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Tour du Faso Discussion
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 05-12-2018 16:34
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Thanks to Vien for the preview!
 Tour du Faso
Hello and welcome to the Tour du Faso! For many years now, the best cobblers of the continental tour have travelled to Africa for some exciting action. Being one of the later cobbled races on the calendar, one question will be on a lot of fans' minds: Will we see a true king of the CT cobbles this year?
Apart from the region, there's two things that make this race unique. First of all, it's the cobbled sections in stage 1 and -especially- 3. They're huge. Like, compared to the cobbled sections in other races, these ones are mountains, whi;e the other races' cobbles are hills. One could say that resistance plays a larger role in this race because of this, hoewever, due to its small sample size, its implications are unclear.
The other uniqueness in this race can be found in the length of the stages. Around 120 kilometres for every stage. Especially in stage 3, with the cobbles starting so early, simply being a few minutes later on the starting line can be costly for the favourites, who need to be at the front of the pack from the very start.
It's hard to pick a major favourite for this race. Not just because of the unqie cobbled sections, but also because of the different skillsets of the cobblers. Very little riders have the complete package. Therefore, the main question is which skills are going to be vital for a good result.
When you believe only the best cobblers will rise in stage 3, Ferreira must be on the top of your list. Rothaus' rider belongs to the four best pure cobblers in the CT, but unlike Machado, Jacobs and Taubel, he has the acceleration to compete with the more allround cobblers. As unpredictable as Faso might be, betting on Ferreira will not make you a very rich man.
As Harrison's victory last season showed, with stage 1's cobbles starting so late and a calm sprinter stage in the middle, riders with a late punch may also have a huge adventage over the other favourites. Drucker, Breen and Kluge stand out in that matter. Especially Kluge, who could even gain some bonification seconds with a good sprint in stage 2 due to this race's F1 system.
Then there's still a large group of cobblers that could easily sneak themselves to a good spot. Grand, Zhupa, Kulppi and Hristov are the most notable names who could be at the front in a good day. An even darker horse is Van der Haar, whose skills on the flat may allow him to recover better on the asphalt than riders with the same skills on the cobbles.
The second stage without any cobbles also brought the attention of a lot of managers, who decided to send their sprinter here. Escpecially the managers with sprinters who are weak at surviving a stage, since the stage is short and flat. Thorsen abd Carsi fall into that group, and they may actually be the favourites here! However, if you prefer to go for safer options, Vanoverschelde, Matthews and Korzh should have what it takes to win this sprint, too.
Kruopis and Habtom deserve a special spotlight because of their decent abilities to get past the cobbles without losing too much energy. In case the GC favourites wait until stage 3 with their fireworks, thse names together with Kluge are be the main favourites to win a bunch sprint in the first stage.
Let's hope for fasonating race! Ha, got it? Oh boy...
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 05-12-2018 17:39
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Hoping for a good result from Jacobs here. Home favourite Minoungou here as back up so will be good to see how they go
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| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 05-12-2018 20:52
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Why is Kireva rated as my leader? oh god it's starting.
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| quadsas |
Posted on 05-12-2018 23:54
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Can Kruopis do something here? I think all he will do is wonder how did Burkina Faso acquire cobbled roads technology...
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 06-12-2018 13:25
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Short stages, completely flat, long cobbled sections - should be perfect for our guys. Kluge will as always be the man to beat, but hopefully we can secure a top 3 for our main man Breen and get some decent performances from Van der Haar and maybe also Evert.
Sprinters field is a bit better than I hoped for, though hope Korzh will be involved amongst the best. He has it in him to win in this field on a good day.
Thanks for the preview Vien, looking forward to read the reports! 
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 06-12-2018 13:36
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Perhaps a good stage from Carsi is on the cards
Good luck everyone!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 19:22
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 06-12-2018 14:01
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Zhuoa ahead if Drucker would be cool!
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 06-12-2018 18:44
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Jempy Drucker 5th is fine and good to see the team with an optimistic approach hunting down the break.
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| redordead |
Posted on 06-12-2018 19:05
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We'll take the "moral victory" which is a lot more than we have had lately. Thanks for the report.
"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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| quadsas |
Posted on 06-12-2018 19:10
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Hm, if Kaupas has a good day on the last stage top 25 GC may be achievable. Hoping for Kruopis top 3 on stage 2, he seems to do well in stage races
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| ember |
Posted on 06-12-2018 19:30
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Very nice to see Breen grab a win, congratulations, Sykkel_Freak! Though, kind of a pity both for both quadsas and you not being rewarded with a gap. At least it makes for a very interesting final stage |
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| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 06-12-2018 19:31
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What a joke... Well I expect nothing less tha Eeckhout trying to go in the break and making a mens on the final stage otherwise his whole contract for the season will be barely worthless 
More exciting race than last season tho, congratz Sykkel!
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 06-12-2018 20:32
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Breen 
Nice to see our main transfer season investment get a win! Thought he would pull Kluge etc. with him up to Zhupa on the final few k's, but he must have been really strong today, in order to open up a gap like that and also pass Zhupa. Really nice start to the race, hope we have a good enough team to control the race for the next two stages and defend the lead.
Thanks for the congrats!
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 06-12-2018 20:35
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so close  I would've loved a Zhupa win
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| tastasol |
Posted on 06-12-2018 20:40
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Congrats Sykkel! Nice ride by Breen.
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 06-12-2018 23:58
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Breschel close to the "magical" top 10, but since he managed to hold in and get the same time, we're happy with 12th.
The last stage will be spectacular! Thank you for the report! |
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| Atlantius |
Posted on 07-12-2018 08:52
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Good job Olli!
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| jaxika |
Posted on 07-12-2018 09:20
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Ohh, crap...Machado |
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| Bjartne |
Posted on 07-12-2018 18:46
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Aaah, Tybor, so close to finally do something good... 
Breschel still in the fight for top 10, looking forward to 100kms with cobbles and 70 mph side winds |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 08-12-2018 11:54
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McLay showing some good form to take another top 10 finish and so close to that GC lead... The last stage will be an interesting one, and I just hope he can hold on to the leaders over the cobbles
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