Once I get done with school in a couple weeks I will be able to race quicker than I'm going now. Volta a Portugal coming tomorrow.

Same situation as me. Once school is over (or atleast exams are done) I will have many more reports.

Stage 1



The race starts with a bang, as stage 1 will show who is here to win it. The stage is hilly with one major climb in it. I'm not sure how my legs will hold up so anything can happen. I don't expect to win it but I hope to at least stay near the front. The scenery was beautiful, and for the first half of the race I was able to enjoy it. McAree, however, was sent with the breakaway hoping to get the young trainee some race experience.



Unfortunately the entire group was reunited and McAree was too tired to go with the next group, so instead we sent Hita with them. This break was more successful and built a 6 minute lead.



Hita decided that he felt strong enough to go for the KOM so on both KOM sprints he jumped to the front, taking 1st place and locked in the KOM Jersey for at least 2 days.



With the first hill in the background, some of the favorites began attacking, with Moreno leading the attacks.



I couldn't let my biggest competition ride away so I attacked. The terrain was not suited for Hesjedal so I told him to stay with the peloton, he will be needed for later stages.



Eventually, I caught Hita, who had tried to go solo but instead was caught and dropped.



A group of the favorites along with some of the breakaway riders formed at the front to form one large lead group.



We all stayed together at the end, and surprisingly, it was one of the riders from the breakaway who won the stage. Clemens Frankhauser took the victory for the breakaway. I finished near the back in 12th place. The peloton came in 57 seconds behind us.




Stage Results
1 Clemens Frankhauser Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo 4h38'51
2 Javier Moreno Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
3 Ben Hermans Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
4 José Alberto Benítez Xacobeo - Galicia s.t.
5 Enrico Zen LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
6 Jonathan Hivert Skil - Shimano s.t.
7 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
8 Alessandro Bisolti Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
9 Jurgen Van Goolen Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
10 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
11 John Devine Rock Racing s.t.
12 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
13 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
14 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira s.t.
15 Steve Morabito Liberty Seguros + 57
16 Tom Stubbe Silence - Lotto s.t.
17 Tom Criel Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
18 Diego Milán Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
19 Kenny Van Hummel Skil - Shimano s.t.
20 Jonathan Bertrand Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
21 David García Dapena Contentpolis - Ampo s.t.
22 Cristiano Benenati Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
23 Rodrigo García Skil - Shimano s.t.
24 Yoann Offredo Agritubel s.t.
25 Enrico Rossi Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
26 Olivier Kaisen Verandas Willems s.t.
27 Francesco Failli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
28 Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
29 Stijn Vandenbergh Verandas Willems s.t.
30 Huub Duyn Skil - Shimano s.t.
31 Massimiliano Maisto Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
32 Stefano Garzelli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
33 Iban Mayoz Xacobeo - Galicia s.t.
34 Theo Eltink Skil - Shimano s.t.
35 Steve Houanard Skil - Shimano s.t.
36 Stefan Van Dijk Verandas Willems s.t.
37 Cristiano Fumagalli Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
38 Mauro Santambrogio CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
39 �ngel Vallejo Domínguez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
40 Diego Nosotti CSF Group - Navigare s.t.

Nice, Dan Martin racing in Portugal.

Stage 2

Today is the first of the 3 flat stages in the race. Our plan will be to set either Dodds or Bellis up for the sprint. Dodds is the better sprinter but Bellis is on better form, so we will have to wait and see. I was happy to have a chance to rest my legs after yesterdays tough stage. It's really difficult to get back on racing form but I need to be ready for the Vuelta. A group of 7 riders tried to breakaway early in the stage, building a gap of 5 minutes with 70km to go.



But thanks to the work of a few teams, the break was kept in check, and when we began to approach the finish, the sprinters' teams easily reeled in the break.



We set up a train for Dodds that went like this: Close, followed by me, followed by Bellis, with Dodds in the back. Unfortunately Dodds couldn't catch the wheel of Bellis and he fell back. This meant we were leading out Bellis, and our train would most likely fall short.



Fortunately though, Close was able to take a long turn at the front and this allowed me to set Bellis up for the sprint. But he was still forced to start earlier than everyone else. It would be almost impossible for him to finish well.



But somehow, the British Champion managed to hold on to 3rd place despite sprinting from 2km out. Van Hummel was the strongest today and he finished in front of Santambrogio.




Stage Results
1 Kenny Van Hummel Skil - Shimano 4h17'07
2 Mauro Santambrogio CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
3 Jonathan Bellis Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
4 Cristiano Fumagalli Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
5 Manuel Cardoso Liberty Seguros s.t.
6 Diego Milán Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
7 Francesco Failli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
8 Stefan Van Dijk Verandas Willems s.t.
9 Javier Moreno Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
10 Samuel Caldeira Palmeiras Resort / Tavira s.t.
11 Kim Nielsen Team Designa Køkken s.t.
12 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira s.t.
13 Jonas Vangenechten Silence - Lotto s.t.
14 Alberto Ongarato LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
15 Enrico Rossi Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
16 Roberto Ferrari LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
17 Mikel Gaztañaga Contentpolis - Ampo s.t.
18 Lasse Bøchman Team Designa Køkken s.t.
19 Campbell Dodds Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
20 Clemens Frankhauser Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
21 Claudio Cucinotta Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
22 Justin Van Hoecke Verandas Willems s.t.
23 Bernardo Riccio Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
24 Graeme Brown Silence - Lotto s.t.
25 Vladimir Isaychev Team Designa Køkken s.t.
40 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.

