Im excited for this year and I have planned out my calendar for the first half of the year.

February 11th – 15th Tour Mediterranean
March 8th - 15th Paris - Nice
April 19th Amstel Gold Race
April 22nd Fleche Wallonne
April 26th Liège - Bastogne – Liège
April 28th – May 5th Tour de Romandie
May 18th – 24th Volta a Catalunya
June 7th – 14th Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

If I do well enough during the first half of the year, then I may be given an opportunity to race in the Tour de France.

Those are some pretty big races.

Tour Méditerranéen - Stage 1


Stage 1 was mainly flat so none of the favorites for the race would make any moves today. The race would be almost impossible to take from Valverde but with the lack of climbers 2nd was still possible.



After the break was caught with 16 kilometers left the group sped up and the peloton begun to split up. Thankfully I was well positioned and was able to stay in the front group. I managed to finish 36th and Raven of Agritubel took the win.



Valverde didn’t place in the top 3, so I didn’t have to worry about losing time to him on the 1st stage.



Stage Rankings
1 Anthony Ravard Agritubel 2h56'42
2 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
3 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
4 Nicolas Jalabert Agritubel s.t.
5 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
6 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
7 David Le Lay Agritubel s.t.
8 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
9 Ian MacGregor Team Type 1 s.t.
10 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
11 Aldo Ino Ilesic Team Type 1 s.t.
12 Rémi Cusin Agritubel s.t.
13 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
14 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
15 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
16 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
17 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
18 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
19 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux s.t.
20 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
21 Allan Johansen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
22 Fabio Terrenzio CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
23 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
24 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
25 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
26 René Jørgensen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
27 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
28 Nicolas Sanderson Rock Racing s.t.
29 Janek Tombak Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
30 Alessandro Raisoni CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
31 Francesco Tizza CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
32 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
33 Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
34 Maxim Gourov CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
35 Valery Kobzarenko Team Type 1 s.t.
36 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
37 Mart Ojavee Cycling Club Bourgas + 57
62 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
67 Jason Donald Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
71 Christian Meier Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
81 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
124 Berik Kupeshov Astana Cycling Team + 5'05
125 Willem Van Den Eynde Team Type 1 s.t.
126 Phil Southerland Team Type 1 s.t.

looking like a gd story hope it goes well

Not too bad. Its good you stayed in the first group.

This story is looking good.

Final Update of the day coming soon

Tour Méditerranéen - Stage 2

Stage 2 was mostly flat with a couple small climbs. With three chances to pick up KOM points we wanted someone to try to take over as KOM. The first chance to pick up KOM points came early and surprisingly it was David Millar who took the opportunity to pick up the points.



On the way down from the hill he picked up a 2 minute gap and Vaughters decided to let him stay out front. No one else from the peloton dared to attack so Millar was left all by himself fighting for the stage win. After taking all the KOM points and knowing that he had taken the jersey he slowed down and caught back up with the peloton. Caisse took control of the peloton to try to set up for Valverde who was looking to gain time on his competitors.



Just over 5km to go Millar couldn’t keep up and fell back.



Valverde was set up nicely for the sprint and just as it looked like he would take 20 seconds away from the other competitors, Clerc came by and edged out Valverde at the line to take the stage.



Unfortunately Valverde did take 2nd and now is 12 seconds ahead of me and I will need all the help I can get for tomorrow’s mountain stage. With Millar losing time, it seems like it will be up to me to take fight for a podium spot.





Stage Rankings

1 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale 3h08'51
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
3 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
4 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
5 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
6 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
7 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
8 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 s.t.
9 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
10 Thomas Berkhout Rabobank CT s.t.
11 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
12 Anthony Ravard Agritubel s.t.
13 Aldo Ino Ilesic Team Type 1 s.t.
14 Arnaud Labbe Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
15 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
16 Erki Pütsep Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
17 Christophe Kern Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
18 Janek Tombak Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
19 Nicolas Sanderson Rock Racing s.t.
20 Thomas Oredsson Team Designa Køkken s.t.
21 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
22 Yann Huguet Agritubel s.t.
23 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
24 David Le Lay Agritubel s.t.
25 Jean-Charles Sénac AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
26 Jimmi Sørensen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
27 Michael Reihs Team Designa Køkken s.t.
28 Pieter Ghyllebert Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
29 Jérôme Coppel Française des Jeux s.t.
30 Allan Johansen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
31 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
32 Rahsaan Bahati Rock Racing s.t.
33 Andrey Amador Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
34 Jérémie Galland Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
35 Mart Ojavee Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
36 Robert Wagner Skil - Shimano s.t.
37 Florian Morizot Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
38 Iván Domínguez Rock Racing s.t.
39 David Martín Rock Racing s.t.
40 Rémy Di Gregorio Française des Jeux s.t.
41 Francisco Mancebo Rock Racing s.t.
42 Glen Chadwick Rock Racing s.t.
43 Alexander Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
44 Yannick Talabardon Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
45 Julien Loubet AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
46 Morten Kruse Brink Team Designa Køkken s.t.
47 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
48 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
49 René Jørgensen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
50 Willem Van Den Eynde Team Type 1 s.t.
56 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
62 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
102 Jason Donald Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
111 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream + 3'31
116 Christian Meier Garmin - Slipstream + 4'46
117 Mathieu Drouilly Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 7'56
120 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
126 Cyril Lemoine Skil - Shimano + 17'50


