Tour Mediterraneen

Garmin - Slipstream
1. D.Martin
2. M.Friedman
3. R.Hesjedal
4. C.Meier
5. D.Millar
6. T.Peterson
7. D.Rollin
8. C.Sutton

Quick·Step
11. C.Barredo
12. T.Dall'Antonia
13. A.Davis
14. M.Facci
15. F.Masciarelli
16. J.Pineau
17. H.Schwab
18. A.Valverde

AG2R
21. A.Efimkin
22. J.Arrieta
23. M.Elmiger
24. B.Kadri
25. J.Loubet
26. R.Nocentini
27. T.Valjavec
28. S.Wesemann

Cinelli
31. T.Nankervis
32. D.Fleeman
33. S.Foudoulakis
34. M.Green
35. J.Hunt
36. P.Pratte

Bouygues Télécom
41. M.Sprick
42. J.Belgy
43. O.Bonnaire
44. W.Bonnet
45. P.Fédrigo
46. G.Le Floch
47. A.Pichot
48. E.Sokolov

Besson Chaussures
51. D.Champion
52. C.Edaleine
53. F.Jeandesboz
54. L.Lefèvre
55. J.Marino
56. R.Matheou
57. C.Pineau
58. A.Roux

Cofidis
61. G.Visconti
62. R.Badji
63. G.Blot
64. J.Brizou
65. J.Demaret
66. M.Hary
67. W.Nicot
68. R.Taaramäe

Differdange
71. D.Eberle
72. F.Johansson
73. G.Karelse
74. D.Pohl
75. C.Poos
76. A.Schillinger
77. T.Thill
78. R.van Aerle

Auber 93
81. M.Mahoric
82. A.Ba
83. M.Chedhomme
84. D.Le Boulch
85. J.Mazet
86. M.Mørkøv

Joker Bianchi
91. F.Wilmann
92. R.Infantino
93. A.Kunitski
94. G.Rasch
95. S.Remme
96. I.Stokstad

Team Capinordic
101. D.Kozontchuk
102. N.Aistrup
103. F.Ericsson
104. M.Høberg
105. A.Lund
106. T.Riber-Sellebjerg
107. K.Sobota
108. C.Stevenson

Roubaix
111. F.Guillou
112. P.Cazaux
113. A.Gérard
114. G.Suray
115. J.Thiré
116. F.Vachon

Bretagne - Schuller
121. S.Minard
122. S.Duret
123. J.Engoulvent
124. N.Jouanno
125. R.Lebreton
126. G.Malacarne

Club Bourgas
131. E.Panayotov
132. Y.Cauquil
133. N.Lasis
134. S.Milne
135. S.Minkov
136. L.Pagliarini

OUCH
141. T.Johnson
142. N.Saxton

Adria Mobil
151. P.Vereschak

Landbouwkrediet
161. J.Bertrand
162. V.Boucher
163. M.Drouilly
164. B.Gourgue
165. A.Van Herck

can´t wait for report

I just raced my first race ever on extreme and it went brilliantly well. Im amazed with the results.

Tour of Qatar - Garmin was very strong in this race. They dominated the opening time trial and Renshaw shined in the sprints. He took 4th on stage 2, 1st on stage 3, 6th on stage 4, 5th on stage 5, and finished 3rd overall. Maaskant finished 5th overall and 7-12 position were held by Garmin.

Etoile de Besseges - We didn't do anything here, with our highest stage placings being 11th and 12th by Sutton. Peterson came in 58th overall which was our highest overall ranking.

Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca - Trent Lowe had a great performance and came in 6th on stage 3 followed by 2nd on stage 4 and a victory on stage 5. He took the overall win ahead of Andriy Grivko and Mikel Astarloza.

very great results

extreme is too easy for you?

it was only a flat stage so i won't know if I'm any good in the Mountains.

Another doper got caught. Nico Sijmens is gonna be gone for 2 years. He'll be 34 when he returns to cycling.

After racing stage 2 I had the same great race that I had in stage 1. I checked the difficulty and sure enough, I had forgotten to turn to extreme. the most important stage I played on extreme though. Im not as good as I thought

weirdest thing happened, Stage 4 for some reason didn't save any screenshots and the exports didn't save. Really weird.

Tour Méditerranéen - Stage 1

Stage 1 is mostly flat so it shouldn't be too hard for my first race of the season. My legs felt great and I had an easy time sitting back in the peloton. I talked with a lot of guys in the peloton. After winning the Vuelta last year I've received a lot more respect from a lot of riders. Mainly Valverde who voiced his frustration with not being allowed to race in the Vuelta. There was still racing to be done and there was some early action. A few riders had broken away and picked up a lot of time.



