I can understand that the story doesn't appeal to everyone, as usually people like to see the familiar faces fight for victory. Nevertheless, I think that as the story progresses the local "heroes" of this story will start to appeal to the followers of the story (Pieter Weening anyone?). This should make the story more interesting to read.

Weening Hell Yeah

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 2: Volterra - Marina di Carrara



Day 2 gives the riders another easy stage where a mass sprint will be expected. The tough climb to the Monte Serra in the first third of the race is expected to serve only as a mean to select the riders entering the break. The small climb to Bedizzano could be a bit more interesting, as some sprinters could suffer there.



A group of 7 riders were leading the race at the summit of the Monte Serra, while a couple of other small groups were trying to join. Among those in front were: Ivan Basso (Radioshack), Taylor Phinney (HTC), Luis Leon Sanchez (Euskaltel) and Jonathan Tiernan Locke (Ag2r). The riders from HTC were making the climb tough back in the peloton, so the difference wasn’t too big: 6’ 40’’ with 110 kilometers remaining.



The break never had a chance and it ended at the start of the climb to Bedizzano. Andy Schleck (HTC) jumped to take the KoM points ahead of Bart de Clerq. Meanwhile, Cadel Evans travels far behind the bunch after crashing on the descent of the Monte Serra. Most of the Discovery team is with him, including Janez Brajkovic.



Johan Van Summeren is taking the habit of leaving his Quickstep teammate Tony Gallopin in a perfect position for the final sprint. He was well ahead of any other train with 3 kilometers remaining. Peter Sagan was out of the sprint, as he crashed while preparing it.



Lieuwe Westra (Rabobank) took advantage of Gallopin’s wheel to overtake him at the start of the sprint. Johan Van Summeren is still ahead of the other sprinters, led by Alexandre Vinokourov, entering the last kilometer.



Lieuwe Westra wins in Marina di Carrara! A much surprising win for the Dutch, who clearly felt good after the last small climb and was able to hold the gap to a much stronger sprinter as Gallopin. The third place went to the Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov ahead of Tyler Farrar.

Westra now ties at the front of the GC with Jure Kocjan, who will still wear the leader’s jersey. Tony Gallopin and Peter Kennaugh are 4 seconds behind and all of them could gain the jersey tomorrow, when another sprint finish is predicted.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	4h23'15
2		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	s.t.
3		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	s.t.
4		Tyler Farrar	SAXO BANK	s.t.
5		Francisco Ventoso	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	s.t.
6		Yauheni Hutarovich	LAMPRE - ISD	s.t.
7		Sacha Modolo	BMC RACING TEAM	s.t.
8		George Hincapie	BMC RACING TEAM	s.t.
9		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	s.t.
10		Ben Swift	SKY PROCYCLING	s.t.

General Classification

1		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	3h36'18
2		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	s.t.
3		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 4
4		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	s.t.
5		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	+ 6
6		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	s.t.
7		Daniele Bennati	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 8
8		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	+ 9
9		Francisco Ventoso	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	+ 10
10		Tyler Farrar	SAXO BANK	s.t.

Points

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	34
2		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	28
3		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	27
4		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	25
5		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	23

Mountain

1		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	10
2		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	9
3		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	8
4		Andy Schleck	HTC - HIGH ROAD	6
5		Daniele Bennati	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	5

Young

1		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	7h59'33
2		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	s.t.
3		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 4
4		Sacha Modolo	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 10
5		Yauheni Hutarovich	LAMPRE - ISD	s.t.

Teams

1		TEAM RADIOSHACK-NISSAN	23h59'09
2		MOVISTAR TEAM	s.t.
3		RABOBANK	s.t.
4		AG2R - LA MONDIALE	s.t.
5		LOTTO-BELISOL	s.t.

Mikel Nieve has been a rider that lived in the shadow of George Hincapie in the BMC Racing team for the last 2 seasons. However, the Spaniard was a very surprising podium finisher in the last Giro di Italia. This made the foundings of the BMC team, as Nieve clearly outpaced his leader.

