Updates from a couple of races at the start of August...
Clasica San Sebastien
Another classic came calling and Movistar sent a strong field for this race. Every single Movistar rider attacked at one point or the other in this race. In the end only Gorkha Izagirre was able to hang on to the wheels of the leading breakaway, while fatigue caught up with the others. He finished 5th to cap off an exciting event for Movistar. Perhaps a little more discretion would have gotten them a stage win. Julian Alaphilippe was too strong for the others in the leading group in the final sprint. Jose Lobato and Jesus Herrada finished 10th and 11th respectively to keep up Movistar's good showings at this year's classics. Alaphilippe is another rider I'm looking at to succeed Valverde in the classics.
Tour de Pologne
A low key affair, with most of the high profile riders absent from this race. What was billed to be a tussle between Kwiatkowski, Valverde and Richie Porte, threw up a somewhat surprise winner. Romain Bardet took his chances well going up the mountains and impressed with a couple of stage wins. He seemed to re-capture the form he had at the end of the Giro. A good performance in the last stage ITT catapulted Javier Moreno above Valverde and into 4th place, making him Movistar's best finisher. Valverde finished 5th with Luis Leon Sanchez 8th, handing three more top 10 finishes to Movistar.
Movistar Starting List
Roman Kreuziger
Mikel Nieve
JJ Rojas
Jose Herrada
Dayer Quintana
Antonio Puga
Enrique Sanz
Marc Soler
The Vuelta a Burgos is the third of a flurry of races heading in to the Vuelta a Espana. It is another chance for Movistar to race in their own backyard, in front of their fans. The starting line-up is a mix of old heads and young blood. This race is not particularly demanding in terms of climbing, and the team should manage with what they have. The likes of Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Mathias Frank (IAM) and Andrew Talansky (Cannondale Garmin) should provide the toughest tests for the Movistar pair of Kreuziger and Nieve.
Following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat
The race started off with a flat stage for the sprinters. The pack managed to avoid any drama.
Stage 2 - Hilly with 1 major and 3 minor intermediate climbs
A mixed bag of a stage with mostly small climbs led surprisingly to significant time gaps. Sylvain Chavanel powered away in a two man breakaway in the only major climb of the day to win.
Stage winner - Sylvain Chavanel Movistar - Roman Kreuziger 6th, lost 2' 26"
Stage 3 - Hilly with 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
A rather quiet stage saw Kreuziger take the lead and Nieve claw back time on Chavanel. Nieve managed a podium place, as the last climb saw Jeremy Roy pull away for the win. Having lost time in the previous stage, he was well off the pace of the leaders.
Stage winner - Jeremy Roy Movistar - Mikel Nieve 3rd, Roman Kreuziger 6th, both losing 36". Kreuziger into the overall lead by 25" Other important results - All other GC contenders were locked at the same overall time after this stage
Stage 4 - Flat with 3 minor intermediate climbs
A mostly flat stage brought Verhelst his second win of the race. He cemented his points jersey with this win. Most of the peloton finished without any time gaps.
Stage winner - Louis Verhelst Movistar - Enrique Sanz 11th
Stage 5 - Flat with Mountain top finish, including 1 major intermediate climb
The two men favoured to battle it out for the GC were left in the wake by two other men going up the mountain top finish. Kreuziger and van Garderen had to be content with 3rd and 4th place respectively, as Davide Formolo and Mathias Frank powered to the lead. Formolo edged out Frank in the sprint for the line, grabbing a surprise victory.
Stage winner - Davide Formolo Movistar - Roman Kreuziger 3rd, lost 27" Other important results - Davide Formolo won the stage and the overall race. Mathias Frank took second in both. Tejay van Garderen finished with same time as Kreuziger.
Another encouraging performance heading into the last GT of the year. Kreuziger's form seems to be good, and his fitness is peaking at the right time. Rumour has it that most of the big names will be missing from this year's Vuelta a Espana. Could this really be Kreuziger's year? Only time will tell...
The last post before the Vuelta. Updates from the week before...
