sutty68 wrote:
Wow, this guy is unstoppable at the moment
Oh and congratulations on reaching 50 pages
More than 1000 replies now! Thanks sutty!
As the year advances, the preparations for the next season also progress. The new calendar was published by the UCI the day after the finish of the Tour de Suisse. The Tour de France returns to the calendar after one year absent and will be accompanied by the Vuelta a España. Interms of the monuments, we will have the Milano - Sanremo, the Ronde and Liege, but it has been suggested by the UCI that from 2015 on all the monuments will be present in the calendars.
Another point of interest is the clash between Paris - Nice and Tirreno - Adriatico. They have been moved slightly to allow some riders to race both of them. The teams will not be big enough yet next year to accomodate two big races at the same time, as the teams will only be allowed to have 11 riders.
The Tour de Pologne has been downgraded to HC category this year, but will attract a good field of riders anyway. The route is a bit hillier this year, as the tipical stages around the area of Zakopane will not be the only hills in the race. The first stage in Jelenia Gora can also play a good role in determining the overall winner, as there will be a climb raced 4 times that has the potential to open some gaps.
The race in Poland is usually very open, as there are no stages that can open big gaps in the GC. Therefore, even the sprinters that can go through the hills have a chance of a good result, as shown by the second overall place of Sacha Modolo last year. The defending champion, Davide Rebellin, is again one of the riders that have a good chance of taking the overall win. The kind of riders that have the biggest option are the puncheurs, as they need to be able to open gaps in the short climbs in the southern parts of Poland
Favorites:
- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Belisol): The World Champion has been disappeared from the top positions of the races since he won the Paris - Roubaix back in May. However, that is mainly because he skipped the Giro d'Italia to concentrate in his other targets of the year. He will starting the preparation to defend his World Championship in a race that should fit him very well.
- Simon Gerrans (Team Radioshack - Nissan): Gerrans is also starting his preparation for other objectives in Poland, but the lack of important results is weighing on the Australian. Frank Schleck has completely overshadowed Gerrans in the team and he could be stripped of the dual leadership that they enjoy in the team. Poland should fit him well and he should perform even when he is not in top shape.
- Rinaldo Nocentini (Katusha Team): Katusha is in dire need of results, as they sit in the 15th place in the World Tour classification so far. As their leader, Nocentini is starting to feel the pressure of getting good results for the team. He has prepared well for Poland, so maybe that can give him an edge over other riders that are farther away from their peaks of form.
- Davide Rebellin (Movistar Team): Rebellin has only raced the Giro d'Italia since he won the Vuelta al Pais Vasco earlier this year and he only went there to support Steven Kruijswijk. He comes back as leader of the team to a race that suits him perfectly and where he is the defending champion. However, Rebellin is another rider that has his mind in the World Championship in Firenze where he will be the likely leader of the local team.
Other notable riders that will also have chances of winning will be Joost van Leijen[/b] (Rabobank), David Lopez (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Andy Schleck (HTC - Highroad), Janez Brajkovic (Discovery Channel), Dries Devenyns and Tony Gallopin (Omega Pharma - Quickstep).
Among the sprinters that will be in top shape for Poland will be Sacha Modolo (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Tyler Farrar (Saxo Bank - Tinkoff), Marcel Kittel (Discovery Channel), Ben Swift (Sky Procycling), Tony Gallopin (Omega Pharma - Quickstep) and Jose Joaquin Rojas (HTC - Highroad).
The Tour de Pologne presents a brand new first stage this year in the surroundings of Jelenia Gora. There is a circuit that the riders will have to complete 4.5 times, climbing 4 times to Karpacz. The climb is probably the hardest in the whole race, so there is an outside chance of some attacks succeeding in the last lap of the stage.
5 riders formed the break of the day: Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto), Wout Poels (Rabobank), Johan van Summeren (Quickstep), Stefano Garzelli (Lampre) and Michael Rogers (Saxo Bank). 100 kilometers to the finish line, as they reach the top of the climb for the second time, they have a nice 6' 40'' gap on the main bunch. Meanwhile, Radioshack has taken the responsibility to set a pace in the main group. They have Frank Schleck and Simon Gerrans, so plenty of options to choose from in the end of the stage.
The gap of the break is still 3' 20'' as the bunch starts climbing to Karpacz for the last time. They have a very good chance of taking the stage win today. Meanwhile, Radioshack and Vacansoleil are the teams more interested in chasing. An earlier attempt of a break including Leipheimer and Barredo was quickly brought back by the bunch.
