Christina : Hi, am back in Copenhagen and we have just evaluated the first 3 months of the season.
The team is 6 on the Continental ranking. 35 on the CQ ranking
Francisco José Pacheco is 4 on the Continental ranking. 147 on the CQ ranking.
Francisco José Pacheco has won 3 races.
All in all we are very pleased with the team so far.
Rasmussen: Im here in the small town of Tagnon, destination town of the first stage of the Circuit des Ardennes in northern France. The race is our preparation for our next major goal of the season Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León coming up in about a week’s time. We got to be careful out there today, the forecast looks like it could be wet roads.
Roster :
Francisco José Pacheco
Stefan Schumacher
Martin Pedersen
Constantino Zaballa
Marc Hester
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Daniele Aldegheri
Jimmi Sørensen
The race profile is flat, but with some mountain and sprint points to be collected.
After a few attempts to create a break all failed, a small group got away
Marc Hester (Christina Watches)
Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne)
Vladyslav Bakumenko (ISD Continental)
Break:
With about 80 km left, several teams pulled the Peloton, and the break was caught after the last sprint.
Peloton:
In the end we got a fine train formed, but started the sprint a bit early, it was Europecar that took the bacon, with a doublet win.
Mark Hester is leading the Mountain calcification after today’s stage.
Rasmussen : Hi im here in Northern France very close to the Belgian border, in the beautiful town Givet, at the start of today’s stage to Haybes.
The weather is much better, so I hope no serious crash today.
Stage profile :
With a fast pace from the Peloton, right from the start this morning, no breaks was able to get away from the bunch.
Peloton riding hard today:
Marc Hester was trying to grab any mountain points that he could get, to hold on to his dotted jersey.
Hester takes the mountain points:
Near the last climb the fight for positions began, the speed accelerated and gabs began to appear :
Many riders attacked on the climb and got away, the front group was split into many pieces, Julian Arredondo (Nippo - De Rosa) came first to the finish, just in front of Yoann Bagot (Cofidis)
Constantino Zaballa and Stefan Schumacher came in with a group 3’02 after, as 9 and 10.
Marc Hester, not a strong climber, was fighting to keep his Jersey, and he just managed to do so. We are very proud of him !!
7/4 Charleville - Méziéres : Team Time 21.6 km
Rasmussen : Hi im here in Charleville-Mézières, for the TTT, we know we can’t win this, but we must just loose as little time as possible.
The stage was not perfect for us, had a hard time keeping the group together.
We came in 14., loosing 1’12. Not a good result.
8/4 Final stage : Les Mazures – Tournes : 103,5 km
Rasmussen : Hi, im here in Tournes the destination of today’s stage, a mixed stage with some smaller climbs and a catagori 1, about 20 kilometers before the finish.
Today we had limited fotos, so this is the stage in writing.
Hester was set on getting the overall mountain classification, so he was keen on getting into a break. He manages to do so, and quite a big group too, so even though they did not get much time they were an actual treat to the peloton. The Break included other riders set on mountain points, out of the 142 points on the stage, Paul Poux (Sojasun) took 24, Matthias Bertling (Team Quantec) 22, but none of his main rivals was in the break, so the 12 points Hester got, was enough.
Mountain classification:
Rank
Name
Team
Mountain
General
1
Marc Hester
Christina Watches - Onfone
12
46
2
Nikola Aistrup
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
0
34
3
Christian Moberg Jørgensen
Team Cult Energy
16
34
4
Gavin Mannion
Bontrager Cycling Team
0
26
5
Paul Poux
Sojasun
24
24
Constantino Zaballa, our best climber had very good legs today, so it was obvious that he would be our best chance to do something today. Just before the category 1 climb. he attacked, and got free of the peloton, catching the front group easily. He got a bit of time on the climb, so it was just a matter of keeping distance, on the descend towards the line. He was almost caught on the line, but he managed to win it.
Stage result:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Constantino Zaballa
Christina Watches - Onfone
2h22'05
2
Bryan Coquard
Team Europcar
s.t.
