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One in a Billion | Rise to the Summit
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 18-07-2017 05:20
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Sorry for giving you those big shoes to fill, thanks for the fine reply 
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 18-07-2017 05:44
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No need to be sorry  . Great timing with the comment and I'm particularly proud of how I used it in the story!
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 19-07-2017 07:41
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I'm off on holiday tomorrow so a mini-break in the story till Sunday. See you on the other side with the Giro 
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 24-07-2017 08:40
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My attempt at writing the wrongs of last season begins here. This year's Giro is not the hardest, but it will still be a challenge given my rawness in the high mountains. The field is not the strongest either, but there are at least five genuine contenders for the title. I'm not among the top favourites, but am odds-on to get a top 10 finish.
The Stage 1 team time trial on flat terrain went well. We lost just over half a minute to Stella Artois as Uran took the first Pink Jersey.
Stage 2 was flat and de Buyst got 9th place.
Stage 3 was similar but we did not get any high finish.
I fell early on Stage 4 but was able to get back on the bike without delay. The sprint finish saw de Buyst end up 7th.
Stage 5 had an uphill finish which I targeted. Unfortunately, when the moment to strike arrived, I got boxed in and could not find the space to attack. Vliegen took his chance but was chased down by the pack.
Stage 6
This uphill finish was another stage that I was targeting. I missed my chance again, as three riders went off the front. They were not caught. Davide Formolo won the stage and took the Pink Jersey. I finished in the peloton.
Stage 7 was another one for the sprinters. de Gendt joined the break, but they were caught 10 km from the line. Our sprint train failed and no one got a notable result.
| 1 | Davide Formolo | Astana Pro Team | 21h34'42 | | 2 | Bauke Mollema | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 30 | | 3 | Thibaut Pinot | Stella Artois | + 32 | | 4 | Miguel Angel Lopez | Stella Artois | s.t. | | 5 | Eduardo Sepulveda | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 36 | | 6 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | + 43 | | 7 | Romain Bardet | Team Sky | + 47 | | 8 | Pierre Rolland | Team Sky | s.t. | | 9 | Mikel Landa | Astana Pro Team | + 58 | | 10 | Merhawi Kudus | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 11 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto Soudal | + 1'07 | | 12 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
To be continued...
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 24-07-2017 10:33
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Not the best start but no catastrophic time lost either.
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 24-07-2017 10:37
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Just a few seconds lost without having in count the TTT, a decent start.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 24-07-2017 13:38
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@Tamijo and Aquarius: Things well under control till now. The first tough climb is on Stage 8...
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 24-07-2017 16:43
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Stage 8
The first major climbing stage did not disappoint in terms of separating the creamy layer of riders. I was one of the favourites going into the stage and my teammates worked hard in the early part of the stage to keep me at the front. A group of five GC challengers went away about halfway up the first climb. I held back my instinct to follow them and kept my own pace. The pack started getting smaller and smaller until I was alone at the bottom of the climb to the finish. By this time, the earlier group had split into two as well, Aru and Formolo out in front, followed by Landa, Dunbar and Sepulveda. I kept chasing and managed to nearly catch the second group by the finish. Aru won the stage and took over the GC lead. I finished 6th and moved up to 5th in the GC. I did lose nearly five minutes though.
Stage 9
Vliegen joined the break for us. The peloton was down to forty riders after the second climb. The pace picked and gaps started building among the front-runners. I couldn't stay with the leaders but manage a 10th place finish, losing two minutes to stage winner Landa and Aru. I held on to 5th place in the GC.
Stage 10 was flat. The break wasn't caught as the peloton recovered after the rest day from their exertions in the first week.
Stage 11
Vliegen join the break again. The pack down to about 20 riders on the second climb, with the berak already caught. Landa and Bardet went away from the front and were not caught. Bardet overtook me for 5th in the GC.
I was among the top favourites in the Stage 12 ITT. I lived up to my billing, finishing 3rd on this stage and taking time from all the GC contenders barring Pinot, who won. Formolo took a minute off Aru and re-took the lead in the GC.
Stage 13 was another flat stage with Theuns one of the fvourites. It turned to be a better finish from de Buyst who claimed 8th place.
| 1 | Davide Formolo | Astana Pro Team | 48h49'01 | | 2 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | + 30 | | 3 | Mikel Landa | Astana Pro Team | + 3'58 | | 4 | Eduardo Sepulveda | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 5'44 | | 5 | Romain Bardet | Team Sky | + 6'11 | | 6 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | + 7'22 | | 7 | Thibaut Pinot | Stella Artois | + 8'29 | | 8 | Rafał Majka | TEAM Cepsa | + 9'20 | | 9 | Bauke Mollema | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 9'43 | | 10 | Miguel Angel Lopez | Stella Artois | + 11'42 |
To be continued...
