Really pleased to see Rudy Molard hanging tough to stay in the break and get Cofidis a top 10 place.

Nice to see AG2R La Mondiale taking their first win under the new manager. Gratz Vali.

GC looks solid so far.

They used the same tactics last year in California.

Thanks a lot

Well NetApp has no stage favourite so why should they chase all to the end. They just have to defend Häggs jersey

Fernandez stepping up to second Now for the GC win? #IDontKnowWhetherToLoveOrHateNetApp
And strong teamwork, almost the whole team in the first big group, that's solidarity guys

Great for Ben, but Carlos wtf? Just because you don't chase doesn't mean you get dropped!

Okay not the best day for Machado and once again Caja outclassed. But I still hope for a bit more glory before this race is out

Benedikt comes closer to the leaders jersey, but Henao is close.

How's TDU and San Luis looking? If they start soon, I'll send out the next round of startlists on wednesday.

Will start working on a preview today or tomorrow. Should hopefully have all reports done by the end of the week.

I'll have a preview out tonight (Australia) and racing will start tomorrow.

@Ollfardh: If you don't want us to switch races, could you please upload a new reporting table, please?

In the reserved post, will jsut have to find solution for Tirreno now

Ha, you wish!

The first race in this season of EHST have just been raced on teh route of Clasica San Sebastian.

This is how the peloton looked before the start:

For the rest of the race go check out the report in the Euskaltel-HQ...

A very colourful pack there

Euskaltel + CCC + Netherlands National squad = Pure Orange

Welcome to stage 4 of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Today's stage will start from Oyem and finish in Mitzic. Along the way there are 3 intermediate and 2 KoM sprints. It is a hilly stage with an uphill finish again so it is likely there will be some attacks on the GC again. The riders are ready to go. Hagg is still in the yellow jersey, Weschenbach is wearing the green jersey, Verboven is in the white jersey and Augustyn is in the polka dot jersey.



Right from the start it is Jones (UnitedHealthcare) who attacks. He is followed by Martens (Belkin), Mironov (RusVelo), Van Baarle (Androni), Molard (Cofidis), Berard (AG2R), Urtasun (Caja Rural), Perez (Euskaltel) and Malacarne (Bretagne). Astana and Colombia do not allow such a big breakaway today and are chasing it down.




The riders in the front group do not cooperate and some are trying to get away. We have reached the 1st intermediate sprint of the day and it is Berard who takes 1st place. The peloton follows at 30 seconds.

Sprint 1:
1. Berard (AG2R) - 6 points
2. Martens (Belkin) - 4 points
3. Urtasun (Caja Rural) 2 points




The 2nd intermediate sprint is uncontested and Van Baarle goes through first. 6 riders remain at the front, with the peloton 40 seconds behind.

Sprint 2:
1. Van Baarle (Androni) - 6 points
2. Berard (AG2R) - 4 points
3. Urtasun (Caja Rural) - 2 points



With 80 km to go the break got caught and it has been quiet in the peloton for around 10 km. Now it is Geslin (Cofidis) who will try his luck.




Geslin has over 2 minutes on the peloton. No other riders were interested in following him and the big teams obviously are pretty happy with a 1 rider breakaway.




Geslin reaches the first KoM sprint, while the peloton has started chasing him down. Colombia, Androni and Astana have a good feeling about today's stage. Geslin's lead is 3 minutes now.

Geslin also wins the 3rd intermediate sprint a few km later. The peloton follows at 2'45, while Boev sprints for some strange reason.

KoM 1:
1. Geslin (Cofidis) - 5 points
2. Teuns (Astana) - 3 points
3. Van Baarle (Androni) 1 point

Sprint 3:
1. Geslin (Cofidis) - 6 points
2. Boev (RusVelo) - 4 points
3. Teuns (Astana) - 2 points





Geslin also wins the 2nd KoM sprint. Schneider (CCC) attacks from the peloton and gets 2nd. This means Geslin will wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow. Schneider continues his attack and is hoping the peloton does not see him again. He has got a lead of 25 seconds now.

KoM 2:
1. Geslin (Cofidis) - 5 points
2. Schneider (CCC) - 3 points
3. Lutsenko (Astana) - 1 point




Geslin still has a lead of 1'50 over the peloton. Schneider is in between at 1'07 from Geslin. Everything is still possible. In the peloton NetApp, Astana and Androni are chasing and the pace has gone way up. A group of 30 riders remains. Ventoso and Calzone are in a group 44 seconds back.




With 10 km to go Geslin holds a 45 second lead over Schneider. The CCC rider is a minute in front of the peloton.




Geslin is still going and his gap stays 45 seconds over Schneider. In the peloton it is once again Gasparotto who takes initiative. He gets a lot of GC riders with him though. This move could be the killing blow for Geslin, because the pace will go up even more behind him.




The Gasparotto group has caught Schneider. In this group are Cervero, Cristobal Riquelme, Martinez Machado, Henao and Roelandts. Half a minute back are Hagg and Bernard. Another 30 seconds back is a 23 rider group with Verboven and Weschenbach. Geslin has a 38 second lead, but he has to dig deep to get the victory here.




Geslin is almost there, but it is getting close. The favourites group is 27 seconds behind, while Hagg and Bernard are further back and they are not making it to the front.




Geslin is caught, what a heartbreaking moment for the Cofidis rider. The other riders are starting their sprint now. Roelandts and Schneider are off the back, while Gasparotto and Cervero are not looking good.




And it is Martinez Machado who pushes his wheel over the line first. A great sprint from the youngster and a well deserved victory for the Caja Rural team and their manager. He also takes over the green jersey from Weschenbach. This is proving to be a great race for the Continental teams. Chilean champion Cristobal Riquelme gets 2nd and Sky's Henao finishes third. Hagg loses 42 more seconds today, but gains half a minute over 2nd in GC Fernandez.

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Ricardo Martinez Machado	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	2h28'00
2	Jorge Cristobal Riquelme	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
3	Sergio Henao	Sky Procycling	s.t.
4	Delfi Cervero	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	+ 19
5	Enrico Gasparotto	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
6	Anthony Geslin	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
7	Andre Schneider	CCC Polsat - Polkowice	+ 42
8	Tom Slagter	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
9	Rudy Verboven	Euskaltel - Euskadi	s.t.
10	Jürgen Roelandts	Lotto Belisol	s.t.

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Heimdal Hägg	Team NetApp - Endura	11h23'15
2	Delio Fernández	Team Champion System	+ 2'03
3	Sergio Henao	Sky Procycling	+ 2'28
4	John-Lee Augustyn	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 2'39
5	Delfi Cervero	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	+ 3'06
6	Benedikt Weschenbach	Sky Procycling	+ 3'09
7	Ricardo Martinez Machado	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	+ 3'11
8	Rudy Verboven	Euskaltel - Euskadi	+ 3'29
9	Jorge Cristobal Riquelme	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 3'31
10	Gregory Bernard	Colombia	+ 3'56

Rank	Name	Team	Points	General
1	Ricardo Martinez Machado	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	25	45
2	Benedikt Weschenbach	Sky Procycling	1	43
3	Heimdal Hägg	Team NetApp - Endura	3	40

Rank	Name	Team	Mountain	General
1	Anthony Geslin	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	10	10
2	Heimdal Hägg	Team NetApp - Endura	0	8
3	John-Lee Augustyn	MTN - Qhubeka	0	8

Young rider: Heimdal Hägg
Team: Sky Procycling