Nieve wasn't always as competitive as this. He was always a luxury domestique who had a podium in Romandie in 2010 as his best result so far. Besides, even after ending 7th in the World Tour last year he only has a victory to his name. It was back in 2009, when he won at the top of Vallorbe Juraparc in the Tour de Suisse.

This year Nieve changed teams. He joined the almighty Discovery Channel team, where he will be joint leader in the Tour de France along with Cadel Evans. The American team will be a massive force in the Tour this year and will probably threaten the status quo of Hubert Dupont and Pieter Weening.

Wins:

2009

- 1st Stage 7 Tour de Suisse

2010

- 1st Mountain Jersey Tirreno - Adriatico

Other notable results:

- 4th 2009 Paris - Nice
- 10th 2009 Giro di Lombardia
- 3rd 2010 Tour de Romandie
- 3rd 2011 Volta a Catalunya
- 3rd 2011 Giro di Italia

UCI World Tour Rankings:

- 2009 Omega Pharma - Lotto: 26th (101.22 pts)
- 2010 BMC Racing Team: 18th (169.33 pts)
- 2011 BMC Racing Team: 7th (292.66 pts)

Nice victory for Westra in Italy

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 3: Fucecchio - Santa Croce sull'Arno



The third stage in Italy is even more of a sprinting opportunity. Today's stage is completely flat, without none of the small traps that the organizers prepared on the previous days. This will also be the last opportunity for the sprinters until the final stage in San Benedetto del Tronto.



The first sprint took place after a circle around the town of Fucecchio in the start line. A group of 10 riders was ahead, including Janez Bralkovic (Discovery), Greg van Avermaet (Movistar), Denis Galimzyanov (BMC)m Tom Boonen (Lotto) and Michele Scarponi (Radioshack). They had a long way to go (96 km) and 5' 30'' on the bunch.



Luis Leon Sanchez (Euskaltel) tried a desperate solo attack from the break, but with 18 kilometers remaining he only had 20 seconds left on the peloton. The other riders of the break had just been caught by the bunch.



A crash in the front within the last 5 kilometers left the Quickstep train clearly in the front. Johan van Summeren is again towing Tony Gallopin in the sprints jersey. Behind them is Lloyd Mondory. There are quite a few important riders among those who crashed, like Pieter Weening, Hubert Dupont and Bauke Mollema.



Tony Gallopin easily takes the lead in the sprint ahead of Lloyd Mondory. Jose Joaquin Rojas tries to react from behind, but he has a long way to go while Yauheni Hutarovich leads the group behind.



Tony Gallopin wins in Santa Croce sull'Arno! The French held Lloyd Mondory behind easily to take his second win of the season. Ben Swift was the strongest of the rest to take the third position of the stage.

This win allows Gallopin to take the leaders jersey, 6 seconds ahead of Lieuwe Westra and Jure Kocjan. However, he will have to work hard to defend it in tomorrow's stage. A double climb to Montelupone will put the strength of the French.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	4h05'21
2		Lloyd Mondory	LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE	s.t.
3		Ben Swift	SKY PROCYCLING	s.t.
4		Yauheni Hutarovich	LAMPRE - ISD	s.t.
5		Tyler Farrar	SAXO BANK	s.t.
6		José Joaquin Rojas	LOTTO-BELISOL	s.t.
7		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	s.t.
8		Grega Bole	MOVISTAR TEAM	s.t.
9		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	s.t.
10		Sacha Modolo	BMC RACING TEAM	s.t.

