Teddy The Creator wrote:
A great effort on that climb, especially considering Emmanuel might be dealing with a minor injury.

Will be interesting to see who grabs the overall win, there are some big time differences possible on that final TT, but it favours climbers more than TTers from my experience, so bodes ok for Emu. Keep it up

sutty68 wrote:
Hopefully Emanuel can get into the top ten after the final stage

Here it is: The deciding time trial. The first kilometers are steep, but from then on out, it's downhill and a long flat stretch. Overall leader Chaves has to hold an advantage of 38 seconds over the superior time trialist Valverde, while the top favorites for today, Dennis (+ 2'01) and Dumoulin (+ 2'54), have only little hope for the overall win.

My only hope for a Top 10 is a minor miracle. It's maybe possible that I can catch Bardet, who's 32 seconds ahead of me, but I would have to beat Ion Izagirre as well, which seems pretty much impossible.

As I get ready to start the time trial, it's pouring. Not ideal circumstances, especially for a rider like me, who isn't the greatest when it comes to bike handling. The crash from three days ago is still fresh in my memory.

I do my best on the way up to the first checkpoint, only 22 seconds behind Steven Kruijswijk, who was leading at the time. Ion Izagirre was only two seconds ahead of me, but closely after that, Bardet came and bested Kruijswijk's time. This wasn't looking too great.

At the second checkpoint, Izagirre was now 29 seconds ahead of me, which seemed more like it. But Bardet was still going strong. Now I had to be careful not to lose a place, as Mikel Landa was currently 40 seconds faster than me, but only 12 seconds behind me in the GC.

I sprint towards the finish line, where I'm happy to learn that I've made up almost all of the time back on Landa to keep myself in front of him. As expected, though, I don't make any jumps further up the rankings either.

Winner of the day, also as expected, is Tom Dumoulin, but the gaps aren't as big. 10th overall for him.

Esteban Chaves easily keeps the overall lead, even increasing the margin on Valverde.

Looking at the final results, the riders in front of me and the time I would have had to gain on them to make the Top 10, I don't think I could have done much better. I continue to perform consistently, although this is the first race of the season where I haven't been able to achieve a Top 10 in a single stage.

Four hilly classics remain on my schedule before I take a break and start preparing for the Tour de France. Let's see how I do there.

Paris - Camembert is a race with a long tradition. It's been held first in 1934 and has been dominated mostly by French riders. Laurent Brochard won it three times between 2001 and 2005, which makes him the record winner. Alejandro Valverde won in 2008, the only non-French rider since 2003 to do so. Set in between the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the Ardennes classics, some riders use it as a preparation race for the latter, but most of all it's a race for the French continental teams.

The second half of the race is pretty hilly, but the final stretch is flat. This leads to a variety of types of riders having a chance to win. It's a semi-tough course on paper, and how hard it actually is will be determined by how it is ridden by the cyclists themselves.

... we have one of both of those types. I will be covering the attacks, maybe initiate one or two of them myself, while Jay might be able to rely on his quick finish if a bigger group comes to the line. With Silvio, Lukas and José, we have a strong supporting team as well.

hillis91 wrote:
Your Layouts look amazing dude!

Keep it up

Tamijo wrote:
Go get'em

sutty68 wrote:
A good classic for Emanuel to shine in (fingers crossed).

Teddy The Creator wrote:
Looks perfect for McCarthy

The stretch of April hilly classics, culminating with Liège-Bastogne-Liège, is underway, and Paris-Camembert is one of those. We're in for a day of drenching rain, steep ramps and, hopefully, some entertaining racing.

Christoph Pfingsten joined a 12-men-breakaway today. Their advantage peaked at 4'40, but the peloton kept them on a leash.

With the pack coming closer, Pfingsten attacked. Both to take pressure from us as a team and to give himself some nice TV coverage. No one followed.

He got caught again by his companions some twenty kilometers later, but he definetely prolonged the time of the break in front of the peloton.

Over the penultimate ascent, the last escapees are caught. We haven't had the chance to do something, and the peloton is still mostly intact.

We waste no time however once we're on the final ramp. José attacks and I'm right in his slipstream.

Onto the plateau, we have around 20 seconds of advantage. José still has a little left in the tank and paces me with all he's got.

José is cooked, so I accelerate once more. The peloton is close behind, but I'm not going to give up!

I still have a little bit of an advantage, but Fortuneo is chasing like crazy. It's going to be close, but Jay is sitting comfortably in the pack, waiting for the sprint to start, so we still have that going for us as well.

