The first edition of the Heistse Pijl was a success, so we head to Belgium for the second time! The final C2 race of the year has cobbles, but last year they were not tough enough to drop the sprinters. Amateur Jani Tewelde beat the top sprinters in the continental division to the line last year, which delivered him a professional contract with Kulczyk. That team has not elected to take part, so there will be a new name on the short palmarès. We have a lot of continental teams, mixed with some B-squads from Pro Continental teams, and some amateur teams looking to replicate Tewelde's performance.
Profile
The race is pretty much flat, with only a minor hill on the local laps around Heist-op-den-Berg. This hill however is paved with cobblestones. The final ascent is only two kilometer before the finish line, giving the cobblestone specialists a chance to drop the sprinters before the sprint, and giving the sprinters a chance to recover from the cobblestones.
Startlist
Cobblers
COB
SP
ACC
Sprinters
COB
SP
ACC
Kasperkiewicz
79
59
66
Mohs
62
82
80
Van Keirsbulck
78
70
68
Peeters
68
79
77
Taubel
78
61
64
Perera
64
79
80
Maes
78
61
66
Nepomnyachsniy
76
78
76
Richardson
78
60
61
Young
75
78
77
Orue
78
53
58
Boev
68
78
78
Jacobs
77
64
62
Vaquera
56
78
80
Kosic
77
59
64
Porsev
56
78
78
Manamalage
77
57
56
Canelon
52
78
83
Corwin
77
55
56
Kamberaj
67
77
76
Nepomnyachsniy
76
78
76
Vinther
61
77
74
Kluge
76
76
73
Kluge
76
76
73
Domene
76
74
75
Kuroeda
75
76
73
Joseph
76
66
70
Changpad
70
76
78
Young
75
78
77
Losch
70
76
77
Kuroeda
75
76
73
Reza
60
76
75
Kumara
75
71
67
Chavanne
57
76
76
Minoungou
75
69
68
Mansilla
55
76
76
Kolev
75
61
67
Mareczko
50
76
75
Ngandamba
74
70
71
Dupont
72
75
77
Ghani
74
63
61
Liu
63
75
76
Verhelst
74
62
68
Zhao
58
75
79
Langeveld
74
61
70
Domene
76
74
75
There are two possible contenders, cobblestone specialists and sprinters. The left list represents the former, the right list the latter.
Kasperkiewicz is the best cobblestone rider in the race, but not a sprinter in any stretch of the imagination. He needs a solo attempt to win. Van Keirsbulck is his biggest rival. Unlike the Pole, he can sprint in a reduced group, but he likely cannot match the pure sprinters.
Other main contenders from continental teams are Taubel, Maes, Richardson and Orue.
From the Pro Continental teams, Kosic and Joseph would like to show the opposition from the divisions below how things are done. No amateur is amongst the favorites in this section.
Moving over to the sprinters, it is hard to look past Mohs as a favorite. He is not the best from the cobbles but he can win the sprint from far behind in this field.
The next two riders are Peeters and Perera. Both Lierse and NENT can bet on both possible outcomes for a good result. For Lierse SK it is a race close to home, as Heist-op-den-Berg is only fifteen kilometer from Lier. (If there is some kind of inter-town rivalry, I'm sorry for bringing this up)
The amateurs are much more represented on this side of the board. Boev and Porsev have studied Tewelde's sprint to the fine details and know how to copy it.
Some riders feature in both lists. Nepomnyachsniy and Young are amongst the best sprinters but also very good on the cobbles. If a reduced group reaches the finish line, they are the favorites. Kluge, Domene and Kuroeda can match them on the cobbles but are slightly slower in the dash to the line.
Got the cobbles boys here, just hoping for some placings and protecting Vaquera as I don't think this will be hard enough to get rid of the sprinters. Nepo looks to be a solid choice for this.
Marcovdw wrote:
The next two riders are Peeters and Perera. Both Lierse and NENT can bet on both possible outcomes for a good result. For Lierse SK it is a race close to home, as Heist-op-den-Berg is only fifteen kilometer from Lier. (If there is some kind of inter-town rivalry, I'm sorry for bringing this up)
We're a city, they're not, so no real rivalry with those inbreeds
No, it's really nice you do this research for the previews, much appreciated. It's also one of the few hills in MG I actually rode in real life and it's a complete joke really, should 100% be a mass sprint here.
On to the race then. Just wow, Stijn Joseph, the legend. The man who started it all for the team back in 2014 to give us our first win, won Dwars Door Vlaanderen (defeating Summerhill!) in 2015 to get us promoted to the PCT. After that, it was all about Vanbilsen of course, but he kept scoring along the way. Now to do this in maybe his last cobbled classic for the team, here in what has to be considered our home race, absolutely fantastic!
A small group sprint was always likely in this race which is never good news for Manamalage. He really needs to attack but then he can't attack any better than he can sprint. I love him nevertheless.
Congrats to Lierse on the home win and thanks for the report.
Heistse Pijl 
