Movistar Starting List
Mikel Landa
Elia Viviani
Dayer Quintana
Adriano Malori
Jasha Sutterlin
Gorkha Izagirre
Eduard Korniets
Eustaquio Sanchez
Movistar came into this race in good form and trying to add to their impressive results so far this season. Being one of his favoured races, Mikel Landa was given leadership duties despite the stage profiles not exactly suitable to his strengths. Dayer Quintana would be the fall guy in case Landa was laid low. The team was slightly leaning towards being stronger on the flats and smaller climbs, selected mostly because the profiles demanded it. The competition would come from some of the best punchers in the world of cycling including Zdenek Stybar, Michal Kwiatkowski, Dan Martin and Diego Ulissi. Romain Bardet, Wilco Kelderman and Pierre Rolland were the climbers in the fray. Could Landa and Movistar negate the advantage of the punchers to charge to a win? Let's find out...
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat with 2 minor intermediate climbs
A flat and monotonous stage got us underway. The morning breakaway could not hold out as expected and the stage came down to a pack sprint. Nacer Bouhanni wn while Viviani gave Movistar another podium.
Stage 2 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climbs
Another flat classified stage had a small climb at the end to potentially shake things up. It almost did, as the breakaway stayed ahead of the peloton till just 4.5 km were left. The stage did eventually finish in a bunch sprint with Bouhanni winning again.
Stage 3 - Flat
Nothing to aim for for the breakaway but the barouders still tried. The pack caught them a lot earlier on this stage and ensured the sprint finish. Bouhanni with a hattrick!
Stage 4 - Hilly with 2 major intermediate climbs
The mid-way stage of the race saw the entire Movistar squad get caught up in a pack split. They eventually managed to catch up to the peloton. The confusion caused slowed down the peloton in their chase of the breakaway. As a result, they surivived, but the peloton finished with the same time. No time gaps were reported among the favourites, with the top 12 in the GC being separated by only 26 seconds after this stage.
Stage winner - Gregory Brenes from breakaway Movistar - Mikel Landa 6th, Dayer Quintana 8th
Stage 5 - Hilly with 1 major intermediate climb
A very strong breakaway with Zakarin, Kruijswijk and Arredondo formed. The peloton kept a very close watch on them, not allowing the gap to widen. However, the in-fighting among the GC leaders slowed down the chase allowing Kruijswijk to win from the break, but with only a 32 second time gain. Behind him, a couple of contenders dropped out of the running, falling out of the lead group. The top eight riders were still within 26 seconds of each other.
Stage winner - Steven Kruijswijk from breakaway Movistar - Mikel Landa 7th, Dayer Quintana 8th
Stage 6 - Hilly with uphill finish, including 1 major intermediate climb
Another strong break formed with Arredondo, Dumoulin, Hejsedal, Capecchi and Jose Herrada in it, among a couple more and they built a lead of more than 9 minutes. They kept getting picked up by the pack one by one, but yet a few survived and Valerio Conti won from the break, about 2 minutes ahead of the GC leaders. There were finally some time gaps among the leaders, as the GC sorted itself out.
Stage winner - Valerio Conti from the breakaway Movistar - Mikel Landa 10th, 2'24" behind Other important results - Louis Meintjes 4th, Romain Bardet 5th, Diego Ulissi 6th, Zdenek Stybar 9th, 1'54" behind
Stage 7 - Flat with 1 intermediate climb
Niki Terpstra won with a solo attack while the rest of the pack sprinted for second place. There were no mishaps reported among the GC leaders and the GC remained the same as the previous stage. (Had to simulate this stage as the game kept crashing!)
Well, we can't say we expected to win this race. A fourth place finish wasn't too bad and Landa even beat Kwaitkowski and Martin to a higher spot in the GC. A couple of podiums was the best the team managed as far as individual stages go. Second and third place in the Young Riders' standings is a good sign for the future.
Tamijo wrote:
Some good stages from Elia Viviani. And a GC 4th. is fine.
A couple of podiums for Viviani, but he doesn't seem to have the same explosiveness as Coquard. Pretty satisfied with the 4th place in the GC to be honest. Two important races - MSR and Catalunya - up next...
"The trouble with this monument is that none of my riders ever want to make it their objective! It was the same story this time around although there were a handful of our riders in good form and fitness who could be picked to start."