But does it even come to that? I'm under the flamme rouge, and still in front!

And I hold on! I did it! My second ever pro win, the first in a regular road race! Yesssss!

What an amazing feeling! After the tough domestique work in my first races of the year and, while racing well, failing to get a Top 10 overall as a leader, I reward myself today! Huge thanks to José Mendes who made this possible by helping me with the attack, and thanks to Christoph Pfingsten, whose efforts maybe tired out the other teams a little before I even made my move.

I was skeptic at first when the DS told me they planned for me to ride the Ardennes campaign. But this gives me a massive boost of confidence, and I'm looking forward to them more than ever!

1	Emanuel Buchmann	BORA - hansgrohe	4h29'59
2	Laurent Pichon	Fortunéo - Vital Concept	s.t.
3	Jens Keukeleire	Orica - Scott	s.t.
4	Mauro Finetto	Delko Marseille Provence KTM	s.t.
5	Romain Hardy	Fortunéo - Vital Concept	s.t.
6	Geoffrey Soupe	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
7	Jay McCarthy	BORA - hansgrohe	s.t.
8	Matthieu Ladagnous	FDJ	s.t.
9	Rubén Plaza	Orica - Scott	s.t.
10	Jonathan Hivert	Direct Energie	s.t.

The Ardennes week starts, as usual, with the Amstel Gold Race.
Record winner is Jan Raas, who won the race an impressive five times in six years from 1977 to 1982. In recent years, Philippe Gilbert has made the race his own with three victories to his name.

34 classified climbs are scattered across the course, including the iconic Cauberg, which is passed four times, the last time probably being decisive for the outcome of the race. 258 kilometers long, it's also the longest Ardennais classic, and one of the longest races in the calender, so endurance will be a big factor.

Peter Sagan caps off his classics run today, and wants to add another good result to his already impressive palmares. Jay and I are his main domestiques, but after my recent victory, I may get a chance to ride on my own as well, depending on how the race plays out.

There's not too much to say here: It's the Ardennes! For me personally, it's the first World Tour classic since Canada last fall, which didn't go too well. I'm coming to Maastricht with a lot of confidence after my win a few days ago, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do in this much tougher starting field.

The five men breakaway, including French young gun Dominic Gaudu and Astana veteran Tanel Kangert, holds an advantage of some seven minutes.

Pouring rain comes down on the peloton, and it doesn't take long for the first major crash to occur. Among the riders who hit the tarmac is Tom Dumoulin, who's been named as a contender today by many. We're unaffected by this one, but a few kilometers later, Christoph Pfingsten goes down in another big crash.

Sky and Quick-Step have taken control in the peloton, which at this point is still largely intact. The pace hasn't been very high, but the escapees' advantage has been decreasing constantly nevertheless.

On the Kruisberg, the first really steep climb within the final 50 kilometers, we're careful to be positioned well. I'm feeling incredibly strong today.

For the first time, we participate in the relay at the front of the peloton. Silvio Herklotz and Lukas Pöstlberger try to make the race as hard as possible ...

... in preparation of my attack! On the Cauberg, I make my move. I've never had better legs than today, and I want to make use of them. Plus, with Peter in the peloton, we have a strong two-sided approach.

Unfortunately, it's Philippe Gilbert himself who leads the chase, Albasini in his wheel.

But for a good while, I can keep a stable 30 seconds of advantage. Sky have joined the chase, but their lines were getting thinner.

I'm still not caught with 5 kilometers to go, and Gilbert decides that this isn't working for him: He attacks to catch up with me!

Which he does, and we're still quite a bit in front of the peloton. 3 kilometers to go, could this actually work?

It really looks like it! Under the flamme rouge, we're still clear! Gilbert is in my wheel though, and I don't have much left in me.

And consequently, he has an easy time outsprinting me to take his fourth Amstel Gold Race title. But don't think I'm going to complain! I'm finishing second, after a daring attack 18 kilometers from the line! I'm happy as I can be!

The long classics campaign had taken a toll on Peter and he isn't at his best in the sprint. He finishes 9th as Alaphilippe takes the final podium spot.

It's amazing! I'm really coming into my own as a classics rider. The feeling to beat an entire pack of some of the best domestiques there are after more than 250 kilometers is indescribable. I came incredibly close to a first major win today, but this only makes me stronger and more dedicated. Flèche Wallonne, here I come. You better watch out!