Cyclassics Hamburg(1.UWT), 20 August 2017

Winner?

  • Alexander Kristoff

    Votes: 5 25.0%
  • André Greipel

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Arnaud Demare

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Caleb Ewan

    Votes: 4 20.0%
  • Dylan Groenewegen

    Votes: 2 10.0%
  • Edvald Boasson Hagen

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Elia Viviani

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Fernando Gaviria Rendon

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Marcel Kittel

    Votes: 4 20.0%
  • Nacer Bouhanni

    Votes: 1 5.0%

  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
Re:

TMP402 said:
Can't wait for the one post after mine, which will come about an hour after it finishes: "Oh, this was on? Who won?"

Sorry to disrupt your thesis.... but what's up with making a mountain sprint halfway up a "mountain "?

Thìs race really...... well, I was thinking Kittel, but now I might consider Kristoff.
 
With the first Bergwertung, that's actually a bit of a glitch, the 'steeper' part (it isn't very steep) runs to the point where the prize is given, then it's false flat after that so not considered worthy of it. With the only climb that ever has any significance to the race, the Waseberg, similarly they put the GPM at the end of the Waseberg road, rather than at the specific highest point reached.
 
Why paying attention to sponsor names? Eneco stopped sponsoring the Lowlands Tour, so obviously the name had to change because in our commercial era, sponsor names become race names. It's easier to sponsor teams than to sponsor races. Everybody knows about Quick Step, who knows about the main sponsors of the Tour of Wallonia?

Anyway when Eneco stopped sponsoring the Lowlands Tour, Golazo provisionally named the race as such: Lowlands Tour. The romantic part of me would rather call it that way. Refer to the geographical name of a race rather to the commercial name. The two main German races are the Francfurt GP and the Hamburg classics and will always be whatever their sponsors are.

With regards to the new route, I'm wondering why they are ignoring the cobble sections that exist in that area, or are they?
 
I think they have to go quite some way out for the genuinely challenging cobbled sections, which are also in the other direction to the Waseberg so as long as that remains the trademark of the race (and it is the only serious obstacle that can be placed within touching distance of the finish) those Lüneburger Heide type cobbles will be a rarity at best. Most likely there are some cobbled roads around Schleswig-Holstein they can use but these are likely to be well-maintained urban cobbles and perfectly aligned, so much less of a challenge than the rough Katzenköpfe in Sachsen-Anhalt or Sachsen.
 
Re:

Keram said:
I am suprised that Bora dont force Sagan to ride this bike race.

Not enough hype, not enough bling, not enough glamour for his own little persona. Rather go to the Tour of California around Santa Monica or Malibu, that's more to his standard...
 
Re:

Alexandre B. said:
Démare was the strongest but he's not the best skipper.
Don't know how you figure that. He just sat in the wheels longer than some others. Viviani went a bit early and held them off. He was the strongest.

Viviani
Démare
Groenewegen
Kristoff
Greipel