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Lisbon Classic Discussion
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 28-01-2026 22:02
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| redordead |
Posted on 02-01-2026 18:53
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Welcome to the 13th edition of the Lisbon Classic. Over the years it has become one of the most recognisable sprint classics in MG and while it's an important race for most PCT teams it does clash with a similar PTHC race in Veenendaal. Therefore the list of sprinters is not completely stacked. At the same time the profile has proved difficult enough for late attackers to win the race. The parcour starts and ends in Lisbon. 205 km with a lot of not necessarily difficult hills but they add up, with the last one about 10 km from the finish line.
With that said let's look at some of the favourites:
| Sprinter | FL | RS | SP | AC | Lead out | FL | RS | SP | AC |  Coquard | 72 | 72 | 83 | 81 | Afewerki | 72 | 69 | 78 | 79 |  Grosu | 72 | 69 | 82 | 79 | Losch | 73 | 68 | 78 | 79 |  Dainese | 76 | 76 | 81 | 82 | Coutinho | 71 | 72 | 78 | 78 |  Enger | 73 | 73 | 81 | 78 | Waersted | 73 | 78 | 78 | 79 |  Van Poppel | 72 | 71 | 81 | 78 | Milan | 77 | 80 | 74 | 73 |  Peak | 80 | 77 | 80 | 78 | Dekker | 77 | 77 | 77 | 76 |  Demare | 71 | 69 | 80 | 78 | Pedersen | 76 | 76 | 77 | 77 |
Coquard is the #1 favourites and will try to continue his strong season with another win here. He has some good opposition at the top end with long time rival Grosu from their days in PT. We have three 81 sprinters in Dainese, Enger and Van Poppel. The latter of this trio is the one that especially owes his manager a good result. On the other hand Peak has proved to be one of the best training investments in the off season, the more difficult, undulating course in Lisbon could also suit him well. Rounding out the big favourites is Demare who is not quite what he was in the past, but still should have more than enough to challenge for the top spots.
| FL | HI | ST | RS | SP | AC |  Thijssen | 75 | 63 | 74 | 70 | 79 | 81 |  Kalaba | 74 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 79 | 79 |  Willwohl | 73 | 65 | 71 | 67 | 79 | 78 |  Riabushenko | 76 | 68 | 71 | 74 | 79 | 77 |  Welten | 76 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 79 | 75 |  Rajovic | 72 | 64 | 70 | 76 | 78 | 82 |  Wouters | 75 | 68 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 79 |  Sureda | 73 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 77 | 79 |  Willems | 73 | 64 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 77 |  Zijlaard | 74 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 77 | 77 |
Thijssen headlines the 2nd list of favourites. With solid stats all round stats and good acceleration he shouldn't be settling for less than a top 10. With the recent uptick in form from the Minions Kalaba will want to keep that momentum going. Willwohl has the worst ST/RS combo if that ends up mattering. On the other end Riabushenko and Welten should be fine in that regard. Rajovic can always be a dark horse for a good result if he can find the right wheel to follow. The other 77 sprinters are bigger doubts for a good result, but they all have at least one stat that stands out.
| FL | HI | ST | RS | SP | AC | | Quispe | 81 | 53 | 63 | 61 | 67 | 74 | | Katrasnik | 81 | 63 | 72 | 76 | 63 | 72 | | Culey | 79 | 65 | 77 | 76 | 66 | 70 | | Rickaert | 78 | 69 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 73 | | Wisniowski | 78 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 73 | | Andersen | 78 | 70 | 70 | 75 | 68 | 69 | | Hvideberg | 78 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 65 | 65 |  Kooistra | 77 | 65 | 73 | 69 | 76 | 76 | | Milan | 77 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 74 | 73 | | Medvedev | 77 | 64 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 70 |
While the course seems somewhat favourable to the rouleurs there are two reasons why we might not see them attacking the race. For one pretty much all of them have a sprinter that is probably going to be considered as the team leader. And two, I'm not sure the game's AI will allow that sort of behaviour.
Full startlist:
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 02-01-2026 20:13
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Grand Tour Champion
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Usually our secondary sprinter goes here because of the clash with Veenendaal, except this year our primary sprinter is our previous secondary sprinter so it's still Kalaba showing up  Let's hope to better last year's ninth
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 02-01-2026 20:18
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Directeur Sportif
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I have Riabushenko at all these kinds of races on the theory his strong secondaries should help make him competitive as it gets selective. So far he has been a total failure but I think this is the hardest one so far.