Tour de l'Ain
The precursor to the Vuelta featuring some of the top riders saw Movistar dominate. Roman Kreuziger picked up three stage wins on his way to overall victory to end his preparation for the Vuelta in the perfect way. Benat Intxausti and Mikel Nieve finished in 3rd and 7th place respectively. Would Movistar enjoy similar success in their home GT, if one can call it that?
Tour du Limousin
With a field consisting of riders who were not in the Vuelta starting line-up, this was another event Movistar managed to shine in, making August their best month of the year so far. Winner Anacona, aptly named, won this race while former Movistar rider Ventoso claimed 2nd place. Jose Herrada finished in 5th place. With the Vuelta starting the day after the conclusion of this race, the mood in the Movistar camp was extremely optimistic.
Before I post my report on the Vuelta, I'd like to say that I'm changing my reporting pattern and breaking this GT report into three parts. The Vuelta has been an out of this world race and I thought putting everything into one post would make it too heavy. Also, I've finally figured out the way to post photos in the body of posts, with a lot of thanks to @trekbmc and @Ian Butler. This would also make the posts longer. I hope everyone likes this new format of reporting. (Whether I split the reports in the future depends on how much I have to report on a particular race. I will take that decision as and when the time comes).
First part coming up in a few minutes (as long as it takes me to edit it)...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 16-10-2015 15:33
Stage List
TTR - 1
ITT - 2
Flat - 5
Mountain/Hill - 13
Movistar Starting List
Alejandro Valverde
Roman Kreuziger
Benat Intxausti
Mikel Nieve
Adriano Malori
J J Rojas
Ion Izagirre
Gorkha Izagirre
Javier Moreno
Number of Starters - 198 Number of Finishers - 181
The last GT of the year, the Vuelta a Espana. Generally known to be a GT for the pure climbers, this edition was no different with 13 of the 21 stages classified either as a Hill or as a Mountain stage. As previously rumoured, the very big names were absent from the Vuelta this year for varying reasons. There was no Contador, no Froome, no Nibali and no Aru. Nairo Quintana was absent for Movistar. This opened up the field and would allow someone new a chance at greatness. We were sure to have a first time winner of a GT. Among the starters, Rigoberto Uran (Tinkoff-Saxo) came into this race with the best record in the GTs this year. His second place finish at the Tour was his best placing ever in a GT. Richie Porte would be the leader for Team Sky in the absence of Contador and Froome. He finished 4th at the Giro in May. Tinkoff-Saxo also started the race with Dan Martin, as joint leader with Uran. Martin is someone who has been on the up this year and is hoping for a high finish. For Movistar, Roman Kreuziger has been picked to lead their charge. Alejandro Valverde has been given a free role, and would be looking to go stage hunting. Mikel Nieve has been picked as the chief Domestique. Some of the outside picks include young riders like Louis Meintjes and Julian Alaphilippe, both of whom are destined for a bright future.
Part 1: Flamboyance (Stage 1-7)
Following is a summary of important stages...
Stage 1 - Team Time Trial - Flat - 12 km
Probably the best TT squad for the year, Movistar stopped the clock with the lowest time to win the Team Time Trial.
Stage winner - Movistar Movistar - Benat Intxausti was given the Red Jersey for crossing the line first Other important results - Cannondale Garmin finished second with the same time as Movistar, Sky and Tinkoff both lost 31"
Stage 3 - Hilly with slightly uphill finish
The first hilly stage did not produce any time gaps but produced a rare finish. Peter Sagan celebrated too early. Roman Kreuziger caught up and pipped him on the line! (Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty new to cycling lingo, but I believe the term is Sagan got Zabel'ed!! I wish I'd taken a screenshot...)
Stage winner - Roman Kreuziger Other important results - All leaders finished in the leading group
Stage 5 - Hilly with slightly uphill finish, including 1 major intermediate climb
Another quiet hilly stage produced no time gaps. Most of the sprinters could not keep up with the front of the pack, allowing Dan Martin to power to a win.
Stage winner - Dan Martin Movistar - Valverde finished 4th, Rojas 5th, Intxausti, Malori and Kreuziger finished in the top 10.