The team representing Movistar was quite strong. This was an important sponsor objective for them, the first of quite a few, coming into the busy spring months. The competition was strong but not the strongest as some riders opted out of this race, given their early season patchiness. The race itself saw a breakaway form which built up a lead of more than 12 minutes. For Movistar, Eduard Korniets fell out the back of the peloton early on and never recovered. van Aevermaert and Simon Geschke fell with about 60 km to go and the pain of it more or less scuppered their hopes of winning. The break was finally caught with 40 km to go. Roman Kreuiger attacked on the penultimate climb but was quickly followed by Rui Costa and Dan Martin. The latter duo built up a small lead over the peloton. Movistar then started setting the pace with their six remaining riders at the front. They caught the leading duo with 10 km to go. Dan Martin attacked again with 5 km left. This time, the Movistar riders did not chase him but instead tried to attack. They weren't strong enough with only Benat Intxausti hanging on to a top 10 finish; 8th place. Sonny Colbrelli was the unlikely winner from the bunch sprint, beating the more fancied Michael Matthews and Tony Gallopin who claimed 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
Tamijo wrote:
Can't win them all. Unhappy sponsers is very common early season.
True. Objectives come thick and fast over the next couple of weeks including Catalunya, Ronde-Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Pais Vasco, leading up to the Giro month later!
A team time trial starts us off in Catalunya. The teams would want to give their leaders the upper hand from the start.
Stage 2
A hilly stage and the possibilities of time gaps forming early on. The extended downhill section may allow some of the peloton to get back together after the gaps the climb is expected to produce.
Stage 3
A couple of climbs in the early part of this stage will encourage the breakaway. After this, its mostly a flat to the finish line, with a bunch sprint the most likely outcome.
Stage 4
The queen stage comes at the center point of this race. A tough stage on paper, expect the main contenders for the GC to rise to the top after this stage.
Stage 5
A hilly stage with a not too straightforward finish can create a few ripples in the peloton. The chances of the leaders finishing together are higher though.
Stage 6
A slightly less severe hilly stage will be the last showdown for the GC leaders. Expect a couple of late attack from among the top contenders, as they look to make up a vital few seconds. The GC contenders will have to keep their senses sharp to avoid a time gap here.
Stage 7
Another hilly profile in the early part of the stage gives way to a pan-flat finish. The sprinters should have their day out in the sun to finish off this tour.
Overall Assessment
A good mixture of stages will make for an interesting race. The TTT on the first stage might be crucial though in terms of getting the advantage going into the decisive stage 4. The other stages also promise some excitement, with only two of them having featureless finishes.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 21-02-2016 08:41
Movistar Starting List
Roman Kreuziger
Bryan Coquard
Benat Intxausti
Mikel Nieve
Rafael Valls
Pello Bilbao
Jesus Herrada
Eduard Korniets
While Movistar's season has begun well so far, their results in the sponsor objectives haven't been up to scratch. The domination in Andalucia aside, they've so far not achieved any of the objectives. This race, hence, was extremely important for the team. Roman Kreuziger was asked to lead here, although it was not one of his personal goals. Benat Intxausti was the rider actually targeting this race. All the attention would be on Kreuziger after his Andalucia triumph, which might just allow Intxausti sneak into GC contention under the radar. The competition was strong, with Uran, Rolland, Pinot, Berdet, amon others all on the start list. Let's see how things unfold.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Team Time Trial - Flat - 22.1 km
American Express were favourites here but Movistar pulled off an upset victory, finishing just a second faster than both AmEx and BMC.
Stage winner - Movistar, Eduard Korniets in White leader's jersey Other important results - American Express (Rigoberto Uran) 2nd, BMC 3rd, both 1" behind, Sky (Tejay van Garderen) 54" behind, Orange (Pierre Rolland) 54" behind, Astana (Carlos Betancur) 1'9" behind
Stage 2 - Hilly with 3 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
A hilly stage from the get-go saw the peloton chase down an early breakaway. Korniets fell out the back of the peloton in the first climb itself and never recovered. His day wearing the White jersey went horribly wrong! Pello Bilbao was in the breakaway and picked up some KOM points. After the breakaway was caught with 9 km to go, Elia Favilli and Matej Mohoric attacked. While Mohoric was caught, Favilli stayed away to win the stage. Coquard won the sprint in the bunch for 2nd place.
Stage 3 - Flat with 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
A long, monotonous stage was almost shaken up as the peloton laboured to catch the breakaway, finally managing it with just 5 km left. Without a good leadout train, Coquard struggled to position himself well, finishing only 10th. Sacha Modolo won the sprint.
Stage 4 - Mountain with mountain top finish, including 3 major intermediate climbs
This stage was being seen as a potential classic ever since the profile was announced. To start off, there was a breakaway and Bilbao was once again in it along with Eros Capecchi and Thomas de Gendt of note. It did not survive though as the leaders caught them just after the third climb. After this, surprisingly, Roman Kreuziger started to fade away, and it was Intxausti who held his own against the favourites. He was helped by Nieve going uphill. Eventually, Bardet was the strongest and won the stage. Uran was next while Intxausti was in the third group with Atapuma.