3
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
s.t.
4
Juan José Haedo
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
5
David Le Lay
Sojasun
s.t.
6
Julian Arredondo
Team Nippo - De Rosa
s.t.
7
Nico Sijmens
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
8
Justin Jules
La Pomme Marseille
s.t.
9
Daniel Navarro
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
10
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
General result:
1
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
10h17'51
2
Daniel Navarro
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 33
3
Julian Arredondo
Team Nippo - De Rosa
+ 1'00
4
Nicolas Edet
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 2'49
5
Guillaume Levarlet
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 3'02
6
Julien Antomarchi
La Pomme Marseille
+ 3'04
7
David Le Lay
Sojasun
+ 3'11
8
Jure Golcer
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 3'18
9
Bryan Coquard
Team Europcar
+ 3'35
10
Constantino Zaballa
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 3'37
Stefan Schumacher was overall 16, +3'55 behind.
Constantino Zaballa was 3 overall in points
The team ended up 2nd. 7,23 behind Cofidis
Christina (on the phone form a meeting in Tokyo) : Very good result in the Ardennes, you boys should start training on the TTT, otherwise everything was fine.
Edited by Tamijo on 24-08-2015 20:51
This post was updated, there was a mix-up between stage 1 and 2.
12/4
Christina : I am here in Arévalo, the start Town of the first stage of “Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León” in north-western Spain. An important race for the management.
After good results in the Ardennes, we hope for a stage win, but we are aware that this is a stronger field.
Arévalo as seen from the Castle:
Rasmussen: We have chosen this roster:
Arevalo – Valladolid : 194,3 km
Rasmussen: We did our best to get Martin or Stefan in a break, but the peloton would not let us go, so we did not get anyone in today’s break. The break was 4 riders, Krisztian Lovassy (Utensilnord) won the mountain jersey, Shinichi Fukushima (Nippo - De Rosa) came second, before they were reeled in, right after the climb.
We got a fine sprint train, almost perfect position for José:
It was a very close finish; Moreno Hofland (Belkin) crossed the line first.
Christina: I am here in Palencia, the destination of the second stage. I’m very satisfied with a top 5 yesterday; let’s hope we can keep it up today.
Cathedral of Palencia:
Rasmussen: The stage today is almost flat, would be great to get in a break to collect some mountain points, but we are mainly interested in getting a good sprint train and a perfect finish.
Today’s profile: Uruena – Palencia, 168.9 km
Martin tried to get away right from the start. Again we had no luck, and when a break finally happens, we were not in it. The break was Mironov (RusVelo) Aramendia (Caja Rural) Rotyakov (Itera – Katusha) and Honkisz (CCC).
Martin tried to get away:
A rainy stage, resulting in some crash, but otherwise not a very eventful day. The break was over, between the last two hills, and the positioning for the sprint began.
Lars Bak, Lotto’s captain on the tarmac:
Constantino Zaballa was trying an attack, at the foot of the last hill, a fruitless effort, impossible to get rid of the bunch on such a short climb.
It came down to a mass sprint, the strongest was Matti Breschel (Saxo – Tinkoff)
14/4 - 2013
Christina: Hi, here in Cervera de Pisuerga, the destination of today’s final stage of Vuelta a Castilla y León.
I am a bit disappointed with yesterday’s performance, we tried but we didn’t get the best result, would have loved another top 5. Let’s just hope for a better day, on this final stage.
The old Santa María del Castillo Church, in Cervera de Pisuerga :
Rasmussen: We expect a hard stage today, the route is hilly with constant ups and downs, it could end in a sprint, but the small hill just before finish, will make it harder for the sprinters.
Stage profile :
After some failed attacks, a break of five riders was created, D. Aldegheri (Christina Watches) R. Garcia (Euskaltel) M. Duenas (Burgos) C. Beyer (Champion) D. Millar (Garmin)
The Break:
After a while the front group started to attack each other again and again, to get in position to grab the mountain points, the result was the Aldegheri and to some surprise D. Millar was left behind and eventually caught by a chasing peloton, led by (Saxo – Tinkoff). Gruppetto’s was created several minutes behind, catching riders forced to drop back.