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 26-07-2017 02:31
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Stage 14
de Gendt joined the 15 man break. Dunbar and Power were the first of the front runners to attack, on the second climb. They didn't last long, and were reeled in along with all but one member of the break, who now had a six minute lead on the pack. Keeping up a high tempo over the third climb tired me out and I lost time to the other GC contenders. Gervais Hardouin managed to hold on from the break to win the stage. I lost more than five minutes to slip down to 9th in the GC.
Stage 15
The stage was uneventful till the climb to the finish. It did not suit me and again I was dropped and lost time. Three further minutes lost, but I held on to my GC position.
Stage 16
de Gendt joined the break again. This time I wanted to make his presence up ahead count. The peloton was down to a hundred riders in the first climb itself. It halved in size on the second. I had only one teammate left in the peloton at this point. de Gendt was caught at the base of the climb to the finish. With 13 km to go, it was the late attacking Adam Yates out in front, with four members of the early break splitting him and the twenty man peloton. I attacked with Aru, Formolo and Pinot with 9 km to go. Although I could not keep up with the trio, a managed to catch and pass a couple pf the break and put a gap to the rest of the GC contenders. I finished 8th and moved up to 7th in the GC. Yates won the stage while Aru moved to within four seconds of Formolo, having gained time on him here. de Buyst and de Bie finished outside the time limit!
Stage 17 was a welcome respite from all the climbing. The sprinters' teams did not have the legs to catch the early break, who took home the honours.
| 1 | Davide Formolo | Astana Pro Team | 66h47'43 | | 2 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | + 4 | | 3 | Mikel Landa | Astana Pro Team | + 12'05 | | 4 | Thibaut Pinot | Stella Artois | + 12'23 | | 5 | Eduardo Sepulveda | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 13'04 | | 6 | Romain Bardet | Team Sky | + 15'19 | | 7 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | + 17'17 | | 8 | Bauke Mollema | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 17'45 | | 9 | Rafał Majka | TEAM Cepsa | + 18'30 | | 10 | Miguel Angel Lopez | Stella Artois | + 19'53 |
To be continued...
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 26-07-2017 09:48
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A strong last week and you could finish on the podium, although is most realistic first to keep your place and then try to win 1-2 places in the GC for a top5
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 21-11-2024 17:38
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 26-07-2017 12:48
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Top 5 is probably a more realistic target, like you said. More of Stage 16 type results than 14 and 15 would help with that. Mollema and Majka not too far behind, so any slip up could prove costly!
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 27-07-2017 06:38
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Davide Formolo and Fabio Aru, sure to be 1 and 2 but soooo close.
Behind them it is quite open, but with a 4 minutes gap to Sepulveda will not be easy, got some attacking to do if you aim for a top5. 
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-07-2017 10:08
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Top 5 is not out of reach, but not an easy target either! My climbing legs need to improve to have any chance.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 27-07-2017 15:43
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Stage 18
I stayed with the peloton and we chased a 15 man break through the earlypart of the stage. The peloton was down to 50 riders on the first climb. By the time we reached the top of the second climb, some of the rbeak had already been caught and left behind. The group of leaders, including me, was down to just 12 riders with the remaining break two minutes ahead. They were caught with 20 km to go. I lost touch to my rivals with 10 km to go and lost time again. I moved down to 8th in the GC. Aru regained the lead in the GC.
Stage 19
The ITT is always I stage I look forward to. This one was no different and I was tagged as one of the favourites. I didn't start off too well, being a minute down at the first intermediate. I recovered to be within 25 seconds at the second intermediate and incredibly clocked the best time at the finish. I overtook Miguel Angel Lopez, in 9th place in the GC, on the road! I ended up 4th on the day after all the riders had finished. I moved up to 7th again in the GC. Aru's lead at the top was down to just 1 second!
(Catching Lopez!)
| 1 | Davide Formolo | Astana Pro Team | 1h03'30 | | 2 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | + 23 | | 3 | Thibaut Pinot | Stella Artois | + 30 | | 4 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | + 40 | | 5 | Leopold König | Team Sky | + 43 |
Stage 20
de Gendt joined the break. The peloton was down to a paper-thin thirty riders on top of the first climb. All but one from the early break were caught, including de Gendt. I managed to stay with the leaders on the second climb, wherein the remaining break was caught and the size of the group was down to just 11 riders. de Gendt was dropped here but I hung in there to finish a creditable 6th. Formolo gained time on Aru and took the Pink Jersey again, all but confirming his first ever GT win.