General Classification

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	12h04'48
2		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 6
3		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	s.t.
4		Lloyd Mondory	LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE	+ 10
5		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	s.t.
6		Michele Scarponi	TEAM RADIOSHACK-NISSAN	+ 11
7		Ben Swift	SKY PROCYCLING	+ 12
8		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	s.t.
9		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	s.t.
10		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 13

Points

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	59
2		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	36
3		Lloyd Mondory	LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE	32
4		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	30
5		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	30

Mountain

1		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	13
2		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	12
3		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	8
4		Andy Schleck	HTC - HIGH ROAD	6
5		Daniele Bennati	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	5

Young

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	12h04'48
2		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 6
3		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	s.t.
4		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 13
5		Yauheni Hutarovich	LAMPRE - ISD	+ 16

Teams

1		TEAM RADIOSHACK-NISSAN	36h15'12
2		VACANSOLEIL-DMC	s.t.
3		AG2R - LA MONDIALE	s.t.
4		MOVISTAR TEAM	s.t.
5		LOTTO-BELISOL	s.t.

Gallopin takes the lead

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 4: Foligno - Montelupone



The first decisive stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico takes place in the surroundings of Montelupone. A double climb to the Italian town will probably make the first few differences in the GC. Previously, the riders will also have to climb to Recanati, where the first filter will take place.



The difficult part of the stage starts with 82 kilometers remaining. Among the 9 riders in front are Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank), Ben Hermans (Discovery), Maxime Monfort (Ag2r), Nicolas Roche (Lampre) and Linus Gerdemann (Astana). They start the last part of the stage with 4 '55'' on the bunch.



Oscar Freire (Rabobank) was able to bridge the gap to the break after a series of attacks from Bjorn Leukemans, Daniel Martin or Cameron Meyer. However, the peloton was closing in the break and the difference has dropped to 1' 30''.



Niki Terpstra (Movistar) wins the sprint in Recanati ahead of Romain Feillu and Chris Sorensen. The bunch is 2' 10'' behind after the break broke loose in the climb to Recanati. There are 28 kilometers left and two climbs to Montelupone.



Mikel Nieve (Discovery) and Anthony Roux (Liquigas) take a few meters on the bunch as they go over the top of Montelupone for the first time. Some riders from the break start to be swallowed by the main group.



Mikel Nieve reached the base of the climb to Montelupone with a small advantage of 20 seconds on David Millar; 30 seconds on the trio from the break (Terpstra, Feillu and Sorensen) and 50 seconds on the peloton.



Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) launched a tremendous attack at the start of the climb. He got easily past Millar halfway through the climb and had reduced the gap to Nieve to only 20 seconds. Bart de Clerq and Davide Rebellin were trying to react from behind, but they don't seem to have the legs of the Dutch.



Bauke Mollema wins in Montelupone! The Dutch was strong enough to catch Mikel Nieve and beat him in the final sprint. The two of them opened a gap at the finish of 16 seconds on Davide Rebellin and Bart de Clerq and 31 seconds on Jelle Vanendert.

Mollema takes the leader's jersey as well, with only 4 seconds on Nieve. The Dutch is expected to open that gap in tomorrow's time trial though, as he has better time trialing abilities than most of the riders behind in the GC.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	4h27'29
2		Mikel Nieve	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	s.t.
3		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 16
4		Bart De Clerq	LAMPRE - ISD	s.t.
5		Jelle Vanendert	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 31
6		David Millar	SKY PROCYCLING	+ 42
7		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	s.t.
8		Pieter Weening	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	s.t.
9		Johan Van Summeren	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 53
10		Peter Sagan	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	s.t.

General Classification

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	16h32'23
2		Mikel Nieve	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	+ 4
3		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 22
4		Bart De Clerq	LAMPRE - ISD	+ 26
5		Jelle Vanendert	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 41
6		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	+ 48
7		David Millar	SKY PROCYCLING	+ 52
8		Pieter Weening	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	s.t.
9		Johan Van Summeren	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 1'03
10		Peter Sagan	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	s.t.

Points

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	59
2		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	36
3		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	34
4		Lloyd Mondory	LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE	32
5		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	30

Mountain

1		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	13
2		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	12
3		Anthony Roux	LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE	11
4		Nicolas Roche	LAMPRE - ISD	10
5		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	8

Young

1		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	16h32'45
2		Miguel Angel Rubiano	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 41
3		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 1'08
4		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'14
5		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	s.t.

