I did see the gap on the screenshot, but I can't say it was 31 seconds...

Tour Méditerranéen – Stage 4

Today’s stage would be far more relaxed compared to yesterday’s stage. Meier would protect me for most of the race to avoid any accidents. I even had time to chat with the man one place in front of me, Nocentini.



My only hope to move to 5th was to take the sprint but I just couldn’t do it. There was a break that, at one point, held 4 minutes on the peloton.



Agritubel did most of the work and they were all caught with 15 kilometers to go. Valverde was looking for a high placing, so he could take the time bonuses and take the yellow jersey. In the end Duque took the win and Valverde would settle for 3rd.







Stage Rankings

1 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 3h19'57
2 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
3 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
4 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
5 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
6 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
7 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
8 Michael Reihs Team Designa Køkken s.t.
9 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 s.t.
10 Thomas Berkhout Rabobank CT s.t.
11 Anthony Ravard Agritubel s.t.
12 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
13 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
14 Janek Tombak Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
15 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
16 Jimmi Sørensen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
17 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
18 Andrey Amador Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
19 Rui Costa Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
20 Alexander Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
21 Alexandre Pliuschin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
22 Yann Huguet Agritubel s.t.
23 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
24 Jean-Charles Sénac AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
25 Jérôme Coppel Française des Jeux s.t.
26 Romain Villa Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
27 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
28 Erki Pütsep Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
29 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
30 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel s.t.
87 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.



General Classification
1 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 12h11'49
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 4
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 + 1'35
9 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'41
10 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
11 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux + 1'49
12 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
13 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux + 1'52
14 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
15 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken + 1'59
16 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style + 2'01
17 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
18 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
19 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
20 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
21 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
22 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
23 Francesco Tizza CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
24 Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
25 Rémi Cusin Agritubel s.t.
26 Fabio Terrenzio CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
27 René Jørgensen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
28 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux s.t.
29 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
30 Allan Johansen Team Designa Køkken 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


Points
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 56
2 Anthony Ravard Agritubel 40
3 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale 38
4 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 35
5 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken 29


Young Rider
1 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream 12h13'19
2 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 19
3 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux + 22

Just finished the final stage. Someone in the top10 crashed report coming soon.

Tour Méditerranéen – Stage 5

Today is the final day and my goal is to avoid any crashes and to make sure I don’t lose any time. With three chances to take mountain points, Vaughters sent Millar in the morning break to try to pick up some points.



Millar was unable to take any points on the first 2 chances and coming to the final KOM points he was tied for 1st with Stephane Auge. Millar managed to get away and take the KOM points and secure the jersey.



Back in the peloton, a disaster struck for Astana. Chris Horner had fallen! 3 men went back to help him get back to the peloton. Agritubel was still working to catch the break so Horner would lose over 5 minutes on the day.

In the sprint finish, Duque won and picked up the crucial time bonuses.



Did Valverde take over 1st? Where did I place? ….

Stage Rankings
1 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 2h56'01
2 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
3 Pierre Rolland Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
4 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
5 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
6 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
7 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
8 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
9 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 s.t.
10 Thomas Berkhout Rabobank CT s.t.
11 Janek Tombak Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
12 Anthony Ravard Agritubel s.t.
13 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
14 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
15 Yann Huguet Agritubel s.t.
16 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
17 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
18 Erki Pütsep Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
19 Andrey Amador Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
20 Michael Reihs Team Designa Køkken s.t.
21 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel s.t.
22 Brice Feillu Agritubel s.t.
23 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
24 Alexander Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
25 Nicolas Jalabert Agritubel s.t.
89 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.

Final General Classification
1 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 15h07'50
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 4
3 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'21
4 Rémi Pauriol Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'22
5 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale + 1'30
6 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
7 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
8 Anthony Ravard Agritubel + 1'35
9 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux + 1'37
10 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale + 1'41
11 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'49
12 Guillaume Levarlet Française des Jeux + 1'52
13 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
14 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken + 1'59
15 Jure Kocjan CarmioOro - A-Style + 2'01
16 Sergio Hernandez Rock Racing s.t.
17 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
18 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
19 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken s.t.
20 Maryan Hary Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
21 Kilian Patour Garmin - Slipstream s.t.


Mountain
1 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream 46
2 Stéphane Augé Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 44
3 Yoann Le Boulanger Agritubel 34
4 Cyril Dessel AG2R La Mondiale 34
5 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux 24


Points
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 66
2 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne 60
3 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux 47
4 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale 46
5 Anthony Ravard Agritubel 44

good job taking 7th and the best young rider.

good job

next up is an even tougher challenge. Paris Nice.

great race

I feel as though the training is paying off. I feel more comfortable in the mountains now.

A bit better, I am guessing 76 is more realistic!

realistically he should have much better stats. But in real life he got 3rd in the mediteraneen. SO 7th isnt too far off.

I think 7th place is very good

This story is gonna be and is already better then all my previous stories. Expect all of Paris - Nice done tomorrow.

Great

Nice story so far.