Stage 21 was a flat ride into Milan. The sprinters were usurped by the early break and there was no late drama in the GC.
| 1 | Davide Formolo | Astana Pro Team | 80h36'18 | | 2 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | + 1'21 | | 3 | Thibaut Pinot | Stella Artois | + 13'32 | | 4 | Romain Bardet | Team Sky | + 22'53 | | 5 | Mikel Landa | Astana Pro Team | + 24'40 | | 6 | Eduardo Sepulveda | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 25'06 | | 7 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | + 26'20 | | 8 | Rafał Majka | TEAM Cepsa | + 33'22 | | 9 | Miguel Angel Lopez | Stella Artois | + 34'14 | | 10 | Bauke Mollema | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 34'23 |
Spoiler | 11 | Eddie Dunbar | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 34'36 | | 12 | Robert Power | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 36'00 | | 13 | Merhawi Kudus | Astana Pro Team | + 42'49 | | 14 | Rigoberto Urán | Stella Artois | + 44'07 | | 15 | Leopold König | Team Sky | + 44'57 | | 16 | Pierre Rolland | Team Sky | + 45'44 | | 17 | Adam Yates | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 52'23 | | 18 | Alexander Foliforov | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 56'21 | | 19 | Emanuel Buchmann | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 57'50 | | 20 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Swissair | + 59'32 | | 21 | Sebastian Henao | Team Sky | + 1h00'58 | | 22 | Arnaud Duteil | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 1h03'46 | | 23 | Vincenzo Nibali | Astana Pro Team | + 1h04'22 | | 24 | Carlos Verona | Team Sky | + 1h04'30 | | 25 | Gervais Hardouin | Stella Artois | + 1h04'41 | | 26 | Rubén Fernández | TEAM Cepsa | + 1h06'16 | | 27 | Lachlan Morton | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 1h06'20 | | 28 | Matvei Mamykin | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 1h07'20 | | 29 | Maxime Le Lavandier | Decathlon | + 1h10'23 | | 30 | Antoine Lavieu | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 1h11'30 | | 31 | Ruben Guerreiro | TEAM Cepsa | + 1h12'05 | | 32 | Robert Gesink | MTN-Qhubeka | + 1h12'47 | | 33 | Diego Rosa | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 1h17'40 | | 34 | Tom Slagter | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 1h22'25 | | 35 | Jan Hirt | MTN-Qhubeka | + 1h27'48 | | 36 | Heiner Parra | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 1h28'26 | | 37 | Joseph Dombrowski | Trek Factory Racing | + 1h29'01 | | 38 | Marcel Wyss | Nike | + 1h31'14 | | 39 | Cyril Gautier | Team Europcar | + 1h33'21 | | 40 | Bart De Clercq | Lotto Soudal | + 1h34'14 | | 41 | Arnaud Courteille | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 1h35'16 | | 42 | François Bidard | Decathlon | + 1h36'56 | | 43 | Fabio Felline | Martini | + 1h39'38 | | 44 | Edward Ravasi | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 1h40'32 | | 45 | Thomas De Gendt | Lotto Soudal | + 1h44'05 | | 46 | Riccardo Zoidl | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 1h44'13 | | 47 | Fabio Tuzi | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 1h47'54 | | 48 | Edoardo Zardini | Astana Pro Team | + 1h50'26 | | 49 | Pello Bilbao | TEAM Cepsa | + 1h50'35 | | 50 | Paweł Poljański | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 1h57'54 | | 51 | Marcos García | TEAM Cepsa | + 1h58'49 | | 52 | José Ramella | Astana Pro Team | + 2h03'35 | | 53 | Alfredo Balloni | Martini | + 2h06'53 | | 54 | Jacques Janse Van Rensburg | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 2h07'56 | | 55 | Lilian Calmejane | Swissair | + 2h08'00 | | 56 | Jeffrey Perrin | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 2h08'59 | | 57 | Gavin Mannion | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 2h10'02 | | 58 | Alexey Lutsenko | Astana Pro Team | + 2h18'00 | | 59 | Axel Domont | Decathlon | + 2h19'18 | | 60 | Peter Stetina | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 2h24'04 | | 61 | Gianfranco Zilioli | Martini | + 2h24'44 | | 62 | Davide Malacarne | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 2h25'07 | | 63 | Edmeo Menghini | Martini | + 2h25'26 | | 64 | Stephanis Guybedos | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 2h27'45 | | 65 | Jordi Simón | Decathlon | + 2h28'44 | | 66 | Odd Christian Eiking | Swissair | + 2h29'02 | | 67 | Wout van Aert | Stella Artois | + 2h31'18 | | 68 | Manuel Senni | Team Katusha | + 2h31'55 | | 69 | Andrea Manfredi | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 2h32'03 | | 70 | Floris De Tier | Trek Factory Racing | + 2h32'48 | | 71 | Cameron Meyer | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 2h32'50 | | 72 | Nelson Oliveira | Stella Artois | + 2h34'43 | | 73 | Richie Porte | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 2h34'45 | | 74 | Rémy Rochas | Team Europcar | + 2h37'57 | | 75 | Serge Beaufort | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 2h40'49 | | 76 | Stefano Pirazzi | Nike | + 2h40'51 | | 77 | Stefano Nardelli | Martini | + 2h41'57 | | 78 | Lukas Löer | Team Sky | + 2h43'36 | | 79 | Antonio Nibali | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 2h44'14 | | 80 | Jack Haig | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 2h44'49 | | 81 | Rudy Molard | Decathlon | + 2h45'02 | | 82 | Loïc Vliegen | Lotto Soudal | + 2h45'30 | | 83 | Riccardo Tito | Martini | + 2h47'39 | | 84 | Moreno Giampaolo | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 2h47'55 | | 85 | Gurhan Volkan | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 2h47'56 | | 86 | Sonny Colbrelli | Swissair | + 2h49'00 | | 87 | Jérémy Cornu | Decathlon | + 2h49'44 | | 88 | Carlos Barbero | MTN-Qhubeka | + 2h50'59 | | 89 | Quentin Jauregui | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 2h55'18 | | 90 | Magnus Cort Nielsen | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 2h58'18 | | 91 | Bryan Coquard | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 2h59'20 | | 92 | Matteo Pelucchi | Team Sky | + 2h59'29 | | 93 | Kenneth Vanbilsen | Trek Factory Racing | + 2h59'36 | | 94 | Christopher Juul-Jensen | Team Europcar | + 3h00'00 | | 95 | Philip O'Donnell | Swissair | + 3h02'02 | | 96 | Kiante Choge | Nike | + 3h02'52 | | 97 | Scott Ambrose | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 3h03'52 | | 98 | Arthur Vichot | Team Europcar | + 3h04'57 | | 99 | Luca Wackermann | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 3h05'14 | | 100 | Ricardo García | Team Katusha | + 3h09'49 | | 101 | Edward Theuns | Lotto Soudal | + 3h12'15 | | 102 | Artem Nych | Team Katusha | + 3h13'10 | | 103 | Leigh Howard | Lotto Soudal | + 3h14'06 | | 104 | Matteo Rabottini | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 3h15'02 | | 105 | Patrick Bevin | Swissair | + 3h16'28 | | 106 | Daniele Ratto | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 3h16'58 | | 107 | Valerio Conti | Astana Pro Team | + 3h18'43 | | 108 | Fernando Gaviria | TEAM Cepsa | + 3h19'10 | | 109 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Astana Pro Team | + 3h19'44 | | 110 | Davide Martinelli | Nike | + 3h21'45 | | 111 | Caleb Ewan | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 3h24'35 | | 112 | Sam Bennett | Swissair | + 3h27'33 | | 113 | Nikias Arndt | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 3h29'49 | | 114 | Jérôme Francois | Trek Factory Racing | + 3h30'10 | | 115 | Jonas Rapp | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 3h30'13 | | 116 | Clément Koretzky | Team Europcar | + 3h31'23 | | 117 | Michał Paluta | MTN-Qhubeka | + 3h32'57 | | 118 | Silvan Dillier | Swissair | + 3h33'32 | | 119 | Omar Bertazzo | TEAM Cepsa | + 3h33'43 | | 120 | Pim Ligthart | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 3h35'52 | | 121 | Anthony Roux | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 3h36'18 | | 122 | Matteo Busato | Martini | + 3h36'55 | | 123 | Kamil Gradek | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 3h37'26 | | 124 | Adriano Malori | Stella Artois | + 3h38'21 | | 125 | Lorenzo Manzin | Decathlon | + 3h39'59 | | 126 | Andrew Fenn | Team Sky | + 3h40'14 | | 127 | Davide Appollonio | Team Europcar | + 3h45'29 | | 128 | Yoann Paillot | Team Europcar | + 3h47'07 | | 129 | Christophe Laporte | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 3h47'10 | | 130 | Phil Bauhaus | MTN-Qhubeka | + 3h48'55 | | 131 | Pierre-Luc Périchon | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 3h49'06 | | 132 | Gustav Hoog | Swissair | + 3h49'15 | | 133 | Raymond Kreder | Team Katusha | + 3h50'48 | | 134 | Lucas Destang | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 3h51'11 | | 135 | Romain Le Roux | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 3h53'53 | | 136 | Antonio Dubois | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 3h56'29 | | 137 | Nathan Haas | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 3h56'47 | | 138 | Enzo Wouters | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 3h57'06 | | 139 | Evaldas Siskevicius | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 3h57'14 | | 140 | Elia Viviani | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 4h01'21 | | 141 | Jan Dieteren | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 4h01'34 | | 142 | Ivan Balykin | Team Katusha | + 4h02'59 | | 143 | Daniel McLay | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 4h04'35 | | 144 | Alex Clements | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 4h08'03 | | 145 | Jesse Kerrison | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 4h08'59 | | 146 | André Looij | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 4h11'20 | | 147 | Eduard-Michael Grosu | Lotto Soudal | + 4h11'50 | | 148 | Louis Rohde | MTN-Qhubeka | + 4h13'25 | | 149 | Jakob Rathe | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 4h16'59 | | 150 | Jurgen van Diemen | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 4h18'09 | | 151 | Niels Goeree | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 4h19'35 | | 152 | Wesley Kreder | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 4h19'38 | | 153 | Ricardo van Dongen | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 4h20'50 | | 154 | Robert-Jon McCarthy | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 4h20'55 | | 155 | Marc Sarreau | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 4h25'51 | | 156 | Soufiane Haddi | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | + 4h30'57 | | 157 | Romain Cardis | Team Europcar | + 4h32'56 | | 158 | Adam Blythe | Team Katusha | + 4h36'25 | | 159 | Fabio Sabatini | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 4h36'37 | | 160 | Timo Roosen | Team Cannondale - Garmin | + 4h39'13 | | 161 | Romain Guillemois | Martini | + 4h40'44 | | 162 | Wouter Wippert | MTN-Qhubeka | + 4h41'39 | | 163 | Nicolas Vereecken | Trek Factory Racing | + 4h44'49 | | 164 | Brenton Jones | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 4h45'26 | | 165 | Jempy Drucker | Trek Factory Racing | + 4h48'09 | | 166 | Olivier Le Gac | Team Europcar | + 5h09'52 |
