Coming in last would have been quite an achievement

Keep it up SN

A sprint stage. On paper, Vanderaerden should not get a top 15 finish. But we hope to play on the factor that he has a great race fitness, while others may not.

Dan Fleeman did his best to take the first KoM points, attacking 2km from the summit. Unfortunately he lacked the strength and had to settle for 3rd.


A break of 11 formed but Dan wasn't feeling too good - our worse fears were soon confirmed: He had a form of -5.

He could therefore do nothing in the 2nd KoM of the day and was infact dropped at that point, 30km to the finish. The last 6 men of the breakaway would be caught with 4.4km to go leaving a sprint, and Vanderaerden is well positioned!


The big sprinters were not greatly positioned at all, and Nazon went past his Swiss teammate with 1km to go.


Vanderaerden gave it his all, he could not get past Nazon but he still took 2nd!


3rd for Zabel gives the German the overall lead. Frederik Nolf proved he was still out of form ahead of the cobbles season as came in last, just under 6 minutes down.

1 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 2h25'32
2 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
3 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM s.t.
4 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
5 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
6 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
7 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
8 Anthony Geslin BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
9 Saïd Haddou BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
10 Mark Renshaw CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
11 Mikhaylo Khalilov CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
12 Andrus Aug CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
13 Gabriele Balducci ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
14 Aurélien Clerc BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
15 Marco Zanotti UNIBET.COM s.t.
16 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
17 Hans Dekkers AGRITUBEL s.t.
18 Andy Flickinger BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
19 Krzysztof Szczawinski MICHE s.t.
20 Jochen Summer ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
21 Linas Balciunas AGRITUBEL s.t.
22 William Bonnet CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
23 René Mandri AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
24 Giuseppe Palumbo ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
25 Yuri Krivtsov AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
38 Bjorn Cornelissen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
56 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
61 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
81 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
92 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
123 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'37
124 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'58


1 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM 3h00'54
2 Gabriele Balducci ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 7
3 Giuseppe Palumbo ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
4 Massimo Codol ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
5 Branislav Samoilau ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
6 Aurélien Passeron ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
7 Frank Vandenbroucke ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
8 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
9 Christian Knees TEAM MILRAM + 8
10 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM s.t.
110 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'18


Rank Name Team Points General
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 25 25
2 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 20 20
3 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM 16 16
4 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL 14 14
5 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 12 12
6 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 10 10
7 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS 9 9
8 Anthony Geslin BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 8 8
9 Saïd Haddou BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 7 7
10 Freddy Bichot AGRITUBEL 6 6

Rank Name Team Mountain General
1 Markus Eichler UNIBET.COM 10 10
2 Vladimir Duma CERAMICA FLAMINIA 6 6
3 Stefan Rucker ELK HAUS - SIMPLON 6 6
4 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 2 2

Today's stage has a flat rating but includes 3 tough hills with one peaking just 7km from the finish - perhaps Mattan could attack here?

Wearing the British National Champion jersey, Hamish Haynes got in the break of 5 and just about hung on up the first and toughest slope of the day.


Unfortunately, in the peleton - only Mattan could hang on, with the rest being dropped. Its frustrating for Vanderaerden as his form today was +5.


By the intermediate sprint, Haynes has 2 red bars and was struggling to hang on. A badly timed drink at the sprint dropped Haynes, and he was caught on the next hill of the day.


The break was caught and the pack reached the final climb, as planned, Mattan tried to attack but didnt get very far.

Ag2r were looking strogn again in the sprint as Mondory lead out Nazon today. And it looked like Nazon could take win number 2, until in the last few metres a certain Norwegian edged in front to take the win and the leaders jersey.


1 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 3h48'34
2 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
3 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
4 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
5 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
6 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM s.t.
7 Krzysztof Szczawinski MICHE s.t.
8 Marco Zanotti UNIBET.COM s.t.
9 Anthony Geslin BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
10 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
11 Leonardo Duque COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
12 Mikhaylo Khalilov CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
13 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
14 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
15 Gabriele Balducci ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
16 Andy Flickinger BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
17 Giuseppe Palumbo ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
18 Eros Capecchi LIQUIGAS s.t.
19 Andrus Aug CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
20 Antonio D'Aniello CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
21 Paolo Bossoni LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
22 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
23 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
24 René Mandri AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
25 Massimo Giunti MICHE s.t.
101 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'57
113 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 8'01
114 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 8'49
115 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
120 Bjorn Cornelissen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 14'25
121 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
123 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 19'40

1 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 6h49'18
2 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM + 10
3 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 16
4 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 17
5 Gabriele Balducci ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
6 Giuseppe Palumbo ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
7 Branislav Samoilau ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
8 Massimo Codol ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
9 Aurélien Passeron ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
10 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM + 18
87 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'40

