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Tour of Eritrea Discussion
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 16-12-2018 12:19
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Team Leader
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 Tour of Eritrea
6 stages – 988.7 km
| Nr, | Start | Finish | Length | Climb km | Max % | | 1 | Mendefera | Dekemhare | 173,6 | 8,5 | 14,3 | | 2 | Massaua | Massaua | 139,5 | 8,6 | 7,5 | | 3 | Keren | Asmara | 185,1 | 46,2 | 17,9 | | 4 | Asmara | Keren | 165,7 | 24,7 | 14,8 | | 5 | Keren | Keren | 146,1 | 4,1 | 5,4 | | 6 | Dekemhare | Mendefera | 178,7 | 39,9 | 14,9 |
Welcome to the 6th edition of Tour of Eritrea part of the MGUCI calendar continuously since 2013. Since last season the race has been downgraded from HC level, but the route is the same.
The local spectators will be here to follow  Kudus and  Berhane both very likely to have an impact on the outcome of the race, also sprinter  Tewelde might do fine on the flat stages, the last Eritrean rider  Okbamariam more valuable in cobbled races, but sure to get some extra support anyway.
Previous winners
Last year’s winner  Kwiatkowski will be here attempting to win the race again, making it his third win as he is already the only one to win it twice, 2015/2017. Kwiatkowski is the only previous winner to attend.
Last year 3rd  Pinot will be here again and so will stage winners  Pelucchi and Dall'Oste
Favorites:
Last year we saw all-rounder Kwiatkowski with a perfect day on the mountain win the race, I am not sure he can do that again others have a good combination, but it is clear that great climbing alone will not be enough.
I see  Monsalve as slightly the strongest rider, with the full packet to take this win. Supreme on the mountain, second to none resistance, fine acceleration and still one of the better punchers, that said he need to get time on the best all-rounders at that mountain otherwise he can fall badly.
Three riders almost as likely to win, with different strengths a weaknesses Kwiatkowski, if he doesn’t lose much in the mountains as we have seen before can be very dangerous on the punchy stages.
 Roglič another full packet rider, quite similar to Monsalve slightly weaker pure climber but with a bit better acceleration.
Kudus top climber, last year he was not able to lose Kwiatkowski on the mountain, and led him to the line, he will hope it is different this time, if he does not make it on the mountain he may well end with a secondary GC again as the competition will be tough.
Beneath these we got some riders that will be my outsiders for a win/podium.
 Talansky maybe the best suited to believe in a podium, as he has that better punch than everyone besides Kwiatkowski, so if he can survive the mountain without losing much, he may do wonders on the punchy stages.
 Bennett and  De la Cruz both with good options to make a great result, but needs that extra fine legs this week to climb the podium.
Same goes for Pinot, Berhane, they are both amasing climbers but they lack the punch and will most likely lose something in the hills, so that need an exceptional great day on that mountain, to make the podium.
All-rounders
| Name | MO | HI | RE | AC | DO | FL | | Monsalve | 81 | 76 | 80 | 73 | 65 | 68 | | Kwiatkowski | 78 | 79 | 76 | 75 | 69 | 72 | | Roglič | 80 | 76 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 71 | | Kudus | 81 | 76 | 77 | 70 | 67 | 69 | | Talansky | 79 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 66 | 71 | | Bennett | 78 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 63 | 67 | | De la Cruz | 78 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 73 | 69 | | Pinot | 80 | 74 | 79 | 69 | 67 | 72 | | Berhane | 81 | 75 | 74 | 68 | 71 | 68 | | Brenes | 79 | 73 | 80 | 70 | 65 | 67 | | Betancourt | 73 | 80 | 71 | 74 | 67 | 69 |  Kiserlovski | 80 | 75 | 75 | 66 | 66 | 70 |  Poljanski | 77 | 77 | 70 | 71 | 66 | 66 | | Carthy | 79 | 74 | 75 | 69 | 65 | 70 | | Ndayisenga | 78 | 75 | 68 | 73 | 69 | 66 | | Senni | 77 | 73 | 79 | 72 | 73 | 71 | | Roche | 76 | 78 | 72 | 69 | 67 | 70 | | Dall'Oste | 76 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 71 | 70 | | Pichon | 70 | 79 | 76 | 76 | 71 | 71 |  Juul-Jensen | 70 | 78 | 74 | 79 | 69 | 73 |
