Seems like the Harder the climb, the stronger he gets. Would be interesting to see how he would do against the better pro tour climbers. But that will most likely not happen this season.
1/7-8/7 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt (cat. 2.HC)
3/7 Stage 3/8 Heiligenblut – Matrei in Osttirol 123.4 km
Rasmussen: The Caravan have moved about 110 km from Kitzbüheler Horn to Heiligenblut, for today’s stage towards Matrei in Osttirol, another stage in the mountains, but not with very hard climbs.
View of Großglockner:
Heiligenblut is the last stop, coming from the south, before the Hochtor pass (Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße), this last stop have in use since ancient times, most like at least since early Iron Age (800-500BC). Later a Roman road was build leading to the pass.
The name Heiligenblut (Holy Blood) come from a legend, that a Danish Prince on his way home from Constantinople brought a bottle with Blood of Christ; The first known mention of a chapel with the relic, date back to 1271.
Heiligenblut:
Pre-race strategy: We will relax the team, and do only what is necessary to keep the GC under control, with an uphill finish Sonder may have a chance if it comes to a mass sprint finish.
Profile:
A morning break of 3 riders gets away early on the stage. No threat to the GC.
Lasse Bøchman feels good and decides to attack on the first (cat3) climb, trying to get in touch with the front group.
Bøchman gets to the front without much fight, but the peloton speeds up and just after the 10 km mark, the break is over.
We have trouble getting a sprint train together; most of our riders are too tired at this point and the pace is very high. Sondre Holst Enger pushes forward but there is many riders in front of him, when his sprint starts at the 1 km mark.
With amazing power on the last km, Sondre passes rider by rider on the inside, and wins the race with a small margin.
Christina on the phone from London: This is a fantastic race for us. I will take a plane down there tonight and be with the team for the rest of the tour. My phone is ringing all the time, with companies who want to become co/sponsors.
1/7-8/7 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt (cat. 2.HC)
4/7 Stage 4/8 Matrei in Osttirol – St. Johann 150.3 km
Christina: The Stage starts in Matrei in Osttirol where it ended yesterday. The route passes over a Hors catégorie at the Großglockner-Hochal Mountain pass about mid stage, a very tough climb.
Felsenkapelle, originally from 1688, but ruined by avalanche, the current version is from 1870.
There is evidence of copper mining and bronze smelting in the Matrei area, from the early Bronze Age, so the area must have been populated from about 2000-1300 BC, and finding from early Iron age, later the Celts, indicate that the area have been continuously populated since.
Today Matrei in Osttirol has a population of about 4700 and mainly depends on tourism, seasonal agriculture and forestry.
St. Nikolaus (12th century)
Pre-race strategy: This will be a complicated tactical stage, with a high mountain pass early, a long downhill and a flat finish. We don’t exactly know what to think we will watch the other favorites and act from there.
Profile:
The morning break is Julio Camacho (Colombia) Marek Rutkiewicz (CCC Polsat) and Meron Russom (MTN – Qhubeka), the peloton don’t want to react and they get a huge gap of more than 12 minutes.
Early on the Großglockner climb, Rafael Valls (Caja Rural) and Jonathan Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli) attacks, Lasse Bøchman counters. A few km later Kenny Elissonde attacks, closing in on group Monsalve.
The situation when Elissonde passes over Großglockner:
At the downhill group Elissonde can’t keep distance to the riders coming up from behind, and with 30 km left, the group is up to 32 riders. Now most of the favorites are in this 2nd group.
At the last small hill about 15 km before the finish, Eduard Vorganov (Katusha) attacks. A disaster for Elissonde’s GC, Vorganov is only 2 sec. behind. But Elissonde haven’t got the power to counter and Vorganov gets away.
The stage is won by Julio Camacho from the morning break. Kenny Elissonde comes in 7th losing 2'07 to Camacho, 47 sec. to Vorganov.
Christina: Retrospectively it is very clear, that we did not use the right strategy on this stage. Our attack’s paved the way for others. We should have tried to keep as big a group together as possible, but we are 2nd in the GC, and we just have to learn from our mistakes.
Rasmussen: A note before we start the stage
We have signet 24 years, former “Cult Energy” rider Patrick Clausen from Copenhagen. He has got some promising sprint talents that we can hopefully develop further.
1/7-8/7 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt (cat. 2.HC)
5/7 stage 5/8 St. Johann – Sonntagberg 209.2 km
Christina: The stage starts in St. Johann, where it ended yesterday, this is the last stage with an uphill finish, and most likely the last chance for Kenny Elissonde to take some time, after this we got 2 flat stages and a ITT, where he will probably lose time.
St.Johann im Pongau:
St. Johann im Pongau it a town of about 11.000 inhabitants. Sighs of copper mining indicates that the area was first populated about 2000 BC., Episcopal records mention a church in the area in 924, the town was first mentioned in 1074 as “Ad Sanctum Johannem”
A fire burned down large part of the town in 1855 including the church, the new church was finish in 1876:
Pre-race strategy: We want to stay in the peloton, and try to keep things together, hoping that Elissonde can win some time on the final climb.
