We're heading for Great Britain: Cheshire is a county in North West England, bordering Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south and Flintshire, Wales and Wrexham county borough to the west. Cheshire's county town is Chester, where the final stage of this new 5-days-event will be finish.
The Cheshire Cycling Tour arose from one of the toughest cycling sportives in Great Britain (The Cheshire Cobbled Classic), that was inspired by the Tour of Flanders. The first stage features a circuit around Macclesfield, with a total of 21 cobbled sectors (25.5km) to be managed. Much of the course is located within the Peak District National Park, passing the beautiful Lyme Park (National Trust). The route contains over 30.5km of climbing, and the stage builds to a climax with a rapid succession of cobbled climbs, including the iconic Swiss Hill, a 25% cobbled climb near Alderley Edge. Though rated flat, this opening stage does favor those riders, who handle short and steep climbs.
Three flat stages through different places in Eastern and Western Cheshire then: Knutsford, Northwich, Runcorn as the next three destinations, where sprinters should be expected to fight for stage wins and the points classification. The event concludes with a second, less hilly cobbled stage from Runcorn to Chester: with 22km of cobbles covered, it's yet another chance for the main GC contenders to go for the first overall victory of the Cheshire Cycling Tour!
The Startlist
The GC contenders
Favorites
FL
HI
CO
SP
Outsiders
FL
HI
CO
SP
Vanspeybrouck
76
71
82
67
Bolivar
73
66
77
64
Blythe
76
66
82
76
Kosic
72
66
77
59
Zepuntke
72
69
81
72
Gaday
69
74
76
71
Baugnies
78
72
80
65
Kasperkiewicz
72
71
76
59
Vanbilsen
78
69
80
72
Saber
75
68
76
81
Burghardt
75
68
80
65
Joseph
74
66
76
66
Nolf
74
66
80
63
Thwaites
73
65
76
78
Fenn
72
61
79
70
Nepomnyachsniy
74
64
76
78
Thomas
75
60
79
74
Lindeman
73
64
76
74
David
74
75
78
70
Debesay
74
73
75
69
Theuns
72
74
78
77
Van der Haar
77
72
75
72
Van Keirsbulck
72
71
78
70
Langeveld
75
71
75
62
Albert
75
69
78
63
Kuroeda
72
70
75
76
Bush
74
62
78
71
Rowe
78
66
75
79
Sinkeldam
74
75
77
68
Van Asbroeck
75
71
74
80
Breen
77
70
77
73
Harrison
72
67
73
78
A packed startlist, as to be expected for such an interesting HC race. Given the difficulty of particularly the opening stage, we surely need to take a look at the strongest cobblers first:
Vanspeybrouck has a season with mixed feelings so far, but as the winner of the De Panne Tour, he obviously enjoyed the last cobbled stage (even though he had a bad day there, too). The hilly touch of the opening stage simply must suit him though and just like Baugnies, David, Theuns or Van Keirsbulck, he needs to put himself into a great GC position already on this first day. Baugnies obviously another serious contender for the overall win and while David, Theuns and particularly Van Keirsbulck may lack the big wins so far, they certainly will love those climbs on the first day here in Cheshire. Also Breen coming with a nice skillset for such a profile (and thanks to his solid sprint abilities, he certainly can be a dark horse for the GC podium anyway).
Local heroes like Blythe, Fenn, Thomas and Bush should arrive with a few percents extra motivation. Blythe as another obvious top favorite anyway, even though he may struggle on some climbs here. Just like Thomas, Fenn and Bush, who will certainly prefer the look of the second cobbled stage!
Zepuntke, Vanbilsen, Burghardt, Nolf or Albert as the remaining premium cobblers. Some more interesting names though: Gaday, Debesay, Van der Haar or Kuroeda as other "punchy cobblers" - particularly Debesay and Van der Haar already went for notable result this season and maybe here's a chance to add another..
Saber, Thwaites, Nepomnyachsniy, L Rowe, Van Asbroeck, Harrison - as well as Theuns - top the list of the best sprinters amongst the cobblers. Van Asbroeck also as one of the better puncheurs, so he will definitely aim for something special here. While someone like Saber may try to limit the damage on the opening day, just to fight for bonifications and stage wins on the remaining four days, Van Asbroeck should fancy his chances on day one (even though the amount of cobbles may hurt eventually)!
The Sprinters
Favorites
FL
HI
CO
SP
Outsiders
FL
HI
CO
SP
Vantomme
73
64
70
82
Krieger
71
62
63
79
Saber
75
68
76
81
Bennett
71
63
61
79
Van Asbroeck
75
71
74
80
Suryadi
71
62
58
79
Rowe
72
62
67
80
Hayakawa
73
65
57
79
Holloway
78
69
65
80
Thwaites
73
65
76
78
Lavoine
73
60
65
80
Nepomnyachsniy
74
64
76
78
Itami
75
61
64
80
Harrison
72
67
73
78
Drapac
71
53
64
80
Korzh
74
59
62
78
Ulanowski
73
58
62
80
Sobota
72
60
61
78
Kragh Andersen
77
64
53
80
Corti
72
63
59
78
Rowe
78
66
75
79
Theuns
72
74
78
77
Peeters
72
62
68
79
Kvist
75
65
71
77
Te Brake
75
64
66
79
Planckaert
73
65
71
77
And by looking at the list of sprinters, it's pretty obvious, that Saber, Van Asbroeck and L Rowe should have realistic chances to also fight for those three non-cobbled flat stages!