Frank Schleck was the first rider to try to break the bunch, but a lot of riders are still feeling well and responded to the attack. This meant that a moment of indecision happened in the last kilometer of the climb. In the end, everyone was brought back and they didn't even cut the lead of the break. At the front, the group of 5 lost one unit, as Michael Rogers lost contact in the final meters of the last climb and doesn't seem able to get back to the group.
The 4 riders in the front reach the final 10 kilometers with a wide enough gap not to worry too much about the main group. In the group, Davide Rebellin took advantage of the last small hill to attack and open a small gap. However, the gap with the leaders is still 2' 40''. In fact, the gap is so big considering the rest of the stages in Poland that they might be a worry in the GC.
Johan van Summeren opened a gap as the front group started sprinting and looks like he will easily get the stage win. With 1 kilometer to go the other three are fairly matched, as Garzelli leads Poels and Van den Broeck. The Belgian from Quickstep was the main favorite to get the win in this group and he is going to make the predictions good.
Johan van Summeren wins in Jelenia Gora! The Belgian claimed the stage win but in the end it was very close with Wout Poels. Van Summeren seemed to run out of gas in the final uphill 500 meters and was almost overtaken by the Dutch. Stefano Garzelli took the third spot in the stage. This is the third win of the year for Van Summeren, who will wear the yellow on the bonus seconds, 7 seconds ahead of Poels and Garzelli.
Davide Rebellin maintained the gap over the bunch and finished 2' 16'' behind the stage winner. Behind him, Mikel Nieve was awarded the same time of the bunch even though he seemed to have opened a big enough gap. They all were 2' 40'' behind Van Summeren.
The gap that today's break has achieved could be worrying for the favorites in the GC. There are only 2 more hilly stages were a gap can be open, but Van Summeren is one of those riders widely expected to be able to hold on with the best, especially if his team is willing to work for him. This gap should allow for some more aggressive riding by the riders that have to regain time and we will probably see a more interesting Tour de Pologne as a result.
The flat stages of the Tour de Pologne start with a marathon between Walbrzych and Opole. The stage has almost 240 kilometers today but rather few difficulties on the way. The hilliest part of the stage is the beginning, which should serve to form a breakaway. However, once half the stage is completed the flat dominates the terrain. A mass sprint is the way to go today.
Even though they had few chances of making it to the finish 11 riders formed the break of the day. The group included riders like Michael Albasini (Radioshack), Yoann Offredo (Ag2r), Vincenzo Nibali (Lampre), Geraint Thomas (BMC), Nick Nuyens (Liquigas) and Sebastian Langeveld (Vacansoleil). 109 kilometers from the finish line they had a gap of 9 minutes on a bunch where HTC, Discovery and Saxo Bank were already chasing.
The break was reeled back in as expect with 18 kilometers to go. This gave enough time to the teams of the sprinters to prepare their trains properly. However, not everything was easy on the chase. There was quite a bit of wind in the Polish plains and the bunch was very stretched at some points. No break opened but a few riders had a tough time hanging there.
Sky formed the best train by far as Gregory Rast led Ben Swift. The Swiss had a lot of energies left and he almost opened a gap behind the train, completed by Jose Joaquin Rojas and Daniele Bennati. Behind them, Peter Sagan and Alexandre Vinokourov are also trying to follow Sky's train.
Jose Joaquin Rojas takes the lead of the sprint ahead of Daniele Bennati as the riders enter the last kilometer of the stage. However, they have to be careful as Peter Sagan is progressing from the back of the sprint train. The fourth place now is for Ben Swift, who doesn't look able to complete the great work that Rast did for him.
Jose Joaquin Rojas wins in Opole! The Spaniard is maybe the best rider when it comes to sprints after long stages and he showed it again. Bennati was really close but in the end he couldn't overtake Rojas and will settle for the second place. Peter Sagan was third.
The biggest disappointment in the sprint was Ben Swift, who was even overtaken by his leadout man Gregory Rast and finished sixth. The work of the Swiss had left him in the best position but he simply lacked the energy to progress. Apart from the sprint the day was really uneventful as the favorites wait for the hills later in the race.
Another mainly flat stage but with a potentially more interesting finish. The two climbs to Kubalonka will be more than 50 kilometers away from the finish line, so the stage should be decided in the difficult final circuit of Cieszyn. This final part of the race has four climbs to a small hill and also crosses to the Czech part of the frontier.
The group of 4 riders that got away today was composed of Geraint Thomas (BMC), Lars Bak (Liquigas), Maarten Tjallingii (Ag2r) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin). They had 8' 30'' on the main bunch halfway through the stage, in the sprint of Skoczow. Quickstep was starting to be concerned of the gap and had started chasing already.
