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Post by JoeLag on Jul 18, 2019 18:07:49 GMT 1
Embarrassing that 1.1 is the last division to create the proper season thread Have a good season!
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Post by damiano on Jul 19, 2019 7:43:04 GMT 1
Here we are again, joe. good season to all and so much luck to me. I will need a lot.
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Post by bam on Jul 19, 2019 11:01:05 GMT 1
Hello everyone! Good to see some activity on the forum already And welcome to the new teams. Nice to see ChosenOnes back, we've raced together in 3:3 in seasons 9 and 10, and in 2:1 in seasons 13 and 14. A long time ago. I saw that I also have been in 1:1 with Franconia in my debut season in this division, but I didn't remember that to be honest
Let's have a look at the teams:
Promoted teams Bolzonis - First in division 2:1 last season. Has an interesting strategy by relying on oldies with fitness training. I see some familiar names, mainly ex-WC Bloedzak, like Chaumet, Finet and Renquin. How far will the fitness strategy get him in division 1? Hard to say I think, but I guess it will be a fight against relegation. Bolt Thrower - Second in division 2:1 last year. With 12 riders above 30 and a bunch of youngsters, he seems to have enough quantity to score points. Not too many riders with experience in 1:1, so curious to see how good they will be. One rider I'm going to pay attention to is Yang, while Van Severen may do very well in flat races. Chosen Ones - First in division 2:2 last year. With 21 riders of 30 and older, and many of them quite low in their 30's, things look good for him from a quantitative point of view. I don't know too many of the riders, but I remember Schuller to be a good, but rather heavy, climber. Furthermore we must watch out for Krolak, Kirsch and Secret in the hills. Team Franconia - The return of a former champion. With a second place in 2:2 last season, his young riders have proven to be prepared for the next step. But with only 2 riders of 30, I'm curious to see where he will end in division 1. One rider I'm going to watch is Hollants, the most expensive rider in Peloton history. Can he already surprise with a stage win?
Teams in 1:1 previous seasonGonzalez - 8th in division 1:1 last year. This is going to be his 5th season in 1:1 in a row, but the retirement of Caiado made him decide to do a step back. We will definitely see his youngsters for the youngster jerseys and U21 races, but apart from that we will not see too much of him, unfortunately. WC Bloedzak - 7th in division 1:1 last year. His 7th season 1:1 in a row, and seeing the history of these seasons makes me think that he will end either 5th or 7th With only 6 riders of 30 and older, I guess it will be the latter one, but also in youngster jerseys and U21 races we need to watch him. Most important riders are Brembilla (great flat rider) and Delacour (good climbing hiller). SeMTeX - 6th in his debut in 1:1. Not many oldies, 6 of 30 and older, but Cavaco on his own will already generate a lot of points. Add Mihnea to this, and we have a team that can again reach a nice spot in the division. Team Slayer - 5th last year, but his riders only keep improving. Not sure whether he can already close the gap with De Droeftoeters, but he will defnitely come shorter. I also think that we will see some non-TT wins of him this season, especially Costa seems ready for it. De Droeftoeters - 4th for the last 2 seasons. His (g)old(en) generation is now completely gone with the retirement of Cornelio, but the younger ones replaced them well. Only 8 riders of 30 and older, but especially the older ones of them will usually compete for the win.
BeterLaatDanNooit - 3rd for the last 2 seasons. Also 8 riders of 30 and older, but the loss of Froment is a big one. Also Lasat, the king of the hills for many seasons, is gone. Can his younger riders replace them to grab another podium spot? I think they can. Op kop de sloot in - 2nd for the last 2 seasons. Just 8 riders of 30 and older left, but I hope and expect them to be able to go for the second place again. De Kasseinstoempers - Winner of the last 2 seasons, and also the top (and only) favourite for this season. Although Pratte is for sale and Belluzzo retired, there are still many riders left to score points, and we need to watch almost all of them
(sorry for the quick words of the last teams, don't have time anymore)
Good luck to everyone!
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[24] 1:1
Jul 19, 2019 13:02:32 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by Mike on Jul 19, 2019 13:02:32 GMT 1
Nice previeuw, I was waiting for this. Thx
Welcome and good luck to everyone.
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Post by Slayer772004 on Jul 19, 2019 19:32:19 GMT 1
Nice preview !
And nothing more to add: my goal is indeed to come closer to Droeftoeters and Heppie, and with some luck, a win somewhere. Dreaming of more is too early, knowing most races are won by 34 and 35 old riders.
A few more seasons patience for my team.
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Post by Ab Normaal on Jul 21, 2019 21:58:21 GMT 1
Thanks Bam, for the nice prview! I think the gap will be smaller. With the retirement of Caiado, Froment and Giraudo, I thought that I had the monopoly on flat/hill races and would be untouchable on that. But unfortunately there are no flat/hill races without mountain in this calendar not a single one! Third stage of Utah is 80/80 but that is more a hill race. Races like 130-60-0-40 are simply not there. A majority off hill and allround races means that there will be chances for other teams if they carefully check in what races the top riders participate and then make sure to put their best riders in other races.
