Christ, you got beat to death by your awesome team xD

Anyway, I think we can call it nice results for you that way

GP Beghelli

Its classed as hilly, but is perhaps not hilly enough


Both new World Champions are on the startline for this race, with Uran now turning his attention towards Lombardia


Konovalovas also rides, and follows an attack with 40km to go


It doesnt work though, and he is caught with 25km to go as Pellizotti and Cancellara now attack


Uran hesitates, only going after seing Ricco also make a move, and as a result Uran can not reach Cancellara, Pellizotti and Ricco


He keeps trying, and Konovalovas also has another go, but to no avail


Cancellara wins


As both DFL riders are swallowed up by the sprinting peleton in the closing kilometres.


1 Fabian Cancellara TEAM CSC 4h37'29
2 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
3 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
4 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1'16
5 Francisco Pacheco TEAM LPR s.t.
6 Luca Paolini LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
7 Elia Rigotto TEAM MILRAM s.t.
8 Alessandro Proni QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
9 Giorgio Brambilla CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
10 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
11 Víctor Manuel Gomes TEAM TENAX - MENIKINI s.t.
12 Luis �ngel Maté OTC DOORS - LAURETANA s.t.
13 Dainius Kairelis BARLOWORLD s.t.
14 Daniel Foder QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
15 Mauro Santambrogio TEAM TENAX - MENIKINI s.t.
16 Ersilio Calogero TEAM MILRAM s.t.
17 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
18 Valerio Agnoli SERRAMENTI PVC DIQUIGIOVANNI - SELLE ITALIA s.t.
19 Fabian Wegmann GEROLSTEINER s.t.
20 Antonio Aldegani QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
21 Francesco Reda OTC DOORS - LAURETANA s.t.
22 Gabriele Bosisio CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
23 Ivan De Gasperi SERRAMENTI PVC DIQUIGIOVANNI - SELLE ITALIA s.t.
24 Efrem Salvi TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS s.t.
25 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.

unlucky in Italy

Yeah, but hopefully you'll do well at the Race of Falling Leaves

Giro dell'Emilia

This race is always a strong test ahead of the Giro di Lombardia, and is a race we will look to win - Uran inparticular, after he took his first ever victory here last season.



A breakaway of 17 got clear, and they started to build a dangerous lead


With 80km to go for the peleton, they were still 11 minutes behind, and 5 of the 8 man DFL team are now working on the front of the peleton


The gap started to fall, but perhaps not by enough. Ag2r's Rovira attacked with 42km to go though, and Konovalovas follows


Also attacking were Palini and fellow Lithuanian Kairelis


Konovalovas took the front and set about pushing a high tempo. The other 3 attackers just sat in his wheel, offering no help, but Konovalovas' plan was working. The peleton remained at around a minute behind them as they did not wish to allow a huge gap, but the gap to the leaders was falling


From 6'20 with 38km to go, to 2'40 with 19km left.

The power of Konovalovas continued to push the group closer to the break - and their own lead over the peleton was extending. Uran clearly needed to make a move soon and so he attacks with 14km to go


Onto the penultimate steep climb (with the final one being the climb up to the finish line) and Konovalovas has caught the breakaway! 30km of effectively solo chasing, with pretty much no help from his 3 companions - one of whom, Kairelis, now tries to attack away. With 2 and a half red bars, Konovalovas now has a chance to sit in wheels and try to recuperate for the finish


Uran meanwhile is still pushing to close the gap the group has over him


Over the top and Uran is now accelerating down the descent, 45 seconds behind the 10 man lead group


It takes nearly 5km to do it but with 3km to go, Uran has caught up with the group


But he still had to get to the front of the group and was not there at the start of the sprint, Konovalovas is now back on the front and leading the uphill sprint


The Lithuanian is certainly the strongest there, apart from teammate Uran and the World Champion is quickly making his move


Konovalovas sticks to the right hand side as Uran charges up the left


Theres no team orders, the strongest person will win


Uran is certainly closing in on Konovalovas but is there enough space left?


