
165. M.Iannetti
166. Z.Ndbri
167. L.Paolini
168. D.Pietropolli
Red Bull
171. K.Siutsou
172. Y.Arashiro
173. F.Beppu
174. L.Laverde Jimenez
175. M.Matthews
176. A.Semple
177. K.Wu
178. S.Zwizanski
Vespa
181. A.Proni
182. A.Balloni
183. G.Bosisio
184. C.Cassidy
185. W.Connolly
186. D.Garbelli
187. E.Luzi
188. A.Passalacqua
Benfica
191. D.Petrov
192. J.Benitez
193. R.Laverde Velez
194. B.Lima
195. B.Neves
196. N.Ribeiro
197. A.Saldarriaga
198. H.VÃtor
UniCredit
201. F.Gavazzi
202. P.Andersen
203. M.Brändle
204. A.Kamp
205. S.Lander
206. J.Mazet
207. R.Quaade
208. D.Teklehaimanot
And what they all hope to emulate:
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| Kami |
Posted on 11-03-2011 20:46
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Great preview, and everything is so close in the rankings. I might actually have been lucky to put Kirchen here as well, as i need every point in this race. Go Ricco, go Kirchen!
Also, i normally don't ask but, when will it go up? 
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| Christer |
Posted on 11-03-2011 20:48
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Extreme start list. Hoping for a mass sprint win for Greipel.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 20:53
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Kami wrote:
Great preview, and everything is so close in the rankings. I might actually have been lucky to put Kirchen here as well, as i need every point in this race. Go Ricco, go Kirchen!
Also, i normally don't ask but, when will it go up?
Exactly the same time that Lombardia goes up, sometime tomorrow 
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 06-12-2025 16:34
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 11-03-2011 20:58
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Proni should hopefully do OK if I'm lucky - which usually I'm not. |
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| Roman |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:01
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Oh there is massive competition here! It doesn't look very good with my chances for 4th place - my only hope here is Efimkin. And Kami and Wacko are having Ricco+Kirchen and Gilbert.. The promotion for me is almost sure now as well as my top 10 overall goal. But 4th place is better than 6th, right?
So.. GO ALEX!
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:02
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This is what it comes down to. It's been a great season. Go on Gilbert - hold that rather lovely 4th. |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:05
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Could we see a similar style of race to Bloemfontain?
That is probably Red Bulls best chance of a strong result. It is possible that we can hold off Mercedes here.
Lego missing this? Thats a mistake they now need a back door entry to the Protour.
Anyway I would go with Schumacher to win this - he has gotta win one
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| Rin |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:06
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Did I really left out that race? Can't believe that.. How many HC races are we allowed to take part at?
Otherwise if I did so:
Edited by Rin on 11-03-2011 21:07
 Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:07
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Similar enough profile to Bloemfontein, and the race last year was similar to Bloemfontein - so that could well be the case Smowz.
But then, a smaller group could always get away. Who knows?
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:08
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Looking at the points I was feeling slightly safe for the first time since the Vuelta.
Then I opened the startlist and saw UBS as the first team.
So now I am very nervous.
 [url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:11
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Rin wrote:
Did I really left out that race? Can't believe that.. How many HC races are we allowed to take part at?
You get 12 HC races, you made Japan Cup your 15th choice. Your 12th choice was Burgos, where you scored less than 30 points. That could well have cost you promotion.
@Mb The way I see it, you got ahead of Lego thanks to the Sun Tour, so up you go
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:19
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SportingNonsense wrote:
@Mb The way I see it, you got ahead of Lego thanks to the Sun Tour, so up you go
quite possibly, but I am in no way going to count any chickens
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
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| Kami |
Posted on 11-03-2011 21:23
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mb2612 wrote:
SportingNonsense wrote:
@Mb The way I see it, you got ahead of Lego thanks to the Sun Tour, so up you go
quite possibly, but I am in no way going to count any chickens
Well, 7th or 8th won't make a big difference concerning promotion, as it seems La Gazzetta is definitely disbanding and you should outscore Petronas.
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| Rin |
Posted on 11-03-2011 22:08
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Ah ok maybe I was like: "Everyone will pick up their best riders there and Monfort (Hill 79) won't have a chance against the best so I put it in 15th in hope I will ride races with less good riders and take there the points"
Or I was drunk.. It's too late 
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 11-03-2011 22:10
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Kami wrote:
mb2612 wrote:
SportingNonsense wrote:
@Mb The way I see it, you got ahead of Lego thanks to the Sun Tour, so up you go
quite possibly, but I am in no way going to count any chickens
Well, 7th or 8th won't make a big difference concerning promotion, as it seems La Gazzetta is definitely disbanding and you should outscore Petronas.
Who will also disband anyway.
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| Kami |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:06
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K, really bad bad bad race for Bacardi. But, ending 5th and that is precisely where my team belong, in the end, i can assume this means i achieve my promotion goal?
Now the nationals, i'll be doing Spain.
Also, PT, here we come!
Edited by Kami on 12-03-2011 11:22
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:11
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awful result
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:12
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Didn't really see that coming and on the face of it a bad race but who cares? PT! 4th Place!
And to think my goal was a top 10 and it wasn't predicted that I would achieve that. |
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 12-03-2011 11:15
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That said, I think I have promoted, so yay, that's a massive relief
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
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