| 1 | Fernando Gaviria | TEAM Cepsa | 259 | | 2 | Phil Bauhaus | MTN-Qhubeka | 185 | | 3 | Wout van Aert | Stella Artois | 183 | | 4 | Bryan Coquard | Tinkoff-Saxo | 156 | | 5 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | 154 |
| 1 | Adam Yates | Ag2r La Mondiale | 224 | | 2 | Fabio Aru | Team Sky | 208 | | 3 | Davide Formolo | Astana Pro Team | 170 | | 4 | Gervais Hardouin | Stella Artois | 125 | | 5 | Rubén Fernández | TEAM Cepsa | 101 |
Young Riders Classification
| 1 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | 81h02'38 | | 2 | Eddie Dunbar | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 8'16 | | 3 | Robert Power | Drapac Professional Cycling | + 9'40 | | 4 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre | Swissair | + 33'12 | | 5 | Gervais Hardouin | Stella Artois | + 38'21 |
| 1 | Team Sky | 241h57'28 | | 2 | Astana Pro Team | + 3'49 | | 3 | Stella Artois | + 25'23 | | 4 | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 50'34 | | 5 | TEAM Cepsa | + 1h32'00 |
I am proud to have added to my collection the White Jersey at the Giro to the White Jersey I won at the Vuelta two seasons ago. Stage 20 was perhaps my best ride ever on a Grand Tour stage, to fight with every ounce of strength to hold on to my GC position. I must admit I was a bit envious of Formolo, him not being very much older than myself. Just goes to show that there is still some work to be done if I want to challenge for a GT win in the future. But I have now shown, mostly to myself, that I can slug it out with the best of them in Grand Tours. After last year's disappointments, this was required to lift my spirits. The team did a good job in protecting me, despite us being two members short in the last week.
(My second Grand Tour jersey!!)
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 28-07-2017 16:33
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It's the first Saturday of July but there was no Tour de France for me. Instead I was in Austria to take part in my consolation. Ironic how both races start on the same day. When the team informed me at the beginning of the season that I wouldn't be going to the Tour, I was disapppointed but I did not have valid grounds to launch a hissy-fit based on last year's performance.
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt
So here I was, in a much weaker field, in a much colder climate, starting this race for the second time. I do have happy memories from my time here previously, I came 3rd two years back. Let's see what I can do this time.
Stage 1
I was one of the favourites for the stage win along with Pozniak. The break was caught on the small climb before the climb to the finish. Duteil was the first of the favourites to get a gap, with me in an eight man group chasing. Martinez attacked next. With 23 km to go, it was Duteil out ahead, followed by Martinez followed by twenty three man group with me and Pozniak. Pozniak took up the chasing to pull in the attackers. His massive pace broke the pack and I rode his wheel to catch and drop Martinex, with Sepulveda in tow. van der Heijden surprised us from behind and with five kilometers to go, he was the furthest ahead, chasing Duteil. Pozniak and Sepulveda was dropped by then and I was a minute behind Duteil. I managed to catch and pass van der Heijden to take 2nd. Duteil won and Pozniak finished 6th.
Stage 2
I was the top favourite for this stage. The early part of the stage didn't have much to report except the break. With 8 km to go, the lead group was down to 22 riders. I launched an attack with 5 km to go but could not drop Duteil. My high pace following the attack eventually tired out the Frenchman and he tailed away with 3 km to go. I rode to a commanding win on the stage and took the lead in the GC! Pozniak finished 10th. I became the leader in all individual classifications!
Stage 3 was meant for the sprinters. The early break was caught before the second climb. A late attack of four went away. Only one of those riders were caught as the sprinters were left frustrated. Theuns finished 5th.
(On Stage 3 wearing the Yellow Jersey)
Stage 4 had Michael Gogl, in 8th place in the GC and 6 minutes off my lead, in the break. They built up a maximum lead of six minutes. The break was caught on the first climb. Gogl attacked again at the top of the climb, and once again pulled out a five minute lead over the peloton. He was caught once and for all with 25 km to go. Duteil attacked with 20 km to go. de Gendt and Pozniak chased and we eventually managed to catch him with 14 km left. The lead group was around sixty riders on the approach to the finish. I was a bit late in reacting to a late attack and lost 22 seconds. I finished 5th on the stage despite the hesitation. My GC lead was just 7 seconds at this stage to Duteil.