Stage 3



Today is the first Mountain stage of the race but the finish is downhill so we will see how I hold up. Just like in stage 1 we tried to get McAree in the break for some experience.



And just like stage 1, the group was caught, and a new group tried to get away. This time however we decided to stay out of the break. 70km into the race and the brekaway's lead was staying around 3 minutes.



We decided to sit back and let other teams do the chasing. Because of this, I was able to sit back and look at the beautiful scenery.



Surprisingly, no one in the peloton wanted to chase, therefore the breakaways lead continued to grow. As we reached the bottom of the climb, their lead was up to 13 minutes. At the bottom of the climb, we sent Wegelius to the front to limit the breaks time and to also put the pressure on other riders.



Eventually, I decided that I needed to test my legs, so I attacked bringing Hesjedal with me. Hesjedal looked over, and although no words came out of his mouth, I knew he was going to take me up the moutain.



And he did. He led the group of 4 up the mountains, taking a lot of the workload off of me.



Unfortunately, he was dropped just before we reached the summit of the climb.



On the downhill, the yellow jersey was desperately trying to chase us down. Although he knew he would lose the jersey to the breakaway, he wanted to avoid losing time to the other favorites.



He never did catch up, but Moreno did. Not only did he catch our group, but he showed off his top form and left us behind.



Up front, Enrico Rossi beat Stefano Garzelli for the victory. The rest of the break finished 3 minutes behind and the first favorite finished 6 minutes back.



Meanwhile, I was in a lot of pain and could no longer keep up. I was dropped and forced to finish the race alone.



I managed to finish in 20th place, getting passed by Hivert just meters from the finish line. I can't be disappointing since my form is not great.




Stage Results
1 Enrico Rossi Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce 4h53'41
2 Stefano Garzelli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
3 Juan Mourón Contentpolis - Ampo + 3'04
4 Patrice Halgand Agritubel s.t.
5 Javier Ramírez Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
6 Jeroen Heyvaert Verandas Willems s.t.
7 Adrián Palomares Contentpolis - Ampo s.t.
8 Glenn Bak Team Designa Køkken s.t.
9 Juan José Oroz Xacobeo - Galicia s.t.
10 Imanol Erviti Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
11 Staf Scheirlinckx Silence - Lotto s.t.
12 Jonathan Bertrand Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 3'52
13 Samuel Caldeira Palmeiras Resort / Tavira s.t.
14 Marco Corsini LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 5'52
15 Javier Moreno Andalucía Cajasur + 6'24
16 José Alberto Benítez Xacobeo - Galicia + 7'14
17 Lasse Bøchman Team Designa Køkken s.t.
18 Jurgen Van Goolen Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
19 Jonathan Hivert Skil - Shimano s.t.
20 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
21 Clemens Frankhauser Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo + 8'23
22 Alessandro Bisolti Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
23 Steve Morabito Liberty Seguros s.t.
24 Enrico Zen LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
25 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
26 Rodrigo García Skil - Shimano + 9'26
27 Pieter Jacobs Silence - Lotto s.t.
28 Ben Hermans Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
29 Iban Mayoz Xacobeo - Galicia s.t.
30 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
31 Héctor Guerra Xacobeo - Galicia s.t.
32 Mauro Santambrogio CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
33 Francesco Failli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
34 Yoann Offredo Agritubel s.t.
35 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
36 Aitor Pérez Arrieta Contentpolis - Ampo s.t.
37 Diego Milán Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
38 Olivier Kaisen Verandas Willems s.t.
39 Rubén Lobato Elvira Rock Racing s.t.
40 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.



GC
1 Enrico Rossi Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce 13h50'08
2 Stefano Garzelli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo + 16
3 Juan Mourón Contentpolis - Ampo + 3'20
4 Juan José Oroz Xacobeo - Galicia + 3'26
5 Adrián Palomares Contentpolis - Ampo + 3'30
6 Patrice Halgand Agritubel s.t.
7 Glenn Bak Team Designa Køkken + 3'32
8 Staf Scheirlinckx Silence - Lotto s.t.
9 Jeroen Heyvaert Verandas Willems s.t.
10 Imanol Erviti Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
11 Jonathan Bertrand Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 4'10
12 Samuel Caldeira Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 4'20
13 Javier Moreno Andalucía Cajasur + 5'43
14 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream + 6'45
15 Jonathan Hivert Skil - Shimano s.t.
16 Jurgen Van Goolen Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
17 José Alberto Benítez Xacobeo - Galicia s.t.
18 Clemens Frankhauser Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo + 7'34
19 Lasse Bøchman Team Designa Køkken + 7'42
20 Enrico Zen LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 7'54
21 Alessandro Bisolti Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
22 Ben Hermans Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 8'49
23 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 8'51
24 Steve Morabito Liberty Seguros s.t.
25 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
26 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 8'57
27 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
28 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur s.t.
29 John Devine Rock Racing s.t.
30 Mauro Santambrogio CSF Group - Navigare + 9'42
31 Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 9'48
32 Steve Houanard Skil - Shimano + 9'50
33 Diego Milán Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo + 9'54
34 Francesco Failli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
35 Cristiano Fumagalli Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
36 David García Dapena Contentpolis - Ampo s.t.
37 Olivier Kaisen Verandas Willems s.t.
38 Manuel Cardoso Liberty Seguros s.t.
39 Huub Duyn Skil - Shimano s.t.
40 Yoann Offredo Agritubel s.t.

