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Tour of Qatar Discussion
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| sgdanny |
Posted on 09-11-2019 23:42
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3587
Joined: 18-03-2014
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Very consistent Guardini. Top 10 in the GC looks very possible, which I wouldn't have predicted
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| knockout |
Posted on 10-11-2019 00:13
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8236
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Finally a good stage for Evonik. Good leadout by Dzama and Van Stayen fights for a contested podium that brings in stage points and brings him into a position where another good stage result on the final sprint can get him the good GC result that we need to justify bringing him. Stoltz, Dzama and Blythe also in the good GC group without time losses which is sweet. Riesebeek losing time hurts though since he is a decent prologue rider too.
Looking through the GC ranking and the prologue stats:
(Last season the time difference on the epilogue between the best and worst riders was about 40s)
| 1 | Ben Swift | Aker - MOT | 13h20'26 | 70 | | 2 | Leigh Howard | Bennelong - Mitchelton | + 7 | 68 | | 3 | Alexander Kristoff | Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ | + 9 | 73 | | 4 | Eduard Grosu | eBuddy | + 10 | 70 | | 5 | Michael Van Stayen | Evonik - ELKO | + 11 | 60 | | 6 | Andrea Guardini | Fablok - Bank BGZ | + 12 | 59 | | 7 | Oscar Guerao | SPAR - Siam Cement | + 16 | 57 | | 8 | Gasper Katrasnik | Isostar - LimeBike | + 17 | 69 | | 9 | Dylan Groenewegen | Aegon - Lavazza | + 21 | 72 | | 10 | Kris Boeckmans | Campari/Asahi development | s.t. | 60 | | 11 | Bryan Coquard | Festina - OAKA | + 25 | 79 | | 12 | Sam Bewley | Moser - Sygic | s.t. | 71 | | 13 | Caleb Ewan | Podium Ambition | + 26 | 73 | | 20 | Salem Kemboi | Farfetch Pro Cycling | + 42 | 81 | | and in the +44s group are: | | 22 | Chun Wing Leung | SPAR - Siam Cement | + 44 | 82 | | 28 | Jacob Fiedler | T-Mobile | s.t. | 82 | | 29 | Marlen Zmorka | Repsol - Netflix | s.t. | 82 | | 23 | Soren Kragh Andersen | Grieg - Maersk | s.t. | 81 | | 39 | Rohan Dennis | Bennelong - Mitchelton | s.t. | 81 | | 30 | Yannick Stoltz | Evonik - ELKO | s.t. | 80 | | 36 | Jasha Sütterlin | Team Puma - SAP | s.t. | 80 | | 27 | Ho-Ting Kwok | Air France - KLM | s.t. | 79 | | 49 | Steven Lammertink | eBuddy | s.t. | 79 | | 64 | Alexandor Cataford | Podium Ambition | s.t. | 79 |
+78PRL guys
Looked it up to see the chances for Stoltz and Van Stayen but surely interesting for some of you too. Really would like another podium finish by Van Stayen on the next stage. Fingers crossed.
Great reports!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 10-11-2019 02:27
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4616
Joined: 05-10-2010
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That’s certainly a much better performance than yesterday 
Elated to have our first victory in PT! Never thought we would exist long enough to see it happen, and very happy that it was Kristoff to take it. He did very well considering he had absolutely no support. With a decent PRL stat too and a good result tomorrow, a good GC is now possible too.
Thanks for the report, and in general to all of the people that keep the MG going. I might be inactive for a little bit as a state of emergency has just been declared where I live due to bushfires. I should be fine, we’ve had the worst start to a fire season (which usually doesn’t start until summer) in history though so it’s a little unnerving.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| roturn |
Posted on 10-11-2019 10:32
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Team Manager
Posts: 22043
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My team should focus on delivering Groenewegen a better position instead of chasing the breakaway...Groenewegen not as good as others, so earlier work should be done by others.
11th is not a bad result but neither anything worthy.
72 prologue obviously will help him to maybe pass some riders but then again in danger still to be passed by specialists if not getting more bonus seconds. |
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| ember |
Posted on 10-11-2019 15:37
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Team Leader
Posts: 7059
Joined: 27-03-2008
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This is about to get tricky. Must admit that's a disappointing stage result, as I obviously hoped we could kind consolidate the leader's jersey. The only good thing as such, is that Swift keeps the lead, and also the points jersey. Really hope he can do well on the final sprint stage, and hopefully secure both jerseys.
And wow, Kristoff winning is a surprise! Eventhough his performances mostly gave disappointmens when he was in Aker - MOT, I'm happy to see him do this well for a different team. Congratulations, Eden95 |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 07-12-2025 21:35
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Bot Agent
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 10-11-2019 19:50
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 17833
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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At least one of our bigger sponsors is booze!
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| roturn |
Posted on 10-11-2019 20:19
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Team Manager
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This was a top performance by Groenewegen. Was a bit worried, he has spent too much energy too early for whatever reason my team is doing such work.
It`s not like Groenewegen is a top3 sprinter here and so the team work is very surprising.
But he was still decently placed afterwards and strong enough for a 2nd here. Close to the win and 10m later he might have taken it even.
Those bonus seconds are huge obviously. He is a top3-5 prologue riders of those being in the top10-15. So should be able to remain ahead of most sprinters. A bit worried about those 80+ prologue riders. But top10 seems somewhat very realistic. Top5 not impossible, which would be a huge start into the season for us.
Looking forward to the final stage. Thanks for yet another thrilling report! |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 10-11-2019 20:20
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World Champion
Posts: 13561
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 400.00
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This is by far the best Tour of Qatar the team has ever had. Grosu with an actual shot of bagging the GC.