After this stage, Movistar had the lead in all but one of the classifications! Kreuziger was in Red, Rojas in Green, Gorkha Izagirre was in Polka and they were leading the Team Classifications again after letting it go in the second stage (they would not let go of the lead in the team classifications again in the race). Other important results - All leaders finished in the leading group
Stage 6 - Mountain with Mountain top finish, including 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
The arrival of the mountains coincided with the arrival of time gaps. Richie Porte pulled away halfway up the climb to the finish line to close the gap on Kreuziger. Rigoberto Uran was a big loser, effectively handing over the team leader tag to Dan Martin for the rest of the Vuelta.
Stage winner - Richie Porte Movistar - Nieve 3rd, Kreuziger 4th, Valverde 5th and Intxausti 6th, all lost 30" to Porte. In addition to the Red jersey, Kreuziger captured the Green jersey at the end of this stage. Gorkha, however, lost the Polka Dot jersey to Porte. Other important results - Uran lost 2'22". The other leaders finished in the Kreuziger group.
Stage 7 - Hilly with uphill finish, including 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
Another hilly stage brought good fortune for Movistar. Kreuziger raced up the last hill to get his 2nd stage win, and Movistar's 3rd in this race. He further extended his lead in the overall classification.
(I don't know why the finishing gate did not show up in the screenshot!)
Stage winner - Roman Kreuziger Movistar - Benat Intxausti 3rd Other important results - Richie Porte 2nd, losing 8" to Kreuziger. All other leaders finished in Intxausti group
To be continued...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 21-01-2016 16:22
Stage 9 - Mountain with Mountain top finish, including 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
If ever the bubble of Movistar would have to burst with a bang, it did so in this stage. The toils of the long first week of the Vuelta showed through as their riders struggled to hold on to the head of the pack. Richie Porte took his second mountain top victory, snatching the overall lead away from Kreuziger.
Stage winner - Richie Porte Movistar - Benat Intxausti 8th losing 1'22", Kreuziger and Nieve lost 1'55", Valverede finished further down. Krueziger lost both his jerseys. Other important results - Richie Porte took the overall lead. Dan martin moved into second overall with a top 5 finish in the stage.
Stage 10 - Individual Time Trial - Flat - 34.5 km
The overall leaderboard saw another shake-up after this stage. Richie Porte retained his lead with a commanding performance. The ITT played right into his hands and allowed for consolidation. Behind him, Benat Intxausti's consistency saw him leapfrog Kreuziger as the highest placed Movistar rider.
Stage winner - Richie Porte Movistar - Intxausti 4th losing 19", Valverde 6th losing 27", Kreuziger 8th 36" Other important results - Dan Martin lost 58" but held on to 2nd place overall
Stage 11 - Mountain with Mountain top finish, including 1 major intermediate climb
Three in a row for Porte! At this stage, it was looking like Richie Porte would run away with this race. Movistar were still to recover from the strains of the first week, and the Vuelta seemed to be slipping away from their grasp.
Stage winner - Richie Porte Movistar - Intxausti finished 3rd but lost 1'17", Nieve 4th, Valverde 6th and Kreuziger 7th, both losing 1'35" Other important results - Meintjes 2nd losing 52", Dan Martin finished with same time as Kreuziger
Stage 13 - Hilly with 1 major and 2 minor intermediate climbs
Movistar were the reason for their own undoing. The process of protecting Intxausti's 3rd place cost Kreuziger and Valverde massive chunks of time going up the last climb. Only Intxausti was able to hang on to the leaders as Meintjes continued his impressive Vuelta and claimed the win. (I made the mistake of putting Kreuziger and Valverde in Intxausti's protection train. By the time the end of the stage came, they had run out of steam, losing touch with the leaders.)
Stage winner - Louis Meintjes Movistar - Intxausti 14th losing 20", Kreuziger and Nieve lost 2'23", Valverde lost 4'57" Other important results - The leaders fiished in Intxausti's group
Stage 14 - Mountain with Mountain top finish, including 2 major intermediate climbs
A revival of sorts for what was looking like an out of sorts Movistar in the second week of this race. Roman Kreuziger timed his attack to perfection in the climb to the finish line to clinch his third win of the Vuelta. This was a fitting response by Movistar to make up for the mistake in organization which cost them dearly in the previous stage.