Thanks to the work of many teams, whey were reeled in with less than 20 kilometers to go. I talked with Sutton before the race and he told me that he thought he could win today. He looked strong and caught a train that was way ahead of most sprinters.



The train was set up for Allan Davis but Elmiger caught his wheel and Sutton had caught Elmiger's wheel. It came down to who was more powerful, Sutton or Elmiger. Unfortunately Elmiger was the better sprinter and Sutton could only manage to take second.



A good stage for Sutton and for me. A chance to loosen out the legs before the real test comes on stage 3.


Stage
1 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale 2h56'48
2 Christopher Sutton Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
3 Allan Davis Quick·Step s.t.
4 Morten Høberg Team Capinordic s.t.
5 Jimmy Engoulvent Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
6 Florian Vachon Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
7 Jeremy Hunt Cinelli - Down Under s.t.
8 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
9 Carlos Barredo Quick·Step s.t.
10 Gaël Malacarne Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
11 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
12 Anders Lund Team Capinordic s.t.
13 Shawn Milne Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
14 Alejandro Valverde Quick·Step s.t.
15 Sébastien Minard Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
16 Hubert Schwab Quick·Step s.t.
17 Pierre Cazaux Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
18 Andreas Schillinger Differdange s.t.
19 Guillaume Blot Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
20 Alexandre Pichot Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
21 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
22 Nicolas Jouanno Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
23 Normunds Lasis Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
24 Matt Green Cinelli - Down Under s.t.
25 Christofer Stevenson Team Capinordic s.t.
26 Julien Belgy Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
27 Rafael Abreu Infantino Joker Bianchi s.t.
28 Luciano Pagliarini Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
29 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
30 Rafaël Badji Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
31 Tiziano Dall'Antonia Quick·Step s.t.
32 Jérôme Pineau Quick·Step s.t.
33 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
34 Thomas Riber-Sellebjerg Team Capinordic s.t.
35 Florian Guillou Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
36 Jonathan Thiré Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
37 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
38 Kristian Sobota Team Capinordic s.t.
39 Julien Loubet AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
40 Sébastien Duret Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
42 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.

So which GT you going to win this year?

depends on the start lists. Seeing as though im playing on extreme probably neither.

Go for the Giro I say! the competition isn't too crazy and the mountains are steep as hell

yeah, I will go to the Giro and the Vuelta and skip the Tour. That way I can get some different races I haven't raced yet. If the field is weak I have a chance. But I need to improve in time trialing and in climbing. Im not even a top climber because a lot of riders have mountain stats at 81 or 82.

what are your stats now? it seems like your timetrialing is getting better

Its actually still only 74. Im the one who is getting better at time trialing. I'm hoping I get his tt up to 76 soon.

Tour Méditerranéen - Stage 2

Today's profile is similar to yesterday's stage. Matter a fact, everything felt like yesterdays stage. There were a couple of small climbs. It was a great chance to see how my legs felt on the climbs. I felt a little rusty but looking at Valverde's face up
the climbs I knew I couldn't show anything because he looked like he was relaxing on the beach. Today's breakaway group was much larger, meaning it would be much harder to bring them back.



Only a few teams did the chasing but they were still caught a little way from the finish. Just like last stage Sutton found a train ahead of the peloton but this time Elmiger is on Sutton's wheel.



Will Sutton take the win from Elmiger this time? No Elmiger does it again and beats out Sutton, who takes another second place.




Stage
1 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale 3h12'49
2 Christopher Sutton Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
3 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
4 Florian Vachon Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
5 Alejandro Valverde Quick•Step s.t.
6 Allan Davis Quick•Step s.t.
7 Carlos Barredo Quick•Step s.t.
8 Andreas Schillinger Differdange s.t.
9 Jérôme Pineau Quick•Step s.t.
10 Jimmy Engoulvent Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
11 Shawn Milne Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
12 Morten Høberg Team Capinordic s.t.
13 Anders Lund Team Capinordic s.t.
14 Alexandre Pichot Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
15 Arnaud Gérard Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
16 Gil Suray Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
17 Gabriel Rasch Joker Bianchi s.t.
18 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
19 Jeremy Hunt Cinelli - Down Under s.t.
20 Giovanni Visconti Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
21 Tiziano Dall'Antonia Quick•Step s.t.
22 Hubert Schwab Quick•Step s.t.
23 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
24 Sébastien Minard Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
25 Luciano Pagliarini Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
26 Romain Matheou Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
27 Mauro Facci Quick•Step s.t.
28 Sébastien Duret Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
29 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
30 Guillaume Blot Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
31 Gaël Malacarne Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
32 Mitja Mahoric Auber 93 s.t.
33 Andrei Kunitski Joker Bianchi s.t.
34 Jonathan Bertrand Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
35 Alexander Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
36 Dimitri Le Boulch Auber 93 s.t.
37 Pierre Cazaux Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
38 Jean-Eudes Demaret Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
39 Romain Lebreton Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
40 Kristian Sobota Team Capinordic s.t.
44 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.