Stage 5 was mostly flat with a small uphill finish. I stayed in the pack throughout but my plans went haywire as I missed the decisive attack from my rivals. I lost 47 seconds on this stage to Duteil, who picked up six bonus seconds for second place and I lost the jersey.
Stage 6 was flat but I tried a late attack over some undulations to try to get back some time. It didn't work and was swept up by the sprinters.
Stage 7
The ITT was my last chance. I needed to pull off a blinder here. As I passed the first intermediate, the timings showed me in 5th place, 13 seconds off the pace. I didn't care about the stage win. All I wanted to know was Duteil's time. I didn't know at the time that he had crossed the line 59 seconds off the pace, having lost exactly 46 seconds. I kept my pace through till the end, coming home in 8th palce, 46 seconds off the winner's time. It was an agonizing wait for Duteil to come through. As he did so, the clock showed him to be 2 minutes and 7 seconds off the winner's time, 1 minute 21 seconds slower than me. I had done it! I was on top of the GC with just a flat stage to go!!
Stage 8 was meant to be for the sprinters but the break survived by the skin of their teeth. I enjoyed the flat roads and ensured my first ever GC win in a stage race!
| 1 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | 28h40'22 | | 2 | Arnaud Duteil | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 35 | | 3 | Daniel Felipe Martinez | Colombia | + 1'18 | | 4 | Eduardo Sepulveda | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 2'42 | | 5 | Davide Villella | Swissair | + 5'46 | | 6 | Michael Gogl | Iberdrola | + 7'26 | | 7 | Mischa Van der Heijden | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 7'35 | | 8 | David Per | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 9'40 | | 9 | David Wöhrer | Fischer | + 11'10 | | 10 | Tony Pozniak | Lotto Soudal | + 12'10 |
Spoiler | 11 | George Bennett | Colombia | + 12'16 | | 12 | Jasper Ockeloen | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 12'40 | | 13 | Kristijan Durasek | Swissair | + 14'27 | | 14 | Stefan Denifl | Liqui Moly | + 14'37 | | 15 | George Preidler | Iberdrola | + 15'45 | | 16 | José Herrada | Iberdrola | + 16'27 | | 17 | Hector Saez | Team Katusha | + 16'49 | | 18 | Calvin Beneke | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 17'08 | | 19 | Gracjan Gregorek | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 18'36 | | 20 | Joey Rosskopf | Alcatel | + 20'16 | | 21 | Sep Vanmarcke | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 20'30 | | 22 | Thomas De Gendt | Lotto Soudal | + 21'21 | | 23 | Edward Diaz | Iberdrola | + 23'26 | | 24 | Tibor Kozak | Team Katusha | + 23'38 | | 25 | Mohammed Mat Senan | Swissair | + 23'44 | | 26 | Nikias Arndt | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 24'29 | | 27 | Jakob Rathe | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 25'34 | | 28 | Patrick Konrad | Swissair | + 25'42 | | 29 | Meik Hermanski | Liqui Moly | + 26'05 | | 30 | Isaac Bolívar | Team Katusha | + 26'33 | | 31 | Koen Bouwman | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 26'41 | | 32 | Evgeny Shalunov | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 26'54 | | 33 | Patrick Bevin | Swissair | + 29'12 | | 34 | Alexander Edmondson | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 29'34 | | 35 | Nick Van Der Lijke | Iberdrola | + 29'49 | | 36 | Diego Ochoa | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 29'54 | | 37 | Marcel Heitz | Alcatel | + 29'58 | | 38 | Dennis Paulus | A1 Telekom | + 30'38 | | 39 | Yovcho Yovchev | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 30'52 | | 40 | Sjoerd Kouwenhoven | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 31'03 | | 41 | Steven Lammertink | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 31'11 | | 42 | Gregor Mühlberger | Fischer | + 31'19 | | 43 | Mitchell Lovelock-Fay | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 31'20 | | 44 | Jesús Ezquerra | Iberdrola | + 31'30 | | 45 | Rubén Zepuntke | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 31'55 | | 46 | Silvan Dillier | Swissair | + 31'59 | | 47 | Davide Pacchiardo | Martini | + 32'16 | | 48 | Niels Goeree | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 32'39 | | 49 | Egon Rottensteiner | A1 Telekom | + 32'48 | | 50 | Michael Valgren | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 33'13 | | 51 | Tobias Wauch | Liqui Moly | + 33'36 | | 52 | Josip Rumac | A1 Telekom | + 35'38 | | 53 | Zhi Hui Jiang | Iberdrola | + 36'05 | | 54 | Richard Handley | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 36'29 | | 55 | Brent Luyckx | Point Chaud | + 36'44 | | 56 | Sjors Roosen | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 37'11 | | 57 | Luca Chirico | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 37'15 | | 58 | Erik Baska | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 37'54 | | 59 | Tom Davison | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 38'39 | | 60 | Marc Goos | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 