Peloton:
The pace was very fast; on the way up towards the last climb the front group was reeled in, and other attempts to attack was unsuccessful. The front was down to 43 riders on the last descend. D. Aldegheri crashed on the way down, most likely do to his hard effort earlier on the stage.
D. Aldegheri :
The team’s was not able to create sprint trains; everyone had to fight for themselves to get in position for the sprint. G. Caruso (Katusha) was the strongest today. Francisco José finish 5th.
Caruso in front at the finish:
Stage result :
1
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
4h29'51
2
Wilco Kelderman
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Fabian Wegmann
Garmin - Sharp
+ 15
4
Tom Slagter
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Francisco José Pacheco
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
6
Jonathan Castroviejo
Movistar Team
s.t.
7
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
s.t.
8
Julian Arredondo
Team Nippo - De Rosa
s.t.
9
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
10
Julien El Fares
Sojasun
s.t.
Christina : The stage was fantastic for us, and a very fine result overall in a 2.1 race. Francisco Jose overall 6th, Constantino Zaballa 8th.
Francisco was third in point’s; Mitchell Lovelock-Fay was 5th. young rider.
The team was overall 2nd. only 15 seconds after Katusha.
20/4
Christina: Hi, im here in Herning for the first race of the season on our home turf in Denmark. This is off course a very important race for us.
Herning Kirke (church) build in 1888 - 1889 :
Rasmussen: Grand Prix Herning, is a 198.9 km one day, very flat race. The tactic’s is simple, we need to make a train and win the sprint.
Stage Profile:
We have chosen this roster:
Francisco José Pacheco
Morten Høberg
Martin Pedersen
Jimmi Sørensen
Simon Bigum
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Marc Hester
Sebastian Balck
A small break was created early on the stage, but with only 3 riders, and a pancake stage, they would never make it to the finish. The peloton kept them in line all stage.
Peloton:
We set up a fine sprint train with Martin Pedersen – Morten Høberg - Francisco José. But Francisco got boxed between our train and other sprinters, before the last corner, losing a lot of momentum.
Benoit Drujon (BigMat) won the race in front of Benjamin Giraud (La Pomme Marseille) and Nikola Aistrup (Concordia). Francisco José came in as 9th.
Christina: A top ten in this race, must be considered a big disappointment, the management had expected much more!
Rasmussen: We haven’t got any cobblestone specialist, in this race. So we don’t have much hope to compete here. Marc Hester will be our captain.
Stage profile:
Roster :
Stefan Schumacher
Constantino Zaballa
Simon Bigum
Daniele Aldegheri
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Morten Høberg
Frederik Wilmann
Early on the stage a relative strong break of 9 riders was formed, including Stefan Schumacher, we had some hope this break would make it to the finish. But the peloton did accelerate, and be break could not hold. With about 115 km left, new attacks started and a new bigger group of 11 riders was formed, this time without any of our riders.
The peloton was not doing much to catch the break, so we had to move into the front to help catch the break.
We were riding as hard as we could, and riders started to drop, forming a gruppetto. But the break was too strong, and no matter how hard we tried, we could not catch it, the race ended with a sprint between the riders in the break.
27-4 2013
Christina: I’m here in “Aars” , the destination of today’s race, to support the team in another race here in Danmark, “Himmerland Rundt”, We did not do so well in the last one in Herning, this time the management really wants to see at least a top 5. The field is not too strong here, it should be possible!
The main street in Aars:
Rasmussen: You are right, the field is not strong, and we will do our best to deliver.
Profile, Himmerland Rundt ; Farsø – Aars : 198.2 km
Roster:
Francisco José Pacheco
Angelo Furlan
Stefan Schumacher
Martin Pedersen
Jimmi Sørensen
Marc Hester
Morten Høberg
Simon Bigum
The usual morning break was created, and we did not try to get in it, we would stay in the peloton and bet on a mass sprint. The break was Mathiasen (Concordia) Asadov (Synergy) Nottebohm (Quantec) Bouwman (Jo Piels).