(And again, no finishing post!)
Stage winner - Roman Kreuziger Movistar - Benat Intxausti 10th losing 1'20" Other important results - Richie Porte and Dan Martin lost 38"
To be continued...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 21-01-2016 16:23
After Stage 15, the leaderboard looked like this...
Stage 16 - Mountain with Mountain top finish, including 4 major intermediate climbs
The winner everyone wanted to see - the man who exemplifies effort in the world of cycling. On a torturous mountain stage, Alejandro Valverde attacked from the front of the peloton at the start of the first climb and joined up with the breakaway group. At the fourth climb of the day, he decided that he'd had enough of the breakaway and attacked again, never to be caught. A sweet stage win, Movistar's fifth of the Vuelta, for the man whose powers have been on the decline this year. His time riding might come to an end soon, but he's ensuring he goes out with his head held high. Behind him, Movistar were able to create havoc amongst the leaders, completely shaking up the overall leaderboard. (A comparison with the previous stage would reveal the full extent of the damage.)
Stage winner - Alejandro Valverde from breakaway Movistar - Benat Intxausti 3rd and Roman Kreuziger, 1'16" behind Valverde, Mikel Nieve 5th. Valverde got the Polka Dot jersey as a reward for his efforts Other important results - Dan Martin took the overall lead after finishing second, 33" behind Valverde, in this stage. Louis Meintjes lost 2'19", Rigoberto Uran lost 4'1", Richie Porte lost 4'16"
The shake-up after this stage...
Spoiler
Stage 18 - Flat with hill top finish
Louis Meintjes finished strongly up the hill to win his second stage of the Vuelta. Among the leaders, Kreuziger was the only one who lost time.
Stage winner - Louis Meintjes Movistar - Intxausti 4th , Valverde 5th, Kreuziger lost 1'37" Other important results - Dan Martin 2nd, Richie Porte 3rd
Stage 20 - Mountain with Mountain top finish, including 2 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
The cycling king of Spain did it again! There was an early breakaway in this stage. Alejandro Valverde attacked on the 2nd climb of the day with the intention of protecting his Polka Dot jersey (he led by just 2 points at this stage). As it would turn out, he not only caught the breakaway, but left them behind on the next climb, powering his way to another popular stage win. The fate of the Polka Dot was thus decided. Behind him, again, there was a shake-up with Movistar putting Intxausti in the lead.
Stage winner - Alejandro Valverde from breakaway Movistar - Benat Intxausti 2nd, losing 1'33", Kreuziger fifth, 2'46" behind, Nieve 6th 3'5" behind. Valverde was confirmed as the winner of the King of the Mountains classification. Intxausti claimed the Red Jersey after this stage Other important results - Richie Porte 4th, 2'10" behind Valverde and 37" behind Intxausti, Dan Martin lost 4' to Valverde and 2'27" to Intxausti
A look at the leaderboard...
Spoiler
Stage 21 - Individual Time Trial - Flat - 10 km
Going into this stage, the gap between the top 3 was less than a minute! However, this was Richie Porte's element and you had to say that he was the favourite going into this stage to overturn the deficit. Dan Martin's poor ITT skills would be of most disadvantage. As it turned out, the winning margin couldn't have been any smaller. Porte did just enough to claw ahead of Intxausti, who didn't have the legs to go faster!