Its close on the line


But its a win for Konovalovas!! Fully deserved after all his hard work today, Uran cannot take a repeat win, but this race is nevertheless a good sign for Lombardia


1 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 5h03'38
2 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
3 Andrea Palini LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 14
4 Dainius Kairelis BARLOWORLD s.t.
5 Jaume Rovira AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 22
6 Johannes Fröhlinger GEROLSTEINER + 51
7 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 1'10
8 Ivan Rovny LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
9 Marco Fabbri AURUM HOTELS - SAPORE DI MARE s.t.
10 Pasquale Muto RABOBANK s.t.
11 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS s.t.
12 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS s.t.
13 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER s.t.
14 Davide Rebellin TEAM CSC s.t.
15 Luca Solari TEAM LPR s.t.
16 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
17 Pierino Ausilio OTC DOORS - LAURETANA s.t.
18 Marcus Ljungqvist TEAM LPR s.t.
19 Marco Corsini TEAM TENAX - MENIKINI s.t.
20 Fabian Wegmann GEROLSTEINER s.t.
21 John Gadret AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
22 Dario Cataldo BARLOWORLD s.t.
23 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK s.t.
24 Ben Hermans LIQUIGAS s.t.
25 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
26 Matthias Ruß GEROLSTEINER s.t.
27 Evgeni Petrov TEAM CSC s.t.
28 Eddy Serri MICHE s.t.
29 Santo Anzà AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
30 Paolo Savoldelli LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
31 Pietro Caucchioli BARLOWORLD s.t.
32 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK s.t.
33 Maxim Belkov BARLOWORLD s.t.
34 Andrea Masciarelli CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
35 Luca Pierfelici AURUM HOTELS - SAPORE DI MARE s.t.
36 Serafín Martínez RABOBANK s.t.
37 Saul Raisin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
38 Karsten Kroon LIQUIGAS s.t.
39 Nicki Sörensen TEAM CSC s.t.
40 Thomas Lövkvist TEAM MILRAM s.t.
41 Walter Pedraza TEAM LPR s.t.
42 Ludovic Turpin AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
43 Sergio Marinangeli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
44 Oliver Zaugg GEROLSTEINER s.t.
45 Alexandr Kolobnev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
46 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
47 Andreas Dietziker TEAM LPR s.t.
48 Kurt-Asle Arvesen TEAM CSC s.t.
49 Gerben Löwik RABOBANK s.t.
50 José Carlos Rodrigues TEAM LPR s.t.
59 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
99 Ivan Stevic DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'46
104 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
128 Maxim Iglinskiy DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 8'04

Beautifull 1-2!!!

I found myself sitting and cheering for Konovalovas at the end, great reporting

Great 1-2 Good luck in Lombardia!

fantastic racing, great 1-2

Paris - Tours



A strong 21 man group formed the breakaway


It included Hincapie, Plaza, Rosseler, Auge and Casar.

Throughout the race, Uran, Konovalovas and Pliuschin all followed other attacks made, but none were allowed to stay clear


Uran was just preparing for another go before Cancellara, Paolini and Del Nero went


He could not react in time, and as those 3 powered towards the breakaway, Uran joined up with Ivanov and Bettini in pursuit


It would stay as a pursuit though, as only Del Nero, Paolini and Cancellara were able to catch the break, with a high pace causing the number of survivng members to fall. Still, there were 11 riders in the front group as Grabovskyy led the sprint


Paolini and Cancellara sprinted past the Ukrainian


And Paolini wins Paris-Tours


Uran ended a frustrating 17th, while Geraint Thomas came 5th in the bunch sprint for 22nd


