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Fabio Melani | Road to Le Tour | End of Season
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 03-10-2014 07:10
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Sutty: Winning is grinning 
So Virgilijus continued his great form by willing the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
Then in Norway Alec finished 10th overall.
And then Virgilijus won again.
I'm in Switzerland, and we're ready to go!
Let's close off the pre-Tour season on a high!  
Edited by Cycleman123 on 03-10-2014 07:11
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-10-2014 15:05
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Tour de France Champion
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Grinning all round then after those latest results 
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 04-10-2014 05:15
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We've got ourselves a good young Lithuanian
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 04-10-2014 05:44
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 GP Canton d'Argovie 
The last race before the Tour is a hilly classic formerly known as the GP Gippingen is well-suited to my tastes. Unfortunately, we didn't really do much recon, so once we got into the race we realised that the hills would be to steep for the sprinters. 
Mads Christensen went in a solo break.
Daniel and me followed the attacks, but we were a bit late.
I managed to catch most of the riders, but Jungels and Dietziker were ahead with 23km left. The peloton was also close.
I caught the pair with Ulissi, but then Jungels attacked.
Then Ulissi went up himself. At this point we were joined by Cameron Meyer. This was still with 12km to go, and I was really tired.
Unfortunately we were caught straight after that by the next group. 28 in there now.
This was good because Ospina was there to protect me. Unfortunately he was also dead because he was getting water - which I already had... Yeah... Either way, he still protected me, and I was in for the battle for 4th.
We were front, and led into the sprint.
All while Jungels took an easy win.
Unfortunately I just finished randomly in the pack. I couldn't get round Ospina.
So next time I see you I'll be at the Tour. Wish me luck!
Edited by Cycleman123 on 04-10-2014 05:45
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 04-10-2014 17:22
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Tour de France Champion
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Bring on the Tour
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 05-10-2014 00:07
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Can't wait for the Tour 
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 18-10-2014 08:39
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Sutty & Hoyle: Well, here we are... Sort of...
 Le Tour de France
No doubt about it, local hero Pinot is our team's main man. He knows these roads, and will be our hope for a GC Top 5.
 Alec Diluca
Alec has had a great start to his first season as a pro. He will now ride the biggest race on Earth as our main sprinter.
Esteban Chaves
Esteban is a great rider. He will provide support where we have depth and be one of Thibaut's main helpers.
John Darwin Atapuma
In the squad despite a deep open wound on his forearm, Darwin will also provide us with strength in depth in the mountains and may look to get a stage win later on in the Tour.
Fabio Melani
That's me! I have the job of providing support for the mountains squad, as well as doing more on the hilly stages. I'll be looking for a podium on a stage in this Tour.
 Virgilijus Grazhys
Fresh off having added the Lithuanian Road Championship title to his amazing list of successes, Virgilijus comes into this race on a seemingly never-ending high. He will be Alec's main leadout as well as providing and opportunity for stage wins on more punchy stages.
 Rohan Dennis
Another part of our mountain and hill team, although Rohan's main goal will be to get good results in time-trials.
Jarlinson Pantano
Jarlinson is a great fighter. Not only will he be part of the sprint train, but he will also be a big part of the team in all areas as he looks to continue to defy to odds with phenomenal efforts.
 Rene Dokman
While Rene is mainly our bottle carrier, he will also be an important position-getter for the sprint train, and will also be key when the cobbles come around.
So, there's our team for Le Tour 2015! Let's hope we can come out of the race in 3 weeks' time with success!
Fabio
Edited by Cycleman123 on 18-10-2014 08:42
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 18-10-2014 23:11
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Tour de France Champion
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Hope those nine riders can do the team proud
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 19-10-2014 10:21
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That looks like a very strong team for the Tour
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| baia |
Posted on 20-10-2014 20:57
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For a moment i thought Fabio would make something good at d´Argovie 
Better luck for the Tour..
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 23-10-2014 05:26
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Sutty: That's the plan!
Hoyle: Hope we will perform.
Baia: Just couldn't hang on in the end I'm afraid.
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 24-10-2014 07:17
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Tour de France 
Hopefully the first stage will be rather comfortable. A hilly finish really suits our punchy sprint train.