Rank Name Team Points General
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 20 45
2 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 25 37
3 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL 14 28
4 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 16 26
5 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM 10 26
6 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 0 20
7 Anthony Geslin BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 7 15
8 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS 6 15
9 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO 12 12
10 Marco Zanotti UNIBET.COM 8 9

Rank Name Team Mountain General
1 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 24 24
2 Christophe Detilloux FRANÇAISE DES JEUX 22 22
3 Patrick Calcagni LIQUIGAS 14 14
4 Markus Eichler UNIBET.COM 0 10
5 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 10 10
6 Vladimir Duma CERAMICA FLAMINIA 0 6
7 Stefan Rucker ELK HAUS - SIMPLON 0 6
8 Anthony Charteau CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 6 6
9 Massimo Giunti MICHE 6 6
10 Fran Pérez CAISSE D'EPARGNE 4 4
12 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 0 2

Sponsors


We signed a 6-month sponsorship deal with Vodafone for 11750 a month.


I also signed a 2 year deal with Maesto, at just 1250 a month.

Getting closer to that win - some nice sponsors too

Stage 4 - Mont Faron
Most of the team will protect Nico Mattan as long as possible, with Haynes going in the break again with vain hope of KoM points. Thats the plan anyway.


Haynes got in the break, but as you can see - he had to work very hard to stick with the group and took just 2 KoM points.

DFL had similar troubles in the peleton, with only Mattan, Pliuschkin and Meul left - Pliuschkin is doing brilliantly considering his form is 35 pts! Haynes was dropped on the next KoM climb, and we will fast forward to Mont Faron.

****FAST FORWARD****


Pliuschkin, Meul and Mattan are still there as the peleton close in on the sole remaining escapee, Figueras.

Voeckler attacks!


Mattan has a red bar with 2km to go but is riding along fine, Voeckler has a huge lead before the counterattacks finally come: Garzelli, Moncoutie, Ten Dam and teammate Pineau.


Voeckler wins!


Mattan finishes safely in the peleton, but an exhausted Pliuschkin and Meul are dropped near the finish.


1 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 2h32'08
2 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 47
3 David Moncoutié COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
4 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM + 59
5 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
6 Fran Pérez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'24
7 Przemyslaw Niemiec MICHE s.t.
8 Sébastien Joly FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
9 Massimo Giunti MICHE + 1'38
10 Andrea Noè LIQUIGAS s.t.
11 David Arroyo CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
12 Cristian Gasperoni CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
13 Andriy Grivko TEAM MILRAM s.t.
14 Raffaele Illiano CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
15 Christian Knees TEAM MILRAM s.t.
16 Markus Eibegger ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
17 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
18 Charles Wegelius LIQUIGAS s.t.
19 Massimo Codol ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
20 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
21 René Mandri AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
22 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
23 Giuliano Figueras LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
24 Anthony Charteau CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
25 Leonardo Duque COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
41 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
96 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'31
97 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
116 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 11'55
120 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
121 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
122 Bjorn Cornelissen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
123 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 14'30

1 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 9h21'46
2 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 32
3 David Moncoutié COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1'04
4 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM + 1'08
5 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1'18
6 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 1'19
7 Fran Pérez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'23
8 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM + 1'28
9 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1'34
10 Massimo Codol ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 1'35
80 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'58
107 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 13'52
108 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 15'02

1 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 0 45
2 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 0 37
3 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO 20 32
4 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL 0 28
5 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 0 26
6 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM 0 26
7 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 25 25
8 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 0 20
9 David Moncoutié COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 16 16
10 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 12 15

1 Giuliano Figueras LAMPRE - FONDITAL 28 28
2 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 0 24
3 Christophe Detilloux FRANÇAISE DES JEUX 0 22
4 Tomas Konecny ELK HAUS - SIMPLON 18 18
5 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 16 16
6 Patrick Calcagni LIQUIGAS 0 14
7 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 2 12
8 Alessandro Vanotti LIQUIGAS 12 12
9 Björn Schröder TEAM MILRAM 12 12
10 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO 12 12

Damn Frenchy. Somehow I can't stand Voeckler.

Great reporting anyway

Thanks


Stage 5
If Vanderaerden can survive the first 34km and the very tough early climb imparticular, he can contest the sprint and hope for another top 10.

Meul protects Mattan and apart from Pliuschkin, everyone else goes to protect Vnaderaerden at the first climb that averages over 9% for around 5km. DFL survives, while Giunti produceds a late attack for the KoM points, ahead of Figueras.


Pietro Caucchioli fell in the descent as Freddy Bichot went solo and his lead went up to 5+ minutes. After the next KoM, 5 men attacked from the peleton, including Cornellisen.