Teams

1		LOTTO-BELISOL	49h39'56
2		VACANSOLEIL-DMC	+ 12
3		HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 41
4		MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 47
5		KATUSHA TEAM	+ 49

Yeah Pieter gets his first mention of the new season

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 5: Loreto - Macerata



The most decisive stages of the Tirreno - Adriatico start with a quite long time trial between the towns of Loreto and Macerata. The time trial highlights two climbs: Recanati, climbed yesterday as well, and the finish line in Macerata. Some decent differences could be set in the stage that will be difficult to reduce tomorrow in the climb to Sasso Tetto.



Rigoberto Uran (Sky) was one of the favorites for today's time trial, but the crash that made him lose 8 minutes in the GC didn't allow him to do well early on in the day. He could only set the 3rd time so far, 11 seconds worse than Cadel Evans. Uran has had a bad history of crashes in this race, as he also crashed 2 years ago when he was a strong favorite and lost all his chances for a good GC.



Evans' time was not a bad one at all, as it lasted in the first place until another of the good time trialists came up. Lieuwe Westra (Rabobank) managed to set a 51' 35'', 8 seconds better than the Australian. This would allow the Dutch to climb a few places in the GC.



Levi Leipheimer (HTC) started the day 13th overall and gained some position after recording the fourth provisional time, 10 seconds behind Westra. Leipheimer's result was maybe slightly disappointing given the American skills.



David Millar (Sky) seems to be fit in Italy. He was very good yesterday and today he took the first provisional spot in the finish line. The British took the lead in the second intermediate and then beat Westra by 6 seconds in the finish line.



Millar's joy did not last long, as the Russian Denis Menchov (Katusha) crushed the clock as he completed the route in 51' 19''. This was 8 seconds faster than Millar and left Menchov with a good chance to win the stage.



Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) was quite good, but his fifth time in the finish line didn't avoid him slipping behind Menchov and Millar in the GC. He lost 23 seconds on the Russian, a quite good time trial by the Belgian.



Bart de Clerq (Lampre) was expectedly not among the best in the time trail, but nevertheless he got a place in the provisional top 10. The Belgian was 9th when he crossed the finish line, 28 seconds slower than Menchov.



Davide Rebellin (Movistar), on the young leader jersey, saved the most difficult day for him setting the 14th best time and losing 38 seconds to Menchov. The Italian will still be the local outsider for the overall win of the Tirreno - Adriatico.



Mikel Nieve (Discovery) also suffered in the time trial. The Spaniard lost 50 seconds on Menchov and set the 23rd time as he crossed the finish line. That means the Russian overtook him in the GC and tied with Bart de Clerq.



Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) was the first in the second intermediate time, five seconds better than Menchov, and he did the same in the finish line by only 1 second on Menchov. This is the second straight stage win for Bauke Mollema.

The Dutch continues as the leader of the Tirreno, now with a greater margin on the second. Denis Menchov has climbed to that position, ahead of both Bart de Clerq and Mikel Nieve.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	51'18
2		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	+ 1
3		David Millar	SKY PROCYCLING	+ 10
4		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	+ 17
5		Cameron Meyer	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 24
6		Jelle Vanendert	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 25
7		Cadel Evans	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	s.t.
8		Levi Leipheimer	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 28
9		Carlos Alberto Betancur	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	+ 30
10		Bart De Clerq	LAMPRE - ISD	s.t.

General Classification

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	17h23'41
2		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	+ 49
3		Bart De Clerq	LAMPRE - ISD	+ 56
4		Mikel Nieve	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	s.t.
5		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 1'02
6		David Millar	SKY PROCYCLING	s.t.
7		Jelle Vanendert	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 1'06
8		Levi Leipheimer	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'31
9		Peter Sagan	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	+ 1'41
10		Pieter Weening	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 1'44

Points

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	59
2		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	59
3		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	45
4		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	39
5		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	36

Mountain

1		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	13
2		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	12
3		Anthony Roux	LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE	11
4		Nicolas Roche	LAMPRE - ISD	10
5		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	8