Tour Méditerranéen - Stage 3

Last year on this stage, I forged ahead and won my first stage of the season. Will it be the same this year? My biggest competition comes from Quick-Step. They really brought a strong team here, bringing Valverde and Barredo. We countered by bringing Hesjedal and me. There was a small breakaway group that had no chance of making it on this important stage.



I sat back in the peloton because Quick Step decided they would control the peloton and bring back the breakaway.



On the 2nd to last climb, Valverde attacked. Barredo was still in the peloton so I had to decide whether to stay or go. I decided to go and tried to chase down Valverde.



But I waited too long and Valverde had a gap. Hesjedal bridged the gap and he got me closer to Valverde. At one point we were only 20 seconds behind him. If I could bridge the gap then I would have a great shot at winning. With less than 5 kilometers to go, had I caught up to Valverde?



No. He pushed his lead even farther. Past a minute and it was still growing. He forged ahead and took the win and the leaders jersey.



The finish line was in sight and it looked like I would finish 5th, right behind Hesjedal, but Barredo came out of no where and finished ahead of us. I was to tired to sprint past Hesjedal and took my disappointing 6th place.



I'm not happy with my performance. I had a lot of help from Hesjedal and I still could perform well. Not only did I disappoint myself but I disappointed my team. But there's no time to dwell on past mistakes so I will just have to keep looking forward and be happy with taking my U25 jersey.


Stage
1 Alejandro Valverde Quick•Step 2h45'00
2 Tadej Valjavec AG2R La Mondiale + 1'19
3 Dimitry Kozontchuk Team Capinordic + 2'07
4 Carlos Barredo Quick•Step s.t.
5 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
6 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
7 Alexander Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
8 Julien Mazet Auber 93 + 2'34
9 Laurent Lefèvre Besson Chaussures - Sojasun + 2'49
10 Giovanni Visconti Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
11 Andreas Schillinger Differdange s.t.
12 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
13 Dominik Eberle Differdange s.t.
14 Tommy Nankervis Cinelli - Down Under s.t.
15 Dimitri Champion Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
16 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
17 Hubert Schwab Quick•Step s.t.
18 Julien Loubet AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
19 Francesco Masciarelli Quick•Step s.t.
20 Mathieu Sprick Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
21 Tiziano Dall'Antonia Quick•Step s.t.
22 Andrei Kunitski Joker Bianchi s.t.
23 Daniel Fleeman Cinelli - Down Under s.t.
24 Jérôme Pineau Quick•Step s.t.
25 Olivier Bonnaire Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
26 Thomas Peterson Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
27 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
28 Mitja Mahoric Auber 93 s.t.
29 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
30 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale s.t.



GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Quick•Step 8h54'17
2 Tadej Valjavec AG2R La Mondiale + 1'27
3 Dimitry Kozontchuk Team Capinordic + 2'19
4 Carlos Barredo Quick•Step + 2'27
5 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
6 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
7 Alexander Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
8 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale + 2'29
9 Christopher Sutton Garmin - Slipstream + 2'45
10 Julien Mazet Auber 93 + 2'54
11 Allan Davis Quick•Step + 3'01
12 Andreas Schillinger Differdange + 3'09
13 Florian Vachon Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
14 Hubert Schwab Quick•Step s.t.
15 Morten Høberg Team Capinordic s.t.
16 Jérôme Pineau Quick•Step s.t.
17 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
18 Sébastien Minard Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
19 Tiziano Dall'Antonia Quick•Step s.t.
20 Pierrick Fédrigo Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
21 Giovanni Visconti Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
22 Anders Lund Team Capinordic s.t.
23 Alexandre Pichot Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
24 Pierre Cazaux Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
25 Gaël Malacarne Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
26 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
27 Andrei Kunitski Joker Bianchi s.t.
28 Julien Loubet AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
29 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
30 Sébastien Duret Bretagne - Schuller s.t.

As stated earlier, I couldn't get anything to save from stage 4.

Tour Méditerranéen - Stage 4

All the people with cameras crashed so there were no pics today. It was a fairly relaxed stage. Sutton picked the wrong train and fell to far back to contend for the stage. Barredo took the stage win and Elmiger jumped over me in the overall classification.