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| ember |
Posted on 10-11-2019 21:16
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Team Leader
Posts: 7059
Joined: 27-03-2008
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It doesn't take much to forget the great feeling after a stage win and decent team work when we are a complete no show on the final two sprint stages here. It also makes what should be one of our very best races this season a very bad race where the GC podium feels unlikely.
I hoped for a lot more, and such a result also makes me fear what's to come, as I suspect we can't really afford such performances in Swift's targeted races if we're going to survive.
Another great report, Fabianski. Thank you for that! I've definitely enjoyed reading them, eventhough the results have been disappointing after a very good start.
Congratulations on the win, alexkr00. Can't really see anyone capable of taking the GC away from him with such a buffer! |
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 10-11-2019 21:20
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
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Better position this time, but still dropping to 6th in GC. With the stage win, this race must already be considered a success for Howard anyway. Not sure about the whole situation, but a couple of bad PRL riders ahead of him. A few better behind though.
Dennis in contention for a good result in the epilogue then. Top-5 in the stage must be the goal and hopefully he will add a decent GC result in addition to Howard, too.
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| knockout |
Posted on 10-11-2019 21:38
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8236
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Wow, we finally end up on the lucky side of "not-given-splits". With Stoltz, Blythe and Dzamastagic saved by questionable jury decisions this is a huge one for us.
Super important podium by Van Stayen. Now it's actually looking quite decent for the GC eventhough he'll obviously lose a couple of positions. Swift, Groenewegen, Howard, Kristoff, Coquard seem to be too close while a couple of other guys like Bewley could also be in reach on a good day. Still that should be a top 10 GC secured which is what is needed from this race. Hopefully Stoltz ends up on a good day so that he can climb a few more spots himself as well...
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 10-11-2019 22:28
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Well Kneisky has certainly had his fun, and Jungels got to join in. Maybe they can throw in a punch above weight time trial too, but likely this is the end of any real team interest.
But will be very interesting to see who can take the overall win.
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| Bikex |
Posted on 11-11-2019 02:14
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Team Leader
Posts: 7385
Joined: 25-08-2012
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Nice, two more top 10s for Guerao. Especially in stage 4 he seemed really strong. Unfortunately he had to start his sprint there really early so faded in the end. I guess with a better positioning a lot more would've been possible. Nevertheless I can't complain at all about his performance in this sprint field. It only sucks that he has the worst prologue stat and will loose his great position. Leung on the other hand also staying out of trouble the last two days.
No idea what kind of gaps to expect in the epilogue, but would be happy with a Top 10 and Top15 GC given our situation from Leung and Guerao. |
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| tastasol |
Posted on 11-11-2019 20:51
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3030
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Had hoped to be closer to the stage win, but in total a good race for us with three riders top 20, 3rd in U25 and second in the team classification. Thanks for all the reports, Fabianski!
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| knockout |
Posted on 11-11-2019 21:16
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8236
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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I'm stunned by Stoltz. What a terrible ride by him. Guess one shouldnt rely on someone to perform in time trials...
Van Stayens podium on stage 5 proves crucial as those seconds indeed secured the top 10 while a no-show on that stage would have dropped him to roundabout bottom top 20 which is the difference between a huge failure and an alright performance. Still, hoped for slightly more but this is alright at least.
Congrats to eBuddy, Grosu is a nice rider but i didnt expect him to deliver that much here! Huge result for you!
Thanks for fantastic reports every evening, Fabianski!
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| matt17br |
Posted on 11-11-2019 21:25
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 10519
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Well, we were more invisible throughout the race than I anticipated. Only way is up from here, this was never going to be a lucrative race for us anyway.
Extremely impressed by your reports though, Fabianski. An absolute pleasure to read them and I'm sure this is a sentiment quite a few guys share.
Massive congratulations to alex for a pretty delightful outsider-ish performance by Grosu, and to everyone else that came out of this race happy
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| Roman |
Posted on 11-11-2019 21:30
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4279
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A disappointment. Can't really be too much happy with an overall 8th place + just a couple of 3rd places. Looks like the new AI is going to be way less predictable when it comes to sprints. Interesting development.
Congrats to eBuddy, what a nice result. And also huge thanks to Fabianski, both fantastic preview and reports.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 11-11-2019 21:31
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5234
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Now as the race is over, I can finally put my two cents in:
I was really unimpressed by the sprint AI. A team that would build a wonderful train on one stage completely fails on the next - and may even have had the leader jersey that day. Every day, at least some of the top sprinters were really badly positioned. And I was especially gutted for Tinkoff, as they brought four decent sprinters, but none of them would even think about sprinting. Way to go, PCM...
On the other hand, many sprinters sharing the bonus seconds meant the suspense wouldn't be lost (OK, Grosu's win on stage 5 was not optimal for that), but it was of course bad news for the TTers.
All in all, I enjoyed the race and writing the report, and I'm obviously pleased if you're happy with them. But yeah, there were some situations where it was just "wtf PCM???" - I guess they happen to all of us sometimes.
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| sgdanny |
Posted on 11-11-2019 21:46
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3587
Joined: 18-03-2014
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from 7th in the GC to 26th.....ouch
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| ember |
Posted on 11-11-2019 21:54
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Team Leader
Posts: 7059
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That ended better than I feared seeing the GC before the epilogue. Third in the GC is kind of okay, but seeing how the race unfolded, I can't hide that I'm disappointed. With no sprinters dominating the sprints in any way, it very much feels like a big opportunity missed by Swift and the team. After all he kind of had three stages with a no show in the sprint, which makes 15 seconds to the GC win feels very, very little.
And big congratulations, alexkr00! |
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