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The Way to Nice - A short story - Finished!
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 01-07-2012 13:53
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I hope you'll hold on to mountain jersey! |
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 02-07-2012 19:34
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Hi guys,
The report of stage two? Here you go:
Tour du Haut Var - Stage 2
Today Hivert was the rider from our team making it into the break. He was riding together with Bazin, Claude and De Weert.
Hivert was able to win the first KoM price closely in front of De Weert.
With 1.8 kilometres to the top of the HC climb De Weert decided to try an early attack to get the points.
He was able cross the top with a little gap to the others, Hivert got second. At that point with 120 kilometres to go they had a gap of six minutes.
At the next hill top it was Claude, who could suprise the others and therefore won the maximum points, second place again went to Hivert, who didn't use too much energy for that sprint, because it was only a category two climb with lesser points and he felt like he wasn't having his best day(-5). De Weert got third.
Hivert and De Weert both scored 38 points until then. This meant the last KoM sprint would decide, who would take home that jersey. Unfortunately today it wasn't us - well you can't win them all. De Weert was just too strong today, as he won the last sprint as well.
De Weert will be the deserved winner of the mountains jersey.
But the race wasn't over yet. 85 kilometres in front of the finish the group had a six minute lead, but again a second group had formed behind just like yesterday. On the categorized climb it was Zabriskie, who attacked again. He was riding together with Ladagnous and Gatto, but they were still two more minutes behind the leaders.
With 50 kilometres to go we had a group of seven riders in front with only a lead of three and a half minutes.
At the intermediate sprint we could see a motivated performance by Hivert taking third place
Hivert at the back of the group keeping an eye on the attackers
The group only had a small lead left, but then the pace in the peloton dropped down for some reason. This was a good chance for an attack.
Together with Chavanel I decided to try my luck with 12 kilometres to go as the gap to the front group was already quite small.
But it was a little bit like a déjà-vu as Chavanel wasn't really helping me. So with five and half kilometres we were caught again, but also all escapees except for De Weert, who was still twenty seconds ahead, were caught at about the same time.
Three and a half kilometres in front of the finish with De Weert in sight Le Lay decided to give it a try with a strong attack out of the peloton. He passed De Weert easily and had a little gap to the other riders as well, but they were able to get closer again in the final. The steep climb inside the last kilometre revealed that Chavanel and Spilak were slightly stronger than Le Lay as they could outsprint him.
Chavanel is celebrating his victory.
Le Lay with a strong sprint and a nice third place.
I hope you recognized me right behind Champion, Ladagnous and Tiernan Locke in the final kilometre.
Top 10 - Stage
| 1 | Sylvain Chavanel | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 5h40'21 | | 2 | Simon Spilak | Katusha Team | + 16 | | 3 | David Le Lay | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. | | 4 | Alexandre Geniez | Team Argos - Shimano | s.t. | | 5 | Branislau Samoilau | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 6 | Eros Capecchi | Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. | | 7 | Dimitri Champion | Bretagne - Schuller | + 33 | | 8 | Rinaldo Nocentini | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 9 | Jonathan Tiernan-Locke | Endura Racing | s.t. | | 10 | José Iván Gutierrez | Movistar Team | s.t. | | ... | | 12 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. |
Top 10 - GC
| 1 | Sylvain Chavanel | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 10h41'07 | | 2 | Dimitri Champion | Bretagne - Schuller | + 29 | | 3 | Alexandre Geniez | Team Argos - Shimano | + 36 | | 4 | Rinaldo Nocentini | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 39 | | 5 | Simon Spilak | Katusha Team | + 52 | | 6 | Rémy Di Gregorio | Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne | + 53 | | 7 | David Le Lay | Saur - Sojasun | + 56 | | 8 | Eros Capecchi | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 1'04 | | 9 | Branislau Samoilau | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 10 | Dmitriy Muravyev | Astana Pro Team | + 1'16 | | ... | | 14 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. |
Top 3 - KoM
| 1 | Kevin De Weert | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 54 | | 2 | Jonathan Hivert | Saur - Sojasun | 48 | | 3 | Nicolas Bazin | Bigmat - Auber 93 | 44 |
A top 3 in the stage is a good result for the team, so is Le Lays seveth in the GC. We all felt a little pitiful for Hivert, who was sad about the missed opportunity of winning the KoM ranking. But we were also cheering him up nicely, so he will get past it quickly.