Saxo Bank
1. A.Schleck
2. L.Bak
3. J.Bellis
4. L.Bøchman
5. M.Ljungqvist
6. C.Sörensen
7. N.Sörensen
8. J.Voigt

Silence - Lotto
11. C.Evans
12. M.Aerts
13. T.Dekker
14. M.Delage
15. M.Elijzen
16. P.Gilbert
17. L.Hoste
18. P.Jacobs

Astana
21. A.Contador
22. L.Armstrong
23. J.Hernández
24. S.Morabito
25. B.Noval
26. Y.Popovych
27. T.Vaitkus
28. H.Zubeldia

Rabobank
31. R.Gesink
32. L.Boom
33. G.Brown
34. S.Clement
35. Ó.Freire
36. P.Martens
37. L.Ten Dam
38. J.Van Emden

Team Columbia
41. K.Kirchen
42. M.Barry
43. M.Burghardt
44. C.Lewis
45. M.Monfort
46. M.Pinotti
47. M.Possoni
48. K.Siutsou

Euskaltel
51. M.Astarloza
52. I.Antón
53. J.Aramendía
54. A.Hernández
55. M.Irizar
56. J.Oroz
57. A.Txurruka
58. G.Verdugo

Caisse d'Epargne
61. L.Sánchez
62. A.Coyot
63. A.Jeanneson
64. D.Moreno
65. M.Perget
66. F.Pérez
67. J.Rojas
68. R.Urán

Liquigas
71. R.Kreuziger
72. K.Carlström
73. M.Fischer
74. A.Kuschynski
75. A.Noè
76. G.Stangelj
77. F.Willems
78. O.Zaugg

Lampre
81. M.Bruseghin
82. M.Bono
83. D.Loosli
84. M.Lorenzetto
85. Man.Mori
86. M.Mori
87. S.Ponzi
88. V.Zagorodny

Fuji - Servetto
91. F.Kessiakoff
92. J.Benítez
93. I.Camaño
94. A.Durán
95. J.Jufré
96. J.Megías
97. R.Serrano
98. D.Viganò

Team Milram
101. M.Fothen
102. R.Förster
103. C.Knees
104. C.Kux
105. D.Roels
106. R.Scholz
107. P.Velits
108. P.Wrölich

Agritubel
111. C.Moreau
112. F.Bichot
113. M.Bouet
114. R.Feillu
115. Y.Huguet
116. N.Jalabert
117. G.Lequatre
118. N.Vogondy

Française des Jeux
121. S.Joly
122. M.Chérel
123. R.Di Gregorio
124. A.Gérard
125. C.Le Mével
126. G.Levarlet
127. G.Meersman
128. A.Roux

Cofidis
131. D.Moncoutié
132. H.Duclos-Lassalle
133. S.Dumoulin
134. L.Duque
135. J.El Fares
136. S.Portal
137. A.Usov
138. R.Villa

Katusha
141. E.Petrov
142. L.Bodrogi
143. A.Markov
144. G.Mikhailov
145. D.Napolitano
146. F.Pozzato
147. I.Rovny
148. A.Serov

Quick·Step
151. S.Chavanel
152. T.Boonen
153. S.De Jongh
154. A.Engels
155. J.Pineau
156. K.Seeldraeyers
157. K.Van Impe
158. W.Weylandt

Bouygues Télécom
161. P.Fédrigo
162. W.Bonnet
163. F.Bouyer
164. S.Chainel
165. D.Gaudin
166. C.Gautier
167. S.Turgot
168. T.Voeckler

LPR Brakes
171. G.Bosisio
172. L.Bernucci
173. R.Chiarini
174. C.Cucinotta
175. S.Laganà
176. S.Marinangeli
177. F.Negri
178. A.Ongarato

AG2R
181. A.Efimkin
182. H.Dupont
183. J.Loubet
184. L.Mondory
185. C.Pineau
186. N.Rousseau
187. G.Smukulis
188. J.Sénac

Garmin - Slipstream
191. D.Millar
192. J.Dean
193. T.Farrar
194. T.Lowe
195. D.Martin
196. D.Pate
197. K.Patour
198. T.Peterson

Cervélo
201. I.Cuesta
202. D.Fleeman
203. S.Gerrans
204. H.Haussler
205. T.Hushovd
206. D.Lloyd
207. G.Rasch
208. D.Rollin

Vacansoleil
211. B.Leukemans
212. B.Božic
213. R.Honig
214. C.Lhotellerie
215. M.Mortensen
216. M.Pronk
217. B.Traksel
218. A.Vierhouten

Besson Chaussures
221. F.Morizot
222. C.Bessy
223. J.Casper
224. J.Engoulvent
225. J.Galland
226. R.Matheou
227. J.Simon
228. Y.Talabardon

Stage 1

A very short and uneventful stage so I will keep the report short. I was the 2nd last to go in the whole race so I had time to prepare mentally for the race. By the time I reached the start gate, Silence Lotto held the top two spots with Dekker and Hoste taking 1 and 2.



I rocketed off the start gate and tried to build as much speed as I could right from the beginning.



