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Franceville Classique - Discussion
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 05-12-2024 02:46
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3914
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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 Franceville Classique
2024 marks a half decade for the Franceville Classique. Three years as a one-day classic and now a second edition as the calendar’s only 2-day stage race. Once again it is as the PTHC level.
The race format is pretty simple – stage 1, some cobbles and probably a sprint finish and stage 2, many cobbles and probably not a sprint finish. The former winners represent a strong-cross section of PT/HC cobblers – most recently Wisniowski, and before that, Stallaert, Bewley and Havik.  Stallaert is the only one who returns this year with the defending champion’s team missing out on this band.
The maximum 24 teams make the trip to Gabon, 188 riders. McCormick ride with just 6 and this is probably the last time we will mention them. Gazelle and Everesting also start 1 rider down but everyone else brings a full squad.
We expect the GC to be decided on Stage 2 and that stage will likely come down to skill on the cobbles, toughness and maybe a little ability on the climbs. Top candidates include:
| Rider | FL | CO | HI | RS | ST | SP | AC |  Pedersen | 77 | 83 | 69 | 80 | 78 | 78 | 77 |  Per | 79 | 82 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 74 |  Altur | 75 | 82 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 68 |  Gerts | 77 | 82 | 78 | 80 | 76 | 72 | 70 |  Senechal | 75 | 82 | 67 | 74 | 79 | 69 | 74 |  Van Hooydonck | 73 | 82 | 71 | 74 | 75 | 61 | 72 |  Teunissen | 76 | 81 | 67 | 73 | 77 | 67 | 69 | | Kamyshev | 76 | 81 | 64 | 74 | 80 | 65 | 59 |  Kasperkiewicz | 76 | 81 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 59 | 67 | | Stallaert | 76 | 80 | 66 | 67 | 75 | 78 | 75 |  Gamper | 77 | 80 | 66 | 77 | 77 | 64 | 71 |  Anderberg | 78 | 80 | 69 | 76 | 77 | 60 | 73 |  Theuns | 71 | 79 | 73 | 71 | 74 | 76 | 74 |  Daniel | 72 | 79 | 68 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 71 |  Jacobs | 76 | 79 | 69 | 76 | 77 | 67 | 68 | | Sulimov | 73 | 79 | 70 | 71 | 77 | 65 | 71 |
Pedersen has never won this race although it is well suited to him. He will be the favored to fill that gap in his palmares this year. He is both better on the cobbles and faster at the finish than his top 5 competitors: Per, Altur, Gerts, Van Hooydonck and Senechal. Although if the hills play a big role ail of them except Senechal have an advantage on the Pedersen, with Gerts the biggest threat in that area.
If a larger group contests stage 2 and the finish on that stage and in stage 1 matter in the GC then the bigger threat to Pedersen will come from former-winner Stallaert as well as Theuns and Daniel. Although all 3 of those may struggle to stay at the front on stage 2.
After their success in Stadia Apia Antica Tinkoff will be in a confident mood, they will need to be aggressive to take advantage of their strength in numbers with Senechal, Kamyshev and Sulimov all among the favorites. No other team can boast that kind of strength but Evonik have two riders just behind the favorites above in  Neilands and Polanc. And Pedersen does have a strong team with him with Bohli, Stokbro, and Jansen all strong cobblers. Van Hooydonck probably has the weakest support among the favorites but all of them boast at least a couple of solid domestiques.
Stage 1 could come down to a more traditional sprint and a number of teams have sent riders to cover that eventuality. Top names (other than those above) include:
| Rider | FL | CO | HI | RS | ST | SP | AC |  Ovsyannikov | 74 | 77 | 68 | 72 | 75 | 79 | 78 | | Bol | 76 | 68 | 70 | 77 | 75 | 79 | 77 |  Steimle | 74 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 78 | 80 | | Lander | 76 | 72 | 68 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 75 | | Van Asbroeck | 73 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 72 | 78 | 75 |  Kennaugh | 73 | 54 | 61 | 65 | 68 | 78 | 75 | | Silva | 75 | 72 | 68 | 70 | 69 | 77 | 78 | | Stash | 73 | 67 | 64 | 73 | 68 | 77 | 77 |  McLay | 73 | 72 | 67 | 72 | 74 | 77 | 76 |  Vermeersch | 76 | 76 | 68 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 77 | | De Buyst | 73 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 73 | 76 | 76 |  Kooistra | 77 | 70 | 65 | 69 | 73 | 76 | 76 |
Ovsyannikov is the fast sprinter in the race and may also be able to put up a strong time on Stage 2 while the likes of Bol and Steimle are likely focused on winning stage 1 and not the GC.
[Travelling tomorrow so likely will be 48 hours to the first stage.]
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Posted on 05-12-2025 15:31
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 05-12-2024 05:38
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We're definitely going for depth results in this race with the Kuroedas, Yechezkel and a moderate support team lining up. Guess something around the top 20 and a couple in the Top 30 would be a reasonable expectation. Hopefully we can target the breaks as well.
Thanks for the preview Ulrich!
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| tastasol |
Posted on 05-12-2024 06:18
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3030
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Coming thick and fast now. Another great chance for the team and Pedersen. S mentioned, he hasn't won here - but it should be a perfect race for him. Perhaps this is the year. Thanks for the preview, UU.