1 Luca Paolini LAMPRE - FONDITAL 5h55'04
2 Fabian Cancellara TEAM CSC s.t.
3 Jesús Del Nero SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
4 George Hincapie DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
5 Dmytro Grabovskyy GEROLSTEINER s.t.
6 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
7 Taylor Phinney DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
8 Mirko Celestino RABOBANK s.t.
9 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 52
10 Ludovic Turpin AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
11 Michiel Van Aelbroeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
12 Renaud Dion LIQUIGAS s.t.
13 Rubén Plaza SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
14 Christophe Moreau AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
15 Sergei Ivanov TEAM ASTANA s.t.
16 Paolo Bettini QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
17 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
18 Martin Pedersen UNIBET.COM s.t.
19 Stuart O'Grady DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
20 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
21 Gerald Ciolek T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
22 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
23 Steve Schets CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
24 Eduard Vorganov EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
25 Juan José Haedo TEAM CSC s.t.
26 Bernhard Eisel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
27 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
28 Mark Cavendish T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
29 Jimmy Casper UNIBET.COM s.t.
30 Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t.
31 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER s.t.
32 Saïd Haddou CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
33 Marc Lotz BARLOWORLD s.t.
34 Jeremy Hunt CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
35 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
36 Steven Tronet AGRITUBEL s.t.
37 Wouter Weylandt QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
38 Alex Rasmussen UNIBET.COM s.t.
39 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
40 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
41 Philippe Gilbert RABOBANK s.t.
42 Alessandro Proni QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
43 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA s.t.
44 Olivier Pardini CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
45 Jaume Rovira AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
46 Zdenek Stybar AGRITUBEL s.t.
47 Nick Nuyens TEAM CSC s.t.
48 Wilfried Cretskens CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
49 David Kopp GEROLSTEINER s.t.
50 Andreas Klier GEROLSTEINER s.t.
67 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
136 Ivan Stevic DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
158 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'54
175 Justo Tenorio DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 20'36

Giro del Piemonte

The final lombardia race is a hilly classic, but not one that suits are riders as the terrain is actually rather flat


A break goes clear early on, but the real interest comes with around 30km to go as the favourites attack. Uran, Valverde and Rovny are the strongest, ahead of a 6 man chase group which includes Konovalovas


Uran's group links up with the days breakaway


But then Rovny and Valverde manage to sneak away


Nothing Uran does can stop the pair dissappearing away into the distance


Alejandro Valverde wins the race, to install himself as favourite for Lombardia


Uran is 3rd, while Konovalovas sprints to 7th, his group having only managed to catch the breakaway in the closing stages. (With Konovalovas having not relayed due to Uran being ahead)


1 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 4h29'40
2 Ivan Rovny LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
3 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 24
4 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS + 37
5 Saturnino Ferrer CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
6 Andreas Bernardino TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS s.t.
7 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
8 Jaume Rovira AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
9 Jakob Fiedler T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
10 Jacopo Guarnieri SERRAMENTI PVC DIQUIGIOVANNI - SELLE ITALIA s.t.
11 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
12 Andrea Pagoto CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
13 Eddy Serri MICHE s.t.
14 David Cañada SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
15 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
16 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM s.t.
17 Adriano Malori ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
18 Alberto Ongarato LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
19 Vicente Reynès CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'32
20 Gerald Ciolek T-MOBILE TEAM + 2'00
21 Efrem Salvi TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS s.t.
22 Pieter Riis Andersen TEAM CSC s.t.
23 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
24 Ben Hermans LIQUIGAS s.t.
25 Dario Cataldo BARLOWORLD s.t.
26 Marko Ullmann T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
27 Florian Morizot TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS s.t.
28 Fabian Cancellara TEAM CSC s.t.
29 Kasper Klostergaard TEAM CSC s.t.
30 Benoît Vaugrenard T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
31 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
32 Eros Capecchi LIQUIGAS s.t.
33 Arnaud Coyot DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
34 Michael Barry TEAM CSC s.t.
35 Karsten Kroon LIQUIGAS s.t.
36 Luis Orán Castañeda LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
37 Edwin Orozco BARLOWORLD s.t.
38 Maxim Belkov BARLOWORLD s.t.
39 Gerhard Trampusch BARLOWORLD s.t.
40 Luca Paolini LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
41 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
42 Ricardo Mestre LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
43 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
44 Marcel Kittel CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
45 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
46 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
47 Maarten Tjallingii T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
48 Sergio Marinangeli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
49 Andrea Tonti AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
50 Kurt-Asle Arvesen TEAM CSC s.t.
61 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
63 Bernard Sulzberger DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
97 Ivan Stevic DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
134 Evan Oliphant DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'24

Good riding

Uran will do much better when the hills get harder

Giro di Lombardia


2nd last year, World Champion Rigoberto Uran hopes to go one better - but dont rule out Ignas Konovalovas. Also here for DFL are Pliuschin, Anton, Thomas, Tenorio, Raisin and Efimkin - the Russian is looking for XP, despite having 0 form.