38'46 | | 61 | David Lefort | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 39'13 | | 62 | Harry Carpenter | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 39'23 | | 63 | Jasha Sütterlin | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 39'27 | | 64 | Onur Balkan | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 39'46 | | 65 | George Pym | Swissair | + 40'19 | | 66 | Jordi van Dingenen | Lotto Soudal | + 41'40 | | 67 | André Looij | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 41'50 | | 68 | Kristian Sbaragli | Liqui Moly | + 42'07 | | 69 | Omar Fraile | Team Katusha | + 42'16 | | 70 | Jesse Sergent | Alcatel | + 42'19 | | 71 | Léonard Quentin | Swissair | + 42'52 | | 72 | Eduardo Estrada | Colombia | + 43'18 | | 73 | Christophe Laporte | Team Giant-Alpecin | + 43'54 | | 74 | Yonas Tekeste | Alcatel | + 44'39 | | 75 | Adolfo Garfagnini | Fischer | + 44'44 | | 76 | Emil Wang | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 44'56 | | 77 | Edward Theuns | Lotto Soudal | + 45'32 | | 78 | Vladimir Zatek | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 45'52 | | 79 | Alex Kirsch | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 46'52 | | 80 | Oleg Balayan | Alcatel | + 47'00 | | 81 | Joshua Huppertz | Liqui Moly | + 47'43 | | 82 | Ivar Slik | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 48'15 | | 83 | Aurélio Brás | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 48'38 | | 84 | Daniel Biedermann | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 49'06 | | 85 | Fabian Morianz | A1 Telekom | + 49'11 | | 86 | Jaime Castañeda | Colombia | + 49'30 | | 87 | Araik Storozhuk | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 49'32 | | 88 | Francesco Lasca | Martini | + 49'42 | | 89 | Diego León Cuervo | Colombia | + 49'44 | | 90 | Clement Chehabi | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 50'02 | | 91 | Gijs De Berlanger | Lotto Soudal | + 50'21 | | 92 | Kevin van Staeyen | Befimmo | + 50'25 | | 93 | Kris Boeckmans | Point Chaud | + 50'35 | | 94 | Ángel Madrazo | Team Katusha | + 50'39 | | 95 | Stan Godrie | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 51'43 | | 96 | Benjamin Hill | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 51'55 | | 97 | Michael Vingerling | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 51'57 | | 98 | Daniele Mossini | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 52'03 | | 99 | Bautista Gallego | Martini | + 52'16 | | 100 | Jan Ghyselinck | Point Chaud | + 53'07 | | 101 | Simone Carantoni | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 53'22 | | 102 | Elden Boateng | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 54'14 | | 103 | Ivan Rovny | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 54'31 | | 104 | Ramon Carretero | Fischer | + 54'32 | | 105 | Gerry Druyts | Point Chaud | + 54'42 | | 106 | João Silva | Iberdrola | + 54'45 | | 107 | Alexander Evtushenko | Team Katusha | + 54'46 | | 108 | Niccolò Priolo | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 54'48 | | 109 | Shane Archbold | Colombia | + 55'01 | | 110 | Nawaf Albalooshi | Team Katusha | + 56'23 | | 111 | Giuseppe Fonzi | Martini | + 56'42 | | 112 | Sidio Mezzini | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 57'05 | | 113 | Kristian Haugaard | Colombia | + 58'09 | | 114 | Vinnie Braet | Point Chaud | + 58'13 | | 115 | Nicolas Marini | Martini | + 58'17 | | 116 | Raffaele Radice | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | s.t. | | 117 | Samuel Pökälä | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 58'26 | | 118 | Gamal Jespersen | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 58'33 | | 119 | Cristiano Salerno | Martini | + 58'49 | | 120 | Alexander Wachter | Fischer | + 59'20 | | 121 | Alfonso Fiorenza | Martini | + 59'43 | | 122 | Paco Ghistelinck | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 1h00'19 | | 123 | Anton Vorobyev | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 1h00'27 | | 124 | Martin Weiss | Befimmo | + 1h00'31 | | 125 | Kenneth Van Rooy | Lotto Soudal | + 1h01'23 | | 126 | Tim Merlier | Lotto Soudal | + 1h01'55 | | 127 | Jasper Bovenhuis | Team LottoNL - Jumbo | + 1h01'57 | | 128 | Arvid De Kleijn | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 1h02'34 | | 129 | Nordin Krijgsman | Orica-GreenEDGE | + 1h03'09 | | 130 | Andreas Stauff | Liqui Moly | + 1h03'25 | | 131 | John Alieu Roberg | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 1h03'28 | | 132 | Emanuele Miola | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | + 1h04'13 | | 133 | Marcel Franz | Alcatel | + 1h04'18 | | 134 | Klaas Lodewyck | Befimmo | + 1h04'37 | | 135 | Theo Reinhardt | Fischer | + 1h05'25 | | 136 | Carl Jermail | Martini | + 1h06'43 | | 137 | David Staggenborg | CULT Energy Pro Cycling | + 1h08'11 | | 138 | Justin Jules | Alcatel | + 1h08'48 | | 139 | Jasper Frahm | Liqui Moly | + 1h12'42 | | 140 | Yasuo Yamashita | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 1h13'31 | | 141 | Maksim Razumov | Team