Ouch, that is one tough Almeria startlist

Looking forward to the race though.

Will be cheering a bit for Lobato as well.

Ok so I've just realised why there's been no contest for points and no bonus seconds in Algarve - the sprint/KoM checkpoints that show up don't actually give points. Any fix for this before I start the GC stages?

Hoping to get something from Almeria - still will be tough but if we are going to go better than expected we need to strike in low level classics like these as well as stage races for which we have been solid so far.

Hello and welcome to the Clasica de Almeria. The 113 riders have made it to the start line in Almeria. It is a sunny day here in the south of Spain with little to no wind.




We are off and it is McCauley (Drapac) who makes the first move. While we leave Almeria behind, no one seems interested to follow him.



More riders are attacking, but Belkin and Katusha are not willing to let them go. The increase in pace due to these attacks cause McCauley to be caught by the peloton.




After many attacks, the peloton is content to let these four riders go. Bilbao (Euskaltel), Russom (MTN), Oroz (Movistar) and Mori (Lampre) are almost 2 minutes ahead now.




With not a lot happening in the race right now, there are other things to be amazed by. The people of Balanegra have come out in great numbers to get a glimpse of the riders.



With 95 kilometers to go the riders have started going uphill. The break got a maximum lead of 5 and a half minute. Katusha is starting to chase, while Belkin position themselves at the front of the peloton.




The hills are left behind, while the break is still 2 and a half minute ahead. Katusha has been chasing the whole time, but finally Belkin decides to help them now.




Marcato (Movistar) attacks, but the pace is too high and he is reeled back in by the peloton. The lead of the breakaway has decreased to 1 minute and 30 seconds. Marcato tries it again, but Belkin's Hofland does not let him get away. But Marcato is persistent and goes for the third time. It proves to be a waste of energy as he is caught immediately.



This is getting ridiculous as Marcato attacks another time. Maybe he thinks the saying is fourth time's a charm or he is just stupid. It takes the peloton a bit more effort to catch him now, but they still manage to reel him in quite easily.




It is the battle of the national champions now, as the teams are preparing for the sprint. The breakaway is still 45 seconds ahead though. In the meantime Flecha attacks. Movistar's tactics are very unclear at the moment, but they don't seem to have a lot of trust in Lobato's sprint.




Flecha has bridged the gap to the breakaway. They got a 30 second lead over the peloton, which does not seem to be enough.




The break still has a 30 second lead, but Belkin is coming to the front with Kittel now. The biggest news however comes from behind as it is Verboven with a flat tire. Euskaltel won't be winning here today if it comes to a sprint.




The lead of the break has dropped to 20 seconds, while Cristobal Riquelme is giving everything to get Kittel in the best position possible.




Porsev is leading out Kristoff, who has Modolo on his wheel. Renshaw is trying to get Kittel back to the front on the right. Abundi, Machado and Lobato are also still within reach of the victory. Notable names that are too far back are Ciolek and Bennett.




The breakaway is caught while Kristoff is off. Modolo is in a great position here, but Kittel has not started his sprint yet.




Modolo and Kittel have started their sprint now too, while Abundi has to watch out not to get blocked by Flecha.




And it is Kittel who takes the lead. He is a cut above the rest here. Kristoff is fading, while Machado and Lobato are trying to get around Modolo.




An easy victory for Marcel Kittel. There was no stopping the German today. Belkin timed that sprint very well. Modolo holds on for 2nd and Martinez Machado continues his good early season with a 3rd place. Euskaltel and Tinkoff-Saxo will probably be very disappointed here with their best riders in 14th and 15th.

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Marcel Kittel	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	4h14'07
2	Sacha Modolo	Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox	s.t.
3	Ricardo Martinez Machado	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
4	Juan José Lobato	Movistar Team	s.t.
5	Abasi Abundi	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
6	Alexander Kristoff	Katusha Team	s.t.
7	Kristian Sbaragli	Movistar Team	s.t.
8	Mark Renshaw	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
9	Luis León Sánchez	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Gerald Ciolek	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
11	Jorge Cristobal Riquelme	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
12	Pablo Urtasun	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
13	Johnny Hoogerland	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
14	Xavier Florencio	Euskaltel - Euskadi	s.t.
15	Daniel Moreno	Team Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
16	Juan Antonio Flecha	Movistar Team	s.t.
17	Laurent Pichon	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
18	Gaël Malacarne	Bretagne - Séché Environnement	s.t.
19	Sam Bennett	Team Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
20	Moreno Hofland	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.

