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Chrono des Herbiers Discussion
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 04-05-2021 20:14
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 Chrono des Herbiers
History
| Year | Winner | Team | | 2019 | Taylor Phinney | Grieg - Maersk | | 2018 | Taylor Phinney | RBC Pro Cycling | | 2017 | Taylor Phinney | RBC Pro Cycling | | 2016 | Taylor Phinney | RBC Pro Cycling | | 2015 | Marlen Zmorka | Metinvest-Dacia | | 2014 | Jerome Coppel | Simply Red Bull | | 2013 | Fabian Cancellara | Simply Red Bull | | 2012 | Jerome Coppel | Milka - Vittel | | 2011 | Michael Rogers | La Gazzetta dello Sport | | 2010 | David Zabriskie | Wikipedia | | 2009 | David Zabriskie | Wikipedia | | 2008 | Sebastian Lang | Designa Kokken |
Twelve editions of Chrono des Herbiers have taken place, consecutively since its inception in 2008, meaning it is time for the thirteenth editions. Hopefully the riders aren't superstitious. Over the last years, the second-most prestigious time trial event after the World Championships have been dominated by a certain American by the name of Phinney, going four-in-a-row and looking to make it a quintuplet of wins. All other former winners don't participate this year because they have retired (Lang, Zabriskie, Rogers, Cancellara), ride at a lower level (Zmorka) or aren't selected (Coppel). Who can break the Phinney dominance?
Profile
Les Herbiers is a town in the west of France, hosting two consecutive time trials over the same route, with the aggregate time determining the final result. The 48 kilometers takes the riders over a single road, split in two, with the riders turning around at the end, going back to the start and doing it once more, and then the same on the next day. The route definitely isn't flat, but doesn't contain major climbs either.
Startlist
| Favorites | TT | FL | RES | Outsiders | TT | FL | RES |  Phinney | 83 | 73 | 74 |  Kwok | 79 | 76 | 73 |  Würtz | 82 | 77 | 78 |  Vorobev | 79 | 75 | 71 |  Durbridge | 81 | 73 | 74 |  Van Winden | 79 | 73 | 68 |  Keizer | 81 | 72 | 79 |  Haugard | 79 | 72 | 77 |  Vlatos | 81 | 72 | 71 |  Hepburn | 79 | 71 | 77 |  Lammertink | 80 | 74 | 76 |  Wirtgen | 78 | 73 | 74 |  Sütterlin | 80 | 71 | 77 | Politt | 78 | 73 | 73 | | Yatsevich | 80 | 70 | 81 | Bernaudeau | 78 | 73 | 71 |  Dillier | 80 | 70 | 77 | Jungels | 78 | 72 | 75 |  Paillot | 80 | 70 | 74 | Ligthart | 78 | 72 | 66 | | Malori | 79 | 78 | 73 | Campenaerts | 78 | 71 | 73 |
Only one rider deserves to be put on top of the favorites list, which is four-time winner Phinney. The American has been dominant in the two-leg-era, winning for RBC and Grieg. This year he is the hope of Isostar. The number one bib is obviously his, and he hopes his finishing position will be the same.
Grieg this year throws its support behind Würtz, number nine of the last edition. He has been preparing hard to be in top shape for this race. The young Dane might become a future dominator of this race, is this edition going to be the turning point in history?
cycleYorkshire sends two-time winner and local hero Coppel to Slovenia, instead giving leadership in this race to Durbridge, who did finish fourth in 2015 but since then only has one top ten though he couldn't always participate. Can he crack the podium for he first time, and perhaps even go directly to the top step?
Someone who preferred a bit more elevation is Keizer, though beating Phinney is not guaranteed then either. The Dutchman is the runner-up of last edition, losing out by 51 seconds. Furthermore he has five top tens, so knows how to perform here in France.
One rider who wished it could be as flat as possible is Vlatos. He is very consistent in this race, finishing between fifth and seventh for he past four editions, though there is a guy who finished first in all those. The Greek should at least extend that streak, though finishing higher should be the objective.
Lammertink has a best result of twenty-first, not something to be proud of. Cracking the top ten seems a must, a top five would be amazing and a win would be historical.
Sütterlin has also never finished in the top ten, falling one place short in 2017. Last edition he finished fifteenth, so he is definitely knocking on the door.
If there were a teams classification, or this was a trio time trial, Tinkoff would be favorites with Yatsevich, Malori and Vorobev. The first one took eighth last time around and fourth the year before, and should be their best hope for a top ten, though the other two could also get close.
Dillier has a eleventh place in 2018 and a non-participation in 2019. A year at a lower level and the Swiss is back to put his name in the top ten.
Farfetch is running away with the PCT title, but is pitched against a higher level of competition on a wildcard. Paillot has a eighteenth and twelfth position from the last editions, following the trend he should finish twenty-fourth. Let's hope for his sake that won't be the case and he can reverse the curve. In absence of Coppel, he is the hope of the French nation.