I still think top 5 will be the same as last year, but the gaps will be smaller and Bloedzak, Franconia and Semtex fighting for 6th place I think.
Good luck to everyone this season!
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[24] 1:1
Jul 21, 2019 23:37:42 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by tiagoiowa on Jul 21, 2019 23:37:42 GMT 1
Thanks Bam, for the nice prview! I think the gap will be smaller. With the retirement of Caiado, Froment and Giraudo, I thought that I had the monopoly on flat/hill races and would be untouchable on that. But unfortunately there are no flat/hill races without mountain in this calendar not a single one! Third stage of Utah is 80/80 but that is more a hill race. Races like 130-60-0-40 are simply not there. A majority off hill and allround races means that there will be chances for other teams if they carefully check in what races the top riders participate and then make sure to put their best riders in other races. I still think top 5 will be the same as last year, but the gaps will be smaller and Bloedzak, Franconia and Semtex fighting for 6th place I think. Good luck to everyone this season! I do not understand your opinion but I respect it I'll give my opinion This season flat 42%,previous season 42% Hill this season 18%, previous season 19% Montain this season 14%,previous season 13% Downhill this season 26%,last season 26% All stages are real so much of test of more than one day and steps of day, except those of sub 21 and world championship were invited by me, those of the world championship you had already made the reals I had to improvise But summarizing and concluding :42% of flat in two seasons, previous season more hill,this season more mountain and downhill equal But I respect your opinion and say more I did a season that does not favor me but I will have to endure Good luck for this season Best regards Tiagoiowa
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Post by Ab Normaal on Jul 22, 2019 10:11:03 GMT 1
Tiagoiowa,
I don't say this calendar is bad, every calendar has it's pros and cons. I also mentioned what I think is good, that there will be chances for other teams to win races if the check carefully the line up. No team has enough hill specialists to cover all hill races in week 2 and 3. For the new teams: there are a few top hillers, I won't give away all names but if you see De Gryse or Raab at the line up, your chances aren't very high. So if you check carefully, other teams have chances too, not just the top teams. That is what I like about the calander. Also the current TdF is in the stages. Very nice!
Comparing end-stats and then say it is equal is not really right. If you make all stages 42 km flat, 18 km hill, 14 km mountain and 26 km downhill, you'll have the same end-stats but a very one sided calendar.
There is a huge difference between two stages 110-50-0-20 and 20-40-60-60 compared to 60-45-30-45 and 70-45-30-33. Added up you have in both scenarios 130-90-60-80 but it are completely different stages. 2 for specialists against 2 for allrounders.
Take the U21 races for example. For me they are fine, since most of my U21 riders have allround stats. There are ten races. 40-25-15-20 45-35-15-25 15-20-5-10 65-20-10-20 105-55-40-60 75-50-10-15 85-45-60-35 20-15-35-30 15-0-0-0 ITT 50-20-20-40
The ITT is for TT specialists, but for all other races you need mountain. Even in the 75-50-10-15 race. Mountain is always the stat with the most influence (you can compare approx. 1-1,5-2-0,5) and that 10 km mountain kills the flat/hill specialist with 0 or 1 mountain. The mountain specialist without flat will be killed in the 80-45-60-35 race and even in the 20-15-35-30 race, which looks like a mountain race, but the first attackpoints are designed in a way that at the end it will be an allrounder who wins. U21 downhillers are useless this season, that is probably why SpartaB sells his one. Again, all my U21 riders are allrounders, so for me it is ok, but if you have specialists, they are useless.
I have carefully select my riders through the years and I have specialists and allrounders, so I can manage this season, but also I do have a few specialists. For instance a rider with stats in the area of 13-8-1-4 has hardly any races this season. Even in the big tours, there are exactly 0 out of 30 races suitable for him. The races that are flat, are then completely flat and a sprint, so will be won by a sprinter (which I do have, and a good one). That is just my point. There is always mountain added to a flat/hill race in which a stat of 0 - 2 isn't enough to win. If there is not (like 3rd stage Oman, Trofeo or 3rd stage Utah), then you need hill, so for the pure hillers (which I also have) there are plenty of options.
But apart of that, the calendar is nice, it wasn't ment as criticism, just explained in this topic why I think the gaps will be smaller in the final standings.
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Post by Zberg on Jul 22, 2019 15:03:37 GMT 1
Good luck all!
Thanks for the preview, bam.
In fact, I could be heading for relegation this year, since I increasingly focus on my (semi-)youthies..