Katusha | + 1h13'40 | | 142 | Olivier Naesen | Point Chaud | + 1h14'06 | | 143 | Kevin Callebaut | Befimmo | + 1h14'59 | | 144 | Dennis Coenen | Befimmo | + 1h16'59 | | 145 | Hayato Yoshida | Befimmo | + 1h19'33 | | 146 | Steven Turner | Fischer | + 1h22'47 | | 147 | Benjamin Giraud | Colombia | + 1h23'35 | | 148 | Javier Francisco Aramendia | Fischer | + 1h24'14 | | 149 | Victor Azizov | Befimmo | + 1h24'44 | | 150 | Xandro Meurisse | Point Chaud | + 1h25'24 | | 151 | Walt de Winter | Point Chaud | + 1h25'40 | | 152 | Jonathan Breyne | Befimmo | + 1h26'58 | | 153 | Paul Ourselin | Alcatel | + 1h28'46 | | 154 | Sam Bassetti | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 1h29'38 | | 155 | Panfilo Triuzzi | A1 Telekom | + 1h31'05 | | 156 | Tim Rodenburg | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 1h37'14 | | 157 | Drahoslav Zboncak | Liqui Moly | + 1h51'20 | | 158 | Anatoliy Pakhtusov | A1 Telekom | + 2h10'20 |
| 1 | Arnaud Duteil | Team Giant-Alpecin | 45 | | 2 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | 43 | | 3 | Davide Villella | Swissair | 37 | | 4 | Daniel Felipe Martinez | Colombia | 36 | | 5 | Michael Gogl | Iberdrola | 26 |
| 1 | Isaac Bolívar | Team Katusha | 44 | | 2 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | 26 | | 3 | Dennis Paulus | A1 Telekom | 26 | | 4 | Michael Gogl | Iberdrola | 22 | | 5 | Arnaud Duteil | Team Giant-Alpecin | 15 |
Young Riders Classification
| 1 | Abhishek Sinha | Lotto Soudal | 28h40'22 | | 2 | Daniel Felipe Martinez | Colombia | + 1'18 | | 3 | David Per | Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels | + 9'40 | | 4 | Tony Pozniak | Lotto Soudal | + 12'10 | | 5 | Gracjan Gregorek | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 18'36 |
| 1 | Team Giant-Alpecin | 86h22'20 | | 2 | Lotto Soudal | + 10'02 | | 3 | Tinkoff-Saxo | + 12'08 | | 4 | Iberdrola | + 14'53 | | 5 | Swissair | + 16'14 |
In my sixth year as a Pro cyclist, I have finally claimed my first GC victory. I forgot my disappointment at missing out on the Tour and made sure I savoured the moment. I made the race haredr for myself than actually required with two moments of lost concentration on stages 4 and 5. The ITT was my saviour and I made the most of the opportunity. I achieved a good win on Stage 2 in the mountains. This is a good sign for my future GT hopes too that I can combine climbing with my TT skills. I hope this is just the start of my trips to the top of the podium.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 28-07-2017 16:43
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 28-07-2017 16:40
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4191
Joined: 13-09-2015
PCM$: 300.00
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Yeeees! First GC win!! It had to wait too long, but finally you did it. Congrats 
Next, your "love/hate" race, Ordizia 
Also, this is your contract year, and you take your first GC just in time to the tranfers market... 
Edited by Aquarius97 on 28-07-2017 16:47
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 29-07-2017 06:08
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11675
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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Aquarius97 wrote:
Yeeees! First GC win!! It had to wait too long, but finally you did it. Congrats
Next, your "love/hate" race, Ordizia
Thanks  . About time isn't it?!
You're right, Ordizia next and there's always that hesitation on the startline for that one...
Aquarius97 wrote:
Also, this is your contract year, and you take your first GC just in time to the tranfers market...
Funny how things work out
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| Ripley |
Posted on 29-07-2017 08:34
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
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A solid result in the Giro, though the time gap to the winner Formolo is worryingly large. But congratulations for winning your first stage race, not ther TdF for sure, but looks good on the palmares nonetheless. |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 29-07-2017 10:42
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11675
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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Thanks . Aru and Formolo were and a class apart. I was quite a distance behind 3rd place too! More improvement needed.
Incidentally, the last time you said something looked good on the Palmares was also this race in Austria, two seasons back, when Lotto had not picked a me for the Tour, and I went on to get a podium. Déjà vu
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| Kiserlovski01 |
Posted on 29-07-2017 14:22
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4054
Joined: 26-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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One of my favorite races won by someone who's become one of my favorite riders in this peloton. I've seen worse combo's.
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