Young

1		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	17h24'43
2		Miguel Angel Rubiano	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 47
3		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	+ 51
4		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 1'29
5		Sacha Modolo	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 1'46

Teams

1		VACANSOLEIL-DMC	52h15'10
2		HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 48
3		LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 59
4		KATUSHA TEAM	+ 1'06
5		MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 1'56

Mollema looking very good indeed

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 6: Civitanova Marche - Camerino



The queen stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico features a very long route at 234 kilometers and the climb to the Sasso Tetto, a 13 kilometer climb averaging more than 7% gradient. Some of the top riders in the GC will surely suffer today, so a revamp in the first positions is expected.



The break of the day had 10 bold riders, as they had more than 200 kilometers in front of them when they jumped from the break. Halfway through the stage they had 8' 35'' on the bunch. The most dangerous riders in the break were: David Lopez (Euskaltel), John Gadret (Discovery), Emanuele Sella (Astana), Heinrich Haussler (HTC) and Laurens Ten Dam (Liquigas).



Vacansoleil and Rabobank led the peloton to the base of the Sasso Tetto having reduced the lead to 4' 55''. This is the climb where the bunch should be greatly reduced, but there are already several riders that lost contact in the previous hills.



Emanuele Sella goes first through the mountain sprint in the Sasso Tetto and secures the mountain jersey. The group in front has been reduced to only 6 riders in the climb. Meanwhile, the peloton is not in a hurry to chase down the break and still loses 4' 20''. This is a massive boost to the chances of the break.



The peloton was reduced to 34 riders at the top of the Sasso Tetto after some accelerations in the last kilometers. David Millar lost contact early on, while Peter Sagan is trying to come back to the group. With 24 kilometers remaining the break still has an advantage of 2' 55'' though. Thor Hushovd rejoined the leaders to make the group grow up to 7.



The break reached the last hill towards the finish in Camerino with enough time on the group of favorites. John Gadret had lost all his strength and fell back at the start of the first section of the hill, with 6 kilometers remaining.



Juanjo Cobo (Sky) attacked and broke the group into pieces. He has 15 seconds on David Lopez and Peter Stetina with 2 kilometers remaining. The others in the break are 30 seconds back. It is a good chance for the Spaniard. Meanwhile, Davide Rebellin is the first to attack in the main group and he got a few meters on the rest of the group.



David Lopez wins in Camerino! A tremendous attack from the Euskaltel rider gives him the stage win in the queen stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico. Lopez overtook Cobo and was able to put 17 seconds between him and the duo of Cobo and Stetina. Emanuele Sella, Thor Hushovd and Rui Costa arrived 48 seconds behind the winner.



Andy Schleck (HTC) was the winner of the favorites group sprint. More importantly, that group broke in two in the final dash, leaving behind riders like Pieter Weening, Mikel Nieve, Levi Leipheimer and Rob Ruijgh. They lost 44 seconds on the race leaders.

Bauke Mollema is the virtual winner of the Tirreno - Adriatico, as only a walk in the park around San Benedetto del Tronto awaits tomorrow. Denis Menchov and Bart de Clerq will surround the Dutch in the podium. The biggest leap in the GC today was taken by the stage winner, David Lopez. The Spaniard has jumped to 6th overall, ahead of Mikel Nieve.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		David López	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	7h08'37
2		Juan Jose Cobo	SKY PROCYCLING	+ 17
3		Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM	s.t.
4		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	+ 48
5		Rui Da Costa	AG2R - LA MONDIALE	s.t.
6		Thor Hushovd	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	s.t.
7		John Gadret	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	+ 1'09
8		Andy Schleck	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'42
9		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	s.t.
10		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	s.t.

