E3 Harelbeke has become a final rehearsal prior to next week's Ronde van Vlaanderen. But some guys won't hesitate to add another race day to their programme and race Gent-Wevelgem if they were to achieve a position below expectations in the light version of Vlaanderens Mooiste.
Oien, Carbel, van Dorsselaer, Jesús Herrada and Turgis were the 5 escapees of the day. No experienced cobblers so the bunch should not have the slightest trouble to reel back in these five brave opportunists.
The first cobblestones came at the Holleweg, where the breakaway had about 7'30" to the peloton. Still more than 150 kilometers left to cover.
The merge occured and an elite group would fight for the win. Kristoff set the pace at the Knokteberg. Meanwhile big names such as Benoot, Boom, Lutsenko and Stannard were just watching. At that very point Costa Rican Angel Cerezo was our best rider, being involved in the E6.
Nothing happened at the final climb, the Tiegemberg. Bu after that one, Terpstra attacked, an act that dropped multiple guys. Stybar, Helling, Stannard, Kristoff and Roelandts'd have to wait for the next edition.
At the 5km-to-go-banner it was Benoot's turn to accelerate. His move came at a perfect moment. Everyone kept staring at each other while he kept extending his gap. Things looked really good for the Belgian...
And finally Benoot added a first cobbled classic to his palmares, after several top 10 and podium finishes. Behind him Lutsenko sprinted to a second place, while Keukeleire had to settle for the final podium place.
A few minutes, later Angel Cerezo was the first RuralvÃa rider to cross the finish line, totally drained. A 29th place is below team expectations, but Cerezo did better than our highly disappointed team leader Lature.
After two brutal mountain stages here's a new chance for the sprinters. We will have to see how Molano coped with the numberless climbs we have faced over the last two days. Hopefully he has a thing left in him.
Early in the race seven riders created a breakaway. Biggest names in there were Serry and Ignatenko. That'd be the only activity in a while.
That's until GC leader Contador and some other top 20 riders crashed in a descent. After a short pursuit, they would all make it back though.
The chase however didn't go that well. When the seven still had around a minute inside the last three kilometers Pieter Serry attacked. Tomio tried to follow at first, but eventually he wouldn't succeed in doing that.
Trains were formed but it was clear the breakaway would battle for the stage win. Seba Molano could still sprint for a place of honour though.
Serry's move made it to the finish as he secured his first victory since a stage win in the Tour of Oman last year. Alex Edmondson was beat for second place by Cannondale's Giacomo Tomio, in a narrow sprint.
Molano could rely on an outstanding leadout train today and concluded the peloton sprint in second which meant 7th place in the stage results.
He's been the only glimmer for us in a race we used to do very good at the last couple of years. Too bad he lacked a bit of luck when this probably was the last chance for sprinters
Penultimate stage and probably the last chance for GC guys looking to improve their GC position. We'll be more than happy if Henao is strong enough to keep his current spot, which is the final one with the best 20.
The breakaway was a very interesting one. Shalunov, Zardini, Bailly, Schachmann and Latour are above-average climbers and cooperated well. In the peloton Contador's Movistar Team were dictating the pace.
No attacks at the first main climb as Zardini grabbed enough points in order to jump into the third place in the King of Mountain classification.
The five-man group got shattered at the final climb. Schachmann and Shalunov were the strongest but GC 5th Poels attacked from the pack and seemed to bridge while Zardini sat behind him, glued to his wheel.
The two duos joined forces but their ship stranded at the home stretch. As Molano and Henao had been dropped on the last climb, our chance of a stage triumph vanished into thin air as sprint trains took the stage.
GC 7th Morton executed an almost impeccable leadout for Matthews, who had Niccolò Bonifazio and Eduard-Michael Grosu on his wheel.
Almost impeccable as in Matthews did miss out on finishing it off due to launching way too late. Grosu won over Bonifazio and J.A. Pardo.
Looking at the profile of the race, Gent-Wevelgem seems to be an easy one among the northern classics. Even more than else the scope of the group sprinting for glory will depend on how the pack handles the race.
Right after the starting gun a trio of escapees attacked from the bunch. Federico Zurlo, Roma Maxima first Adriano Malori and Tim Kerkhof can handle themselves on cobbles but three riders rarely beat the pack after such a long race. Specially not when starting from the breakaway.
Pretty much as was to be expected, very little happened in the first 100 kms. At the start of the up-and-down zone in French Flanders the three had about 5'30", while conquering Casselberg for the first of two times.