No attacks happened in the climbs to Kubalonka apart from a brief intent by Andy Schleck. Therefore, the fight was left for the final circuit in Cieszyn. Ramunas Navardauskas tried a late attack to let the break live a little longer, but he was finally caught in the last categorized climb, 18 kilometers from the finish line..
The last climb to the hill in the circuit had its top at 4 kilometers from the finish line. Heinrich Haussler did a good climb putting Marcel Kittel in good position while Jurgen Roelandts was following the German's wheel. In Saxo Bank it was Matthew Goss leading Tyler Farrar and Viviani was ahead of Hutarovich for Lampre.
Marcel Kittel leads the way as the sprint enters the last kilometer of the race ahead of Jurgen Roelandts, Jose Joaquin Rojas and Ben Swift. However, the last kilometer is uphill so that could play in the hands of Rojas, who is supposedly a much better uphill finisher.
Marcel Kittel wins in Cieszyn! The German held off the charge from Jose Joaquin Rojas, who finished second behind him. Rojas was very strong in the last meters but couldn't get back to back victories. Ben Swift, Joost van Leijen and Daniele Bennati completed the top 5 of the stage.
Rojas has progressed a lot in terms of getting the points jersey in the Tour de Pologne, as he now leads Van Summeren by 16 points. More importantly, he has another chance to increase his count tomorrow in Katowice. Meanwhile, Kittel stormed the top 10 with the help of the bonus seconds in the finish line.
The fourth stage is an easy one, and 90% probable to end in an easy one. The less than 130 kilometers between Bedzin and Katowice should allow many riders to save some energy for the next two decisive stages.
The break today was a huge with 14 riders, including Michael Albasini (Radioshack), Filippo Pozzato (Astana), Lars Boom (Saxo Bank), Greg van Avermaet (Vacansoleil), Grega Bole (Movistar) and Laurens Ten Dam (Liquigas). At the second intermediate sprint in Siemianowice Slaskie (68 kilometers to go) they had a good 4 minutes on the bunch. Such a big group makes the chances for the break quite bigger that the previous estimates.
The break survived much more than was expected today and 5 riders tried a late attack within the last 9 kilometers. Greg van Avermaet, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Bradley Wiggins were the ones putting the biggest effort for the break to continue, but now the peloton was only 30 seconds behind.
The bunch finally swallowed the rest of the riders ahead and was preparing the final sprint in the last 4 kilometers. However, only one sprint train had emerged at that point. Lotto had Rigoberto Uran leading Jurgen Roelandts with Joost van Leijen and Peter Sagan right behind. The bad news were for Radioshack, as Frank Schleck crashed and seems like he is going to lose some time.
Joost van Leijen was leading the way in the sprint as they enter the last kilometer of the stage. However, this is a very close sprint and Ben Swift, Jose Joaquin Rojas and Kenny van Hummel are close behind. It looks like the Lotto train didn't make Roelandts much good and he is dropping like a stone.
Ben Swift wins in Katowice! The British takes revenge for his poor sprinting of two days ago and bags his second win of the season after the one he got in the Tirreno - Adriatico. Marcel Kittel and Sacha Modolo won quite a lot of places in the last meters of the sprint to take the second and third. At one point it looked like yesterday's winner would be able to take another win. Rojas and Van Leijen completed the top 5 for the stage.
Nothing remarkable happened in the GC, but Tejay van Garderen also suffered a crash within the last kilometer that made him lose almost 2 minutes in the finish line. In the points competition Rojas now faces Kittel and Swift, who are 10 points behind. However, none of them will get much points in the next two days.
The stage in Zakopane is a tradition in the Tour de Pologne. It will not be only a circuit this year, but the riders will come from the north before completing 2.5 laps to the circuit they already know from last year. The climbs are not hard at all, but with the last one less than 3 kilometers from the finish line there is always a chance for the riders to take a handful of seconds at the finish line.
There was barely any fight to take the break of the day today, as 5 riders easily opened a gap in the first kilometers of the stage: Geraint Thomas (BMC), Jose Rujano (Liquigas), Julien Simon (Ag2r), Mathias Frank (Garmin) and Pablo Lastras (Sky). They managed to open a huge gap of 7' 10'' on the bunch as they crossed the finish line for the first time (85 kilometers to go).
The bunch looked like they misjudged the distance of the break and were still losing 3' 45'' at the top of the penultimate climb of the day. With 25 kilometers remaining, most of them of descent they will have to focus on reducing the gap of Julien Simon and Mathias Frank, as both are dangerous in the GC. The two of them left behind their fellows in the break and are approaching fast to the final climb towards Zakopane.
