May 15th Le Coq Sportif confirmes schedule for June, July
Le Coq Sportif today released a press release confirming the teams schedule for the months of June and July.
June will be dominated by stage races where Le Coq Sportif could impress, mainly because they are classified as 2.2 races and will therefore feature less Pro Continental teams and no World Tour teams. The Boucles de la Mayenne (4 stages), taking place between June 5th and 8th, is rather flat with few hills and will favor sprinters, although it does start with a time trial. The same could be said about Tour de Beauce (6 stages), which starts on June 10th, but the last climb up to Mont-Mégantic on stage 3 could see a climber in the yellow jersey which will then be difficult to take from him if the remaining stages end in mass sprints. The final stage race, Route du Sud (3 stages), starting June 20th, will invite mass sprints on stage 1 and 2, but finishes with a 161.9 long route from Izaourt to Bagnères-de-Luchon, featuring three Category 1 climbs where the sprinters will struggle to keep up.
Le Coq Sportif has also confirmed that they will start riders in both the stage and the Individual team trial of the Championnat de France on June 26th and 29th.
What are your thoughts on picking young (U23) riders from the free riders list?
I don't see a problem there - you'll have to pay them a wage according to their AVG, after all.
Yes, there is this big jump between having to scout for months to find out the current stats of a young rider but as soon as they appear on the free riders list the stats are all there. Cyanide should make some changes to the system. I think the scouts should at least have some idea of how strong a young rider is as soon as they discover them (say, AVG 65-70).
On your scouting screen there is a bar that fills up, once it is full, you have discovered all riders in that region. But while you are monitoring one rider, the scout won't look further in the region. And there are so many regions. You'd want 20 or even 50 scouts to just cover one big country like France, a few to scout the regions, the rest to monitor riders individually.
And yes, even a no hoper could have a better current AVG than a future great and thus even be better for years to come. It's obvious to scout the highest potential first, but the current abilities are random.
I don't see a problem there - you'll have to pay them a wage according to their AVG, after all.
Yes, there is this big jump between having to scout for months to find out the current stats of a young rider but as soon as they appear on the free riders list the stats are all there. Cyanide should make some changes to the system. I think the scouts should at least have some idea of how strong a young rider is as soon as they discover them (say, AVG 65-70).
Ok, so to make up for a flawed scouting system, I think I'll allow myself to pick riders among the Free riders, as long as they follow the following conditions:
1) have to be french,
2) can only earn minimum wage, and
3) must fill a specific role in my team - i.e. I can't sign a "stage races" rider since I already have up to 4 in my team already for that role, or sprinters since I already have two of them. So I'll look for a rider for the Classics (and cobblestones), a puncher, maybe a fighter.
Then I can pick whoever I want from the riders my scout finds, but must sign them the first season, not wait until they are free riders and I can see all their stats. Sounds fair?
Ripley wrote:
On your scouting screen there is a bar that fills up, once it is full, you have discovered all riders in that region. But while you are monitoring one rider, the scout won't look further in the region. And there are so many regions. You'd want 20 or even 50 scouts to just cover one big country like France, a few to scout the regions, the rest to monitor riders individually.
And yes, even a no hoper could have a better current AVG than a future great and thus even be better for years to come. It's obvious to scout the highest potential first, but the current abilities are random.
That's good to know! I have my scout monitoring three riders at once right now, so that's why he won't find any new riders yet. That's very helpful to know.
May 18th Good showing from Le Coq Sportif at Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour
Stage 1 Profile
163.3 kms from Vaulx Milieu to Saint Savin
Le Coq Sportif opened the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour in an aggressive fashion, attacking with Pierrick Lhermitte who got away with Hernán Aguirre (4-72 - Colombia) and Lorenzo Trabucco (Nankang - Fondriest).
Pierrick Lhermitte in the breakaway
At the most they had a gap of more than 6 minutes down to the peloton, but when the bunch started chasing, it disappeared quickly. With 30 kms to go, Lhermitte dropped of the wheel of the other two who made a final attempt at staying in front. As expected on this stage, it ended in a mass sprint, the duo caught 15 kms before the finish line. Adrien Poisson lead Mickael Castan up to the final 2 kms, as both sprinters were too far back, but Castan, by no means a sprinter, finished in 25th.