We were leading the peloton, together with Team NSP–Ghost, never letting the break get more than little over 3 minutes, and the Break was caught about 10 kilometer before the finish. We made a fine train in support of Francisco, but maybe he started his sprint, just a little bit too late, Anyway he came 2nd. after NSP–Ghost’s German rider Tino Thömel.
Race result:
1
Tino Thömel
Team NSP - Ghost
4h12'26
2
Francisco José Pacheco
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
3
Patrick Clausen
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
4
Kasper Linde Jørgensen
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
5
Nikola Aistrup
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
6
Robert Retschke
Team Quantec - Indeland
s.t.
7
Angelo Furlan
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
8
Michael Kurth
Team Quantec - Indeland
s.t.
9
Anuar Manan
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
s.t.
10
Daniel Foder
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
Christina: A win would be fantastic, but a 2nd is great.
Edited by Tamijo on 27-08-2015 17:30
28/4
Zuid-Oost Drenthe Classic II (category 1.2)
Exloo – Exloo: 202 km
Rasmussen: I’m here at “Hotel De Meulenhoek” in Exloo, for the “Zuid-Oost Drenthe Classic”, located in the Drenthe province, in northeast Netherlands. The race is with quite a few cobble sections, our leader is Swedish Sebastian Balck, our best cobbel’s rider. We have no actual specialist, but we will do our best, maybe try to get in a break.
“Hotel De Meulenhoek” :
Race profile :
Roster:
Francisco José Pacheco
Jimmi Sørensen
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
Stefan Schumacher
Martin Pedersen attacks early, trying to catch a smaller front group. More riders attack and the break grows to 11 riders, a strong group, they get more than 6 minutes on the peloton. The strongest rider in the group is most likely Eric Young (Optum), Martin will not be able to beat him in a sprint.
Martin attacks:
But even though the group is strong, they don’t work together well enough to keep the lead, with 50 km left the lead is reduced to 2 minutes. The break won’t hold. It seems like Stefan Schumacher has good legs, he is able to stay near in the front even though he is not a great cobble rider, and manages to be in the final sprint, he comes home 6th.
Today winner was a doublet from Mike Teunissen & Rick Zabel (Rabobank Development Team)
Result:
1
Mike Teunissen
Rabobank Development Team
4h59'59
2
Rick Zabel
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
3
Nikola Aistrup
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
4
Jonathan Dufrasne
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
5
Marcin Bialoblocki
Team UK Youth
s.t.
6
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
7
Mark Christian
Team Raleigh
s.t.
8
Dylan Teuns
Ventilair - Steria Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Sebastian Balck
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
10
Floris Goesinnen
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
Christina: Fine result with the options we had, im pleased !
Edited by Tamijo on 27-08-2015 21:27
2/5-2013
Memorial of Oleg Dyachenko (category 1.2)
Moscow - Moscow: 197.7 km
Rasmussen: Here in Moscow for the Memorial, not a very important race for the team, but good results is always welcome. The race is very hilly with an uphill finish, not likely that I will be won in a sprint.
My expectations are that we have a good chance with Constantino Zaballa or Stefan Schumacher. So the plan is to control the race from the peloton.
Riders:
Constantino Zaballa
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
Stefan Schumacher
A break was formed with 3 riders, none of them very strong in these conditions. We set the pace in the peloton, and they never got more than 3-4 minutes. With about 60 km left we accelerated, the peloton started thinning out. At about 25 km, our riders was used up, now we had only, Constantino Zaballa, Martin Pedersen and Stefan Schumacher, in the reduced Peloton. The break got caught but others started to attack.
The morning break.
It turned out that is was Stefan Schumacher who had the best legs today, and he attacked, trying to catch the riders in front. With 10 km left, he was in the second group with only Patrik Sinkewitz (Meridiana Kamen) in front.