General Classification

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	24h34'00
2		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	+ 49
3		Bart De Clerq	LAMPRE - ISD	+ 56
4		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 1'02
5		Jelle Vanendert	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 1'06
6		David López	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	+ 1'28
7		Mikel Nieve	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	+ 1'40
8		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	+ 1'53
9		Andy Schleck	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'57
10		Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 2'07

Points

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	59
2		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	59
3		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	52
4		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	45
5		Peter Kennaugh	TEAM GARMIN-BARRACUDA	36

Mountain

1		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	34
2		Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM	14
3		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	13
4		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	12
5		David López	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	11

Young

1		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	24h35'02
2		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	+ 51
3		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	+ 1'16
4		Miguel Angel Rubiano	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 1'31
5		Thibaut Pinot	AG2R - LA MONDIALE	+ 2'09

Teams

1		LOTTO-BELISOL	73h48'34
2		KATUSHA TEAM	+ 7
3		HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'15
4		OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 1'20
5		RABOBANK	+ 1'42

Mollema protected his lead well

Just read the entire thing, really interesting. I seem to cheer for Dupont, dunno why it just started during the vuelta when Weening was leading and Dupont took him at the enid... I beleive his "strenght" in the first seasons has been his recovery. But Mollema looks really strong now, how is Dupont/Weenings stats compared to him this season?

Glad you like the story. Mollema had a good leap forward in his stats this season after performing much higher than expected last season. I expect him to join the favorites for the Tour this year.

These are Dupont's and Weening's stats for the season:

It's going to be another good fight between Weening and Dupont

Tirreno - Adriatico
Stage 7: San Benedetto del Tronto - San Benedetto del Tronto



The Tirreno - Adriatico ends with a very easy stage around San Benedetto del Tronto. The second part of the stage is a circuit in the streets of the finishing town. The sprinters have the last stage chance to add to their victory count, so the chance of a break making it to the end seems small.



The break of the day reaches the circuit of San Benedetto del Tronto with a margin of 8 minutes on the bunch. There are 80 kilometers still remaining. Among the 8 riders in the group are: John Gadret (Discovery), Rein Taaramae (Radioshack), Robbie McEwen (Garmin) and Luis Leon Sanchez (Euskaltel).



McEwen wins the second intermediate sprint ahead of Gadret, but even though there were several attacks in the leading group, the peloton is closing in fast. The gap between them is 1' 15'' with 19 kilometers remaining.



Many sprinters looking for the win today, as many trains appear in the first places of the bunch. The strongest on seems the one from Astana, where Filippo Pozzato is leading Alexandre Vinokourov, with Sacha Modolo behind. The Lotto train is close behind, as Jose Joaquín Rojas is leading Andre Greipel.



Alexandre Vinokourov leads the sprint ahead of Tyler Farrar and Sacha Modolo. The three of them seem to be fairly matched. Yauheni Hutarovich comes fourth slightly behind them.



Sacha Modolo wins in San Benedetto del Tronto! The Italian takes at home his second win of the season. Tyler Farrar and Alexandre Vinokourov arrive after the Italian, as the two best sprinters in previous years are still looking for a win this year.

There were no changes in the GC in the stage, so Bauke Mollema takes the overall win in the Tirreno - Adriatico. Sagan and Mollema repeated the magnificent result of winning the two first stage races for Vacansoleil as they did last year. Denis Menchov and Bart de Clerq will also be in the podium of the Italian race.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Sacha Modolo	BMC RACING TEAM	4h22'49
2		Tyler Farrar	SAXO BANK	s.t.
3		Alexandre Vinokourov	ASTANA	s.t.
4		Peter Sagan	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	s.t.
5		Yauheni Hutarovich	LAMPRE - ISD	s.t.
6		Jure Kocjan	HTC - HIGH ROAD	s.t.
7		Francisco Ventoso	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	s.t.
8		Kenny Van Hummel	RABOBANK	s.t.
9		George Hincapie	BMC RACING TEAM	s.t.
10		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	s.t.