EDIT : Was going to post the P-N preview, but enjoy Clasica Almeria

Second is an amzing result for Modolo. When I saw the startlist I lost a bit of hope but it is great to see Sacha got in a good position and held on, even if he wasn't the best sprinter on paper.

Classic Verboven luck there

Bummed to miss out on a goal due to a puncture but at least Xavier scored a few points for us.

Finaly a classic win, really needed this.

And the AI really hates Verboven, this isn't funny anymore.

That's our win goal gone...

Easy goal sealed easily. Got some good chances of getting a decent set of goals succeeded in this first half of the year.

Kittel was always going to be difficult to beat but got some good PT scalps there - a very strong start to the year from RMM.

Welcome to the 2014 edition of Paris - Nice, which is the 72nd edition of the race and this year the race doesn't have any Time Trials! It's gonna be interesting to see how much this will affect the race and the organizers has also shown a little doubt, whether this type of race will influence it positively.

Together with Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano - San Remo it's the biggest race on the calendar in the first season part and the world elite will gather here to test their abillities to the fullest. No one can predict the winner of this race, as it might go to an favorite with skills in mountains and hills or it will go to an rouleur with some good overall skills. Let's have a look at the Startlist :



The favorites for this race is Peter Sagan, Phillipe Gilbert and Alejandro Valverde, since there is neither any Time Trials or Mountains in this race, which means that the Ardennes Specialists are the favorites here and if you want to race with mountains, then you are surely at the wrong place.

AG2R is on home soil with Carlos Betancur, which is probably the biggest outsider to this race and together with Valverde, they are the strongest when the high percentages hits the pack. Don't underestimate Daniel Martin, Thibaut Pinot and Pierre Rolland, where the last two are also on home soil, which means they are probably more familiar with the climbs, but still many professionals lives around Nice and Monaco.

Mark Cavendish, Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan is going to dominate the sprints, while Bouhanni, Calzone and Coquard is going to do everything to spoil their chances. Cavendish has the best leadout by far and all Swift has to do is being present and sending the english sprinter away on the right time. The first 3 stages are going to be pure sprinter stages and since only 6 points are present for the KoM jersey in those stages, you won't see many big names among the breakaways.

On Stage 4 it really begins on going up hill and stage 5 and 8 are the hardest of them all. The climbs are technical hard and you will experience big gaps, even though the stages doesn't look hard on paper. There are lots in the making and the big world elite is gathered here to give their best!

Profiles

I love how we have a Top 10 goal here and NetApp is the last team on the startlist.

Dang, strong sprinters field. Debusschere will stand no chance
Putting some faith in the Three Mountain Musketeers (De Clercq, De Greef and Rosanski). A top 10 would be a great achievement

no ITTs? hm...should have informed myself better...at least Tony can help Kwiatek a bit...

Hoping for another surprise GC from either Vichot or Roy, course fits them relatively well. Bouhanni to podium a couple of stages would be good. Basically i want FDJ to keep up their consistency levels on hom soil

Lovely action in Almeria. fantastic how active Movistar was. Sending JJ in the break, let Marcato attack 4 times. Let JA attack and then taking a strong 4th place by JJ as well as another top ten.


Looking forward to P-N. I think Sagan should be favourite but Valverde should be right there as well. Calzone to steal Sagan the bonus seconds and stage wins and J.J., J.J., J.J., J.J., J.A. and Losada as strong support and attackers.

Yes. I love my Juans and Joses

Sagan should be able to at least get a GC podium here. Should have brought better support.

Not entirely happy with that P-N startlist- Hopefully Ion will be able to do something.

Or perhaps Antón out of a break or something like that...

Should've brought Purito here, with a race that will be entirely dependent on a rider's ability on the hills, bringing the best hill rider in the game might have helped

Nevertheless Moreno should do fairly well, top 5 should be the target, though there isn't much pressure as we don't have a goal here.

Mollema for our easy goal here, though one harder stage would've been great to drop Gilbert and Sagan.