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Stage 2 Profile
154.1 kms from Charvieu Chavagneux to Toussieu
The 2nd stage again featured a Le Coq Sportif rider in a breakaway, but this time it was Mickael Castan who got away. Although he's no climber he attacked up the first Category 1 mountain and at the top he had a gap of two minutes down to the bunch.
Castan disappears up the mountain side
Castan alone at the front
10 points at the top and riding solo, Castan went all in on the polka-dot jersey and increased his speed downhill and over the Category 2 climb. The peloton picked up it's pace but Castan was still able to keep them away long enough to ride alone over the Category 3 hill towards the end and secured the jersey for the next stage.
Riding solo up the Category 2 climb
He was caught with just 8 kms left, but was able to come in with the peloton and not lose time in the overall thanks to Adrien Poisson doing a great job bringing him to the finish line. But more importantly, he would start stage 3 in the polka-dot jersey.
Adrien Poisson bringing Mickael Castan to the finish line
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Stage 3 Profile
142.1 kms from Chaponnay to Saint Maurice l'Exil
Eager to protect his jersey, Castan got away with a breakaway, but not really being a climber, after the first Category 3 climb, he wasn't able to pick up any more points. Instead he had to watch Juan José Oroz from Burgos BH - Castilla y León pick enough points on the stage to rob him of the jersey.
Castan showing off his new jersey
None of the Le Coq Sportif had a good day in the mountains, and none of their riders were close in the mass sprint. Adrien Poisson had a decent attempt to close the gap on the peloton up the final Category 1 climb, but he crossed the finish line several minutes behind the winner.
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Stage 4 Profile
172.2 kms from Saint Maurice l'Exil to Charvieu Chavagneux
Another opportunity to pick up points, but instead it was Adrien Poisson who got away with the breakaway, a strange decision in our opinion. Anyone in the breakaway had a chance to win the jersey, but they would have to win both Category 1 climbs in addition to tree Category 3 climbs. Poisson gave it a try and won the first Category 3 and Category 1 climb, but after that he had more than enough just sitting with the breakaway. The only other chance Le Coq Sportif had at a jersey was to get Castan up before the last Category 1 climb, but the breakaway had a lead of nearly 5 minutes. Fernando Fouillet positioned himself in front of Castan and rode at a ferocious speed and decreased the gap from 5 to about 2 minutes. Castan attacked at the bottom of the climb, but couldn't close the gap.
None of the Le Coq Sportif riders were in any position to win the stage and had to settle for 3rd overall in the fight for the polka-dot jersey, 6 points behind the winner and 5 points behind the runner-up who snuck by on the last two climbs.
In the overall standings the closest Le Coq Sportif rider was over 10 minutes behind the winner, Armindo Fonseca from Bretagne - Séché Environnement. He beat two Cofidis riders, Luis Ángel Maté and Rudy Molard by 14 and 18 seconds.
Update on National Championships
The last few days, national championships have been held in several countries across the world, and here are the results of a few of them:
Championnat de France
1st: Thibaut Pinaut - FDJ.fr
2nd: Thomas Vaubourzeix - Team La Pomme Marseille
3rd: Bryan Coquard - Team Europcar
...