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 05-12-2024 08:13
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I'm a big fan of those cobbles mayhem stage races and so am really looking forward to this race! And being in it is just the icing on the cake. Daniel should be able to contest for a top 15 in the GC and the likes of Louvel, Askey or Lapeira could add some U25 points as well.
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 05-12-2024 08:18
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15024
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Always a special race ths one, let's see what we can do.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 05-12-2024 12:07
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 20-04-2008
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Please stop failing, Mike
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 05-12-2024 12:32
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3219
Joined: 07-08-2011
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On paper this is a great race for Kaspa, but the competition is incredibly fierce. With a good result here we could add some very solid scoring in the top of the table battle that we're still finding ourselves in for a few more months.
Thanks for the preview!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-12-2024 13:11
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16552
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I kind of don't even want to read this, but I know Ulrich will give a great report, so I'll give it the read it deserves.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| knockout |
Posted on 05-12-2024 13:31
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Grand Tour Champion
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Not sure what to expect here. Polanc has shown already that last season was no fluke but this route likely doesnt suit him as much as eg the most recent classic. I suspect this will be more of a pure cobbles elimination race rather than one where the more hybridy ones can do particularly well. But of course there is hope to continue strongly.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ember |
Posted on 05-12-2024 19:22
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Fingers crossed Anderberg continues his solid start to the season! Again, we need the hills to play a minor role and let the flat stat combined with the cobbles stat be the main stats. He did it brilliantly in Hungary, and if he can reproduce it, I will be very happy. Vague memories from last season, but I think the first stage ended in quite a big bunch sprint? If the same here, it will all be down to daily form and positioning on the final day. |
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 05-12-2024 21:30
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World Champion
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Judging by the preview it seems like there's a world where Vermeersch is fighting for the podium places on Stage 1 though I won't hold my breath on that. Seems like Schreurs has been backing him up so far while Pidcock attacked, so interested to see what that duo can do here without Pidcock. Hopefully decent points and fighting for white!
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
5x  x5
1x  x1
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 05-12-2024 22:27
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I didn't imagine I'd ever participate in such a mad race again (after Faso became optional), but here we are. Theuns was average in Appia Antica and great in Hungary, so let's see what he can do here. I'm obviously hoping the hills on day 2 will have some impact, but iirc last year it was mainly an attrition race on the loooong cobbled section to the finish. Anyway, a Top 15 GC result should be on the cards for Eddie.
Eddie could also do something on day 1 if it comes down to a reduced bunch sprint; otherwise we have Bol who could fight for the win. Depth-wise, not expecting much; if Paprstka and maybe Küng can get a Top 50, that would be just fine.
Thanks for the preview, good luck to all!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 07-12-2024 03:04
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16552
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We end up with a stage podium, time bonus, and a bunch of guys in the first group, but I'm still not thrilled with how that went. We once again sent a bunch of guys in the breakaway and had Per too far back to react to any attacks from big contenders, only for him to come to the front at the very end with the sprinter hybrids. Doesn't bode well for the more selective stage. Hopefully the fact that he's already high on GC will at least normalize the AI to protect him a little bit.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 07-12-2024 08:26
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15024
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Gamper riding like he has 85 REC. He's going to be very tired tomorrow, but I really can't disapprove of offensive riding.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 07-12-2024 11:17
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World Champion
Posts: 11621
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Pretty perfect stage from us, van Zyl in the breakaway then solidly positioned while Schreurs finished in the Top 20 and Vermeersch was in the fight for his maiden professional victory with a great ride finishing in 2nd. The feelings about the race as a whole obviously are dependent on tomorrow, but based off of current form I feel pretty good about it!
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
5x x5
1x x1
2x x2
2x x2 |
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| knockout |
Posted on 07-12-2024 12:35
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8235
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Pretty much a non-stage for us. 6 evonik riders in the first group including Polanc and Neilands but this stage is unlikely to have much gc impact for us. Silva wasnt positioned too well so he doesnt take many points from this stage which would have been a nice extra. Tomorrow is the stage that counts for us and almost everyone else.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 07-12-2024 12:39
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 20-04-2008
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Great timing by Lander! Probably his first stagewin for us. Combined with a day in the leader jersey, that's a nice amount of points. He'll lose it tomorrow of course, so we'll still need Teunissen to step up.
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| tastasol |
Posted on 07-12-2024 14:04
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3030
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Once Pedersen fell short in the hunt for the stage, I guess we have to be happy with a stage with more or less no gaps. Hopefully he didn't tire his legs too much, and he can be ready to go big tomorrow.
Cool to see Lander still mixing it up. Congrats, DD.
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| ember |
Posted on 07-12-2024 14:27
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Team Leader
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Very nice to see Anderberg be aggressive! Hopefully he keeps the mindset and also is given a good daily form on the decisive final stage. Then this can be very, very good. |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 07-12-2024 15:12
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 12680
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1961.50
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Decent stage with three riders in the front group but Yechezkel missing out on it is a shame. Hopefully we can get some decent depth results on Stage 2.
Congrats to DD and thanks for the report Ulrich 
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