Profile:
The morning break is Juan José Oroz (Liberty Seguros) David De la Cruz (NetApp) and Manuele Mori (Lampre), but the peloton is faster today, and they only got 3.31 with 100 km to go.
At the small climbs another break-away of five riders, this break includes Rafael Valls (Caja Rural) 18 in the CG at 7'33. With 56 km to the finish group Mori got 2’42 to the peloton, group Valls 1’38.
But the peloton fights hard to bring things back together, and the two groups can't hold them back, with 5 km to the finish, just before the last climbs the breaks are over.
The peloton brings group Valls back:
Now it’s time for the final climb, but Ellisonde gets caught a little behind Sondre Holst Enger who did not get away in time.
Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling) wins the stage over Fredrik Kessiakoff (Katusha). Kenny Elissonde comes in 5th, 25 sec. behind.
Christina: A tight top 5 after this stage, it will be a crucial ITT the day after tomorrow.
1/7-8/7 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt (cat. 2.HC)
6/7 stage 6/8 Maria Taferl – Poysdorf : 192.3 km
Christina: The caravan have moved some 62 km east from Sonntagberg towards Vienna, for a start in Maria Taferl, a small town of under 1000 inhabitants, Maria Taferl is one of the most important pilgrimage towns in Austria.
Maria Taferl:
It is believed that the site have been used as a center of religious sacrifice since Celtic times. Legend tells of numerous Christian miracles, the baroque church of Maria Taferl was built between 1660 and 1724.
The parish church of the Sorrowful Mother of God, copper engraving, circa 1850:
Pre-race strategy: We expect a mass sprit finish, hopefully Sonder can do something on this stage. We would like Yves Lampaert to get in a break.
Profile:
It is tough fight at the beginning of the stage, several attempts to attack does not succeed, it ends of in a break of 8 riders, and we did not get anyone in the break.
We set riders in front to keep the break in line, and the break-away is caught in time for a mass sprint.
The pace is high, and Sondre Holst Enger haven’t got much power left, but he is in a good position.
But then out of nowhere comes Eduard Vorganov in the yellow jersey, sprinting like mad. 1 km to the finish
Vorganov wins the stage, he must be in fantastic form today, normally his sprinting is not impressive. Enger finishes just outside top 10.
Christina: Another bad blow to our GC possibilities, how we have got very little chances to win the race. We have to hope Kenny Elissonde does well in the ITT, not falling too far back. Hats off to Vorganov, very well executed race from him in the last days.
1/7-8/7 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt (cat. 2.HC)
7/7 stage 7/8 Podersdorf am See ITT : 24.3 km
Christina: The caravan have moved some 120 km south from Poysdorf for an ITT in Podersdorf am See, a small town of a little more than 2000 inhabitants. The town is an important tourist destination, beautifully located on the Lake Neusiedl east shore.
The lighthouse at Podersdorf am See:
Stone Age, Bronze Age and Celtic findings in the area prove that it has been populated since ancient times. Due to its location in the east part of Europe in had been under many rulers, Romans - Ostrogoths – The Huns - Italian Kingdom of Odoacer - Germanic Kingdom of the Lombards - Avar Khaganate - Frankish Empire ect.
Parish Podersdorf am See 1847 (oil painting by Theodor Festorazzo):
Profile:
The first rider to set an impressive time was Anton Vorobyev (Katusha), he sat in 33’10
Anthony Roux (FDJ.fr ) was faster on the intermediate time check, but he lost 14” coming over the line.
Dominique Cornu (Topsport Vlaanderen) sat in a fine 2nd, just 2 sec. behind Vorobyev. Then it is Fredrik Kessiakoff (Katusha) the pre-race favorite, he sets best time on the intermediate time check, and overall he sets a time 28 seconds better that Vorobyev, he is now in the lead.
GC Top 5:
Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling) sets a fine time 1'22 behind Kessiakoff.
Haimar Zubeldia (Liberty Seguros) sets a splendid 3rd best time, just 37” behind Kessiakoff
Mattia Cattaneo (Vini Fantini) another fine time 1'28 behind Kessiakoff
Kenny Elissonde set a pretty bad time 2'00 behind Kessiakoff
Eduard Vorganov (Katusha) sets an average time 1’44 behind Kessiakoff, enough for him to keep an overall lead, with quite some margin.
Christina: Not a great result for us, but it looks like we can stay a top 3.
1/7-8/7 Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt (cat. 2.HC)
8/7 stage 8/8 Podersdorf am See - Wien :138.0 km
Christina: The stage start in Podersdorf am See heading for a circuit race in Vienna, the capital and largest city of Austria, with a total urban population of about 2,4 million. Vienna is famous for its theatre, opera and classical music, a number of important artist have been working here Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, and more.