While the pace suddenly got upped by the chasing teams a co-favourite was spotted stranded at the side of the road. Niki Terpstra had stayed down for a while after an ugly fall, but he was able to continue his race.
Malori and Kerkhof gapped Zurlo at the steeper part of the Baneberg, 90 kms from the finish. They had to do a thing, in order to stay in front.
Zurlo kept the two in sight but cracked at the first Kemmelberg ascent. These three wouldn't make it out of the hilliest zone with a gap though.
The field was a mess after the cobbles, even though the first group was still rather big. Biggest loss for our team was MartÃnez, who was stuck in a chasing group that'd never see the front of the race again. A vital lead-out guy lost although Mendigain took charge of the chasing work.
Dimension Data tried to control the pace for either Ewan or Bouhanni, but still accelerations started to occur in the last 20 kms. First amongst the fortune hunters was Lutsenko, instantly countered by Degenkolb.
Four more riders would join the two: Helling, Spengler, Kristoff and Terpstra. Dimension stopped pacing, we had to take charge ourselves.
While Cerezo and Lature tried to close the gap without avail, Terpstra was dropped from the E1. Still dealing with afterpains of a prior crash?
In the front group things still did not go fast enough for Helling. Again Degenkolb was the first rider to react, but would he be able to bridge?
Degenkolb did manage to bridge to Helling, time for a decisive sprint.
The 25-year old American did not stand the slightest chance against a quicker Degenkolb, who won Gent - Wevelgem for a second time after his triumph back in 2014. Only Lutsenko and Kristoff started sprinting soon enough to finish before the E2. Seconds later Lature and Cerezo tried their best to launch Barbero, who would finish in 10th place. Too bad we were a man short, so Barbero had to pull off a very long sprint.
No surprise we will be happy to leave Catalonia after today, considering how disastrous this race has been for us. A good last stage won't make up for everything, but it could help us limit the scale of our loss of face.
Seba Henao was not the only rider who realised this final stage around Barcelona is often gifted away by a tired peloton. Silin, Latour, Kudus and Buchmann were his fellow stage win contenders in the breakaway.
Nothing noteworthy happened, until the third to final ascent of Montjuïc. That's where Sebastian was dropped, even after having saved his legs because he did not feel good. Behind him the bunch was closing in fast.
At the next climb Kelderman played everything or nothing. He took his last opportunity to snatch away from Contador the white leader jersey, as the latter could not react. The strong Dutchman grew a modest gap.
While Buchmann danced away from his once buddies at the last climb, Kelderman was closing in on those three quickly. Would he be able to keep this speed up and win his second World Tour stage race this year?
Buchmann secured his stage win, but Kelderman was today's biggest victor. He gained more than 40 seconds on Contador and achieved a last-minute overall win. Henao got caught but still climbed into a higher overall place. Still 27th is way worse compared to our latest rides here.
purepasd wrote:
The team is taking a lot of responsibility in their first cobble season. Nice to see. Is Lature the man to go for in the harder races?
On paper Lature (aged 22) is our best cobbler with a high stamina, but he does have issues when a high pace is maintained.
Cortes can maintain a higher pace but he still lacks a bit of experience (at the age of 19). Both still have to develop when it comes to their resistance or handling hills well
After loads of WT racing we are back at a somewhat lower level here in Estella, neard Indurain's birth city. Many climbs in the prospect, without facing a single really long one. That is what racing in the Country of the Basques is about, and today won't be an exception. We'll conclude with a steep climb to the baroque basilica, a well-known regional sanctuary.
Basque races often include Basque escapees, and today as well. Along with our very own Beñat Intxausti, Carvalho, Nowaczek, Txoperena and de la Parte took part in the break of the day. Right away the five'd also get acquainted with the entirely unpredictable PaÃs Vasco weather.
The advantage never got any bigger than about 5'30". Intxausti tested his breakaway companions at the climb to the highest summit of today. First Nowaczek and de la Parte had to let go, but the Basque'd return.
Same story at the penultimate climb: Intxausti pushed an de la Parte was dropped definitely this time. But the peloton had come so close by then, they'd easily reel in every remaining escapee in the final descent.
Inside the final 800 meters, Chávarri timed his ultimate acceleration to perfection. Simón, Fernández and Fedi struggled to react once more.
No-one managed to catch up with him and at last, Chávarri bagged the second win of our season. As Simón and Purito RodrÃguez completed the podium, Guerreiro seized 7th after an amazing team performance.
E3 Harelbeke (WT)
Volta a Catalunya (WT)
Navarra, 177.6 kms