We have all our strong roulers here, not guys who will attack but who should help control attacks but that won't do much unless Riabushenko is actually paying attention.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 02-01-2026 21:29
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Grand Tour Champion
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I hope Coquard can make it over the hills and compete here! We are really looking for points and hopefully he can get a decent haul!
Good luck everyone and thanks for the preview!
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 02-01-2026 21:55
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Sprinter
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Thanks for the preview, red!
Looking on the favourites it's pretty obvious we'd prefer a successful late attack, but Rajovic is a viable option for a sprint as well. It will be an interesting race anyway!
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 02-01-2026 22:01
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Classics Specialist
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I'm just hoping to see Zijlaard involved in the sprint
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 02-01-2026 22:32
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Small Tour Specialist
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Seems like we were not the only team to prioritize Lisbon over Veenendaal - tougher startlist than I had expected. Dainese has won this race before, though, and I hope he can do it again. The length and toughness should suit him well.
Thanks for the preview!
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| Caspi |
Posted on 02-01-2026 22:46
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Hope to see a reduced sprint where Sureda can shine.
Thanks for the preview 
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 02-01-2026 22:47
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We have some interesting tools in the bag here to make work, will be interesting to see whether Danny VP can keep up his Giro form or this will be another verified poor sprint
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 03-01-2026 11:36
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Sprinter
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All hopes on Wouters for this one. He hasn’t been near his form of previous versions though. Top-10 would be great.
And who knows, maybe Oliveira can do something on home soil.
Thanks red for the preview!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
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| Caspi |
Posted on 04-01-2026 08:15
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One of a few races this season where Smit could do something, but he didn't take the shot .
Good to see Demiri in the breakaway.
Congrats to everyone making the final move
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 04-01-2026 08:36
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Small Tour Specialist
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We didn’t get the bunch sprint we hoped for, but 6th and 12th is a decent result all things considered. Nice to see Culey in the winning move, situations like these is exactly why we brought him in. Unfortunately the group was too large for a podium as he does not have the best finish.
Congrats to wj and thanks for the report!
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 04-01-2026 08:52
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Grand Tour Champion
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Another below par performance from our team. Starting to get worried we might be slipping into one of the relegation spots come the next ranking update.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 04-01-2026 09:21
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Grand Tour Champion
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A bit too hilly. Coquard did well to be there at the end but just not quite good enough. 17th and a handful of others in the top 50. Not a bad end to march by my calculations. Could’ve been better but could’ve been worse
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 04-01-2026 09:21
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Congrats WJ and thanks red for the report!
Another subpar performance which I feared. I hope we can get some good momentum back in the coming races!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 04-01-2026 10:24
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Grand Tour Champion
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We might not have been in Veenendaal so instead the usual racing in Veenendaal followed us to Lisbon. And we have no one in the team to participate in these late attacks so that's where our chances end. From the non-attacking sprinters Kalaba finished sixth I think, so that would have been a very good result.
Thanks for the report redordead, congrats whitejersey!
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 04-01-2026 10:26
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Classics Specialist
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Thanks for the report! Enjoyed watching the rolling dynamic of Lisbon actually come into play for once. Super exciting finish to follow in general, it really came down to the wire. The option of putting some emphasis into sprint for the final stretch of Medv' last training step seemd to fully have paid off here what a ride from him!
Looked like Pedersen had it for the longest time there but still a really solid race for Tryg in the end with the depth scoring that lief can be satisfied with even if it is a bit dissapointing coming so close to the victory!
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| Booker |
Posted on 04-01-2026 12:55
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Protected Rider
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What a result for WJ! Thanks for the report redordead, even though you didn’t give us any help today…
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 04-01-2026 15:30
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Directeur Sportif
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So close for Gasper to take a big one!
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 04-01-2026 16:34
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Sprinter
Posts: 1921
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Congrats wj! Second for Gaspar is a great result (and I'm pretty sure red enjoyed reporting such a result  ), especially after we couldn't send him to Veenendal were did the same last season. That's exactly the kind of racing (and result) we hoped for in flat classics when signing him. In combination with APPs win in Wallonie it turns a low-scoring C2 heavy month into a full success with still around 20 PpRD.
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Lisbon Classic 