For me it was as planned before, a good preparation, nothing more and nothing less.
Now we will have another few weeks of training in front of us. Don't worry I'll keep you up to date, you will here from me soon.
Your sincerely,
Jérôme |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 02-07-2012 20:45
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Chavanel is strong.
Good preparation, as you said! |
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| stuartmcstuart |
Posted on 04-07-2012 15:45
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Very nice story, I am enjoying it so far. Hope Coppel reaches form for Paris - Nice! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 04-07-2012 15:49
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Great ride for Le Lay today 
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 05-07-2012 17:34
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Hi folks,
It's me again, Jérôme.
I hope you still remember me, as it's been a few days.
We have been very busy the last days. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Our team participated in another race. This time in spain, it was the Clasica de Almeria. I wasn't part of our team there, because the profile didn't suit me at all. The last quarter of the race was more or less all downhill to the finish, although the rest of the course was hilly from the start. Clearly it was tailor made for a strong sprinter, who can survive a few climbs.
So the race finished in a mass sprint, our team really has to strengthen our sprint division for the next season... No good result for us here.
Clasica de Almeria - Top 10
| 1 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin - Barracuda | 3h58'43 | | 2 | Christopher Sutton | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 3 | Luca Paolini | Katusha Team | s.t. | | 4 | Arnaud Démare | FDJ-BigMat | s.t. | | 5 | Francisco Ventoso | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 6 | Andrea Guardini | Farnese Vini Selle Italia | s.t. | | 7 | Iljo Keisse | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | s.t. | | 8 | Ben Swift | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 9 | Vicente Reynès | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 10 | Danilo Hondo | Lampre - ISD | s.t. |
But what's probably more interesting, a few riders from our team went to a training camp in the french alps to have the final preparation in front of Paris - Nice, which will start in a couple of days. I have some nice shots ready for you from our training rides:
We were not starting off easy. It was a lot of climbing from the first day.
On the first two pictures you can see us climbing the Col du Grand Colombier right on our first day of the training camp. It was a very steep climb, but I was able to accelerate in front of the top anyways.
The next pictures are from... I think it was the forth day, but to be honest I am not completely sure anymore. These training days are pretty much all the same, riding your bike all day long. But if you love doing it, like I do, it is just the best job in the world.
Those two pictures were taken on the quite famous climb up to the Col de la Madeleine
This one was taken right after the top of the Madeleine
Luckily we had perfect weather all the time, that made the training much more enjoyable. Tomorrow we will already have our pre-race meeting for Paris - Nice. I'll of course share the new information I get with you afterwards.
Your sincerely,
Jérôme
[I can't remember if I wrote it before, of course I DO NOT really use the training camp feature from the game. It's just to illustrate the story a little] |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 05-07-2012 18:18
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Nice, should get you in the right shape for your trip to the sun |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-07-2012 12:32
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Looks like the training camp went well
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 08-07-2012 19:49
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Hi all,
So here are the pre-race information for Paris - Nice. This race is really important for me, but of course also for our french sponsors, as it's one of the most important races in France.
First of all this is the course of this years edition:
Stage 1
The first stage is a short prologue. I hope to not lose much time to the top riders. As I am a decent time trialist myself, but not really an expect for prologs, I'll target a top 20, which should be possible. The team is hoping for an even better result from Engoulvent, though.
Stage 2
A flat stage, with that everything one needs to know is already said.
Stage 3
It's the first hilly stage of the race, but the last climb is not too hard, because of that it will probably be a bigger group fighting for the victory. My goal is to not lose any time to the other GC-riders.
Stage 4
This stage could be interesting. The final gives a possibility for a late attack, although the finish is not that hard.
Stage 5
Stage five is probably the most important stage for the overall, because the climb in Mende could produce some gaps. So it will be important to stay upfront as long as possible. I will aim for a top 10 stage result.
Stage 6
It is a hilly stage, but it is not very probable, that there will be a chance for the overall riders to gain much time on each other. We think a break could decide this stage, so we will most certainly try to get in a break on this stage.