The favourite though will be ProTour leader Alejandro Valverde, who proved his form recently with 2nd in the Worlds and by winning the Giro del Piemonte.



The action is expected to start on the Madonna del Ghisallo with around 54km to go, but last years winner Damiano Cunego attacks 2km before that.


Konovalovas follows, as does Wegmann and Mazzanti - a last throw of the dice perhaps for Euskaltel, who need to outscore Predictor-Lotto by 11 points here in order to avoid relegation


Cunego isnt strong today though, as Konovalovas and Wegmann move ahead


Not long though before Konovalovas is into a solo lead


He continues to press onwards, catching and passing the days breakaway


It will be hard to stay away for 50km, but it is certainly worth the effort


Here we go though, Ricco attacks with 30km to go, Uran reacts along with the other big riders


Di Luca, Uran, Rovny and Valverde form a group - but they have not yet caught Konovalovas!


Uran therefore has an excuse to sit at the back of the group


The Lithuanian isnt ready to give in, leading down the descent of the Civiglio


But Valverde attacks on the following flats to end a 40km solo by the Lithuanian champ


Now on the San Fermo dello Battaglia, the tactics must begin, can anybody outsmart the rest of the group before the finish?


Uran tries to but the rest under pressure


Ricco and Schleck are completely out of it now, leaving 5 to contest the win. Konovalovas hits the front again, but he does not have much left


Uran now takes over


Konovalovas is dropped now as Uran tries to delay the sprint for as long as is possible


The inevitable comes with 1km to go, and we just have to hope Valverede forgets how to sprint


But here comes the Spaniard now


A win for Valverde, Uran has no choice but to settle for 3rd


Konovalovas takes 5th, a great effort from him that perhaps deserved more


Igor Anton battles to a 12th place in the sprint in the peleton, with Tenorio 20th and Pliuschin 24th


1 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 6h27'49
2 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
3 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
4 Ivan Rovny LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
5 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 35
6 Fränk Schleck TEAM CSC + 1'03
7 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
8 Dainius Kairelis BARLOWORLD + 3'30
9 Daniele Pietropolli CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
10 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
11 Gabriele Bosisio CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
12 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
13 Guillaume Levarlet AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
14 Jaume Rovira AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
15 Fabian Wegmann GEROLSTEINER s.t.
16 Andrea Pagoto CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
17 Joaquim Rodríguez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
18 Santo Anzà AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
19 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
20 Justo Tenorio DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
21 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
22 Tom Stamsnijder T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
23 Chris Horner CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
24 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
25 Oliver Zaugg GEROLSTEINER s.t.
26 Dario Cataldo BARLOWORLD s.t.
27 Paolo Bettini QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
28 Edwin Orozco BARLOWORLD s.t.
29 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA s.t.
30 Luis Orán Castañeda LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
31 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK s.t.
32 John Gadret AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
33 Rémi Pauriol CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
34 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA s.t.
35 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER s.t.
36 Mauricio Ardila CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
37 Gabriele Tassinari QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
38 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
39 Matthias Ruß GEROLSTEINER s.t.
40 Juanma Gárate QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
41 Manuel Medina CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
42 Luca Mazzanti EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 4'55
43 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS s.t.
44 Davide Rebellin TEAM CSC s.t.
45 Giorgio Brambilla CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
46 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
47 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
48 David Arroyo SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
49 Patrice Halgand CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
50 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
51 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
52 Pasquale Muto RABOBANK s.t.
53 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
54 Jérôme Pineau EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
55 Sébastien Joly TEAM CSC s.t.
56 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
57 Alessandro Vanotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
58 Cândido Barbosa EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
59 Aitor Pérez Arrieta CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
60 Jean-Marc Marino CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
61 Saul Raisin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
62 Grischa Niermann PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 7'02
63 Giampaolo Cheula SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'41
64 Pietro Caucchioli BARLOWORLD s.t.
65 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD s.t.
66 Eladio Jiménez CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
67 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
68 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
69 Bert Grabsch T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
70 Marco Marzano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
71 Daniel Rincón DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
72 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
73 Evgeni Petrov TEAM CSC s.t.
74 Rubén Plaza SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
75 Alexis Rodríguez TEAM CSC s.t.
94 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 11'54
169 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 25'53