Stage Hunter sprinters
| Name | F | S | A | Name | F | S | A | | Appollonio | 74 | 81 | 78 | Pelucchi | 74 | 79 | 77 | | Keukeleire | 72 | 80 | 79 | Tewelde | 74 | 78 | 77 |  Petit | 76 | 80 | 78 |  Westling | 70 | 78 | 74 |  Bouhanni | 74 | 80 | 77 | Lobato del Valle | 72 | 77 | 80 | | Lay | 73 | 79 | 81 | Kvist | 75 | 77 | 78 | | Boivin | 74 | 79 | 80 | Feiereisen | 74 | 77 | 78 | | Van der Sande | 75 | 79 | 79 | Perera | 70 | 77 | 78 | | Stepniak | 72 | 79 | 79 | Haddi | 74 | 77 | 77 |
Stage hunter punchers
| Name | H | A | R | M | F | Name | H | A | R | M | F | | Betancourt | 80 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 69 | Yates | 77 | 80 | 70 | 70 | 74 | | Pichon | 79 | 76 | 76 | 70 | 71 | Villella | 77 | 80 | 74 | 65 | 72 | | Kwiatkowski | 79 | 75 | 76 | 78 | 72 | Zingle | 77 | 76 | 69 | 69 | 72 | | Barrio | 79 | 67 | 63 | 70 | 63 | Stuyven | 77 | 74 | 67 | 63 | 70 | | Juul-Jensen | 78 | 79 | 74 | 70 | 73 | Poljanski | 77 | 71 | 70 | 77 | 66 | | Caruso | 78 | 77 | 71 | 69 | 68 | Moscon | 77 | 71 | 76 | 72 | 70 | | Roux | 78 | 75 | 71 | 65 | 74 | Diggle | 77 | 70 | 70 | 65 | 67 | | Palini | 78 | 74 | 68 | 70 | 69 | Talansky | 77 | 69 | 76 | 79 | 71 | | Roche | 78 | 69 | 72 | 76 | 70 | Le Gac | 77 | 69 | 74 | 69 | 70 | | Levarlet | 78 | 66 | 70 | 73 | 68 | Grippo | 77 | 69 | 69 | 67 | 63 |
Stage hunter climbers
| Name | M | R | A | Name | M | R | A | | Monsalve | 81 | 80 | 73 | Carthy | 79 | 75 | 69 | | Kudus | 81 | 77 | 70 | Kwiatkowski | 78 | 76 | 75 | | Berhane | 81 | 74 | 68 | Signorini | 78 | 72 | 74 | | Roglič | 80 | 76 | 74 | De la Cruz | 78 | 76 | 73 | | Pinot | 80 | 79 | 69 | Bennett | 78 | 74 | 73 | | Kiserlovski | 80 | 75 | 66 | Ndayisenga | 78 | 68 | 73 | | Ji | 80 | 69 | 65 | Gilanipoor | 77 | 71 | 73 | | Brenes | 79 | 80 | 70 | Senni | 77 | 79 | 72 | | Garby | 79 | 76 | 70 | Poljanski | 77 | 70 | 71 | | Talansky | 79 | 76 | 69 | Augustyn | 77 | 72 | 68 |
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| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 16-12-2018 12:24
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2809
Joined: 16-04-2013
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Excited for a return to racing! Kiserlovski will have lots of rider with better odds than him but a Top10 is a realistic and likely scenario.
Edited by Yellow Jersey on 16-12-2018 13:13
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| Vien |
Posted on 16-12-2018 12:41
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2241
Joined: 16-06-2008
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Love this race! Especially how stage 4 is mostly stage 3 backwards. Sadly my team doesn't know what a mountain is, so we had no reason to join.
I'd still say Kwiatkowski has what it takes to even out a time loss in the mountains, but we'll see how this turns out. |
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 16-12-2018 12:41
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4190
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I wouldn't say this is the most important race of the season, but obviously a home race for the team leader, in a route that suits him perfectly, the goal can't be anything but the GC win.
He can't get beaten again by Kwiato in the mountain stage, but anyway i hope he doesn't have the awful day he had in the final stage last year, so he can be at least in the podium. It's one of the few "high-scoring" races we have in a while, so Kudus better deliver
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 16-12-2018 13:10
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15027
Joined: 08-08-2011
PCM$: 11500.00
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Hoping for a repeat of last year's "The great Dall'Oste show".
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 16-12-2018 13:32
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3226
Joined: 07-08-2011
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Hoping to put in some good performances here, we deffo have the team in pretty muhc every terrain to do so!