61. Lucien Chateau - Le Coq Sportif
British Championship - Sky dominanse
1st: Ian Stannard - Team Sky
2nd: Ben Swift - Team Sky
3rd: Simon Yates - Orica GreenEdge
Campeonato de España
1st: Francisco José Ventoso - Movistar Team
2nd: Juan José Lobato - Movistar Team
3rd: Jesús Herrada - Movistar Team
Campeonato de Portugal
1st: Samuel Caldeira - OFM - Quinta da Lixa
2nd: Nelson Oliveira - Lampre - Merida
3rd: Fabio Silvestre - Trek Factory Racing
Campionato di Italia
1st: Diego Ulissi - Lampre-Merida
2nd: Vincenzo Nibali - Astana Pro Team
3rd: Oscar Gatto - Cannondale
Championnat de Belgique
1st: Tom van Asbroeck - Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
2nd: Tom Boonen - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
3rd: Gert Steegmans - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
Nederlands Kampioenschap
1st: Lars Boom - Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
2nd: Tom Dumoulin - Team Giant - Shimano
3rd: Niki Terpstra - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
Deutsche Meisterschaft
1st: Simon Geschke - Team Giant - Shimano
2nd: Gerald Ciolek - MTN - Qhubeka
3rd: Linus Gerdemann - MTN - Qhubeka
Mistrzostwa Polski
1st: Michal Kwiatkowski - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
2nd: Michal Golas - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
3rd: Bartlomiej Matysiak - CCC Polsat Polkowice
Norsk Mesterskap
1st: Alexander Kristoff - Team Katusha
2nd: Thor Hushovd - BMC Racing Team
3rd: Edvald Boasson Hagen - Team Sky
The month of May finished for Le Coq Sportif with the Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan, won by Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing), and that kind of set the tone for the month of June for young riders in blue who were nowhere near any kind of racing form as they get some much needed rest and restitution before they start preparing for the more important races in August. No Le Coq Sportif rider was anywhere near the top, barely cracking the top 100 in most cases, in the former mentioned race, nor the Boucles de l'Aulne - Chãteaulin, the Boucles de la Mayenne (4 stages), the Tour de Beauce (6 stages) or Route de Sud (3 stages), although in the latter, Adrien Poisson sat in a breakaway all day, but was passed on the final climb and eventually ended in 55th.
The Championnat de France, neither stage nor (ITT was a priority for Le Coq Sportif, although Sports Director Ollie sent all his available riders to participate not wanting to deny anyone of the chance to compete in their own national championship. Only Marius Mourot and Fernando Fouillet were out due to injury, Fouillet's injury a recent one - a fractured kneecap which will keep him out of racing until the end of July.
The team only has two races in the whole month of July, GP de Pont à Marcq - La Ronde Pévèloise on July 13th and Szerencs-Ibrány in Hungary, part of the Central European Tour, on July 26th. We expect the confirmation of Le Coq Sportif's fall schedule soon and we think it'll feature a lot more races and hopefully with more fit riders.
------- Sorry guys, but I just couldn't get myself to write long posts with pictures when we were basically just sitting at the back of the peloton through the entire race, just wanting to get through. My riders are in no shape to race right now, but we are soon starting to build up form ahead of the fall schedule. Stay tunes
The riders over at Le Coq Sportif haven't turned too many heads this season so it was a relieved Adrien Poisson who today put his name on the dotted line of a new 2-year contract. In a team of average to poor riders, Poisson stands for most of the teams achievements this season, a 4th place finish at the GP Ville de Lillers and winning the first and only jersey for Le Coq Sportif when he won the polka-dot jersey at Circuit des Ardennes International. He hasn't had any other contract offers as far as we know.
With Poisson signed, Le Coq Sportif have filled 10 spots in their team for next year and the roster will be the same as this season. We haven't heard of any interest from Le Coq Sportif in other riders so far this summer and it's unclear whether the team would have the extra budget to sign additional riders for next season. They've already made cuts in this season's budget, releasing their scout from his contract in April.
July 13th Cobblestone too much to handle for Le Coq Sportif
GP de Pont à Marcq - La Ronde Pévèloise took place today - 181.5 kms with 11 stretches of cobblestone proved too tough for a large portion of the peloton, and at the end a duo settled the race between them. Florian Vachon (Bretagne - Séché Environnement) won the sprint over Olivier Padroni (Vérandas Willems), with the next group of riders following 26 seconds behind the winner. Le Coq Sportif are missing a true cobblestone specialist in their team and the riders they started in today's race were not able to keep up over the many cobblestone sections. Johan Baudot and Mickaël Cohen came in as #77 and #78, 3'41'' behind the winner with the rest of the team falling over 9 to 12 minutes behind.
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July 26th Central European Tour: Szerencs-Ibrány
It was a big day for Hungary's own Zsolt Der (Utensilnord) when he was first to cross the finish line in front of his own countrymen on todays Central European Tour race from Szerencs to Miskolc. Sure Kocjan (Team SmartSop) and Geert van der Weijst (Cyclingteam Jo Piels) followed in 2nd and 3rd.