The picture shows Detilloux trying to get Vanotti to work but infact, he wasnt working either. They left it to Cornelissen to close the gap, but whatever he did, the gap would not shorten (Or even grow) kit just stayed the shame. Detilloux then attacked and joined the front 2 and Cornelissen was so disgusted that he threw his bike at the FDJ team car and abandoned the race.

With 26km to go, the break was caught. Coming into the sprint, I wasnt paying attention and with 13km to go realised that Vanderaerden needed to drink now to get enough energy to take him to the finish. As a result, he could not join any sprint train until 10km to go and today there would only be 1 sprint train, so Gert's chances were almost none now.

Ag2r were perfectly positioned once again.


And Nazon wins it:


1 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 3h35'27
2 Gabriele Balducci ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
3 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
4 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
5 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM s.t.
6 Andrus Aug CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
7 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
8 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
9 Anthony Geslin BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
10 René Mandri AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
11 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
12 Michael Albasini LIQUIGAS s.t.
13 Hans Dekkers AGRITUBEL s.t.
14 Marco Zanotti UNIBET.COM s.t.
15 Stèphane Poulhiès AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
16 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
17 Vladimir Duma CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
18 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
19 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
20 Patrick Calcagni LIQUIGAS s.t.
21 Aurélien Clerc BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
22 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
23 Andy Flickinger BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
24 Krzysztof Szczawinski MICHE s.t.
25 Cristian Gasperoni CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
68 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
108 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
110 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'18
112 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'11
114 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
118 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 6'56

Rank Name Team Time
1 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 12h57'13
2 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 32
3 David Moncoutié COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1'04
4 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM + 1'08
5 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1'14
6 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1'18
7 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 1'19
8 Fran Pérez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'23
9 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM + 1'28
10 Branislav Samoilau ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 1'35
77 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'58

1 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 25 70
2 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 14 51
3 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL 16 44
4 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM 12 38
5 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO 0 32
6 Martin Elmiger AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 0 26
7 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 5 25
8 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 0 25
9 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS 9 24
10 Gabriele Balducci ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO 20 24

1 Giuliano Figueras LAMPRE - FONDITAL 8 36
2 Christophe Detilloux FRANÇAISE DES JEUX 4 26
3 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 0 24
4 Tomas Konecny ELK HAUS - SIMPLON 2 20
5 Massimo Giunti MICHE 10 16
6 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 0 16
7 Alessandro Vanotti LIQUIGAS 2 14
8 Patrick Calcagni LIQUIGAS 0 14
9 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 0 12
10 Björn Schröder TEAM MILRAM 0 12

Stage 6 - The end of the road, and another hilly test
We'll try to keep Mattan with the peleton today too.

Pliuschkin tried to get in the break, but failed.

Figueras went in the break but has a strong lead anyway and does not need to fight for points.


Vanderaerden and Mattan are the only DFL riders left in the peleton after the tough opening climb.

The favourites attack later on the stage, on the penultimate categorised climb. They pass the 3 leaders on the final climb.


A crash took down 12 riders, including Martin Elmiger as Voeckler led out the sprint. Despite not being the best sprinter, he manages to take the win!


Mattan comes 16th, largely thanks to following Zabel.

1 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 3h10'20
2 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
3 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
4 Fran Pérez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
5 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
6 Mikhaylo Khalilov CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
7 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
8 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
9 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
10 Leonardo Duque COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
11 David Moncoutié COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
12 Anthony Geslin BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
13 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
14 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM s.t.
15 Giuseppe Palumbo ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
16 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
17 Michael Albasini LIQUIGAS s.t.
18 Vladimir Duma CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
19 Cristian Gasperoni CERAMICA FLAMINIA s.t.
20 Marco Zanotti UNIBET.COM s.t.
21 Christophe Detilloux FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
22 Andy Flickinger BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
23 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM s.t.
24 Yuri Krivtsov AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
25 Mark Renshaw CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
81 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'50
109 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 7'30
110 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
111 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
116 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 9'32
122 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 15'30

1 Thomas Voeckler BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM 16h07'13
2 Stefano Garzelli ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 44
3 David Moncoutié COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1'24
4 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM + 1'28
5 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1'34
6 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1'38
7 Jérôme Pineau BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 1'39
8 Fran Pérez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'43
9 Erik Zabel TEAM MILRAM + 1'48
10 Giuseppe Palumbo ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO + 1'55
11 Sébastien Joly FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
12 Massimo Codol ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
13 Branislav Samoilau ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFÉ MOKAMBO s.t.
14 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM + 1'56
15 Enrico Poitschke TEAM MILRAM s.t.
64 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'18
108 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 22'10
110 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 24'53
111 Robby Meul DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 25'10
119 Daniel Fleeman DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 39'44
121 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 43'20
122 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 56'24

Mattan lost 3 minutes, despite finishing in the peleton in every stage.