Stage 7
Another stage with quite a lot of climbing, but the last mountain is pretty far away from the finish. So even if there will be gaps on the climbs, its most likely that a bigger group will finish together as the distanced riders will have some time to close the gap to the front.
Stage 8
This stage will be very important as well, if the top riders are still close together in the overall, every second gained will be very important. We were riding the Col d'Eze several times in our preparation and I feel cofident to show a good last stage.
Team targets:
Of course our main target is the overall, so the team will mainly work for me as the single leader. But as we are a smaller team we will also try to get in break away groups as often as possible to get some KoM points or even a stage win.
Our line-up will be the following:
Jérôme Coppel
David Le Lay
Guillaume Levarlet
Yannick Talabardon
Brice Feillu
Jonathan Hivert
Jimmy Engoulvent
Maxime Méderel
Favorites from the other teams should be:
Klöden (Radioshack), Martin (Omega-Pharma), Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank)
J. Rodriguez (Katusha), Van den Broeck (Lotto), Taaramae (Cofidis)
De Gendt (Vacansoleil), Péraud (AG2R), Rogers (Sky)
So last chance to wish me luck.
Your sincerely,
Jérôme |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 10-07-2012 11:13
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Good luck |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 10-07-2012 12:40
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Hope it all goes well in the race to the sun
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 10-07-2012 12:55
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I hope so, too although I already know most of it to be honest
Thanks for the comments - Prolog hopefully uploaded tonight! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 10-07-2012 13:01
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Looking forward to it, Good Luck
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 10-07-2012 19:03
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PARIS-NICE - STAGE 1
Hi,
So today finally Paris-Nice, the race to the sun, started. I am hoping for a great race and a good result in the final GC.
Also I hope you will enjoy my reports from the race every day after the stages, as this blog will probably be finished soon after Paris-Nice is over. But let's not look to far in the future.
This is what happened in todays prolog:
The weather forecast wasn't looking too good for later today. Therefore Luis Leon Sanchez had decided to start early as the first rider of his team. He had to be considered as a favorite for the stage today and also the overall in the end.
He was setting a time, which would hold up long time...
The young Australian timetrial champ Durbridge was up only a few minutes later and he managed a good second place.
But he didn't even come close to Sanchez.
For a while not too much happened.
As our fourth starter Le Lay was speeding through the check-point with a new best time so far, even in front of Luis Leon Sanchez, who was still leading at the finish. Le Lay was losing a bit of his speed in the second part, though. He came in seventh on the preliminary list at the finish.
Le Lay at the intermediate point
Sanchez was still leading, in front of Phinney. Boom then finished the course only two seconds behind Sanchez.
One of the big favorites for today and maybe again the overall, Tony Martin started the race today. He showed a really good performance, but by a tiny margin he wasn't the best today.
Martin finished less then one second behind Sanchez - second place so far
The next interesting rider from our team was Engoulvant. He was the best at the check-point. Would he lose time in the second part like Le Lay?
Only a little bit more then one kilometre to go
Well a little - at the finish he was provisorily in sixth place – a very good ride from him. This will be a nice result for the beginning.
Soon after he finished it was my turn. I felt good and was very concentrated. I had gotten some final hints from Le Lay, how to handle the more difficult corners of the course. The first part suited me a little more as well, because of the little climb. I was fourth at the check-point.
Me under the Flamme rouge
The second part didn't went as good and I lost a few seconds. I fell down to 14. place and there were still a few riders on the road, but I was only 19 seconds behind the best time, which isn't very much. So I was satisfied with my ride.
A small suprise was Cancellara, who started last of his team, he may came in fourth, but was already six seconds behind the winning time, although it was just a short prolog.
Cancellara probably expected more
Stage 1 - Top 10
| 1 | Luis León Sánchez | Rabobank Cycling Team | 12'27 | | 2 | Tony Martin | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | s.t. | | 3 | Lars Boom | Rabobank Cycling Team | + 2 | | 4 | Fabian Cancellara | Radioshack - Nissan | + 6 | | 5 | José Iván Gutierrez | Movistar Team | + 7 | | 6 | Taylor Phinney | BMC Racing Team | + 8 | | 7 | George Hincapie | BMC Racing Team | + 9 | | 8 | Jimmy Engoulvent | Saur - Sojasun | + 12 | | 9 | Tom Boonen | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | s.t. | | 10 | Juan Antonio Flecha | Sky Pro Cycling | + 14 |
In the end the team could celebrate a top 10 stage result, thanks to Engoulvants great ride. That was what we were hoping for today. I am quite pleased with my 18. place in the end, because the gaps aren't too big to any of the top 10 GC-contenders and some others lost more time than me.