Nice result, you will be in shape to win another vuelta

Stage 4



After the race I was upset at myself for letting down my team. They spent the whole race setting things up for me, only to screw it up at the end. Hopefully I will make up for it today. This is the toughest stage yet and will cause a lot of riders problems. Trying to make it 3 out 4 stages that the breakaway wins, a group of 3 riders formed a leading group with a lead around 4 minutes.



Eventually they were joined by 7 other riders, forming a 10 man lead group. Most of the teams resisted sending anyone to the front, including the team holding the yellow jersey, Ceramica Flaminia. We were determined not to let this happen and had McAree and Hita doing strong turns at the front. At the bottom of the climb, there gap was down to a reasonable 2 minutes. A few of riders had attacked on the 3rd to last climb but since none of them were favorites I stayed back. On the 2nd to last climb, I decided to attack along with Hesjedal and Devine of Rock Racing.



However, after doing all the work yesterday, Hesjedal could not keep up and fell back to the peloton. I can't really blame him.



Today, I was all by myself, but that wouldn't stop me. As we approached the climb Zen, probably my biggest competition, was still chasing behind me and I bet he got some chills looking at the steep climb.



I passed group after group until there was only one rider in front of me, Aitor Perez Arrieta.



I didn't think I had enough juice in my legs to catch him, but I still pushed up the mountains hoping to catch him. With 5km to go I was right on his tail.



However, so was Moreno. He was now only 50 seconds behind me. I would have to work extra hard to hold him off.



As I went under the 1km to go banner, I knew that Moreno was close but how close was he?



Out of fear, I was unable to look back, but as I was .3km from the finish he still had not caught me. As I turned the corner, out of the corner of my eye I saw Moreno.



He was too far, I was going to get my first victory of the race and redeem myself after yesterdays embarrassment.



I wasn't good enough to put the yellow jersey on but I did move into 4th. As Rossi crossed the finish line, he realized he had lost the jersey.



One of the Garmin guys from Cali sent me this.




Stage Results



GC

Just wondering but what are Hesjedal's stats?

Nice SS

Thank you Matt.

Great win!

I was only at 80 fitness so it was a shock for me. My plan was going to work to get Hesjedal the win but when he wasn't strong enough everything changed.

Tour de Pologne

Stage 1- A TTT that was won by a Larsson led ISD team. We managed to take 2nd finishing only 4 seconds back.

Stage 2- Nikolai Trussov beat Farrar in the sprint finish but Farrar puts on the leaders jersey. A great job by Farrar as he prepares for the Vuelta.

Stage 3- Mats Boeve wins the stage after a long breakaway but Trussov wins the bunch sprint taking 2nd place. Farrar managed 4th place.

Stage 4- Farrar takes back the jersey with a big stage win beating out Reimer, Trussov, Weytland, and a few other top sprinters. He looks to be in great form for the Vuelta.

Stage 5- The first hilly stage and the jersey goes to Dekker, who out sprinted the two other riders in the leading group, Meersman and Scarponi. Dekker is hoping to prepare himself for the World Championships.

Stage 6- Joaquim Rodriguez wins the stage in front of Rui Costa and Scarponi, but Dekker finishes 4th, only 37 seconds behind, still holding onto his jersey by about a minute.

Stage 7- Kim Kirchen survives from the break and gets the win ahead of Grabovskyy. Trussov wins the sprint for 3rd, while Farrar settles for 4th.

Overall GC
1.Dekker
2.Costa
3.Scarponi

Points
1.Farrar
2.Trussov
3.Roelandts

Lowe also did well finishing in 10th place overall.

National Team Pre-Selection
I got a letter from the manager of the national team. Enclosed was the names of the pre-selections of the TT and RR team.

Time Trial
Daniel Martin - Garmin-Slipstream
Sammy Close - Garmin-Slipstream

Road Race
Daniel Martin - Garmin-Slipstream
Nicholas Roche - AG2R
Sammy Close - Garmin-Slipstream

Since the race will be held in Ireland, I'm going to make sure I'm in top shape and ready to do well if I get selected.

Great story man!!
Would you mind to post the save-game?

well, you gotta win the worlds in your home country.

It'll be pretty hard, if not impossible but I'll try.

I finished up to stage 7. Hopefully I can get those done before I go to lunch.

Nice win!