Ladies and gents, I present you with the most awkward sprint position. Ever.

It's actually a new descending technique Its not as fast as Samuel Sanchez, but it certainly beats Mads Kaggestad!

Next up: Omloop Het Volk. Pliuschkin and Nolf are still struggling to find fitness So Mattan will lead us.

Our season goal is a top 5.
My goal is a top 15.

But of course were not playing football, so there are no goals at all.

I just noticed that Frederik Nolf's Tour Meditteranean was not so bad at all, he went up to XP lvl 2 and is now a better cobbled rider than before!

February Report

Races


Ind. Ranking


Team Ranking


Cyanide's Rider of the Month:
Jens Voigt

Consistent performances and victory in the Crucial Stage 6 meant that Voigt went into the final stage of California with a 4'30 advantage over 2nd placed Kirchen. Chris Wherry got in a 2 man break and gained 7'15 at the finish - but it was not enough, meaning Voigt won by 45 seconds.

Notable mention to Bernhard Eisel: Won 4 stages in the Etoile de Besseges but the one he missed was the crucial one!

DFL Rider of the Month:
Nico Mattan

A strong consistent performance in the Meditteranean really helped the team's morale.

Brit of the Month:
Jeremy Hunt

2nd in a stage in Langkawi as well as 3rd in two others. He also took 3rd in Stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve.

Injuries:
Cadel Evans is out til Mid-March with an injured Coccyx - having crashed in training.

Look Ahead:
Lots of Cobbles!

the Individual and Team rankings are the same screen

hope you can do well in the cobbles

Fixed the team rankings image

Leader: Nico Mattan (80 Pts)
Super Domestiques: Alexandre Pliuschkin (58 Pts) and Frederik Nolf (59 Pts)
Others:
Hamish Haynes
Kane Oakley
Sven de Weerdt
Jens Mouris
Bjorn Cornellisen

Sponsor goal: Top 5

Right, it seems that the only popular stories at the moment are ProTour teams on normal or just ProTour teams. Noone gives a damn about a Continental story on Hard with no good riders, and no or little chance of wins.

So, despite every post in my PCM06 Stories generally saying to move up to hard, well Ive tried it and it doesnt work, so Im going back to normal after a boring Het Volk race.

1 Luca Paolini LIQUIGAS 5h29'15
2 Marcus Burghardt T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
3 Leif Hoste PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
4 Nick Nuyens COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
5 Filippo Pozzato LIQUIGAS s.t.
6 Fabian Cancellara TEAM CSC s.t.
7 Philippe Gilbert FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
8 Björn Leukemans PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
9 Leon Van Bon RABOBANK s.t.
10 Vladimir Gusev DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
11 Steven De Jongh QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
12 Roger Hammond T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
13 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC s.t.
14 Óscar Freire RABOBANK s.t.
15 Frederic Guesdon FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
16 Matthew Hayman RABOBANK s.t.
17 Juan Antonio Flecha RABOBANK s.t.
18 Kevin Van Impe QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
19 Peter Van Petegem QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
20 George Hincapie DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
21 Steffen Wesemann TEAM WIESENHOF FELT s.t.
22 Christophe Mengin FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
23 Matti Breschel TEAM CSC s.t.
24 Allan Johansen TEAM CSC s.t.
25 Ludovic Auger FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
26 Roberto Petito LIQUIGAS s.t.
27 Nico Mattan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
28 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
29 Nico Eeckhout CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN + 2'34
30 Dimitri Muravyev TEAM ASTANA s.t.
31 Sergei Ivanov TEAM ASTANA s.t.
32 Andy Cappelle LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t.
33 Christophe Detilloux FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
34 Bert De Waele LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t.
35 Roy Sentjens PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
36 Stefan Van Dijk TEAM WIESENHOF FELT s.t.
37 Wim De Vocht PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
38 Frederik Veuchelen CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
39 Andreas Klier T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
40 Bert Roesems PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
41 Carlos Barredo QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
42 Geert Verheyen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
43 Thierry Marichal FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
44 Fabio Sacchi TEAM MILRAM s.t.
45 Aart Vierhouten SKIL - SHIMANO s.t.
46 Geert Omloop JARTAZI PROMO FASHION s.t.
47 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
48 Gorik Gardeyn UNIBET.COM s.t.
49 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
50 Cédric Vasseur QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
113 Jens Mouris DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 9'02
157 Hamish Haynes DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 12'22
160 Bjorn Cornelissen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 14'30
165 Kane Oakley DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 16'14
174 Sven De Weerdt DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 16'38

Nice work You beat great cobble riders like Ivanov,Klier or even Hushovd.