For Le Coq Sportif they were too far behind when the sprint started, a couple of kilometers away from the finish line, and Lhermitte's legs didn't carry him at full speed the whole way which invited a huge bunch of riders to pass him, finally putting Pierrick in 98th.
That concludes the racing month of July, which only feature two races for Le Coq Sportif's part. The month of August will be much more important - stay tuned for the full schedule!
Let's hope for a few more good results this season. Well done on resigning Poisson.
But just to say a little more on free riders, I really don't see why you should restrict yourself. Yes, unlike U23s you see the current stats, but you don't know their potential. These are just riders without a contract this season, I'm sure you spotted some established names on the list and in the future even top stars will appear, who nobody wanted/could afford that season. I remember winning the World Championship with my best rider, but I couldn't afford to extend his contract and nobody else snapped him up, either, so the rainbow jersey was nowhere to be seen the next season.
One word of warning, a bug in the game: Right now, after each 25th of July, you suddenly see new names on the free rider list and the game let's you start a contract talk with them, but that won't work, these are U23 riders who have signed with other teams.
@Ripley; the restrictions are very much for my current situation and may very well change in the future. We are a french team and want to keep the sponsor happy, so only french riders will be signed (that's also due to the goal of the team, to find and develop french talents) ; I can't afford anything other than minimum wage (and according to the numbers I saw when discussing Poisson's contract, I may not even afford Poisson!).
Regarding not signing riders with specialities I already have, I have to reconsider that as all my riders have to fill several roles during a season, and since they're still very young, I'm still figuring out what kind of rider they are (which is not necessarily their current specialization). My thinking is that I want a balanced team, not 7 sprinters just because they are the best free riders I could find.
The other thing I have to consider is releasing a rider to afford a better rider. There are a few riders who have been more a liabilty than helpful and considering the future of this team I have to consider their value to our team. But in that scenario I would only replace 1 or 2 to keep the team intact. Would that be ok, replacing the weak link with someone who could possibly win a race or is that too much of an upgrade?
That has to be the goal, surely. It's a management game, or rather, you have taken on the role. You have to be tough and tell those weak links, lads, sorry, you just aren't good enough for our team. Hopefully another team will want you, otherwise you have to consider giving up professional cycling.
Personally, I'm merciless. I'll even let a top performer go if I can find somebody better. The riders are no different - they always ask what they think they are worth, what another team might pay them. They don't care if you can't afford the raise. No loyalty. The transfer market is brutal and the riders hold the better cards.
So, I understand and support a team of young French riders. But definitely take a look around (=use the search funtion) for interesting riders who already have some professional experience. I do think your goal should be to find the best team you can for the budget your sponsor allows. In fact, that's what the sponsor wants from you. Le Coq Sportif is on the way up after a long phase during which the brand was nearly forgotten, I'm sure they'd love to see their team in the Tour de France at some point and would be willing to increase the budget accordingly.
An exciting edition of the Tour de France came to an end on Sunday when the riders entered Paris for the first time with the final sprint on the Champs Élysée. Marcel Kittel (Team Giant - Shimano) was first across the finish line with his countryman André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) just inches behind. It was a good finish for the french as well with Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Demare (both FDJ.fr) beating Peter Sagan (Cannondale) for the 3rd and 4th place. Despite the win on Champs-Élysée, André Greipel won the green jersey with 427 points, just three points ahead of Nacer Bouhanni. Just a wheel length further forward on Sunday and the french would have a rider winning the green jersey. Marcel Kittel followed in 3rd with 422 points.
However, the french did keep one jersey. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) won the young riders jersey and got to climb the podium in Paris.
Chris Froome (Team Sky) won the polka-dot jersey with 136 points, 2 points ahead of Alberto Contador (Tinkoff - Saxo), but he would've gladly exchanged his jersey with his biggest rival in this year tour. In the end, the Spaniard proved impossible to shake on the many tough climbs of this years route, and when Contador decided to attack, Chris Froome struggled to keep up. In the end, Chris Froome was 2 minutes behind Alberto Contador in the overall standings, Contador winning his 3rd Tour de France and the first since 2009.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) followed in 3rd, 5'29'' behind the winner while Rui Costa from Lampre - Merida (+ 6'27'') and Jean-Christophe Peraud from AG2R La Mondiale (+ 6'43'') rounded out the top 5.
