Written by Milo of Cloud Atlas
The second part of the cobble classics and tours have come and go and we look back at it with a flood of nostalgia while playing auld lang syne in the background. It’s that time of the year after all.
Minsk CBGP
Results:
1. Pascal Steurs, CARCYCL
2. Niguel Verme, Abelixe
3. Shaheem Mpambani, Biertje
It seems so long ago way back in Day 20 that we had Minsk CBGP. Not much was expected of Pascal Steurs this season after 3 years without a single result. The belgian seemed to be completely off sync with his new team CARCYCL and had put on some weight living back home again in his native Belgium. This season has been completely different though and sensing an end to his professional career, has been motivated into some results this season and has culminated in a win at the Minsk CBGP classic. He beat out the young Niguel Verme who seemed the fastest in the final spring but made a tactical error starting the sprint way too late. It is likely we will see Verme at the top of the podium in a few years once he gathers some more experience. In third came Shaheem Mpambani, the South African champion from Biertje, supported in style by the likes of Nicolaus Schwartz and Mark Baden.
Haute-Normandie
Results:
| | 1. Julian Cichocki, AnnoDomini
2. Ottar Grimstad, Conero cycling team
3. Otto Skoglund, CCFC
YC. Lucas Engelhardt, Pterodromae Cahow
This season’s Haute Normandie tour started in a bit of controversy with a public spat between the managers of NightmareChaos and AnnoDomini. We will not go into detail as this publication must pass the Russian sensors but in short, it gave the fuel needed for Julian Cichocki to finally win it all and proving his doubters wrong.
The tour started in the time trial prologue at La Havre with a win by Boubakary Bitana from Silver Giant among a sizeable group of time trialists.
For the King stage, it was young Lucas Engelhardt who outbest the cold and a heavily contested duel with race favorite Nicolaus Schwartz to position himself for the YC win, and even perhaps more than that.
It all changed in stage 3 as Schwartz and Engelhardt came up short, perhaps exhausted from the previous day’s fight, and it became Julian Cichocki’s time to shine.
And then there was Paris and Schwartz continued to disappoint. Despaired fans and angry sponsors were very vocal after a lackluster tour from the voted Best Cobbler of previous season and record setting transfer price for a Cobbler at 620.000. The expectations were very high and the captain of the heavily talented Biertje team failed to deliver.
In the end, the Norwegians Ottar &
| | Otto came in second and third overall. I have failed to mention much about them here only because I keep confusing the both of them.. But I think it was Otto Skoglund that is the sprinter and won the last day in Paris, and Ottar Grimstad the one that was very consistent throughout the whole tour and made the podiums in Stages 2 and 3.
Turnai – Turnai
Results:
1. Theofanis Anastasakis, California Mist
2. Barrett Lether, YCO
3. Timo Canseco, ekaitz team
It was a very exciting race at the Walloon classic of Turnai. The pace the entire race was hectic and all riders seemed desperate to be in front. One by one they started dropping though and at the end, the last men standing were some well known names among the Cobble world. At first, the Cyprus champion and incredible rider Theofanis Anastasakis, who will likely be a favorite for another win later on in the season at the new Volta de Lagos dos Patos. In second place we got Barret Lether, who was relatively quiet last season but won Haute Normandie the year prior. In third place, a man that has also won in Haute Normandie and much more, the giant Timo Canseco.
We will now look forward to the cobble new tours and late season classics and will be back to write about them in due time.
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