Schumacher was close to hitting the wall at this point, so he was forced to slow down a bit, hoping the others was burned out too. He had no energy left to sprint, but no one had. He could not catch Patrik Sinkewitz, but he just made it 2nd.
3/5-2013
Grand Prix of Moscow (category 1.2)
Moscow – Moscow : 187 km
Rasmussen: Another day here in Moscow, for this race we didn’t use the A Squard, so not much expectations for this one.
Roster:
Jimmi Sørensen
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
We got Jimmi Sørensen in a break of four riders, and they got more than 5 minutes, Sørensen seemed to be the stronger rider in the group, so we had a moment of hope. The Peloton accelerated and the group was reeled in at the last 5 km. We tried to bring our sprinters in front, but they were not strong enough to compete. The winner was Sam Bennett (An Post – Chainreaction)
1
Sam Bennett
An Post - Chainreaction
4h11'14
2
Artur Ershov
RusVelo
s.t.
3
Patrick Clausen
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
4
Chris Opie
Team UK Youth
s.t.
5
Giorgio Brambilla
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
6
Johim Ariesen
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
s.t.
7
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
8
Mauro Abel Richeze
Team Nippo - De Rosa
s.t.
9
Robert Retschke
Team Quantec - Indeland
s.t.
10
Kasper Klostergaard
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
Our best was Marc Hester at 11th. and Morten Høberg at 16th.
4/5-2013
Berner Rundfahrt (category 1.2)
Bern–Bern : 167.9 km
Profile:
Rasmussen: Today’s race is in Bern, the federal city of Switzerland, the profile is very hilly. The plan is to control the race, and try to attack with Stefan Schumacher or Constantino Zaballa.
Houses in the Old City of Bern:
We have chosen this roster for the race.
Despite the tactics, Aldegheri counter attacks a break, and got away with T. Knaup (LKT Brandenburg) and G. Henrichsen (Quantec). The main group seemed not to care to much, and they got 7’17 at the top of the second climb.
But as so often before, a small group have a hard time with a fast peloton, and the gab disappeared slowly. The break was caught before the last climb. Some attacks was tried from different riders, Schumacher, Zaballa and riders from other teams. Amaro Antunes (Ceramica – Flaminia) was the only one that got a respectable gab.
Solo win by Amaro Antunes:
Our Marc Hester had surprisingly good legs, took the wheel of Schumacher, and made a magnificent sprint.
Marc Hester second:
I missed the results list, but the first five was:
A. Antunes (Ceramica) M. Hester (Christina W) S. Schumacher (Christina W)
C. Opie (UK Youth)
R. Cusin (IAM Cycling)
5/5-2013
Circuit de Wallonie (category 1.2)
Fleurus - Lambusart: 168.3 km
Profile:
Rasmussen: I am in the Fleurus, in the French speaking Walloon region, in the southern part of Belgium, for the start of Circuit de Wallonie. A stage with some cobblestone sections, but not that many. A little bumps, but more flat than hilly. The strategy will be to stay in the peloton, and await a possibility to do something near the end.
Fleurus, the town hall:
The Riders:
Constantino Zaballa
Frederik Wilmann
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
Stefan Schumacher
The usual morning break was only 3 riders, that was never a problem. At about 85 km to go, the rain started pouring down, making the cobbles even more dangerous. But strangely enough there was very few crash and punctures during the day.
Our best shot today, was to sprint with Marc Hester and Stefan Schumacher on the last uphill towards the line. Marc ran out of energy, the climb was too much. Stefan couldn’t get to the front in time, but did a fine sprint.
Winner Reinier Honig (Crelan – Euphony)
Result:
1
Reinier Honig
Crelan - Euphony
3h46'56
2
Davy Commeye
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
3
Maxime Vantomme
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
4
Sven Nys
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
5
Steven Caethoven
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
6
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 31
7
Sean Downey
An Post - Chainreaction
s.t.
8
Thomas Degand
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
9
Sven Vandousselaere
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
Marc Hester came in as 20th, he was hit by a wall on that last climb. Those small bumps on the road, was harder than we had expected.