Team Sky won the team competition, 21 seconds ahead of Tinkoff - Saxo.
I've noticed that the game crashed every time it tries to show the podiums. That's why I couldn't show Adrien Poisson in his polka-dot jersey on the podium earlier this season but now I've realized that it happens after every single TT as well (because it always goes to the podium right after... Luckily it at least saves the stage before crashing!Edited by Ollie23 on 17-07-2015 22:16
165.9 kms long hilly stage where Johan Baudot was allowed to go in a breakaway and formed a trio with Christophe Le Mével (Cofidis) and Thomas Rostollan (La Pomme Marseille). They had a 7-minute gap at one point, but were caught 20 kms before the finish line. Thor Hushovd (BMC) won the ensuing mass sprint, with Le Coq Sportif's Lhermitte their best placed rider in 28th.
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August 16th Thibaut Pinot cleans up at Tour de l'Ain
FDJ.fr rider Thibaut Pinot was in a class of his own at the Tour de l'Ain where he won three jersey's. But it was another team that surprised everyone on the first time trial stage in Trevoux.
Stage 1: Profile: only 3.4 kms long that starts out with a small downhill, but finishes with a steep climb to the finish
So far this season, the team trials, either individual or team, haven't been Le Coq Sportif's strong suit and no one expected much even on the very short stage 1 of Tour de l'Ain, despite both Mickaël Cohen and Pierrick Chevillard starting. But the two young captains wanted to earn their respect today.
Mickaël Cohen came in just 1 second behind leader at the time, Serge Pauwels, from Omega Pharma - Quick-Step. He kept that 2nd best time until his teammate Pierrick Chevillard came in a whopping 6 seconds ahead of leading Pauwels. Chevillard took the chair at the finish line and watched as several of the big favorites struggled up the final hill. Thibaut Pinot, Brice Feillu, David Navarro and Adriano Matori, one after the other looked up at the board and had to see themselves beaten by Pierrick Chevillard.
The first stage win for Le Coq Sportif ever and they finished with two riders in the top 10 with Mickaël Cohen in 8th. A big surprise on the first stage of Tour de l'Ain!
Stage 2: Profile: A rather short 143.9 kms from Montmerle-sur-Saone to Trévoux with no real challenges except two Category 4 climbs towards the end.
It was a proud day for Le Coq Sportif and Pierrick Chevillard who started at the front of the peloton, wearing the yellow jersey for the first time in his career. He also had the green and white jersey's at this point.
Le Coq Sportif found themselves in an unfamiliar situation, trying to protect the yellow jersey, but they sat at the front of the peloton and didn't have to use much energy either trying to catch the breakaway. Chevillard was in the mass sprint at the end, but was more than happy to just stay on his bike and secure the yellow for another day. Cohen came in with the peloton as well and keeps his 8th overall.
Stage 3: Profile: 148.7 kms from Ferme-Musée de la foret to Oyonnax features a Category 3 climb before a brutal Category 1 climb that could change a lot in the overall standings
Another day where Le Coq Sportif were focused on protecting Chevillard and making sure he was in a good position before the final tough climb up the Category 1 mountain. Mourot and Froment were at the front trying to reel in the breakaway, but had to rely on other teams to do the job.
Chevillard didn't have the best legs on today's stage and struggled to keep up with the peloton up the final climb, a peloton that decreased in size by the minute due to the fast pace at the front. Both Cohen and Chevillard had to settle for coming in with the 2nd group, 2'01'' behind winner Rudy Molard.
Chevillard losing ground to the front
After two days in yellow, Chevillard had to give up the jersey.
Stage 4: Profile: Just 129.7 kms, but the route from Saint-Claude to Lélex Monts du Jura featured a Category 2 climb to warm the riders up, followed by three tough Category 1 climbs.
Down two minutes in the overall standings, Cohen got away with the breakaway consisting of a total of 8 riders. They built a solid lead, but the peloton, featuring some of the best climbers in the race, caught them before the final climb of the day.