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[24] 1:1
Jul 22, 2019 23:05:19 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by tiagoiowa on Jul 22, 2019 23:05:19 GMT 1
Tiagoiowa, I don't say this calendar is bad, every calendar has it's pros and cons. I also mentioned what I think is good, that there will be chances for other teams to win races if the check carefully the line up. No team has enough hill specialists to cover all hill races in week 2 and 3. For the new teams: there are a few top hillers, I won't give away all names but if you see De Gryse or Raab at the line up, your chances aren't very high. So if you check carefully, other teams have chances too, not just the top teams. That is what I like about the calander. Also the current TdF is in the stages. Very nice! Comparing end-stats and then say it is equal is not really right. If you make all stages 42 km flat, 18 km hill, 14 km mountain and 26 km downhill, you'll have the same end-stats but a very one sided calendar. There is a huge difference between two stages 110-50-0-20 and 20-40-60-60 compared to 60-45-30-45 and 70-45-30-33. Added up you have in both scenarios 130-90-60-80 but it are completely different stages. 2 for specialists against 2 for allrounders. Take the U21 races for example. For me they are fine, since most of my U21 riders have allround stats. There are ten races. 40-25-15-20 45-35-15-25 15-20-5-10 65-20-10-20 105-55-40-60 75-50-10-15 85-45-60-35 20-15-35-30 15-0-0-0 ITT 50-20-20-40 The ITT is for TT specialists, but for all other races you need mountain. Even in the 75-50-10-15 race. Mountain is always the stat with the most influence (you can compare approx. 1-1,5-2-0,5) and that 10 km mountain kills the flat/hill specialist with 0 or 1 mountain. The mountain specialist without flat will be killed in the 80-45-60-35 race and even in the 20-15-35-30 race, which looks like a mountain race, but the first attackpoints are designed in a way that at the end it will be an allrounder who wins. U21 downhillers are useless this season, that is probably why SpartaB sells his one. Again, all my U21 riders are allrounders, so for me it is ok, but if you have specialists, they are useless. I have carefully select my riders through the years and I have specialists and allrounders, so I can manage this season, but also I do have a few specialists. For instance a rider with stats in the area of 13-8-1-4 has hardly any races this season. Even in the big tours, there are exactly 0 out of 30 races suitable for him. The races that are flat, are then completely flat and a sprint, so will be won by a sprinter (which I do have, and a good one). That is just my point. There is always mountain added to a flat/hill race in which a stat of 0 - 2 isn't enough to win. If there is not (like 3rd stage Oman, Trofeo or 3rd stage Utah), then you need hill, so for the pure hillers (which I also have) there are plenty of options. But apart of that, the calendar is nice, it wasn't ment as criticism, just explained in this topic why I think the gaps will be smaller in the final standings. My goal was to have all kinds of terrains My first calendar was with an increase of flat 48% and very big decrease on hill, I had to make decisions. I had to take 9 stages of more 100 kilometers of flat with point of attack and to arrange stages with hill to reach the objectives proposed, could have changed some stages of flat sprint to stages with points of attack and put another type of terrain to sprint, but I did not think of it in occasion. Making a complete calendar is not easy Good luck for this season Best regards Tiagoiowa
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Post by Slayer772004 on Jul 23, 2019 14:28:51 GMT 1
The stage is set: Op Kop De Sloot In and Kasseienstoempers show immediatly their ambition for this season, today in favour of BAM. Congrats. BeterLaatDanNooit was trying to join them, but looks like Weer had some problems with his tires .... 4 flats ... rarely seen.
And Bolzonis ... he can be an interesting factor this season. Curious if he can do his trick every race.
Happy the season started !
Edit: and ow ... looking at tomorrows stage: it can be a 2/2 for BAM. Good start !
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[24] 1:1
Jul 24, 2019 12:30:17 GMT 1
via mobile
Post by Slayer772004 on Jul 24, 2019 12:30:17 GMT 1
Only 4 teams that went all in. TT ain't popular these days 😝
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Post by bam on Jul 24, 2019 12:57:22 GMT 1
Only 4 teams that went all in. TT ain't popular these days 😝 Oh well, I love them
But it's quite remarkable indeed, so few teams. I expected at least Bredael to go all in today, but appearantly Ab wants to use him somewhere else. And I think that many teams in our division don't have riders trained for TTs only, so they probably use their riders in other races.
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Post by Mike on Jul 24, 2019 13:59:19 GMT 1
Well I liked it 26y old: 5. Vinkers 0 0 00:01:39 SeMTeX
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Post by Ab Normaal on Jul 24, 2019 15:26:10 GMT 1
Only 4 teams that went all in. TT ain't popular these days 😝 Oh well, I love them But it's quite remarkable indeed, so few teams. I expected at least Bredael to go all in today, but appearantly Ab wants to use him somewhere else. And I think that many teams in our division don't have riders trained for TTs only, so they probably use their riders in other races.
Because Brognoli is injured and Pratte sold, I have to use Bredael tomorrow. Because of the 10km mountain I cannot use Zulani. Tomorrow Bredael has a chance to win, today he didn’t. Altough I was surprised that the difference was n’t that high with Bredael on save fitness. Also the difference with Slayer wasn’t that big.
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