General Classification

1 Anthony Ravard Agritubel 6h05'13
2 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
3 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 8
4 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
5 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 12
6 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken + 20
7 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
8 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
9 Aldo Ino Ilesic Team Type 1 s.t.
10 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
11 David Le Lay Agritubel s.t.
12 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
13 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
14 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
15 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
16 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
17 Nicolas Sanderson Rock Racing s.t.
18 Janek Tombak Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
19 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
20 Allan Johansen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
21 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
22 René Jørgensen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
23 Fabio Terrenzio CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
24 Ian MacGregor Team Type 1 s.t.
25 Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
26 Alessandro Raisoni CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
27 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
28 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux s.t.
29 Nicolas Jalabert Agritubel s.t.
30 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
37 Thomas Berkhout Rabobank CT + 1'17
59 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
86 Jason Donald Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
105 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream + 3'51
115 Christian Meier Garmin - Slipstream + 6'03
117 Giovanni Bernaudeau Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 9'13
118 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
126 Cyril Lemoine Skil - Shimano + 20'45


Mountain

1 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream 38
2 Stéphane Augé Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 28
3 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux 24
4 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom 16
5 Florian Morizot Besson Chaussures - Sojasun 16
6 Freddy Bichot Agritubel 12
7 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 10
8 Fabio Terrenzio CarmioOro - A-Style 2
9 Alexandre Pliuschin AG2R La Mondiale 2
10 Yann Huguet Agritubel 2
11 Morten Kruse Brink Team Designa Køkken 2

Points


1 Anthony Ravard Agritubel 29
2 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale 28
3 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken 24
4 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 20
5 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 20
6 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 16
7 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom 16
8 Nicolas Jalabert Agritubel 14
9 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom 14
10 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale 11
11 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 10
12 David Le Lay Agritubel 9
13 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas 9
14 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 8
15 Aldo Ino Ilesic Team Type 1 8
16 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 8
17 Ian MacGregor Team Type 1 7
18 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux 7
19 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream 6
20 Thomas Berkhout Rabobank CT 6
21 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken 5
22 Rémi Cusin Agritubel 4
23 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom 2
24 Arnaud Labbe Bbox Bouygues Télécom 2
25 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream 1

Tour Méditerranéen – Stage 3 Preview



Stage 3 will decide who the winner of the race will be. Valverde has set himself nicely for the win and will likely be ready to take it. Since Millar, Meier, and Peterson have all lost time on the first 2 stages, I will be the leader and they will work for me. I stand in 30th overall and 11th in the Young Riders Classification. I have a great chance at being the best U25 rider and taking a top 3 overall in the race but beating Valverde will be next to impossible. Even if I’m on great daily form I will need all the help from my team and a little help from the gods. Wish me luck.

it will be hard, but who knows ? You might make it Good luck

I hope so

Just finished racing stage 3 and it was a good one. Might post it today or tomorrow morning.

Cool, this looks like a good story. I'll probably do one of these with Rollin, as I feel I might be able to do better with one of these stories than with a full team one.

Hopefully you will start one and if you do I look forward to reading it.

Good story!

Tour Méditerranéen – Stage 3

Today is the stage that will separate the contenders from the pretenders. I had the full support of the team and I was under the protection of Millar for the whole race. From the beginning of the race I had to make sure I was up front to minimize the chances of accidents.


There was a group of 4 who held about 2 minutes for most of the race. They worked well together and maintained a constant gap for almost the whole race. On the climbs there were a lot of fans waving American and Danish flags.