We've seen before that the best climbers at Le Coq Sportif can handle some of the tougher mountains the cycling world has to offer, but it is something else entirely trying to climb them at the breakneck speed of someone who's climbing mountains at the Tour de France every year. Three category climbs at Thibaut Pinot speed was too much to handle for Chevillard and Cohen who both came in more than 9 minutes behind winner Pinot. On this stage, Pinot took the overall lead, the white and the green jersey.
Stage 5: Profile: 129.6 kms from Nantua to Belley features a Category 2 climb before the stage race will be decided up the HC climb
For the second day in a row, Mickaël Cohen went with the breakaway which built a solid lead over the first climb.
Cohen in his second breakaway in two days
The group was disorganized and attacked each other again and again and before the final climb but despite this, they were able to keep the peloton behind them and settle the race between themselves, Cohen finishing in 9th, his second top 10 finish on a stage in just 5 days. Chevillard sat along side Pinot in yellow up the final climb and, even though he had no chance in the overall, he attacked the leader within the final 10 kms and to finish 13 seconds ahead.
To sum up, Le Coq Sportif will be very happy about the stage race, securing their first stage win and riding two days in the yellow jersey. Cohen and Chevillard finished 6th and 9th in the young riders competition, and Cohen also finished 8th in the fight for the polka-dot jersey.
The performance should also see a larger sum of money coming their way which will hopefully please the sponsors.
Edited by Ollie23 on 18-07-2015 15:04
Stage 1: Profile: 177.9 kms from Limoges to Rochechouart. No real challenges and invites a mass sprint finish.
Le Coq Sportif's Pierrick Lhermitte got away in a breakaway on the very first stage of Tour du Limousin and the trio in front divided the points on the intermediate's between them before the peloton caught up. Lhermitte won the first intermediate sprint, but couldn't follow up on the 2nd and won't ride with the green jersey tomorrow.
Lhermitte in the breakaway trio
Captain Pierrick Chevillard stayed with the front of the peloton and made sure he didn't lose any seconds in the overall competition.
Stage 2: Profile: 183 kms from Rochecouart to Ambazac. The ending with three Categorized climbs invite attacks and could separate riders in the overall standings
Marius Mourot got away with the peloton which lasted all the way to the stage's Category 2 climb.
Marius Mourot chasing the breakaway
The peloton caught them on the climb and Chevillard was well positioned at the front and well protected by Mickaël Cohen. Over the Category 4 and another three riders attacked, but they never got more than 15 seconds and when the last climb of the day started, Chevillard attacked. He passed the front trio with ease and only Peter Kennaugh and Giovanni Visconti was able to stay on his wheel. The new trio in front rode hard down the mountain and only Maxime Bouet were close to catching up. Visconti, who got a gap the last three kms, won the stage, 16'' in front of Peter Kennaugh, while Pierrick Chevillard was able to stay in front of Maxime Bouet and secured 3rd.
More importantly, the front trio got separation down to the rest. Visconti, due to bonus seconds, had a 26'' lead over Peter Kennaugh, Chevillard and Bouet, while the gap down to the next group was 1'13'', and only 9 riders were withing 2 minutes of Visconti in the overall standings.
Stage 3: Profile: 195.9 kms from Ussac to Chamboulive. Not the biggest challenges, but after 180 kms on the bike, the final Category 2 climb could prove too tough for a bunch of riders.
Today was all about protecting Chevillard and his 3rd place in the overall standing, and maybe, if he had the legs, attack up the final climb. A small breakaway got away, but were never a real threat as the peloton kept a fairly high pace. Up the final climb, the attacks on leader Visconti began, but he kept up with ease. Chevillard struggled and probably sat a bit too far back in the peloton when the climb started to keep up with the front, but over the finish line he was close enough to get the same time as the winner. 3rd place defended, but only just!