For perhaps the first time in memory, there was no break until 60km in, when Pozzato, Jouve, Nuyens and Jungels got away.
Our sprint train was going well. With just under 14km to go the break had almost been caught and we had a good position.
They were caught with 9.3km left. We were going well.
Rene Dokman contributed with a fantastic pull. With 4.4km things were looking really good.
But no! Disaster! Virgilijus got the sprint horribly wrong and instead of going when he was supposed to he stayed in Jarlinson's wheel as he dropped back. Absolutely awful for us!
Degenkolb won it on the line, and as much as I hate to say it, we lost it because of Grazhys.
Alec couldn't recover and finished his first Grand Tour stage in 16th.
I rolled over in 46th, barely knowing what had happened, in between Rohan and Darwin.
My Views
Well, some positives for sure. Hopefully we won't get too bogged down after that, because it could even have been a win.
Fabio
Edited by Cycleman123 on 24-10-2014 07:19
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 24-10-2014 14:07
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Pity about the mix up in the sprint, but overall a steady first stage for the guys
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 25-10-2014 07:41
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Sutty: Yep, some positives for sure.
So, in all the excitement of the Tour, I forgot to tell you guys about the National Championships and transfers.
In the time trials, Rene came 32nd at 3'45 and Jagoba came in 54th at 5'27. In the Road Races Thibaut finished 67th with the same time as the winner, Jagoba came 50th at 6'29, Rene was 43rd at 3'02 and of course Virgilijus was successful, winning the Lithuanian Championships.
In terms of transfers, the team signed Aussie hills prodigy Calvin Longinidis, while we also had approaches from Matteo Bono and Cyril Gautier, but Sean turned them down.
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 25-10-2014 09:29
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And now for some bad news. We had a tough time getting Virgilijus to the start line today, but that's understandable if you look at his twitter:
Cycles432 Wrote
@GrazhysOfficial sharpen up! Your team gets a wildcard to the biggest race on the planet and you go and fuck it up like that. Get out!
Colombian_By_Heart Wrote
Fucking @GrazhysOfficial how hard is it to fucking sprint!? Your teammates do such a great job and drain themselves, but you have to go fuck it up. I can only imaging how they feel!
TekkersofEurope Wrote
@GrazhysOfficial can win all these shithouse races in the freaking amateur circuit, but as soon as you get the chance to deliver for your team in a race worth so many points you go and lose your brain. Shame on you.
Nevergonna_die Wrote
@GrazhysOfficial learn to work for your team for once! You get to lead pretty much every race then can't be bothered to do the work for someone else. Die in a hole.
Forunately we got him out of bed and onto the bike. This is his chance to prove them wrong.
Fabio
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 25-10-2014 12:52
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Hope Virgilijus can prove all his doubters wrong
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 25-10-2014 13:56
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The team will recover in the sprints, and it is only stage 1! The trolls on twitter can go f**k themselves!
Here is my tweet for him:
@GrazhysOfficial chin up! it is only the first stage and you will be on form tomorrow. I will be cheering you on in Sheffield #ComeOnColombia #ColombiansOnTour
.: Manager of :.
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| baia |
Posted on 25-10-2014 16:23
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I´mPregnant2017
@GrazhysOfficial take it easy.. apologize to the team and win a stage.. Go Go Go Rockets.. #
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 25-10-2014 23:33
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Thanks for the support guys, you've really helped.
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 26-10-2014 03:58
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Tour de France Preview
This stage will be a lot more hilly, but I doubt that there will be any problems just yet. 
Today we had a real break. 5 riders went up there.
With 28km to go Greg van Avermaet went on the attack. The break had already been caught.
Thibaut was in charge as he led the peloton over the climb with 20km to go. Van Avermaet had 52 seconds at this point.
Then when Sagan attacked with 17km left, you know I was in first wheel. There was a chance for the stage win.
Unfortunately my group got caught, but I went off on the attack. Sagan and Van Avermaet had 36" to me and there was still a small mountain.
I was caught at the base, and the leaders almost were as well.
I kept working though and got away again with 4.5km left. I was really tired though.
I ended up being caught by Pinot (left). Sagan would win.
Yep.
So no Top 10 again but we have some guys high up in the GC because this stage got rid of some sprinters. I finished 27th after a good fighter performance. Hopefully more to come!
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