Lombardia brought about a stats boost for Geraint Thomas:

Chrono des Herbiers

Rafaa Chtioui was 2nd here last year and hoped to take his first Pro victory today, while Pliuschin is also riding along with Geraint Thomas.

But on the day Ruben Plaza was too good, Chtioui had to settle for 3rd - beating Pliuschin though - as Thomas was unfortunate to miss out on the Top 10, being let down by a bad daily form.



1 Rubén Plaza SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 1h07'07
2 Ben Hermans LIQUIGAS + 24
3 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 35
4 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 39
5 Steven Cummings DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 57
6 Dimitri Champion SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'16
7 Kasper Klostergaard TEAM CSC + 1'44
8 Taylor Phinney DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'08
9 Julien Mazet PERUTNINA PTUJ + 2'10
10 Sébastien Joly TEAM CSC + 2'31
11 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'38
12 Mikaël Chérel TEAM CSC + 2'43
13 Kilian Patour TEAM SLIPSTREAM + 2'50
14 Marlon Pérez TEAM UNIVERSAL CAFFÉ - ECOPETROL + 2'51
15 Michael Friedman TEAM SLIPSTREAM + 2'56
16 Andrej Omulec PERUTNINA PTUJ + 3'13
17 Jean-Marc Bideau TEAM MILRAM + 3'19
18 Kevin Neirynck LIQUIGAS + 3'22
19 Jean Zen ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE + 3'36
20 Joakim Gunnerud BRETAGNE - ARMOR LUX + 3'37
21 Yoann Bagot BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 3'39
22 Jonas Ljungblad ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE + 3'41
23 Kevin Maene ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
24 Steven Cozza TEAM SLIPSTREAM + 3'47
25 Andy Flickinger BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 3'59
26 Nicolas Jalabert AGRITUBEL + 4'00
27 Matthew Hayman RABOBANK + 4'04
28 Arnaud Lesvenan AUBER 93 + 4'08
29 Maurice Baha AUBER 93 + 4'14
30 Alain Van Katwijk PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4'20
31 Grégory Sagnol ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
32 Elia Rigotto TEAM MILRAM + 4'27
33 Antoine Potillon AGRITUBEL + 4'30
34 Ludovic Turpin AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
35 Alexandr Bazhenov AUBER 93 + 4'31
36 Maciej Ulanowski TEAM UNIVERSAL CAFFÉ - ECOPETROL + 4'32
37 Bram De Groot RABOBANK + 4'34
38 Aldo Ino Ilesic PERUTNINA PTUJ + 4'35
39 Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL + 4'36
40 Vladimir Bileka DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 4'37
41 Sergio Marinangeli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 4'42
42 Allan Davis TEAM MILRAM + 4'53
43 Roy Sentjens PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4'56
44 Lino Candotti ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 4'58
45 Alexandre Usov AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 5'06
46 Carlos Zárate SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 5'12
47 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 5'15
48 Graeme Brown RABOBANK + 5'27
49 Rony Martias BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 5'39
50 Renaud Dion LIQUIGAS + 5'50
51 Noan Lelarge BRETAGNE - ARMOR LUX + 6'04
52 Piotr Zielinski BRETAGNE - ARMOR LUX + 6'05
53 Hans Dekkers PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 6'11
54 Giosuè Bonomi TEAM UNIVERSAL CAFFÉ - ECOPETROL + 6'42

Escalada a Montjuic

Stage 1

The short steep circuit always provides a fun end to the season, and Dan Lloyd goes off on an early attack


He is later joined by Fernandez Oliveira and De la Fuente


The Karpin rider falls back though as Pasamontes, Gastauer and Tenorio join the lead group on the final lap


But in a bit of a blunder from us, the 2 none-DFL riders get a gap


Pasamontes takes the stage, while Tenorio is the leading DFL rider in 3rd.