Stage winner - Romain Bardet Movistar - Benat Intxausti 5th, 44" behind, Mikel Nieve 7th, 1'27" behind. Intxausti 2nd overall Other important results - Rigoberto Uran 2nd, 12" behind, Atapuma 4th, 44" behind, Thibaut Pinot 8th, 1'54" behind, Pierre Rolland 9th, 1'59" behind. Uran took the leader's White jersey
Stage 5 - Mountain with 2 major intermediate climbs
A sleepy stage burst into life as Uran and most of the other leaders attacked on the second climb. Intxausti couldn't follow and Movistar chased them down all the way to the finish. It wasn't quite enough as they finished half a minute behind the Uran group in the end. Thibaut Pinot won the sprint among the leading group.
Stage winner - Thibaut Pinot Movistar - Benat Intxausti and Mikel Nieve lost 31". Intxausti lost a place to be 3rd in the GC Other important results - Atapuma finished in Intxausti's group. All other GC contenders finished in Uran's group
Stage 6 - Hilly with 2 major intermediate climbs
Bilbao put himself into the break again to confirm his top spot on the KOM classification. Behind the break, Rolland and Kruijswijk attacked on the second climb but it didn't succeed. The peloton never caught up with the breakaway and Lukas Postlberger won. Benat Intxausti put in a late attack and even built up a lead of more than 30 seconds. He didn't have the legs to keep the lead and pulled back in by the peloton on the line.
Stage winner - Lukas Postlberger from breakaway Movistar - Pello Bilbao 6th from breakaway, same time. Bilbao was assured of the KOM jersey
Stage 7 - Hilly with flat finish, including 1 major and 2 minor intermediate climbs
The last stage at Andalucia was meant for a bunch sprint and it ended in a bunch sprint. Not quite so simple though. The breakaway survived till the end, and Postlberger claimed another win from the break,. The sprinters had their day in the sun taken away from them.
Young Riders' Classification
1)Robert Power (Shaw)
2)Roordo (Shaw)
3)Matej Mohoric (Orica GreenEdge)
Team Classification
1)Movistar
2)Colruyt
3)American Express
A good result for Intxausti, not so good for Kreuziger, Bilbao winning the KOM, four riders in the top 10 of the GC. A lot better result in Catalunya compared to last season. The sponsors are a little bit more satisfied but there's still some way to go before they smile!
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 21-02-2016 08:41
This would be Benoot's first opportunity to showcase his talent for Movistar in the discipline he was brought in to lead. With both Coquard and Viviani not available for this race, Benoot's support was a little thin. A 7 man early breakaway built up a lead of a maximum of 6 minutes. Kwiatkowski and Boonen launched a tandem attack with almost 100 km still to go. After this point, the pack started to break up as the peloton rode through the cobbles. Benoot was in the third group on the road, with only Ion and Sutterlin for support. The two later attackers caught up to the early break, but all of them were caught with 55 km left. At this point, there were 25 riders in the lead group. Once the favourites started attacking again, Movistar could not compete. With the lack of support evident, Benoot had to do a lot of the chasing himself, and burned himself out. In fact, Ion Izagirre achieved a higher final finish - 31st to Benoot's 34th. Alexander Kristoff was too strong for the others and took 1st place, 31 seconds ahead of Sep Vanmarcke in 2nd. Jurgen Roelandts finished 3rd, more than a minute further back.
Hot on the heels of Harelbeke, came the Gent - Wevelgem race. It was a chance for Movistar to redeem themselves from a dismal showing in the previous race.
The race got underway and soon enough there was a breakaway. The 3 men out front built up a lead of more than 9 minutes. Behind them, the pack started breaking up, with the difficulty of the cobbles. At 80 km to go, there were 62 riders left in the lead chase group, which came down to just 24 with 50 km to go. The break was caught just after this. After a bit, Benoot went away from the pack riding on a high gear. He was chased, caught and then left behind by the duo of Kristoff and Vanmarcke. Soon it was Degenkolb who followed suit while Benoot settled into the third group on the road with Stybar and van Avermaet. A group of 15 riders joined them while van Avermat slipped back off the pace. Klemen Stimulak was the next to attack, and he powered past Degenkolb and caught up to the lead duo. The race was decided by a sprint among the lead trio with Kristoff coming 1st, two races in a row, Vanmarcke 2nd, also consecutive, and Stimulak a surprise 3rd. The chasing pack sprinted for fourth place with Viviani finishing 9th to clock in Movistar's best ever performance in a cobbled race under the present management.
A much improved performance.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 19-02-2016 19:55