Stage winner - Rohan Dennis Movistar - Adriano Malori 2nd, 1" behind, Intxausti lost 35" to Rohan Dennis Other important results - Richie Porte finished 3rd, 11" behind Dennis. It was enough for him to take the overall leaders jersey by a mere 10"
The overall classifications:
Spoiler
Overall Standings
1)Richie Porte (Sky)
2)Benat Intxausti (Movistar)
3)Dan Martin (Tinkoff-Saxo)
Team Classification
1)Movistar
2)Team Sky
3)Tinkoff-Saxo
WOW!! The Vuelta a Espana promised to be exciting and it delivered. At the end, it was Richie Porte's superior time-trialing which brought him his first GT title. Over the course of the flats and the hills and mountains, Intxausti was the winner. Two ITTs, not his strong point, cost him the title. After 21 stages of racing, just 10 seconds separated the top 2. The performance of Benat Intxausti is enough to convince me that he can take on big responsibilities. There was no backing down from the favourites on his part. He took Roman Kreuziger's erratic as an opportunity to be exploited, and firmly took over the reins as team leader. One cannot but help applaud Intxausti's efforts. There were doubts being raised about whether his contribution to the team has been enough to justify his potential. Well this was the perfect riposte I say. Congratulations too, to Richie Porte on claiming his first ever GT. In a team comprising both Froome and Contador, it was evident how much trust they had on him to send him to the Vuelta as team leader. And a final word on Alejandro Valverde. This man's capabilities never fails to amaze me. Now in the twilight of his career, he continues to pull out gems on the big stage. Let's hope we get to see him for a few more years to come. Ironically, despite Movistar being excellent in the TTs all year, it was two ITTs that have led to their riders' downfall in two GTs. Firstly, Nairo's fall from 2nd to 3rd at the TDF and now Intxausti so narrowly missing out on the Vuelta a Espana.
On the side: This is the best GT and race I have played in PCM. The kind of excitement this race provided was exhilarating. And, Benat Intxausti won my heart with this performance.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 21-01-2016 16:28
I really thought Intasuxi had won it before the ITT.
Fair enough to do a longer report given how exciting the race was. and the screenshots with current results were a good inclusion.
btw: For screenshots you can change the camera angle (the F buttons on the top of the keyboard or the panel on the side of the screen) and you can clear the interface (Control U). If you want.
I really thought Intasuxi had won it before the ITT.
Fair enough to do a longer report given how exciting the race was. and the screenshots with current results were a good inclusion.
btw: For screenshots you can change the camera angle (the F buttons on the top of the keyboard or the panel on the side of the screen) and you can clear the interface (Control U). If you want.
Thanks for the encouragement
I'll try out what you said about the screenshots in the coming races.
Intxausti really was excellent in this race. No stage wins as compared to 4 for Porte, and yet he almost pulled off a sensational win. (Too bad Sky's signed him in the real world. Would've been a good rider for Movistar to include in the GTs.)
Updates on races in September and October (only pictures with summary)...
Memorial Marco Panatani
Pas de Calais
World Championship - Individual Time Trial
World Championship - Road Race
Tour du Gevaudan
Il Lombardia
Coppa Sabatini
Paris Bourges
Giro dell'Emilia
Chrono des Nations
In summary...
The highlight of the end-season was the fantastic solo breakaway win in the Il Lombardia for Alejandro Valverde. The first Monuments win for Movistar with me as manager, and it had to be Valverde to do the honours. He also won the Memorial Marco Pantani with Ion Izagirre completing a Movistar 1-2. The Chrono des Nations was the last race on the calender. It was almost like the UCI's way of saying, "Go on, we know you have the best time trial team. Win this one to finish off the season on a high note." Adriano Malori duly obliged.
My role as the team manager of Colombia in the World Championships saw 8th place finishes in both events. Nairo Quintana managed 8th place in a star studded field in the ITT. Sergio Henao punched above his weight to finish 8th in the Road Race.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 21-01-2016 16:27
Ins: Mikel Landa (Astana), Leopold Konig (Sky), Enric Mercader (Scouted Puncher, OVR 66, HIL 69), Eduard Korniets (U23 World Number 2, Puncher, OVR 71, HIL 73, FTR 84), Isidro Pintassilgo (U23 World Number 9, Stage Races, OVR 69, MON 72, HIL 71)
Outs: Andrey Amador (Astana), Javier Moreno (Caja Rural), Marc Soler (Optum Kelly), Jonathan Castroviejo (Aeroflot, erstwhile Lampre), Enrique Sanz (Cofidis)
I have gone with a mix of experience and youth in this year's transfer window. There was not much need for change in the team, and the likes of Landa and Konig would add more GT muscle. I'm glad we got Landa in. He was our prime target. The signing of Konig became necessary after Amador decided to leave. There was no such plan to begin with. A good crop of youngsters have been brought in. The Under 23 riders are capable of replacing the riders who have left. Mercader is very young and should have a bright future.