Your sincerely,
Jérôme |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 10-07-2012 19:05
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18th is a Great start for Jerome
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| ejorgensen |
Posted on 10-07-2012 20:30
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And 2nd in the U25. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 11-07-2012 06:22
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18 is definitely not bad!
Go for it! |
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 13-07-2012 19:19
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Hello again,
Just a short update on the mood in the team: We were really satisfied with yesterdays result, but we also know that we are capable of a lot more. The goal for today was to show ourselves, so probably try to get in the break of the day.
I hope you are ready for the report of stage two, the first „real“ stage after yesterdays short prolog. I will keep it brief, though, as it was a flat stage and not too much happened:
PARIS-NICE - STAGE 2
The weather was horrible all day long. It was raining and pretty cold as well. But I had a great team working for me, especially Feillu, who was riding in front of me the whole day and kept me out of trouble.
There were quite many attacks from the start, but they were all chased down by different teams. It took nearly sixty kilometres for a group to get away for more than a minute. Lukily for us Engoulvant made it in that group, together with Marycz, Lequatre and Txurruka.
As it was pretty obvious that the break would not get through, the main target for everyone in the break probably was the only KoM-sprint of the day, as the winner would be awarded with the jersey. Engoulvant was aiming for it of course.
Engoulvant tried an early attack for the KoM points
But he lost the uphill sprint closely to Txurruka, but at least he won the intermediate sprint a little later.
Txurruka was a little faster
The break at the intermediate sprint
Everything pointed to a mass sprint as the lead was decreasing.
With 10 kilometres to go and a thirty second lead the escapees had more or less all given up. All but one, Engoulvant decided to try it all alone.
Engoulvant heading into the last ten kilometres
He could keep the small lead up for another three kilometres, but he was caught with about five kilometres left.
So we saw the first mass sprint of this years Paris-Nice.
After a great lead-out from his team Boonen took the victory in front of Bozic and Cavendish
Top 10 - Stage
| 1 | Tom Boonen | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 4h11'09 | | 2 | Borut Bozic | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 3 | Mark Cavendish | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 4 | Sébastien Chavanel | Team Europcar | s.t. | | 5 | Danilo Wyss | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 6 | Elia Viviani | Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. | | 7 | Allan Davis | Orica - GreenEDGE | s.t. | | 8 | Jimmy Casper | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 9 | Lloyd Mondory | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 10 | Takashi Miyazawa | Team Saxo Bank | s.t. |
Top 10 - GC
| 1 | Luis León Sánchez | Rabobank Cycling Team | 4h23'36 | | 2 | Tony Martin | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | s.t. | | 3 | Lars Boom | Rabobank Cycling Team | + 2 | | 4 | Tom Boonen | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | + 6 | | 5 | Fabian Cancellara | Radioshack - Nissan | s.t. | | 6 | José Iván Gutierrez | Movistar Team | + 7 | | 7 | Taylor Phinney | BMC Racing Team | + 8 | | 8 | George Hincapie | BMC Racing Team | + 9 | | 9 | Jimmy Engoulvent | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. | | 10 | Juan Antonio Flecha | Sky Pro Cycling | + 14 |
KoM - Top 3
| 1 | Amets Txurruka | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 4 | | 2 | Jimmy Engoulvent | Saur - Sojasun | 2 | | 3 | Jaroslaw Marycz | Team Saxo Bank | 1 |
Well, we all made it through the stage without crashing or getting too cold. We didn't expect much from this stage, it was a little sad that Engoulvant wasn't able to get the mountains jersey, but we will try it again - I promise!
Your sincerely,
Jérôme |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 13-07-2012 23:14
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A quiet day on stage 2
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 14-07-2012 20:10
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I hope the form is right, because soon the hills and mountains will start coming!
(I'm going on holiday so I'll read the rest of it when I get back in 3 weeks, just telling you so you know I haven't stopped following) |
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