Mathias Frank and Julien Simon are still together as they are halfway through the climb to Zakopane (5 kilometers to go). They are 40 seconds ahead of Pablo Lastras and 2' 10'' ahead of the main bunch, so they could well fight for the stage win themselves. It looks like the main favorites have been very conservative today and are leaving all the battle for tomorrow.
Jose Joaquin Rojas was the first to open the attacks in the main group, probably looking for some points in the finish line in order to extend his lead over the other sprinters. He was swiftly followed by Jurgen van den Broeck, David Lopez, Janez Brajkovic and Johan van Summeren. It is remarkable how the leader answered to the attack, easier than many of the most reputable hills riders. As they reached the top of the last hill they had cut the gap to the race leaders to 1 minute.
Julien Simon enters the last kilometer ahead of Mathias Frank. However, Janez Brajkovic and Johan van Summeren are threatening a stage win that seemed assured for the two guys in front. Their loss is only 10 seconds and they have managed to open a gap of about 30 seconds to the rest of the favorites.
Johan van Summeren wins in Zakopane! Tremendous last kilometer by the Belgian, who overtook the two riders from the break and gets his second win in Poland. There were some doubts on whether he would lose time today but he managed to open the gaps to everyone in the GC. He is now the massive favorite for the win in the Tour de Pologne. Janez Brajkovic, Julien Simon and Mathias Frank all were awarded the same time.
The second group was 30 seconds behind and was led by Peter Sagan ahead of Rojas. The seventh place in the stage was for a surprising Jurgen van den Broeck, which allows him to be a solid second in the GC. The main group was 1' 19'' behind Van Summeren and that effectively reduces the chances of most of those riders for the final win to 0.
Stage 6: BukovinaTerma Hotel Spa - Bukowina Tatrzanska
The sixth is the toughest stage in the Tour de Pologne. The route has five laps around the town of Bukowina Tatrzanska with three climbs, two of them categorized for the KoM competitions. The finish line is halfway through the third of the hills. Last year the stage was very similar, but the gaps in the finish line were not big at all. Therefore, the lead of Johan van Summeren seems secure if he has no problems in the shape of falls or technical problems.
The start of the stage was really hard today. There were early breaks with important riders like Van Garderen or A. Schleck. However, a group of 8 finally managed to get away. Carlos Barredo (Vacansoleil) seemed the only one worried about the KoM competition and, by the third climb to Gliczarow Gorny he was closing in Geraint Thomas in the competition and the gap to the peloton was 6' 15''. Levi Leipheimer (HTC), Alessandro Ballan (BMC) and Fran Ventoso (Euskaltel) were other important men in the group.
Davide Rebellin decided that the time of attacking had come more than 40 kilometers from the finish line after Movistar had worked a good deal for him to take the break closer. He dragged Simon Gerrans with him and as they started the last lap of the stage they were already closing in the break. They had built a gap of 50 seconds on the bunch, where Quickstep and Lotto were working.
Bjorn Leukemans joined Gerrans, Rebellin and Barredo after an attack in the last climb to Zab. With 20 kilometers remaining only Peter Kennaugh remained in front of this group of 4. The main bunch, where riders like Wout Poels and Stefano Garzelli were starting to suffer, was already 1 minute behind.
Quickstep has the GC controlled as Denis Menchov and Dries Devenyns set the pace for Johan van Summeren. In the last climb of the day they caught Barredo and Kennaugh, who couldn't follow the pace of the other in the break. They were 1 minute behind the leading trio.
Bjorn Leukemans increased the pace in the last climb but Simon Gerrans and Davide Rebellin kept up with him and they now face the final small hill to Bukowina Tatrzanska. With 4 kilometers remaining it doesn't look likely that the bunch can put in danger the stage win for them.
Simon Gerrans takes the lead as the leading three gets in the last kilometer followed by Rebellin and Leukemans. However, the Belgian seems to be faster than the three of them. The movements are starting also in the bunch as Janez Brajkovic tries to open a gap and is swiftly followed by the race leader.
Simon Gerrans wins in Bukowina Tatrzanska! The Australian was strong enough to hold Davide Rebellin behind as Bjorn Leukemans couldn't keep up and had to settle for the third place in the stage. Simon Gerrans takes his third stage win of the season but it is probably not enough for the expectations that were put on him at the start of the season.
Janez Brajkovic, Johan van Summeren and Rinaldo Nocentini opened a gap on the bunch and crossed the line 27 seconds behind the winner. That will keep Janez Brajkovic in the 5th overall position ahead of Davide Rebellin and Julien Simon, while 4 riders from the opening stage break are set to take the top 4 places in the overall GC.