At the 1st time check, I was on a roll. I was in 6th place only 2 seconds behind the leader. I put in even more effort and pushed myself to the finish. After a great place in the intermediate time check I was prepared for a great time here too. Unfortunately I finished 32 seconds behind the leader. I could only take 42nd place.



It was a disappointing finish and I can only hope to do better in the upcoming stages.




Stage Results

1 Thomas Dekker Silence - Lotto 10'39
2 Leif Hoste Silence - Lotto + 1
3 Markus Fothen Team Milram + 7
4 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 9
5 Laszló Bodrogi Team Katusha s.t.
6 Lars Boom Rabobank + 11
7 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank + 12
8 Sylvain Chavanel Quick·Step s.t.
9 Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
10 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream + 13
11 Steve Morabito Astana Cycling Team s.t.
12 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
13 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 14
14 Stef Clement Rabobank + 17
15 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
16 Michiel Elijzen Silence - Lotto + 18
17 Paul Martens Rabobank + 23
18 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha + 24
19 Tom Boonen Quick·Step s.t.
20 Javier Aramendía Euskaltel - Euskadi + 25
21 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
22 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team s.t.
23 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
24 Marzio Bruseghin Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
25 Lars Bak Team Saxo Bank + 26
26 Peter Velits Team Milram s.t.
27 Dominik Roels Team Milram + 27
28 Lasse Bøchman Team Saxo Bank + 28
29 Danny Pate Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
30 Tomas Vaitkus Astana Cycling Team + 29
31 Markel Irizar Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
32 Fredrik Kessiakoff Fuji - Servetto s.t.
33 Alexei Markov Team Katusha s.t.
34 Thor Hushovd Cervélo Test Team s.t.
35 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
36 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
37 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 30
38 Gatis Smukulis AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
39 Dominique Rollin Cervélo Test Team s.t.
40 Ivan Rovny Team Katusha + 31
41 Florian Morizot Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
42 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream + 32
43 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux s.t.
44 Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team s.t.
45 Jimmy Engoulvent Besson Chaussures - Sojasun + 33
46 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
47 Maxime Bouet Agritubel s.t.
48 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t.
49 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank s.t.
50 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road s.t.

Very enjoyable story so far, keep it up!

Stage 2

Today’s stage was hell again. The rain never stopped and the peloton was very cautious and no one wanted to cause any crashes. A group of 5 broke away and they held a lead of 8 minutes at one point.



They were caught with over 20 kilometers to go. The sprint began and Farrar seemed too cautious to take a high place and Boonen took the win by a couple bike lengths.






Stage Results
1 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 4h25'41
2 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
3 Mirko Lorenzetto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
5 Manuele Mori Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
6 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
7 Jimmy Engoulvent Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
8 Danilo Napolitano Team Katusha s.t.
9 Martin Mortensen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
10 Sergio Marinangeli LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
11 Jimmy Casper Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
12 Robert Förster Team Milram s.t.
13 Murilo Fischer Liquigas s.t.
14 Alberto Ongarato LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
15 Christian Knees Team Milram s.t.
16 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
17 Marcus Ljungqvist Team Saxo Bank s.t.
18 Simone Ponzi Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
19 Thomas Dekker Silence - Lotto s.t.
20 Romain Matheou Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
21 Romain Feillu Agritubel s.t.
22 Björn Leukemans Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
23 Alexandre Usov Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
24 Peter Wrölich Team Milram s.t.
25 Lloyd Mondory AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
49 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.


General Classification

1 Thomas Dekker Silence - Lotto 4h36'20
2 Leif Hoste Silence - Lotto + 1
3 Markus Fothen Team Milram + 7
4 Laszló Bodrogi Team Katusha + 9
5 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto s.t.
6 Lars Boom Rabobank + 11
7 Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi + 12
8 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank s.t.
9 Sylvain Chavanel Quick·Step s.t.
10 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne + 13
11 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
12 Steve Morabito Astana Cycling Team s.t.
13 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 14
14 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha + 17
15 Stef Clement Rabobank s.t.
16 Tom Boonen Quick·Step + 18
17 Paul Martens Rabobank + 23
18 Evgeni Petrov Team Katusha + 24
19 Marzio Bruseghin Lampre - N.G.C + 25
20 Javier Aramendía Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
21 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team s.t.
22 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
23 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
24 Peter Velits Team Milram + 26
25 Lars Bak Team Saxo Bank s.t.
26 Dominik Roels Team Milram + 27
27 Lasse Bøchman Team Saxo Bank + 28
28 Óscar Freire Rabobank + 29
29 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
30 Thor Hushovd Cervélo Test Team s.t.
31 Alexei Markov Team Katusha s.t.
32 Fredrik Kessiakoff Fuji - Servetto s.t.
33 Tomas Vaitkus Astana Cycling Team s.t.
34 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
35 Dominique Rollin Cervélo Test Team + 30
36 Gatis Smukulis AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
37 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto s.t.
38 Florian Morizot Besson Chaussures - Sojasun + 31
39 Ivan Rovny Team Katusha s.t.
40 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream + 32