1 Luis Pasamontes EXTREMADURA - SPIUK 45'21
2 Ben Gastauer SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA s.t.
3 Justo Tenorio DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 14
4 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 21
5 Daniel Lloyd DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 32
6 Iosu Uribarrena SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 45
7 Pedro Romero EXTREMADURA - SPIUK s.t.
8 Bingen Fernández CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
9 Luis Fernández Oliveira KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
10 Beñat Intxausti GRUPO NICOL�S MATEOS s.t.
11 Diego Gallego VIÑA MAGNA - CROPU s.t.
12 Koldo Fernández de Larrea EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
13 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
14 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
15 Iban Leanizbarrutia VIÑA MAGNA - CROPU s.t.
16 Gerardo Bagalini SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA s.t.
17 Jorge Ferrio ANDALUC�A - CAJASUR s.t.
18 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
19 Hélder Oliveira LA - MSS - MILANEZA s.t.
20 Santos González KARPIN GALICIA s.t.


Stage 2

Gustav Larsson was a potential winner of the again short and steep race, this time a time trial


But despite a -5 day, David de la Fuente was able to beat him on the line


Only for DFL teammate Justo Tenorio to go even quicker and secure his first Pro win


Pasamontes lost too much time - so Tenorio also takes the GC! A successful end for DFL to a strong 2009.


1 Justo Tenorio DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 15'01
2 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 46
3 Gustav Larsson RELAX - GAM + 53
4 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 56
5 Luis Pasamontes EXTREMADURA - SPIUK + 57
6 Santos González KARPIN GALICIA + 59
7 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
8 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
9 Beñat Intxausti GRUPO NICOL�S MATEOS s.t.
10 Diego Gallego VIÑA MAGNA - CROPU + 1'10
11 Pedro Romero EXTREMADURA - SPIUK s.t.
12 Daniel Lloyd DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'11
13 Ben Gastauer SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA + 1'12
14 David Cañada SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'14
15 Iñigo Cuesta LA - MSS - MILANEZA + 1'19
16 Jorge Ferrio ANDALUC�A - CAJASUR + 1'20
17 Enrique Ferreira CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'22
18 Josu Mondelo EXTREMADURA - SPIUK + 1'23
19 David Herrero KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
20 Mark Jamieson LA - MSS - MILANEZA + 1'24

GC
1 Justo Tenorio DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 1h00'28
2 Luis Pasamontes EXTREMADURA - SPIUK + 31
3 Ben Gastauer SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA + 54
4 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'01
5 Gustav Larsson RELAX - GAM + 1'32
6 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'35
7 Daniel Lloyd DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'37
8 Beñat Intxausti GRUPO NICOL�S MATEOS + 1'38
9 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
10 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
11 Santos González KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
12 Pedro Romero EXTREMADURA - SPIUK + 1'49
13 Diego Gallego VIÑA MAGNA - CROPU s.t.
14 David Cañada SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'53
15 Iñigo Cuesta LA - MSS - MILANEZA + 1'58
16 Jorge Ferrio ANDALUC�A - CAJASUR + 1'59
17 Enrique Ferreira CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'01
18 David Herrero KARPIN GALICIA + 2'02
19 Josu Mondelo EXTREMADURA - SPIUK s.t.
20 Luis Fernández Oliveira KARPIN GALICIA + 2'03

Great ending to the season, nice tactics in Lomabrdy, I really like how you use the fact that you have 2 so good hill riders.

Hopefully the tactucs will pay off with a win in one of the Ardennes next season


2009 Season Stats:

well done on a good season