M Rowe, Holloway, Lavoine, Itami, Drapac, Ulanowski and Kragh Andersen as other top sprinters trying to go for line honours and of course the points classification.
Edited by jandal7 on 11-01-2019 22:23
The cobbled hills of day one really scare me with Rowe but I hope he can come in the first main group if it isn't too chaotic and gain back time on the stages to come. A nice GC from Debesay, particularly if he does well on those hills, would be nice too, but this should be Rowe's time to shine.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
Seven cobblers and the sprinter. Drapac doesn't have the best of seasons yet but I'm confident the cobble squad can bring together some decent points here.
Alright, gonna pull a trek and request someone to check out this stage before we continue with the reports.
I lost all my cobblers, including Gaday, and I'm 100% sure it happened because the AI assigned 76SP Canelon as the leader (see startlist). All other results and DNFs can be explained by this too.
Not begging for a remake but this race needs to be fixed for next season at least...
@Vien tsmoha reported this and isn't here so I doubt it will be checked in time. But a valid query for off season checking - perhaps chuck it in the main stage complaints thread.
Jackpot here for Saber, amazing ride to put himself in a really good GC position - Per again a hero in the support role and should do amazingly for himself on GC too. For us it was dissapointingly mediocre, hope a top 10 is still on the cards, top 10 and 15 (very optimistic) with a stage win (very very optimistic) and podium and top 5 would be a solid race for sure
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
Vien wrote:
Alright, gonna pull a trek and request someone to check out this stage before we continue with the reports.
I lost all my cobblers, including Gaday, and I'm 100% sure it happened because the AI assigned 76SP Canelon as the leader (see startlist). All other results and DNFs can be explained by this too.
Not begging for a remake but this race needs to be fixed for next season at least...
It was a weird stage indeed, but it's better than what Dunkerque stage 1 gave us in the past. My sprinter was definitely working for my cobbler, so I'm not sure if that is the problem.
Obviously I can't complain about the aggresive riding and the result, just a bit disappointed we used Van Asbroeck as a domestique. His GC is gone now and I do hope he has something left in the tank for the upcoming sprint stages.
Zepuntke has no acceleration, so this was to be expected honestly. Surprisied most of the team was still with him in the big group, though I would've fancied on of them attacking. Drapac survived at least (shockingly compared to Nolf/Gaday etc.)
Vien wrote:
Alright, gonna pull a trek and request someone to check out this stage before we continue with the reports.
I lost all my cobblers, including Gaday, and I'm 100% sure it happened because the AI assigned 76SP Canelon as the leader (see startlist). All other results and DNFs can be explained by this too.
Not begging for a remake but this race needs to be fixed for next season at least...
Well that was a risk to take analysing how last years cobbled stage races went...sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't - in my eyes this is the charme of planning your season, and results like this where "favourites" fade big time and lower level riders rise make up for the most interesting results in my opinion
also: David Per striking again with his brilliant rides!!
Vien wrote:
Alright, gonna pull a trek and request someone to check out this stage before we continue with the reports.
I lost all my cobblers, including Gaday, and I'm 100% sure it happened because the AI assigned 76SP Canelon as the leader (see startlist). All other results and DNFs can be explained by this too.
Not begging for a remake but this race needs to be fixed for next season at least...
I had two cobblers 77+ stay back with my sprinter. to the point that my cobbler at 80+, in a race where he couldn't have crashed, abandoned. I second this motion. Not just for my sake; my team's a lost cause. but for sanity's sake.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Vien wrote:
Alright, gonna pull a trek and request someone to check out this stage before we continue with the reports.
I lost all my cobblers, including Gaday, and I'm 100% sure it happened because the AI assigned 76SP Canelon as the leader (see startlist). All other results and DNFs can be explained by this too.
Not begging for a remake but this race needs to be fixed for next season at least...
Well that was a risk to take analysing how last years cobbled stage races went...sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't - in my eyes this is the charme of planning your season, and results like this where "favourites" fade big time and lower level riders rise make up for the most interesting results in my opinion
also: David Per striking again with his brilliant rides!!
I mean, it's easy to say that when it hasn't happened to you 15 times this year in your most important terrain.
I've gotten quite used to seeing my leaders fail for no reason. But here it's quite obvious why they failed, and it makes so little sense that you could put some circus music behind it an make a comedy video out of it. Perhaps if you were in a similar position, you'd understand.
As I've said, my team is a lost cause, so I don't care about the result. But I do care about game breaking bugs being in our races.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
baseballlover312 wrote:
I mean, it's easy to say that when it hasn't happened to you 15 times this year in your most important terrain.
You haven't seen my team performing hilly classics it seems the exact opposite of what Juul-Jensen did last year...
I've gotten quite used to seeing my leaders fail for no reason. But here it's quite obvious why they failed, and it makes so little sense that you could put some circus music behind it an make a comedy video out of it. Perhaps if you were in a similar position, you'd understand.
Well, as said, we had that type of races last year as well. Bringing a strong no-cobbles sprinters to a cobbled stage race has turned up to be as wise as bringing Theo Bos to a Giro and wanting him to reach the goal. It can turn out to be a great idea, but that doesn't really happen very often. It's a risk-reward choice where you this time failed to cash in, but maybe you will lateron in this race.
As I've said, my team is a lost cause, so I don't care about the result. But I do care about game breaking bugs being in our races.
Cheshire Cycling Tour