Stage 4: Profile: 183.6 kms from Bourganeuf to Limoges. Only four climbs that should be easy enough and the stage invites a mass sprint
The final stage and Le Coq Sportif were close to securing their highest finish in a stage race ever and the team worked well together all day. Poisson was the caterer, bringing up water bottles to the front when needed. Lhermitte positioned himself at the front of the peloton over the first three climbs and made sure Mourot, Baudot, Cohen and Chevillard didn't waste any energy. Towards the finish Mourot and Baudot had done their job and Cohen took the final shift, bringing Chevillard up to the front up to the 10 kms mark. From there Chevillard had to manage on his own. He never threatened the yellow jersey, but he did defend his 3rd overall place.
Overall, Le Coq Sportif can be very happy with this stage race. Pierrick Chevillard was 3rd overall, 2nd overall in the young riders' competition, just 2 seconds behind Peter Kennaugh (which must've been a bit frustrating for young Pierrick to realize at the end).
There weren't a lot of points handed out for intermediate sprints, so what Pierrick Lhermitte did on the first stage was enough to finish 3rd, just 1 point behind the winner, while Marius Mourot collected a few points on the polka-dot jersey, tied for 6th, 10 points behind the winner.
The high overall finish and the prize money to go with it will surely please the sponsors and it shows that Pierrick Chevillard has a great potential as a stage racer. He still has one more season left on his contract with Le Coq Sportif, but it'll be hard for the continental team to keep hold of him beyond 2015.
August 31st Tour du Poitou Charentes and End of Summer update
The Tour du Poitou Charentes was a step back into obscurity for Le Coq Sportif as they never managed to set their flavor on the stage race. The first three stages ended in mass sprints and as the sprinters, Lhermitte and Chateau, have shown all year, they're not ready to take on professional sprinters at this level yet and weren't really close to even the top 25 spots. On the 22 kms long individual time trial that was stage 4, their best rider was Mickaël Cohen, 1'52'' behind and when the final stage ended in a similar mass sprint to the first three, Cohen became the best placed rider in the overall with his 50th place.
But the month of August has been good on the small french team thanks to Pierrick Chevillard's strong performance at Tour de Limousine. A stage win, two days in yellow and podium spot overall was enough to earn him and his team 106 CQ points, lifting him 763 places, all the way up to 380th in the CQ Ranking. Lucien Chateau stays at his 11 points from Circuit de Wallonie in May; Adrien Poisson stand on his 10 while Pierrick Lhermitte has earned his first 3 points.
As a team, Le Coq Sportif are up to 130 CQ points and 73 overall in the CQ Ranking, including World Tour teams. Among Continental teams they are 39th.
@Ripley
I need your help again, buddy! (or anyone else who knows)
I've received an offer from Corima who wants to sponsor us next year with €20,000 for 2015. They deliver wheels as far as I can tell. Should I sign this or are there usually several offers? How long can I wait until they retract the offer?
Congratulations! First stage win - even though that must be the shortest stage in the whole of cycling. And then a third place in a stage race, nicely done. I guess you have seen some improvement in your riders by now. And how does it affect the rankings?
Yeah, sign with Corima. 20k is as much as you can expect, just sometimes you'll get offered more - but other times, even if you ever make it to the World Tour, you get less. You can wait, there will usually be several offers, but yes, offers get withdrawn and you might end up settling for less.
Yeah, sign with Corima. 20k is as much as you can expect, just sometimes you'll get offered more - but other times, even if you ever make it to the World Tour, you get less. You can wait, there will usually be several offers, but yes, offers get withdrawn and you might end up settling for less.
Yeah, I decided to continue a couple of days and they changed the offer to €13,500 with full R&D (though I don't know if that's better or worse). I did sign a sponsor to €20,000 a year for the frame so now there's just one box left. It's not a lot of money but anything helps I guess.
I found a couple of U23 riders that I was interested in (AVR below 70, young, french) but they signed with World Tour teams instead (so at least I found good riders!). So now I'm thinking I'll wait until the start of next season, but can you even sign riders in January? Or will I have to sign someone right now or wait until July next year?
Championnat de France
British Championship - Sky dominanse
Campeonato de España
Campeonato de Portugal
Campionato di Italia
Championnat de Belgique
Nederlands Kampioenschap
Deutsche Meisterschaft
Mistrzostwa Polski
Norsk Mesterskap
(or anyone else who knows)