The riders were just over a minute behind so they could possibly take the lead if they weren’t kept in check. Caisse d’Epargne made sure to keep a high pace and limit there gains.



With 10 kilometers left the favorites were still all together and the breakaway still had just over 1 minute lead.



Then with 4 kilometers left the attacks began. I was one of the 1st to go and I built up a very small gap with a couple other riders.



A little while late Valverde and the other favorites attacked too. I was no match for Valverde and he sped past me.



At the finish it was one of the men in the breakaway, Yoann Le Boulanger, who held on to take the win and the jersey.



I did my best to keep up but I lost time on Valverde. I managed to finish a great 10th and now hold 6th overall! Not only do I manage to take 6th overall but I am now the leader of the Young Rider classification.



Now I just have to avoid losing time and I will hold on to 6th overall and a matter of a fact I have a chance to take 5th overall since I have the exact same time as the man 1spot ahead of me.



Stage Rankings

1 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 2h45'42
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 1'13
3 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team s.t.
4 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale + 1'32
5 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux s.t.
6 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 2'07
7 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
8 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
9 Niek Van Geffen Rabobank CT s.t.
10 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
11 Pierre Rolland Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
12 Christophe Kern Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 2'38
13 Andrey Amador Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
14 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux s.t.
15 Alexander Dyachenko Astana Cycling Team s.t.
16 Jussi Veikkanen Française des Jeux s.t.
17 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
18 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
19 Yann Huguet Agritubel s.t.
20 Francisco Mancebo Rock Racing s.t.
21 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
22 Jérôme Coppel Française des Jeux s.t.
23 Rémy Di Gregorio Française des Jeux s.t.
24 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
25 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
26 Florian Morizot Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
27 Brice Feillu Agritubel s.t.
28 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
29 Valery Kobzarenko Team Type 1 s.t.
30 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
31 Xabier Zandio Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
32 Roman Kireyev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
33 David Le Lay Agritubel s.t.
34 Anthony Roux Française des Jeux s.t.
35 Glen Chadwick Rock Racing s.t.
36 Rémi Cusin Agritubel s.t.
37 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
38 Cyril Bessy Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
39 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
40 Francesco Tizza CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
41 Sergio Pardilla CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
42 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
43 Rui Costa Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
44 Jean-Charles Sénac AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
45 Mitchell Docker Skil - Shimano s.t.
46 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
47 Nicolas Jalabert Agritubel s.t.
48 Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
49 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
50 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
56 Jason Donald Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
64 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
66 Christian Meier Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
114 Freddy Cruz Rock Racing + 13'10
115 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream s.t.

General Classification
1 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 8h51'52
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 12
3 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'22
4 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team + 1'25
5 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale + 1'30
6 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
7 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
8 Anthony Ravard Agritubel + 1'41
9 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
10 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'49
11 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux + 1'52
12 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
13 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 2'01
14 David Le Lay Agritubel s.t.
15 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
16 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
17 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
18 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
19 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
20 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
21 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
22 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
23 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux s.t.
24 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
25 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.


Mountain
1 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream 38
2 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 34
3 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale 34
4 Stéphane Augé Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 28
5 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux 24
6 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux 20
7 Florian Morizot Besson Chaussures - Sojasun 18
8 Niek Van Geffen Rabobank CT 18
9 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom 16
10 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 12
11 Freddy Bichot Agritubel 12
12 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team 10
13 Steve Bovay BMC Racing Team 10
14 Roman Kireyev Astana Cycling Team 6
15 Ken Hanson Team Type 1 6
16 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 4
17 Michael Reihs Team Designa Køkken 4
18 Mart Ojavee Cycling Club Bourgas 4
19 Yann Huguet Agritubel 4
20 Fabio Terrenzio CarmioOro - A-Style 2
21 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom 2
22 Alexandre Pliuschin AG2R La Mondiale 2
23 Morten Kruse Brink Team Designa Køkken 2


Points
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 40
2 Anthony Ravard Agritubel 29
3 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale 28
4 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 26
5 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 25
6 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken 24
7 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 20
8 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale 19
9 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom 16
10 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team 16


Young Rider
1 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream 8h53'22
2 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 19
3 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux + 22

At least you got the yound rider jersey, keep the good job.

Great riding by you! Eventhough I can't see how your group got 31 seconds to the next group

it was bigger, then it was completely gone then i had 31 seconds. I wont complain though

I you look its took the gap between pauriol and the next rider and there is abit of a gap so it classed martin in a little group with pauriol etc