Some interesting names on the outsiders list are number ten from last year Van Winden, number seven of 2015 Hepburn, young talent Wirtgen and coureur local Bernaudeau.
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| roturn |
Posted on 04-05-2021 20:57
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Well...I doubt we score very well here. |
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| tastasol |
Posted on 04-05-2021 21:03
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Big race for us this. Würtz have been very consistent in the TTs so far this season and we have to say that anything less than a podium would be disappointing. Excited to see how he will do. Should be hard to beat Phinney, but you never know if we're lucky with the daily form.
Not sure what to expect from Cosnefroy and Norman Hansen, but hope for a place in the top 30.
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| knockout |
Posted on 04-05-2021 21:04
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Thank you for reporting this. Congrats to the winner. On to the next race.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 04-05-2021 21:19
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Jasha Sütterlin needs to finally show here what he usually does in a much more difficult Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha, which is a solid Top 10 performance.
Obviously, with such a close field below the top riders, there are bound to be surprises and disappointments, and it would mean a lot in our post-Tour fight for a podium spot to continue the momentum in the same country and get back to steady points scoring throughout the rest of the season.
The double leg is supposed to eliminate some of the TT randomness, but it can still wreck you just as hard if you have a bad day.
Politt hopefully adds some points as well, while Ganna would obviously love for the two-day format to bring a white jersey competition along. Maybe the very slightly undulating route favors his skillset already.
Either way, he can gain very useful experience for a race he could be a favorite to win 3-4 years down the road though.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-05-2021 01:45
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Go Wurtz!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| ember |
Posted on 05-05-2021 06:16
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Hoping for a top 15 from Vangstad, though, a top 20 will be solid.
This is also the race where we could drop down in the relegation zone, as Wurtz should do very well here. Not a nice feeling! 
The victory should be between Wurtz and Phinney, and the latter must be the favourite, like he always is here for the past years. Five in a row will still be very, very impressive, if he wins it. |
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| redordead |
Posted on 05-05-2021 06:39
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Go go, Phinney!! 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 06-12-2025 18:53
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 05-05-2021 08:34
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We only have 76 TT riders here, so little chance to get a good result.
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| SotD |
Posted on 05-05-2021 09:58
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If we can get a very good result from Vlatos here we could keep the fight for top 5 going - if not I could see us quickly falling far behind. On paper it should be a good race for Vlatos though, so here's hoping it will be!
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| ryant |
Posted on 05-05-2021 13:35
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Hopefully, Durbridge lurks in and around the podium spots as we really need a good amount of pts. Our depth really seems to have gone on Slovenie but that was a waste Van Baarle could spring a surprise if the bumps are tough enough...
Edited by ryant on 05-05-2021 13:43
 John St Ledger in Team Bunzl-Centrica and Team U25Red Bull Driver in RFactor
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 05-05-2021 13:39
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Come on Phinney, we need the win if we wanna try to attack Evonik at some point! Thanks for the great preview |
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| Bikex |
Posted on 05-05-2021 14:03
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Van Winden is my only option here as my main focus lies on Tour de Slovenie. Hope he can at least get some points. |
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| tastasol |
Posted on 05-05-2021 22:15
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That was another great fight by Würtz! He must have been flying on that first TT and to be honest the second TT was very good as well, but Phinney is just a monster. Can't do anything else than admire his level and hopefully Würtz can be able to take over the throne in the years to come.
Decent depth scoring also, so all in all a great race for us. Congrats on the win, Croatia and thanks for the report, Marco. Really had me on the edge of my seat all the way through.
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| ember |
Posted on 05-05-2021 22:37
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Wow, sensational first "stage" there from Vangstad! A pity he couldn't follow it up, eventhough we couldn't expect it looking at his stats and abilities. 20th is the end is okay, but I'm afraid we'll need better to survive in the PT this season.
Congratulations on the win, Croatia! Cool to see Würtz put up a proper fight, forcing Phinney to work for his money.
Thank you for the report, Nemolito! That was entertaining to read to the very end, due to the fight for the win. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 05-05-2021 23:02
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Pretty good results from Lammertink there especially given bis record in the race.
Really enjoyed the way you reported the second half there.
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 05-05-2021 23:03
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Really not a good race for us, but that was to be expected.
Thanks for the report.
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 05-05-2021 23:11
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Awesome reporting! Phinney doing very well with that recovery ride on stage 2, taking home the expected yet needed win. A small shame that Daniel finished 51st won't make us sad as we got exactly what we came for from this race. |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-05-2021 23:29
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Heartbreaking for Wurtz. 
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 05-05-2021 23:32
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ember wrote:
Thank you for the report, Nemolito! That was entertaining to read to the very end, due to the fight for the win.
Thanks, but you can call me Marcovdw
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