Opera House:
Vienna has been continuous habituated since 500 BC, when the site was settled by the Celts. The Romans build a fortified city called Vindobona in 15BC. In 1440, Vienna became the resident city of the Habsburg dynasty. It eventually grew to become capital of the Holy Roman Empire from 1483.
Vienna in the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493
Pre-race strategy: We expect a mass sprint finish, Sonder should have a chance on the stage.
Profile:
We get Morten Høberg in the morning break-away; the stage is not very eventful, but the pace it pretty high and the front group never gets more than 4 minutes, they get caught about 6 km before the finish.
As expected it comes to a mass sprint, a narrow win by Mathieu Drujon (FDJ.fr) over Tomasz Smolen (CCC Polsat), Sondre Holst Enger gets in 5th a fine result.
Christina: Unless we get a wildcard where we will have to use him again, this was the last race for Ellisonde in this season, and even though the last days was a bit disappointing, it has been a fantastic year for him. I am looking forward to see what he has got in the legs next year.
Final Results
Stage:
1
Mathieu Drujon
FDJ.fr
2h55'59
2
Tomasz Smolen
CCC Polsat - Polkowice
s.t.
3
Anthony Roux
FDJ.fr
s.t.
4
Davide Cimolai
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
5
Sondre Holst Enger
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
6
Laurent Beuret
IAM Cycling
s.t.
7
Denis Galimzyanov
Katusha Team
s.t.
8
Steven Caethoven
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
9
Bartlomiej Matysiak
CCC Polsat - Polkowice
s.t.
10
Junya Sano
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
1
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
28h54'00
2
Haimar Zubeldia
Liberty Seguros - Würth
+ 34
3
Kenny Elissonde
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 1'01
4
Mattia Cattaneo
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
+ 1'08
5
Stefan Denifl
IAM Cycling
+ 1'34
6
José Serpa
Team Gourmetfein Simplon
+ 2'14
7
Francis De Greef
Accent Jobs - Wanty
+ 2'30
8
Igor Antón
Liberty Seguros - Würth
+ 2'47
9
Matija Kvasina
Team Gourmetfein Simplon
+ 3'07
10
Cayetano Sarmiento
Colombia
+ 3'41
Points:
1
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
68
2
Kenny Elissonde
Christina Watches - Onfone
62
3
Stefan Denifl
IAM Cycling
58
Mountain:
1
Marek Rutkiewicz
CCC Polsat - Polkowice
40
2
Kenny Elissonde
Christina Watches - Onfone
39
3
Haimar Zubeldia
Liberty Seguros - Würth
32
Team: Liberty Seguros - Würth
Young: Kenny Elissonde - Christina Watches - Onfone
Rasmussen: Im back in Copenhagen, making arrangements for the upcoming Tour to Denmark, so I would just like to make a few notes:
Bradly Wiggins – Vodafone, won the Tour de France, congratulations to him and the team.
Danish 29 years old pro tour rider Chris Anker Sørensen, have chosen to leave Saxo-Tinkoff and have signed with Lampre, a rider we would very much like to have on the team, but his salary demands is way over our budget.
We have just signed a 3 years contract with Danish 20 years old former Cult Energy rider Mads Würtz Schmidt. Mads is specialized in the cobble races, with fine flat and hill abilities. We need more riders for the cobble classics so he fits very well on the team.
Here in Esbjerg for the first stage of Post Danmark Rundt, Esbjerg is a city in Denmark with a population of about 72.000. The city is relatively new, after Denmark lost its most important Atlantic harbor in war with Prussia (1864), the government decided to build a replacement in Esbjerg in 1868. Before that the area was almost uninhabited.
Busy walking street:
In 1874 Esbjerg got connected with railroad, and grew rapidly, the harbor became one of Denmark’s largest, exporting huge amounts of butter and bacon to England. Esbjerg was also a large fishing harbor. Today the harbor is mostly working with Offshore Gas/Oil and Windmills.
Esbjerg harbour:
Pre-race strategy: We don’t bring a very strong squad at this race so we don’t have any expectations overall, we will just see what happens and hope to get any good result. On this first stage we want to get in a break, otherwise we hope one of the young sprinters might get a good finish.
Profile:
Roster:
Anders Bjerregård
Frederik Wilmann
Lasse Bøchman
Lasse Christiansen
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Simon Bigum
The morning break is just 2 riders, our Morten Høberg and Andrei Strelkov (Novo Nordisk). Strelkov is in theory the stronger rider.
Morten Høberg takes the first sprint, but doesn’t fight for the next, trying to save himself for the finish.
The peloton is getting closer, and Morten haven’t got the power to hang on to Strelkov, he gets caught right after the 10 km mark. Strelkov holds on to the end, but is passed by Taylor Phinney (BMC) and Ben Swift (Vodafone) right before the line, Phinney wins the stage, our best is Marc Hester (9).
Rasmussen : Pretty good result, two riders in top ten.