General Classification

1		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	28h56'49
2		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	+ 49
3		Bart De Clerq	LAMPRE - ISD	+ 56
4		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 1'02
5		Jelle Vanendert	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 1'06
6		David López	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	+ 1'28
7		Mikel Nieve	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	+ 1'40
8		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	+ 1'53
9		Andy Schleck	HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'57
10		Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 2'07

Points

1		Tony Gallopin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	65
2		Bauke Mollema	VACANSOLEIL-DMC	59
3		Denis Menchov	KATUSHA TEAM	52
4		Tyler Farrar	SAXO BANK	50
5		Sacha Modolo	BMC RACING TEAM	46

Mountain

1		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	34
2		Luis Leon Sanchez	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	23
3		Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM	14
4		John Gadret	DISCOVERY CHANNEL	13
5		Denis Galimzyanov	BMC RACING TEAM	12

Young

1		Davide Rebellin	MOVISTAR TEAM	28h57'51
2		Lieuwe Westra	RABOBANK	+ 51
3		Emanuele Sella	ASTANA	+ 1'16
4		Miguel Angel Rubiano	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 1'31
5		Thibaut Pinot	AG2R - LA MONDIALE	+ 2'09

Teams

1		LOTTO-BELISOL	86h57'01
2		KATUSHA TEAM	+ 7
3		HTC - HIGH ROAD	+ 1'15
4		OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+ 1'20
5		RABOBANK	+ 1'42

Great Overall victory for Mollema in Italy

UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Tirreno - Adriatico)

1		Tony Gallopin	Quickstep	133
2		Bauke Mollema	Vacansoleil	127
3		Peter Sagan	Vacansoleil	125
4		Bart de Clerq	Lampre	120
5		Sacha Modolo	BMC	108
6		Denis Menchov	Katusha	94.62
7		Davide Rebellin	Movistar	88
8		Francisco Ventoso	Euskaltel	72
9		José Joaquin Rojas	Lotto	65.25
10		David López	Euskaltel	50
11		Jelle Vanendert	Lotto	49.25
12		Marcel Kittel	Discovery	47.28
13		Lieuwe Westra	Rabobank	46
14		Mikel Nieve	Discovery	42.28
15		Yauheni Hutarovich	Lampre	37

UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Tirreno - Adriatico)

1		VACANSOLEIL-DMC	267
2		LAMPRE - ISD	157
3		LOTTO-BELISOL	155
4		BMC RACING TEAM	150
5		OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	140
6		EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI	127
7		KATUSHA TEAM	99
8		DISCOVERY CHANNEL	92
9		MOVISTAR TEAM	90
10		HTC-HIGHROAD	53

The late winter week of the Pro Tour in Italy ends with the Clasiccisisma. The Milano - Sanremo is the longest of the monuments, at close to 300 kilometers mainly along the coast of the Tirreno sea. The race is very flat, with only the small climb to the Cipressa and the Poggio. The outcome of the race is usually a sprint between a reduced group, so you need to be a great sprinter and good endurance to win most of the times. Filippo Pozzato was the winner two years ago after a solo attack in the Poggio.

Favorites:
- Ben Swift (Sky): The British sprinter from team Sky has been rather disappointing, as he was expected to do good in the Tour Down Under but could contend in the mass sprints. The British team doesn't have many chances to win races, so they better try to make their chances count.
- Tony Gallopin (Quickstep): Tony Gallopin has won himself the favorite label for the race, as the French is leading the World Tour. Gallopin has already taken stages in the Tour Down Under and Tirreno, the 2nd overall in Australia and the points jersey in Italy. He has the stamina and hills to survive the route and the sprinting abilities.
- Yauheni Hutarovich (Lampre): Milano - Sanremo is a very important race for the Lampre team, so Hutarovich has set it as one of his targets for the season. He will need the race not to be very fast through the hills though, as he could easily fall back if the attacks are strong.
- Jakob Fuglsang (Radioshack): Fuglsang is a great long routes rider, but he will probably need his teammates to make the race hard for him, so that he takes out the purest sprinters. However, his teammates are not great flat riders, so he will maybe have to rely on other teams to do that job.

Previous winners

	First	Second	Third
2010	Filippo Pozzato	Andre Greipel	Marco Marcato

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