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 16-12-2018 20:02
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Directeur Sportif
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Surprisingly weak startlist. The podium should be set with Kwiato, Rogla and my favourite Monsalve, but apart from that there is plenty of potential for big fights.
Appo could be golden on this very limited starters list with 2-3 wins. Hopefully Tosh picks one up though.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 16-12-2018 21:46
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 17833
Joined: 12-05-2012
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Talansky looking for another solid race here. He won't win, i doubt he'll podium, but Pitbull won't be far way and i hope we can get into the Top5 GC. Simon Yates always has the potential do something interesting, Stage 4 especially could be good for him and don't be shocked to see him tackling the finishes on Stage 1, 2, 5 and 6 as well. Ivanov and Robov also hold good potential for breakaways. We should get some good visibility here. In a mountainous stage race. Wtf have i done to my sprint/cobbles team!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 16-12-2018 23:43
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16557
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Surprised the sprint competition here is this light with 3 potential sprint stages on the docket. Appo the front runner and has a leadout. Now obviously I don't expect him to win because I can never expect that, but top 5's would be nice ont he first two, and on stage 5 if he survives that long. We'll see.
This is also another one of those races where we have a few options since we don't have a true all-rounder anywhere. JJ would have a chance at a decent GC if the hill stages came first, but since they're after the mountain, I'd say this a climber's race all the way. It would be nice if Garby and JJ went aggressive on the mountains/hills respectively.
Awesome preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 19:22
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 16-12-2018 23:48
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World Champion
Posts: 11621
Joined: 17-12-2014
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Hyped for another HI/MO race for GB. Aiming high at the top 5, PCM has treated him right in the hills so hope he can take that advantage over the 79+ climbers! Would love a stage win somewhere, most likely Tosh. Super excited, hope for a repeat Kwiatek show as well!!!
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
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| DaveTwoBob |
Posted on 17-12-2018 00:08
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2544
Joined: 07-07-2013
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Go Kiserlovski
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 17-12-2018 05:18
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Team Leader
Posts: 7336
Joined: 11-07-2014
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Big, big race for us! Win goal, and with much more support this year (poor Rabottini :lol on paper he should have an even better performance than last year, the weird way his season is going though, who's to say? Definitely will be disappointed with less than a win though.
Dall'oste to score so many points Lierse wins the PT, Carlsberg and Euskatel get two stages each is all pretty much certain, Bennett for a podium please as well.
Thanks for the preview Tamijo, you're on fire atm!
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 17-12-2018 15:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16557
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Messy sprint from the team. We had the three guys we wanted at the front for the train at the front, but they just couldn't get organized, and Appo had to come from way too far back. Still, he had good speed and 4th is a solid enough result. Hoping for a possible podium tomorrow.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 17-12-2018 16:44
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15027
Joined: 08-08-2011
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Results are just meh lately, nothing more than what could be expected.
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 17-12-2018 16:56
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3226
Joined: 07-08-2011
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Nice showing from Vlasov in the break! Kinda sad that Boivin didn't get a better result, but he deffo showed his face in the sprint!
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| Scorchio |
Posted on 17-12-2018 17:03
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2073
Joined: 14-09-2013
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Unusual for WCC to be that involved in a sprint - good job indeed by Lay, 2nd on day 1 more than reasonably expected. Squad has more of a focus on overall, with the combo of Berhane + Ji and Betancourt hopefully covering all mo/hill combo options given this race has history of swinging one way and another.
Day 1 gives some hope that Lay will at least be involved on the other sprint days, and in the form to pull of a result if the opportunity arises .
Manager of ISA - Hexacta in the MG |
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| Yellow Jersey |
Posted on 17-12-2018 19:44
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2809
Joined: 16-04-2013
PCM$: 900.00
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Can say I'm happy with an Euskaltel win! For us a normal day I guess, thanks Tamijo for the report
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 18-12-2018 15:40
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4190
Joined: 13-09-2015
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Boring first two stages for the team as expected. Was a bit worried about the split, but no one important for the GC was ahead, so no problems at all. Now time for one of the most important stages of the season. Go for it Merhawi!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 18-12-2018 15:44
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16557
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Fricking hell. had the perfect chance and went from 10 light years out to get destroyed. Terrible sprint.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 19-12-2018 00:04
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3226
Joined: 07-08-2011
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LETS GO BOIVIN YOU ACTUAL BEAUT OF A MAN! Our race is already great!
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